ACO Reigns In The LeMans Diesel Domination With Even More Restrictions

As announced by Jean-Claude Plassart , the President of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest during last June's press conference before the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours, the ACO has taken advantage of the intervening months to refine its study of the equivalence between petrol and diesel-engined cars in motor racing.

It should be pointed out that the 2007 24-Hours race highlighted the overall balance of the regulations currently in force with breath-taking suspense right the finish, and the presence of 3 different manufacturers on the rostrum (Audi, Peugeot and Pescarolo). This has only happened once in the last 30 years (1999, with BMW, Toyota and Audi).

What's more the same regulations have led to an amazing final in the Le Mans Series, as the outcome of the last round of the season on 10th November in Brazil will decide the manufacturers' title.

However, the ACO as the guarantor of this climate of trust and spirit of openness that is crucial for endurance racing has taken the time to consult all the entrants. It appears that now is the right moment to close the gap between the performances of the LM P1 petrol-engines prototypes and those of the diesel-powered cars over a lap, so as to maintain a constant and visible level of suspense throughout the race.

As a result, two technical adjustments will be made for the 2008 season:

- The minimum weight of the LM P1 cars is fixed at 900 kgs,
- The surface of the air restrictors fitted to petrol-engined cars will benefit from a 3% increase.
These adjustments intervene before the announcement in November of the modifications to the regulations affecting the prototype categories (LM P1 and LM P2), which will remain valid for several years.

Credit: aco


Read Article

MeanVulcan - 10/3/2007 12:12:51 PM

+4 Boost

This decision is only indicative of the ruling bodies interest in increased revenues due to the added excitement. While this is not criminal behavior it is certainly diminishing one of the basic reasons for motorsports, that is to advance technology.

The message being sent here is that they don't care about the superior diesel technology. So much so that they are decreasing the restrictions on 'old technology' petrol engines while reducing those of diesel engines. What clearly SHOULD happen is that diesel engine technology should be let free and force petrol manufacturers to improve and catch up.

Why was Wayne Gretzky not forced to play with heavier skates or a shorter stick even though he was waaaaay better than most players in the NHL? He's freedom to play under the same rules was one of the main reasons why Hockey is a much more popular sports today.

ALMS and SCCA TC/GT are an embarrassment for this reason. Trying to control the outcome of races by regulating the players individually. Might as well call it NASCAR.

Agent009 - 10/3/2007 2:29:22 PM

+4 Boost

Not to mention the team that won LeMans in 2003 was none other than Bentley using basically the exact same platform as Audi.

Audi was forced to sit out for a year due to a string of too many successive wins

richardp996 - 10/4/2007 9:47:00 AM

+1 Boost

This is a poor attempt to equalize the petrol and diesel cars. I am going to disagree with MeanVulcan, the Peugeot and Audi cars have ranked very well in the LMP1 classes in their respective series. Forget the RS Spyder achieving overall victories (this is for a different discussion altogether). When you go to the Circuit de la Sarthe, getting to top speed is paramount, which the diesels can do well. 3% increase in restrictor plates for petrol cars LMP1s probably equates to 19 or so horsepower, depending on the engine constructor's design, which will better lap times by a small margin; a second or two while last year the Pescarolo was five to six secnods behind per lap. Not much for decreasing the advantage and levelling the playing field.

MeanVulcan - 10/7/2007 4:23:30 PM

+1 Boost

THe fact that Audi still wins only proves the level of preparation and skill theyh ave to overcome these 'penalties'. It does not prove that the 'penalties' are wrong or have no effect. The fact is that Audi's technology is so much more efficient than Petrol technology that without any 'penalties' Audi would EMBARRASS everyone on the field (excluding the Peugeots -which btw are also affected by the rule changes.. except they are not the topic of conversation here and now).

In last night's Petit Le Mans wins, if Audi had enjoyed the same size fuel tank, same fueling speeds, unrestricted engines and weights then the Audi's would have DEMOLISHED the Porsche Spyders. Despite all these disadvantages, they managed to take advantage of their only remaining advantage -high speed- to beat everyone.

Finally, I'm not referring to the LMP1 series in and of itself, clearly Audi reigns supreme in their category. The controversy here is that the LMP2 cars have been made to compete with the LMP1s, which is ridiculous, and can only be justified by increased profits at the expense of a manufacturer that has single handedly lifted the ALMS to what it is today. IMO, they (ALMS organizers) are a bunch of ungrateful SOBs. Audi has made its long lasting mark in the sport and I really hope they exit this dumb series and focus on bigger things.