7 replies to this topic

[Ali_G]

Did anyone watch the GT race last week. i watched the qual session for about 5 min and then turned it off.

The field is now dominated by Dodge Vipers and a few very old Lister Storms. How boring. There are only about 12 GT2 cars left in it.

What a joke.


Compare this back to 97 and 98. Some classic races between the Mercedes and the Porches.

The FIA really made a bad mistake in outlawing GT1 cars. This caused both the Mercedes and Porche Works teams to pull out. it just hasn't been the same since. They might even pull the plug on it soon.

And then look at ALMS. Exciting racing with prototype cars and Gt1 cars if anyone cared to enter it. This is clearly the no 1 endurance racing series in the world today.

So long GT Champsionship.

Anyone else agree ?

Niall

[Zeus]

I would go a step further back to when it was the BPR championship. That was a great series. The FIA's involvement, and their inevitable kowtowing to major manufactorurs is what killed a brilliant series. I did like the hardware though- the CLK-GTR and the 1999 Porsche GT1 are two of the most beautiful racing machines ever.

Whatever became of Stephan Rafenal's new GT series. I saw some promising stories about that in early 2000, but it never made it through to the US media. Still exist?

[Ali_G]

I am not sure waht happened to Rafenel's series.

i remember that I used to love the Porche 911 GT1. Lovely looking car. And that merc was great looking too.

Sadly for some reason the FIA canceled GT1`.

Niall

[pa]

I dunno. Wait until Porsche brings out that new V10 550 HP Viper killer and you'll see some action again. Until then, there's the ALMS.

[HartleyHare]

Give the series time in its new format. Mercedes, Porsche and especially Toyota took the p1ss with GT1 cars. Ferrari have a couple of cars in a couple of categories so there is new blood there. There is also the 675kg class, which is beginning to attract some new entries.

But the race was a bit of a walkover. The one Storm was miles faster than the rest. Started 12th and drove straight past everything then romped away. At least there was passing on the track.

And it is more fun than watching virtually (or even actually!) identical cars in other series...

[Ali_G]

Yeah. but ALMS is so much better.

Plus those Audi's look better and have drivers i have heard of (Except Bailey).

Niall

[Nathan]

The BPR waw great! Its all about marketing, that draws the crowds then the manufactures come. Mind you it also doesnt help the big manufactures are going to F-1.

[Zeus]

Nathan, that is a valid point. Certainly in smaller series, big manufacturer involvement has a way of squeezing the life out of the competition. And it has been the same in the past for F1 as well with only one company dominating the field (Honda, Renault, Mercedes all in their own time).

But I think (hope) that competitiveness in F1 can survive this current influx of big manufacturers simply because there are a number of players now. In the past 2 decades, no dominant team ever had to deal with more than one competent challenger. With Toyota entering F1, in a few years time there will be several engines capable of winning races. Mercedes, Honda, Renault, and Ferrari are all proven winners. BMW certainly looks the part, and Ford has shown some good results in recent years too. With this many big engines in the mix, I personally think F1 can avoid the trap of having one super dominant team.

But that would certainly go against history.