2015 TUDOR United Sportscar Championship

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MonGnoM

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So even if we are in 2014, and the season is over, let's start the second season of our favourite Championship!!!

Date Event Classes
*Jan. 24-25 - Daytona International Speedway (ALL)
*March 21 - Sebring International Raceway (ALL)
April 18 - Long Beach Street Circuit (P/GTLM)
May 3 - Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (P/GTLM and PC/GTD)
May 30 - Detroit Belle Isle (P/GTD)
*June 28 - Watkins Glen International (ALL)
July 12 - Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (P/PC/GTLM)
July 25 - Lime Rock Park (PC/GTD)
Aug. 9 - Road America (ALL)
Aug. 23 - Virginia International Raceway (PC/GTLM/GTD)
Sept. 19 - Circuit of The Americas (ALL)
*Oct. 3 - Road Atlanta (ALL)

* Tequila Pàtron Endurance Cup

- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/imsa-u...ar-championship-schedule#sthash.CDf5WGOE.dpuf
 
I was so hoping PC would be dropped, half of the drivers in that class bring nothing but danger and trouble to this series!(they bring a big fat wallet I know...)
 
Hoping 2015 will be a great season. Aside from the dozen or so people on the internets who will forever hate the series, I really do think a lot of people have come around to the series. The move to tape delay series on Sundays really has gotten TV viewership up helping teams market for the coming season. I'm excited to be going back to the Rolex 24 again!
 
I really hope that there can be a live race with less commercial interruptions. It sometimes got tough to watch this year because of all the commercials.
 
Posting to subscribe.

Also, really sad that Bob Stallings appears to be totally done. :(
 
Posting to subscribe.

Also, really sad that Bob Stallings appears to be totally done. :(
Yep. RG racing has purchased their pit equipment and hired some of their crew. Pretty neat story with those guys. It looks like a Patron cup only season for them. Really good to see the Dinan engine get back into the Prototype class
 
Posting to subscribe.

Also, really sad that Bob Stallings appears to be totally done. :(

Yeah, was under the impression that maybe they were just done for the 2014 season but it appears they are out for good. I would've at least thought they would've had the rest of the year to get things back together.
 
Yep. RG racing has purchased their pit equipment and hired some of their crew. Pretty neat story with those guys. It looks like a Patron cup only season for them. Really good to see the Dinan engine get back into the Prototype class
Didn't even know they were the ones that bought the stuff. I just knew they bought one of Shank's old chassis. That's cool at least.

Anything on Alex Gurney, then?
 
I really hope that there can be a live race with less commercial interruptions. It sometimes got tough to watch this year because of all the commercials.

Go to their youtube channel ;)
That's really awesome! They post every qualifying, full races with commentation and without commercials!

And you can watch them whenever you want to watch it.
 
Didn't even know they were the ones that bought the stuff. I just knew they bought one of Shank's old chassis. That's cool at least.

Anything on Alex Gurney, then?
I haven't heard anything on Gurney. I think Fogarty will probably be in the Whelen DP. Either that or the Frisselle bros will be there
 
Didn't even know they were the ones that bought the stuff. I just knew they bought one of Shank's old chassis. That's cool at least.

Anything on Alex Gurney, then?

Oddly, I haven't heard anything on him. Just strange how after that wreck at the Daytona, he just fell off the face of the earth.
 
sillyseason2.jpg
Sportscar365 takes a look at the confirmed and possible entries for the GT Le Mans and GT Daytona categories.

GT Le Mans:

Corvette Racing – The Pratt & Miller squad are planning to return with its pair of factory Corvette C7.Rs. Drivers have not been announced, although it would seem logical for Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin, Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen to all continue. (2 cars)

Porsche North America – The CORE autosport-run factory squad is confirmed for 2015. Driver lineups for the two Porsche 911 RSRs have yet to be determined but likely to include the usual suspects, including Patrick Long, Michael Christensen and Nick Tandy. (2 cars)

BMW – With BMW’s contract with Rahal Letterman Lanigan up at the end of this year, the big question is whether the Bobby Rahal-led squad will continue to operate the German manufacturer’s factory Z4 GTE program. Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing have reportedly placed bids, along with another top-level sports car team showing interest. BMW will announce its 2015 program in early December. (2 cars)

Team Falken Tire – Derrick Walker’s privateer Porsche squad will return with a relatively unchanged program, with Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers expected to be back in the blue and turquoise-liveried entry. Walker has ruled out an expansion to a second car. (1 car)

Risi Competizione – Despite having had an expensive start – and end – to its 2014 season, it’s understood the Houston-based squad is planning a return with its Ferrari F458 Italia. Giancarlo Fisichella and Pierre Kaffer, who combined for two victories, would seem to be likely candidates to again share the wheel of the Prancing Horse. (1 car likely)

