2016 WeatherTech SportsCar ChampionshipSports Cars 

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Snaeper
Yeah Im gutted for the DeltaWing's crash. I hope it gets a win this year.
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This was it's last year actually. :guilty: In 2017 it'll be outlawed in DPi won't it? And I highly doubt it'll become a GT car. As much as I think it's ugly, I genuinely wanted to see them win, sadly everything was tossed into the bin with that crash last night.
 
This race has been great to follow this year. I'm really happy IMSA hasn't geo-blocked the stream as I can't be bothered with FOX, more commercials than actual racing. Still mildly salty about the DeltaWing's demise but the amount of action has been impeccable since United SportsCar started up. Congratulations to the winners and podium finishers. Also hope Max is okay, takes guts to drive a car you know is literally trying to kill you.

I'll hopefully be following Sebring in a couple months time. Until then, take care.
 
catamount39
In 2017 it'll be outlawed in DPi won't it?
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I've been wondering that as well since I don't think there's anything really stopping IMSA from giving them a waiver similar to the BMW deal. It sounded like they were on the fence about this year though so who knows if they are even planning on continuing with the project after this year even if it was allowed to race in '17.
 
I never thought it was possible for me to save so many pictures of one single action, but I think I've almost got double digits of shots of that GTLM finish.
 
FutureF1
Wait.... this is the last year of the Deltawing????? Why? From an aspiring engineer's viewpoint, it's the most beautiful car ever made! Let them compete IMSA!
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There will be a DeltaWing GT car next year, don't worry!
 
adam46
There will be a DeltaWing GT car next year, don't worry!
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Yeah but it won't be the same will it..... I really hope we can see the Deltawing hit victory lane on multiple occasions this year. It's gonna be sad to see it go.

EDIT: Does anyone know if the DW could fall into the LMP1 category with some adjustments? I'd be happy to see them return to LMP1 and potentially join the WEC and race there.
 
FutureF1
Wait.... this is the last year of the Deltawing????? Why? From an aspiring engineer's viewpoint, it's the most beautiful car ever made! Let them compete IMSA!
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I don't know it does have its own bodywork and engine hitting the two major requirements.
EDIT: It won't be allowed to race at all in 2017 like the DP
 
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With DPi being set the way it is, I doubt the DWC13 will race in 2017. Besides I don't know what more Panoz could do at this point with the car anyway. Next year is going to be a whole new animal for the P class.

Also, the Deltawing GT car would need a roadcar first...and that's not likely at this point. Plus they'd need twice the wavors of the BMW GT3's. GT is out.
 
With IMSA out of the question, does DW have the funds to run a WEC program if at all? I really don't want to see the project die as it's definitely one of the most interesting concepts I've seen in modern racing. I'd love to see them get backing by another major car company like Nissan did at the start of the project.

Crossing my finger so that hopefully we'll see this beauty somewhere next year.
 
Just got home from Daytona. Great race! GTD battle was crazy at the end.

I'm assuming all the DP owners were mad on the broadcast that the HPD powered cars could basically drive around anyone at will. ESM drove away at the beginning and played possum until the end. I knew that if they didn't break that they would win handily after 10 minutes of the race. Calling it like I saw it at the race, the BoP is just like 2014 only it's the Ligier with HPD that's running circles around the field rather than the Chevy Coyote. Like I have said since last season, if anyone runs a Ligier Honda full season with a pro-pro lineup, the championship is all but over in Prototype with how favorable that car's BoP is. That new engine is freaking stout. I believe it's the same engine package Starworks tried in a DP in 2014, but it failed miserably.

A quick look at the best lap times validates my observation at the track. DP chassis are running lap times like what they did before the merger. That's $250K in updates to be nerfed back to where they started :ouch:

The craziest part of the race was about midnight eastern when the Michael Shank car grenaded the engine and the entire prototype field went sliding through the kink and into the grass due to the oil.

Didn't see the Lambo crash live, but I saw both cars in the garage right after it happened. Watched Paul Miller racing rebuild the entire right side of the car. Pretty neat to see the team thrash for so long.
 
So who GTP members has come home from there physically? :)
 
catamount39
With DPi being set the way it is, I doubt the DWC13 will race in 2017. Besides I don't know what more Panoz could do at this point with the car anyway. Next year is going to be a whole new animal for the P class.

Also, the Deltawing GT car would need a roadcar first...and that's not likely at this point. Plus they'd need twice the wavors of the BMW GT3's. GT is out.
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When I interviewed Don earlier this month he was very bullish on the DeltaWing GT concept, both in racing and on road. He mentioned both a 'GT Petrol' and a 'GT EV' on the road car front, and said that their target was twice the efficiency at half the weight and power. They tested against an (admittedly unspecified) roadcar and were 42% ahead of efficiency.

