Priaulx Expecting “Tough” Race for Ford at Nürburgring


dbk

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http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/priaulx-expecting-tough-race-for-ford-at-nurburgring/

“We’re in a strong position in the championship but the next two races are going to be really tough for us,” Priaulx told Sportscar365.

“I think Aston will be very strong. They won the championship last year, they won Le Mans, and they’re going to be right up there in the next two races.

“We’ve just got to keep one eye on those guys and at the same time we’ve got to drive the best we can with what we’ve got.

“At the moment, we’re not competitive enough to go out there and win but we’ve got to make the best out of what we have. It’s as simple as that.”

Facing a challenging BoP and tough competition, Priaulx remains realistic about his chances this weekend, admitting that a second GTE-Pro class win of the season is likely too far out of reach...

Latest auto-BoP is brutal, but it's the system everyone agreed on. GT gains another 20 kg, Aston drops another 20 kg and gains more power. The auto-BoP is independent of Le Mans. Le Mans had it's own specific BoP so this goes back to the Spa race, where the Astons were slow. But the GTs were slower than the 488s so that's not so hot.

bop.jpg

GT is 85 kilograms heavier than the Aston and I'm told the estimate on horsepower is that it's at a roughly 30-40 hp deficit.
 

nota4re

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Not that I have a better idea, but I really begin to hate this whole BoP crap. As I have stated before, it really begins to detract from the overall accomplishment of winning when, ironically, I guess its intended purpose is the opposite. Something needs to change. As an example, this year it would seem that according to some, the GT is disadvantaged when compared to others. To admit this, it is to say that the BoP has a large influence on the outcome of the race. The conclusion is that last year's race - with the GT at the top of the podium, was largely influenced by a favorable BoP compared to the field.

Logically, we can't have it both ways. We cannot argue that last year' LeMans win accomplishment was the best thing since sliced bread - and then this year point to unfavorable BoP rules as the reason why a podium finish cannot be accomplished. To do so, it says that winners are better at the BoP "game" than maybe they are at the racing game.

There's got to be a better way of doing this. As the BoP is so much of an influence in the high-stakes outcomes, too much time is spent collectively by teams to strategize the best methods so as not to get an "un-just" ruling. Admittedly, now this is all part of the game and, for certain does still make Ford's accomplishment in 2016 extremely significant - but I long for the days when the game is not so broad and complex and is more down to bringing the best technology cars and drivers. As many others have said, your reward for bringing what may be the best car and best drivers is to get "dumbed down" to the lowest common denominator.

There's got to be a better way. I hope that someone smarter than me figures it out.
 

twobjshelbys

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Not that I have a better idea, but I really begin to hate this whole BoP crap. As I have stated before, it really begins to detract from the overall accomplishment of winning when, ironically, I guess its intended purpose is the opposite. Something needs to change. As an example, this year it would seem that according to some, the GT is disadvantaged when compared to others. To admit this, it is to say that the BoP has a large influence on the outcome of the race. The conclusion is that last year's race - with the GT at the top of the podium, was largely influenced by a favorable BoP compared to the field.

Logically, we can't have it both ways. We cannot argue that last year' LeMans win accomplishment was the best thing since sliced bread - and then this year point to unfavorable BoP rules as the reason why a podium finish cannot be accomplished. To do so, it says that winners are better at the BoP "game" than maybe they are at the racing game.

There's got to be a better way of doing this. As the BoP is so much of an influence in the high-stakes outcomes, too much time is spent collectively by teams to strategize the best methods so as not to get an "un-just" ruling. Admittedly, now this is all part of the game and, for certain does still make Ford's accomplishment in 2016 extremely significant - but I long for the days when the game is not so broad and complex and is more down to bringing the best technology cars and drivers. As many others have said, your reward for bringing what may be the best car and best drivers is to get "dumbed down" to the lowest common denominator.

There's got to be a better way. I hope that someone smarter than me figures it out.

You're saying what I've been saying for years. It comes down to a school that teaches only to the level of the least capable child in the class and holding back the initiatives of the rest. Take away BOP and the first year there will be some shock and awe, and within two years everyone will be at their best again.
 

Sinovac

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You're saying what I've been saying for years. It comes down to a school that teaches only to the level of the least capable child in the class and holding back the initiatives of the rest. Take away BOP and the first year there will be some shock and awe, and within two years everyone will be at their best again.

