- 9,387
- Pittsburgh
- polarbear345
NOTHING beats hearing f1 engines screaming down a straight into a heavy breaking point on The first lap!!!
The Rolex Sports Car Series, Season 3! Finished! Thanks Everyone!
- Thread starter polarbear345
- 3,165 comments
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NOTHING beats hearing f1 engines screaming down a straight into a heavy breaking point on The first lap!!!
- 3,019
- Essex
polarbear345
I wish I could agree! Give me some rumbling V8's any day!
- 9,387
- Pittsburgh
- polarbear345
Oh, if I can can find some of my F1 video, it'll be on YouTube. The video on a camera sounds wayyyy better than they do on TV!
- 3,019
- Essex
polarbear345
I know what you mean, the TV really doesnt do it justice. Or any form of motorsport for that matter. I'm guessing you've seen F1 in the flesh too then?
- 9,387
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- polarbear345
- 3,019
- Essex
polarbear345I was at every F1 race in Indy!
And thoroughly enjoyed everyone!
Awesome! So you were at the one were only 4(?) Cars started? I've only been to one and that was the british grand prix in 08'
- 9,387
- Pittsburgh
- polarbear345
Yea I was there! People were throwing stuff all over! It was really funny!
- 3,019
- Essex
polarbear345
Thats crazy! You must have been pretty disappointed though? I know I would be.
- 12,018
- Indianapolis
- BrandonW77
Yeah, it's bad.
There's nothing in the world that sounds like an F1 car. I remember going to Montreal a few years ago to see the Canadian GP, we parked at a bus/train station about 1.5 miles away from the circuit and you could hear the sweet sound even from that far away. Lots of people were parking there and as they'd get out of their vehicle they'd all freeze and just listen to the symphony of horsepower. I've seen everything from quarter-midgets to super stocks to Indy Cars to Sports Cars to NASCAR and Moto GP bikes......NOTHING sounds as awesome as an F1 engine in anger. I do hope the new turbo engines don't ruin that too badly.
- 3,019
- Essex
BrandonW77Yeah, it's bad.
I can see where you're coming from, but standing along the start/finish straight at Le Mans has completely converted me. Especially when the diverse mix of engines echo and end up being even louder than usual because of the huge grandstands on either side! I'd like to see a NASCAR race too. Maybe next year!
- 9,387
- Pittsburgh
- polarbear345
Disappointed at the race, but the people watching was even better!!!
The difference between NASCAR and F1-
NASCAR- people throw empty beer cans
F1- people throw full beer cans
XD that's the TRUE difference!
- 3,019
- Essex
Hahaha best comparison ever.
- 9,387
- Pittsburgh
- polarbear345
VERY true too!!!
freshseth83
(Banned)
- 8,246
- freshseth83
FIA WEC will be at Circuit of the America's this year and for the foreseeable future. That F1 race at Indy was a farce because what happened was Michelin was not allowed to fly in another tire compound that was safe for the banking. Ferrari boycotted that solution and went about running an unchallenged race. Not only another tire, but an option to add a chicane. Other options were proposed as well and were all rejected by Max Mosley and (now FIA president) Ferrari's Jean Todt. What's especially sad to me is that was Toyota's first pole position and they had a reasonable chance of winning. On top of it, Shumacher and Ferrari would probably have not gotten the win and finished behind Toyota in the constructors championship.
- 10,276
- Sacramento CA
- cnd01
Rovals are difficult for tire companies. I'd significantly test on rovals before I would submit a tire. I think the series should mandate extra tire tests there imo.
Btw: John Dagys tweeted that there are less than 10 wec lmp2 cars for this season. That makes less lmp2 in the world than DP in terms if full season entries.
Btw: John Dagys tweeted that there are less than 10 wec lmp2 cars for this season. That makes less lmp2 in the world than DP in terms if full season entries.
- 9,387
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- polarbear345
freshseth83
(Banned)
- 8,246
- freshseth83
Dagys knows a good bit, but not everything. DP's compared to P2's in the WEC is irrelevant. If GA want to run DP's at LeMans, they'll have to be sped up. One reason is because they'll barely be faster than GTE. That poses a problem in 2014's combined series as well.
- 9,387
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- polarbear345
If I recall correctly, during the 24, they said that DP doesn't meet FIA safety. It was either grand am GT, or DP. I can't remember.
Anyways, it was the 2nd or third season of WEC. Grand am is on its 10th-ish season.
First Rolex season 24 hours of Daytona- 80 cars over 5 classes
First WEC 24 hours of Le Mans- 56 cars over 4 classes.
To show the difference in world economy hurting motorsports-
2000 24 hours of Daytona- 80 cars registered
2000 24 hours of Le Mans- 119 cars registered
2010 24 hours of Daytona- 45 cars registered
2010 24 hours of Le Mans- 55+10 reserves (85 entries) 56 raced.
freshseth83
(Banned)
- 8,246
- freshseth83
They don't need power. They need relevant technology. WEC was reintroduced. It's been around before it's current form. Before it was called the FIA WSC, "world sportscar championship". Also the ILMC was the 'successor' and has been around before when Audi were running vs. Peugeot.
- 9,387
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- polarbear345
But at such a high speed track like Le Mans, The extra HP the GTE cars have will make for some possibly awkward racing, and mixing LMP2 and DP doesn't work either since DP's are steel tubing (Some are made in Charlotte and made by the same people who make NASCARs) And LMP2's are Carbon Fibre.
In the 2015ish season when we are "due for a new DP'" I think we will see a 'DP' LMP2 chasis. I think this because LMP2's are used world wide, and the new DP could then easily be added in to Le Mans, the WEC, and the ELMS.