How much of what he said is truly set in stone I do not know, but he seemed very sure of what he had to say.

We talk about it from 03:48 onwards... https://www.spreaker.com/user/jakesanson/downforce-meets-don-panoz
 
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So how many teams/manufactures do you think we will see in dpi/p2 next year?
 
On another note, not watching Fox's broadcast was great. Props to IMSA running things where, despite cutting to cockpits, they are commercial free with commentary actually about what's going on. I will admit though that I miss the flashbacks at the last few races and sometimes a history lesson from decades ago.
 
I can STILL hear the cars running around the banking even after I left the track! Not getting any sleep tonight...
 
Mike458
I can STILL hear the cars running around the banking even after I left the track! Not getting any sleep tonight...
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If I were you, I wouldn't be complaining. I'd love to hear that V8 of the C7.R up close and personal.

Sort of off topic, but is there an official name for the Viper GT cars? I'd like to search for a few pictures but, I don't exactly know what they are, at least something I'm 100% sure of. Such a shame FCA pulled the factory teams for them. In terms of looks, they rival the C7.R IMO.
 
A quick look at the trap speed data for the P class. I eliminated the top 10 fastest laps and used laps 11-30 as a avg.

2 -194.18 HPD
60-193.7 HPD
02-193.2 Ford
01-192.8 Ford
31-192.6 Chevy
90-192.6 Chevy
5 -192.1 Chevy
0 -192.0 Elan
37-192.0 Nissan
55-191.9 Mazda
10-191.4 Chevy

70-190.3 Mazda
55-189.7 BMW

Not exactly earth shattering numbers. The GTD and GTLM numbers however are really bad with a few cars.
 
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Aces
So how many teams/manufactures do you think we will see in dpi/p2 next year?
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I'm predicting/hoping;

3 cars for Cadillac as that seems the strong favorite for GM's marquee choice with Action Express and WTR fielding the cars.
3 cars for Mazda with the factory SpeedSource team as well as the addition of Spirit of Daytona/VisitFlorida in a customer role.
2 cars for Honda with both being fielded in a works deal with Shank
1 car for ESM with the generic WEC package and Ligier chassis

I could also see a few more foreign teams coming over for Daytona and Sebring at least. It's kind of hard to predict who though as there is such a high turnover with race teams.

Than there is the unknown column that features Alfa Romeo and Bentley who have shown interest but not much more.

Mike458
I can STILL hear the cars running around the banking even after I left the track! Not getting any sleep tonight...
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Following Road America last year I had the sound in my head for the whole 6 hour drive home.:lol:
 
Downhill Dino
On another note, not watching Fox's broadcast was great. Props to IMSA running things where, despite cutting to cockpits, they are commercial free with commentary actually about what's going on. I will admit though that I miss the flashbacks at the last few races and sometimes a history lesson from decades ago.
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The IMSA feed had to cut to cockpits any time FOX coverage went to commercial or interviews/nostalgia clips. I enjoy watching the onboard shots as it is, so if IMSA continues the coverage like that for the entire season, I'm in for the entire thing.
 
cnd01
Just got home from Daytona. Great race! GTD battle was crazy at the end.

I'm assuming all the DP owners were mad on the broadcast that the HPD powered cars could basically drive around anyone at will. ESM drove away at the beginning and played possum until the end. I knew that if they didn't break that they would win handily after 10 minutes of the race. Calling it like I saw it at the race, the BoP is just like 2014 only it's the Ligier with HPD that's running circles around the field rather than the Chevy Coyote. Like I have said since last season, if anyone runs a Ligier Honda full season with a pro-pro lineup, the championship is all but over in Prototype with how favorable that car's BoP is. That new engine is freaking stout. I believe it's the same engine package Starworks tried in a DP in 2014, but it failed miserably.

A quick look at the best lap times validates my observation at the track. DP chassis are running lap times like what they did before the merger. That's $250K in updates to be nerfed back to where they started :ouch:

The craziest part of the race was about midnight eastern when the Michael Shank car grenaded the engine and the entire prototype field went sliding through the kink and into the grass due to the oil.

Didn't see the Lambo crash live, but I saw both cars in the garage right after it happened. Watched Paul Miller racing rebuild the entire right side of the car. Pretty neat to see the team thrash for so long.
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Even though the BoP is out of balance, its still better then it was the last 2 years, I do think either the Dp's dial up or dial down the LMP2 cars, specially the Deltawing, it doesn't need much doing, its so close, GTD definitely needs another look, and the BMW GTLM cars need maybe an extra 6bhp,
 
Bentley seems likely to field a program, possibly with Dyson, even though the PWC thing *seems* to have fallen through.

