2014 United Sports Car Championship

[polarbear345]

Someone convert that to rfactor please

This made me laugh more than it should have

And Cnd just takes pictures with his phone...

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

And Cnd just takes pictures with his phone...

Doesn't bother me. I'm happy to see it either way.

 

[cnd01]

This made me laugh more than it should have

And Cnd just takes pictures with his phone...

I'll have plenty up when I get back. I put about 25 or so up this year. More will be taken this year as I'll have more to take pictures of

 

[hawkeye122]

John Dagys has posted on his site that Oak and Greaves are seriously considering running Dayton and Sebring respectively. Additionally, there's rumblings that JOTA Sport and Murphy Prototypes want a shot at it too. The regs can't come out soon enough- We'd have the Morgan-Nissan, the Zytek from Greaves, and either JOTA or Murphy's Oreca, in addition to the ESM HPD's.
Lots of diversity out there waiting... They really ought to hurry.

http://sportscar365.net/uscr/european-p2-teams-waiting-to-commit-to-daytona/

 

[cnd01]

http://t.co/6pRUldQ34i

dual element rear wing for the DP! Courtesy of Ryan Dalziel's twitter

Edit: in case you don't get it, it's sarcasm

 

[nostuner03]

http://t.co/6pRUldQ34i

dual element rear wing for the DP! Courtesy of Ryan Dalziel's twitter

Edit: in case you don't get it, it's sarcasm

Haha very classy.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Edit: in case you don't get it, it's sarcasm

Perhaps not; maybe there's an element of truth. And a pun.



Thing is, they do need more downforce; Dalziel might be making a sarcastic joke about something that the team has just found out/learned from the officials for 2014. Maybe there will be a second element to provide more downforce for DP.

 

[Mac K]

So according to John Dagys we should be getting the schedule for next year fairly soon, rumors are that Road America is on the schedule, Long Beach will be GT classes only while Detroit will be Prototype classes only.

https://twitter.com/johndagys

I found this site as well (via John Dagys' twitter) which is pretty cool, lots of good info on here, especially the USCR.

http://sportscar365.net/

 

[hawkeye122]

So according to John Dagys we should be getting the schedule for next year fairly soon, rumors are that Road America is on the schedule, Long Beach will be GT classes only while Detroit will be Prototype classes only.

https://twitter.com/johndagys

I found this site as well (via John Dagys' twitter) which is pretty cool, lots of good info on here, especially the USCR.

http://sportscar365.net/

Sportscar365 is John Dagys' personal website I think

 

[Mac K]

Yup, it is.

Aston Martin to run NAEC next year

http://sportscar365.net/uscr/exclusive-aston-martin-racing-poised-for-naec-campaign/

Well if anything, at least the GT classes next year will be awesome. GTLM and GTD hopefully will have lots of entries.

 

[hawkeye122]

Yup, it is.

Aston Martin to run NAEC next year

http://sportscar365.net/uscr/exclusive-aston-martin-racing-poised-for-naec-campaign/

Well if anything, at least the GT classes next year will be awesome. GTLM and GTD hopefully will have lots of entries.

I wonder if it's just Dalla-Lana's car. Even though Aston have a ton of drivers, I wonder what the split will be between GTD and GTLM.

 

[cnd01]

I wonder if it's just Dalla-Lana's car. Even though Aston have a ton of drivers, I wonder what the split will be between GTD and GTLM.

My bet would be on a Turner AM with Dalla Lana and a host of pros in gtd.

 

[hawkeye122]

My bet would be on a Turner AM with Dalla Lana and a host of pros in gtd.

I believe that article specifically says he'll run his Factory Aston(Which is a GTE, as seen at Le Mans this year), as well as whatever Turner brings.

Edit:
"It will thus result in the 2011 CTSCC champion pulling double duty between the Aston GTE car and Turner’s GTD contender in the endurance rounds. Additionally, he plans to return to the WEC next year with AMR in the GTE-Am category."

 

[Sam48]

Yup, it is.

Aston Martin to run NAEC next year

http://sportscar365.net/uscr/exclusive-aston-martin-racing-poised-for-naec-campaign/

Well if anything, at least the GT classes next year will be awesome. GTLM and GTD hopefully will have lots of entries.

Wait, there's going to be another NAEC?

 

[hawkeye122]

Wait, there's going to be another NAEC?

Apparently so. Not psyched.

 

[RACECAR]

Looky what I found: Spirit of Daytona Tests Modified DP.

The most interesting bit for me:

"There was an improvement across the board: Downforce, drag, lap time, all that was better,” he said. “I don’t want anybody blowing it out of the water. What we do know is that there was a large increase in percentage of downforce gained by it, which is a good thing.

“It was inexpensive for us to do and an easy test for us to do. I think it was a very successful test on the repeatability. We ran a lot of baseline stuff and ran the car in different attitudes, so it wasn’t just a one-off. We have all the proof to show what it did.”

 

[hawkeye122]

I was equally astonished when I read that. All the complaining about cost and then that...

 

[Mac K]

I don't see the issue with the NAEC, it encourages more teams to show up for a "crown jewel" race and get a championship, etc in return. I like it. I'm assuming..

1. Daytona 24
2. Sebring 12 Hour
3. Watkins Glen 6 Hour
4. Petit Le Mans

 

[RACECAR]

I was equally astonished when I read that. All the complaining about cost and then that...