The Ford would decimate the other cars on the grid in unrestricted form. Would the other manufacturers step up or bail out in the absence of BoP? The GT is so advanced compared to the others that it would take a serious effort and serious money to challenge the GT in unrestricted form. I bet most of the others would take their marbles and go home.

The idea that the Ford was helped in its 2016 victory because the other cars were dialed back is silly. The Ford won despite, not because of, the BoP nonsense.
 

BtwoG

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That's a lot of weight, especially with so many turns at the Nurburgring. BoP is very 1984.
 

ChipBeck

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Gentlemen,

If BOP works properly, every car should have comparable acceleration, top speed, and lateral grip (cornering speed). That would leave winning to driver and team skill and preparation. That's how I see it. If a team is so handicapped with additional weight and power reductions that they have little or no chance to win then BOP has gone beyond performance parity and into the realm of managing which teams win and lose. One should never complain about a games rules. Study them and play. BUT.......this is particularly frustrating as the rules are always changing. As soon as you play well enough to win the rules are changed mid season so you can't win. Rules are changed multiple times a season.

When skill at managing relationships with BOP officials is more important than automotive design and driving skill then perhaps this isn't racing. If Olympic officials looked at the times of all hundred yard dash competitors and then decided how much weight each competitor needed to strap to their ankles so that everyone had a chance to be the 100 meter "Gold Medalist", then the officials can pick winners and losers. True competition in anything must have one set of rules for the game and every participant plays by the same rules. But if every competitor has a different set of rules, and those rules are always changing so that non competitors can manage results, it isn't really a competition.

But then, perhaps I'm too harsh.

Chip
 
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AJB

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Sadly, this BOP travesty causes me to not even want to watch the race. The only thing I can root for is the other cars and brands to crash.

Ajb (andy )
 

Sinovac

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Sadly, this BOP travesty causes me to not even want to watch the race. The only thing I can root for is the other cars and brands to crash.

Ajb (andy )

Like NASCAR. :lol
 

FENZO

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"At the moment, we’re not competitive enough to go out there and win..."
"I don’t think we’ll be fighting for the wins from the front.."

I hope for his sake that he is not so subtly sending a message and doesn't really feel that way.
 

Indy GT

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Very well stated Kendall and Chip.:thumbsup
I agree. This changing BOP regulations every race certainly looks like the sanctioning body is picking winners and losers.
 

dbk

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BOP for the regular season of WEC is automated. There's no point to lobbying.

He definitely believes they are toast, which they certainly will be for Nurburgring. They should be ok by Fuji and Shanghai.
 

AJB

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My concern would be.."if you believe you are toast before the flag drops...most likely you will end up toasted."
Andy (ajb)
 

07XL0027

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Gentlemen,

If BOP works properly, every car should have comparable acceleration, top speed, and lateral grip (cornering speed). That would leave winning to driver and team skill and preparation. That's how I see it. If a team is so handicapped with additional weight and power reductions that they have little or no chance to win then BOP has gone beyond performance parity and into the realm of managing which teams win and lose. One should never complain about a games rules. Study them and play. BUT.......this is particularly frustrating as the rules are always changing. As soon as you play well enough to win the rules are changed mid season so you can't win. Rules are changed multiple times a season.

When skill at managing relationships with BOP officials is more important than automotive design and driving skill then perhaps this isn't racing. If Olympic officials looked at the times of all hundred yard dash competitors and then decided how much weight each competitor needed to strap to their ankles so that everyone had a chance to be the 100 meter "Gold Medalist", then the officials can pick winners and losers. True competition in anything must have one set of rules for the game and every participant plays by the same rules. But if every competitor has a different set of rules, and those rules are always changing so that non competitors can manage results, it isn't really a competition.

But then, perhaps I'm too harsh.

Chip

What Chip said, 100%!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

ChipBeck

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Too much to ask?

BOP for the regular season of WEC is automated. There's no point to lobbying.

