2014 United Sports Car Championship

[cnd01]

The DP's are not moving to P2 spec. The 'DTM series' is suppose to feature 5 maybe 6 manufacturers (depending on Honda). GA should really consider using that spec as 'DP' in the future since it's ALREADY close to P2 pace (theyre keeping P2 for the ACO link). So DP's move to GT500/DTM regs for the near future and the P2's can race alongside. DTM is part spec as is, so you don't have to complain the costs are out of control or whatever the reason you fancy DP now.

http://www.alms.com/articles/class-specifications-2014-united-sportscar-racing-debut-taking-shape

Cars considered P2 in origin will follow current technical specs of the ACO

BTW I've heard DTM budgets are in excess of 10 million a season in order to be competitive, but it's only through word of mouth.

 

[tbwhhs]

This is just my 2 cents on how I think the schedule will end up

Daytona
Barber
Sebring
Long Beach
Circuit of the Americas
Mid-Ohio or Detroit
Watkins Glen
Indianapolis
Mosport
Road America
Kansas
Road Atlanta

I would much rather have VIR instead of Kansas but with ISC ownership I;m pretty sure it will have a spot on the schedule.

 

[01GTP]

Detroit GP not affected by bankruptcy.

That is for Indy Car, yes?
And who knows what "The future" holds. 👍

The problem with both events is that they'll be playing second fiddle to the IndyCar, though Barber could easily host the series as a premier event on another date. It should be noted that Barber's event has been backed by Porsche who have their Driving Experience at the track. While it's not concrete, I could see that as playing in to them returning. It's also a beautiful and modern facility.

And Barber has bikes as well, so more events without the USCR.

And Kansas is expecting two events, not one. And while I don't know how much this merits, the CEO of Penn National Gaming, who run the Hollywood Hotel Casino and help promote events at Kansas, races a Ferrari 458 in Ferrari Challenge. Depending on how much say he has, we know that there'll be at least one avid road racer demanding an event from the Kansas party. It's also an ISC track.

From the article:

The Kansas City, Kan., speedway’s inaugural Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Sports Car Challenge Series road races will take place under the lights Aug. 16-17.

That is for this year's event, 1 event in my mind.

Seems kinda odd to go there only once.
It's also owned by ISC so maybe it'll be on the schedule.
As for the Ferrari's, I was just at the stand alone event at Lime Rock last weekend so they may still visit the current tracks they run.
As well as the Continental series.


I picked out those events as the host cities seem to have (for lack of a better term) political problems, that's all.
It can't help in organizing events.

ESM's Ferrari entry

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/album.php?albumid=5541&pictureid=61215

 

[cnd01]

This is just my 2 cents on how I think the schedule will end up

Daytona
Barber
Sebring
Long Beach
Circuit of the Americas
Mid-Ohio or Detroit
Watkins Glen
Indianapolis
Mosport
Road America
Kansas
Road Atlanta

I would much rather have VIR instead of Kansas but with ISC ownership I;m pretty sure it will have a spot on the schedule.

Hmm this schedule looks good. The only thing I see would be a Laguna seca race, but there's no guarantee it will make it. Long beach takes the west coast spot. I'd so much rather have mid-o than belle isle. The less rovals and street courses the better imo. I'm also a huge fan of VIR. I would go to that race if they had it on the schedule.

 

[Sam48]

Starworks just announced plans to run the PC class possibly as soon as Road America in the ALMS.

 

[Snaeper]

That is for Indy Car, yes?
And who knows what "The future" holds. 👍

No. The Detroit GP is the name they give to the entire weekend and includes all of the events from SCCA WC, Grand Am and Indy.

From the article:

That is for this year's event, 1 event in my mind.

You're right, I re-read it and they do say "Two events this year" so that would suggest only one race weekend is guaranteed. I would hope that Kansas and ISC take a bullet for the sake of the racing and move Kansas to a number 1 reserve spot for expansion or rotation. I really think that the USCR needs to start off on the strongest schedule possible, and a new Roval in Kansas does not (in my mind) work into that.

As for the Ferrari's, I was just at the stand alone event at Lime Rock last weekend so they may still visit the current tracks they run.
As well as the Continental series.

I mentioned the Ferrari's purely because one of the management members at the track races them. That would, to me, indicate that he would be a guy who is a road racing enthusiast and would work hard to get a race at the track, even if the Ferrari's themselves don't show up.

Hmm this schedule looks good. The only thing I see would be a Laguna seca race, but there's no guarantee it will make it. Long beach takes the west coast spot. I'd so much rather have mid-o than belle isle. The less rovals and street courses the better imo. I'm also a huge fan of VIR. I would go to that race if they had it on the schedule.

I love Long Beach, but as has been stated before, it may not be able to hold an entire USCR field (at least not in the opening years, as things settle in we could see the field shrink a bit to make Long Beach an option in the future). Also, remember that it's Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. If I'm Mazda and I put my name on a legendary American racing track, I want the biggest and best series to race there to get that payoff. That means that I'm going to be pressuring both the racing series and the track management to do whatever it takes to get a date on the list.

