2016 LeMans

[jayb]

Not sure how the Ford GTs are doing yet, but just watched about 4 minutes of in-car camera from the #69 GT.  Unbelievably cool!  That V-6 sounds awesome.  The announcers said the Ford GTs are doing 57 gear changes per lap on the 7 mile course, and hitting 184 MPH on the straights.

The GTs qualified #1, #2, #4, and #5 in their class, and just before the race were hit with a new boost limitation and additional weight.  I didn't realize that they did this same "bracket race" BS at LeMans until I started reading about it this week.  Apparently the Corvette teams whined long and hard to the race administration after the Fords dominated in qualifying, leading to the new limits 

Update:  With 21:21 left in the race, Richard Westbrook's #69 GT is running first, followed by a Ferrari.

[cammerfe]

This is just the beginning of the 24 Hours. The politics of international road racing makes NASCAR look like a trip to the swings in the playground. Some years ago Ferrari had a race at the end of the season (at the Nurburgring?---or perhaps Spa?) cancelled so as to be able to claim a winning season when they were about to be overtaken and placed in second.

The Fords are required to run with less power than will be standard on the road cars. And their standard carbon-ceramic brakes are outlawed also. And they aren't allowed to carry as much fuel either---requiring more pit stops during the 24 hours.

Foyt, driving in one of the original GT40s, powered by a 427, claimed 240 at the end of the Mulsanne Straight---considerably more than any of the GT cars are doing now.

1-2-4 at the moment. (1:02 EDT) shivverlays nowhere!

Still 1-2-4 in class at 2:51.  chibrolets still nowhere

2-3-5-10 at 11:45 PM EDT

KS

[jayb]

Now switched to FS2 (if you get that channel).  Ford GTs #68 and #69 are 1 and 2 in class, a Ferrrari is in 3rd, and GT #66 in fourth.  GT #67 apparently has had some problems and is 35 laps down.  Now 6 hours and 42 minutes into the race.

[turbohunter]

I'm addicted

[jayb]

At 12:54 (still almost 13 hours remaining), the Fords have dropped to #2 and #3, the #69 car is about 1 minute behind the lead Ferrari, and the #68 car is about 3 minutes back.  The #68 car has had 11 pit stops, while the #1 and #2 cars have only had 10, so it may make up some time when the other two cars have to pit.  The #66 and #67 cars are well back in the pack.

Update:  It is 5:30AM at LeMans, and the Ferrari still leads the GTs, but the gap has narrowed.  The #68 GT, which had been running third, is now in second and only 30 seconds behind the Ferrari.  The #69 GT is now a couple minutes back.  An Aston Martin is running 4th, and the #66 GT is running fifth.  The two Corvettes are running 7th and 9th.  The #67 GT is 10th, but is about 25 laps down.  The race ends at 3:00 PM local time, still a ways to go...

[jayb]

I got up in time to watch the last hour of the race.  When I flipped it on I was delighted to see that the #68 GT was back in front, with about a minute and a half lead on the second place Ferrari.  The #69 GT was two minutes behind that, and the #66 car had moved all the way up to fourth place.  That's where they finished; Ford takes first place on the return to LeMans!  The two Aston Martin entries finished fifth and sixth, the lone finishing Corvette finished seventh, and the #67 GT finished ninth, over 30 laps down from the lead car. 

The big excitement for the race was in the prototype class, which is the fastest class on the track and gives the overall winner.  Porsche, Audi, and Toyota were battling it out for this class.  Porsche had some problems early in the race and Audi was definitely slower than the other two cars, so for the vast majority of the race, Toyota led.  With 23 hours and 57 minutes of the race gone, only three minutes left, the lead Toyota car led the second place Porsche by a minute and a half.  Then, inexplicably, the lead Toyota slowed and then stopped on the race track!  I was watching the live streaming video and the announcers were going nuts, the Porsche pits turned from despair to jubilation, and vice versa in the Toyota pits, where nobody could seem to believe what was happening.  The Toyota managed to get restarted and got a couple hundred yards down the track, then stopped again.  The Porsche passed and took the lead, and a few moments later, took the checkered flag, followed by the #68 Ford GT (which was laps down from the prototype car, but crossed the line after the 24 hours expired at about the same time).  The Toyota eventually got restarted and limped around the track, finishing the circuit, but this year apparently a cool down lap was also required, and the car could not complete that, so it wasn't even listed as finishing.  The fortunes of racing!

