Peugeot stops endurance racing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mr. S
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The biggest threat to Audi in LMP1 will come from the HPD ARX cars of Strakka and Muscle Milk. Unless Pescarolo gets given a couple of 908 cars ... anyway, unless McNish has another millisecond brain shutdown and the two other cars get very unlucky ... it will be an Audi walk. To be honest, I'm reconsidering my will to go to Le Mans this year.




PS - Oh and don't forget the american missile ...err ... Highcroft's DeltaWing :D
 
Ah well Hun, I thought so, too. Then again, I'd love to see AUDI own the competition...
 
Mr. S
Ah well Hun, I thought so, too. Then again, I'd love to see AUDI own the competition...
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Not good for the sport though is it? And the more Audi rely on success gleaned from no serious competition the less respect they deserve (especially with their silly '1' headlamps!), not that I give them any anyway after Barcelona '07.
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
Well I have to say, P1 hasn't been full of manufactures to my liking since the mid to late 90s and early 2000s. Everyone else after that seemed to want to shift to F1 and those who did return back to Le Mans are in the lower groups it seems.
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I think manufacturers are seeing F1 more irrelevant now that green technology is all the rage.

As Audi said it themselves, sport car racing has far more relevance to the road car compared to F1.

Then again, it was F1 that introduced KERS.

Me personally, I never liked F1 because it was too driver centric, not team centric.
 
Quite a disappointment, not just because there will be no more great battles with Audi, but also as, IMO, the prototypes they designed (both the 905 and 908) are beautiful cars, not to mention that superb livery as well.
 
Famine
I'm wondering if this puts Jordan Tresson's seat at Signatech Nissan in jeopardy. In 2011, Signatech ran Lucas Ordoñez, Franck Mailleux, Soheil Ayari and Jean-Karl Vernay, but Vernay is under contract to Peugeot and was unavailable for 2012. Now he isn't and his replacement at Signatech was to have been Jordan Tresson...
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Signatech is fielding a second car this year. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think they have announced the driver line-up for the second car yet. I think alot of guys could be put in jeopardy because there are now alot of good drivers available. Anthony Davison has to be the hottest free agent right now, Stefan Sarrizen is out there as well. All those old Peugeot drivers will be job hunting for Le Mans, including the ones that left after last year, which was 5
 
Hun200kmh
The biggest threat to Audi in LMP1 will come from the HPD ARX cars of Strakka and Muscle Milk. Unless Pescarolo gets given a couple of 908 cars ... anyway, unless McNish has another millisecond brain shutdown and the two other cars get very unlucky ... it will be an Audi walk. To be honest, I'm reconsidering my will to go to Le Mans this year.


PS - Oh and don't forget the american missile ...err ... Highcroft's DeltaWing :D
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I don't agree with that. I'm not sure Muscle Milk HPD has announced if they will except their invite yet, I really don't think they will be a threat. I don't even remember if they have been to Le Mans before, and certainly not recently, but again correct me if I'm wrong. Strakka would have the best chance for HPD, they surprised greatly in their brief LMP2 career and I could easily see them suprising in LMP1. And don't forget about JRM who is running an HPD as well, they have a very strong driver line-up. But honestly none of those are factory teams and I think it will take a factory team to contest Audi. I think if anybody can it Toyota, but I still expect Audi to win.
 
sumbrownkid
I think manufacturers are seeing F1 more irrelevant now that green technology is all the rage.

As Audi said it themselves, sport car racing has far more relevance to the road car compared to F1.

Then again, it was F1 that introduced KERS.

Me personally, I never liked F1 because it was too driver centric, not team centric.
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I did too, but that didn't stop many teams from shifting full time to F1, Look at BMW and Toyota for instance. When I mean they shifted to F1 I mean after the late 90s. Now most of these manufactures are either back in Le Mans series or somewhere else. Peugout is sadly one of the bigger manufactures that wont be racing at all.
 
What a shame. Im a big audi fan especially the prototypes but the diesel battles was some of the best
 
MatskiMonk
Not good for the sport though is it? And the more Audi rely on success gleaned from no serious competition the less respect they deserve (especially with their silly '1' headlamps!), not that I give them any anyway after Barcelona '07.
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Depends. For fans, some no, some yes (the AUDI guys).

For the sport itself? Probably not, but dominating cars/teams have always been apart of LeMans & yet it continues when competitors pull out leaving those said cars to win again & again. Although none have really had the dominance Audi has had in consistency besides Porsche.

As others have said, we'll have to see what the much-hyped Toyota Hybrid will bring to the table. And if it does well & sticks by to re-appear in 2013, we could have it as either a real competitor or substitute til' Porsche's return in 2014. That is of course, if Audi themselves stick around.
 
What a time to? Le Mans is still a lot to cash off of, and they always had a solid chance of beating Audi, which they have done before. Especially now, with Toyota about to enter the sport, Porsche on their way as well, it would give them even more opportunity to cash off of beating another manufacturer in the Le Mans. I doubt Toyota would be able to have beaten Peugeot this year, being their first year in the sport since 1999.
 
