Monday, June 13, 2016

Is Le Mans better than Formula 1?



Turn those DAMN FREAKIN' BLINDING High Beams on Thy Mulsanne "Straight" Down! As I cannot S-E-E Thy Keyboard; CRIKEYS!

Read an interesting article in F1 Fanatic last year, or is I-T two years now? Which was pondering why the World Endurance Championship (WEC) for Sports Cars appears to be more compelling for Auto  Manufacturers vs. thee Pinnacle 'O Motorsports, nee Formula 1 at the moment.

More Car Manufacturers choosing WEC and Le Mans over Formula 1

Yeah, Y'all know the drill, how time flies by as fast as a Porsche 919 Hybrid hustlin' down that chicane infested Mulsanne Straight! Yet the story still seems fairly current now some two years later, or does I-T?

Hard to believe that 24 months has slipped away since F1 Fanatic's Keith Collantine planted Thy seed's kernel in thou cranium for this long stewin' story with his post about F1 v Le Mans; Hmm? 24-months, 24 Heurs du Mans, tomato, toe-motto; Oh Never Mind!


Which was piggybacked with then current la Scuderia Supremo's bluster. Y'all know 'Wayback when 'lil Enzo, nee Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was Huffing 'N Puffing 'bout Ferrari leaving the Grand Madam 'O Motorsports, Yeah right Luca!


Sound Familiar? Like can Y'all say Deeter Majestik? Yuhs know how Dietrich Mateschitz spent A-L-L last year wingeing' on 'bout Red Bull leaving F1; Boo Hoo-Hoo, now SHUT UP Dietrich!

Yet the top tier of World Endurance Championship's Flagship Hybrid LMP1 class was looking so bright, Y'all know that song 'bout having to wear shades, right? As Audi's compatriots Porsche had joined the party in 2014 and Nissan had announced their intentions to arrive on the scene in 2015 with grandiose ambitions.

Which for Mwah, the Nissan was the most inspiring newcomer and coolest LMP1 Hybrid due to its unique design and radical approaches by that most controversial stillborn Delta Wing IndyCar designer Ben Bolby.


Even more intriguing was the most unusual career path one of its selected nine drivers had taken to claim his place upon the Nissan Le Mans LMP1 squad.


Since although the current Power Unit era in Formula 1 is most technologically advanced, nonetheless the cars look fairly similar and all utilize extremely similar chassis layouts for their PU's - with the racing being dominated by Mercedes since their introduction in 2014 due to its superior design.

Naturally it would appear that the largest incentive for Auto Manufacturers to show their wares at Circuit de la Sarthe, with thee 24 Heurs du Mans being the FIA's Showcase Sports Car race is the apparent flexibility towards design solutions within the certain Sports Car categories parameters.

since last year's race's LMP1 Flagship category featured six rival designs, albeit two were in the Privateer category, i.e.; Kolles and Rebellion who both utilized the same AER engine for their bespoke chassis.

The four manufacturer "Works" teams saw perennial Le Mans winner Audi sporting a V-6 Diesel in their R18 E-tron Quattro. Seester' company Porsche ran a 4-banger', nee V-4 cylinder engine in its 919 racer and Toyota opted for a V-8 aboard it's TS040 - the latter two being petrol based with all three running Midship engine layouts. Whilst as mentioned, Nissan opted for the unique adaptation of a front engine V-6 turbo front wheel drive Hybrid powertrain for its radical NISMO GTR LM!

Yet sadly, Nissan which was hampered mightily with teething issues from Day-1 of the extremely tight design cycle Devilishly decided to Pull Thy Pin upon its struggling LMP1 project at the worst time ever - by simply notifying employees of their decision via email just three days before Christmas last year; BASTARDOS!


Meanwhile the FIA seemingly jumped on the Nissan Bandwagon after current Force India F1 Pilote Nico Hulkenberg was victorious with Porsche last year, with more of its Formula 1 Stars wishing to emulate Thy Incredible Hulkster's success by competing at Le Mans... When scheduling this year's debutant Azerbaijan Grand Prix to clash with the classic 24hrs event.


For which I think I'll Boycott the Baku Blastfamy and hopefully be able to catch perhaps a 'Wee Bit 'O Le Mans on Thy Telie here Stateside? Although as I've mentioned before, my DASTARDLY Cable TV Provider comca$t doesn't wish to provide us access to Fox Sports-2, which I fear the majority of Terrestrial TV coverage will be aired upon; SIGH!

Whilst presumably much Attenzione will be placed upon the Ford GT's and their return to Circuit de la Sarthe on the Golden Anniversary of FoMoCo's maiden 24 Heurs du Mans overall victory. Which unlike F1 will see current and former IndyCar drivers behind the wheel of its four entries...