z28lt1

Interesting write-ups by Olly Gavin and Jan Magussen. For those that don't want to read it all, the big points are:

1 - The 74 got hit by a prototype breaking the exhaust. It was getting too hot with too many fumes for Gavin to finish the race, that's why they pulled off track in 5th towards the end, and re-entered for the last lap to finish in 7th.
2 - Both drivers complained about what we knew - straight line speed - with Jan insinuating the other cars sandbagged to get favorable weight and restrictor advantages.

http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/ra...in-at-le-mans/

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...ssen-le-mans1/

BWF07

I read the same article. I have been on a few sites that have been complaining that the GM engine shop dropped the ball and produced the engines that were not producing the power needed to be competitive. I have been saying that sure they were not as fast as the Porsche, Aston Martin and Ferrari, but maybe just maybe that had a lot to do with the difference in weight. Also I believe that Aston Martin and Porsche did do some sandbagging to get some weight off.
I just cannot buy that the engines built for the 24 hours were not built to the spec needed for that track. One maybe two off a little, but we know they take a few extra engines and besides all are dyno tuned prior to be shipped.

TKgs2010

I have a pretty good source in the road racing community and it was mutually agreed before the merger that the ALMS GT class was off limits to change, which is a good idea. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. As far as the DP's, they are being grouped with the ALMS P2 cars, In testing it was found that on certain tracks the P2's and DP's can be pretty close in overall lap times, depending on the track type. The P2's have more downforce, so on a tighter track they were quicker, while on a track with more straights the DP's have more straight line speed. The issue for the regulators is how to equal the performance, more HP for the P2's? More downforce for the DP's? Maybe a combination of the two, combined with choice of tire manufacturers. I just hope they get this right, if they do it could make for some really good racing.

BWF07

I know that they will not be touching the GT class for the 2014 and the 2015 seasons, so I hope they continue with that way of thinking. Thanks for you insight.

TKgs2010

I just hope they don't mess with anything either. I may be the odd guy out here, but I really just love sports car racing, really can't get into oval racing of any kind or NASCAR in general. The one thing that concerns me is the BOP, in my opinion they should just set guidelines, and let each manufacturer build their best car, and if one is better than the rest, don't handcuff it, let the others work to develop a better competitor. I just don't like all the whining and sandbagging, which obviously went on at LeMans, and has been going on in both the ALMS and GrandAm for quite some time now. Maybe I'm doing some dreaming here, but I just really hope they don't screw this up, if they do it right it could be a great series with a pipeline to Lemans. Some really good racing this weekend, from Pikes Peak in Colorado, if you've never followed it, check it out. The unlimited class features several manufacturers and top notch drivers. My money is on WRC legend Sebastien Loeb in the 975 hp Peugeot, word has it the car can run 0 to 150 mph in under 7 seconds, and if you've never heard of Loeb, he's one of the most talented drivers I've ever seen, in any form of racing.

GuyFromLeMans

on all counts. From oval racing to Loeb.

TKgs2010

Enjoy Pikes Peak and hope for the best in the merger. Go Team Corvette!

BWF07

As long as the new board does not mess with the ALMS GT class and gets the DP's and P2's equal in speed and down force it could be a good if not great series. What concerns be, is the makeup of the board. There seem to be some high ranking NASCAR names and members on the board and we (at some of us) know how NASCAr can screw up a race series.

As far as the BoP is concerned , I am not a fan of it, but I guess it is just a necessary evil of the sport. Lets face it, not series wants a dominating team that wins all the time. Remember the old GTs and then the GT1 class. Corvette Racing became so dominate, that the other teams simply left. Sure the cost of the class was much higher then the GT2 class or another series, but even if the money was there, they just could not be competitive with the Corvette.

What I really don't like is the politics involve in the current series. They have a rule book that is clear, yet there are a few teams that seem they can simply as for forgiveness and request waivers to circumvent the rules. BMW seem to be one of the biggest abusers. First with their M3 that was an out and out GT1 class car in the GT field. Now they come along with the Z4 and are back at it. A V8 in a car that does not come with one from the factory and their latest move was to change from the standard strut suspension to a wish bone suspension, That waiver got started right around the time of Sebring, and I believe it has bee approved. Also in the section on engines, the rule is as clear as day. Maximum engine size is 5500 cc or 5.5 liters. Along comes Viper and says gee we don't have an engine that small, all we have is an 8 liter. Well the series wanted Viper so they had them apply for a waiver and sure enough here they are with an 8 liter engine in a class of 5.5 and smaller. Sure they are restricted on the RPM range and engine mapping to keep the HP around that of all the others, but once you do that to that engine, you increase the reliability and also increase the torque. So have they truly been hampered?

Sorry for the long rant .

vetteheadracer

I was at the race again this year (every year Corvette Racing has been there so have I!) so all of my pictures are here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=574382b0fc