I haven't. As I said, my complaint is with "ever-changing and unevenly-applied" restrictions. I certainly agree that there must be rules, and different classes within those rules has always been a good idea . . . From the days when Gordinis and Ferraris could both race and win. What is discouraging is the growing practice of trying to legislate even competition by questionable means. NASCAR is certainly just as guilty of this over the years. And again, such douchebaggery has no place in competition.

Then, we're in violent agreement.

Gordini?.... Ahhhh the memories..... :D

:iagree:
That is the real issue here. It has become a politic game between the ACO and the different teams as to what they can get away with and what pressure they can apply against of competitors. BMW is is probably the main team that tries to push it as far as they can. Such as the V8 in a Z4 and nor wanting (and I believe they have ben approved) wishbone style suspension instead of the struts they come with. The previous M3 was so far away from a true GTE class car it was not even f7unny. Also the Viper with it 8 liter engine when the rules are extremely clear in stating that the maximum displacement is not to exceed 5.5 liter. But that is what we have and we will just have to live with it for the rest of this year. Who knows what the rules will look like once the NASCAR boys get done with it.

you are correct Sir! - that was 2012, 2013 below - first and eleventh this year


15 21 1 GT 4 Oliver Gavin / Tommy Milner / Richard Westbrook 2:00.216 333
16 20 2 GT 62 Gianmaria Bruni / Olivier Beretta / Matteo Malucelli 2:00.348 333
17 31 3 GT 17 Wolf Henzler / Bryan Sellers / Nick Tandy 2:01.549 332
18 27 4 GT 55 Bill Auberlen / Maxime Martin / Jörg Müller 2:01.176 330
19 29 5 GT 91 Ryan Dalziel / Dominik Farnbacher / Marc Goossens 2:00.057 329
20 26 6 GT 48 Bryce Miller / Marco Holzer / Richard Lietz 2:01.290 329
21 19 6 PC 7 Tomy Drissi / Rusty Mitchell / Chapman Ducote 1:56.802 326
22 28 7 GT 56 Dirk Müller / Joey Hand / John Edwards 2:00.691 321
23 22 8 GT 97 Darren Turner / Stefan Mucke / Bruno Senna 1:59.780 318
24 33 1 GTC 22 Cooper MacNeil / Jeroen Bleekemolen / Dion von Moltke 2:07.015 315
25 35 2 GTC 45 Nelson Canache, Jr. / Spencer Pumpelly / Brian Wong 2:07.402 315
26 34 3 GTC 30 Henrique Cisneros / Marco Seefried / Sean Edwards 2:07.496 314
27 37 4 GTC 11 Mike Hedlund / Jan Heylen / Jon Fogarty 2:07.320 314
28 36 5 GTC 66 Ben Keating / Damien Faulkner / Craig Stanton 2:08.245 313
29 32 6 GTC 27 Patrick Dempsey / Andy Lally / Joe Foster 2:06.933 311
30 39 7 GTC 10 Michael Avenatti / Andrew Davis / Bob Faieta 2:07.768 311
31 42 8 GTC 99 David Calvert-Jones / Eric Curran / Lawson Aschenbach 2:09.689 309
32 38 9 GTC 44 Pierre Ehret / Alexandre Imperatori / Brett Sandberg 2:08.179 309
33 23 9 GT 007 Paul Dalla Lana / Billy Johnson / Pedro Lamy 2:00.996 307
34 25 10 GT 93 Jonathan Bomarito / Tommy Kendall / Kuno Wittmer 2:00.679 303
35 41 10 GTC 31 Carlos Gomez / Mario Farnbacher / Kuba Giermaziak 2:07.658 301
36 14 7 PC 81 Mirco Schultis / Patrick Simon / Pierre Kaffer 1:55.769 286
37 10 5 P2 01 Scott Sharp / Guy Cosmo / David Brabham 1:53.502 281
38 40 11 GTC 68 Al Carter / Kevin Estre / Carlos de Quesada 2:06.550 269
39 24 11 GT 3 Jan Magnussen / Antonio Garcia / Jordan Taylor 2:00.525 213
40 30 12 GT 23 / Townsend Bell / Leh Keen 2:02.202 209[/QUOTE]

What you posted before is wrong as well since Risi did not win in 2012, namely because they did not enter any races. You are probably looking at qualifying. BMW won in 2011 and 2012.

:iagree: I do believe BMW is the main offender also, for 2 seasons they were basically running a GT1 spec car against everybody else's GT2's. The "funny car" they're running this season is a joke, something not even offered for sale to the public, the Z4 isn't even available with a V8 engine, but they get it pushed through, then whine about "getting blown off on the straights " at Sebring. I call:bs, I was at Sebring and saw the race, they were right there, and if memory serves me correctly, one finished 3rd. The Viper, I don't have as much of an issue with, at least they offer an 8 liter V10 for sale, but I think the displacement, even when restricted gives them an advantage in reliability and torque. LeMans this year was pretty blatant sandbagging and lobbying by both Porsche and Aston Martin, both, especially the Porsche were in a different league than the rest of GT Pro, the weight breaks, fuel allowances and restrictor increases they were given was a joke, basically making it a 2 horse race. The GT Pro class should've been the best racing there, but instead the best drama was between Audi and Toyota in P1, with the weather basically negating Toyota's fuel economy advantage due to the number of Safety Car periods. Should be interesting next year with the C7R, another year of development for Viper and the return of Porsche to P1. I had to laugh at the pure genius of the Porsche exec that managed to get their Hospitality area directly across from Audi's pits, so they could look at Porsche's "returning for overall honors in 2014" banner every time they came on to pit lane.:lol::D Let the games begin....:yesnod:

In an interview with Doug Fehan, he said that work on the C7R was running ahead of schedule and he expected the first car to be on track testing sometime in July. Look for the C7R to debut at the Daytona 24 hours in January, followed by Sebring 12 hours in March.:thumbs:

I could not agree with you more, with the one exception, and that is the Viper and their 8 liter V10 being allowed. As you say, by the BoP on the use of the engine the restriction simply adds reliability and increased torque as you point out, so therefore they were given an advantage over other teams. But it is what it is and that is the nasty business of sports car racing. To much politics involved.

