2014 United Sports Car Championship

[ITCC_Andrew]

Sebring and Daytona however have always been scheduled start of the season.

I realize. Doesn't mean that Long Beach couldn't have been scheduled between the two, to provide for some sprint races...

 

[tbwhhs]

I realize. Doesn't mean that Long Beach couldn't have been scheduled between the two, to provide for some sprint races...

Long Beach is a temporary street circuit on public streets. They have to run the same week as Indycar because there is no way they would be allowed to shut down all those roads on 2 weekends in a 6 week span.

 

[RACECAR]

I mean, I can't wait for the races I enjoy most on the Rolex calendar - the 2 hour Glen, etc. I'm seriously surprised by this "let's have two endurance events in a row!" Idea.

Both races are older then the series that hosted them And are a fixture on the sportscar racing world so there was no chance they were going anywhere else other then their traditional dates.


Also, Long Beach would be a bad idea to reschedule.

 

[cnd01]

I don't know... I feel the 24 was a joke with the stupid fake yelow that turned a 24hr race into a 7 minute one so they could brag about a "close finish" which was so freaking artificial it makes any Vegas stripper seem real!
I really hope they change their stupid ways or they'll kill this series before it even has a chance to succeed!

I'm not saying it was perfect by any stretch, but calling it a joke is asinine. Late caution or not, that race from top to bottom was awesome.

@tbwhhs that's exactly right

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

No one has any reasons why a different race couldn't have been scheduled during the time between Sebring and Daytona. So, Long Beach is public roads, I forgot. Why not CotA? Why not Laguna Seca? the southern states aren't covered in feet of snow, so why not have a sprint-type race?


I'm surprised to see any series go for repeat endurance events without either A: being involved with WEC (which I suspect is the real reason) or B: a sprint-type event in the middle.


Does it not become monotonous watching endurance race after endurance race?

 

[cnd01]

No one has any reasons why a different race couldn't have been scheduled during the time between Sebring and Daytona. So, Long Beach is public roads, I forgot. Why not CotA? Why not Laguna Seca? the southern states aren't covered in feet of snow, so why not have a sprint-type race?


I'm surprised to see any series go for repeat endurance events without either A: being involved with WEC (which I suspect is the real reason) or B: a sprint-type event in the middle.


Does it not become monotonous watching endurance race after endurance race?

A race at Barber park would be great between the two, but the teams need lots and lots of time between a 24 hour race and another 12 hour race. The months of prep for a 24 hour race is totally necessary. To tell them to turn right around 2 or 3 weeks later and race a regular distance race at a track then have to turn around in another 2 or 3 weeks and race a 12 hour race with a pre-race test is going to be way too much of a burden on teams both timewise and moneywise

 

[Jav]

I'm not saying it was perfect by any stretch, but calling it a joke is asinine. Late caution or not, that race from top to bottom was awesome.

Ok, Leh's brake pedal goes to the floor, he get's on the grass taps the tire wall, get's the car on reverse, get's going again and before he makes it to the pavement Full Course Caution all in less than 20 seconds from the moment he touched the grass in the first place!!! Really?? On a 24hr race?? Seriously? I'm sorry man, but as much as I want to see the series suceed crap like that is a complete turn off for me!

 

[RACECAR]

A race at Barber park would be great between the two, but the teams need lots and lots of time between a 24 hour race and another 12 hour race. The months of prep for a 24 hour race is totally necessary. To tell them to turn right around 2 or 3 weeks later and race a regular distance race at a track then have to turn around in another 2 or 3 weeks and race a 12 hour race with a pre-race test is going to be way too much of a burden on teams both timewise and moneywise

And that's not taking into consideration the possibility of destroying car and having to repair it for the next race.

 

[cnd01]

Ok, Leh's brake pedal goes to the floor, he get's on the grass taps the tire wall, get's the car on reverse, get's going again and before he makes it to the pavement Full Course Caution all in less than 20 seconds from the moment he touched the grass in the first place!!! Really?? On a 24hr race?? Seriously? I'm sorry man, but as much as I want to see the series suceed crap like that is a complete turn off for me!

