Good luck Team Corvette
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
I went back and looked at LeMans best-lap times from 2014 when the C7R won. Team C7's very best lap in 2014 was 3:53.869, and they were a bit slower this year (.5 sec maybe), perhaps because of BOP. The winning Ford GT (68) had a best lap this year of 3:51.xxx, and the others (69, 67, and 66) consistently ran 3:52s all day and night.
Ford got penalized at the last minute too, by limiting their turbo boost, and adding a small amount of weight, suggesting that they would have been even faster.
So even if the C7R was running their winning times from the past without this year's BOP adjustment, they still would have finished many laps back. 1-2 seconds per lap in a 24 hour race means finishing a long, long, long way behind.
Ford and Ferrari got significantly better, while Aston, Corvette, and Porsche stuck with fine-tuning older technology.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,722
Likes: 1,034
No, an aging design has kept them about the same speed, and others have gotten faster with fresh new designs and technology. BOP may have had a slight influence, but it was an insignificant one.
I went back and looked at LeMans best-lap times from 2014 when the C7R won. Team C7's very best lap in 2014 was 3:53.869, and they were a bit slower this year (.5 sec maybe), perhaps because of BOP. The winning Ford GT (68) had a best lap this year of 3:51.xxx, and the others (69, 67, and 66) consistently ran 3:52s all day and night.
Ford got penalized at the last minute too, by limiting their turbo boost, and adding a small amount of weight, suggesting that they would have been even faster.
So even if the C7R was running their winning times from the past without this year's BOP adjustment, they still would have finished many laps back. 1-2 seconds per lap in a 24 hour race means finishing a long, long, long way behind.
Ford and Ferrari got significantly better, while Aston, Corvette, and Porsche stuck with fine-tuning older technology.
I went back and looked at LeMans best-lap times from 2014 when the C7R won. Team C7's very best lap in 2014 was 3:53.869, and they were a bit slower this year (.5 sec maybe), perhaps because of BOP. The winning Ford GT (68) had a best lap this year of 3:51.xxx, and the others (69, 67, and 66) consistently ran 3:52s all day and night.
Ford got penalized at the last minute too, by limiting their turbo boost, and adding a small amount of weight, suggesting that they would have been even faster.
So even if the C7R was running their winning times from the past without this year's BOP adjustment, they still would have finished many laps back. 1-2 seconds per lap in a 24 hour race means finishing a long, long, long way behind.
Ford and Ferrari got significantly better, while Aston, Corvette, and Porsche stuck with fine-tuning older technology.
If you look back further through the years that's when the Corvette was faster using even older technology. Last year they had the same BOP bs.
Bottom line the BALANCE OF POWER was weighted towards the Ford and Ferrari for nostalgia, to replay 50 years ago. And guess what it did!
Last edited by 2cnd Chance; Jun 19, 2016 at 04:53 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 7,002
Likes: 2,679
Originally Posted by 2cnd Chance
So the car that's been dominant "the Corvette" THIS YEAR in IMSA and won last years Le Mans is suddenly outdated?? If they took away more of the BOP bs they'd be more than fine.
If you look back further through the years that's when the Corvette was faster using even older technology. Last year they had the same BOP bs.
Bottom line the BALANCE OF POWER was weighted towards the Ford and Ferrari for nostalgia, to replay 50 years ago. And guess what it did!
If you look back further through the years that's when the Corvette was faster using even older technology. Last year they had the same BOP bs.
Bottom line the BALANCE OF POWER was weighted towards the Ford and Ferrari for nostalgia, to replay 50 years ago. And guess what it did!
Corvette had a bad day, and in IMSA the GTs did well each time until they chucked mechanicals. The GT is a good race car, Corvette needs to step up the game.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,193
Likes: 342
From: St. Louis MO
If I were GM I'd tell FIA I'm coming with a full 6.3 liter motor next year and I'd put a governor on it all the way up until race day, then I'd let her rip. This was not a fair fight by any stretch of the imagination.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,193
Likes: 342
From: St. Louis MO
No, an aging design has kept them about the same speed, and others have gotten faster with fresh new designs and technology. BOP may have had a slight influence, but it was an insignificant one.
