Imsa/wec 2025

[CurtEgerer]

This is really strange and pretty sure it's not April 1 ... the 2026 tires for both IMSA and WEC have a tread pattern! These are not wets. All compounds will feature this design to promote Michelin's 'Vision' concept wheel-tire Sounds like a potential problem to me.

[Deschodt]

Weird look, promo stunt for their new sustainable tire engineering. You're not really gonna SEE that very much on WEC/IMSA cars, only mostly the sidewalls, the wheels being covered by the body it's unlikely to be super visible..

"the French firm has set out to improve tire wear, consistency as well as the effectiveness of the warm up process as tire warmers continue to be outlawed in both the WEC and WeatherTech Championship. Estimates provided by Michelin place the gain on three to five seconds on the first lap compared to the tire specification that is currently in use."

Weird look for sure but Michelin has always been #1 in my book so let's see..

[astrochex]

… but what about lap times in the long run? Slower overall, but more durable?

[rfuerst911sc]

My son read an article stating Michelin designed this tire to be faster on a cold lap . Basically taking the place of tire warmers . That tread pattern is super sticky and wears away in 2 laps or so to reveal the slick tire underneath.

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

My son read an article stating Michelin designed this tire to be faster on a cold lap . Basically taking the place of tire warmers . That tread pattern is super sticky and wears away in 2 laps or so to reveal the slick tire underneath.

Clever! Appears the starting diameter may be slighter larger than current equivalent tires.

I would miss the cold tire element of racing. Takes out a randomizing factor and opportunity for driver skill to shine. I guess they want max, max, max all the time not most of the time.

[CurtEgerer]

Breaking News! Ferrari Wins 3rd Le Mans in a Row.

Oops, I guess I'm slightly early with the inevitable headline. Let's see if my math is correct: Ferrari won the last 2 Le Mans and won every WEC race in 2025, so what does the FIA do? They give them a horsepower bump of course

And I wonder if the FIA is still turning a blind eye to Ferrari's illegal 'ABS braking system'? ABS is banned for hypercars, but it is pretty much a given that Ferrari uses their dual hybrid motors (1 front, 1 rear) as a faux ABS system .... LMdH cars all have rear hybrids only.

[cockerpunk]

caddy on top in FP1.

[astrochex]

LMP2 and LMGT3 qulaifying in a little more than 30min, https://fiawec.tv/page/6655a4a4e43bb36e84c8d3cd

[astrochex]

Impressively close qualifying in all classes at Le Mans.

[CurtEgerer]

Hyperpole at 1:45 today! I'm a lifelong Porsche fan but would love to see Cadillac do well. A Cadillac win would be great for the sport in general. Anybody but Ferrari

[javadog]

You watching this on MAX? I looked at their LeMans schedule page and they have nothing listed yet for 2025.

[Scott Watkins]

Here's where I've been watching.

https://www.youtube.com/@FIAWEC/videos

https://www.youtube.com/@24heuresdumans/videos


Directv has it listed on Motortrend for the race, 3 different segments.

[Deschodt]

Just rejoined MAX for this... watching hyperpole now, gonna be a good w/e with 24h + Canada F1..

Gotta ask, each year... Does anyone truly really care about LMP2 ? I know, I know, gentleman drivers, rung up the ladder to LMP1 etc...
But honestly, wouldn't Le Mans and WEC /IMSA be better off with just the top dogs and the GT3 cars ?

The LMP1 are fantastic tech, top of the tree, top manufacturers... The GT cars we can all relate to, the porsches, BMWs, Astons, Ferraris.. known quantity, translates to street..

LMP2 though ? Oreca? Gibon, who cares ? All they do is get in the way, have a weird format (small, not super pretty, identical, not fast enough sometimes vs GT cars).. if there is a strong following of LMP2 here please educate me, I can't see why they exist.. Their departure would mean more room for the top dogs and the GTs IMO... Also less accidents with a clearer division of speed between protos and GTs... As its own series to graduate to LMP1 OK maybe, but yawn....I'd think gentlemen drivers could drive GTs. Go ahead, send me under my rock.

[rfuerst911sc]

The Captain can't be in a good mood . Two of his Indy teams caught cheating before the Indy 500 . Top level staff were fired . Yesterday the # 6 Porsche Penske failed inspection for being under weight . They have been banned from qualifying but not from the race . They will start last in class . I don't think I want to be called into Roger's office anytime soon

[Deschodt]

Congrats to Cadillac.. As a porsche fan, I find the 963-platypus ugly, the Cadillac is a beauty of a car that sounds wonderful, and I'd love for them to finally win one for their efforts, especially if Bourdais is in it...
Ferrari did not look as good as they did in practice, but I bet they lead within the first hour (another gorgeous car)

[CurtEgerer]

Re: LMP2

The European and Asian Le Mans series are comprised solely of LMP2 cars and they are the headline event. I don't have a problem with them, they sound great, and they're due for a complete chassis/engine update soon. It was LMP3 that was the big problem and those were removed from WEC and IMSA last year. I suspect LMP2 will be gone from Le Mans as the field of hypercars and GT3s grows. But there are a number of Platinum drivers competing in LMP2: Dane Cameron (last year's IMSA GTP champ with Porsche), Louis Deletraz, Nick Yelloy, Renger van der Zande, Pietro Fittipaldi,Tom Blomqvist, Oliver Jarvis, etc. At Le Mans they're around 20 seconds per lap faster than the GT3s and around 12 seconds slower than the Hypercars.

[CurtEgerer]

BIG day for Cadillac. While the pole doesn't affect your 24 hour race one way or another, the prestige and promotional value for Caddy is huge. Particularly with the 1-2. Not sure what happened to the Whelen car??? They were fastest in Hyperpole 1.

[GH85Carrera]

I was just watching FP4. It is interesting to see Toyota floundering. They were unopposed for several years with no competition, and won several times. Now they are struggling.

As an American, I love seeing Cadillac on pole. Lets see if they can last 24 hours.

Still pulling for Porsche, I will admit I might possibly, just maybe, be a tiny bit prejudice and want to See Porsche win.

[rfuerst911sc]

I am a Porsche fan first . Would I be upset if Cadillac won ? Nope . Heck even if Alpine won I wouldn't be upset .

[astrochex]

BoP, Glen. It is always changing.

The race may tell a different story than qualifying.

The #6 Porsche has my favorite driver lineup so I am pulling for them. A Bourdais win would be sweet too.

LMP2s produce excellent racing, I am glad they are in the field.