'Hypercar' Regulations Confirmed to Replace LMP1 in 2020/21

[larre90]

If you think of these Hypercarschassis currently build, but in real racingtrim...

I don't know, what you think, but HELL, YES! We finally got beautiful cars at the hardest toplevel of motorsport again!

 

[Ryno917]

It's funny... As much as I loved the GT1 era of the mid-late 90s, at the time I wanted a return to proper closed cockpit prototypes.

Now we have them, and I want a return to pseudo manufacturer-road-based homologation special GT1 cars.

I guess I'm as finicky as the ACO itself...

I'm excited to see what the new rules will actually be in the end. I doubt we'll see the late 90s return, but I also wouldn't be sad to be wrong.

 

[Neils on Wheels]

They are doing this because LMP have become so ugly. Also they are so easy to drive fast my mum could win lemans in one.

 

[larre90]

But, beside of the realworld, who do you guys think, will be the first studio, to get the licenses for their sims?

 

[Alexandre]

Very better than current style.

 

[Constantin Grimminger]

Oh no, we just got rid of Volkswagen to have some good and proper racing in LMP1, so why the heck not bring the manufacturers back in. What could go wrong?

Thank you very much, FIA.

 

[Ryno917]

Also they are so easy to drive fast my mum could win lemans in one.

I know you're speaking in hyperbole to make a point, but there are people who genuinely believe this kind of thing.

It doesn't make any sense. The difficulty in winning a title, or even a single race, is not in how hard it is to drive a car. It's in being better than everyone else. The other people you are competing against.

Almost everybody can play hockey. It's a relatively easy sport to play. Almost no one can play, competitively, in the NHL. The thing that makes professional endeavors hard is that other people have the exact same task as you do, and you have to do that task better than someone else.

That's kind of the point. The amount of people who don't understand that honestly confuses me.

 

[ltcars]

I know you're speaking in hyperbole to make a point, but there are people who genuinely believe this kind of thing.

It doesn't make any sense. The difficulty in winning a title, or even a single race, is not in how hard it is to drive a car. It's in being better than everyone else. The other people you are competing against.

Almost everybody can play hockey. It's a relatively easy sport to play. Almost no one can play, competitively, in the NHL. The thing that makes professional endeavors hard is that other people have the exact same task as you do, and you have to do that task better than someone else.

That's kind of the point. The amount of people who don't understand that honestly confuses me.

90% accomplishment is easy, 99% hard but the last percent is the hardest to earn, that goes for everything in life

 

[motoci]

what about the hybrid system?
to me it looks very unreliable and it seems like it kills the sport when i see onboards with drivers lifting before breaking just to charge batteries

 

[wombat999]

Should be workable with a couple of caveats.
1) Must have built and sold a minimum of 25 cars (50 would be better)
2) Any aerodynamic appendages must be homologated as per the production run.
3) Fuel must be set at a limited quantity (just like Gr.C)
That might do it.

 

[Richard Dastardly]

Hybrid will still be there. If you read closer they're trying to cost cap it, but I suspect it'll be in all cars. They're also trying to bring in more alternative fuels.

I wish the press would stop using this hypercar tag with this, it's going to disappoint so many people when the cars roll out. This isn't going to be a liberal formula like GT1 ended up. And LMP1 hasn't been this populated in years.

If you took a tight view on homologating track hypercars then you'd end up with the P1 GTR, which isn't really all that much faster than GTE ( assuming you stuck it on slicks ), so there's not really that much point having the class; you'd have to allow some more liberal mods.

what about the hybrid system?
to me it looks very unreliable and it seems like it kills the sport when i see onboards with drivers lifting before breaking just to charge batteries

That's called lift & coast, it's a fuel saving technique. That it recharges the hybrid too is convenient, but not the main idea ( although the hybrid is also a brake at that point anyway ).

 

[Knoxstar]

I think it's fantastic news if they actually go the hyper car route. Plenty of makes out there that could be attracted to a season ending with Le Mans.

From Paul's article they are looking it seems at manufacturers being allowed to play in the concept world. Above is a Maserati concept car that would look cool.

Or how about this Toyota GR?

 

[wombat999]

I think it's fantastic news if they actually go the hyper car route. Plenty of makes out there that could be attracted to a season ending with Le Mans.

