278 replies to this topic

[OvDrone]

It's my time to steal the thunder from the NASCAR/Indy threads for my own intents and purposes. 2014 baby.

 

 

Well now, if you are like me and are feeling, that you need a bit of a distraction from all of last week's F1 shenanigans, are a bit tired after all of the rallying that's been going on this month i.e. - ERC Janner (LOL Kubica #1), WRC Monte (LOL Kubica #2) and the Dakar (LOL Mini team orders) and are chopping at the bits for an actual damn race, then look no further...  for the first round of the inaugural, and let's hope somewhat meaningful United Sports Car Championship, dawns upon us.

 

Want a semi-redundant trailer with a overly unenthusiastic alienesque voice dubbed over it?

 

 

Get hyped.

 

Last year's winners:

 

 

GOD DAMN IT STOP IT WITH THE FINGERS
 

 

The Schedule:

 

http://www.daytonain...t-Schedule.aspx

 

The Stre... TV Times:

 

Saturday, Jan. 25

2-4 p.m. ET on Fox

4-9 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 2

Overnight (Jan. 25-26)

9 p.m.-7 a.m. ET on IMSA.com (includes live images, in-car cameras and announcers)

Sunday, Jan. 26

7 a.m.-3 p.m. on Fox Sports 1

 

The Track:

 

   - holy s**t what

 

 

- wait, no

 

- what's this, I don't even

 

 

  - yea, better, whatever

 

The Spotter's Guide:

 

http://www.spottergu...Viewing-Guide_1

 

Huge.

 

The Entry List, is rather damn f**king huge. So let me tell you the basics yeah?

 

  - in the queen class Prototype (P) we have the likes of Pagenaud, Luhr, Martin Brundle's progeny, those dudes who won LMP2 last year, Hinch and Vautier driving LMP2 machinery *(it's all a bit rather confusing with all the DP, P2 whatever class things going on, ask someone like Sonny about this sort of thing 'cause I'm rather lost) and driving those badass DPs we have Bourdais, Angelelli, Papis, Rockenfeller, Hartley, Gurney's son with Allmendinger/Wilson (#60), Pruett & co. (#01), Dixon, Kanaan, Marino Franchitti and Kyle Larson ! (#02) going for the win.

 

  - in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class we have dudes like Bird, Kimber-Smith, Tagliani, Daly and Junqueira wasting their time, driving around, wishing they would drive something more exciting.

 

  - in GT Le Mans (GTLM) we have:

    Corvettes - Magnussen, Briscoe, Gavin;

    BMWs - Priaulx, Hand, Rahal;

    Ferraris - Fisichella, Bruni, Dumbreck;

    Vipers - Hunter-Reay;

    Porsches - some Porsche factory European dudes;

    and an Aston Martin - Mucke, Turner, Lamy, Stanaway;

 

  - and in GT Daytona (GTD) we have a ton of entries, I mean there's a ****load. A quick glance finds the names of Bernhard, Farfus, Mika Salo, Vilander, Jarvis, Winkelhock, Albuquerque, Basseng, Makowiecki and van Gisbergen (!).

 

*oh and I almost forgot... there's a Delta Wing in P and it's driven by Alexander Rossi and AndrewHope's long time splush dream Katherine Legge.

 

So, that's the who. What about the why. And there is one quick, simple answer. This:

 

 

Heh, I miss McNish already. Oh and this:

 

 

Maybe, maybe Kimi will be here one day. One can dream, right?

 

There you have it gents and gentettes, first race and the only one 'till Jimmie Johnson wins on the same track a month from now. Sit down, relax, take a breather... from all of the ugly ass F1 cars you'll see the coming days and enjoy a quality-ish yet delightful endurance race. At least I'll try too. (I am about to bleed from my ears from the stress my final bachelor's degree exams are making me feel. that and the 'weather' here in Europe, romantic awesome yet pyrrhic victories and the inevitability of facing one's death alone) Hah, no double points and gimmicks here, right? Right?

 

...

 

At least there is no Montoya.

Edited by OvDrone, 23 January 2014 - 13:39.

