Re:How the Upcoming Mazda RX-9 Will Keep the Spirit of the R...
by brucethemoose2 on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @01:48PM
(#37755216)
> then I would expect to see them used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Rolex
Powertrains in these leagues are heavily, heavily regulated. Outside of baja, there haven't been "unlimited" high budget racing leagues since like the 70s or 80s.
Hence crazy 80s Group C Le Mans cars (before they got banned) got similar lap times similar to modern Le Mans prototypes with much worse tyres, and the 70s Porsche 917 still holds the lap record at Talladega, by a wide margin, because such a nutty unregulated engine never lapped it again.
Also, the performance targets for a pure racecar are totally different than a sports car or even a luxury supercar. They are either at high RPM full throttle, full brake, or in a turn 24/7, with no concern for any other kind of load (like puttering down a highway at low RPM) or any kind of sane maintenance schedule. And weight is absolutely critical.
Powertrains in these leagues are heavily, heavily regulated. Outside of baja, there haven't been "unlimited" high budget racing leagues since like the 70s or 80s.
Hence crazy 80s Group C Le Mans cars (before they got banned) got similar lap times similar to modern Le Mans prototypes with much worse tyres, and the 70s Porsche 917 still holds the lap record at Talladega, by a wide margin, because such a nutty unregulated engine never lapped it again.
Also, the performance targets for a pure racecar are totally different than a sports car or even a luxury supercar. They are either at high RPM full throttle, full brake, or in a turn 24/7, with no concern for any other kind of load (like puttering down a highway at low RPM) or any kind of sane maintenance schedule. And weight is absolutely critical.