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All 311 articles posted since 2013, sorted into 17 categories and tagged with a combination of 366 unique keywords.

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All articles filed under le mans

The Art of Innovation - Nissan GT-R LM NISMO on 4K

26 minutes of gritty onboard, pitlane, and behind the scenes action from NISMO’s tilt at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, filmed in glorious 4K.

Brilliant.

via @sportautolive

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Le Mans Classic 2012

Love the atmosphere the colour grading gives this short video from ace photographer Laurent Nivalle.

Don’t miss his Flickr stream either.

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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO

Racecar Engineering have updated their technical analysis of the so-far problematic Nissan NISMO LMP car.

We really want this crazy thing to succeed, it just needs continued backing to allow it to be developed to its full potential.

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Peter Stevens Reflects on the 1995 Le Mans Race with McLaren

Designer Peter Stevens reflects on turning the McLaren F1 into the GTR and taking it to Le Mans back in 1995:

It has often been repeated that the car was not designed to be a racecar, but I always thought that, with the GT regulations of that time, it was clearly well suited to become a competitive racer. The road version had gone from early sketch ideas to a finished design that was expensive, but with a wonderful engine from BMW it was well received by the press, public and customers. Two of those customers, Thomas Bscher and Ray Bellm suggested to McLaren that the F1 would make a good racecar for the BPR. McLaren quickly developed a race version, which, by the company’s own admission, was little changed from the road car

Don’t miss this article for early design sketches of what would become the iconic supercar.

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Listed: 1990 Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-12 Group-C

After qualifying in 7th place, the Silk Cut Jaguar team’s quartet of XJR-12s were looking strong at the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans—especially once the fast qualifying Nissan R90CKs faltered. Ultimately only two of the distinctive purple and white sportscars made it across the finish line, though finish they did—taking a historic 1-2 for the marque.

Taylor and Crawley have listed chassis 12-C-190 for sale, the #4 car as raced at the 1990 classic:

Chassis 190 was shaken down at Silverstone by Andy Wallace and the first race was Le Mans in June. Crewed by Davy Jones, Michel Ferte and Elisio Salazar, #190 lined up 7th on the grid, the fastest of the four car Jaguar team. The 7.4 litre 750bhp V12 topped 220mph on the Mulsanne in spite of the new chicanes and lapped at nearly 140mph. Running well up for the first half of the race but on Sunday morning a long pitstop for repairs to the nose and brakes cost it time and subsequent stops for the same problems dropped it down the order to 12th and at midday it was retired.

Price on application.

via 24hr Le Mans

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Under the Hammer: 1982 Porsche 956 Chassis #003

A short video of the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans winning Porsche 956-003 that Gooding & Company have on the block at this weekend’s Pebble Beach auctions.

The illustrious racing career of 956-003 started at the 1982 24 Hours of Le Mans when driven by Jochen Mass and Vern Schuppan. It placed second overall as part of a Porsche sweep of the top three positions. After that fantastic initial result, this 956 went on to win the next four races in which it was entered and was piloted by the best drivers of the era including Jacky Ickx, Jochen Mass, and Derek Bell. In 1983, 956-003 was again pressed into duty as one of three cars entered by the Porsche factory team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After 24 hours of grueling competition, 956-003, with Al Holbert aboard, crossed the finish line in first place, 63 seconds ahead of 956-001 and Bell in one of the most thrilling finishes in Le Mans history. With its exclusive works car status, longtail Le Mans bodywork, iconic Rothmans livery, and exceptional competition record, 956-003 must be considered among the most significant Porsche racing cars, and thus, one of the finest competition cars built since WWII.

Don’t miss Goodman & Company’s even more detailed write-up and provenance statement.

Bidding range estimate US $7,000,000–$9,000,000.

UPDATE: Sold for US$10,120,000 (source)

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NISMO Reflect on Their 2015 Le Mans Campaign

NISMO takes a look back at a ‘character building’ 2015 Le Mans efforts with their radical and oh so new GT-R LM NISMO car.

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The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1,158 pictures

Photographer Camden Thrasher provides a unique perspective of Audi’s 2015 Le Mans campaign by stop animating over eleven-hundred photos with great effect.

