80 replies to this topic

[jaisli]

Amid the scandals and title chase of the F1 season, almost lost in the shuffle this weekend, is the return of the first Audi vs Peugeot head to head since the 24hrs of Le Mans. It's been a tough season for the ALMS and it's fans. Between the governing body deciding to enforce the ACO rules for P2 entrants, and some big names formally in P2 no longer fighting for outright wins and leaving in a hissy fit, and the global economic slowdown making sponsorship and manufacturer involvement scarce, we've seen a very scaled back ALMS this year and it's been a bitter pill to swallow for fans of the series:
- Audi leaving
- Porsche leaving
- AGR leaving
- Aston Martin coming then going
- GT1 all but dead
- Introduction of the much maligned ALMS Challenge class to "make up the numbers".

Next year will also feature a rather controversial Prototype Challenge class with spec Courage chassis and the merger of P1 & P2 classes during select races, which ALMS President Scott Atherton himself describes as, a matter of survival.

But this weekend at least, we'll see the first test bed for next year's 24, while the two diesel giants spar off. And a resurgence in GT2, means BMW and now Corvette will duke it out with Ferrari and Porsche regulars.

Road Atlanta is a great track and it's elevation changes and sweeping S-bends can only truly be appreciated by visiting the track first hand. For those in North America who aren't able to attend the race in person, Speed TV will broadcast the entire 10 hours of the race, starting Saturday, September 26th at 11:00, immediately following F1 qualifying.

So stick around and enjoy the show!

[Victor_RO]

It's going to be a battle to the end between Audi and Peugeot. I can see both of them though committing to a full racing programme in 2010, Audi especially. The R15 is too still not sorted out and it needs as much racing mileage as possible. And since they haven't raced since Le Mans, I suspect it's going to be Peugeot winning, but by a margin of less than one lap.

The BMWs look strong on Road Atlanta, if their engines hold together (they didn't at Sebring) they ought to win this. And I'd like them to win it simply to see the M3 GT2 next year at Le Mans. The Corvettes might not get automatic invitations, but their applications are definitely going to be accepted by the ACO: the cars are fast, the team has proved its professionalism in the last 8 years...


A shame that Prodrive didn't decide to send at least one B09/60 to Road Atlanta, but it's going to be a good fight for petrol LMP1 honours between Acura and ORECA. My money is on the Frenchies.

Edited by Victor_RO, 25 September 2009 - 16:17.

[stevewf1]

Not sure, but I thought I heard Bob Varsha mention something about Scott Sharp's "amazing crash"...

[Victor_RO]

stevewf1, on Sep 25 2009, 19:23, said:

Not sure, but I thought I heard Bob Varsha mention something about Scott Sharp's "amazing crash"...

"Amazing"? I heard it was "horrifying". News reports suggest that the car was completely written off because of a damaged tub.

[jaisli]

stevewf1, on Sep 25 2009, 12:23, said:

Not sure, but I thought I heard Bob Varsha mention something about Scott Sharp's "amazing crash"...

Indeed. I haven't seen it myself but the article can be seen here. It's sounds pretty horrific but Scott is supposedly OK and Highcroft are busy rebuilding the chassis for the race.

@ Victor_RO. Puegeot & Audi will be back at Sebring as it's often seen as an ideal test bed for Le Mans. But I'm not sure either will commit to the regular ALMS season. It would certainly give the series a HUGE boost, but most races in the ALMS are only 2-4 hours and take place on tighter tracks where the set up would be very different from Le Sarthe.

And you're right, I'd like to see a BMW GT2 at Le Mans next year too.

[stevvy1986]

Not seen a video of the crash yet, but seen some pictures, and the car was most definitely a total write off, even damaged the fencing. Radio Le Mans and other people have said it's the worst accident they've ever seen.

[Victor_RO]

jaisli, Peugeot might not commit to the ALMS, but Audi, if they feel they need to race the R15 as much as possible, might do what they did in 2008, when they ran full seasons both in the ALMS and the LMS. The thing about the French team is that they have apparently stopped developments on the 908 and are developing a new LMP1 for 2011 (probably called a 909).

Edited by Victor_RO, 25 September 2009 - 16:40.

[JPW]

Check here for some pics by Julie Sueur of the crash:

http://www.endurance...l...ge=244&np=0

[DanDectis]

jaisli, on Sep 25 2009, 12:31, said:

@ Victor_RO. Puegeot & Audi will be back at Sebring as it's often seen as an ideal test bed for Le Mans. But I'm not sure either will commit to the regular ALMS season. It would certainly give the series a HUGE boost, but most races in the ALMS are only 2-4 hours and take place on tighter tracks where the set up would be very different from Le Sarthe.

