nudge

The FIA and ACO have announced finalised technical regulations for the top class of the World Endurance Championship, which has been dubbed 'Le Mans Endurance Hypercars'. On Friday, ahead of the 87th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, the governing bodies held a joint press conference to confirm the new technical rules which will allow manufacturers or privateers to develop a 'clean-sheet prototype design of their own choosing' or develop an existing road-going hypercar. If using an existing road car, a minimum of 20 units must be produced over a two-year period. There will be a minimum weight of 1,100 kg, with a powertrain average of 750 horsepower and a sole tyre supplier, with the ACO estimating a Le Mans laptime of 3m30s. Hybrid systems will be optional and managed by "deployment thresholds" and can only be activated at speeds over 120km/h in dry conditions. They will be limited to 200 kW (270 HP). Balance of Performance (BoP) will be utilised and can be adjusted throughout the season to ensure a level-playing field. It's hoped the introduction of hypercar regulations will attract a number of new manufacturers, with the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin having already shown an interest. https://www.motorsportweek.com/news/id/23209 Toyota and Aston Martin have already officially announced their participation! Toyota is building a new hybrid-powered prototype based on the GR Super Sport road car that they are currently developing and testing (first released renders): Aston Martin announced that it will run a minimum of two factory Valkyries in the WEC in the inaugural season of the new category (most likely a joint programme with Red Bull); always wanted to see that car on the race track! V12 Glickenhaus is joining too: Porsche, Ferrari, Ford, McLaren are all said to be interested in joining as well from 2021/22. Hopefully more manufacturers will join too. @Cannabis @Tommy @BartraPique1932 @RandoEFC @Eco @MUFC

Q3 has just ended. LMP1: Toyota 1-2 as expected. The #7 will start on pole ahead of the #8; P3 goes to #17 SMP car. SMP and Rebellion should be an interesting fight. ByKolles almost 8 seconds slower than the car on pole Toyota #7 3:15.497 Toyota #8 3:15.908 (+0.411) SMP Racing #17 3:16.159 (+0.662) LMP2: GRAFF Racing #39 3:25.073 TDS Racing #28 3:25.345 (+0.272) DragonSpeed #31 3:25.667 (+0.594) GTE Pro: Aston Martin takes the pole in class! A lot of traffic at the end of the quali prevented most teams from improving their times. Best Porsche only in P4. Aston Martin #95 3:48.000 Ford #67 3:48.112 (+0.112) Corvette #63 3:48.830 (+0.830) GTE Am: A Porsche 1-2-3 for the customer teams! Dempsey Proton Racing #88 3:51.439 Dempsey Proton Racing #77 3:51.645 (+0.206) Gulf Racing #86 3:51.944 (+0.505)

In the modern era? Audi used to dominate for more than a decade in the early 2000s, then Porsche returned and won three years in a row, both withdrew shortly after the Dieselgate though and Toyota is now the only manufacturer running in the LMP1 class...the rest is privateer teams and non-hybrids so Toyota doesn't have any real competition. Overall, Porsche is the most successful manufacturer in the history of Le Mans. Production-based hypercars are expected to replace LMP1 as the top-class starting with 2020/21 season!

I'm not a big fan of current Le Mans prototype cars overall but I loved the Porsche 919 Hybrid... The best part was the Evo version that Porsche created when they were leaving WEC and showed what the car is capable of when it's not restricted by the regulations. I posted it last year in the Motorsports thread but it's just amazing... Just listen to the way it sounds and see how glued it is on the track with all that downforce! Amazing; what a monster... Could watch it taking on Eau Rouge again and again and again. Spa record lap: And here's the Nordschleife record lap: Pure sex.

Have you listened to it already? I saw it published earlier today but haven't had time to listen to it yet...

Free Practice red flagged due to extreme rain. Proton Racing #99 had a huge accident just before that. I'm probably talking to myself here again but will anyone be watching the race?...

Yes; most likely... I'm looking into getting a new computer/laptop before that though...

Just pronounce it like "Andrews"; it's pretty close.

The gameplay actually looks good!

It's Le Mans week!!! So excited.

So gemein...

Yeah - I follow this little dude on Twitter since I heard about his passion when he presented his Lego stadium in Mainz. Gotta love his dedication! The kid loves German football... Weserstadion is coming along nicely!

Looks amazing... Been looking forward to it for quite a while now; the whole Ford vs Ferrari rivalry in the 60s is a great story and the trailer comes just right in time before this year's Le Mans race About time for a proper racing movie as well... Steve McQueen's Le Mans is still my favourite, and it's almost 50 years old... Hope this one is good!

Episode 9 isn't it? Haven't watched it yet; maybe tonight...

It's not funny, Thomas

Reportedly we've sold naming rights of the stadium and it will be called Wohninvest Weserstadion from July 1st.

I read a while ago that season 2 will be the last but I had no idea it was originally renewed for season 3 and got cancelled! I thought this season started pretty poorly but I am enjoying it now 5 episodes in... Nowhere near as good as season 1 mind, but still enjoyable. If we get a satisfying ending, it's probably for the best to keep it at two seasons, to be honest. I'm currently really hooked on Warrior.

Welcome back! Maybe you should just move away from Düsseldorf...

Official - we made Friedl's deal permanent!

Credit goes to @Bluewolf for showing me this...

Indy 500 starting in a short while! Anyone watching?

Just finished watching it! (at last). A good one... Episode 8 is out now as well

I honestly don't know how China would react. I think it highly depends on the extent of this hypothetical (hopefully it stays that way) war in the Middle East. I mean, is it a few bombings here and there? Then surely nothing much will happen; the Chinese definitely won't get into an actual open war with the US just for Teheran. If it escalates into something much bigger with numerous countries involved in actual warfare though, I don't think China will be just watching and doing nothing other than asking everyone to stop fighting; at some point they'd have to think about protecting both their current investments and their geopolitical and economical interests in the region. Hope it doesn't come to that, but I do think that a huge conflict is unavoidable in the near future, one way or the other.