That is such a huge dissapointment, as everyone has been asking, who will compete with Audi now? Peugeot came in to fight and took the fight to Audi, and last year Peugeot lost by what? 12-13 seconds(?)

I never like domination of one team in any sport, unless of course they are closely challenged. It will be an empty feeling if Audi just walk away with the title again this year, unchallenged(like most years).
 
Who will take the fight to Audi? Well gee let me see, who's that big Japanese manufacturer who has comitted to Le Mans for the next 3 years and recently had pictures of their car leaked? You know that one with the hybrid petrol drivetrain....oh that's right, TOYOTA. They won't be going to Le Mans this year to be also rans even if they are calling this year a test year, 2 cars at LM and onward in the WEC says here to compete to me and you can bet your ass the ACO will do all they can to allow Toyota to be as competitive as possible this year and next.
 
Stavelot
Who will take the fight to Audi? Well gee let me see, who's that big Japanese manufacturer who has comitted to Le Mans for the next 3 years and recently had pictures of their car leaked? You know that one with the hybrid petrol drivetrain....oh that's right, TOYOTA. They won't be going to Le Mans this year to be also rans even if they are calling this year a test year, 2 cars at LM and onward in the WEC says here to compete to me and you can bet your ass the ACO will do all they can to allow Toyota to be as competitive as possible this year and next.
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I know
 
They still won't show up to be an also ran....the ACO will give Toyota favourable regs to allow them tofight with Audi this year with Peugeot gone so I expect a competitive Toyota right off the bat.
 
prisonermonkeys
I think most people are referring to this year since Toyota are only really spending 2012 as a development season.
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I know. I think that the only chance of a competitive LMP1 category at Le Mans this year is if the Audi's all run into problems. Would be nice though. All Audi's bar one get taken out of the race early on and the remaining one has a reliability issue forcing the drivers to nurse the car. Of course, what are the odds of that happening?
 
Nobody here really does think from a marketing standpoint do they? Audi will contest Le Mans with atleast 1 (likely 2) R18H hybrids with a third normal diesel as backup, with Toyota being a huge promoter of hybrid technology whats going to happen for them in terms of marketing if an R18H wins? Audi gets that headline of winning with the first true factory hybrid, not Toyota who are basing their whole campaign on their expertise with the hybrid tech. Trust me, Toyota is now being forced to take on Audi (and they will) because they want the marketing headline.
 
I don't think Toyota will rush development for a headline. Lola were forced to enter the 1997 Formula 1 season because their sponsor wanted it, and it was horrible.
 
Big difference between a 1997 Lola and 2012 Toyota, money, facilities, technology. And what's to say this car hasn't been in development for over a year already? Toyota will take the sword to Audi this year and I cannot wait to see it happen.
 
If they think a development season is necessary, they will take a development season. If that means missing Le Mans, so be it. They can't afford to rush development for the sake of a headline - because if they do, they will probably get it ... just not the one they were hoping for.

And although the ACO will push for regulation changes to make it easier for Toyota, Audi will resist those same changes.
 
You don't understand how boardrooms of big companies work do you? That headline equals marketing money, that marketing money is what is used to create a marketing budget to which the program is run from. Toyota has confirmed they will run at Le Mans and it's looking likely they will run a second car (along with have that second car running around March) to accelerate development, mark my words they will be competitive at Le Mans and will be pushing Audi to breaking point...

I wouldn't say all I have said without a reason to ;)
 
Stavelot
You don't understand how boardrooms of big companies work do you? That headline equals marketing money, that marketing money is what is used to create a marketing budget to which the program is run from.
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I'm well aware of how the boardroom works. I know, for instance, that if someone says "We need to enter Le Mans this year because if we don't, Audi will beat us at what we're trying to do", the Le Mans program will receive a green light to go at full steam ahead. But I also know that if someone says "We can't enter Le Mans this year - it's too soon and we're not ready, so it will be an embarrassment to the company", the Le Mans entry won't happen. It's better for Toyota not to enter and let Audi win than it is to enter with a car that is not ready and get their backsides kicked the length of the Mulsanne.
 
Stavelot I have to say, you run your comments about Toyota as if they've already won the race. We haven't seen testing or anything from them to gauge how well the car will be, and really from a historical standpoint there are only a handful of cars that have done good or great at Le Mans their first time. So it's much easier to say what PM and others are saying, than go out and say that Toyota are for sure going to bring the fight to Audi.
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
Stavelot I have to say, you run your comments about Toyota as if they've already won the race. We haven't seen testing or anything from them to gauge how well the car will be, and really from a historical standpoint there are only a handful of cars that have done good or great at Le Mans their first time. So it's much easier to say what PM and others are saying, than go out and say that Toyota are for sure going to bring the fight to Audi.
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Mmmmmmm Stavelot knows what he's talking about. He's a development driver himself and a sportscar racing genius. I agree with him too. ;)
 
I think Toyota will do better with their car than the AMR-One, but I'm not expecting a win. Or a podium. It'll be good to see a decent mid-field battle for LMP1
 

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