I went back and looked at LeMans best-lap times from 2014 when the C7R won. Team C7's very best lap in 2014 was 3:53.869, and they were a bit slower this year (.5 sec maybe), perhaps because of BOP. The winning Ford GT (68) had a best lap this year of 3:51.xxx, and the others (69, 67, and 66) consistently ran 3:52s all day and night.
Ford got penalized at the last minute too, by limiting their turbo boost, and adding a small amount of weight, suggesting that they would have been even faster.
So even if the C7R was running their winning times from the past without this year's BOP adjustment, they still would have finished many laps back. 1-2 seconds per lap in a 24 hour race means finishing a long, long, long way behind.
Ford and Ferrari got significantly better, while Aston, Corvette, and Porsche stuck with fine-tuning older technology.
I went back and looked at LeMans best-lap times from 2014 when the C7R won. Team C7's very best lap in 2014 was 3:53.869, and they were a bit slower this year (.5 sec maybe), perhaps because of BOP. The winning Ford GT (68) had a best lap this year of 3:51.xxx, and the others (69, 67, and 66) consistently ran 3:52s all day and night.
Ford got penalized at the last minute too, by limiting their turbo boost, and adding a small amount of weight, suggesting that they would have been even faster.
So even if the C7R was running their winning times from the past without this year's BOP adjustment, they still would have finished many laps back. 1-2 seconds per lap in a 24 hour race means finishing a long, long, long way behind.
Ford and Ferrari got significantly better, while Aston, Corvette, and Porsche stuck with fine-tuning older technology.
There is nothing inherently dated with the Corvette chassis.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,722
Likes: 1,034
BOP lowered the boost and added 11 lbs of ballast to the GTs, while Corvette got to open the restrictor. BOP did give Ferrari and Ford larger fuel tanks, but I'm not sure what that's worth.
Corvette had a bad day, and in IMSA the GTs did well each time until they chucked mechanicals. The GT is a good race car, Corvette needs to step up the game.
Corvette had a bad day, and in IMSA the GTs did well each time until they chucked mechanicals. The GT is a good race car, Corvette needs to step up the game.
As I've stated I like the GT, just wanting fairness.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,722
Likes: 1,034
Yes, but put a full 6.3 liter unrestricted V-8 in the C7R instead of the restricted 5.5 liter and the C7R would have run easily run under 3:50. This is all FIA / IMSA BS just to stroke Bill Ford's ego. Money talks.
There is nothing inherently dated with the Corvette chassis.
There is nothing inherently dated with the Corvette chassis.
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 760
Likes: 104
From: Lewiston NY
2020 C8 of the Year Finalist - Modified
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14,'17, '20-'21
Watching Toyota die at the starting line going into the last lap felt like being in the Twilight Zone.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
It certainly looks like that they've figured it all out, w/ all 4 GTs running at top speed at the end of 24 hrs. 3 of 4 Ferraris were forced to retire and as did 3 of 4 Porsches.
One GT did have a glitch at the beginning of the race, which was fixed relatively quickly, but left it a number of laps down, or it would likely have been a 1-3-4-5 GT finish.
And you're just wrong about it being faster in the past. Go back and look at C7R best laps from previous LeMans.
Last edited by Foosh; Jun 19, 2016 at 09:42 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
Big V8s will be increasingly a thing of the past in racing (except NASCAR), and they will be increasingly penalized. Again, I think we'll see a mid-engine twin-turbo C8R at LeMans in shorter order.
By dated, I mean that large displacement, front-engined cars will become increasingly non-competitive in organized road-racing and probably legislated out of existence. Mid-engine, small-displacement, forced induction cars will rule the day.
Moreover, while aerodynamics have always been crucial for the prototypes, they will become increasingly so in GT cars. The Ford GT and Ferraris have a large advantage there as well.
