2015 TUDOR United Sportscar Championship
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01GTP
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I hadn't noticed the green markers until it was mentioned.
But there they are.
Speaking about drivers, Turner will be adding Ashley Freiberg to their crew for the endurance events.
Ashley and Trent Hindman drove the 2nd Trim-Tex BMW for Fall-Line Motorsports last year.
She seems quite talented.
Here she is suiting up at Lime Rock last summer.
https://twitter.com/ashleyfreiberg
A couple more shots from LRP.
But there they are.
Speaking about drivers, Turner will be adding Ashley Freiberg to their crew for the endurance events.
Ashley and Trent Hindman drove the 2nd Trim-Tex BMW for Fall-Line Motorsports last year.
She seems quite talented.
Here she is suiting up at Lime Rock last summer.
https://twitter.com/ashleyfreiberg
A couple more shots from LRP.
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- 24,617
- Anoka, MN
I think it's just the Shank and 2 Mazda's for full season LMP2 entrants. I also think they've improved on the BoP, but there's nothing IMSA can do about the LMP cars self-destructing like they always seem to do. Hopefully now that Mazda has come to their senses they can threaten the DP's as I have no hope of Shank doing so anytime soon.
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- catamount39
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DP cars were only fast in a straight line, they aren't THAT much faster then a LMP2. The problem is you only ever have three full time LMP2 cars, one that has a slow driver (Shank) and one where the engine was hilariously underpowered (Mazda). You really think a guy like John Pew would have any better shot in DP then he does now in an LMP2 car? DP had the advantage of far more pro driver line-ups and far better reliability (hardly a surprise considering they have for more miles then the Ligier JSP2 AND an engine that isn't a Star Mazda), both of which were enough to overpower the massive BOP disadvantage they have.
I definitely think the Mazdas have a far better shot now that they have that new engine along with some talented drivers who can finally actually show what they got instead of just being a rolling Chicane. I'll be surprised if the Shank Ligier actually wins a race to be honest, its a great car but it has a not so good driver in it that's keeping it from reaching maximum potential.
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I'm quoting this line in particular because it makes me think of something I heard during one of the race broadcasts. At some point during the season, the Fox "Sports" crew had talked to Pew and he stated that he was actually faster in a LMP2 car than he is in a DP due to finding the P2 easier to drive. If he is still slow in a P2, how is he going to be faster in the DP when he's a faster driver in a P2? If anything, he would slow them down even more with a DP compared to how much he slows them down already. But you are certainly right with everything else- if AXR or WTR had a P2 with a decent engine, they would probably wreck the field like they are currently with a DP and we'd be hearing about how OP the P2 cars are instead of hearing how OP the DPs are instead.
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Isn't that the engine that was used in the 2014 12 Hours of Sebring, the one that failed badly?
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- catamount39
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What I mean was John Pew, while he is faster then he was in a DP, isn't as quick as the likes of the Taylor brothers, Barbosa and Fittipaldi or Pruitt and Hand. It was in response to @RESHIRAM5 's post about the DPs overpowering the P2 cars when it has more to do with the drivers (and in the Mazda's case, a woeful engine) then it has been about DPs being impossible to catch. Obviously, DP has the numbers which was already not favorable for the LMP2 cars and when ESM AND OAK Racing left, that basically removed almost any chance of a LMP2 winning since both of them had better driver line ups. I'm basically saying that Pew is slowing the team down and apart from his sponsor money, really shouldn't be in the car.
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There won't be any Mercedes-Benz on the grid for the first part of 2016 at least.
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/no-immediate-plans-for-mercedes-in-imsa/
I get the impression that they are waiting for a team that is going to run the full season in the new car before committing to the partner ransom.
Also, an update on Lexus.
http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/124400-imsa-lexus-aiming-for-february-testing-debut
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/no-immediate-plans-for-mercedes-in-imsa/
I get the impression that they are waiting for a team that is going to run the full season in the new car before committing to the partner ransom.
Also, an update on Lexus.
http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/124400-imsa-lexus-aiming-for-february-testing-debut
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I still think it has something to do with the cars, remember that this season when we got new Corvette C7 DP, the only time a DP lost a race, it was at Petit Le Mans to a GTLM car. Even tracks that are more in P2s favour barely helped them to win.
Granted the new engine Shank will be using might balance it out but I'm not sure if the bigger LMP2 engine can actually support it in anything besides Pace.