[SonnyViceR]

I concur, Dubai 24h doesn't deserve the title of "actual race"

 

I'm not particularly looking forward to this, umm package the United NASCAR Championship is attempting to force through our throats, but I'll be there for the first three rounds ie Daytona, Sebring and Long Beach at least as they're the unmissable North American sportscar races.

 

I'm not gonna bitch and moan about BoP yet again - for now - so let's just say I'll be rooting for these

P - Muscle Milk & the Speedsource Lola Mazdas (even though I know they'll retire)

PC - don't care

GTLM - brand new C7.Rs from Corvette of course. Also Risi

GTD - Dempsey

 

Hopefully with the uncertainty involving... well everything, GTEs could end up high on the finishing order. PCs have never run a 12+ hour race which could mean LMP2-of-the-past style unreliability

 

The most shocking thing is the lack of marketing. Nobody but the specialist media is hyping it up and nobody but the diehard fans are interested (or rioting). IT'S A BRAND NEW SERIES... okay Grand-Am 2.0 with some IMSA guys & ALMS cars & ALMS events but nevertheless. On FOX, there's 10 minutes of pre-race for a new series never seen or promoted on TV (except for 30 second ad during NASCAR commercial breaks), compare that to a couple of years ago SPEED aired 60 minutes of pre-race when it was the 50th anniversary of the race...

 

Also zero coverage of practice and qualifying anywhere, but that is no suprising since unlike the ALMS, Grand-Am never cared about those. And only MRN's s*itty radio service as the non FOX source.

 

CTSCC race will be on Fox Sports 2 tomorrow. Even though it's a channel nobody has and is likely to get like 2,000 watchers, it's same-day coverage at least which is improvement over delayed by a week on SPEED

Edited by SonnyViceR, 23 January 2014 - 14:45.

[Option1]

No gratuitous Danica mention in the OP? Tsk tsk! It's racing in the US man, it's compulsory. 

 

Otherwise, well done OvDrone. 

 

While I'm happy to see the P2's in there, the fact that NASCAR - oops, sorry - the United Shitcar Championship has hobbled the bejeezez out of them so that they can't beat the Daytona Prototypes (cars so primitive they make Ford Model T's look like Bugatti Veyrons) then I'm left completely ambivalent about watching.  Which means to say that I will watch, but hope like hell that all the DP drivers had exactly that the night before.

 

Neil

[SonnyViceR]

 

While I'm happy to see the P2's in there, the fact that NASCAR - oops, sorry - the United Shitcar Championship has hobbled the bejeezez out of them so that they can't beat the Daytona Prototypes (cars so primitive they make Ford Model T's look like Bugatti Veyrons) then I'm left completely ambivalent about watching.  Which means to say that I will watch, but hope like hell that all the DP drivers had exactly that the night before.

 

Neil

 

DPs received BoP penalties after the Roar so the gap should be smaller...

 

I love how the DP dinosaur owners have kept rambling how the LMP2s can never endure this race without breaking up, especially on those NASCAR "I'm gonna crash into your door" close contact moments. Guys, it may be longer than Sebring but it's a lot milder circuit in terms of roughness... and when it comes to door banging, well...

[HaydenFan]

DPs received BoP penalties after the Roar so the gap should be smaller...

 

I love how the DP dinosaur owners have kept rambling how the LMP2s can never endure this race without breaking up, especially on those NASCAR "I'm gonna crash into your door" close contact moments. Guys, it may be longer than Sebring but it's a lot milder circuit in terms of roughness... and when it comes to door banging, well...

 

Especially after last year when at COTA we saw the car of Pizzonia (racing for Shank?) get together with Pruett and the Ganassi car's front body clip came off. By far the smoothest circuit in the US. 

[OvDrone]

No gratuitous Danica mention in the OP? Tsk tsk! It's racing in the US man, it's compulsory. 

 

Otherwise, well done OvDrone. 

 

Thanks mate. Trying to get into the groove with an eye on hijacking a Indy/Nascar thread in the future and/or maybe make DTM, touring cars, formula E and others more interesting.

