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It wouldn't be a DRIVE show if someone wasn't talking about
video recording or driving a Porsche of
some sort, would it?
And since between the writing of the first draft of this
script and now, Porsche released images of their new
2014 LMP1 Le Mans race car-- you know, doing so right
before the 2013 Le Mans 24, just to F just sister brand
Audi before their run at a 12th overall Le Mans win,
getting them closer to Porsche's 15 overalls.
Ferrari, by the way, trails them both at only nine, but
with no plans to build a P1 car.
Ferrari's last overall win was way back in 1965, when a
prototype looked more like a GT road car.
My point is this.
Since this Porsche P1 car got shown to the world, and since
we're only a week away from the actual Le Mans race, and
our 25 hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans live stream viewing
party and live chat whatever, live here on DRIVE, and since
I don't want to waste an entire ShakeDown talking about
the other reel--
Hindery pretending everything is OK with the F1 in New
Jersey race as he again tries to BS the world by simply
pontificating, hey, the New Jersey Grand Prix is
definitely on.
Yeah, definitely.
The same way I'm definitely 6' 4".
And here's Bernie.
He's equally convinced.
And also, no need to talk about Vettel's F1 dominance in
Canada last weekend.
Or the Pirelli Mercedes F1 word fight food fight that's
about to take place in some FIA board room.
Nor do we need to talk about Indy Car in Texas being a
bore, because it was, because suddenly down force and
listening to the drivers became a bad thing.
Oh yeah, and Penske cheated to help make the
race a bigger bore.
Don't need to talk about that.
And I don't think you want to hear any more about any of
those topics.
Instead, I'll use today to start previewing the 2013 Le
Mans 24 Hour Endurance Race, handicapping the field,
hinting at what to look for in the race and on the cars.
Putting context to the current design regulations, and the
new 2014 rules, which explains some of the car tech and car
looks you'll see at this year's race, and on the new
Porsche LMP1.
And with the new cars, the other cars that are being
announced for 2014, like Dome-- the Dome car here--
the ORECA Rebellion, and others.
Now, for those you paying attention and keeping score,
you know there are four versions of ShakeDown that are
running in rotation each month this year.
There's ShakeDown Nation, as we debuted last week with
Christina Thompson, me, and you voting on questions.
There's ShakeDown TrackDown at the LMS races with Corvette's
Doug Fehan and Viper racer Tommy Kendall, ShakeDown
Interviews, as we've done with Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan
and Nurburgring 24 in-car legend, Leh Keen, and
ShakeDown Classic, like this one.
Just me, this desk, my thoughts, my voice, and you--
oh, and my man parts.
For you viewers that seem to think that only guys can talk
about cars, here, let me show you.
[ENGINE REVVING]
This is the Porsche P1 car from 1999 that was supposed to
race Le Mans and once again recapture
Porsche overall win glory.
It never raced.
Here's the 2014 car that will compete to up the Porsche Le
Mans overall win count to 60.
Now, let's get some obvious stuff out of
the way right now.
The new 2014 LMP1 rules dictate a higher cockpit
windshield and roof design for better visibility.
Now, here's the 2013 Audi R18.
Back to the Porsche.
And you can see the difference dictated by the rules.
You can see also that
aerodynamic laws are immutable.
So the design and airflow philosophies for the Porsche
and the Audi seem similar.
There's a lot Porsche hasn't told the
world about those specs.
But there's some things we can assume about this new car.
Gas engine, V8, hybrid, all wheel drive or
rear, we don't know.
But I'm thinking front drive hybrid since the rules are
changing for the speed in which all wheel drive hybrid
can be activated.
But how much of the hybrid tech from the Porsche 918 is
related to this LMP1 car is unknown for now.
Also per the 2014 rules, if you look close, you'll note
the car's narrower and a bit shorter versus 2013 cars.
And let's finish up the 2014 rules changes.
As you read in the link below, the ACO FIA are committed to
energy efficiency.
And they're doing that in a number of ways.
Freedom for gas or diesel engines.
Open displacement.
Turbo charging if you want.
And four categories of energy recapture.
Plus biofuels, hydrogen, and 100% electric are options if
anyone can get that to work.
All to reduce fuel consumption from 25% to 32%.
Aero rules will clean up the fender holes and curtail the
Toyota-originated add-on rear wing extensions.
But add to the design capability and possibilities
an adjustable front wing to the under tray.
That's all for next year, which means everyone will have
new designs to match the Porsche.
New from Audi, Toyota, Nissan, and the private teams racing
cars like the new stuff from Dome.
Love those front fenders that steer the air.
ORECA Rebellion, who will dump its Lolas, keep the Toyota
powertrain, but commission their own chassis design.
And another program called Perrin, which may or may not
have links to Pescarolo.
They're looking for customer teams as well.
And that touches on another key part of the 2014 rules.
There will be separate balance and performance specs for
factory teams and for private entrance running cars like the
three I just showed you.
Oh, and P1 P2 cars will be closed cockpit in 2014, which
explains why the Lotus P2, running this year's Le Mans 24
but built to the 2014 regulations, is a coupe.
And has a greenhouse that looks a lot like the Porsche.
