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- gdwest1
The Le Mans General Discussion Thread
- Thread starter arvin charles
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- 3,587
Does SPEED have an online viewer I can pay to use? I couldn't find one, and that's my major beef with them switching it up for two races. I don't have cable. And ALMS viewers probably have already paid enough for ESPN3...
It just seems a crap move to require viewers to have access to both outlets, but I guess a lot of people probably whined about the series not being on SPEED and got their way (at least for Petit and this one)...
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- gdwest1
They have speed2, but I can't recall a time where they showed a domestic race live.
freshseth83
(Banned)
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- freshseth83
The times they've gone against Rebellion before, they've lost. Rebellion also set a 1:46.4 the other day, MMilk hasn't gone below the 1:47's.
The Bridgestone tires were originally going to be on the car because they were thinking it would be the new IndyCar chassis. So they designed tires specifically for the DW. Tires aren't the problem with it.
Besides Sebring for a minute, have a read on Toyota's 2013 TS030 here- http://gb.zinio.com/reader.jsp?issn=0961-1096&p=29
- 9,765
- OrlandoFL GMT-5
- GTP__Jav
Only because of attrition, last year the Rebelions were'nt even close to MMilk which was splitting the Audis for a good part of the race!The times they've gone against Rebellion before, they've lost. Rebellion also set a 1:46.4 the other day, MMilk hasn't gone below the 1:47's.
Hopefully this year they will have a trouble free race and can show their true pottential!
- 24,553
- Frankfort, KY
- GTP_FoolKiller
- FoolKiller1979
You make it sound like ESPN3 cost extra. Either your ISP lets you see it or not. At least that is how it is intended to work and if my local, municipality-owned ISP can get it right any others carrying it should too. It's not a premium tier channel the way Speed can be.
I'm guessing that it has to do with the Grand Am merger.
All I know is that interrupted coverage, delayed coverage, etc are all why I preferred ESPN's online stream. Even a bad feed is better than incomplete coverage.
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And aren't they not even showing the full 12 hours? They're interrupting for NASCAR practice and motocross, it looks like.
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Well its only the end of the race,and its dark anyway so you can only see the headlights.
Hopefully the next tv partner will point this out when it time to negotiate the next contract.
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- The Ramapo Mountains
- jjaisli
Well, in a perfect world, I would rather have live, flag to flag, HD coverage with commentary from the Radio Le Mans crew of every race on the schedule, with an option to stream it, if you so prefer. But the reality is, Fox (Speed) and the ALMS simply couldn't come to terms two seasons ago, and the move to ESPN3 and tape delayed and truncated network TV coverage was the best the ALMS could come up with. For myself, and millions of others in the NY area who have no access to ESPN3 at any price, it wasn't much of a solution. And it still isn't. So yes, as somebody who attends at least one race live, every season, you better believe I let Scott Atherton and Erin Chechal know how I felt about it.
I've spent far too many hours, trying various IP blockers, bouncing off different proxies, scanning lousy justin.tv feeds, all in a vain and fruitless effort to watch my favorite sports car series. It's been awful.
Speed may be a premium channel for a lot of content providers. But if you're willing to pay extra (in some cases) just about every major cable and satellite provider has access to it. Where as ESPN3 is simply not available in many areas for any price. Based on that, I'd rather have Speed than nothing.
The fact that Fox is rolling Speed into a general sports network at the end of the year leaves things up in the air. But at least the merger will give the series a bit more clout in the future. Endurance racing is a tough sell on TV, no matter who broadcasts it.
I've spent far too many hours, trying various IP blockers, bouncing off different proxies, scanning lousy justin.tv feeds, all in a vain and fruitless effort to watch my favorite sports car series. It's been awful.
Speed may be a premium channel for a lot of content providers. But if you're willing to pay extra (in some cases) just about every major cable and satellite provider has access to it. Where as ESPN3 is simply not available in many areas for any price. Based on that, I'd rather have Speed than nothing.
The fact that Fox is rolling Speed into a general sports network at the end of the year leaves things up in the air. But at least the merger will give the series a bit more clout in the future. Endurance racing is a tough sell on TV, no matter who broadcasts it.
- 3,019
- Essex
Thats why I think the WEC have done it right by streaming their races on their website.
- 44,185
- Blackburn
- Furinkazen_54
Agreed, the one thing they have right!
EDIT: If Kobayashi is in Ferrari does this mean Kamikaze overtakes on Prototypes?
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- 24,553
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- GTP_FoolKiller
- FoolKiller1979
I've tweeted @Speed and @almsnotes to try to get a response but unless it were trending I doubt I would get a response.
My hope is that when Speed turns into something else broadcasting rights goes somewhere else or at least a new contract allowing for online streams of the interrupted coverage will be drafted. I would have no problem with an interruption if I was directed to continue viewing at a specific Website.
My hope is that when Speed turns into something else broadcasting rights goes somewhere else or at least a new contract allowing for online streams of the interrupted coverage will be drafted. I would have no problem with an interruption if I was directed to continue viewing at a specific Website.
- 10,373
- Manchester
- Ardius_
I don't see how that makes a difference to what I was pointing out. They are different tyres made by a different manufacturer and very likely with different construction and design.
The Michelins were designed specifically for it too - the DW has pretty unique requirements.
I'm not suggesting tyres are "the problem", I'm just pointing out that there are more differences than simply just horsepower that can affect performance.
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- WeaselKing707
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Porsche has a solid lineup, but I still really like the Ferrari and Aston lineups. AF Corse and Aston are adding to some of the best GT drivers around (Bruni, Turner, Mucke) with high potential newcomers (Kobayashi, Senna, Mako). It looks like all three teams are strong, but I have no idea who will come out on top.