Personally, what I see happening in the 'merger' is a MASSIVE nerf to the LMP2's so the France family will have the fastest class. I can't see anyone liking a Daytona Prototype getting a "Tap and run*" done on it at the 24 hours of Daytona. Since it seems like the France family is going to pretty much be calling the shots, I don't think they would be too pleased if the Europeans came over and started kickin' 'merican butt.
Tap and run: A ball tap when the person tapping the balls makes a quick getaway.
'Johnny pulled a tap and run, I tried to chase him down, but couldn't because I could not run fast enough with the pain.'
- 35,520
- Addison,Texas
- GTP_RACECAR
And exactly where is there any indication that the France Family is doing this? Sorry but this just sounds like another "They're out to destroy American Sportcar racing" or "Dumb down racing" theory that many pacimists (including Mulsanne Mike) have just because LMP1 will no longer be here. If they really wanted LMP2 to be nerfed, then why would they even bother trying to incorporate the class at all with DPs? Just because ALMS is merging with series owned by the france Family does not automatically mean Brian France is gonna put his pathetic NASCAR influence all over it. if they really wanted to do that, then what was even the point of having Grand-Am officials meet with the ACO repeatidly?
- 10,276
- Sacramento CA
- cnd01
Relevant technology = BIG bucks. With the numbskulls we have in Washington right now, not near as many teams are willing to shell out the BIG bucks for that technology. Taken directly from Peter Baron, FIA WEC LMP2 champion and Rolex Sports Car Series North American Endurance Championship winning team owner last year, it takes him 10 full time employees to run his 2 car DP team. It takes 16 full time employees to run his 1 car LMP2 team. That adds up. If the economy drastically improves in the next 5 years (it won't unless major changes are made) a technology based racing series simply won't survive. Wonder why the WEC has collapsed and reformed so much? It's due to rising costs and then the economy tanks. I absolutely hate to say this, but let's take NASCAR as an example. They have been around forever it seems. The NASCAR car is in the stone age technologically. This year is the first year NASCAR is running fuel injection. We all laugh at that, but that formula has worked for 50+ years. Take sports car racing in America today. The Rolex series has been laughed at for years by ALMS fans, but it's Rolex that's basically saving the ALMS. Don Panoz simply got tired of dumping truck loads of money into the ALMS to keep it afloat. Another example of technology back firing, the Mazda "Die-Activ" diesel GX cars. The 3 cars ran a combined 4 hours at the Rolex 24. Mazda and Speedsource are now having to dump lots more money into that program to fix the bugs that come up. Now in DP, the so called "prototurtles" had 17 entries. Only 3 had engine failures that put them out of the race. Those 5.0L V8 engines are waaaay behind technologically. They have no aids. The drivers actually have to drive rather than press the pedals and turn the steering wheel.
@Polar: The LMP2 might not even be balanced with the DP because no one runs it in America anymore. The DP will get boosts, and more than likely some technology will be taken away from the LMP2. It's a meet in the middle strategy. DP will be sped up because GTE is a class in the Grand ALMS series next year.
As for DP in Le Mans, if Bill France has any say about it, there will probably be 10-15 more garages opened up for a class. That's the only way it will work. Unless the FIA/ACO axes the LMP2 for an outright DP class as the second prototype class in the WEC and ELMS, That's another possibility.
My own personal opinion says "screw the ACO, run your own specs that don't change as often as the series name changes" DP is a safe investment because the cars are guaranteed to be legal for 5 years. The LMP2 class can change on a dime. Same with LMP1. That increases costs even more which puts the economy back into play yet again.
- 35,520
- Addison,Texas
- GTP_RACECAR
Those cars had little to no running unlike the winning Caymans or any of the other cars really so it hardly counts. Remember, Audi's TDI technology wasn't all %100 as at Sebring, one of the cars did retire. General rule of thumb in Sportscar racing is it takes time to make something new work and last.
- 3,506
- Essex
- CWM_StormPacer
Now call me a noob when it comes to motorsports knowledge, but with developments coming along every year (or at least every couple of years) if the current technology take too long or is very expensive to refine and perfect then its a short-term drain of resources, which isn't really something that helps that economy sector.
- 9,387
- Pittsburgh
- polarbear345
I believe this has come to the classic "You're wrong because I think I'm right"
None of us know how the 'merger' series is going to work, and no one will agree on anything.
None of us know how the 'merger' series is going to work, and no one will agree on anything.
- 10,276
- Sacramento CA
- cnd01
Exactly. The ACO changes technology and specs about as often as my baby cousin changes diapers (which is really often btw
) That drains the privateers out of the sport. Privateers are the foundation of sports car racing. Manufacturers can pull the plug whenever they want. Take Toyota's F1 program for example. I fully expected them to make a championship run because they were really figuring it out. Instead, they decide to jump ship or as Polar called it "tap and run" That's really funny.
- 9,387
- Pittsburgh
- polarbear345
Exactly. The ACO changes technology and specs about as often as my baby cousin changes diapers (which is really often btw
I think he was talking about GX...
.... Toyota had the largest budget (300 million USD+) And couldn't win a race. In 2009 they got the "Win a race, or we're done."
...They didn't win a race... No more Toyota in F1.
- 10,276
- Sacramento CA
- cnd01
That's because they had the automotive company execs riding the F1 team's butt the whole time. Toyota's "chairman of motorsports and marketing" (or a person who works in a desk with a similar sounding title) was the person who said "Win a race or we're done." Trust me, it wasn't the team's decision to quit. How many crew chiefs, drivers, privateer team owners, and drivers do that? Gainsco/Bob Stallings didn't win a single race last year in the Rolex series. They've recommitted to running harder and stronger this year. Rebellion racing didn't hold a candle to Toyota or Audi last year in the WEC, but as far as I know, they are committed to running the LMP1 WEC class.
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