Category: Racing

Hypercars 2025

After I posted the review on my g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s 9X8, I was thinking about Hypercars in general. When the LMH class was introduced in 2021, I was over the moon. After the boring final years of LMP1, Le Mans deserved a better top class. Not that the race per se had become boring, mind you. After all, in the “junior” classes the battles continued VERY competitive. With that, a new competitive top class was very welcome news. At first things started slow, with just Toyota and Glickenhaus. Very soon, however, the future brightened up. A lot! We got news that Porsche would be joining LMH, as would Alpine, Isotta Fraschini, Cadillac, Peugeot, Vanwall, BMW and also the Italians Lamborghini and even Ferrari.

I don’t think we had such a diverse lineup in the top class at Le Mans like in 2023. Not even in the Group C days do I remember so many big dogs up front. And that was the idea behind the new class. In essence, LMH would be much cheaper than the previous LMP1 class, and that was a major incentive for manufacturers. Nonetheless, running cars in the top class at Le Mans is still VERY expensive and is not for everyone. So, as expected, the initial enthusiasm died down and consequentially we had quite a few dropouts. After the 2024 race, Isotta Fraschini, Glickenhaus, Lamborghini and Vanwall had abandoned the fight.

So, what can we expect for 2025? Doing the math, in LMH we’ll have Aston Martin (newcomer), Alpine, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Peugeot, Porsche and Toyota. There was a rumor that Mercedes would also come back to La Sarthe, and it was true. However, in 2025 they will compete in GT3-LM, not LMH. Which in my book is still great. Unfortunately though, Lamborghini dropped out from LMH and GT3-LM. Even so, I’m still happy with the perspectives for this year’s race. I expect to see a knife fight between Porsche, Toyota and Ferrari (and maybe Cadillac too?). Aston, BMW and Peugeot, on the other hand, are unknown quantities, so how will it all go down? Tough question 🤔.

Well, though I think it’s impossible to predict results, I’m positive that it’s going to be a heckuva year 😎.

Race report: my time at the 6 Hours of São Paulo 2024

It took a while, yet I finally finished my race report. There were a lot of photos to edit, which unfortunately, most were too crappy to use. In my humble opinion, cell phones are made to make phone calls, not great photos 😣. Either I’m right or too old to learn otherwise, the fact is that I need a reflex camera to make decent shots. Nonetheless, I managed a few (half) decent ones, and they are now ready to show. I also did a write-up on our whole experience, without being too boring (or trying to, at least). So if you wanna see some photos of the race or read about how it felt like, click HERE.

WEC is awesome!

What a blast! Honestly, one of the best three days I ever had! Expensive, yet totally worth it. Got back home this morning, and I’m currently editing my photos. I took a LOT of photos, and perhaps the one above is the one I liked the most. Pity the 9X8 underperformed (again!)… Nonetheless, since new models to review became kind of scarce around here (🙄), my idea is to write an article on the race where I’ll show the best shots.

And let’s start positive thinking for Spark to release at least a few of the those cars in 1:43… 🤞🤞🤞

The best Le Mans ever?

All right, that may be a bit too strong… So, maybe not the best ever but certainly the best in the last 10 years, then? Probably. The race had one of the most exciting beginnings ever, with lots of rain and drama. And after that, it was something or other happening all the time. Honestly, something happened every 15 minutes or so. Even so, the best part was Hypercar, hands down. Lead swaps occurred left and right, a VERY competitive race – so much better than the boring parades of the last five years. Moreover, the cars are absolutely gorgeous!

The bad part? A Ferrari won 🤣. Oh come on, it is bad – a Ferrari winning means that I’ll have to get an expensive Looksmart 😣. Yet, I’m NOT complaining – I was really dreading getting another boring white and red Toyota. And speaking of spending money, things will get expensive for the W-143 Garage: Ferrari 499P (Looksmart 🙄), Porsche 963, Peugeot 9X8, Cadillac V-Series.R, that Garage 56 Camaro, Oreca 07 #34 and the Corvette #33. And perhaps, because of the liveries, the “Dinosaur Porsche”, Nielsen Oreca 07 #14, a Glickenhaus and the Iron Dames Porsche. Oh yeah, the 2023 24 Heures du Mans will definitively be expensive.

Even so, all in all, and as expected, it was a FANTASTIC race! 🏆🏆🏆