From Paul's article they are looking it seems at manufacturers being allowed to play in the concept world. Above is a Maserati concept car that would look cool.

Or how about this Toyota GR?

They would be 'prototypes' unless the manufacturer put them into a limited production run.

 

[JayOTT]

Anything that ends up boosting overall participation in the top class is a good idea in my book. LMP1's EoT helps the privateers compete on relatively even footing with Toyota for now, but it's merely a crutch for a larger problem.

As for the outgoing LMP1 cars... maybe there's still the possibility of keeping them running as a privateer class running alongside the new 'GT1' cars. Perhaps a merger with LMP2 into one prototype category with new/adjusted engine regulations?

 

[Dirk Steffen]

I love that finally the discussion to abandon the current LMP1 format for something fresh.
I enjoyed seeing the LMP1 H spaceships over the years at Le Mans and Shanghai and really loved what manufacturers achieved with these cars.

On the other hand though I always seem to like race cars that have a connection to road cars so much more.

I would really love to see the ACO adopting a homologation formula where the future top tier class racing at Le Mans would mandatory use certain key components from a production vehicle.

Say the engine block, transmission and certain body components.
I enjoy seeing cars that have a resemblance with their manufacturers road cars.
Maybe a two pronged top tier class is a possibility:

GT1
100% production car based (the likes of La Ferrari, Porsche 919 Spyder, McLaren Senna, …) only with modest modifications allowed and regulated (aero devices, suspension tech, power output, weight, fuel limits, safety devices)

GT? (new top tier prototype class)
production derived key components must be used, otherwise anything goes (a bit like Group 5 turned out to be)

This may actually turn out that in some cases GT1 cars may win overall as their 100% production car heritage and more tame specs may buy them reliability over all out speed in the same way as Lancia was able to win the '80 and '81 manufacturers championships in their Beta Montecarlo Group 5 car despite they drove in the lower tier Division 2 class and beat the faster Division 1 cars as of reliably finishing races.

 

[Richard Dastardly]

Production based cars have won LM outright - a 935 has won it, Mclaren won it. Calling the 911GT1-98 a production car is stretching things beyond the bounds of belief, but it was in the GT1 class. However current hypercars would be the equivalent of the Mclaren F1, not the 911GT1 - ie, not really very fast, they'd get trashed by the LMP2s. The F1 didn't win when it didn't rain all the time...

@Dirk Steffen - you're proposing Group 4 and 5 again. I don't really have a problem with that either I'd still want a group 6 equivalent though. Thing is, the LMP2 area ( including DPi ) is *really* popular and global, you can't slow it down or the GTE cars will start fighting it and I'm not really sure anything which requires significant parts of a production road car ( other than engine ) is going to be sufficiently quicker. I've not seen any mention of ditching LMP2 either.

What's the current nearest thing? GT500, or in this case at least the GT500/DTM platform broadly. I despise those things, they're sortof the ultimate badge engineering, 3d advertising hoardings, hype engineering.

 

[AnklaX]

If this means we can see things like Project One vs Valkyrie vs Senna vs Vulcan vs FXX-K vs THE 919 Evo in the premiere class, I'm all for it.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

And I have been told that electrical engines were the future?

I'll dig anything at Le Mans really. Group C, Hypercars, Prototypes, GT's. It's an awesome race and as long I can hear roaring engines and smell the high octane fuel I am a happy racing fan.

Bring it on!

 

[MSKbeans]

Lmp2 and GT style Hypercars . Could be a match . Getting lapped every 5 laps by LMP1's is boring as you can't race the car in front of you without causing hinderance. Plus hopefully they will use the older FFB style. Shake shake n shake some more, that was just starting the car.

 

[apex11]

And I have been told that electrical engines were the future?

I'll dig anything at Le Mans really. Group C, Hypercars, Prototypes, GT's. It's an awesome race and as long I can hear roaring engines and smell the high octane fuel I am a happy racing fan.

Bring it on!

They will be in racing yes, next 10-20 years. Why would any manufacturer make a petrol racing car when they are selling electric cars...
Not in the next 2 years it won't happen, but its coming.
You will either be dead or disappointed...