B52STRATO 215 Posted June 17, 2012 So, Audi looks set for a twelfth victory on the circuit. If you want to follow the race, this link gives you access to the onboard camera the R18 n°1: Le Mans 2012 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Viggen 644 Posted June 17, 2012 I don't think Toyota stood a chance to begin with, being completely untested. Had they made it to Spa, the problems they encountered during the night may have been avoidable. At this point I just want to see the 50 Larbre Corvette win first in GTE AM. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B52STRATO 215 Posted June 17, 2012 Yes, and then that's how many years that Toyota sent prototypes whose endurance is not acceptable. Anyway, Audi was on a close call just now with two R18 out of the race on the same lap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Juhis 3 Posted June 17, 2012 But Toyotas were quite close to the leading Audi in one point and even took the lead for a time, that is quite big achievement with "untested" car. Sadly one car crashed and other had engine problems. Personally i think it is ridicilous that there is amateur drivers in Le Mans! It should be The Big race with only professional drivers. It would be much better, if there would be one big GT category, or then GT1 and GT2 like in the old good times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B52STRATO 215 Posted June 17, 2012 And Audi takes the three podium places with: LOTTERER 1st, KRISTENSEN 2nd, ROCKENFELLER 3rd CANAL wins the GTE Am' aboard the LARBRE COMPETITION's Corvette C6R. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Viggen 644 Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) Personally i think it is ridicilous that there is amateur drivers in Le Mans! It should be The Big race with only professional drivers. It would be much better, if there would be one big GT category, or then GT1 and GT2 like in the old good times. While I do agree that inviting amateur drivers solely for the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a downright dangerous idea, I completely disagree that GT should be changed. The problem is that the race is part of the WEC season, so the GTE-AM cars are a necessary evil. Were it not on the schedule, how many teams would actually compete there? Technically GT is one big category: GTE. It's simply broken down into Pro and Amateur, where Amateur must use last year's cars (Larbre's 50 Corvette that won this year was last year's winner driven by the factory Corvette Racing team) and can only have one professional driver: that is, driving is their career. ALMS was asked if they would drive their cars under GT3 rules recently, and they said they would, only if the teams were in favor of it. Well, all the teams have flat out refused. I also don't see the point in restarting GT1 when even the Viper can now be raced under GT2 rules (SRT will be racing a 2013 Viper in ALMS for the rest of this season). Edit: Also, the 2011 Petit Le Mans had a combined WEC and ALMS grid, and Road Atlanta is a small track. The P1s from both series had little issue with the GTE-AM and GTC cars there. Edited June 17, 2012 by Viggen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave63 13 Posted June 18, 2012 Personally i think it is ridicilous that there is amateur drivers in Le Mans! It should be The Big race with only professional drivers. It would be much better, if there would be one big GT category, or then GT1 and GT2 like in the old good times. That's what killed it in the first place. You only had a handful of GT1s. More at Le Mans, usually, but the rest of the time just a handful or less. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites