Guess who's back.

[EJ25RUN]

From Ultimatecarpage.

"Long established racing car manufacturer first entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1979. In the 1980s the Japanese company was the driving force behind Toyota's four and eight cylinder Le Mans racers. At the end of the decade the focus turned to single seater racing, but company founder Minoru Hayashi never lost his desire to one day take a Le Mans win. Now a dominating force in a variety of Japanese racing series, Dome gave sportscar racing another go at the start of this decade. To this end a brand new prototype racing car was built to be raced at Le Mans and in the World Sportscar Championship.

Dubbed the S101, the new racing car debuted at the 2001 Monza 1000 km race. Fielded by highly experienced endurance racers Jan Lammers and John Nielsen, two examples were entered for the race. Lammers proved the most loyal of the S101 customers as he drove the Dome in various evolutions well into 2007. The car proved quick straight out of the box and the Nielsen car racked up the first win in July of 2001. With a two car team, Jan Lammers' Racing for Holland dominated the 2002 World Sportscar Championship in 2002, clinching both titles. At Le Mans, the stronger competition meant that the S101 could do no better than sixth.

Rule changes left the car obsolete for the 2006 season and due to uncertainty about future changes, Dome refused to commit to a new car. For 2007 the existing design was modified for a final time and raced as the S101.5, but with very disappointing results. While many believed this spelt the end of Dome's sportscar racing efforts, the Japanese manufacturer showed resilience and set about designing a brand new car for 2008. After trying a variety of configurations, Dome opted for a coupe bodywork, which they believed to be the most efficient.

Initially Dome announced that they would base the shape of the S102 on the successful Peugeot 908 coupe, but as development progressed they moved well away from the French design. The big challenge for the designers was to bridge the horsepower gap between the Judd V10 petrol engine and the dominant diesel engines with the chassis and aerodynamics. The answer was to concentrate as much weight as possible in the middle and lower end of the car, resulting in a very low machine with a relatively long wheelbase. If anything, it has resulted in a superb looking machine.

Long before the first S102 tub was completed, the team was already testing the running gear on the S101.5 chassis. Dome opted to go with the familiar by using the well proven Judd V10 engine combined with a X-Trac 6-speed gearbox and Zytek's paddle shift system. The suspension system is far from conventional as it uses Dome's in-house developed dampers. These were briefly used on the S101, but abandoned again. Designed specifically for the S102 chassis, these dampers should be superior to any off the shelve product.

Early in March of 2008 all bits and pieces were put together and the S102 first took to the track. It immediately impressed observers. The car was not raced before heading to Le Mans, but Dome did take it to Spa the week after the Le Mans Series race to see how it weighed up. The S102 made its highly anticipated first public appearance at the official Le Mans test. Some small problems and at times horrendous weather prevented the team from setting super quick lap times. It would not be a big surprise, however, if the splendid Dome will record the fastest petrol time during qualifying."

[Elbow]

Car looks good

[EJ25RUN]

Car looks good

good you say that cause i wasnt sure if the pix were visable. The Pescarola team is running the same (similar) power plant so that is probably the big competition for this car. I dont think its nearthe level to take on the super diesels yet. So far in the two practice sessions, it has been a good way of the pace of the Peuguot and Audi squads but bad weather could be to blame as well.Im starting to wonder if a petrol will win at Le Mans ever again.

It has to be the best looking japanese prototype i've ever seen. I hope the car makes it to the end.

[AnthonyF]

ahhh new competition for team Audi. YAY! Car looks amazing. I cant wait to see it on the track.

-Ant.

[EJ25RUN]

Mulsanne's Corner NEWS
http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newsjan12.html



Yesterday the ACO released the entry list for both the 2012 World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the singular Dome S102.5 entered by Henri Pescarolo's organization for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. Dome's return, after their three year absence, is certainly welcome.

Though it is a bit puzzling. Recall back in August of 2010 Dome Chief Mr. Minoru Hayashi's pronouncement that Dome would withdraw from Le Mans competition and that their post-Le Mans "posthumous work" would begin? In his statement Mr. Hayashi did leave the door open for Dome by saying, "If an automobile manufacturer requests us to develop a Le Mans racing car in future, Dome will be happy to accept their request, and if Dome develops into a company large enough to pay all the expenses for participation in Le Mans, Dome may once more take up the challenge." But the final word seemed to have been, "But that will happen, if it eventuates, in the next generation, and I am sure that I will not be at the scene."