If you're going to base the success of a series based off of one decision in its inaugural race (which I agree with you that the caution shouldn't have been thrown totally IMSA's fault) then you don't really want the series to succeed. If this happens 3 out of 4 races then I'll jump on the same "we're manufacturing close finishes" boat and at that point I'll be much more critical of the management which I already consider to have the intelligence level of someone standing in the rain with their hands in their pockets

And that's not taking into consideration the possibly of destroying car and having to repair it for the next race.

Exactly

 

[MustangManiac]

No one has any reasons why a different race couldn't have been scheduled during the time between Sebring and Daytona.

Does it not become monotonous watching endurance race after endurance race?

I will give you a good reason, the series just isn't that big...yet. Hey, I would love to have a race every other week for 8-10 months out of the year, but it's just not going to happen.

As to your second question, that's an easy one...NO!

 

[Jav]

If you're going to base the success of a series based off of one decision in its inaugural race (which I agree with you that the caution shouldn't have been thrown totally IMSA's fault) then you don't really want the series to succeed. If this happens 3 out of 4 races then I'll jump on the same "we're manufacturing close finishes" boat and at that point I'll be much more critical of the management which I already consider to have the intelligence level of someone standing in the rain with their hands in their pockets

I haven't given up yet, I still hope they walk away from this trend. They definitely have a great product that does not need to manufacture racing like that. If they stay true to real racing the teams will adjust accordingly and the close racing will come naturally, that's what I wanna see, that's the racing I know this series can produce, that's the racing I know this teams have in them, that's what we have always done, that's what I hope will happen once again we will lead the global racing scene once again, but we have to do it right and it has to be natural.

 

[Akmuq]

Seriously hoping the 12 hours doesn't seem as long as the 24 hours. 24 hours is a long time of spectating a race. 12 hours, also quite long, but at least it's a half-size pill to swallow.

I'm going to take a guess and say it will seem half as long.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

I'm going to take a guess and say it will seem half as long.

Does not compute - self destruct sequence initiated


Seriously, though... if it's a pain to schedule the race for the fans, I can only imagine what a burden it is for the teams. That's what I'm trying to say - it's such a huge burden to ask that twice in a row like that - for fans and drivers.


We all have other things outside of racing, fans and teams alike.

 

[raven214]

Does not compute - self destruct sequence initiated


Seriously, though... if it's a pain to schedule the race for the fans, I can only imagine what a burden it is for the teams. That's what I'm trying to say - it's such a huge burden to ask that twice in a row like that - for fans and drivers.


We all have other things outside of racing, drivers and teams alike.

Where else in the schedule can you justify the kind of downtime necessary to prepare for an endurance race? Daytona starts the season and gives the teams the whole off-season to prepare, then 2 months to recover and prep and then go to Sebring. Makes sense to me to get it out of the way while everyone is in "endurance mode". For the "regular season" I want to see racing at least every other week, if not every week if/when the series becomes big enough to support that. The only other time I wouldn't mind the big downtime leading up to an endurance race would be if it was scheduled mid-season as a sort of summer break, but I like what they've done with the schedule. Sorry that it seems to bug you that much.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

So, I've just realized why they do it, but... I still don't like trying to adjust the schedule for that.

Anyways, predictions for Sebring class winners? I'm suspecting Audi...

 

[Furinkazen]

So, I've just realized why they do it, but... I still don't like trying to adjust the schedule for that.

Anyways, predictions for Sebring class winners? I'm suspecting Audi...

Won't be Level 5 Motorsports.
http://www.racer.com/index.php/imsa/item/101457-imsa-level-5-set-for-tudor-championship-exit

 

[Hun200kmh]

P - #42 MORGAN (that or #5 DP)

PC - #09 ORECA

GTLM - #912 PORSCHE

GTD - #35 AUDI

 

[raven214]

Won't be Level 5 Motorsports.
http://www.racer.com/index.php/imsa/item/101457-imsa-level-5-set-for-tudor-championship-exit

That's strange: win at Daytona and then promptly leave the series for no apparent reason?

 

[Wilbur]

Sounds like the didn't like how Daytona ran or the issues around their win for nothing (even if their was contact slightly). Granted I really don't understand why you would do that anyway but who am I to call the shots.

 

[Northstar]

I have a feeling this has nothing to do with Daytona as it seems the Level 5 website is down. I know Scott Tucker has been in quite some trouble over the past few years, it may be his past has fully caught up to him.