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Porsche's 2015 Le Mans campaign by the numbers

Porsche does a data dump from their Le Mans weekend.

  • The Porsche Team made 90 pit stops, 30 per car.
  • At 26 of the 90 stops, tires and drivers were also changed.
  • The longest distance covered with one set of tires was 54 laps for all three cars. In car number 17 Mark Webber did this ultra-long run, in car number 18 it was Neel Jani and in the number 19 prototype it was Nico Hülkenberg.

One for the true anoraks.

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Porsche goes one-two at Le Mans

Porsche took its first overall victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours since 1998, with Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg, Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber leading a one-two.

The #19 919 Hybrid moved to prominence through the night, with stints from Hulkenberg and Tandy hauling it back into contention after it lost some ground during an early safety car period.

Bamber then picked up the mantle in the early hours of the morning, and as Sunday progressed any threat from Audi behind crumbled as all three of its cars required unscheduled pitstops.

All that was left after that was for Porsche to nurse its #19 and #17 home to a one-two finish, including taking care during a light rainshower in the final 10 minutes.

Porsche’s 17th outright victory at Le Mans, and a class act.

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Porsche on pole at Le Mans 2015

It can’t get much better for Porsche at Le Mans, taking the first three grid positions for today’s race. The trio of turbo/hybrid V4 919’s have shown incredible pace during each qualifying session, hopefully this pace is also reliable enough to be sustained over the full race distance.

To put their relative speed into perspective:

It is the fastest pole lap set at Le Mans since the introduction of the chicanes on the Mulsanne Straight, and the sixth fastest in history in terms of laptime regardless of configuration.

It is also the first Porsche to take pole at Le Mans since Michele Alboreto in the Joest WSC 95 in 1997.

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Jay Leno x Nissan GT-R LM Nismo

Jay Leno spends some time in his studio with Zack Eakin, Chief Engineer for Nissan’s LMP program, pouring over the details of their 2015 Le Mans challenger, the radical Nissan GT-R LM Nismo.

Don’t miss the behind the scenes clip by NISMO TV.

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Porsche at Le Mans: The Definitive History

Published in the lead-up to Porsche’s return to the top flight LMP1 category at Le Mans in 2014, XCAR takes a detailed look at the history of Porsche at Le Mans.

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Ford set to announce their return to Le Mans

Strong rumours suggest that Ford will shortly announce thir return to factory sportscar racing in 2016 with a GTE-spec version of their 2015 Ford GT concept car.

According to Autosport:

Ford’s return to Le Mans has been timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first of its four consecutive victories in the 24 Hours from 1966.

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2015 24 Hours of Le Mans Couch Kit

Reilly Brennan presents his ‘24 Hours of Le Mans Couch Kit’ for this weekend’s festivities. Tonnes of resources and tips for following the all the action online and from afar.

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Martini Porsche 936 flat out around Le Mans

Goodwood Road & Racing share a fantastic lap of the classic – and chicane free – Le Mans circuit, onboard Jurgen Barth’s 1977 race-winning Martini Porsche 936.

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Why is the GT-R LM Nismo FWD?

Team principal and technical director for Nissan/NISMO’s 2015 Le Mans tilt, Ben Bowlby, tells us why their GT-R LM NISMO is front-wheel drive and why this makes them a hot contender for outright victory at La Sarthe this weekend.

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A Sea of French Racing Blue at the Matra Museum

The town of Romorantin south of Paris is home of Matra, Formula 1 World Champions back in 1969 and three time Le Mans winners with their iconic blue machines.

Jonathan Moore for Speedhunters takes us to the Musée Automobiles Matra for an inside look at the cars the forged Matra’s motorsport legacy.

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Inside Toyota Motorsport GmbH

Underneath one of the two wind tunnels inside Toyota Motorsport’s Cologne facility rests a priceless collection of motorsport history.

See also:

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McLaren F1 — Le Mans Memories

An interview with Ray Bellm covering the creation and early success of the McLaren F1 GTR.

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Watch the Le Mans 2014 Porsche Carrera Cup support race

61 cars on a 45 minute tilt around the full Le Mans Circuit.