And not like the 20-something P2s in the race
this year in '13.
P2 being the biggest class at Le Mans this year.
And, while in the US, LMS has to go begging for P2 teams,
giving the Grand Am Daytona prototype guys the power to
lobby for that spec to be the top class in US sports car
racing while P2 is big and successful
at Le Mans in Europe.
Out, and as part of the Le Mans USCR feel good alliance,
NASCAR's Jim France, the owner of the United Sports Car
Racing series is at the Le Mans 24 waving a start flag
and lobbying for the DPs race at the Le Mans 24.
And anyone remember the last time NASCAR equipment
raced at the 24?
1976 Le Mans.
Oh my god.
Now, all these topics--
P2 race cars, DPs at Le Mans, and what the hell is Ricky
Bobby's dad doing thumping a Dodge Charger down the
Mulsanne straight?
All of that and more, we'll discuss on the 25 hours of the
24 hour live stream here on DRIVE on Le Mans race day.
OK, let's finish up by previewing the
race, the '13 race.
And the things to look for in each class at the
2013 Le Mans 24.
P1, P2, GTE Pro, GTE Am.
Let's start with P2.
Their production-based motors in prototype chassis.
Cost control, private teams, and the biggest Le Mans class
with 22 entries of the 56 cars racing the 24.
And 15 of those 22 are Nissan powered.
The rest, Judd, nay, BMW derived,
including the Lotus Praga.
Plus, there's one Honda, the American entry.
Now, the two Alpine cars are Nissan powered, run by the
Sigma Tech team, and were quick at the test.
Griggs is another favorite running two cars.
One of them's branded Caterham.
But not connected Alpine, even though Caterham has ties to
the Alpine production car build plans.
Don't ask me, because I don't know what's going on.
Then there's OAK Racing with their Morgan
chassis, and an art car.
And it's also fast.
And I think you have to watch out for the
Delta-ADR team as well.
Frankly, the field is deep with young talent, and the
teams are full of variables.
So I'm not picking beyond what I just said with P2.
Let's go to GT Am.
Last year, Larbre Corvette won the class, and they know how
to do endurance races.
This year, Patrick Dempsey is getting a lot of attention
running his Porsches.
There are five Ferrari, but the Aston
Martins are the quickest.
I'm going to sound like a bit of a [BEEP]
here.
But the winner will be the team that has the best Am
drivers, the team that has the best management of the amateur
and pro time in the car via the race strategy, and the GTE
Am car that stays out of trouble.
All of that says this class is wide open, unless the Astons
do everything I just said right.
GTE Pro.
This is the no [BEEP]
around GT race, pitting factory against factory.
Included the new Porsche 911s, with their streamlined Le Mans
nose, good power, and a tradition of knowing how to
win this damn race.
And they're going up against Ferrari.
They won't admit it's a factor deal with AF Corse, but last
year's Le Mans 24 class winner.
And mysteriously, not showing speed at the test day, yet.
Viper returns to Le Mans.
The 2013 car is better versus 2012 ALMS debut, but I bet the
objective here is just to finish and gain experience.
Podium results will depend on attrition in the GTE class
from the rest of the field.
Maybe next year, they'll add to the three Le Mans 24 wins
that Viper grabbed the last time they
raced here in the 1990s.
Then there's Corvette Racing, a Le Mans legend, going for
their eighth class win since Corvette's LM 24
debut in the year 2000.
The car's always fast enough.
The team is great with setup.
And they won Sebring 12, getting them over the hump of,
frankly, failing in long distance endurance races
recently, even though they picked up the 2012 ALMS series
championship.
And then there are the three Aston Martins from Prodrive, a
team that knows how to win, and have done so
for Aston and Ferrari.
And they've been the quickest in testing.
The cars seem to be scaring the other teams, so everyone,
including me, has been calling them the GTE pro
favorites for 2013.
And finally, the P1 class, which is really a five car
battle between the three factory Audi and the two
factory Toyota.
The TSO30 is a new car versus its 2012 edition.
And the tweaks continue up and through the Le Mans test day.
Now, I'm part of the legion of fans that want Toyota to
finish the job that past Toyotas, like the legendary
Toyota GT1, have tried to complete.
Toyota needs to win this race.
But Audi was shocked last year by Toyota's pace at Le Mans,
and at the end of the WEC season, when Toyota was
winning races.
So as a result, the Audi 2013 upgrades include an F1-style
exhaust blown diffuser, the long tail built-for-Le
Mans-only rear body work, more diesel horsepower, which
earned Toyota a balance of performance upgrade
for the Le Man 24.
Three additional liters of fuel capacity for more range,
maybe fewer pit stops, and/or more horsepower.
And remember, Audi is running three cars
versus Toyota's two.
All that said, the heart and the better story line says
Toyota to win the race.
But the logic stays with Audi.
Besides, there's no freaking way Dr. Ulrich is going to
lose the Le Mans the year before Porsche arrives.
His plan is to strut into the next VW Group Motorsport
committee meeting, *** the trophy on the boardroom table,
and say, OK, now let's talk about 2014 budgets.
So what do you think?
Le Mans' coming up.
We'll see you next week.
[CAR ENGINES]