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Again though, look at the driver line up in the ligier compared to the massive amount in the DPs. How is the only competitive LMP2 car in the field supposed to win with one fast driver and a slow one against multiple, quick All-Pro driver lineups in DPs that make 90% of the field? You can't say DP cars are faster then LMP2 cars when the driver line ups (and the Number of cars) aren't even close to equal. Notice that I don't even Mention the mazda even once this time because...well, there's a reason it was called "Die-activ".
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I can't really see it as an all driver thing as this Sportscar Racing and it usually strongest car wins (it is still thing but I would say it is the majority of it), I even checked some Qualifying times on tracks that should favour P2 but see that the Ligier isn't getting the strength that DP are on tracks that favour DP (In COTA which should favour P2, the Ford DP got pole while the P2 was only able to beat the Corvette DP on a track that favours P2). I think @Northstar is right on the tyres screwing over the P2 as these DP tyres were never meant for P2 and they are forced to use them instead of their own tyres.
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The Oak team was whooping some asses in 2014 but couldn't get the job done due to questionable driving or occasionally bad luck. If not for boneheaded driving at COTA in 2014, the Liger would have absolutely won that race. IIRC the pole for the Rolex 24 in 2015 was set by Krohn's Liger, but the squad was so bad that it was anything but competitive. Even with crap tires, the P2s are easily competitive with the DPs. I really think that they would be winning races if they didn't have crap drivers. Come to think of it, a P2 had been demolishing at Watkins Glen one year before it got screwed by a late race caution. IIRC it was like 2-3 seconds faster than the DPs prior to the caution. Either way, you can argue that they're being nerfed by crap tires, but the margin should be much tighter. If AXR or WTR had a P2, I am dead certain that the P2 would have wins in the series by now.
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2014 was when you have the C6 Corvette DP and the Ford DP was still getting the kinks out. I really think that now thanks to the C7 Corvette DP and the Ford DP got their issues sorted (though I doubt Ford will compete in the P Class next year due to GT efforts) P2 can only really rely on tracks that favour it like COTA and even still the P2 have been horrible with reliability in this series, you can say it is all just rotten luck but there is only so much bad luck before it actually is a problem that needs fixing.
Maybe it is Tyres, maybe it is the Drivers, maybe it is how IMSA specced them, all I truly know is that I can't wait for this idea of the P Class to end so we can move on to DPi.
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Alfa Romeo may join in 2017 with an LMP entry.
http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/124472-imsa-alfa-romeo-considering-2017-p2-entry
Hopefully they decide to enter.
http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/124472-imsa-alfa-romeo-considering-2017-p2-entry
Hopefully they decide to enter.
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- catamount39
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And hopefully they decide to take advantage of the bodywork as well.
Strangely I drove past the Alfa dealership about 12 hours ago, dang they have beautiful cars!!!!
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It seems like a lot of people have expressed interest in joining IMSA in 2017, but I'm curious to see who will actually join the series. I'm also curious to see if any current manufacturers will try to use 2016 is a test session to prepare for 2017.
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Aston Martin in GTD
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GTD having a solid count is a really good sign for the series. Hopefully, the teams that start in GTD stay for the whole season because it would show some stability in a major class that people had thought would be in trouble for the 2016 season.
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Looking at the list of confirmed entries it would seem like all the teams are well established ones that, barring another Scott Tucker type scenario, should be good for the full season. The only real questionable entry is TRG as they didn't sound like they had a driver wanting to do the full schedule when they were announcing the Aston Martin-IMSA deal.
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I wouldn't guarantee it. Of coarse next year we will no longer have DP vs. P2 to scare P2 Teams away from full time but I wouldn't count that most of the teams staying for long and probably either leave after Sebring or are only for the North American Endurance Champinship.
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Actually, I think if any teams do actually make the plunge it would only make sense to do a full season.
First there are the PC teams, I can't remember what ones expressed interest, but there were 2 or 3. Anyways, an LMP chassis is a big investment so they would pretty much have to run full time in order for it to pay off.
Than there are the manufacturers, iirc Alfa Romeo, Bentley and BMW have shown interest in entering the class with works teams. Granted it's hard to tell as none of them currently have LMP2 engines, but it would be a big investment just to run 4 races.
Lastly, the only foreign team I've seen show interest in more than the NAEC races is Rebellion. I think what they do depends on what direction the privateer LMP1 regulations go in the future. They obviously want to go for the overall win and with the current regulations it's becoming more and more impossible for a privateer to do that in the WEC. That pretty much leaves them with the option of the ELMS or the WSCC and it seems the latter is their preference.
Than there is Penske, they apparently looked into fielding a car at Daytona next year (2016) but decided against it due to BoP concerns so who knows if anything will come of that.
I don't expect a massive influx of teams in '17, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few extra cars on the grid either.