Dave,

I learn something new here every day. So a computer program determines power and weight adjustments? I'll assume the teams all know how it works and what performance differences will result in adjustments. Does IMSA here in the states have an automated system as well? If so then my comment about "managing relationships with BOP officials" is all wet. Still, to quote the great philosopher Joe Walsh, "I can't complain but sometimes I still do". It's frustrating to ship a race team all over the world knowing you are going into some races with little or no chance to win. You can't win them all, but like every other member here, I'd like to see Ford win them all. :cool

Chip
 

dbk

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Yes, the WEC system is automated. The IMSA system is not. The WEC system does NOT include Le Mans. That is based off last year and the initial test days.

The system was developed with the cooperation of the competing WEC teams, but in theory, it's still possible to play games to get the computer to assess you favorably. Go faster here, go slower there, etc.
 

PeteK

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Gentlemen,

If BOP works properly, every car should have comparable acceleration, top speed, and lateral grip (cornering speed). That would leave winning to driver and team skill and preparation. That's how I see it. If a team is so handicapped with additional weight and power reductions that they have little or no chance to win then BOP has gone beyond performance parity and into the realm of managing which teams win and lose. One should never complain about a games rules. Study them and play. BUT.......this is particularly frustrating as the rules are always changing. As soon as you play well enough to win the rules are changed mid season so you can't win. Rules are changed multiple times a season.

When skill at managing relationships with BOP officials is more important than automotive design and driving skill then perhaps this isn't racing. If Olympic officials looked at the times of all hundred yard dash competitors and then decided how much weight each competitor needed to strap to their ankles so that everyone had a chance to be the 100 meter "Gold Medalist", then the officials can pick winners and losers. True competition in anything must have one set of rules for the game and every participant plays by the same rules. But if every competitor has a different set of rules, and those rules are always changing so that non competitors can manage results, it isn't really a competition.

But then, perhaps I'm too harsh.

Chip
No Chip, you're not too harsh. I don't know why the manufacturers and race teams let themselves get backed into this corner.

Re your comment that every car should have comparable performance characteristics, then you're not describing the GT class (or what it should be) but a Spec-class car, in which every car is the same, with specified tires, suspensions, engines, etc. If you want to watch that SCCA sponsors several spec classes. No, in the GT class, I want to watch manufacturers build the best cars they can to compete within certain general rules that don't handicap superior designs and technology. As someone else noted, if the rules committee took off the shackles, the FGT would dominate, but within a couple years the others would up their game to compete. And then the cycle of improvement would go round again.

The frustrating thing about the BOP, regardless of whether it's a computer program or a rules committee, is that the rules KEEP CHANGING. Can anyone imagine football or soccer games in which the rules change during the game? Why would anyone want to watch it or root for a particular team? How could people agree on who won? It would be a confused melee. It is by the rules that we know what game is being played, which give continuity from one game to the next, and which connects us to the game as players or spectators. That's why Andy lamented that it causes him "to not even want to watch the race." And Sinovac added, "like NASCAR." Notice that NASCAR has been losing audiences and TV viewers.

It turns me off too. Demolition derbies are more fun.
 

Indy GT

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LOL!
+1 Pete
 

twobjshelbys

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The Ford would decimate the other cars on the grid in unrestricted form. Would the other manufacturers step up or bail out in the absence of BoP? The GT is so advanced compared to the others that it would take a serious effort and serious money to challenge the GT in unrestricted form. I bet most of the others would take their marbles and go home.

The idea that the Ford was helped in its 2016 victory because the other cars were dialed back is silly. The Ford won despite, not because of, the BoP nonsense.

It is only BoP that allows outdated Corvettes and Aston Martins to continue to run. Take the BoP away and they will have to update their platforms.
 

twobjshelbys

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Jul 26, 2010
6,053
Las Vegas, NV
The Ford would decimate the other cars on the grid in unrestricted form. Would the other manufacturers step up or bail out in the absence of BoP? The GT is so advanced compared to the others that it would take a serious effort and serious money to challenge the GT in unrestricted form. I bet most of the others would take their marbles and go home.

The idea that the Ford was helped in its 2016 victory because the other cars were dialed back is silly. The Ford won despite, not because of, the BoP nonsense.

The BoP makes finishes close. In unrestrected form the GT at Le Mans probably would have been in the form of the 66 win when they were ahead 30 (+-) laps and staged the attempt at the 1-2-3 tie.
 

Triheart7

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LOL!
+1 Pete

I second that +2