The Cadillac DPi is based on the Dallara chassis. By white ones I assume you mean the AXR cars of Whelen and Mustang Sampling?
Right, the Action Express cars. They used Riley chassis Corvette DP's versus Dallara chassis Corvette for Taylors. I guess the new cars are much more complex body/aero-wise to be able to just re-body different chassis like with the old DP's.
As in F1Tommy's thread starter: Cadillac Confirms Daytona Prototype international to Debut in 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona | IMSA
The IMSA cars are looking pretty good this year with a lot of new cars joining the party. The Acura's paint is sharp, and looks like snow flakes. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Spoiler alert: Good to see Cadillac do well. Also the GTLM and GTD classes looked great. Nice that Corvette won and the 488 was on podium in GTLM, and Mercedes in GTD. Ford has to loose a few races to make it look close
The entire GrandAm experiment was meant to make Cup cars faster than sports cars. NASCAR was continually embarrassed whenever GTP would run on the same courses and their times would be 12-15 seconds slower than the prototypes at track such as Watkins Glen and Sears Point where the two competed. In fact, Cup cars were regularly slower than GTO cars at these circuits. Thus, NASCAR stopped running the same configurations as sports cars on these tracks so the comparisons wouldn't be so glaring. The NASCAR designed GrandAm cars were intentionally scaled back 40 years (as William points out with tube frame design and aluminum tubs) with the huge hot house canopy design enclosed cockpits, all of which was completely opposite to modern sports car design trends. GrandAm's own management openly stated things like "We don't care about 'traditional' sports car fans" and "We want to make the cars irrelevant" (direct quotes from Roger Edmundson, NASCAR's hand-picked guy to run GrandAm) as it was their aim to create "Man on the Street" fans who'd be willing to pay to see those prototurtles go roundy round. It simply didn't work. Now, that they've come to their senses and put cars on the track that are at least as aesthetically pleasing as they are fast, I'll be happy to stop pointing out GrandAm's many short falls year after year. It's all ancient history. And, I knew Peter Gregg. Peter Gregg was a friend of mine and as much as I'd like to see his records kept alive, there is simply no way there was anything faster on the Daytona banking than the Nissan R90CKs, Chevrolet Corvette GTPs, Jaguar XJR-9s, etc. of the late GTP era. The V8 Nissan V8s which were built for Le Mans were well over 240MPH in race trim at the start/finish line and there simply has not been anything to compete at Daytona that may even come close to those speeds as they were simply getting too fast. Is the racing relevant again? Certainly seems so. More factory participation in the prototype ranks would add some interest. BHW
Congrats to Caddy, but I don't think it should be considered as such a great accomplishment. It will undoubtedly be trotted out as a great triumph, but, realistically, I don't feel the Prototype class is all that competitive. This may be the equivalent of the Audi R8's dominance against a bunch of also-rans. CW
I agree. as with the Chevy powered DPs the last 3 seasons, there's a clear advantage to the GM powered, France family owned platforms...that of course, only their chosen teams can run. no way in hell would I spend the money to campaign a car in IMSA Prototype under those circumstances.
Yes, I agree it's not as great as an accomplishment as in years past (and it's not a factory team either). History likely will not remember it being a less competitive year/era if given enough time...I still like seeing Caddy win, though.
I disagree-24 Hours is still 24 hours, especially with a new car. Great win. And the GTLM battle was amazing with Ferrai, Corvette, Porsche, Ford and BMW. The best Team in endurance racing(Team Corvette) did a heck of a job to pull out the win.
Roger's no fool either. Roger Penske wary of IMSA's Balance of Performance regulations - IMSA SportsCar - Autosport
I do agree that the Caddies didn't succumb to attrition. So, in this regard, they did perform better than the competition, and they deserve recognition for that. But, again, is the competition really all that? And, as noted, we're not talking factory werkes efforts by deep-pocketed manufacturers, either. It's also worth remembering, maybe, that Wayne Taylor ran Caddy's ALMS LMP1/LMP900 efforts (as a factory effort) for the 3-seasons they competed. That may no longer be relevant, but the equivalent would be if Joest showed up running in the class with a privateer Audi Prototype, maybe. I also agree that the best racing seemed to be down in the GT ranks, which isn't really a surprise. There's a diversity of manufacturers there, which is great to see. I didn't see Vipers or Astons, sadly... CW
There were a couple Astons at Daytona in GTD. The factory Viper program ended last year. Viper Exchange had been running one in GTD but that program ended last year. That team is running an AMG GT this year and just won Sebring.
Yes, and yes, but it's not a healthy sign when the different marques don't show up. Viper's phased out, so we won't be seeing them any longer. Maybe Acura replaces them adequately? What's AM's/TRG's story? BoP? Funding? Anyone know? Regardless, the GT ranks are more diverse and deeper than the P or PC classes. I suppose that's to be expected. CW Edit: TRG seems to have dropped down to a lower series.
To put a period on the ALMS/GrandAm split... During the height of the ALMS/GrandAm war around 2006, the powers that be in the media office in Daytona noticed that media requests for credentials for the 24 Hours were embarrassingly low, like zero. Now, without going too deep into the notoriously appalling way media members are treated during sports car races at Daytona International Speedway, this is more of a commentary on GrandAm in particular as members of the stalwart British media that are usually counted on to attend were not on the list as the series simply wasn't resonating back home online or in print. DIS went so far as to offer media members all expense paid trips to Daytona to attend the 24 Hours. This included international and domestic air fare, rental car, hotel, meals, etc. and (hopefully) the promise that credentialed media members would not be harassed by DIS tin-badged security members at every turn. Conversely, this was the same year that Audi announced the debut of the R10 TDI, the first diesel powered prototype to take on the challenge of Sebring and Le Mans. The result of this was a record number of requests for credentials by media members from all over the world. The amount of media credential requests caused Sebring International Raceway to add a second media center room to accommodate the amount of work stations, online access, etc. required. Oh, and as for Daytona's all expenses paid offer, three (3) media members accepted. BHW
TRG was running a Porsche in GTD. They dropped out of GTD due to tire issues? Seems like a strange reason. TRG Pulls Porsche GTD Entry Due to Daytona Tire Issues - Sportscar365
"Life's just a game. Fly your paper plane. There is no end." Thunderclap Newman "Those were the days my friends. We thought they'd never end..." lorenzobandini
TRG does have a privateer history with Porsches, but they're now the quasi-factory AM effort in the US based on how they characterize the relationship. I spoke with them last year about doing a seat in an AM at the 24H of Le Mans. Anyway, it's important for TRG to continue to show up, but it's disappointing that AM was absent. CW