Look out for car #219 being driven by Kiwi gun racer Earl Bamber and #100 by Chris Harris.

The Porsche Carrera Cup race to end Porsche Carrera Cup races.

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Speedhunters does Toyota Motorsport GmbH

Jonathan Moore for Speedhunters takes us inside Toyota’s Cologne-based motorsport HQ. A hard-to-access facility positively brimming with ex-WRC, Le Mans, and Formula 1 machinery, not to mention the odd one-of-a-kind prototype or homologation special.

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Le Mans 2014 Timelapses

“1 person, 24 hours, 9,621 photos, 5 beers, 0 media credentials and this is what happens.”

DC Chavez turns some bad luck into a fittingly great tribute to the 2014 Le Mans 24-Hour race, with hardly a car in sight.

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Nissan signals intent to join WEC LM P1 ranks in 2015

Nissan wants to join the big boys:

Nissan will unleash the GT-R and go head-to-head with Audi, Porsche and Toyota at Le Mans in 2015. The Japanese manufacturer will also contest the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship with a full factory effort of two LM P1 cars.

We just hope they’re not spreading their marketing budget too thin: Formula 1, LM P2, GT3, Garage 56, GT Academy, the Olympics, Champions League football, and now WEC with an LM P1.

Something’s got to give.

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Mazda 787B onboard lap with Johnny Herbert at Le Mans 2011

After a lengthy restoration, the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hour winning Mazda 787B returns to La Sarthe, twenty years after its historic victory.

Driven in anger once again by the man who took the one and only Le Mans victory by a rotary-powered car, Johnny Herbert.

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Audi wins dramatic Le Mans

Motorsport Magazine reports:

Audi scored its 13th victory in 15 attempts at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler their third in four years, but only after one of the most dramatic races in the grand euduro’s long history.

What a race! The last few hours had us on the edge of our seats. Porsche #20 was looking like an outside chance with just two hours to go, until engine issues put paid to a fairy tale return to La Sarthe.

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Porsche reflect on their 2014 Le Mans campaign

And starts looking forward to 2015.

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Porsche at Le Mans 2013

Very nicely done, bravo Porsche.

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Mark Webber Q&A – 2014 and beyond

Answering some direct questions on why he’s leaving F1 for Le Mans:

“Le Mans is one of the most famous circuits in the world and to be honest, I still see it as unfinished business and I want to do well there. Le Mans can be cruel as we’ve just seen, but it’s incredibly rewarding and that’s part of the allure.”

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Formula 1 pilot Mark Webber to contest Le Mans for Porsche

Mark Webber:

It’s an honour for me to join Porsche at its return to the top category in Le Mans and in the sports car World Endurance Championship and be part of the team. Porsche has written racing history as a manufacturer and stands for outstanding technology and performance at the highest level.

I’m very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in Formula 1. Porsche will undoubtedly set itself very high goals. I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world.”

After so many rumours for such a long time it’s so great to finally get this out in the open.

With Porsche’s factory tilt at the WEC and Le Mans, Mark’s vacated seat at Red Bull Racing stirring up more than a few line-ups in F1 and the wholesale technical changes in F1, 2014 is shaping up to be a vintage year for motorsport.

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Le Mans 24 Hours: Kristensen, McNish, Duval clinch Audi victory

Autosport:

Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Loic Duval took a commanding victory in a Le Mans 24 Hours that was overshadowed by the death of Danish driver Allan Simonsen early in the race.

An epic race, sadly to be remembered for the wrong reasons. RIP Allan Simonsen.

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Porsche preview their 2014 Le Mans challenger

Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board at Porsche AG:

“The engineers were able to start with a blank sheet of paper in the design of the new LMP1 car that was out here today on the Weissach race track for the first time. Hence, they were able to apply many new technologies within the framework of the regulations that will also benefit the customers of our road legal automobiles in the future. After all, there’s a race car in every Porsche.”

Unlike Formula 1, Porsche can now undertake almost unlimited testing and development before joining the WEC and Le Mans next year.

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2013 24 Hours of Le Mans Couch Kit

Reilly Brennan provides all you need to follow the action at Le Mans from the comfort of your own keyboard.

22-23 Jun 2013.

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