The live stream had several cameras in the cars, and one of them was in the winning #68 Ford GT.  I was screwing around with a video capture program so I could capture one lap of LeMans, but without success.  However, in the end I just decided to take the video of my computer screen.  Here's one lap of LeMans, very near the end of the race, in the winning Ford GT:

https://youtu.be/tRDCabG4CII

They cut to the driver for a little while in the middle of the track, but you will get the idea.  Listen to that motor and the gear changes!  Pretty cool...

[turbohunter]

What I can't find yet is if they relegated the Ferrari in GT Pro.
If they did that makes it a Ford 1, 2, 3.

[jayb]

Nope, the Ferrari was in the same class.  I just watched the trophy presentation on the live feed; Ford first and third.  Bill Ford was up on the podium with the winners.  Lots of American flags waving when they played the national anthem; it was pretty cool.

[Qikbbstang]

The "bracket race"BS is alive and well BS at LeMans.
  The fact there's not been a FORD GT even delivered to a FORD Dealer is strange.  They race a version of a "street-legal" car casts doubt for me. The Carbon brakes I can handle "because" they truly are kind of "exotic" and I believe they're not legit on all other cars in class as well.  The shenanigans on the power output of the motor's and the claimed "sandbagging is a mess.   
   I noticed a very substantial roll cage on the in-car videos and that got me wondering how-stock the Ford GTs are... Do they resemble a NASCAR Stocker vs a Stock car?    ............Do they run tubing all through a carbon fiber monocoque chassis -- that borders on doing so on a F1 or Indy car.

 I could question things for hours regarding Turbo sizes, blocks, transaxles?       I noted that by the rules when they add fuel the motor's turned off -- the heat soak on those hot turbo's must be insane?..

          I was confused big time on the #82  Ferrari being ordered to do a "stop and go penalty" for faulty leader lights with minutes to go........... The announcer's cried it was selective enforcement and were advising not to heed the race official's order to penalty pit. Looks like they DID-NOT pit... ENTER French Kangaroo Court for sure..

           You know Enzo was watching this one big-time...
 

[Frank Bowers]

Thanks Jay. History repeats itself 50 years later. Hooray for Ford.

[turbohunter]

the Ferrari was in the same class.

Yup, knew that.
The Ferrari was given a stop and go penalty on one of the last laps for a non working leader light.
They did not do the drive thru in protest of the stupid penalty.
At the finish it was not decided yet if they would be slapped with a penalty, which would have taken them off the platform.
Evidently the organizers gave in because it was stupid.
Unbelievable about Toyota.

[BruceS]

Congrats to Joey Hand, Dirk Muller and Sebastien Bourdais, the winning drivers in the no. 68 FORD GT!  Unofficial results show Ford, Ferrari, Ford, Ford in the GTE-Pro class.  The no. 68 was 18th overall.

http://www.racer.com/wec-le-mans/item/131003-lm24-heartbreak-for-toyota-joy-for-porsche-ford

[ScotiaFE]

           You know Enzo was watching this one big-time...
 

So was the Deuce. 

[blykins]

How often do they do a driver swap?

[Qikbbstang]

Brent:

Max individual time in seat for Driver 4 hours, Minimum hours out of 24 to be a part of the team 6hours , Max total seat time per any driver 13.
   What is amazing back in 1973 when just Peter Greg and Hurley Haywood Won the Daytona 24 -- just two drivers sharing all the chores.   Imagine getting out of the car and getting some shut eye?..............
   I saw a discussion on "vintage racing" that when cars started using ground effects and mortals got behind the wheels it was crash city. Cars like the new Ford GT are ground effects cars that stick themselves to the track which permits crazy grip, in effect almost like a video game so fast. Throw in no heel & toe, nor even moving a shifter