Petit LeMans

[Kwattro at aol.com]

In a message dated 00-10-03 09:49:34 EDT, you write:

<< hey changed TWO rearends at Lemans faster than BMW
 was able to repair their rear wing at Road Atlanta. 
 If others are unwilling or unable to match their
 innovations, they are destined to fail.
  >>


I think you're comparing apples and oranges here - the BMW team had to do 
bodywork, not unbolt one section of engine and bolt another up to it.  
Granted the Audi feat was impressive, but the BMW team's ordeal was the 
result of an accident, not a mechanical failure.  It would be shortsighted to 
call them slow - in reality, we have little or no idea what they were doing 
to the car, and they still replaced the badly damaged section (unlike the 
Audi team, which did not repair a broken section of car, seriously affecting 
its handleing characteristics...) in a reasonable, if not quick, amount of 
time.  I think a reasonable comparison to the quickness of the Audi swap 
would be to that of the Corvette C-5R team at Daytona, when they had the 
heads off the car for 20 or more minutes.  Still quick, but no candle to the 
Audisport work.

Later!
Carter J
Kwattro at aol.com