Anybody out there following the Grand Am?
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CodeRedR51
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Someone should photoshop the car and make it look like a Sprint Cup racer. 👍
CodeRedR51
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Cayman > Any 911
My opinion of course.
My opinion of course.
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- BigNFL
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The following is not aimed at you, but the commenters on that article.
Granted comment sections are always filled with stupidity, but why would it be a bad thing to have them race there? I could understand if they were taking away a class for them to compete but I doubt that will happen(although I would be fine with DP's replacing GTE AM
). I think DP's would be great, especially if the race is like 2012 where the LMP1/GTE Pro classes weren't all that close after mid-way, whereas the 2012 Daytona race was pretty thrilling until the end./Rant.
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The following is not aimed at you, but the commenters on that article.
Granted comment sections are always filled with stupidity, but why would it be a bad thing to have them race there? I could understand if they were taking away a class for them to compete but I doubt that will happen(although I would be fine with DP's replacing GTE AM
/Rant.
You do realize that the majority of the current GT teams on GA GT are in fact GT-AM right??
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- cnd01
The following is not aimed at you, but the commenters on that article.
Granted comment sections are always filled with stupidity, but why would it be a bad thing to have them race there? I could understand if they were taking away a class for them to compete but I doubt that will happen(although I would be fine with DP's replacing GTE AM
/Rant.
I know the DP race would be the closest and most interesting of all the races if they were to race at Le Mans. The broadcast would have to give the DP a lot of air time because the race would be better. I can hear the complaints and boos the old school purist fans are giving now.
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- polarbear345
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It's not the Amateur part I don't like, it's the fact they are just "old" GTE Pro cars. I would like the 4th class to actually be different apart from missing a few upgrades.
polarbear345
It was good while Toyota was running, than they retired leading to a boring finish as the rest of the LMP1 teams were privateers.
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At any point between now and the point where DP are allowed to enter the LM24, Toyota or Audi could decide to not continue racing their LMP1 car due to rule changes, financial problems, or any other circumstance. Plus, Audi v. Toyota is 4 cars. DP is 15+ cars all that even. 4 cars who can't make contact with anything or risk destroying the whole car, or 15 cars who can take a pretty good beating.
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It should be, Toyota had good pace last year.👍
cnd01
I doubt there would be 15, I could see some of the bigger teams making the trip but not the smaller ones. I would expect about 6 at best.
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- polarbear345
Toyota is getting great pace, Audi will have to try again xD
But back on topic. This guy is right. Some races don't have 10 DP cars... Not everyone will fly over to France for a race.
It's not just the race, but all the testing at the track, lodging and travel would be a massive expense. Even the big teams will have to really think it through.
ITCC_Andrew
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It's Le Mans. People dream of winning Le Mans.
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Let me think: Ganassi would bring at least 1. Starworks would have at least 1. Wayne Taylor would have at least 1. Michael Shank would have at least 1. I could see Bob Stallings bringing a car. Action Express would bring at least 1. 8Star would more than likely bring its car. Sahlens could bring a car. That's 6-7 at minimum. I can see as many as 13 easily. Aston Martin is going to announce an Aston Martin DP at some point. TRG would be the team chosen to run it as well as Multimatic. They would bring at least 1. That's 13-15 on the high end. Since half the field is LMP2 in the LM24 now, some prospective LMP2 teams could consider fielding a DP to try to increase their chances of success being that the DP is just as easy to be competitive as in LMP2. Taking Peter Baron's, owner of Starworks, word, DP's are cheaper to run than LMP2. His DP team takes 10 guys. His LMP2 team takes 16 guys. The only cost that's equal is the actual car itself. Besides that, DP is cheaper.
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- Odin_Wednesday
They don't use FCYs liberally at Le Mans the way they do at Daytona, do they? Based on my part-time watching of Daytona last year, it sure looked like the use of FCYs for every incident really kept the field compressed in a way that wouldn't happen if they had mostly relied on local yellows and not brought the trailing cars back to the main pack.
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- macospet1
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I don't get the whole debate, Grand-Am and ALMS/WEC are both great series, the racing and the cars are great (Yes this includes DPs), and the atmosphere is great. I've attended races for both series and I love it, I'd never do another NASCAR event again.. just saying.
Anyways, John Dagys has some photos from testing yesterday, enjoy.
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/photos-grand-am-roar-before-rolex-24-gallery/
Anyways, John Dagys has some photos from testing yesterday, enjoy.
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/photos-grand-am-roar-before-rolex-24-gallery/
ITCC_Andrew
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I think I'd really like to have some discussion on LMPx laps at Daytona. What sort of lap times do you think they'll get?
