Slalom4me

I was only able to catch the closing minutes of the race but I
watched Max Papis drive the wheels off trying for an opportunity.

Judging from the in-car video, the Corvette is superior at braking
and cornering, at least it was in the hands of Max P. But the
Aston Martin appeared to have a LOT more acceleration.

Is this the way it was for the entire event? If so, what if anything
happens now to even up the cars?

.

daveydc5

Aston lost due to tires mainly. They don't have to teamwork of the vettes either. If they had a better tire, they prolly would have won...

Dan_the_C5_Man

Yes, it was that way the whole time, and yes, I'm wondering the same thing, but there is a catch;

C6R's would have finished 1-2, or for sure 1-3 IF that car hadn't had a 30 min pit stop to R&R the transmission (amazing how quickly they fixed the trans). So the officials could counter that "the only reason it was close had to do with a mechanical failure".

Personally I think that's B.S.; in my opinion you set the class rules and you either build a competitive car or you don't. But that's made for "boring" racing in the past, and this sport is desperate to attract the volume and loyalty of a fan base like they see w/ NASCAR, and if they have to knock down the superior teams to do so in the process they will.

Slalom4me

I was studying the race results after my initial post and came to the
same conclusion - more speed, but longer pitstops for the A M cars.

Is the tire issue due to the tires, the different engine characteristics
or driving styles?

As for the acceleration. I'm assuming this might be a pure power thing,
a bore/stroke/valve configuration better suited for gaining rev's or
maybe less rotating mass? I don't think it would be a result of more
favorable weight.

.

Slalom4me

As an aside - was the rule about having to repair the transmission
rather than permitting racers to replace it something that arose as a
backlash to the Audi R8 where they were able to just pull off the whole
back of the car?

There is a remark to this effect in an article about the R10 in the April
R&T or C&D.

.

Slalom4me

BTW - I think there is a typo in the race results.
Shouldn't the time for the Corvette be 12:02:28.938.

.

joemoia

Actually the #009 AM spent LESS total time in the pits than the winning #4 C6R; 14:08:0004 for the AM to 14:48:036 for the #4 C6R ( they both made 11 pit stops)

http://www.imsaracing.net/2003/lt/ltc.html

shakedown067

The corvettes are also carrying an extra 121 lbs more than the astons. Not to mention the astons have less restrictions on their air flow which of course equals into more power...

Z11409

ALL Pro racing is about Ad Revenue--nobody will watch a race with cars spread out just driving around the track--wheel to wheel racing is what you need.Cars will be rewarded with weight,intake restrictions or anything else to keep cars racing together.
The teams that spend the most,win the most.

sefa01

Aren't the Aston Martins 12-cyl?

c4cruiser

The C6R's carried 170 more pounds due to a rules change. Probably the biggest difference was the Michlien tire developed for the C6R's. I would think that Corvette could have finished 1-2 or 1-3 if it wasn't for the tranny issue.

From what I saw in inteviews, the failure in the tranny was unexpected and you can bet that the trannies will be beefed up for the rest of the season.

Unfortunately, any rules body will "tweak" the rules if a single car or marque appears to be unbeatable. Take away that 170lbs from the C6R and they could have very well finished miles ahead of the Aston-Martins. Making sure that the cars are close together when racing to the line is fine for the entertainment value, but it's playing politics with the sport. Just look at NASCAR. At some point, it will be simply the skill of the driver and the skill of the pit crew. All the cars will be the same. I''m not sure that the concept is that good for the sport.

Pit teamwork is another big factor in how the Corvette team won. If you think of that teamwork and how the crew members do things are most likely drawn from how NASCAR pit crews work, the europeans don't have that sort of legacy to fall back on.

John Wiz

Yes, a 6 Litre V12... it has a nice scream to it.... Not as nice as the rumble of the 7 litre V8 of the C6.R though...

ChasNMe

i wonder if the quicker aston pit time is from less driver changes?

Slalom4me

Interesting, less time in the pits, yet a lap down at the end. 337 for
the #009 AM vs 338 for the #4 C6R. The AM had superior numbers
for Best Speed and Best Lap?

Actually, I may need to re-think my original premise.

I'm not one in favor of a parade. If those two teams were that close
after all that can happen in the span of 12 hrs, maybe there already
is adequate parity.

As I said, I signed in during the closing minutes and watched how the
AM could pull away on the straights. BUT the C6R closed up under
braking and cornering. Ultimately making for very close racing, all things
considered.

.

jlucas

Guys, the AM team got their cars 2 weeks before the event and had to modify them from FIA to IMSA specs. The first time they ever turned a wheel was at Sebring. They were lucky to get them done in time and they will only get faster as the team get's more experienced with them.

This was discussed during the SPEED broadcast.

joemoia

You are confusing the DBRS9's which ran in the WCGT race with the DBR9's which ran in the ALMS race. The ALMS DBR9 team is the same team that battled the C6Rs last year at Sebring/Le Mans.

The DBRS9's which ran in the WCGT were the cars modified from FIA GT3 specs and showed up late.

joemoia

I think the 1 lap discrepency and the total race time (greater for the C6R) may have been due to the relative on track positions of the #4C6R, R10 and the #009 DBR9 when the Audi got the checker. If the Audi was between the C6R and the DBR9 when it got the checker, the C6R would have gone around one more time

Cobra4B

I'm not sure what's up w/ the trans repair rules... but I remember when Audi shocked everyone by pulling the back 1/2 off their car and installing an entire new on in like 5 minutes... I think that prompted a rules change.

96CollectorSport

Just watching those final laps showed that the AM and the C6R are very equal, the Corvette obviously was superior even though they had a air restriction and 121 lbs of "reward weight". Mad Max's C6R would have pulled away had he gotten by. They just made it harder for the C6R to pass, more brakes and better handleing/tires is great but when your opponent can get off the turns and down the straits quicker it's a tough pass. I would have loved to see Max get by him but I'm kind of glad he didn't because now it seems like we have two fairly even cars, so now we can go racing.
However LeMans will be tough since the AM's have a hp/speed advantage.
Great Racing love to see it , I actally had goose bumps watching that battle and was getting pissed when they would cut away to the R10!

rcolling

During the race the AMs were faster than the Corvettes.
Just check out the GT1 fastest lap time.
While these were the same AMs it was really the first race on the Pirellis. If you read the AM team article at the ALMS site they made adjustments to the car to bring it more in balance during the latter stages of tire wear. Also, if the AMs continue to race in the series Pirelli will adjust the compound.

Also, remember the only reason the #4 car was up by a lap on the AM was because it was on the correct side of a caution flag and gained that lap. Without that happening there might have been a different winner.

Does anyone know if the 121lbs of penalty weight is only for the ALMS and that the Corvettes will not have to carry that at LeMans?