eli5: why is the NASCAR Camaro so good at Le Mans compared to LMGTE?
In: 285
Fundamentally, it is because all modern sportscar racing classes are tightly regulated, and the regulations allowed the NASCAR Camaro to be faster. But let’s break this down a bit.
First, we’re talking about sportscar racing. Sportscar racing are series like FIA WEC, IMSA WTSCC, SRO GT World Challenge, etc. These series race a type of race car called sportscars. This type of race car covers a broad range from GT cars that look like road cars all the way up to dedicated racing prototypes that look like spaceships with wheels. Sportscars are distinguished from open wheel race cars like they race in F1, IndyCar, and the various “Formula” feeder series.
In the early days of motorsports, regulations were very light. Teams & manufacturers had the ability to “run what you brung” on race day. As technology & engineering advanced, speeds climbed and incidents became more serious. In 1955, there was a crash at Le Mans that changed motorsports forever. From that point, sanctioning bodies began adopting regulations that focused on safety, which often resulted in restricting just how fast/powerful the race cars could be.
All of the top sportscar racing series in the modern era use a regulatory framework that restricts cars in a way that they are all relatively competitive. The two key elements are:
* **Performance envelope.** This is, essentially, a mathematical representation of a car’s ability to accelerate, brake, and turn. The performance envelope is calculated from things like engine power, aerodynamic performance, braking capacity, and tire grip. During the design of a race car, computer modeling is used to ensure that the cars stay within the performance envelope. If a car doesn’t fit within the performance envelope, the sanctioning body won’t allow them to race.
* **Balance of performance.** Once the cars are built, they are tested on track and the sanctioning body makes adjustments to ensure the cars remain competitive.
So in the case of the NASCAR Camaro, it finished 39th overall. So it’s kind of difficult to characterize it as “so good”, but I have a feeling you might be reacting to some of the footage of it blasting by traffic. That can be explained by the fact that the car has a lot of horsepower (for strong acceleration) and a lot of aero (for downforce), which made it perform very well on some sections of the circuit, but not as well on others. For example, they were getting passed on Mulsanne pretty easily.
Latest Answers