ITCC_Andrew
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I'm wondering if that November test might have made the difference in combining the two classes. If the fastest lap from the Gen3 DPs was a 1'42 compared to the Morgan Judd's 1'40 and they are supposedly set to be faster this year, then that definately tells me (at least in Daytona) that the DPs aren't nowhere near the GT pace people repeatidly make them out to be. It also tells that adjusting the DP performance won't be that difficult of a task either(though there is the question of Traction control or no traction control). Whatever the case, I'm pumped for 2014.
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They did use FCY's too much, but that wasn't my point.
Le Mans for the last 5 years or so has come down to two teams, Audi and who ever is trying to top them whether it be Peugeot or Toyota. When one of those three have had problems there hasn't been much of a battle for the overall win. Granted when they are running you can get great races like 2011 but that has been a rarity as of late.
Now look at Daytona, in 2012 the Chevrolet powered cars had issues. There was still a battle between the other teams.
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ITCC_Andrew
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Oops, back to the guessing board.
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Just woke her in the UK to the news regarding the new structuring for the Grand-Am in 2014. This time difference is the one downside with living in the UK. When you guys are asleep I am the only one on the thread.
A little sad that the LMP1's won't be competing in 2014. For me it will stop LMP1 teams like Audi Joest, Toyota and Strakka from using the Grand-Am Rolex Series as another avenue to go down to find new success. The 24hr at Daytona is one of the most prestigious races in the calendar. Right up with Le Mans, 24 at Spa and the 6hr at Sebring. I am sure and in a purely hypothetical context, given the chance Audi Sport Joest, Rebellion would love to do the Rolex 24hr at Daytona if they were asked.
However I am sure theirs reasons why. Probably summat to do with power output. I am sure the LMP1's would wipe the floor with the DP's. I am sure the LMP2's are closer to the DP's which is why the LMP1's were omitted and the LMP2's weren't. I am sure theirs decent teams in LMP2 also which would love to do the Rolex Series.
As for the GTX's. I can see that the Ferrari 458 Italia v Mazda 6 or Ferrari 458 Italia v Lotus Evora is a massive mismatch. The likes of the Ferrari's and Audi's and Lamborghini's would leave the likes of the Evora and Cayman and the Mazda 6 scrambling for the bottom places. For me the GX's would have to be a separate 5th class.
The GT's are a different matter. I think it is very shrewd and wise to retain the GT's. AF Corse is one of the biggest teams in GT racing for me. To tinker around with that could have lost Grand-Am their support. Their link to Michael Waltrip is the main link to the US racing scene. Next year I hope as a result we see the established GT teams enter. That would massively improve the overall quality of the series. Especially a team like Hexis. The McClaren MP4-12C could do with having exposure in the US. And along with the Aston Martin Vantage it could be a very good year for British makers in the US.
A little sad that the LMP1's won't be competing in 2014. For me it will stop LMP1 teams like Audi Joest, Toyota and Strakka from using the Grand-Am Rolex Series as another avenue to go down to find new success. The 24hr at Daytona is one of the most prestigious races in the calendar. Right up with Le Mans, 24 at Spa and the 6hr at Sebring. I am sure and in a purely hypothetical context, given the chance Audi Sport Joest, Rebellion would love to do the Rolex 24hr at Daytona if they were asked.
However I am sure theirs reasons why. Probably summat to do with power output. I am sure the LMP1's would wipe the floor with the DP's. I am sure the LMP2's are closer to the DP's which is why the LMP1's were omitted and the LMP2's weren't. I am sure theirs decent teams in LMP2 also which would love to do the Rolex Series.
As for the GTX's. I can see that the Ferrari 458 Italia v Mazda 6 or Ferrari 458 Italia v Lotus Evora is a massive mismatch. The likes of the Ferrari's and Audi's and Lamborghini's would leave the likes of the Evora and Cayman and the Mazda 6 scrambling for the bottom places. For me the GX's would have to be a separate 5th class.
The GT's are a different matter. I think it is very shrewd and wise to retain the GT's. AF Corse is one of the biggest teams in GT racing for me. To tinker around with that could have lost Grand-Am their support. Their link to Michael Waltrip is the main link to the US racing scene. Next year I hope as a result we see the established GT teams enter. That would massively improve the overall quality of the series. Especially a team like Hexis. The McClaren MP4-12C could do with having exposure in the US. And along with the Aston Martin Vantage it could be a very good year for British makers in the US.
ITCC_Andrew
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