FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Over 7 hours in and Jordan Taylor has yet to step into the 155 Ferrari. Good drive time management so far and they’re still on the lead lap in GT3.
2024 24 Hours of Le Mans
- Thread starter FLRacingFan
- Start date
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
Dog on the track!
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
Awesome that the fireworks display is during a yellow!
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
58 cars still running!
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
It's ridiculous but there's apparently not other way to reset the field. Last year they had one SC period go for over an hour.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Finally.
I’ll admit it took me too long to figure out to switch to the Xfinity race. I get that the barrier repair is typically very lengthy regardless, but the merge and pass-around procedure here is just sooo long, and was only exacerbated by starting to rain during the whole thing. But it’s more “fair” than what they used to do, so there’s that. If you got separated into the wrong safety car pack in the past it was tough to make it up.
I’ll admit it took me too long to figure out to switch to the Xfinity race. I get that the barrier repair is typically very lengthy regardless, but the merge and pass-around procedure here is just sooo long, and was only exacerbated by starting to rain during the whole thing. But it’s more “fair” than what they used to do, so there’s that. If you got separated into the wrong safety car pack in the past it was tough to make it up.
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
Commentary is saying the entire field could get a procedure penalty!
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
30-second stop and go for Kubica. There it is.
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
Damm! First Gibson I've ever seen blow up, but it was big.
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
20 minutes later and the damm thing is still smoking!
Kiante
Team Owner
Put your slowest driver in now during this SC period...
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Freitas wasted so much freaking time with that SC period it’s nuts. Track was damn near intermediate conditions by the time they did all the merge/passaround bull**** and dropped the rag.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
They’re going to shatter the marks for closest race ever today. Two cars on the overall lead lap is the record, accomplished thirteen times. Currently ten cars on the lead lap with four hours to go, probably six of which have realistic hopes to win. Three safety car periods help quite a bit but a remarkably competitive race regardless.
Kiante
Team Owner
Jose Maria Lopez has been rapid.
I think he's trying to make a point to get back into the prototype, huh? Lol.
I think he's trying to make a point to get back into the prototype, huh? Lol.
Kiante
Team Owner
Ferrari might have thrown this away, possibly.
Kiante
Team Owner
I do not like the fact that race control has not said anything about the unsafe release or accident into the 8 for the 50 Ferrari.
Kiante
Team Owner
Wow, no action for the unsafe release.
Ferrari has a horseshoe lodged, for sure.
Ferrari has a horseshoe lodged, for sure.
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
Amazing they can hammer these cars so hard for 24 hours.
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
At this point I'm going to feel sorry for whomever doesn't win. It's been a stellar performance from everyone.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
5 seconds for spinning Hartley is baffling. I’ve got nothing for that one.
Kiante
Team Owner
Yeah, the 296 just happens to park there.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Need to see Vanthoor steal the final podium spot here at least.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Toyota telling JML to surrender, wtf?
Kiante
Team Owner
NOLAN SIEGEL IS A LEMANS WINNER.
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
Most enjoyable lemans ever. I can't feel bad about Ferrari winning because they certainly earned it, but this had to sting for Toyota, Roger has to wait another year and Cadillac acquitted themselves very well. Any of those would have been worthy winners.
The big loser appears to be Alpine who blew both cars up within minutes of each other. They are almost as bad as their F1 team. Get a Gibson, guys.
At this point, I'm tired of the excuses. Ford needs to come back and so we not only have Ford vrs Ferrari, but Ford vrs GM. All we need for this series to be perfect is Ford.
The big loser appears to be Alpine who blew both cars up within minutes of each other. They are almost as bad as their F1 team. Get a Gibson, guys.
At this point, I'm tired of the excuses. Ford needs to come back and so we not only have Ford vrs Ferrari, but Ford vrs GM. All we need for this series to be perfect is Ford.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Lots to unpack from that one for sure. Good race, even very good at times, but the ridiculous amount of time under safety cars and the questionable stewarding decisions leave me wanting more.
Still, hard to deny the 50 Ferrari had the ultimate pace, especially in dry conditions. And every time Fuoco gets out of the car I’m usually convinced he’s the quickest driver in the series. Great to see the emotion within the Ferrari garages to show how much it means to win this event, and how important it is that both cars have won the race in successive years now.
Still, hard to deny the 50 Ferrari had the ultimate pace, especially in dry conditions. And every time Fuoco gets out of the car I’m usually convinced he’s the quickest driver in the series. Great to see the emotion within the Ferrari garages to show how much it means to win this event, and how important it is that both cars have won the race in successive years now.