 

I really don't know why motorsport is struggling so in the media department. I guess it's the old fat cats, corporate dead insides and the owners thinking that **** it 'anyway the diehards will watch', which unfortunately, we do. The dudes that be are from another era and the actual world is leaving them in the dust of bygone glories. We are a strange batch of fans indeed.

[jonpollak]

Thanks mate. Trying to get into the groove with an eye on hijacking a Indy/Nascar thread in the future and/or maybe make DTM, touring cars, formula E and others more interesting.

 

 

And doing a wonderful job at it too I might say .

 

I'm just glad we have 'Something for the weekend'.

Jp

 

EDIT: Just read the Marshal Pruett team by team preview.

http://www.racer.com...ticle/330131/2/

Edited by jonpollak, 23 January 2014 - 16:00.

[MrAerodynamicist]

For no particular reason I have a softspot for Westbrook and Priaulx, so I'll be keeping an eye on their respective cars.

[SonnyViceR]

To be honest I'm surprised by the lack of "What, why are there Le Mans cars entered for Daytona". Yes yes it's been known for year and a half but I say that not only because of the failure of the marketing department, but also because this is one of those races that is watched by a lot of people who don't give a damn about the rest of the season in said series.

 

I'll wait with joy when the NASCAR guys witness the massive crowds of Sebring (assuming that all of the ALMS fans haven't escaped) after the less than mediocre number of faces they'll have at Daytona.

[Afterburner]

It's my time to steal the thunder from the NASCAR/Indy threads--

And me--I was gonna write something like this for tomorrow.

Heh, I miss McNish already. Oh and this:

I think most of us do.
 

Maybe, maybe Kimi will be here one day. One can dream, right?

I certainly hope so. Wouldn't mind seeing Vettel here, either; he didn't rule out going racing in the US after his F1 career was over.

*oh and I almost forgot... there's a Delta Wing in P and it's driven by Alexander Rossi and AndrewHope's long time splush dream Katherine Legge.

I've met Miss Legge, and would like to politely intimate to Andrew that he's got as much a chance with her as the Lola Mazdas have of winning this race. (Of course, now that I've said that... )
 

There you have it gents and gentettes, first race and the only one 'till Jimmie Johnson wins on the same track a month from now. Sit down, relax, take a breather... from all of the ugly ass F1 cars you'll see the coming days and enjoy a quality-ish yet delightful endurance race. At least I'll try too. (I am about to bleed from my ears from the stress my final bachelor's degree exams are making me feel. that and the 'weather' here in Europe, romantic awesome yet pyrrhic victories and the inevitability of facing one's death alone) Hah, no double points and gimmicks here, right? Right?

And thank sanity for that... well, mostly. We've still got performance-balancing here.

Looking forward to it, everyone--hopefully we'll kick off 2014 in style.

[SonnyViceR]

Qualifying is happening this afternoon already btw. Not that anyone outside the circuit would be able to see or hear any of it but you know.

 

Spirit of Daytona was fastest in P1.

[Afterburner]

Spirit of Daytona was fastest in P1.

Part of me wants to be a nag and point out that we no longer have P1 here in the 'States.

[SonnyViceR]

And thank sanity for that... well, mostly. We've still got performance-balancing here.

 

And cautions every 5 minutes. And wave bys for people 7 laps back to get back on the lead lap. And top3 finishers in class cannot be disqualified if they fail technical scrutineering...

 

But technically that's just what Grand-Am has always been so nothing's changed.

 

Oh and actually double points for this race - and Sebring and PLM - would have made sense. It's not as in F1 where it's the same exact race format and extra points are awarded for zero reason. Old ALMS always awarded motr points for longer and bigger races than they did for sprints. But since we are following Grand-Am model again, it's not the case. Also the points difference between winner and second is too small, but that's probably there to create tight fight for the championship or something

Edited by SonnyViceR, 23 January 2014 - 16:27.

[SonnyViceR]

Part of me wants to be a nag and point out that we no longer have P1 here in the 'States.