Last edited by Foosh; Jun 19, 2016 at 06:19 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
Corvettes all finished mechanically. The cause of the accident is not clear but the announcers said he exhibited a hop in the rear end going through the curve and lost control. Not sure what the end story will be but sounds like bad luck.
Watching Toyota die at the starting line going into the last lap felt like being in the Twilight Zone.
Watching Toyota die at the starting line going into the last lap felt like being in the Twilight Zone.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 2,722
Likes: 1,034
The C7R has only been dominant this year because the GTs have dropped out due to mechanical issues in earlier races. It's a new race car, which always requires development time, but the GTs have always been quicker.
It certainly looks like that they've figured it all out, w/ all 4 GTs running at top speed at the end of 24 hrs. 3 of 4 Ferraris were forced to retire and as did 3 of 4 Porsches.
One GT did have a glitch at the beginning of the race, which was fixed relatively quickly, but left it a number of laps down, or it would like have been a 1-3-4-5 GT finish.
And you're just wrong about it being faster in the past. Go back and look at C7R best laps from previous LeMans.
It certainly looks like that they've figured it all out, w/ all 4 GTs running at top speed at the end of 24 hrs. 3 of 4 Ferraris were forced to retire and as did 3 of 4 Porsches.
One GT did have a glitch at the beginning of the race, which was fixed relatively quickly, but left it a number of laps down, or it would like have been a 1-3-4-5 GT finish.
And you're just wrong about it being faster in the past. Go back and look at C7R best laps from previous LeMans.
2004 Test Day - Corvette C5R 3:49:982
2008 - Qualifying Corvette C6R - 3:47:688
I know the racing engines are all different from production version engines, however I don't know of any GT cars with different size engines from their production counterparts. Also IMSA allows the Viper to use the V10.
Last edited by 2cnd Chance; Jun 19, 2016 at 08:13 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 7,002
Likes: 2,679
Originally Posted by 2cnd Chance
I never said the C7.R, I said Corvettes. The older (technology) gens were a number of seconds faster.
2004 Test Day - Corvette C5R 3:49:982
2008 - Qualifying Corvette C6R - 3:47:688
I know the racing engines are all different from production version engines, however I don't know of any GT cars with different size engines from their production counterparts. Also IMSA allows the Viper to use the V10.
2004 Test Day - Corvette C5R 3:49:982
2008 - Qualifying Corvette C6R - 3:47:688
I know the racing engines are all different from production version engines, however I don't know of any GT cars with different size engines from their production counterparts. Also IMSA allows the Viper to use the V10.
Does anyone remember the year Corvette was forced to run in GT2? Disastrous.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 25,583
Likes: 16,942
I never said the C7.R, I said Corvettes. The older (technology) gens were a number of seconds faster.
2004 Test Day - Corvette C5R 3:49:982
2008 - Qualifying Corvette C6R - 3:47:688
I know the racing engines are all different from production version engines, however I don't know of any GT cars with different size engines from their production counterparts. Also IMSA allows the Viper to use the V10.
2004 Test Day - Corvette C5R 3:49:982
2008 - Qualifying Corvette C6R - 3:47:688
I know the racing engines are all different from production version engines, however I don't know of any GT cars with different size engines from their production counterparts. Also IMSA allows the Viper to use the V10.
Testing and qualifying laps don't count. It's laps run during the race that count. Cars are set up for tests and qualifying differently than for an actual race, particularly an endurance race.
Ancient lap times don't reflect what's possible on the course today. That's why I used the 2014 winning C7R's best actual race lap time (3:53.869) for the most valid comparison with what Ford and Ferrari did at LeMans this weekend (3:51.xxx).
With regard to what's going today w/ engines, and the equalization process, you don't seem to be listening. I said larger displacement engines will be increasingly penalized (BOP'd), which was a trend that started a few years ago. You didn't see a Viper at LeMans this year did you? ;-)
Last edited by Foosh; Jun 20, 2016 at 08:55 AM.