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
This was so competitive it's a good sign for the rest of the championship.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Ferrari - Quickest car for the most part really. Both the 50 and the 83 led a ton of laps and for the most part they nailed the tire strategy as well. They seemed determined to rack up as many minor penalties in the process to make it more interesting.
Toyota - Will probably be pissed off by this one until next year. Both the 7 and 8 were really good but they had so many issues between tire punctures, turbo issues, the 8 getting dumped by the 51, and Lopez spinning the 7 at Dunlop while chasing down the 50 for the win.
Porsche - Just didn’t seem to have the straight line speed to compete. Disappointing performance from the IMSA entry (#4) which never really was a factor and whose day ended with Nasr crashing big at Indianapolis. Not necessarily a bad day for the 5 and 6, but they came here to win this year and it’s tough to come away without a podium. The JOTA cars both did well to finish on the lead lap and come away with points. I think Proton’s car (#99) is a lemon. Not sure why that thing has so many issues with door coming ajar.
Cadillac - Probably a bit disappointed after the CGR cars finished 3rd and 4th here last year. The 2 looked pretty good in the dry and in the wet, but struggled in mixed conditions in the final two hours. Lynn/Bamber/Palou all drove pretty well. Also led for portions of the race inside the final six hours while a bit off sequence from the other contenders. The 3 and 311 were totally irrelevant before the 3 suffered an oil leak while Dixon was onboard and Derani stuffed the 311 at Indianapolis.
BMW - Dries Vanthoor was the only one who could get any speed out of that thing and they disappeared pretty early on. Wittman spun the 15 early while Frijns binned the 20 at the Ford Chicane. One of the engineers who worked with RLL last year tweeted that the car has TC issues which caught drivers out mid-stint at times - seems like it’s still an issue.
Alpine - Good pace early, predictable grenade of an engine choice. Embarrassing to not even make six hours with either car but that is Alpine’s m.o. in motorsport right now.
Lamborghini - No real issues and did well to bring both cars home cleanly on debut. Even spent some time inside the top 5 early during the first rainstorm when they braved it out on slicks while others lost time pitting for wets before the track dried out again. The 63 managed to score a point.
Peugeot - Pretty clean race for the most part but just didn’t have speed. The evo is technically the newest car in the field and they still don’t fully understand it yet.
Isotta Fraschini - Flew under the radar but deserve a LOT of credit for bringing the car home cleanly and finishing when two full factories didn’t have a classified finish. Obviously not quick, but managed to beat the LMP2 winners by several laps.
LMP2 - From the lowest of lows to the highest of highs Nolan Siegel in the last month. Incredible performance from a Le Mans rookie. Olly Jarvis was also a great veteran to pair with and drove a great race himself. Always good to see that dude win.
LMGT3 - Ford Mustang gets its first podium in global competition at the biggest test yet with the #88 coming home 3rd. One of the sister cars also managed to finish right behind in 4th.
Sadly, it’s hard to remember much else at all about LMP2 and LMGT3 given how little broadcast time they got. Sure, there’s better competition than ever in the top class but those guys spend millions of euros/dollars/whatever to race all season for a chance to compete at Le Mans as well, and they deserve some coverage too. I have no idea how anyone in those classes got to where they finished really. There were entire hours where it seemed neither was shown at all unless a Hypercar was lapping them. Needs to change next year for sure.
Toyota - Will probably be pissed off by this one until next year. Both the 7 and 8 were really good but they had so many issues between tire punctures, turbo issues, the 8 getting dumped by the 51, and Lopez spinning the 7 at Dunlop while chasing down the 50 for the win.
Porsche - Just didn’t seem to have the straight line speed to compete. Disappointing performance from the IMSA entry (#4) which never really was a factor and whose day ended with Nasr crashing big at Indianapolis. Not necessarily a bad day for the 5 and 6, but they came here to win this year and it’s tough to come away without a podium. The JOTA cars both did well to finish on the lead lap and come away with points. I think Proton’s car (#99) is a lemon. Not sure why that thing has so many issues with door coming ajar.
Cadillac - Probably a bit disappointed after the CGR cars finished 3rd and 4th here last year. The 2 looked pretty good in the dry and in the wet, but struggled in mixed conditions in the final two hours. Lynn/Bamber/Palou all drove pretty well. Also led for portions of the race inside the final six hours while a bit off sequence from the other contenders. The 3 and 311 were totally irrelevant before the 3 suffered an oil leak while Dixon was onboard and Derani stuffed the 311 at Indianapolis.
BMW - Dries Vanthoor was the only one who could get any speed out of that thing and they disappeared pretty early on. Wittman spun the 15 early while Frijns binned the 20 at the Ford Chicane. One of the engineers who worked with RLL last year tweeted that the car has TC issues which caught drivers out mid-stint at times - seems like it’s still an issue.
