2014 United Sports Car Championship
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Not to burst you're bubble, but we kind of have a discussion already going in the Le Mans thread..
And the Grand-Am thread
I just think it deserves its own thread and shouldn't be buried in a generic Le Mans or Grand Am thread.
If mods disagree then they can lock this and let it drop to the bottom.
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I shudder to think what the GTE-Am cars could pull off at Daytona.
Tired Tyres
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When it became a Grand Am event.
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Ardius
I hope so too
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Well, I wanted to make sure the Grand-Am folk knew just as much as the ALMS folk. Problem?
By the way, two things:
1. Beat you to this news (so I call "pole" on this)
2. I'm pretty sure its no longer a rumor
haha, well I had checked speedtv this mourning and saw the image of the DP and LMP split screen image on the home page but shrugged it off as just another article.
For those curious, here are some lap time comparisions of the cars form the two series.
From Road America 2012 qualifying
1:50.191 - LMP1
1:54.218 - LMP2
2:02.794 - Daytona Prototype
2:04.415 - GTE (ALMS)
2:12.717 - GT (Grand Am)
I think its safe to assume a TS030 or R18 could get a 1:46
So how does a merger settle all this?
My idea is to get rid of the P2 class, replace it with the DP class. Give the DP cars more power and less weight if possible to help separate them from the GTE cars. The ALMS' GTE cars become the new GT1 class. Grand Am's GT cars become the GT2 class. The DPs and Grand Am GTs will both have to be sped up considerably, about 5 seconds a lap each. The GTEs about 1 second a lap.
So 4 classes
LMP - The premier class, purpose built racing cars
DP - Replaces LMP2, offers a prototype class that resembles street cars more closely then LMP and distinguishes itself from LMP1 much better then LMP2 ever did
GT Pro - More expensive, faster, higher end factory GT cars
GT Am - Private GT entries in older, cheaper, slower cars.
Other possibilities are dump the DP class alltogether and force the top teams to buy LMPs, or keep ALMS' formula and just add the DPs
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The first I heard of this was today but I can see this as a way of killing of one of the series' and they'll both end up running the same regulations (like Champcar and IRL's unification).
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I'll post this again, anyway, from the Le Mans thread:
Potentially, a merger between both series sounds brilliant. Although the machinery in Grand-Am has gotten better, neither championship is exactly flourishing – particularly ALMS which is in a dire situation with its prototypes and inventing new categories to boost grids.
The prospect of one quality grid at a track like Watkins Glen or Daytona excites me immensely. Personally, I like the two categories of car in Grand-Am. I don’t see why there needs to be more than two categories, any more doesn’t contribute to the spectacle. If there could be a good mixture of prototypes, it would be better than having bare prototype classes.
Potentially, a merger between both series sounds brilliant. Although the machinery in Grand-Am has gotten better, neither championship is exactly flourishing – particularly ALMS which is in a dire situation with its prototypes and inventing new categories to boost grids.
The prospect of one quality grid at a track like Watkins Glen or Daytona excites me immensely. Personally, I like the two categories of car in Grand-Am. I don’t see why there needs to be more than two categories, any more doesn’t contribute to the spectacle. If there could be a good mixture of prototypes, it would be better than having bare prototype classes.
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Are we maybe getting a little to excited and a little in over our heads? They might be merging, but will they really all run on track together? Will they screw it up? I notice most of you are praising it, and honestly I'm really skeptical at the moment, I love both series, so I don't want to see either one lose what makes it unique, etc. Obviously the supposed announcement next week will clear up a lot of the confusion and guessing.
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For now, it seems the WEC is limiting itself to one round per country. That's why Petit Le Mans isn't on the calendar - the FIA went with Sebring instead. Sebring was the better choice, I think, since it was on earlier in the year and it allowed the organisers to have the bespoke events (like the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo) later in the season once the series is established. Limiting the calendar to one American event also prevents cars that only particpate in the American races from winning a World Championship. Maybe the series will consider expanding to include new races in America in the future, but I can't see a calendar dominated by American events.
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I don't see much good coming of this. Way too many cars and classes to merge, and I'm afraid it'll go in the spec direction, instead of the LM direction. It also means the likely end of IMSA.
I wonder what will happen to all the support series. The fast end of World Challenge and the slow end of GRAND-AM aren't too far apart, and then you've got Koni Challenge, B-Spec, and a bunch of other stuff to figure out.
I wonder what will happen to all the support series. The fast end of World Challenge and the slow end of GRAND-AM aren't too far apart, and then you've got Koni Challenge, B-Spec, and a bunch of other stuff to figure out.
