Good for him. If enough of the team principals make similar statements, maybe France can be swayed. Or maybe I'll just have to follow the WEC in 2014 when the ALMS teams jump ship and potentially not attend a race

 

I've just never really felt that tube frame cars have a place in production based GT racing. I know I'll probably be burned at the stake for saying this, but I never liked the Fab Car 935s from way back when either. Personally, I put the 934s on the pedestal of my favorite GT racecar of all time.

And if you look at the "players" in the GT class tube frame cars, they just aren't needed, especially since the teams running them are generally NOT less funded teams. Continental Tire GT and ST class racing is where the people without deep pockets have a great venue to race. IMO, Conti is an awesome series, though I think the licensing should be a bit stricter as there are some guys out there buying seats who just don't have the seat time to be mixing it up in pro-am racing. But that is a completely different topic all together.

As was mentioned the RX8 is history. BMW has more than proven that it can make a racecar. And with how well the Riley built Camaros are doing down in GS in Conti, I have no doubt that Riley and GM can also collaborate to make a GT class Camaro on a tub if they want to have more than just the Corvette represent the GM marque in the new series.

Like the article that was linked, my suspicion is we are going to see prototypes and GT cars split into two races on all but the endurance races (Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Petit). I just hope that they find some compromise that allows and sanctions P1s to come run those races, even if they don't include them in the rest of the series. As it is, I wish the TV cameras gave less attention to the very small P1 field and paid closer attention to what goes on back in the LMPC cars. There's some great racing going on in those spec LMPs.

 

The overwhelming focus on a 2 or 3 car field of P1's drove me nuts all season when the very very best action packed racing was going on in the GT field. If they break them out it would make for some better GT coverage I hope.

 

that's the source of cognitive dissonance for me; "spec prototypes" is an oxymoron, yet they do tend to put on a good show. so should they stay or should they go? or rolled in to P2 with bigger engines or open engine specs?

I think for the most part, coverage of ALMS GT is pretty good within the broadcasts; probably because that's where the competition is, and partly because that's where the MFR $$ is

 

Or maybe they get rolled backwards and bunched with the LMPlites in the next series down? I agree that it is an oxymoron. Protoypes really should be manufacturer entries in my book, which is why DPs have always struck me as weird cars. The new Corvette is the first DP that is really an OEM effort.

 

GT class coverage sort of sucked. It was covered but since the LMP's are the stars of the show they spent most of the race coverage watching one guy drive around by himself and then cut to a corvette mini-infomercial.

 

Let's be honest, ALMS coverage sucks period. They take a 4 hour race and show it during a 1.5-2 slot. They spend 30 minutes of prerace jerkoff. Then we see 15-20 minutes of racing. Then we get Pat Long or some other star telling us about a technology used in the cars. Then we get a highlight reel of what happened in the 3 hours we didn't get to watch, and then we see the final 30 minutes of the race and post race interviews for 15 min. The one good thing that will come out of all of this is that we will get to watch every single race in its entirety from end to end.

 

In addition, Mazda will be introducing a 4 cyl diesel next year at Le Mans and will aimed at LMP2. Another reason to continue to focus on aco rules.

 

Agree 100% The attraction to ALMS and ACO racing is in part, the technology. Both for fans and manufacturers.

Hope that doesn't happen. Multi class racing is, in part, what makes it interesting.

 

I don't find multi-class racing interesting in sprint races. It's a necessary evil when small fields leave no other viable option. It ruins races. I don't like the crashes. I don't like how it can ruin tight battles.

Scott

 

I love multi-class racing. But if we've got 3 prototype classes and 3 GT classes, why not have 2 races? IMO, a lot of the problems occur when there are huge disparities. How many times this year have we seen a GTC car get tangled with an LMP1 or LMP2 car.

I think people are underestimating the field sizes we're going to see once the two series consolidate. Personally I think there will be two 40-50 car fields. Like they did with Petit last year, I think when they comingle the prototypes and the GTs in the endurance races they are going to have to put caps on the number of entries.

 

I would think capped grid sizes are more likely than separate races; a) multi-class is a big part of the sport, and b) I'd be surprised if there were consistently more than 15-20 prototypes and 30 GT cars in the combined series.

 

Caught the press conference. Been too busy to get online and post.

1. I feel a little ill.

2. What, me worry? It will turn out fine.

3. Just like how racing fans now gather around the tube aplenty to see roundy-round Indy races post-CART merger.

NASCAR is a marketing machine. Like Coke, the GAP and Apple. If you like substance and authenticity, I fear this does not bode well. After an afternoon of Grand AM/Nascar racing last month in Montreal, I'd seen enough.

Bummed.

Best,

Matt

 

This is why I don't like multi-class racing in sprint races. It makes little sense to me to have the GTC cars on the track with the LMP1 cars in a sprint race. If you limit the lap time differential somehow, then it is okay. But that is not how it has been done in ALMS or GA....

Scott

 

Only half true from my perspective. ALMS is a disaster waiting to happen every time on track. The speed differentials between GTC and P1 is astronomical. GA, on the other hand, is much closer. Sometimes differences only become noticeable on the straights. Lap times aren't always that far apart depending on the track.
Single class racing on road courses can very easily turn into parade laps (look at some of the F1 races and what they had to do to mix things up a bit). Splitting the classes and running two sprints a day or wknd is a good thing to experiment with.
P1 is dead already in ALMS and in the states for that matter. Going with P2 and the experimental new technology cars in a field is something I am interested in watching unfold. ALMS started that program and GA copied it starting next year.