 

Bad joke and wrong in that too, seeing as there is still one WEC race in States. Not necessarily in CotA though, seeing as both ACO and IMSA are dissatisfied with the product there

[427MkIV]

I went to a couple of Daytona 24 Hours in the mid-80s, and seeing the 962s shoot exhaust flames on the infield, the great drivers (Andretti, Wollek, Foyt, Bell, Holbert, Haywood, etc.), the ear-splitting RX-7s ... it was a different time. I'm looking forward to seeing what the P2s can do against the DPs, and I hope a P2 wins and helps hasten the end of the DPs. The drivers seem to really like the DPs, though. They probably are fun to drive with all that torque and ruggedness.

[Andrew Hope]

It's my time to steal the thunder from the NASCAR/Indy threads for my own intents and purposes. 2014 baby.

 

 

That cat is everywhere!

 

 

You set the bar high this year! Good work. A winrar is you, or whatever the kids say these days.

[SonnyViceR]

I don't remember who it was, but someone said a few years ago that driving DP reminded a bit of the old GT1 cars.

 

Btw, even taking account all the balancing nonsense, the gap between fastest GTE and fastest GTD appears to be staying at just 1,5 seconds around the roval, which is quite surprising.

[SonnyViceR]

Apparently there is some 'Road to Rolex 24' thingie on Fox Sports 1 tonight, so I suppose they can claim to have presented more than 10 minutes of pre-race. Though if it's similar to last year's piece of a similar name, it will be more of a lame recap of previous year's 24 Hours and that's about it.

 

Live timing has been crashing all day, yey. No video, no sound, no times live.

Edited by SonnyViceR, 23 January 2014 - 17:55.

[paulb]

Apparently there is some 'Road to Rolex 24' thingie on Fox Sports 1 tonight, so I suppose they can claim to have presented more than 10 minutes of pre-race. Though if it's similar to last year's piece of a similar name, it will be more of a lame recap of previous year's 24 Hours and that's about it.

 

Live timing has been crashing all day, yey. No video, no sound, no times live.

Is this the site you are referring to? http://scoring.imsa.com/

 

I get the same lack of functionality.

 

And doing a wonderful job at it too I might say .

 

I'm just glad we have 'Something for the weekend'.

Jp

 

EDIT: Just read the Marshal Pruett team by team preview.

http://www.racer.com...ticle/330131/2/

Thanks for the link.

Edited by paulb, 23 January 2014 - 18:46.

[SonnyViceR]

Radio Le Mans will be doing zero race coverage for the event - and series - this year but you can still catch a preview tomorrow 8 pm UK time. You know in case you haven't been listening to Midweek Motorsport for a while where most of the episodes are filled with USCC stuff nowadays anyway, thanks to Marshall Pruett (as long as he's not talking about Indycar continuously, I'm all ears)

[Andrew Hope]

Radio Le Mans per se will be doing zero race coverage per se for the event - and series per se - this year but you can still catch a preview tomorrow per se 8 pm UK time. You know in case you haven't been listening to Midweek Motorsport per se for a while where most of the episodes are filled with per se USCC per se stuff nowadays anyway, thanks to Marshall Pruett per se (as long as he's not talking about Indycar continuously per se, I'm all ears)

 

Fixed that for you.

 

I like Marshall but he needs a new catch phrase

[SonnyViceR]

And Hindy needs to stop repeating that we need to give USCC (not TUSC) a chance and that it's our own fault if it fails through our lack of interest. I can sort of understand the mentality of "don't judge before it even starts" (even though it's pretty apparent that the new series is a direct follow-up to Grand-Am with some minor ALMS tweaks) but apparently we need to follow it for a few years before we can make a judgement. Now that's just crap. Yeah okay there is no alternative in the US anymore if we ignore this series but so what, if person doesn't think it's worth following it's fine. You don't need to support something just because it's the only alternative. We can just drop it and bitch and moan about it if we are dissatisfied, why the hell not. Just like he does for quite a few series. One can always hope for better times.

Edited by SonnyViceR, 23 January 2014 - 19:58.

[Risil]

Fixed that for you.

 

I like Marshall but he needs a new catch phrase

 

He's already had 'going forward' and 'in this economy'. He talks like he actually had a real job in an office once.

[SonnyViceR]

I would prefer if they had John Dagys as the American sportscar correspondent up there.

