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Translation of an article from "Auto Motor und Sport" from April 1999 written by Guido Stalmann

California Dreamin`
Mercedes dreamt of lonely test drives with the new Le Mans-Prototype CLK-LMP in California. But "Auto Motor und Sport" caught the silver arrow at the Fontana oval.
Also after the controversial journey of the German national soccer team for the international match to Florida ((USA)) at the end of January ((this year)) the USA rates highly as location for the preparation of sporty great feats. After all the new sports cars from Audi and BMW for the first time saw the light of the public at the twelve-hour race of Sebring.
On the day after the triumph of BMW Mercedes set up its training camp on the other side of the continent in the Californian Fontana for the new Le Mans sports-car. It's the first race car which was developed after the takeover of AMG by Mercedes. AMG-founder Hans Werner Aufrecht has uncoupled his competition department from the Mercedes-daughter and now builds the silver arrows under the company name "H.W.A.".
Actually his team wanted to test one week long on the oval course in secrecy, but one didn't find the desired seclusion: At the beginning of the week the two silver cars circled round a dealer's event of the Toyota-daughter Lexus in the centre of the course. Just the Le Mans favourite Toyota.
But not the hoped for loneliness is the main reason that Mercedes prefers ovals: Nowhere else is room for the speeds which the cars reach at the long Hunaudieres straight of Le Mans. However Mercedes used only a part of the oval. One included the course of the infield.

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	In 1998 Mercedes rented the oval in Homestead. This time one refrained from the course near Miami ((Florida)): Too slow. In Homestead the time keeping then noted figures of 320 km/h ((199mph)). But in Le Mans the fastest cars advance to the 340km/h ((211mph)) border. For such speeds Fontana is better suited. One sees with the bare eye
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that the new Mercedes CLK-LMP surpasses his predecessor with the top speed measurement. This time H.W.A. chief designing engineer Gerhard Ungar was given a free hand with the wind tunnel model because in 1999 also the closed Le Mans cars are allowed to be pure prototypes. A derivation for the street with crash tests and ECE type approval isn't necessary anymore.
That is to the benefit of the aerodynamics of the new one. The CLK-LMP has a significantly lower front end, which only in the area of the fenders reaches the height of its predecessor. The grille and the two double-headlamps - together with the rear lights the only hint to the serial CLK - were moved far down.
The very distinct wedge-shape increases the down-pressure of the front axle.
In addition the lowered front enhances the air stream of the two air shafts, which like with the predecessor have their origin in two big openings at the lower edges of the windshield and run along the passenger compartment to the coolers.
The side boxes themselves drop more steeply than with the predecessor. This wave profile, which already was very distinct at last year's Toyota, enhances the air stream of the rear wing. The distance between the rear wing and the spoiler lip below already known from the 1998 race-car has noticeably grown - a result of the extremely low rear end.
The rear lights crouch only a few centimetres over the lane anymore. In between escapes hot air from the engine compartment through two big, fine-mashed openings. The cockpit with the new car is shorter than with the predecessor, besides the rear part, the engine cover, dropping more steeply.

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Key word engine: The engine unit has caused the most headache to the technicians at the previous test drives. Though it concerns the V8 from the previous year with which only the displacement was reduced from 5.759 to 5.721 ccm by a reduced stroke, but suddenly problems never before existent appeared. At first tests in Spain at the end of January with an interim car - old chassis, new engine unit - the engine was changed repeatedly. As causes for cracks in the engine casing vibrations or too strong tensions in the chassis area were discussed.

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At the following test at the end of February in Fontana, the first drive with the new car, it took a turn to the worse. Colossal engine damages at the V8 in the CLK-LMP puzzled the H.W.A. chief of engines Dietmar Kamzcyk. One found a problem in the cable harness, which fooled the engine electronics. In the meantime the interim car ran 30 hours without problems.
At the latest tests in Fontana, this time with two new cars the engine problems seemed to be solved. Mercedes-star Bernd Schneider and the Australian talent Mark Webber, who already at the first training camp at Fontana recommended themselves with the fastest laps, carried out the main work at the test of the components. At the following longruns the other drivers got a stronger chance.
Because of the engine noise it was allowed to drive from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. only. In stages one of the two cars ran 30 hours without serious faults.
Altogether Mercedes was on the spot with eight drivers. In the car with the number six Schneider, the Frenchman Christopher Bouchut, his fellow countryman Franck Lagorce as well as the Portuguese Pedro Lamy took turns driving. Lamy and Lagorce are novices at Mercedes.
Besides Webber Marcel Tiemann and Jean-Marc Gounon as well as the Scottish youngster Peter Dumbreck are used. At the pre-qualification at the 1st and 2nd of May ((1999)) Mercedes will participate with three cars with three drivers each.

	Left: Audi, top: Toyota, right: BMW .
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The ninth starter then possibly will be "Auto Motor und Sport" pilot Nick Heidfeld. With Formula 1 tests for McLaren-Mercedes, Formula 3000 title hunt and Le Mans the calendar of the 21-year old overflows.
The same problem has Mercedes chief of sports Norbert Haug. He cheered at the start of the US-CART series in Homestead the win of the Canadian Greg Moore in the Raynard-Mercedes and still on the same evening flew to Fontana to the test camp of the CLK-LMP.
Haug is no fan of long-distance races: Not telegenic, too risky. Besides Formula 1 and CART he'd prefer
to stand at the crash barriers at sprint races of spectacular touring cars.
But the mobilization in Le Mans - factory cars from Audi, BMW, Nissan, Panoz and Toyota - is too tempting. Haug, wholly sportsman: "Of course we don't have to go to Le Mans. But there's the competition and that's why we do want to go there."
Guido Stalmann
End of article from "Auto Motor und Sport" - translation by MBEP webmaster.
As usual remarks in ((blabla)), but (blabla) belongs to original text.

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