Alpine - Good pace early, predictable grenade of an engine choice. Embarrassing to not even make six hours with either car but that is Alpine’s m.o. in motorsport right now.
Lamborghini - No real issues and did well to bring both cars home cleanly on debut. Even spent some time inside the top 5 early during the first rainstorm when they braved it out on slicks while others lost time pitting for wets before the track dried out again. The 63 managed to score a point.
Peugeot - Pretty clean race for the most part but just didn’t have speed. The evo is technically the newest car in the field and they still don’t fully understand it yet.
Isotta Fraschini - Flew under the radar but deserve a LOT of credit for bringing the car home cleanly and finishing when two full factories didn’t have a classified finish. Obviously not quick, but managed to beat the LMP2 winners by several laps.
LMP2 - From the lowest of lows to the highest of highs Nolan Siegel in the last month. Incredible performance from a Le Mans rookie. Olly Jarvis was also a great veteran to pair with and drove a great race himself. Always good to see that dude win.
LMGT3 - Ford Mustang gets its first podium in global competition at the biggest test yet with the #88 coming home 3rd. One of the sister cars also managed to finish right behind in 4th.
Sadly, it’s hard to remember much else at all about LMP2 and LMGT3 given how little broadcast time they got. Sure, there’s better competition than ever in the top class but those guys spend millions of euros/dollars/whatever to race all season for a chance to compete at Le Mans as well, and they deserve some coverage too. I have no idea how anyone in those classes got to where they finished really. There were entire hours where it seemed neither was shown at all unless a Hypercar was lapping them. Needs to change next year for sure.
2 Sweet
HMS 4-life
Why is Ganassi leaving Cadillac? Sorry, I haven't been paying attention
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
I don't think many of us wanted to see Toyota win again, but in a way, I am sorry they did not. Toyota has supported WEC (or whatever it's been called) as far back as 1979 or so, and they have come so close so many times and gotten robbed by blown tires or other problems late in the game. Toyota still has yet to win a lemans against the best competition, and frankly, they deserve to.
I don't think anyone wanted to see another Toyota rout, but they deserve to win a lemans with the best competition, and I am sure they want it that way too. Part of me wated to see them get it, and we know they are going to throw everything at it next year.
I was especailly pleased to see the #83 privateer Ferrari run at the front.
I don't think anyone wanted to see another Toyota rout, but they deserve to win a lemans with the best competition, and I am sure they want it that way too. Part of me wated to see them get it, and we know they are going to throw everything at it next year.
The way they ran at Spa, and as good as they were all week, I was not surprised they were so strong here, but yeah, it was pretty disappointing for American fans not to get a win. Cadillac still gave us a lot to be proud of.
They were quick all week but it didn't take long to fall apart. That car is a Dallara, so there can't be much wrong with it. Sad to say BMW probably needs to get some new people. They are not getting it done on either side of the pond.
It make you wonder why they just didn't rebadge a Gibson. The car is good and it's really pretty. The motor just needs some help, if not even replaced.
Again, a good car. They finished on the lead lap at Sebring, so I figured they would have had a good race here too. That car was fast right out of the box and they just need to put everything together. The big surprise is Grosjean didn't wad his up and take half the field with him.
I don't believe I even saw a Peugeot even once. They were so dominant with their Group V cars their lack of competitiveness is a bit surprising.
Nice looking car. Glad to see reliability is decent. Hope they can find some speed. I love an underdog, but they won't have a chance unloess they can pick it up a lot.
The Hypercar battle was so good it overshadowed everything else that went on. I mean, when was the last time the P2 cars didn't steal the show?
Doc Austin
Back From The Dead
Doesn't make sense to me either except it looks like Caddy wants to put all their eggs in the Andretti basket.
It would be a shame if Chip can't get a good car.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Some combination of performance and commercial reasons. The full-time IMSA car was fast but struggled a lot with execution and costly mistakes last year. The full-time WEC entry hadn’t finished better than 10th since Le Mans last year before the 7th in this past weekend’s running. They’ve run the IMSA car in three WEC events by now and well and failed to finish in two of them. They’re actually in good title contention on the IMSA side this season but it’s too little too late with the contract expiring.
Chip doesn’t usually run a sports car program without full factory backing. He’s never been one to spend his own money, and doesn’t usually pursue the sponsorship to make it happen. The teams that are likely to take over the programs - Wayne Taylor/Andretti with Konica Minolta and DEX, and JOTA with Hertz - have enough commercial backing to where they can reportedly help Cadillac add an additional car to each championship as well, so that makes it a much easier decision to change things up.
