A few last pics of a great race weekend before I dig into my videos. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
If I didn't know any better I'd think you were a little bitter about something btw, AFAIK you have to buy cup cars direct from PMNA, you can't just walk into a dealer and order one; and they are +/- $200k. still a discount relative to the 458 racer, but it's not like people are spending $85k at their local Porsche dealer and getting a winning car. btw anyone know much about John Potter, owner of Magnus racing? discovered last night that he's a STL guy (now in Utah, at Miller Motorsports Park). local boy does good!
I'm not bitter at all. I'm sad to see what Ferrari Sports Car Racing has become. There's a big difference.
yeah, I wish Ferrari took sports car racing more seriously. I'd love to see a privateer prototype in LMP2, a la the 333SP.
They haven't finished First overall at Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring, or The Nurburgring for FAR too long...
http://www.johnpotter.com/ I've been with teams that raced with/against him at Miller for a while. Nice guy, quite smart. I believe he's in real estate development and just started playing with cars and racing a few years ago. My hat is off to him, awesome race and win!
that link is where I discovered the STL connection but it doesn't explain much about how he affords to go racing. he's 29 so he would have entered the CRE market at a bad time...so is he really good, really lucky, or has $$ from elsewhere?
Sorry also Peter. Probably jumped overboard a bit. I'll take you up on the brew and slide one back at ya. I so hope the Grand Am Ferrari alliance works. I'm really excited to see it happen. Would love to chat at VIR in September.
I don't know much about Potter either, he did attend a prestigious university so he may have come from money, but he seems like a nice guy and is doing well in his own business ventures. Good driver too. It would be nice to see more factory support from Ferrari. If they spent just a fraction on sports car teams as they did on Formula 1...
Joao Barbosa takes his wife for a ride around Daytona in a 2-seat DP car (skip the first 2:00 or so, it's just them buckling in) [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=updyPbEJ8f4[/ame]
Probably the best performing owner out there. He hung in with the rest of them, not quite at Rast, Leitz or Lally's pace, but not enough off to hurt them. He did great.
Oh and I hope that Porsche up there in the photo ^ being towed is a GT2 and not an AWD Turbo. Funny video, I didn't know you could fit a second seat into a DP car. Something tells me she would have a hard time in there for all 24 hours!
Did anyone get any pictures of the cars in the "Exhibition race" on saturday morning of the 29 winning cars from prior years that were on the track? Would love to see them.
Parking was at a premium on Saturday and they were towing any car that wasn't in the right place. I was against the fence taking pictures and watched as they snatched an SUV by the rear that had parked and blocked someone's reserved motorhome space. The front wheels were locked, didn't spin and dug a nice trench as they hauled it out of the way. Later on I was walking and these tow trucks came by with the Porsches and the silver one closest in the picture was cocked sideways and the front wheels were pretty much locked so it was sliding, skipping down the road. I can't imagine they were part of a display and being hauled that way so I'm guessing a few Porsche owners came back to find their cars missing.
Beautiful cars, both! Speaking of old days... prior to this past weekend my last race at Daytona was the IMSA season finale in 1996. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Jim, those Porsches require a heck of a lot more prep than you imagine. Still, their cost, performance and factory support make the 911s an attractive option.
At the Ring before our 24 I saw 200 cup Porsche's race for 2 hours. I also watched their prep and spoke to the Porsche engineers. I've also gotten pretty familiar with a Ferrari 430 GT2. If I was a privateer instead of a constructor I'd be racing Porsches.
Except in Grand Am Rolex. Those are GT3 Cup base cars, but have extensive prep. Not quite the same as the GT3 Cups in the rest of the world. Agreed, though. Porsche has made it their business to support their race cars globally. Ferrari: "Who did you say you are again?"
Trust me as a former Grand Am team owner the car is the LEAST part of the expenditure...Cup Cars must be purchased through PMNA and they require significant upgrades to race after you get them...
Sorry, a little off the subject. Peter, Do you know if they will have a Ferrari car corral at VIR for the race this year?
