American LeMans
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
LE MANS: LMP Preview
John Dagys takes a team-by-team look at this year’s LMP1 and LMP2 class contenders in the 80th Le Mans 24 Hours...
John Dagys  |  Posted June 10, 2012   Le Mans, (FRA)
Thirty-four prototypes, including the revolutionary Nissan DeltaWing, will take part in this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. (Photo: John Dagys)


With the return of the world’s largest automaker, the debut of new hybrid systems for both factory juggernauts and an ultra-competitive LMP2 field, there’s plenty of storylines in the prototype categories heading into this weekend’s 80th Le Mans 24 Hours.

READ: Le Mans GT Preview
READ: Le Mans Resource Guide

Following yesterday’s team-by-team look at the GTE-Pro and GTE-Am contenders, SPEED.com explores the LMP1 and LMP2 classes in detail ahead of the twice-around-the-clock French endurance classic (Sat. 8:30 a.m. ET, Live! SPEED).

LMP1 (13 Entries)

While the absence of Peugeot has undoubtedly changed the landscape of the class, the battle for overall race honors could still be an intriguing one, largely dependent on the ultimate pace, and reliability, from newcomers Toyota.
Audi and Toyota will go head-to-head for top honors in LMP1. (Photo: John Dagys)

As one of the slimmest fields in recent years, nearly half of the 13 entries come from Audi or Toyota, leaving the gasoline-powered contingent of Lolas, HPDs and other privateers fighting for top honors in a de-facto sub-category, commonly called “LMP1-Bis” that has emerged over the years of diesel domination. Judging by the early season FIA WEC races, this year shouldn’t be any different.

THE CONTENDERS:

Audi Sport Team Joest (Audi R18 e-tron quattro/ultra): Heading in as defending race winners and boasting two new versions of its diesel-powered prototype, Audi is likely to be the dominant force yet gain, especially considering Toyota’s accelerated factory LMP1 program that’s still in its infancy.

Equipped with four of its latest-generation R18s, the German manufacturer has its bases covered with fielding two hybrid version e-tron quattro models as well as a pair of “conventional” cars, badged as R18 ultras. The two-pronged approach has already paid off, with the non-hybrid of Romain Dumas, Loic Duval and super sub Marc Gene taking victory in last month’s Six Hours of Spa, showing the ultra’s strength over the e-tron quattro in dry conditions.

While Audi has continued development of both models since the second round of the FIA WEC, it appears the e-tron quattro, which effectively turns the car into four-wheel drive at speeds over 120 kph, could have a distinct advantage over the ultra as well as Toyota’s rear-wheel driven hybrid in the wet.

With Timo Bernhard still not fully recovered from his testing accident at Sebring, Gene remains in the No. 3 ultra with Dumas and Audi newcomer Duval. Mike Rockenfeller, Oliver Jarvis and Marco Bonanomi make up the driving force in the No. 4 car, considered one of the dark horse entries that could surprise.

Audi’s two hybrids feature the more seasoned lineups of Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen in the No. 2 e-tron quattro, with Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler seeking to defend their 2011 crown, and bring home Audi’s 11th overall win at Le Mans, in the No. 1 entry.

Toyota Racing (Toyota TS030 Hybrid): Returning to Le Mans for the first time since 1999, the Japanese manufacturer faces the monumental task of debuting its new TS030 Hybrid in the biggest race of them all. A testing accident, which damaged the tub of its one-and-only LMP1 car at the time, forced Toyota to withdraw from its scheduled first outing in Spa, subsequently putting a major dent in the gasoline-powered prototype’s development program.
Toyota returns to Le Mans with a factory effort for the first time since 1999. (Photo: Toyota Racing)

Toyota’s uphill battle actually began in January, when the entire effort was accelerated, at the request of the ACO, to help fill the void by Peugeot’s shock withdrawal. What originally was planned to be a single-car entry at Le Mans and a handful of races in the FIA WEC turned into a full-season (six out of eight-race) commitment, including two TS030 Hybrids at Le Mans.

The public debut of the Toyotas at the Le Mans Test Day showed promise, with the No. 7 car of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kaz Nakajima setting the fourth quickest time, and more importantly less than 1.3 seconds behind the leading Audi. Toyota’s sister car of Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and late call-up Stephane Sarrazin, however, is likely to be the faster car and will undoubtedly be fighting for the overall pole with the rapid Frenchman at the wheel.

Reliability is the big concern in the TMG camp, with the TS030 Hybrid having been unable to complete 24 hours of consecutive running without a problem in its three endurance tests at Paul Ricard and MotorLand Aragon thus far. While the outright speed appears to be there, the real victory could be just getting both of its cars to the finish line.

Page 1 of 5
Prev
12345
Next
john_dagys's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Dagys

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.