This is undeniably true, however, I am sure that in spite of this fact there must still be huge benefits across the board to running a few thousand extra miles throughout the year beyond just setup. Even down to the way the taem conducts itself in areas such as race prep and especially pitstop/repair work. The tracks may be very different (with the possible exception of Road America) from Le Sarthe I think that experience is experience and we have seen how experience/knowledge of the car can help a car with less ultimate pace triumph over a faster car at Le Mans 2008.

[ForeverF1]

I am hoping that this gets into the mix. It will be nice to see that name racing again.

[jaisli]

JPW, on Sep 25 2009, 12:42, said:

Check here for some pics by Julie Sueur of the crash:

http://www.endurance...l...ge=244&np=0

It's always tough to say how bad it was from looking at a wreck but in this case, there really isn't much left of the car besides the safety cell. And look at what's left of the catch fence! Scott was clearly pretty lucky.

[jaisli]

DanDectis, on Sep 25 2009, 12:42, said:

This is undeniably true, however, I am sure that in spite of this fact there must still be huge benefits across the board to running a few thousand extra miles throughout the year beyond just setup. Even down to the way the taem conducts itself in areas such as race prep and especially pitstop/repair work. The tracks may be very different (with the possible exception of Road America) from Le Sarthe I think that experience is experience and we have seen how experience/knowledge of the car can help a car with less ultimate pace triumph over a faster car at Le Mans 2008.

Quite true. Lack of real time running and experience hurt the R15's debut at this year's 24hrs and by Audi's own admission. Plus having them back in the ALMS full time in 2010 would probably help secure Acura's commitment to their P1 program, as they've been making some noise about continuing next year if they're essentially the only front runner in P1. But I see it as a matter of ego as well. At Road Atlanta, Sebring and Road America, the R15 would probably have the legs on the Acura, which was designed from the ground up to run on smaller, tighter tracks. But just the opposite would be true of Long Beach, Monterey, Lime Rock, etc. I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Victor_RO]

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/78884

The battle is very much on. And it's a diesel 1-2-3-4 in quali with the Peugeots up front... It's going to play out almost like Sebring, I think. Hopefully with a French result, though.

Edited by Victor_RO, 25 September 2009 - 19:52.

[jaisli]

Yeah, no surprise there in P1. But GT2 qualifying is sure a shocker!

[Victor_RO]

I wonder though why Audi didn't put McNish in the car for the quali lap. He might have squeezed it onto the front row.

[JacnGille]

Video of the crash:


The weather forecast is for 80 to 90% chance of very heavy rain, with flash flood warnings.
The safety car may lead the most laps tomorrow.

[stevewf1]

He got lucky with that one. Sharp does seem to crash a lot...

[FlatOverCrest]

GT2 has the addition of the Jag XKR GT2 which although RAW, may add yet another manufacturer to the fold....

ALMS is wobbling slighty but with a little guidance, it could become one of if not THE premier racing series in the US...

Have to say...watching Sharp's crash....I was disappointed not to see the Flying Lizard Porsche driver stop and see if he could help? I am hoping the film ran on and indeed the 911 pulled over and he got out.... that was a real nasty one and Sharp is a very lucky fella, although the tub stood up to do the job really well...

Edited by FlatOverCrest, 26 September 2009 - 06:09.

[Victor_RO]

JacnGille, on Sep 26 2009, 03:40, said:

The weather forecast is for 80 to 90% chance of very heavy rain, with flash flood warnings.
The safety car may lead the most laps tomorrow.

Rain is just going to make it predictable (Audis waltzing off into the distance) .

[stevvy1986]

Wow, that's a seriously big crash. Incredible just how close the car came to actually going over the catch fencing. Says alot about the car though that he got out unaided, and was uninjured. Haven't seen a crash that big/violent for a long long time.

[jaisli]

Yes, it's amazing how the winds have changed. At the start of the 2007 season, it looked like everybody was gunning for P2, with a number of Indy car teams showing an interesting in starting an ALMS program. In retrospect this my have been simple politics as P2 cars in these years ran with less restrictions than they did at Le Mans and at smaller tighter tracks where fuel strategy played a major roll, it was possible for P2 cars to fight for overall victory--something I'm sure Audi considered when they pulled out this year. I believe adhering to the ACO rules for this year was a concession made to Audi but unfortunately, due to the economic climate, Audi pulled out anyway, leaving the ALMS without it's star player and their strong midfield line up. Now P2 is effectively dead and the big push is in GT2 where we now have 6, and soon to be 7 manufacturers involved. It's BMW's first season and the Corvette teams are just testing the waters in P2. Next year could be a great battle between these four.

A little rain is good for the mix but with the rainfall levels they've been experiencing in Georgia lately, it's bad news. And either way, starting behind the safety car is a total snooze fest. Let's hope at least the start is dry. But there are places of this track that would make running in really heavy rain, all but impossible. It would be much worse still if they had to red flag the race in the middle.