You will be labeled a heretic and a traitor to American racing for suggesting that it's even possible to be removed.

 

[Mr.Skyline09]

It begins
The GT3 Viper will be running next year

 

[Mac K]

Ben Keating, no surprise there. I'm curious to see who the "pro" will be.

 

[Snaeper]

I'd love to see United Autosport come over and run a Mclaren, even if it's just the NAEC.

 

[freshseth83]

http://www.alms.com/articles/class-specifications-2014-united-sportscar-racing-debut-taking-shape



BTW I've heard DTM budgets are in excess of 10 million a season in order to be competitive, but it's only through word of mouth.

P2 cars will stay ACO spec. Not the DP's. P2 will probably also run on a spec tire. Word of mouth is all you have. How much does Ganassi spend with their spec car? Teams spend money hiring personelle and drivers that bring the best out of cars. Why is it the same DP car in some teams runs up front consistently and has won 5+ championships? So much for that level playing field. It's the same in any championship. The guys with money are up front even with spec cars.

 

[Tower Turn 13]

As long as there's a 12 Hours of Sebring I can live with whatever they want to do with the rest of the year.

 

[01GTP]

No. The Detroit GP is the name they give to the entire weekend and includes all of the events from SCCA WC, Grand Am and Indy.

Yes. that is correct. 👍

But we are talking in future years to come and that is where I see a possible problem, not with Indy cars but with the USCR.


If Keating's Viper is campaigned and run by Riley is it also built by Riley?

 

[cnd01]

If Keating's Viper is campaigned and run by Riley is it also built by Riley?

Riley built the SRT viper for gte, and I believe he built this one as well.

 

[hawkeye122]

Eh, having the same(ish) car running in 2 classes won't really help those who already have a hard time with the class structure...

My thought would be (And this goes for most manufacturers) GTE should be the Halo car (DB9, ZR1, F12, 911 RSR, Viper, etc) and GT3 should be the lower-spec car (Camaro, Vantage, 458, Cayman, Challenger).

But when you have the V12 Vantage running in a lower class than the V8... I'm going to get annoyed re-explaining why every 20 minutes when my mates agree to watch the 24 with me.

 

[cnd01]

^same problems just it's my 70 year old grandpa and we're at the track itself

 

[Sam48]

Eh, having the same(ish) car running in 2 classes won't really help those who already have a hard time with the class structure...

I think the standardized number panels will help with this. Also, it's not like WEC where the cars are exactly the same as, in USCR, we can at least make out differences in the body work.

 

[Mac K]

http://www.racer.com/opinion-why-uscr-must-go-to-canada/article/304498/

Article on why the USCR should go to Canada,

 

[Tower Turn 13]

Same cars in different classes: Er Porsche, Ferrari and Corvette come to mind.

 

[freshseth83]

Eh, having the same(ish) car running in 2 classes won't really help those who already have a hard time with the class structure...

My thought would be (And this goes for most manufacturers) GTE should be the Halo car (DB9, ZR1, F12, 911 RSR, Viper, etc) and GT3 should be the lower-spec car (Camaro, Vantage, 458, Cayman, Challenger).

But when you have the V12 Vantage running in a lower class than the V8... I'm going to get annoyed re-explaining why every 20 minutes when my mates agree to watch the 24 with me.

Aston doesn't run the V12 Vantage in GTE because the old rule of engine size. The V12 is 6 liters the V8 is 4.3 liters. This is why Chevy dropped to the 5.5 liter V8. This rule should be abolished since the Viper came about with the 8 liter V10.

 

[hawkeye122]

Aston doesn't run the V12 Vantage in GTE because the old rule of engine size. The V12 is 6 liters the V8 is 4.3 liters. This is why Chevy dropped to the 5.5 liter V8. This rule should be abolished since the Viper came about with the 8 liter V10.

...I know that. Perhaps you didnt read my post?



Apparently Continental is going to be the exclusive tyre supplier.... They need to work on the tyres then. If any team tries to go to Le Mans they'll get spanked...

 

[Snaeper]

BMW has no plans to support Z4 GT3's so Turner Motorsport is considering all options, including racing other fir manufacturers or in other series. He also mentions that it's silly that the USCR has to change the aero and restrict the engines on the GT3 cars. I agree and I think they should be raced as is. The GTLM cars have just enough of a speed advantage that, with their all-pro driver pairings, they shouldn't have a problem staying ahead of the Pro-AM GT3's.

EDIT: Speaking of GT3's, Callaway will once again be developing the Corvette into a GT3 car, this time the C7 of course. But it will be interesting to see if they stay in Europe, or if they will become available to American teams in USCR like the Viper. http://www.autoblog.com/2013/07/25/callaway-chevy-corvette-c7-fia-gt3-race-car-video/

Apparently Continental is going to be the exclusive tyre supplier.... They need to work on the tyres then. If any team tries to go to Le Mans they'll get spanked...

No offense, but where did you hear this from?

 

[hawkeye122]

http://www.racer.com/continental-cl...-sole-prototype-tire-supplier/article/304626/

In fairness they say that they are "Close" to a deal, but I feel like that just means theyre kinking out number issues, rather than still deciding if that's going to happen.

