Safety car usage at Le Mans

[Werner]

I hope I don 't sound like a grumpy old man but what annoyed me and most in our group was the somewhat "excessive" usage of the safety-car, especially during the first 2 hours and in the end.
Especially in the beginning no-one of us understood why they had to use it so long, only acceptable  reason from my point of view was the armco-repair after the Rockenfeller-incident. Just the fact that is raining and some people decide for the wrong tyres shouldn't bring out the safety car.

Same at the end of the race - OK, it was heavy rain, but skillful drivers can race in those conditions! At that stage it actually destroyed the race, because the Aston-Corvette situation might still have been intersting to the finish line.

What's your opinion about this? Were you happy with the safety cars?

[termietermite]

It was maddening, especially at the end of the race.  However, I do remember our last wet race when in the first hour we lost about 30% of the cars and so very few were running at the end.  At least there was some sort of a field left after 23 hours this time so maybe the earlier safety cars weren't so bad in retrospect.  But I certainly felt with 2 hours to go that it should have been left up to the teams to decide the fate of their machinery for themselves - although of course I don't know if trackside/barrier repairs were going on?  I've only watched up to hour 8 of the coverage so far!!!

[mgmark]

They did seem to be brought out at the drop of a hat in qualifying and during the race, compared to previous years.  The lengthy period an hour or so into the race was, I think, due to the barrier that needing repairing after the Rockenfeller incident.  However, it seemed to be an inordinate length of time (45mins plus into the period) before anything happenend, then we were treated to the bizarre site of two orange trucks trundling along the track in the rain, from the pits to Tetre Rouge to repair it, being passed by the safety car and race cars!  It only took then about 15-20 minutes to repair it once they had got there.
 
The red flag got a fair bit of use use as well - did anyone else notice that one of those occasions (the second Wednesday qualifying session I think), that lasted only about 10 minutes, was when one of the Courages ground to a halt somewhere out on the Mulsanne.  Of course this allowed the recovery of the car to the pits, which was then back out later on in that same session.....

MG Mark

[rcutler]

I think the safety car at the end was because there was a serious problem with the Peogeot, hence why it spent most of the time the safety car was out in the garage. When It eventually finished it was only 30 seconds ahead of Pescarola and stopped for several long minutes to save it having to do another lap.

I think Peogeot should have been disqualified for the antics in the last half an hour.

[mgmark]

Form the ACO website -

"Due to the strong rainfall that flooded the circuit in the last hour of the race, the Race Directors, led by Daniel Poissenot, decided to neutralize the race and deployed the safety cars for 50 minutes. It was a decision that didn't affect the outcome of the race.  The first priority of all teams was to finish the race safely. The team of Peugeot No.8 had a huge warning, when the engine displayed some problems in the last hour. But 22 minutes before the checkered flag, Sebastian Bourdais was able to enter the track and ensure the second place finish for Team Peugeot Total and his teammates Sarrazin and Lamy. The French prototype finished 8 laps behind the Audi, but can be proud of a strong podium finish in its first 24 Hour entry. Pescarolo Sport finishes on the podium for the third year in a row, this year with the driver lineup of Collard, Dumas, and Boullion."

Draw your own conclusions chaps.....

MG Mark

[Piglet]

Don't start me on the Peugeot....I could go on for a while. 

[Chrisgr31]

Odd how the rule about the maximum time spent on the last lap was removed for this year!

I basically agree with the RLM crew who were saying the safety car shouldn't be out just because it rains.

[Piglet]

Odd how the rule about the maximum time spent on the last lap was removed for this year!

It wasn't removed, it was in the supplementary regs which Trusswell had clearly not read!! 

It is subject to force majeure so the conditions would probably apply to the majority of the field.  Their is a clear reg that says cars must not stop on the circuit to await the flag though.  There is also a clear reg that says the cars must go straight to parc ferme without stopping...hmmmm 

[oldtimer]

it actually destroyed the race, because the Aston-Corvette situation might still have been intersting to the finish line.

On the whole I agree that the safety car was seen too much but the Aston/Corvette duel was well and truly over by then.  The Aston had it well and truly covered - hurrah!!!   

[Nordic]

I was clearly wrong to deploy the car from our point of view trackside.

Had it been the same in previous years we would not be able to talk in awe of JJ lehto's stunning night time wet driving in the F1 Macca, or Ickx's laps in the past when hunting down slower cars in condintions not any dryer.

I do feel cheated of what may have been a epic finish between the pesca and the ailing pug, not to mention what else may have happened to the others.

However the teams clearly had put pressure on the ACO to bring them out and Hugh C was very supportive when Hindy challanged him and get a bit tetchy about it I thought.

[monkey]

I have to say that I support so many of the safety changes that have been made generally in the sport and particularly at Le Mans, I am sure a lot of people are like me in thinking that you don't need to see people killed or injured for the event to be exciting. But, the deployment of the safety cars, particularly at the end of the race was to too much. If it rains then it is up to the drivers and their teams to get through it, and if they end up in the gravel, then that is motor racing.

[termietermite]

And was it truly sporting of the leading LMP2 car to just sit in his pit for 90 minutes?

[Nordic]

And was it truly sporting of the leading LMP2 car to just sit in his pit for 90 minutes?

Sporting? no, but given the woeful finishing record of P2 cars, in their postion I would do the same.

At least it was not 2 hours like the Corvette team parked their cars for a few years back!

[termietermite]

I thought it was sensible and practical, but I thought the same about Seb's move with the Pug too, sorry.  I remember the Cadilacs (although they were much further down the running order of course) doing the same thing a few years back.

[Matt Harper]

The propensity of the ACO to disregard their own rules with total impunity doesn't really come as a shock to any of us, does it?
I thought the final safety car episode was ridiculous. Clearly both Audi and Aston Martin welcomed it from a tactical standpoint - and it made no real difference to Peugeot, because the R10 was out of range - I'm not so sure about the DBR-9 v C6R situation. Maybe an act of desperation on Fellows' part, but he was lapping some 30 secs faster than Brabham prior to safety car deployment, despite the deluge - and could, theoretically have caught him - so that part of the drama was denied us by the ACO. Rain only stops races in the States, remember!
At further risk of total partisan fanatiscism for all that is yellow and rumbly, The Corvettes 'extended pit-stop' in 2003 was not tactical from the teams point of view. Higher-ups in corporate GM demanded they sit idle so that the Caddy prototypes could catch-up - as it simply would not have done, to have the Vettes beat the Cadillacs.
Pratt & Miller now have some re-engineering to do, it would seem. Vibration caused by their MDS, whilst running behind the safety car caused the drive-shaft failure in #64 - this happened at St. Pete also, proving they are not infallable. Why Gavin wasn't allowed to limp it back on the starter motors did confuse me - I wonder if the same enforcement would have been applied to the Alphand car had it been in the same predicament...... 
I wonder if it's time to take some of the ballast out of the Corvette, on the back of this result?