Doubtful, as Koba won't be racing any Z4s with AF Corse.Nah, just Kamikaze overtakes on Corvettes, Vipers and Z4's...
- 2,980
- The Ramapo Mountains
- jjaisli
It's been my understanding that the TV rights have traditionally been a significant source of income for the ALMS (I suppose they are for most high profile racing series). So any kind of streaming, live or post race, has always been by agreement and with permission from the host broadcaster. As such, they're in a position to dictate what they will or won't allow. It's for this reason that you used to be able to watch races live from the ALMS website, but only if you were outside the US and outside the spectrum of ESPN3's coverage. In the beginning, it was very easy to circumvent. But as time went by, they closed a lot of holes.
I think the ALMS was and still is, in a very difficult position. They want to grow their audience and that's hard to do when the races aren't broadcast on network TV. But try to sell a 3 or 4 or 6 hour race to one of the big over-air TV networks--nearly impossible outside of the Indy 500 or a NASCAR event. And with a decrease in ad revenue during and post recession, everything I've heard indicates that Speed just wasn't willing to offer them the kind of package they were hoping for. Or let's say, the kind of package they needed to sustain themselves.
Unfortunately, the ESPN3 deal hasn't exactly worked out for them either. It's a dilemma--how do you grow your audience (by pure exposure) at the risk of alienating your hardcore fans (who are angered by tape delayed and truncated coverage).
I'm sure the ALMS would LOVE to stream all of their races live and offer multi-car views. But it won't happen until it's economically feasible. I think we're getting closer and closer to that point. But it's pretty clear we're not quite 'there' yet.
Tired Tyres
Premium
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- Tired_Tyres
- Tired Tyres
We will need a GT only feed just because of Kobayashi's presence otherwise he'll be busy passing cars whilst we are listening to increasingly mental RLM commentary about how brilliant the GT fight is, but watching a solitary LMP1 doing not very much at all at the end of the race.
freshseth83
(Banned)
- 8,246
- freshseth83
Rebellion wasn't running their new car at last year's Sebring. That's why they weren't challenging. This year they've got their 'new' car. And Rebellion beat MMilk at Road Atlanta last year in Petit LeMans when they had the car with the wide front tires 👍
Why're you arguing? The tires aren't a problem and you say as much, so why bring up tires? The Bridgestone tires were made for the DW before the Michelin's were. This was years ago when they thought the DW would be the new IndyCar. The issue with the DeltaWing is mechanical problems, you can read it here http://endurance-info.com/version2/actualite-endurance-16566.html. And here you can read about the Bridgestone tires http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105950.
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- 35,467
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- GTP_RACECAR
Speed usually seems to be good about doing that with the endurance races, I know for a fact they've been doing that with the Rolex 24 and with Sebring before they moved over to ESPN so hopefully they'll continue.
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- Titan
Rebellion did beat Muscle Milk at Road Atlanta - but Muscle Milk were easily outpacing Rebellion up until they experienced what it was like to hit a GTC car at high speed.
I look forward to the battle, it ought to be a good one.
freshseth83
(Banned)
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- freshseth83
Outpacing for the first hour of a race that's over 8 hours long is nice, but the win is the important part. Toyota was outpaced at LeMans 2012 for the first 6 hours, but we saw how they came back and passed Audi on track. That's the difference between endurance racing and other forms of motorsport. The race isn't won purely on pace.
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- Ardius_
I'm not arguing and I already explained why I brought up tyres. I'm not going to keep repeating it.
I don't see why a set of tyres being designed before another necessarily means they are better and I'm not disputing that they could be better. I'm just saying there is a difference in them as well as the engine.
I'm not even saying the DW is slower than before, I was just pointing out other variables. But next time I'll just shut up.
- 2,690
- Titan
I do understand the difference, thank you very much. Le Mans and Petit are different animals though, I wouldn't necessarily compare the two as the track changes quite a bit over the time and the night of Le Mans. I was merely pointing out that Muscle Milk is not as easily trounced as you make them out to be, that's all. Instead you want to jab at me that I don't understand endurance racing. Winning is important, but it isn't everything - it is also important to appreciate everyone else who competed and their strengths and accomplishments. I obviously take a different viewpoint than you.
- 7,177
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- FLAT_TWELVE
Well, I never replied or comment, but let it be known that I agree with you. The the tyres are a very important variable and I do think that at this point in time it would be a miracle if the Bridgestones (DW spec) perform as well as the Michelins would if fitted to the car.
Nothing against Bridgestone, but:
a) Michelin are widely considered the BEST in sports cars racing. Their continued presence and experience has something to do with it.
b) Michelin worked very closely with the deltawing project for many, many months, did many, many miles in testing, in many tracks around the globe (well, USA and Europe). And fitted this car with tyres that actually raced at Le Mans and Road Atlanta.
c) Bridgestone, regardless of its past historical ties with the "Indy DW" (never a car, just a concept, remember), has been announced as partner just a few days ago, and although we can't be sure, is learning it all and doing mileage for it just now. Maybe they had a few secret tests before Road Atlanta, but nothing comparable to the testing - and racing - done with Michelin.
So, yeah ... I'd give it a 99% probability that the Bridgestones aren't today as effective as the Michelins. But I'vce no doubt they'll be, if Bridgestone cares to make them so.
- 10,837
- Belgium
- bramturismo
John Hindaugh + Kobayashi's overtakes... Oh good lord, I really hope Kobayashi finds his comfort in GT racing soon!
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- GTP_FoolKiller
- FoolKiller1979
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