On the Turner thing, I was thinking in the back of my head about Dalla-Lana. Is it actually his Vantage, or did he lease it and drivers from AMR for Le Mans?

 

[Snaeper]

http://www.racer.com/continental-cl...-sole-prototype-tire-supplier/article/304626/

In fairness they say that they are "Close" to a deal, but I feel like that just means theyre kinking out number issues, rather than still deciding if that's going to happen.

On the Turner thing, I was thinking in the back of my head about Dalla-Lana. Is it actually his Vantage, or did he lease it and drivers from AMR for Le Mans?

That's very interesting, and it's a huge speed bump to anyone who wants to race at Le Mans in a P2 car... unless Continental can make a good tire.

 

[RACECAR]

That's the one thing I don't like about this deal, it'll make what is already a hard job for the P2 cars even harder.

 

[freshseth83]

...I know that. Perhaps you didnt read my post?



Apparently Continental is going to be the exclusive tyre supplier.... They need to work on the tyres then. If any team tries to go to Le Mans they'll get spanked...

I read it just fine. Im elaborating why theres two different cars. Not to mention they are two different rulesets. GT3 is actually faster than GTE. So its not the 'lower class', at least not anymore. FIA doesn't even have GT2 anymore, nor GT1. This is a problem with the manufacturers as well. Hence why the combined GT class idea has been rumored.

 

[cnd01]

http://www.racer.com/continental-close-to-deal-to-become-uscrs-sole-prototype-tire-supplier/article/304626/

In fairness they say that they are "Close" to a deal, but I feel like that just means theyre kinking out number issues, rather than still deciding if that's going to happen.

On the Turner thing, I was thinking in the back of my head about Dalla-Lana. Is it actually his Vantage, or did he lease it and drivers from AMR for Le Mans?

Turner has said by word of mouth a few times that he would switch manufacturers if he had to.

I'm also glad only 1 tire will be used. I don't like it being continental, but at least everyone is on the same tire. That's a good thing.

 

[Mac K]

No it's not.. A prototype class should be the last thing on a spec tire, it takes away from the whole point of a "prototype" to begin with. Sure P1 is no longer around and I guess it isn't as important, but tires ARE the most important thing, and allowing different manufactures to develop a tire encourages competition, makes the racing great (Like the GT/GTE class now) and promotes interest in the series, something, especially the ALMS was terrible at, promoting and marketing. The spec tire works great in Grand-Am now, but I think a lot more people will be happy if they run "open" tires. You can't deny that seeing a DP on Michelins or an LMP2 on Continentals, etc would be cool? Right?

 

[Tower Turn 13]

Am I correct to say that Falken tires are at least part of the reason the team has trouble competing with even the other porsches in the ALMS? Because as I recall Flying Lizards used to run up front a lot of the time. I like the idea of tire choices. It's part of what has separated ALMS team strategies from Grand-AM (who runs continental spec tires, I think? Maybe I'm wrong...).

 

[cnd01]

No it's not.. A prototype class should be the last thing on a spec tire, it takes away from the whole point of a "prototype" to begin with. Sure P1 is no longer around and I guess it isn't as important, but tires ARE the most important thing, and allowing different manufactures to develop a tire encourages competition, makes the racing great (Like the GT/GTE class now) and promotes interest in the series, something, especially the ALMS was terrible at, promoting and marketing. The spec tire works great in Grand-Am now, but I think a lot more people will be happy if they run "open" tires. You can't deny that seeing a DP on Michelins or an LMP2 on Continentals, etc would be cool? Right?

In theory yes, but in the end all the teams would end up on the Michelin because it's a better tire. Then, Michelin could develop a better p2 tire than it's DP tire, but its DP tire is still better than the continental DP tire or vice-versa and then either DP or p2 becomes way better just because of the tire, and everyone moans about how stupid Imsa is for trying to balance the two cars.

Not to mention they would lose one of the series' biggest sponsors.

 

[hawkeye122]

Am I correct to say that Falken tires are at least part of the reason the team has trouble competing with even the other porsches in the ALMS? Because as I recall Flying Lizards used to run up front a lot of the time. I like the idea of tire choices. It's part of what has separated ALMS team strategies from Grand-AM (who runs continental spec tires, I think? Maybe I'm wrong...).

True. But Falken has a pretty solid Street course tyre, and they are the top of the field in the rain.

Kinda the same way Hankook always had the best inters, Falken seems to have the Rain tyre on lock.

Again, all down to choice.

But you honestly cant expect a DP and a P2 to use the same tyres.. The P2 may not have to make a single tyre change if that's the case, but they'll be down on grip. If they make different tyres for the different types of Prototype, that would be good.

I seem to recall the PC teams complaining that the Continentals were very weather-dependent. Better than the Off-the-Shelf P2 tyres they had to use a few years ago, but still.

I wonder if Yokohama will continue to supply the GTC's, or if they'll get the Conti's as well.



Just for kicks, I wonder how Continental feels about making tyres for the Deltawing...