LMP Notebook

We’ve seen the first pictures now of the new Aston Martin AMR One testing at Snetterton earlier this week; the test programme too late to allow the car to race at Sebring, but with the team still aiming at present for a race debut at Le Castellet.

The Team LNT Radical Ginetta was a late withdrawal from the Sebring line-up, Ian Dawson explaining to DSC that:

"We ran a test on Wednesday (last week) at Silverstone, our first with a new spec engine and the full 2011 aero package." Greg Mansell was amongst the drivers at the Silverstone test.

“The test confirmed what we saw at the Sebring test, around a four second per lap improvement, but with a loss of test time we decided that it would be wiser to continue durability testing and get the car ready for the Le Mans Series race at Paul Ricard next month."

‘Awesome Dawson’ was one of several LMP luminaries to offer observations on the post Paul Ricard LMS tests debate over the relative pace of the LMP2, FLM and GTE runners:

”Last year we were slightly criticised for our straight line speed and I kept saying that with 450 bhp that’s what you get – we’re seeing exactly that at present in LMP2.

“I also said that the LMPC’s in ALMS had too much power and, again, that's what we all see now."
 
A senior source from another LMP team offered the explanation for the Oreca 03 being a cost capped car with no ‘Shark Fin’:

“Oreca successfully contended to the ACO that as pre-2011 chassis can be used to produce a 2011 'cost cap car', the aerodynamics of these chassis may be adversely effected by the addition of a fin.

”Putting a fin on would require that they go back to the drawing board and visit the wind tunnel, all at great expense. This in a formula that is attempting to limit costs.

”It could be argued differently, but the development cost of adding a fin would be at least £100k including testing etc. So, all in all, a reasonable decision by the ACO and in line with their objective of cost capping.”