Edit: They had a countdown to Sebring going on their Twitter, so I now think it may be way more serious than being angry over Daytona.

 

[cnd01]

I haven't given up yet, I still hope they walk away from this trend. They definitely have a great product that does not need to manufacture racing like that. If they stay true to real racing the teams will adjust accordingly and the close racing will come naturally, that's what I wanna see, that's the racing I know this series can produce, that's the racing I know this teams have in them, that's what we have always done, that's what I hope will happen once again we will lead the global racing scene once again, but we have to do it right and it has to be natural.

They're doing everything in their power to get rid of the great product it seems like in my books much of the time, but if done correctly, the USCC will become the hub of global sports car racing. They've gotta stop releasing tech bulletins that have measurements in both English and metric units. The Ford Mustang in conti has a front ride height min. requirement that's in inches and a rear ride height min. requirement that's in cm. Some tech writing would do them good, and make it less confusing for the teams. Little things like that add up after awhile, and when those said rules come out an hour before qualifying, that doesn't bode well for the teams. I will stay positive in that besides WC, there's no alternative. I hope we get some good racing from here on out.

Sebring picks:

P: 10
PC: 8
GTLM: 3
GTD: 13

 

[BROHAM]

I'm going to take a guess and say it will seem half as long.

Doo you have a source on this?

 

[Jav]

Oh crap! It just hit the fan...

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/level-5-confirms-withdrawal-from-tusc/

By John Dagys:

Despite having come out on top in last month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, Level 5 Motorsports has withdrawn from the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with immediate effect.
The four-time American Le Mans Series class champions, which fielded a pair of Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 cars in the new-for-2014 GTD category, scored its first class victory at Daytona with drivers Bill Sweedler, Townsend Bell, Jeff Segal, Alessandro Pier Guidi and team owner Scott Tucker.
While having initially planned to continue through the 11-round TUDOR Championship with at least one Ferrari for Sweedler and Bell, team manager David Stone made the decision to pull the plug on the program Monday.
“The decision was 100 percent my responsibility,” Stone told Sportscar365. “Scott Tucker has placed all operational responsibilities and decisions squarely on my shoulders. Based on various reasons, it’s my opinion that participation in the TUDOR Championship for 2014 is not in the best interest of Level 5.
“I want to be really clear that I’m not trying to be negative or disrespectful of the TUDOR Championship. I have no ill will or negativity against them. They need to do what they feel is right for them, just as I must do the same for Level 5.”
Stone said there were a number of factors that went into his decision, including IMSA’s ruling at the Rolex 24 that initially penalized the race-leading No. 555 Ferrari for avoidable contact.
The No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Audi R8 LMS crew celebrated as winners in victory lane, with IMSA reversing the penalty and awarding Level 5 the win nearly four hours after the checkered flag.
“It was my opinion we should not have been [in the TUDOR Championship] in 2014 to begin with because of it being a development year for the series,” Stone said. “As was apparent, the time fame it was taking for them to provide rules, driver rankings, etc led me to believe they’ve got their hands full and I do not envy the position they were and are still in.
“The series needs time to sort itself out and I don’t want to be one of the participants that has to suffer through that the first year. I feel that the series has focused more on quantity than quality. The reality is you can only properly support so many teams at any given track at one time.”
Stone also attributed the series’ permitted paddock space, which has been reduced for 2014 due to the capacity grid sizes, as just one factor into their decision to withdraw.
Level 5 had interest from three customers to run in Prototype Challenge this year, but Stone said IMSA’s initial class capacity regulations released in October, along with a revision in the schedule, resulted in those prospective clients to pull out.
“I believe until racers have a voice to create a series that they want to race in, it is unlikely to change in any significant and meaningful way,” Stone said. “I feel like every team that has a full-season entry should have an elected representative from their team and there should be regular meetings with a certain list of topics to be debated, decided and voted on.
“That way, you are creating a series that’s consistent with what racers want as opposed to a sanctioning body dictating the environment. After all, we are the customers. No pun intended, but in order to arrive to that position takes stones. As long as teams cave in to the way any sanctioning body dictates, there is no rational reason to expect meaningful changes.”
While Stone said that Level 5 will unlikely return to the TUDOR Championship in any class this year, they are actively exploring customer programs for the Pirelli World Challenge, potentially with the same Ferraris that were raced at Daytona. The team will also continue to manage and support cars in Ferrari Challenge.
Additionally, Stone said they have also been approached by a few OEMs for a manufacturer-based prototype effort that would likely start off as an engine development program. He declined to disclose a possible time frame for such a project but said it could involve participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship, TUDOR Championship or European Le Mans Series.
“Right now, it’s a reorganization and reshuffle of Level 5 to do what is sensible for the team,” he said. “If the right opportunity presents itself to start another race-winning operation, then we would consider doing that. Our options are wide open.”
As for the future of Sweedler and Bell, who currently lead the GTD drivers’ championship, it’s understood the duo will continue in the class with a to-be-announced program.