I look forward to the C7R, but with the merger of ALMS and NASCAR, I just wonder how long will they maintain the current GT class and the Le Mans tie? I just don't think NASCAR can keep the grubby hands off a successful series.

You better believe that the "powers that be" will have something to say about the C7R especially if it's as fast as they are. :yesnod: Also, I had to chuckle at, is "douchebaggery" a word! :lol:

Not sure what you mean by "especially if it's as fast as they are'.

Road America Aug. 8 - 12
 

I'm assuming you live in the Milwaukee area and if so you are only a short drive away from one of the country's finest road courses. Since you own a Corvette, you should really put this year's ALMS/Grand AM weekend on your must do list. Join us in the Corvette Corral (free) for the weekend and you will come away with a whole new perspective on sports car racing. Check out the Road America website. I might even have a discounted weekend ticket available for you.

I'm also somewhat of a NASCAR fan and was there for the Nationwide/ARCA events last weekend and try to get to some of the area stock car events. Our Fond de Vettes club will be at Slinger on June 30 and will be doing a parade lap before the races.

I am driving up from South Texas to see the races in Aug. The parade laps is from the car club?

The parade lap I referred to is at the Slinger, WI Speedway stock car races on June 30.

I don't believe the schedule is out yet for the August weekend at RA. This is a big weekend for Corvettes and there are usually special activities put on by Chevrolet in the Corral: VIP talks, drawings for hot laps and access to the Corvette pit area during one of the pit stops during the race, autograph sessions, hospitality tent, new Vettes on display, celebrity choice awards, etc. This weekend usually brings an overflow to the Corral especially on the day of the ALMS race.

Chuck, thanks for the intel. I have to check my schedule. :cheers:

I think that the ALMS GT class was the single "hands off" part of the whole merger of ALMS and GrandAm. In my humble opinion that GT class even with all the BOP BS is the best, most competitive and manufacturer friendly racing on the planet, and you can actually tell what kind of car it is, because they really do look like production models. That class has different tire manufacturer instead of a "spec" tire, the spec tire will likely be in the Prototype Challenge class. From what I'm hearing it looks like a pretty good possibility the DP cars will get some "performance adjustments", tire choice and the chance to compete at LeMans in the P2 class, as P2 cars have already tested at Daytona and DP cars have been at both Sebring and Road Atlanta. I'm looking forward to seeing the ALMS cars back at Daytona for the 24, I only wish they could come up with a way to get the P1 teams like Audi, Toyota and Porsche to come as well, I miss the days of those thundering GTP cars and their 900 horsepower.:yesnod:

As a fellow Dane it hurts me to lose such a great driver..

Allan leaves girlfriend Carina and 1 and half year old daughter Mie-Mai behind.

Rest In Peace Allan - You will be dearly missed.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...51825043_n.jpg

I also agree with you that yes the current ALMS GT class is the best GT racing class in the world, my only concern and I hope I am wrong, is that NASCAR has been known to screw things up. I only hope they can leave the GT class alone and not try and dumb it down. The reason I say this, is there Grand Am fans have already been complaining that how can the keep so many different classes straight. They are use to two real classes DP and GT. Next year there will be 5 classes.
As far as the big prototypes at Daytona, I don't see that happening and they may not even come to Sebring next year. I think we will only see them at le Mans that is unless you get a fed for the WEC races.

Concerning skewered favoritism on the European front..... Article on Ferrari's 250 GTO /Club GTO April, 2012. "The last race of the 1964 season was to be held at Monza; Carroll Shelby's Cobras stood a good chance of beating Ferarri and winning the championship, so Enzo Ferrari had the race cancelled." Just goes to show that politics aren't limited to politicians! Could this have played out at LeMans?

A little more info........ This article was from Road and Track which covers a lot of the sports car spectrum.

Like the way SCCA after the 1988 Trans-Am Series would change the regulation to a two-wheel drive only and banning cars with non American engines from taking part. Because Audi steamrolled the opposition taking eight out of thirteen wins.

I don't think there was any favoritism at Le Mans, Aston won it fair and square.. Just like Corvette won it fair and square the previews years.

Mikkel.

Unless I missed something I believe Porsche ran 1st and 2nd and then the Aston Martin.

As far as far and square is concern, I am not real sure about that. Not to take anything away from any team that runs up front for 24 hours, but the BoP may have played a little into the out come. It will be interesting to see just how the FIA looks at both Aston Martin and Porsche after this past weekend when it come to the next BoP announcements.

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/

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.

:thumbs: 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.:yesnod:

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.

:iagree: 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.:cheers:

:thumbs: on all counts. From oval racing to Loeb. :cheers:

:thumbs: Enjoy Pikes Peak and hope for the best in the merger. Go Team Corvette!:yesnod::cheers:

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 .

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