Group B pushed it too far

All motorsports enthusiasts (like yours truly) moan that regulatory bodies are always castrating the sport. And if it wasn’t for racing bodies, motorsports would be more fun 🙄. Well, once (just once) FIA said what the hey and essentially pulled all the stops. That’s basically how Group B came to be, and tragically, it was too much.

The video above succinctly explains what happened.

Koenigsegg Gemera. And you thought things could not get more insane…

The Gemera, just presented today. It has 1700 hp, and can go from a standstill to 100 km/h in 1.9 seconds, with a top speed of at least 400 km/h. It also has all-wheel drive, all-wheel torque vectoring, all-wheel steering and also has independent rear-wheel steering. And if that’s not enough, it seats four adults (comfortably, according to Koenigsegg).

It also has 8 (eight) cup holders, four that chill your drink and four that heat your drink. I’m not sure about luggage space, or if it even has space for your wallet. But who needs to carry luggage if you’re going somewhere at warp speed with your family.

Insane 🤯.

Six (yes, just 6!) cars in LMP1 at La Sarthe this year

ACO released this afternoon (02/28) the entry list for the 24 Heures du Mans of 2020. We will only have six LMP1 cars – two Toyota, two Ginetta and two Rebellion. The grid will consist of 62 cars in total, and the other 56 are 24 LMP2, 11 GTE-Pro and 20 GTE-Am cars.

This year will be the last hurrah of the LMP1 class, and I’m sad to see only six cars. The class has been around since 1994 and I thought they deserved a grander going-away party 😥.

Motorsport.com has the full list here.

Hypercar class in jeopardy

Earlier this week we heard that Aston Martin is pulling out of the new Hypercar class, and therefore the Valkyrie project was put on hold (canceled?). So far only Toyota has what looks to be a “working project”, but nothing yet from McLaren, Peugeot or Glickenhause. Well, the later, on Tweeter, said they do have something in the oven. We’re almost in March now, and Le Mans is in June, so with all that (lack of) news I’m worried.

Jalopnik has a much better story on this. And unfortunately, it’s a troublesome read.