We've always been a bit puzzled by Mr. Hayashi's statement in that it was obviously from the heart, but that it was final. Dome was done.

But the timing was also very intriguing. Behind the scenes, and unbeknownst to most, around this time same time Toyota had green-lighted a LMP study program. The reality was that it was ultimately more than a study given the amount of resources and personnel dedicated and the only thing missing was an official sign-off from Toyota Corporate. This eventually occurred and the project was made public in December of 2011. What rolled out last month most certainly had been maturing for quite a long time.

Now what did any of this have to do with Dome? Officially, absolutely nothing. However, unofficially, there were very strong suggestions that Dome had involvement in Toyota's LMP. It is hard to deny the obvious visual resemblance. These suggestions became stronger, and then we had very specific details that, yes, indeed, there was a Dome-Toyota connection. Inquires along these lines brought up mentions of Non-Disclosure-Agreements and there was a distinct desire to avoid any suggestions.

Ultimately it's our supposition that yes, Dome was initially involved in Toyota's LMP effort. As to the specifics of that involvement, we will not say and we've also been told that it is, "...more complicated than that." We don't doubt it and surmise that it will take time for the actual story to shake out. Ultimately it's further our supposition that Dome anticipated a long-term involvement with Toyota and that when that contract wasn't signed Dome announced they were done (August 2010) out of frustration.

A second theory of ours is that even as the two entities parted ways a non-compete clause governing a set period of time was signed between the two parties. And the non-compete clause was related directly to the nature of the exchange between Dome and Toyota, whatever that was.

But then there were second thoughts, or, hints of second thoughts, and even perhaps a looming non-compete expiration. Because even as the S102 languished in the Dome factory's show room, presumably never to race again, pictures were released of the car's wind tunnel model with swan necks and, more importantly, the big honking fin. Dome was certainly making sure that a car that hadn't raced since 2008 was up-to-date with the latest thinking.

And in October of 2011 Mr. Hayashi Tweeted what sound like a lament that the, as yet still unannounced, Toyota LMP program wasn't using "domestic" chassis technology.

Then this past December, the same month that Toyota announced they were officially returning to Le Mans in 2012, Race Car Engineering magazine featured an article on the Dome S102 in which Dome's Hiroshi Yuchi said Le Mans was unfinished business and that, "..if someone came along with enough money we could go racing."

Direct inquires to Hiroshi Yuchi brought this similar response, "It depends on the customer. We still receive inquiries for the S102 and always discuss the details. Of course, if there is a team who can run S102 with a reasonable budget, our big boss, Minoru Hayashi, should be happy to send the car to Europe or USA."

Something had changed...

We suspect that Toyota's announcement had rekindled old feelings and spurred Dome to directly challenge Toyota on the track, if only to show them what they missed out on. And perhaps the practicality of the expired non-compete clause made their words official. Minoru Hayashi's press release states that Dome will be footing the 2012 program on their own dime but that, "We don’t have plenty of spare money, either." A far cry from returning when, "Dome develops into a company large enough to pay all the expenses for participation in Le Mans." And interestingly, Mr. Hayashi does hint to underlying reasons why the company withdrew, "Some of you could have got wondering why she (the S102) had not had any chance to come back to competition. I would disclose the reason in future, but the main point today is not about it ." Further more, Hayashi states, "Le Mans 24 Hours is an endurance race indeed, but what Dome aims is the speed in the qualifying sessions in which the true performance of the racecars is tested." Dome is coming to Le Mans in 2012 simply to show everyone how potentially fast their car is, they have something to prove.

Dome's 2012 Le Mans program is somewhat late in announcement and Hiroshi Yuchi admits that certain regulatory details (fender holes) haven't been defined yet. For now the intent is to race first at Spa, and then Le Mans. Nothing else has been decided beyond that. The S102.5, as it will be known, will have a 3.4 liter Judd V8 in place of the previous 5.5 liter V10. With the shorter, lighter V8 slotting into the rear of the car we can imagine a positive (forward) weight distribution benefit. And for now the car appears identical to the S102 but for rules differences since 2008.

So, is this a case of a jilted lover? Yes, we really believe so. Where's the actual proof? For now it's under wraps, and complicated. More so than we know or indicated here.

But regardless, Dome's return is certain to make Le Mans all the more interesting this year. Welcome back Dome!

[green91]

That car is a sexy bitch.