 

Anyway, it's getting late and I don't think I can be bothered to wait non-functioning T&S to show me the results of the first ever qualifying that no-one, involving the series is really attempting to get us excited about.. I'll catch the IMSA results sheets tomorrow at the office I suppose. Superb

[Victor_RO]

One can always hope for better times.

 

Which, sadly, in the current environment... are unlikely to come.

[SonnyViceR]

Which, sadly, in the current environment... are unlikely to come.

 

Maybe but not impossible. Pretty much nobody predicted the joining of these two series either, and in the recent years the American scenery has changed rapidly outside the stock car world. Things are in constant change. It's the land of opportunities, you know

[jonpollak]

I'm here at my local pub, The Red Lion and rallying some keen locals to the idea of an all nighter with MotorsTV on Saturday.
Jp

[JHSingo]

Seems they've got that performance balancing thing between DPs and P2s right...

 

Still, doesn't matter to me, seeing as the cost-capped P2s are hardly the most exciting things around. Plus, I've no idea why they've kept those horrifically slow five year old PCs in the field either, other to cause cautions of course.

 

At least the GT scraps in both classes should be intense. Plenty of quality drivers in both GTLM and GTD.

[jonpollak]

Corvette DPs lock-out 1,2,4,5. Riley 3rd. My team 02 in P6 and Legge puts DeltaWing 8th. Top LMP2 was Lucas Luhr for Muscle Milk.. 11th.
Jp

[Risil]

Speaking of the Legge/Delta Wing team ...

Coverage of non Le Mans sports car racing in a well-known newspaper! Complete with a plug for MotorsTV at the end. No mention of Jp or the Red Lion but it's possible he asked the editors to keep his name off the front pages.

Edited by Risil, 23 January 2014 - 22:42.

[paulb]

spotter's guide, http://www.spottergu...ing-Guide_1.pdf

Edited by paulb, 23 January 2014 - 22:57.

[OvDrone]

And me--I was gonna write something like this for tomorrow.

I think most of us do.
 
I certainly hope so. Wouldn't mind seeing Vettel here, either; he didn't rule out going racing in the US after his F1 career was over.

I've met Miss Legge, and would like to politely intimate to Andrew that he's got as much a chance with her as the Lola Mazdas have of winning this race. (Of course, now that I've said that... )
 
And thank sanity for that... well, mostly. We've still got performance-balancing here.

Looking forward to it, everyone--hopefully we'll kick off 2014 in style.

 

Hah! Next time mate. And as for SebVet coming in and ruining the party, he can do it anyway, anytime he damn well pleases. Kimi included. Would watch that **** with no animosity whatsoever. And... as for animosity... balance performance be damned. It and Legge don't mix. Fact.

 

That cat is everywhere!

 

 

You set the bar high this year! Good work. A winrar is you, or whatever the kids say these days.

 

Danke dudemate. If no Danica then redcatovdoom. Your hand...

 

One can always hope for better times.

 

's what she said.

Edited by OvDrone, 24 January 2014 - 00:09.

[jonpollak]

Speaking of the Legge/Delta Wing team ...

http://www.theguardi.../18/motorsports

No mention of Jp or the Red Lion but it's possible he asked the editors to keep his name off the front pages.
 

She's from Haslemere..not Guildford.

I know this cuz I lived on Church lane for 5 years from '82..

My wife hit this sign in our Renault 5 at 3 miles an hour in '84  and it's still not fixed!!

 

Anyway..

Jp

Edited by jonpollak, 24 January 2014 - 01:15.

[SonnyViceR]

Poles times for the weekend:

USCC P - GAINSCO Corvette DP 1:38.270

USCC PC - Core Autosport Oreca FLM09 1:41.777

USCC GTLM - SRT Viper GTS-R 1:44.506

USCC GTD - Miller Audi R8 LMS 1:46.973 (failed scrutineering but allowed to keep it)

CTSCC GS - Multimatic Ford Mustang 1:55.824

CTSCC ST - Murillo BMW 328i 2:04.769

 

Lolz only one LMP2 outpaced the front running PCs and all were pretty much behind the DPs (and the freaking Deltathing). Great job IMSA, great job. This is where it gets when you don't do your homework. Or when you blatantly favour NASCAR cars on the NASCAR circuit, and then at Sebring have it other way round. I wonder if there will be post qualifying BoP adjustments again because surely there will be moaning from the P2 camp.

