rotary crazy

any body have an idea why this car is not up to the others in performance, in the last race it was laping 4 to 5 secons slower than the winer?

Redshift

iTrader: (2)

Finished 2nd in Class, and sitting 2nd overall in the class standing for the season, in a brand new car? Sounds pretty competitive to me.
But, to answer your question, according to this article, they had to slow down due to cooling problems.


http://www.americanlemans.com/News/A...px?NewsID=1360

COSMO, BACH BRING HOME MAZDA-POWERED COURAGE SECOND AT PORTLAND

Portland - Guy Cosmo and teammate Jamie Bach brought their Sportsbook.com-sponsored Mazda-powered Courage home in second position in the LMP2 class this weekend at Portland International Raceway during the American Le Mans Series' Portland Grand Prix. The podium finish is the second consecutive rostrum appearance for the American driving duo and has moved Cosmo and Bach back up in the championship standings as they are now tied for second in the overall championship.

The race didn't go quite as planned, as the car developed an overheating problem early on, forcing Cosmo to play it cool and back off the pace in order to insure a points finish without damaging the three-rotor Mazda powerplant.

"Given the situation, we adopted a strategy to try and eliminate one of our pit stops, so we were saving fuel every chance we had – coasting up to the braking zones, limiting periods of full throttle, and just doing everything possible to keep the engine temps down and our fuel mileage up," said Cosmo. "As a race car driver, it was a bit frustrating, but it was what we had to do, and it worked because we managed to keep the car running, get to the finish, and take home some valuable championship points."

Cosmo is now tied for second position in the LMP2 overall championship points with four rounds remaining in the 2005 American Le Mans Series season.

Getting to the finish and scoring points on a track that Cosmo had never raced on before wasn't the only reason he was happy after the event, as he learned that the ACO and IMSA have made a slight rules modification that should see the Mazda/Courage combination even more competitive in the future.

"The car was better than it had been at Infineon, and now that the ACO and IMSA have given us a larger air restrictor for our Mazda three-rotor, we should be even better at Road America," said Cosmo. "This program keeps improving, and while some days we have to learn while we are racing, as we did here at Portland, I know we are just going to keep getting better."

BlueEyes

I can't wait to see the new porsche LMP2 run.

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, real competitive field at Portland.... Three cars in class.

Maybe next year the class will be a bit more fun to watch as Porch is getting in the mix.

Dark8

It was fun to see a rotary passing a viper. They did have the long (5 min or so) pit when they cleaned out the radiators. I'd have pictures since I was standing by their pits but my camera batteries picked that moment to die.

Redshift

iTrader: (2)

You can only race against those who show up.
Considering the scale of the effort, I think it's pretty impressive.

But, I do agree it will be much better next season, with more manufacturer support (i.e. Porsche) plus a full season of developement on the Courage cars.

rotary crazy

THAKS for the reply guys, I found some intresting info on rotarynews.com, they are running 100 pounds over weight and they are goin to remove the restrictor.

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

Rumor is the Miracle guys are going to LMP1 next year.

rotarygod

They are running somewhere around 400 hp. Their competition is running closer to 480+hp. Big difference. The restrictor plate rule hurts the rotaries more than piston engines just due to the way a rotary uses air. The engine itself unrestricted is capable of 500+ hp.

EDIT: The restrictor plate rules was just changed for the rotary. They were running a 49.1 mm restrictor plate but then are now allowed to take it up to 53.5mm. Still far too small in my opinion but at least they'll pick up a little power.

rotary crazy

RG, are they using renesis rotors?

Redshift

iTrader: (2)

It's a 3-rotor, so I'd have to think it's based on a 20B instead, but I'm sure RG would know better then I.

rotary crazy

I know a few people that are using renesis rotors in 13b engines with very good results.

Redshift

iTrader: (2)

Really? Cool.
Now, I'll ask the stupid question since I'm not 100% on the answer, but what would be the advantages of using Renesis rotors in a 13b?

Matt RX8

I watched the race on TV. Good job for the Mazda team. Would be nice for more TV coverage of the LM2 class though.

I'll probably go to Road America and watch the next race. I'll try to get some get photos.

rotary crazy

the renesis rotors are lighter, compresions is 10/1 and they are cheaper. a friend is getting 310 rwhp at 9000 rpm on his 13b peripheral race car ( I dont now if I can mention his name sorry but I have seen it :D ).

OK, I found some more info www.mulsannescorner.com ( a lot of good info on the car there), says that the rotor desing is influense by the renesis, is not a definitive answer but its something.

rotary crazy

http://www.mulsannescorner.com/couragec65-9.html

try now.