I just read
Paul Ricard preview on the RML website. It nicely explains which LMP2 cars are cost-capped and which are not.
This is an important factor in the whole performance discussion because cost-capped cars run with 20 kg less (900 kg vs 920 kg for not cost-capped) and slighty bigger restrictors (around 5%).
The Pecon Lola complies with the cost cap and hence features the dorsal fin. The Norma probably also falls under the cost cap, but it does not need the fin because the chassis was produced last year.
The Oreca 03 is very strange story. It falls under the cost cap rules, but Oreca has found some clever explanation not to run the fin:
Quote:
The explanation from Oreca has been that the chassis was designed before the 2011 regulations were confirmed, but that it is still economically capable of building the car within the constraints of the "cost capped" requirements. However, they claim, the aerodynamics of the chassis might be adversely effected by the addition of a fin, and the added expense of testing whether this was the case would contribute substantially to the final cost of the car. As a result, the price tag would rise, and thus fail to meet the ACO's stipulated cost-cap ceiling.
The French manufacturer appears to have won its case, and with it the 20 kilo dispensation and a set of juicy restrictors.
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Bottomline of all this. The performance of the HPDs should be mainly compared the Greaves Zytek-Nissan, which is also not cost-capped. The Orecas and Pecon Lola are supposed to have a small engine advantage.