 

[cnd01]

Looks like it's not just former grand am teams mad at IMSA

 

[Wardez]

Oh crap! It just hit the fan...

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/level-5-confirms-withdrawal-from-tusc/

That's awesome, NASCAR needed this, I sincerely applaud L5M for having the balls to do this, I really do hope they end up in ELMS or WEC! They're too good a team to sit around and do nothing with their talent.

Hopefully the teams that stay in TUSCC can use this as leverage to get things changing for the better.

 

[cnd01]

That's awesome, NASCAR needed this, I sincerely applaud L5M for having the balls to do this, I really do hope they end up in ELMS or WEC! They're too good a team to sit around and do nothing with their talent.

Hopefully the teams that stay in TUSCC can use this as leverage to get things changing for the better.

Applauding teams leaving a series? Us vs. them mentality isn't solving anything...

 

[Wilbur]

I'm not fully sure what to think of this other than Level 5 being a coward to a degree. Everyone knew going into this season that it might be a learning experience even with some issues, while I do understand how IMSA failed on the winner of the GTD class (which I still don't know why it took 4 hours instead of by the time the cars rolled through tech it wasn't figured out after they made the call that fast to watch video).

What did they expect when 2 grids joined which already had a decent car count in GT fields? Some teams were going to be left out and the thing is you run the risk of not making a field if you ask me if you aren't on your game. Now Level 5 is no low budget team who has no clue as they have proven, but whine and cry enough to run away from a problem shows that they shouldn't have as stated ever tried this season or just shut up and race. Hell you don't hear Flying Lizard being stripped of a win either, they sucked it up and moved on to Sebring! It's why I like them as a team for one reason, they just deal with what happens and push forward.

Level 5 game themselves a black eye in the fact that they bailed, other series will look at that and they won't make friends in the garage of maybe getting a break.

 

[Wardez]

Applauding teams leaving a series? Us vs. them mentality isn't solving anything...

Yeah, same reason I would applaud people that are mistreated by their partners and leave them for it. If one knows it's not working out, don't just stay for the sake of every one else. They did it for themselves and it makes sense, they don't see a good future for themselves according to what they've seen going on in TUSCC, and they know a lot more about the environment than you or I do.

"Us vs. them," really... the reason I'm applauding them is because it doesn't seem like IMSA's taking the teams concerns seriously enough, I'm hoping this helps them do that. It's good for the other teams, losing one team for the sake of improving things overall is great in my opinion.

I'm not fully sure what to think of this other than Level 5 being a coward to a degree. Everyone knew going into this season that it might be a learning experience even with some issues, while I do understand how IMSA failed on the winner of the GTD class (which I still don't know why it took 4 hours instead of by the time the cars rolled through tech it wasn't figured out after they made the call that fast to watch video).

What did they expect when 2 grids joined which already had a decent car count in GT fields? Some teams were going to be left out and the thing is you run the risk of not making a field if you ask me if you aren't on your game. Now Level 5 is no low budget team who has no clue as they have proven, but whine and cry enough to run away from a problem shows that they shouldn't have as stated ever tried this season or just shut up and race. Hell you don't hear Flying Lizard being stripped of a win either, they sucked it up and moved on to Sebring! It's why I like them as a team for one reason, they just deal with what happens and push forward.

Level 5 game themselves a black eye in the fact that they bailed, other series will look at that and they won't make friends in the garage of maybe getting a break.

