F1technical.net

That pitstop release with the #51 Ferrari

Blanchimont wrote:Safety car #10!

Am i the only one thinking the safety car rules (three safety cars, cars not allowed to leave pit until the next safety car group has passed pit exit) and the need to repair the barriers after every impact is killing the racing this year and highly influencing car position on track?
It seems as if the barriers used are different to what has been in use before. Total safety car time is now 4,5 hours, which was mainly caused by the need to repair the barriers.

I too don't remember this much barrier repairs. However the weather conditions are tricky, so maybe there's more crashes as well.

Toyota have given up the idea to win on their own strength. Unless the Audi breaks or has a mishap the performance battle is decided. In the night Toyota had some advantages under mixed conditions. Sarrazin blew everybody away and unlapped himself. But on average Audi is too fast. The #1 is blindingly fast after the alternator repair.

Toyota nr 7 is out due to heavy rain
Looks like we can get a interesting finish phase

#7 Toyota just crashed out

matt21 wrote:Toyota nr 7 is out
Technical issues?

Nope, just rain starting to get heavier.

Another safety car

Nr 7 still lives

#7 repaired and back on track

Now they have to keep it on the track through the rain shower.

Good result after a race that was a lot closer than we thought after qualifying. Audi very professional and cool. Toyota deserve a well done for runner up. They gave Audi and the fans a good race. So sad about the death of Allan Simonsen.

RicME85 wrote:That pitstop release with the #51 Ferrari

Was that mechanic blind that first said go then stop and then go and then they hit the LMP2 car, wtf ?

Huntresa wrote:

RicME85 wrote:That pitstop release with the #51 Ferrari

Was that mechanic blind that first said go then stop and then go and then they hit the LMP2 car, wtf ?

Had you tried to perform some critical judgment after 24 hours without much sleep, in the crowded pitlane, with roaring engines left right and center in a Nomex suit and helmet?
Yeah, the guy screwed up big time, but cut him some slack, for God's sake

The race itself was as thrilling as it gets in Le Mans - if you could forget the sad news. Toyota did a solid job - helped by performance levelling from the ACO - considering that they spend €30m and Audi spend more than three times that money. TMG in Cologne is run as a profit centre and was very limited with their budget. I'd say they did a similar job to Peugeot with a lot less money. Audi can expect a much harder job next year when they are up against Porsche. If the #1 car had not had the alternator failure it would have put five laps on the Toyota. So the Audi development effort can easily be under estimated from this year's close result.

Apart from the crash, it was a race that I enjoyed watching 20 of the 24 hours it lasted. It was so nice to see Henri Pescarolo driving before the start and Jacky Ickx on the podium. True legends of motorsport.