 

Not shocking to have Viper on GTE pole knowing their wonderous performance gifts. In the race they will also have the luxury of extra fuel liters no-one else has

Edited by SonnyViceR, 24 January 2014 - 15:56.

[SonnyViceR]

Apparently there is some 'Road to Rolex 24' thingie on Fox Sports 1 tonight, so I suppose they can claim to have presented more than 10 minutes of pre-race. Though if it's similar to last year's piece of a similar name, it will be more of a lame recap of previous year's 24 Hours and that's about it.

 

Scratch that, was just informed that Fox Sports 2 will air additional 30 minutes of pre-race prior the start of network FOX broadcast.

Edited by SonnyViceR, 24 January 2014 - 14:47.

[Option1]

...

Lolz only one LMP2 outpaced the front running PCs and all were pretty much behind the DPs (and the freaking Deltathing). Great job IMSA, great job. This is where it gets when you don't do your homework. Or when you blatantly favour NASCAR cars on the NASCAR circuit, and then at Sebring have it other way round. I wonder if there will be post qualifying BoP adjustments again because surely there will be moaning from the P2 camp.

...

My fear is that NASCAR wants exactly that to happen in the hope the P2's will take their bat and ball and go home.  NASCAR can then say something along the lines of "See, those guys couldn't hack it with our super-modern horse-drawn carts racing cars.  It proves the Double Penetrations Daytona Prototypes were always the fastest race cars in the entire universe (as defined by Fox TV and not extending beyond the boundaries of the contiguous US)."

 

In other words, I've always believed this was never a merger with ALMS, it was a take-over and terminate. 

 

Neil

[paulb]

Scratch that, was just informed that Fox Sports 2 will air additional 30 minutes of pre-race prior the start of network FOX broadcast.

Does anyone get HD on FS2?

[SonnyViceR]

Does anyone get Fox Sports 2 in the first place anyway, I believe there are some rare sources offering it in HD but basically no.

 

Then again, one shouldn't complain about SD when Motors TV cannot even offer that..

 

My fear is that NASCAR wants exactly that to happen in the hope the P2's will take their bat and ball and go home.  NASCAR can then say something along the lines of "See, those guys couldn't hack it with our super-modern horse-drawn carts racing cars.  It proves the Double Penetrations Daytona Prototypes were always the fastest race cars in the entire universe (as defined by Fox TV and not extending beyond the boundaries of the contiguous US)."

 

In other words, I've always believed this was never a merger with ALMS, it was a take-over and terminate. 

 

Neil

 

Well technically it never mas a merger in the first place since NASCAR bought the assets of ALMS and Panoz sold Sebring, Road Atlanta and the rest of his stuff. It just sounds better when they call it merger rather than the continuation of Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series with some new cars and new events, that's why they have UNITED big in there with PR-Atherton in front and IMSA's sad little name at the back.

 

Regarding P2, well mr France did allegedly say last year that they didn't want one of those "little fag cars" winning races in this series, but you know. I don't think they really wanna burn bridges to the ACO. Pierre Fillon will be waving the flag for the start tomorrow too

Edited by SonnyViceR, 24 January 2014 - 15:43.

[SonnyViceR]

http://www.racer.com...article/330905/

 

The team's No. 48 Audi R8 GTD entry claimed pole position Thursday, only to have it taken away during technical inspection after time trials. IMSA, sanctioning body for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, vacated that decision Friday, restoring the car to the head of its class for tomorrow's Rolex 24 at Daytona. No reasons were provided on what led to the change.

 

So how much cash Audi's customer department handed to series? but I suppose it makes 'sense' not to penalise front running cars that failed scrutineering after qualifying since the same applies to race...

[Imateria]

What happened to Risi, didn't see their name on the qualy results?

 

Not really surprised that the DP's are faster around here than the P2's, though I am surprised the gaps as big as it is, but I guess the real test will be what happens at Sebring if they don't make any changes to BoP.