And I feel almost as bad for the fans. There's very little cover at this track and the ground is dirty, red, Georgia clay. There's going to be a lot of filthy people leaving Road Atlanta tomorrow night.

[JacnGille]

jaisli, on Sep 26 2009, 06:51, said:

And I feel almost as bad for the fans. There's very little cover at this track and the ground is dirty, red, Georgia clay. There's going to be a lot of filthy people leaving Road Atlanta tomorrow night.

You got that right!

[Mark Bennett]

I'm still trying to get the red dust out of some of my trainers from last years race - and that was a dry one

[wewantourdarbyback]

NISHY!!

Brilliant start from Alan there.

[Victor_RO]

What the bloomin' bleep are the Peugeots doing in the wet?

[wewantourdarbyback]

Is there any live timing available for this?

I would search but I'm kinda busy. Thanks

[Victor_RO]

http://scoring.ameri...index_live2.php

[wewantourdarbyback]

Multumesc

[Victor_RO]

http://www.speedtv.c...-on-board-pass/ Onboard feed from the three Acuras. Gil de Ferran is right behind the #07 Peugeot.

EDIT: He's past him into the last corner.

Edited by Victor_RO, 26 September 2009 - 15:58.

[Lazarus II]

Thumbs up to Dyson Racing. Really good idea running the biobutenol. It shows that ALMS is trying to be relevant in todays society.

One day maybe F1 can get a clue and learn that the sun doesn't rise and fall because of them....nah never happen.

[Victor_RO]

It's drying out. I think Lamy has just passed de Ferran.

EDIT: 51 seconds between McNish and Lamy, and they're relatively even on pace on the last lap.


EDIT 2: Whoopsie... de Ferran has just spun.

Edited by Victor_RO, 26 September 2009 - 16:33.

[Victor_RO]

4L3X, on Sep 26 2009, 19:52, said:

He was hit by the no. 37, right?

Seems so. Full-course yellow at the moment, what happened?

[Victor_RO]

Someone told me on another forum that the Doran Ford GT's rear decklid worked loose and flew off the car. So... debris.

[jonpollak]

Dixie just crashed
Jp

[stevvy1986]

Anyone got a radar or any sort of forecast?

[Victor_RO]

Are Audi playing risky and claiming that the LED running lights are enough of a headlight to keep the car out on track?


EDIT: Holy schmokes, what's with all these wheels falling off? I think this is the fourth or fifth one for today...

Edited by Victor_RO, 26 September 2009 - 19:18.

[Victor_RO]

McNish has spun down to the rear of the queue under yellows!

[stevvy1986]

And it looks like the rain is falling a bit heavier now. Certain sections now receiving pretty heavy rain, which tallies with what the Risi team just said (that the rain is coming). It's very slippery now.

Edited by stevvy1986, 26 September 2009 - 19:47.

[stevvy1986]

Everyone in for wets, massive plumes of spray behind the cars, it's very very heavy rain now, even going in a straight line is difficult. And as I type this McNish has spun again, as have a few other cars. Safety Car out on track, it's absolutely terrible conditions.

Edited by stevvy1986, 26 September 2009 - 19:54.

[stevewf1]

Now full-course yellow. Rain. Technology meets Mother Nature. Mother Nature wins...

[wewantourdarbyback]

stevewf1, on Sep 26 2009, 20:58, said:

Now full-course yellow. Rain. Technology meets Mother Nature. Mother Nature wins...

But only after they wait till Nishy spins again...



I smell a conspiracy

[Victor_RO]

wewantourdarbyback, on Sep 26 2009, 23:04, said:

But only after they wait till Nishy spins again...



I smell a conspiracy ;)

Can you stop spreading conspiracies around?

[Victor_RO]

Red flag, red flag, red flag.

[stevvy1986]

Red flag due to lightning in the area, meaning the corner workers are being moved to a safer area. The clock carries on running.

[stevvy1986]

According to RLM the rain was meant to hit at 6pm their time, but it's come a couple of hours early, and supposedly was meant to stay around until tomorrow morning. If there's no more lightning they MIGHT get going again, though by the time they restart, the track could be flooded anyway

[Victor_RO]

So does this mean that this race might be over at half-distance?

[stevvy1986]

Well the clock will keep running during the red flag, so if they don't get going again, then they will have only had just under half the time (5hrs) of actual racing by the time the 10hrs are up. I reckon they might get going again at some point though, but it's still very heavy rain. The problem is if they do get going again (if the lightning gets out of the way) and it's still raining heavily, then it'll likely be too wet to actually go green flag racing.

Edited by stevvy1986, 26 September 2009 - 20:22.