Villeneuve's new toy : Peugeot 908 V12

[Octavarium]

this year will be the biggest year for LeMans this century. Porsche, Peugeot and the modern challenger Audi. Throw in the privateers.. Certainly not dying.

Just because one car is better than the other is not the rule's fault.

Porsche? Last I heard the 'Works' RS Spyders were still going to be run by Penske - and once again wouldn't be going to Le Mans.

I think the odds are that at least one private Spyder will be present, several teams have either purchased or plan to purchase them, including Dyson who I would be very suprised if they didn't race at le mans.

As for the 908, personally I think it's a thing of shear beauty! I like the more aggressive look the latest model has in comparison to the mock up (obviously the matt black adds to this effect).

Results wise I think only a fool would bet against Audi this year - Peugeot are in for the long game, they have already said their aim is to have a reliable enough car to compete in LMS & Le Mans. Winning Le Mans will be their '08 goal I expect.

LMS might at first seem an easier option, but with Pescarolo building a new car and experienced teams such as Rollcentre and Courage running proven and competitive cars in P1 it could be a baptism of fire. That said the same was true for the Audi R10 in '06 and that won every race it entered!!

[zac510]

Yeah not a works Porsche but still we know that it is a top notch chassis so it should do well in P2 even in the hands of privateers.

I agree the safe bet would be Audi but many eyes will be on Peugeot's private test at Sebring after the 12hour

[furnik]

g'day boys and girls happy new year.
ive just done this comparison of the pug 908 lmp1.
1. is the allard jx2

2. is the pug 905lm

3,4. is the 908 lmp1

imageshack.us][IMG:512:384]http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1535 ... ncect5.jpg[/img][/URL]

[Octavarium]

g'day boys and girls happy new year.
ive just done this comparison of the pug 908 lmp1.
1. is the allard jx2

2. is the pug 905lm

3,4. is the 908 lmp1

imageshack.us][IMG:512:384]http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1535 ... ncect5.jpg[/img][/URL]

You can certainly see where the inspiration comes from... and why not! The Allard was such an advanced car for it's time, it's a shame it never got the support (and therefore results) it deserved before the collape of sportscar racing. I Believe that the designer or the Bentley EXP also worked on the J2X, and you can also see many of the new concepts it introduced on many of the successful prototypes of the last decade, especially in the last few years as the rule changes have caused the style of the cars to head back towards the WSC heydays of the late eighties and early nineties.

[Steven]

Here's Jacques in the Peugeot:

[Phoenix]

more pics here: http://www.autoblog.com/2006/09/28/pari ... 8-le-mans/

When you go to this link, there are pictures of the stunning Peugeot on a track with distinct blue lines in the runoff areas. Where is that track and what is it's name?

[PNSD]

Paul Ricard HTTT in France

HTTT - High Technology Test Track.

An old F1 circuit thats been, ermm changed :p

[Phoenix]

Thanks PNSD! I have definately heard that track name before but never have I known what it looks like until now. After looking at pictures of that track however, I think I would get lost and end up going the wrong way!

[vyselegend]

Well, the 908 surprisingly won it's first race at Monza! (pace isn't a surprise but reliability is!) the team had allways failed to run that much kilometres up to now.
Gene & Minassian took victory in 4h 59:20.735, although suffering from gearbox problems.

Interesting, Alphand's Corvette C6R finished in 9th.

Here's a vid of the 8 first minutes of the race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JFfNT7IOd8
enjoy

[dumrick]

Many thanks for the link!

It was great to see the pace of the Peugeots. I just hope they tackle the reliability issues they still have to be competitive to face the Audis at Le Mans.

Man, I love endurance racing!

[Saribro]

Meanwhile in the ALMS, the R10 has not won for the first time in it's race-history :).
The Long Beach circuit was too tight and twisty for the R10 to stretch it's leggs. If the 908 has similar characteristics due to the diesel-engine, it's no suprise it wins at a track like Monza.
The Penske RS Spyders won @ Long Beach btw. The new Acuras are looking strong aswell.
With some established teams and a few new contenders, it could prove an interesting (A)LMS/LeMans year. I got my first shot at a live broadcast of an ALMS race last weekend and I'm already looking forward to more (I think Houston is up for next weekend?). The only downside is that it can be somewhat confusing to follow with 4 different classes running concurrently :).

[zac510]

Well, the 908 surprisingly won it's first race at Monza! (pace isn't a surprise but reliability is!) the team had allways failed to run that much kilometres up to now.
Gene & Minassian took victory in 4h 59:20.735, although suffering from gearbox problems.

Where did you hear that? They have claimed to run several long distances at Paul Ricard.
And it was the #8 car that had gearbox problems not the winning #7 car.

[dumrick]

Both Pugs had, f.i., problems in drivers change because the doors didn't close. I'm confident they may have already done 1000kms before, but clearly and obviously the car is still in development, also reliability-wise. That said, their pace was fairly impressive, even if they were probably not pushing throughout the race, a fastest lap check on the #8 car (that was 5 laps behind the first at a point and finished 2 laps down) may give you a hint on what they can do.

[benjabulle]

I just posted photos of the 908 taken at Monza, very impressive car, quiet unfortunately. Peugeot team didn't let people to take photos without body unfortunately and I only got some of the cockpit, that' s here :

http://www.gurneyflap.com/monzalmes07.html

[vyselegend]

Well, the 908 surprisingly won it's first race at Monza! (pace isn't a surprise but reliability is!) the team had allways failed to run that much kilometres up to now.
Gene & Minassian took victory in 4h 59:20.735, although suffering from gearbox problems.

Where did you hear that? They have claimed to run several long distances at Paul Ricard.
And it was the #8 car that had gearbox problems not the winning #7 car.

From autosport.com:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/58161

The French team had not expected to win the 1000-kilometre race, as they had been unable to cover any long distances in testing without encountering problems with the new car.

Like Dumrick said, both cars had problems with the door, but also both cars suffered gearbox problems, at least if we believe autosport.
Still from the same article:

"I was very disappointed after the gearbox problem that cost us five laps," said Sarrazin. "But I really enjoyed myself driving the 908.

"Thank you to the entire team, which has done such a fantastic job over the last few months."
Gene was concerned about his own gearbox towards the end, but the lead car managed to get to the end without any further problems.

also, thank you very much benjabulle for the pics.