Grand Am And ALMS To Merge According To Speed

They can always increase the horsepower of the DP's as now they are regulated to about 500

 

Yep those engines are so restricted they could easily have 650+hp without reliability issues, strictly my opinion of course.

 

I think one thing to keep in mind here is that several teams have already expressed the desire that they want to be able to race the same car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans that they race in the North American series. You can bet the ACO is not going to agree to back down from the current technological level of their standing classes for cars wishing to run at Le Mans. You might perhaps see certain classes not allowed to be eligible for Le Mans, like the LMPC and GTC classes in the ALMS, but if Mr. France and Mr. Panoz really do want to maintain a solid connection with the great race then they are going to have to work very closely with the ACO on what the accepted world class prototype standard is to look like in 2014. With GTE there is no problem at all and the formula should not be tinkered with. As to something popping up that resembles TransAm, I think you can pretty much forget that.

As to the assertion that the ALMS was on its way out anyway, in my opinion that position has never had ANY credible evidence to back it up and as such can be easily dismissed without further comment.

 

As to the assertion that the ALMS was on its way out anyway, in my opinion that position has never had ANY credible evidence to back it up and as such can be easily dismissed without further comment.[/QUOTE]

I certainly hope you are correct

 

agree 100%

 

Heck, Toyota Atlantics do 1:15.8 at Mid-Ohio!

LMP-C's are several seconds quicker than the quickest DP's at VIR...

 

WELL STATED ! Racing is racing , isn't it about competition? Kinda like Sprint Cup fans , I ask if they have ever been to thier local short track , and a HUGE majority will say no. I don't get it why just be a very casual arms lengnth fan when theres all sorts of great racing all over some pro much local/club stuff. It's not like the 50's when drivers HAD to stay within a single sanctioning body.

 

Even retuned NASCAR motors for lighter cars and roadracing could easily be 750-850 HP , depending on how long the race is , maybe detune 650ish for the 24 ? Pretty simple depending on how strong the current transaxles are. I'd guess the late 80's GTO cars were well over 600 HP.

 

I just used 650 as a nice round number that is easily achieved and reliable.

 

For ALMS it's also about technology that produces even more speed. NASCAR always lacks that on a road course(and even DP). Put them on a real track with corners and they look sloppy compared to ALMS GT cars(even DP). I alway said for a lesson all NASCAR fans should have to go to one ALMS race(Turn 1 at Road America would be a great place to sit). I have seen it happen and the look on their faces said it all. They almost always come back. The huge problem ALMS had was a total lack of exposure. No one even knows they exist other than hardcore race fans.

The LMP1 cars look almost as fast as F1 cars on the track. It's great racing. I have been to alot of F1 and ALMS races, more than 10 each.

 

Mid engine NASCAR on a road course ... is that going to be about it? After GT 40's, P 4's, 917's, Jaguar XK's, Toyota Eagles, 333 SP's, etc, this will be our future spectating hobby? I hope not! If so, I'll go to one race every 3 years instaed of 2 or 3 per year.
I hope I'm wrong!

 

It all sounds great.

One question tho: Where'd y'all put the dang gum
track bar in one of them protetypes?

BHW

 

hey Bubba can ya put three rounds into the right rear? car keeps turning right.

 

I think you are more correct than wrong. FChat is 99% road racing fans, so I would not expect there to be much interest in NASCAR coming forth here.

But outside of sites like this, there is a lot of cross over fans. Me for one, I appreciate all forms of racing, except drag racing. Comparing NASCAR to F1, or any form of road racing is just silly.

I used to have the same seats every year for F1 at Indy, the Indy 500, and the Daytona 500. Enjoyed them all.

Each very different, yet each very entertaining.

 

Here's a decent summary of what we know so far:

http://www.youtube.com/user/drive

 

Personally, I'm tired of the way both series restrict the engines. If anyone thinks there will be room and interest for two classes GTE and GT3 I think they are mistaken. Even at a few seconds per lap difference the look of the cars will be so similar that people will get confused. I would love to see them open the GT class as the premiere show. Most of the modern sports and supercars are pulling 550 to over 700 horsepower so cap horsepower at 750, weight at 2200 lbs , 4 inch wider tacked on fender flares maximum from stock. Height dimensions from track to bottom of flat car bottom spec. (don't have any idea what that dimension might be). Also a spec size wing and OK the use of certain size canards and splitter. I wouldn't care how you got the horses.

The engine used must be based on the way the car is delivered to public. For instance couldn't turbo a car that was not turbocharged stock.

Maybe this sounds too simplistic, but I think it would reward manufacturers for delivering efficient bodies and drive trains.

 

as blue sky thinking I think that sounds really cool but realistically I don't think that would happen, at least not in today's environment. kinda reminds me of the 911 GT1 and CLK GTR spec cars

you do raise a good point as to one proto and one GT class (I think that's one reason why GA went that way; to make things more readily identifiable to the fans) but I think the handwriting is on the wall at least in GT to keep true factory/pro guys separate from the am/pro am guys....you want the guys funding the sport to have a chance, even if it's in their own class.

 

http://www.namethefuture.com/
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IRL

 

The Grand American LeMans Shmozzle!

 

Pretty clear that "Grand-American Le Mans" will be the default answer.

Or we could be truthful. UHF Midnight Racing! See us with multi-month-tape-delay on ESPN 8, the Ocho!
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We are seriously considering building and entering a DP in 2014.

We're talking with a venerable manufacture to power our car. (If this occurs these first renderings would look a little different.)

DP's with less restriction could easily be a lot faster than GTE's and in 2014 as both are regulated will be.

It's also possible that a few DP's will be invited to Le Mans as well.
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The bloodline in those renderings is instantly recognizable

I go to the Rolex 24 every year and my biggest complaint regarding the DP cars and primarily because I'm a photographer is that they are too generic looking. The Corvettes this year were a welcome change for me. The car in the renderings really takes it up a notch.

I understand there is a lot that goes into reaching the point of competition but it would be a shame for something so progressive looking to end up being generic.

 

Jim, that is seriously cool. If it happens, field trip to Daytona!

 

Ferrari P 4/5 by Pininfarina visits Grand Am at LRP this fall.
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