Says the wisdom popular that a manufacturer needs three cars to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans because the first will have an accident, the second mechanical problems, and will only be the third to reach the glory. However, Audi and Porsche will not align a third LMP1 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2017. Both of these brands, subject to the budgetary limits imposed in the sports programs of the Volkswagen Group understand that after optimising the resources to compete with two prototypes in all the appointments of the WEC would not make sense to go back to a project of three prototypes.
In other words, Audi and Porsche will keep their current bet of two LMP1 also in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2017, something that should not be confused with a decrease in the collective effort on the part of both brands. And it is that 2017 will be a year of transition to the new regulatory hybrid, which means that the technical basis of the prototypes will be identical to that of this year, despite the reduction to two kits aerodynamic. In this aspect, Porsche has already announced that it will keep the same design of the monoscasco of the 919 Hybrid to focus on other areas.
With Audi and Porsche, with a structure reorganized to two cars, Toyota is the only one that can get you out of the script. The presence of a third LMP1 of the japanese firm is something like the story of the milkmaid, but without a pitcher. Perhaps the experience of this year after losing the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the last lap is the necessary step to see a third TS050 Hybrid. Be that as it may, there are so many unknowns around this third possible LMP1 as in the continuity of the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, a test that is in doubt for 2017 for their economic problems.
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