Wow man, seriously? No one's going to care, trust me. If they're a good team and have the money they're more than welcome anywhere. You can rest assured that series organizers won't be seeing their "bail" as a mark against them at all. I'm not sure how the other teams in TUSCC are gonna take the news, but I really doubt they'd just wanna turn on them as friends for leaving, that's middle school dramatics.

You also seem to think that the teams are psychic and knew the issues they were going to face before starting the season, so they're "cowards to a degree" for going in anyway and pulling the plug when they realized things weren't looking ideal. That's just being unfair.

You have no idea how much L5M had to deal with yet pressed on either, you're assuming a whole hell of a lot with the things you're saying here.

 

[cnd01]

Yeah, same reason I would applaud people that are mistreated by their partners and leave them for it. If one knows it's not working out, don't just stay for the sake of every one else. They did it for themselves and it makes sense, they don't see a good future for themselves according to what they've seen going on in TUSCC, and they know a lot more about the environment than you or I do.

"Us vs. them," really... the reason I'm applauding them is because it doesn't seem like IMSA's taking the teams concerns seriously enough, I'm hoping this helps them do that. It's good for the other teams, losing one team for the sake of improving things overall is great in my opinion.

Not a single person forced L5 into racing this season. I'm not a team owner, but I do know that it was expected to have large grids and questionable management+officiating. They didn't get their way with PC because of the stupid grid caps (I fully understand and support their criticism there), and they were wrongfully penalized (again, I agree with the problem they would have there). I see it as them deciding that they didn't get their way, so they are whining about it and leaving. Not a single team in that paddock got exactly what it wanted. I hate to see a good team leave, but at the same time, you aren't going to get your way 100% of the time. It's not like the rules determined if them racing would work on the financial side or anything in which I would totally understand and back up teams that can't make the financial obligations to race due to inept decision making. I disagree with a lot of the management+officiating decisions IMSA has made, but the fact is, whether Scott Tucker or anyone else gets what he/she wants or not, we've got a series that needs unity. This mentality of leaving when you're not 100% satisfied is what got sports car racing nowhere fast the last 10 years among many other things. If you or anyone else doesn't agree with the decisions being made by IMSA (me included), there's no use in applauding failure/arrogance as that only drives what sliver of hope we have of a strong sports car series in America further and further down the toilet.

 

[Wardez]

Not a single person forced L5 into racing this season. I'm not a team owner, but I do know that it was expected to have large grids and questionable management+officiating. They didn't get their way with PC because of the stupid grid caps (I fully understand and support their criticism there), and they were wrongfully penalized (again, I agree with the problem they would have there). I see it as them deciding that they didn't get their way, so they are whining about it and leaving. Not a single team in that paddock got exactly what it wanted. I hate to see a good team leave, but at the same time, you aren't going to get your way 100% of the time. It's not like the rules determined if them racing would work on the financial side or anything in which I would totally understand and back up teams that can't make the financial obligations to race due to inept decision making. I disagree with a lot of the management+officiating decisions IMSA has made, but the fact is, whether Scott Tucker or anyone else gets what he/she wants or not, we've got a series that needs unity. This mentality of leaving when you're not 100% satisfied is what got sports car racing nowhere fast the last 10 years among many other things. If you or anyone else doesn't agree with the decisions being made by IMSA (me included), there's no use in applauding failure/arrogance as that only drives what sliver of hope we have of a strong sports car series in America further and further down the toilet.

That's what separates us here, different perspectives on the move. I think it'll help every one become more serious and do a better job, you seem to think it's like a link in a chain deciding to explode itself which will lead to a collapse.

Do you really think that's going to happen? They made a sacrifice, they know they're going to get a lot of flak for it, but they did it anyway. It was a really hard decision to make and, again, I applaud their courage to do it in that sense.

Nothing in what they did says "coward" to me, or they they're whiny, they're a smart team and made a smart decision, it's not their fault that they see things going south for themselves if they stay.

If this was F1, and Ferrari finally left after threatening it so-many-times over the years because they weren't satisfied, I'd applaud them too. You need these sort of shake ups to get things going! Same principle behind disaster movies where everyone unites after the big event to work together rather than continue to bicker with each other over petty things and reasons. It's healthy for the sport, you'll see.