[SonnyViceR]

It would be naive not to expect race-by-race BoP changes.

 

Risi had gearbox electronics issue so no run in Q. Doesn't really matter in a race where wave bys bring cars back to contention from 27 laps back and such but a bit worrying yes. Same with the Corvettes which have been suffering electrical gremilns all week long, doesn't look that great for the debut of the C7.R. But we'll see.

 

Risi was fastest GTE in the final practice that just ended, btw.

 

I'm optimistic that PC (if survives) and/or GTLM car ends up on overall top 5 at the end of the race...

Edited by SonnyViceR, 24 January 2014 - 17:57.

[jonpollak]

Does anyone get HD on FS2?

Is it in HD on DirecTV 618 ?

Jp

[paulb]

I've got DISH and I don't ever recall FS2 in HD.  It makes me sad whenever I watch the channel.

[jaisli]

Does anyone get Fox Sports 2 in the first place anyway, I believe there are some rare sources offering it in HD but basically no.

 

Then again, one shouldn't complain about SD when Motors TV cannot even offer that..

 

 

Well technically it never mas a merger in the first place since NASCAR bought the assets of ALMS and Panoz sold Sebring, Road Atlanta and the rest of his stuff. It just sounds better when they call it merger rather than the continuation of Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series with some new cars and new events, that's why they have UNITED big in there with PR-Atherton in front and IMSA's sad little name at the back.

 

Regarding P2, well mr France did allegedly say last year that they didn't want one of those "little fag cars" winning races in this series, but you know. I don't think they really wanna burn bridges to the ACO. Pierre Fillon will be waving the flag for the start tomorrow too

 

Actually yes, I get Fox Sports 2.  I signed up for it in the fall so I could watch the Petit Le Mans.  It's part of a sport package and it only costs $4.95 per month, which is pretty reasonable, atlhough it's not an HD channel, which is unfortunate and ridiculous in 2014.  I was going to cancel it after Road Atlanta last year but I was surpised to see that they had 1 hour race recaps of BTCC, DTM, FIAGT and WTCC running all throughout the winter.  They were on at obscure times but I just set the DVR and had about 40 hours worth of racing that I'm still trying to catch up on. 

 

That said, as a long suffering ALMS fan, I personally suspect that the TV coverage, or lack there of, along with accompanying sponsorship, is what finally did the series in and forced Don Panoz to sell.  During the last two years, after the series was dropped by SpeedTV and their Fox parent company, I had to suffer through 1-2 hour recaps of every race on network TV the following day or in some cases, a week later, full of commercials, all because my TV provider didn't carry ESPN3 at any price and I live in an area full of hills and trees and satelite tv isn't an option.  Ironically, if I was outside the US, I could have watched every ALMS race streamed live, but in the US, it was a battle with proxy servers and IP blockers that sometimes got me a shakey stream that dropped after ten minutes.

 

For what it's worth, I'm not that happy about the merger either as I would have preferred to see the ALMS survive.  But ever since the ACO got into bed with the FIA, and the push was on to support the WEC, the ALMS & even the ELMS's days were numbered. THAT was the real knife in the back, not NASCAR.  Either way, I can assure you that the quote about 'little fag cars' is pretty much an urban legend and never happened.  I've seen it quoted endlessly in various forums, some associating the quote with Michael Shank, others with Bill France.  But nobody has ever provided a direct quote.  It's all heresay.  At best it was probably taken completely out of context.

 

And for what it's worth, from everything I've seen, I think Jim France is and always has been a big sports car fan.  I think the man genuninely has a love and fascination with Le Mans and in many ways, he very much has a desire to keep that connection in place.  But he also ran a competing series that very much depended on the participation of team owners who drove and continue to drive DP machinery.  What was he supposed to do?  turn his back on them?  Kick them to the curb and screw 1/2 of the potential USCR fans?  (OK, maybe 1/3).     The fact that they've tried to find a compromise in the BoP, when many of the DP team owners were so drastically opposed to it is proof of this.  And I think as time goes by and the new P2 regulations are in effect, we'll see a gradual shift of teams over to P2 machinery.  And I don't think Jim France will mind it at all.   He's having to walk a tightrope right now.  But I think his vision is very different than what you think it is.   

