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<body> <Table Width="550" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD Width="35"><IMG SRC="//www.totalmotorsport.com/images/spacer.gif" WIDTH="35" HEIGHT="1"></td><td> <CENTER><Table border="0" width="100%"> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="5">FIA SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">25/10/2000</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">SR2 & LMP675 </FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">John Mangoletsi Explains</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><img border="1" src="Storage/675%20ainsSPO.jpg"></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="1">  </FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2"> "There have been requests to consider allowing the LMP 675 class in the FIA Sportscar Championship for 2001. Whilst on the face of it, there is some similarity in the concept of the cars, the detail design is so substantially different that they cannot be considered for inclusion with SR2."<BR> "The LMP675 class is a category within LMP900 for Le Mans. The intention apparently is that it should have the capability of winning the race outright. We fully respect the ACO's choice. However we consider 675 has problems when introduced in to shorter race formats.<BR> <BR> "The LMP675 class is a category within LMP900 for Le Mans. The intention apparently is that it should have the capability of winning the race outright. We fully respect the ACO's choice. However we consider 675 has problems when introduced in to shorter race formats.<BR> <BR> - It is already a very expensive car. A 2-litre VW turbo Reynard costs $500K. An SR2 (for 2001) is price capped at $216K.<BR> <BR> - To build a fully competitive car down to the weight limit of 675kgs has been estimated by leading constructors and private teams would have a very substantial performance disadvantage against unlimited budget manufacturer cars.<BR> <BR> "It is clearly not able to run in conjunction with the SR2 class, which has proved to be extremely popular and cost effective. On many circuits SR2s are already within 6 seconds of SR1 pole and there is no room for a third class between SR1 and SR2. On short circuits the performance from the leading 675 cars would be such that they could quite easily win races, therefore obsoleting conventional 900kg SR1s. This is contrary to the stability and cost controls that have made the SportsRacing World Cup the reliable series for teams to race in on a long-term basis.<BR> <BR> "There is no intention from the FIA or Grand-Am to adopt a 675 category and therefore the other events in which such cars could race would be limited. In particular, once the design of the expensive front running cars was obsoleted (which happens regularly with unlimited budget cars) the second hand value would be low.<BR> <BR> "The more classes that have to share a grid, obviously the fewer entries per class are available. Therefore it would be difficult for serious constructors to build sufficient numbers of potentially race winning cars to obtain a financial return on the investment required to develop and build the cars in the first place.<BR> <BR> "The SR2 class has been extremely successful. It fits perfectly with SR1. Fourteen constructors are building cars and a new race series will start in 2002 to accommodate all the coming cars. One constructor has sold 15 cars in 10 months for the 2001 FIA Sportscar Championship and Grand-Am series."<BR> <BR> <BR> JOHN MANGOLETSI - 25/10/00</FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><BR> </CENTER> <BR><CENTER><font size="1" color="#808080" face="Tahoma">Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport</font></CENTER> </td> </tr> </table> </body>