2015 General WEC/ELMS/AsLMS Discussion ThreadSports Cars 

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trustjab
https://twitter.com/marshallpruett/status/630087474736336896 wec at Road America?

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:D :D :D :D :D :D :D
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While back, Indianapolis was being talked about hosting a WEC event.

Also some people are suggesting the updated pit complex could be used to attract a Sprint Cup race there.
 
aarror
Best track in America, an LMP1 car would be insane around there! Please make this happen WEC!
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Agreed. Its my favorite track in the U.S. if not all North America. I think Forza or NFS Shift was the first time I drove it virtually.
 
The CTSCC is at Road America this weekend and both classes saw the fight for the lead come right down to the last corner. Won't mention the winners or what happened but if you missed today's race and can find a way to watch it, highly recommended. 👍 So yes, good track for racing and it would suit WEC very well.
 
Forgive me for not following the thread closely recently but what would happen to the COTA race if the WEC goes to Road America? Surely they won't do both...
 
Adding another race on the calendar would be great, I agree, we can have both. 👍 Besides who doesn't want to see the LMP1's monster Road Americ? :drool: I'd drive overnight from Vermont to Wisconsin to watch that.
 
If the WEC really wants a second race in the US, they have about 5 circuits to pick from.

  • COTA - Being a Grade 1 track, they have very much gets the first choice.
  • Indianapolis - IMS has talked to the ACO last year about hosting a race for the 2016 season.
  • Sebring - A long-time favorite for the teams to prepared themselves for Le Mans, the 12 hours has been consider a harsher race on the car than at Le Mans.
  • Road Atlanta - A drivers favorite and the Petit Le Mans was a major event in both ILMC seasons before it became the WEC.
  • Road America - If the rumors does become true, a WEC event will be the highest level of motorsport to ever appear at Elkhart Lake.
Out of the 5, Sebring and Road Atlanta are the least likely at the moments since both are currently 2 of IMSA's marque events.
 
I think the U.S. is big enough to support 2 WEC races.

For comparisons sake:

The distance from COTA to Road America is 1,264mi/2,034km.

The distance from Silverstone to Nurburgring is only 486mi/783km.

There's also the benefit of Road America being close enough to draw people from Canada.

Panoz
Out of the 5, Sebring and Road Atlanta are the least likely at the moments since both are currently 2 of IMSA's marque events.
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There's also the issue of whether they would be able to keep their race lengths. Petit would probably be fine going to 6 hours, but Sebring wouldn't be as interesting as a 6 hour race.
 
Panoz
If the WEC really wants a second race in the US, they have about 5 circuits to pick from.


  • COTA - Being a Grade 1 track, they have very much gets the first choice.
  • Indianapolis - IMS has talked to the ACO last year about hosting a race for the 2016 season.
  • Sebring - A long-time favorite for the teams to prepared themselves for Le Mans, the 12 hours has been consider a harsher race on the car than at Le Mans.
  • Road Atlanta - A drivers favorite and the Petit Le Mans was a major event in both ILMC seasons before it became the WEC.
  • Road America - If the rumors does become true, a WEC event will be the highest level of motorsport to ever appear at Elkhart Lake.
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Pretty sure they already have COTA as part of their schedule.
 
Road America is the most likely to upgrade their pitroad. They have the space to do it too.

And with a pitroad upgrade...ROAD AMERICA COULD EVEN HOST F1 TOO! :eek: :drool: Hey the more the merrier lol.

RACECAR
Pretty sure they already have COTA as part of their schedule.
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Somebody obviously forgot that. :lol:
 
As Hindy said on MWM, CoTA needs to decide whether it's a racing venue or an entertainment venue. It can't be both and stay viable. The facilities are there, but it really hasn't been designed by people with motorsport experience.
 
hsv
As Hindy said on MWM, CoTA needs to decide whether it's a racing venue or an entertainment venue. It can't be both and stay viable. The facilities are there, but it really hasn't been designed by people with motorsport experience.
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Hopefully it doesn't fall apart...at least if Road America receives the pit upgrade it'll be able to fill in for COTA.
 
catamount39
Road America is the most likely to upgrade their pitroad. They have the space to do it too.
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I never realized how huge their paddock area was until I walked through it, pretty much the only cars not in the main paddock were the ST class cars.

And with a pitroad upgrade...ROAD AMERICA COULD EVEN HOST F1 TOO! :eek: :drool: Hey the more the merrier lol.
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As cool as that would be, I have a feeling F1 would require a massive overhaul that would take away much of what makes the track so special.

Also, another possible obstacle for a WEC race may be seating. Road America doesn't have a major grandstand, instead they have smaller viewing areas scattered about the track (no clue if the FIA cares about this or not).
 
If I recall, the seating area may be part of their Grade 1 requirements. I could be wrong but I assume it to be since as I recall some tracks have had spectator areas upgraded before in order to have a F1 race. Then again though, that's F1. Not sure if the same necessarily applies to WEC.
 
A lot of tracks seem to have been updating their seating and spectating areas over the past few years. It would take an injection of cash, but it's more than doable.
 
hsv
As Hindy said on MWM, CoTA needs to decide whether it's a racing venue or an entertainment venue. It can't be both and stay viable. The facilities are there, but it really hasn't been designed by people with motorsport experience.
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Well they have to try and make some money when they are not hosting a motorsports event.
 
R1600Turbo
Well they have to try and make some money when they are not hosting a motorsports event.
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If you need to rely on concerts and non-automotive related events to keep going, something's really wrong with your business model.

The problem is, it's like a festival area with racetrack facilities surrounding it. In order to incorporate all the entertainment stuff, very basic things like parking and circuit navigation have been overlooked massively. For people who are seasoned spectators, it's a really poor experience.

There's nothing wrong with them making it an entertainment venue too, but you then have to sacrifice some things that ultimately make it easier for paying spectators to fully enjoy themselves.
 
hsv
There's nothing wrong with them making it an entertainment venue too...
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I'm sure that was their intention and I don't see a problem with it. It is Austin after all.

Maybe parking and transit could be better, who knows. When I went for the V8 Supercars event I didn't have any issues getting around. Sure that's not an F1 race (better IMO) and more people would make it worse, but the only person at fault for that would be the circuit designers.
 
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