[SonnyViceR]

Actually the alms.com streaming was pretty bad outside the States, it worked at times yes but was extremely chobby and unreliable most of the time. They had separate servers for those feeds. ESPN3 also had superior quality the few times I managed to catch it via US proxy (and same was said by a lot of people)

 

I agree in that by no means is this (the death of ALMS) solely of NASCAR, but because of ACO's mismanagement over it's regional championships. They really messed it up.

 

Regardless of the ESPN/ABC TV deal mess and the decreasing prototype grids, ALMS still was crushingly more popular series than Grand-Am in it's final year. Both internationally and domestic.

[jaisli]

Actually the alms.com streaming was pretty bad outside the States, it worked at times yes but was extremely chobby and unreliable most of the time. They had separate servers for those feeds. ESPN3 also had superior quality the few times I managed to catch it via US proxy (and same was said by a lot of people)

 

I agree in that by no means is this (the death of ALMS) solely of NASCAR, but because of ACO's mismanagement over it's regional championships. They really messed it up.

 

Regardless of the ESPN/ABC TV deal mess and the decreasing prototype grids, ALMS still was crushingly more popular series than Grand-Am in it's final year. Both internationally and domestic.

 

Well, true, but it was, in essence, a regional series.  I just mean to say, that I found it all together ridiculous that people outside the US had more options than some of us inside did, to watch these races.  But in the end, it was all about money.  I think Scott Atherton put on a brave face when the 2012 TV deal was announced but I can't see how he believed it.  Not everybody had access to SpeedTV and growing the audience on network TV was their goal.  But endurance racing and network TV just don't mix.  And if you wanted to watch the races live and in their entirety, far fewer people had access to the ESPN package deal that allowed ESPN2 + internet streaming on ESPN3 than did Speed.  And I'm obviously disgrunted being one of them. 

 

I don't think the ALMS's popularity vs Grand Am was lost on anybody, including Jim France, Bill France or Don Panoz.  But the France family has deep pockets and it's been well documented that, at least in earlier days, they helped subsize their series and the teams directly.  If you want to be cynical, you could say they did it with the eventual hope of bringing the ALMS to it's knees.  Which either way IS what happened.   But I'm at least hopeful that they don't intend to turn the USCR into Grand Am 2.0.   

Edited by jaisli, 24 January 2014 - 18:37.

[Option1]

I wish I could share your hope, jaisli.  Sadly, I'm now a cynical, old barstaff.

 

Neil

[paulb]

Either IMSA live timing is kaput or the Continental race has not yet started.

 

Sweet, a quick refresh indicates we're about to race in 2014.

Edited by paulb, 24 January 2014 - 18:54.

[BiH]

Poles times for the weekend:

USCC P - GAINSCO Corvette DP 1:38.270

USCC PC - Core Autosport Oreca FLM09 1:41.777

USCC GTLM - SRT Viper GTS-R 1:44.506

USCC GTD - Miller Audi R8 LMS 1:46.973 (failed scrutineering but allowed to keep it)

CTSCC GS - Multimatic Ford Mustang 1:55.824

CTSCC ST - Murillo BMW 328i 2:04.769

 

Lolz only one LMP2 outpaced the front running PCs and all were pretty much behind the DPs (and the freaking Deltathing). Great job IMSA, great job. This is where it gets when you don't do your homework. Or when you blatantly favour NASCAR cars on the NASCAR circuit, and then at Sebring have it other way round. I wonder if there will be post qualifying BoP adjustments again because surely there will be moaning from the P2 camp.

 

Not shocking to have Viper on GTE pole knowing their wonderous performance gifts. In the race they will also have the luxury of extra fuel liters no-one else has

 

Pathetic.

 

Lets go Nissan Oreca number 6.

 

Down 1.5 seconds in quali.

[Kerch]

I understand why they wanted to lump the Daytona Prototypes and LMP2s in the same class (for simplicity I assume), but it just seems so fundamentally wrong to me as the cars were created from different rule sets.