AIM Autosport – After a season in GTD, the Canadian squad is planning a move to the GTLM class with Bill Sweedler’s Ferrari F458 Italia that he ran under the AJR banner in 2013. While working towards a full-season effort, Swedler and co-driver Bell are expected to compete in a minimum of the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup races. A fallback option would be a return to GTD. (1 car likely – partial season)

Aston Martin Racing – The factory Prodrive squad could field up to three Aston Martin Vantage GTEs in the Patron Endurance Cup, one likely for Paul Dalla Lana. A strong possibility exists of an all-pro lineup in one of the cars as well. (1-3 cars likely – partial season)

TBA - At least one undisclosed team is looking at a potential full-season GTLM entry with an Am driver, although it has yet to secure the necessary budget. (1 car possible)

Estimated Car Count: 7-8 full-season cars
Partial Season: 2-4 cars

GT Daytona:

Alex Job Racing – The Porsche stalwarts are expected to again field two 911 GT Americas, with its Team Seattle-backed effort for Mario Farnbacher and Ian James already confirmed. Plans, meanwhile, are being put in place for the WeatherTech entry of Cooper MacNeil and Leh Keen to return as well, but not yet 100 percent confirmed. (2 cars likely)

Scuderia Corsa – One full-season Ferrari 458 Italia is confirmed for the Giacomo Mattioli-led group, likely again with Alessandro Balzan and Jeff Westphal, while a second Prancing Horse is defendant on customer interest. (1 car)

Riley Motorsports – Despite the demise of the factory program, Bill Riley is still planning to field Ben Keating’s Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R. A second Viper is possible for Daytona. Jeroen Bleekemolen has been confirmed as Keatin’s co-driver again. (1 car)

Park Place Motorsports – The John Horton-led group are planning to return with up to two full-season Porsche 911 GT Americas. Patrick Lindsey will again pilot one car with a to-be-determined pro co-driver, with work ongoing to fill the second car. (2 cars likely)

GB Autosport - A full season effort for at least one car and another entry centered around the Patron Endurance Cup races appears likely for the Michael Avenatti-led squad. While the team is evaluating a change of car, Damien Faulkner has been confirmed to return to one of the Tully’s sponsored entries with the second pro driver expected to be confirmed in the next ten days. (2 cars)

Magnus Racing - While evaluating a move to the FIA WEC, a return to GTD with its Porsche 911 GT America seems to be the most logical short-term option for John Potter, who is likely to retain Andy Lally as a driver. (1 car likely)

Paul Miller Racing – While having been the highest-placed Audi in 2014, the team has yet to confirm its return. A move to Pirelli World Challenge is reportedly an option, as well as an expansion to a two-car effort, should the right pieces fall into place. (1-2 cars possible)

TRG-AMR – The Kevin Buckler-owned squad could field up to three Aston Martin Vantage GT3s for the Rolex 24 and Patron Endurance Cup races, although prospects of a full-season effort have yet to materialize. (1-3 partial season cars)

Muehlner Motorsports – The Bernhard Muehlner-run group is working hard to finalize a two-car Porsche GT America program, but only if they have two full-season drivers committed per car. A decision will be made by November. An expansion to the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama is also planned. (2 cars possible)

Vita4One Racing – The veteran German squad, owned by Michael Bartles, is planning a multi-race program with its BMW Z4 GT3, which is likely to include Daytona and Sebring. A full-season entry appears unlikely at this stage. (1 car likely – partial season)

Turner Motorsport – Despite winning the Drivers’ and Teams’ Championship, there are currently no plans for a return to GTD in 2015. The team announced Monday a two-car BMW Z4 GT3 program for Pirelli World Challenge. (unknown)

Flying Lizard Motorsports – The IMSA stalwarts could be off to Pirelli World Challenge next year, while scaling back its TUDOR Championship involvement. The Lizards remain committed to its Audi R8 LMS cars, which may be put into action in the Patron Endurance Cup. (2 cars possible – partial season)

Dempsey Racing – The future is uncertain for the Georgia-based crew. While the team name may live on in another series, it’s unclear if a GTD program can be put together for 2015. (unknown)

Fall-Line Motorsports – The Mark Boden-owned team is evaluating a return, although much of it will depend on the Audi R8 LMS’s Balance of Performance, as well as Charlie Putman’s recovery, which forced the team to sit out the final two races. (1 car possible)

Risi Competizione – A customer effort is being evaluated for 2015, which could see a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 being fielded in addition to its expected full-season GTLM Prancing Horse. (1 car possible)

Lamborghini – The new Lamborghini Huracan GT3 could make its debut mid-season with at least one customer squad known to be evaluating the all-new car. (1 car possible – mid-season)

Aston Martin Racing – One Patron Endurance Cup entry is possible from the British manufacturer, although not yet confirmed. (1 car possible – partial season)

Estimated Car Count: 6-10 full-season cars
Partial Season: 10 cars


from:
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/2015-silly-season-update-gtlmgtd/
 
Glad to see Aston Martin back. :) And glad that we could have up to 7 Aston's total in the field in GTD and GTLM! (Well...for the NAEC anyway) Also great to see that the BMW Z4 GT3 is still gonna be in the GTD field.