Yep. Now no one has any excuse to complain about cost. Gotta give to Troy Flis for having the initiative to actually try and contribute help to this issue 👍

 

[Mac K]

It still amazes me that people are bothered so much by DP's and Grand-Am as a whole that they bash it at every opportunity, all three comments on that article are by people I've come across on various motor sports forums and websites, they say the same thing every time. To each their own but are people really that bothered and upset by things? I'm glad SDR conducted a test, stepped up to the plate and realizes what they'll need to do to make their car competitive with an LMP2 next year.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Seems a certain group here is starting to look like they were wrong when they tried to counter about price.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Was this an official Grand-Am test? Or did they just slap downforce on their car and do an unofficial test?


If it's an official Grand-Am test, I'm sold on the merger.

 

[Mac K]

Did you even read the article?

 

[cnd01]

Seems a certain group here is starting to look like they were wrong when they tried to counter about price.

I'm smart enough to know that a little extra carbon fiber won't be too expensive lol. If that's all it takes to make the DP fast then I'll be the first person to stand up and cheer.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

I'm smart enough to know that a little extra carbon fiber won't be too expensive lol. If that's all it takes to make the DP fast then I'll be the first person to stand up and cheer.

Oh so in other words a change of tone, now.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

I'm smart enough to know that a little extra carbon fiber won't be too expensive lol. If that's all it takes to make the DP fast then I'll be the first person to stand up and cheer.

You can't add downforce without adding drag, can you? It's just going to slow them down on the straights, and speed them up in the corners.

Question is, did they also find a way to reduce the drag co-efficient, or the drag-producing surface area?

Or, did they just slap on more downforce...?

Or...? The Prototurtles have the suspensions, and the frames, and the engines to be fast enough to keep up LMP2 cars. They don't have the aerodynamics. They have poor aerodynamics, by comparison, and that's where the changes are needed.

Have you ever compared the airflow, cockpit height/proportions and general drag surfaces? The DP has way more drag surfaces, with way fewer downforce-producing wing elements/dive plans.

Did you even read the article?

Yes. It didn't say that Grand-Am had new spec aero developed for testing, or anything.

 

[cnd01]

Oh so in other words a change of tone, now.

Hey I'm not looking to be confrontational, but judging by how slow you claimed the DP to be, it would require 6 figures of upgrades. Thats where my concerns on cost stemmed from along with both Wayne Taylor and Mike Shank's concerns. Turns out the DP is a little quicker than people gave it credit for or at least that's what I'm getting from the testing article. It doesn't need other upgrades if more efficient aero is put on. The current aero package is cutting edge circa 1990 which was the intention all along to make it simple and cheap. We're coming closer and closer to getting regs put out, so we'll see soon enough.

Honestly this merger is roughly 3 decisions away from being alms 2.0. If there was open tire rule in the P class, alms pit stop procedure rules, and the inclusion of LMP1 it would be the alms with a slightly different gt configuration.

 

[RACECAR]

Yes. It didn't say that Grand-Am had new spec aero developed for testing, or anything.

The point is however, a DP team found a way to make the DP go faster and contrary to the "its too expensive" claims, it turned out to be the complete opposite.

 

[hawkeye122]

The point is however, a DP team found a way to make the DP go faster and contrary to the "its too expensive" claims, it turned out to be the complete opposite.

This, times a million. If it isn't as costly as expected, they really need to quit complaining...

I don't hate the DP's, but I have given reason why I prefer other sorts of cars...

I think the fact that USCR is beginning to look like ALMS comes down to cost.

DTM, for example. Cars were stupid expensive, even after the "Cheaper" car was introduced. So they're trying to find ways to sell more cars and make a bit back on their investment. The fact of the matter is motorsport needs to globalize, not necessarily in terms of championships, but in terms of cars. Ferrari have to build, by my count, about 5 different versions of the 458. Why? That's a silly waste of time and money. If they only had to make 2 or 3 versions of the race car, each unit built/sold would be either cheaper to the consumer, or the factory would make more profit and produce a better car, and be less likely to drop out on the grounds of cost.

This leads back to my primary gripe about DP cars- Theres no other market. Luckily, they seem to be much less expensive, and a bit more serviceable. But if the USCR was exclusively LMP2, all of those manufacturers would be doing a lot better, Ford could get back into engines or running a GT program, Corvette could field another GTE car (3 Corvettes vs 3 Astons. You're lying if you don't wanna see that kind of on-track battle), and all those great DP owners/teams could join a world stage, chock-full of great competition.

The best course of action for motorsport (in my head) is a fully-global rule set-

WTCC/BTCC/TC(SCCA World Challenge) would be all the same spec

DTM, Super GT become the same (Possible home of the DP?)

NASCAR, V8 Supercars, V8 Superstars(That Italian thing with the Audis and such) become the same spec (Chassis same, different aero packages based on type of track)

A 2-class, Global GT platform- GT1/2 for the manufacturers to play in, and GT3 for the customer, Pro-Am market (Make GT3 the same type of car as Lamborghini Trofeo, Ferrari Challenge, Porsche Supercup)

A Global Prototype spec, divided into 2 classes, much like today (other home for DP?)


And thats it. I'll just leave Open-wheel out of the equation to avoid a longer chart.

If motorsport was set up this way, manufacturers would be able to spend less money developing a bespoke car for every series.

Just my thought, please pick holes in it.

 

[Tower Turn 13]

Honestly this merger is roughly 3 decisions away from being alms 2.0. If there was open tire rule in the P class, alms pit stop procedure rules, and the inclusion of LMP1 it would be the alms with a slightly different gt configuration.

That's all we ask