Also on SC365 in the Prototype section of the silly season I'm glad that we're closer to a 50/50 mix of new LMP2's and LMPGT...I mean DP's. :P
 
Does anyone know, why the body rollement on the Aston is that huge?
It looks like it has a street car suspension on it, while the othercars don't tend to roll at all...
 
Does anyone know, why the body rollement on the Aston is that huge?
It looks like it has a street car suspension on it, while the othercars don't tend to roll at all...
Something was wrong-eed with that TRG Aston after that crash. But overall it might have go do with the ride height of the car. Otherwise they just run a ridiculously soft suspension I think.
 
Something was wrong-eed with that TRG Aston after that crash. But overall it might have go do with the ride height of the car. Otherwise they just run a ridiculously soft suspension I think.

That i noticed that body-rollement in first in sebring (i started watching the series this year, without knowing any drivers, cars, events or anything...
 
Someone clue me in....what is the difference between the PWC cars and GTD?
Not all that much. Different aero on some of the cars, and the BoP is controlled by IMSA rather than the GT3 spec given overseas
 
Actually full on FIA GT3 cars (which PWC uses) currently need to be neutered for GTD:

Different rear wing
Different ECU
Bigger restrictor
More Ballast
Disabled TC
Removed ABS

Course yeah different wing, but that completely changes the car's character. It isn't difficult, but when GTD goes stock FIA GT3 in 2016 it'll be as simple as showing up to the track with your car.
 
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Or possibly that's what suspension settings makes it race the fastest. It had some wicked body roll at Petit for sure

I think they know what they're doing, it just looks strange for a race car...
Even my friend's van has less body roll than the AMR :lol:
 
Actually full on FIA GT3 cars (which PWC uses) currently need to be neutered for GTD:

Different rear wing
Different ECU
Bigger restrictor
More Ballast
Disabled TC
Removed ABS

Course yeah different wing, but that completely changes the car's character. It isn't difficult, but when GTD goes stock FIA GT3 in 2016 it'll be as simple as showing up to the track with your car.
This is all dependent on car. The only 2 cars in the field that aren't very close to GT3 are the 911 GT Merica and the 458 Grand am. The Audi, Viper, Z4, and AM are simple tweaks. Most of the changes can be done pretty quickly and easily. The only sorta major change is the ECU. All it takes to turn the TC and ABS off is a computer connected to the ECU with an engineer changing the settings. The restrictors and ballast are changed almost every round as per the BoP anyway.

All of this being said, I'm of the opinion that those cars need to get to full GT3 spec asap.

I think they know what they're doing, it just looks strange for a race car...
Even my friend's van has less body roll than the AMR :lol:
At Petit that car looked a lot like this in the bottom of the esses
3849578492_fec31a4c2c.jpg
 
This is all dependent on car. The only 2 cars in the field that aren't very close to GT3 are the 911 GT Merica and the 458 Grand am. The Audi, Viper, Z4, and AM are simple tweaks. Most of the changes can be done pretty quickly and easily. The only sorta major change is the ECU. All it takes to turn the TC and ABS off is a computer connected to the ECU with an engineer changing the settings. The restrictors and ballast are changed almost every round as per the BoP anyway.

All of this being said, I'm of the opinion that those cars need to get to full GT3 spec asap.


At Petit that car looked a lot like this in the bottom of the esses
3849578492_fec31a4c2c.jpg

Ahaha this made my day xD
 
I don't think there's a difference between fielding and running out of their shop. From the wording I've seen, the 31 is now an Action Express car.
 
AXR bought the chassis and everything. Marsh no longer has anything to do with that car. I'm still hoping AX can field a 3rd full season car with the 9 chassis
 
Does anyone know, why the body rollement on the Aston is that huge?
It looks like it has a street car suspension on it, while the othercars don't tend to roll at all...

Ride height, they run the highest ride height for GTE and GTAM in WEC due to BoP regulations and the cars don't change that much from what I've seen and read between racing them there and over here. Unlike Porsche who has a spec America car and then their WEC cars. So yeah.
 
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