The Alfa program is supposedly quiet. Considering they would basically be developing an engine from the ground up, I don't blame them (unless they ran a Ferrari GT3 engine).

And then there's interest from Rebellion, who would likely want to run something other than the WEC spec car. What manufacturers they would align with, if any, is unknown of course. But Alfa could be a good match up.
 
And on the rumor only side: Cadillac, Honda, Mazda and Audi. According to Pruett, a "prominent" GT3 manufacturer liked the engine idea but "scoughed at the idea of making bodywork". My guess is McLaren or Ferrari, since they can be extremely petty.

Cadillac is all but confirmed to be the mark to replace the DP Corvette. Honda is very likely and could use it's PWC Acura based engine. Mazda isn't going anywhere. And the regulations allowing a V10 as the biggest engine isn't a coincidence; Lamborghini or Audi is most definitely coming to DPi. Porsche could possibly come I think, and since they haven't been a "prominent" GT3 mark as of late, they were not the ones who looked down upon the regs and thus are probably still thinking about it.



DPi is going to be a great backstory. 👍
 
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Leadfoot530
If I were you, I wouldn't be complaining. I'd love to hear that V8 of the C7.R up close and personal.

Sort of off topic, but is there an official name for the Viper GT cars? I'd like to search for a few pictures but, I don't exactly know what they are, at least something I'm 100% sure of. Such a shame FCA pulled the factory teams for them. In terms of looks, they rival the C7.R IMO.
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What do you mean the name? Like the Viper GT3-R name or the Riley Motorsports team running them?

As for GTLM BoP I think it's pretty even, the 100 car showed the best BMW has to offer, that restart and gaining 4 positions was quite telling. The 25 car had issues balance wise and wasn't as strong as the sister car thus after the 100 car was out of the race it was easy to forget how strong the BMW could be @TDZdave .

I'd say if anyone needs help it's the Porsche, the others are perfectly fine to me and overall the entire GTLM field is fine. The Fords even out of the box are quite quick looking at some of the lap times they produced.
 
Porsche has been getting the shaft in GT racing for a few years now.

And yes, I do realize they won the championship last year.
 
catamount39
And on the rumor only side: Cadillac, Honda, Mazda and Audi. According to Pruett, a "prominent" GT3 manufacturer liked the engine idea by "scoughed the idea of making bodywork". My guess is McLaren or Ferrari, since they can be extremely petty.

Cadillac is all but confirmed to be the mark to replace the DP Corvette. Honda is very likely and could use it's PWC Acura based engine. Mazda isn't going anywhere. And the regulations allowing a V10 as the biggest engine isn't a coincidence; Lamborghini or Audi is most definitely coming to DPi. Porsche could possibly come I think, and since they haven't been a "prominent" GT3 mark as of late, they were not the ones who looked down upon the regs and thus are probably still thinking about it.



DPi is going to be a great backstory. 👍
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I'm gonna guess Ferrari is the one that scoughed at the idea, they tend to be by far the more picky. As for the V10, I get a strong feeling its Audi coming to DPi. They haven't forgotten about the US market and they have before expressed interest in returning for overall wins (which to be honest, a win at the Rolex 4 would go nicely next to their collection of wins at every other major endurance race).
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
What do you mean the name? Like the Viper GT3-R name or the Riley Motorsports team running them?

As for GTLM BoP I think it's pretty even, the 100 car showed the best BMW has to offer, that restart and gaining 4 positions was quite telling. The 25 car had issues balance wise and wasn't as strong as the sister car thus after the 100 car was out of the race it was easy to forget how strong the BMW could be @TDZdave .

I'd say if anyone needs help it's the Porsche, the others are perfectly fine to me and overall the entire GTLM field is fine. The Fords even out of the box are quite quick looking at some of the lap times they produced.
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The name of the car itself. I did a quick search of something like "Viper" GTS-R and got mostly the cars from the eay 2000's. I assume it's just updated to the 2013 model.
 
RACECAR
I'm gonna guess Ferrari is the one that scoughed at the idea, they tend to be by far the more picky. As for the V10, I get a strong feeling its Audi coming to DPi. They haven't forgotten about the US market and they have before expressed interest in returning for overall wins (which to be honest, a win at the Rolex 4 would go nicely next to their collection of wins at every other major endurance race).
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Back before we knew of the merger, they were thinking of joining Grand-Am's DP line-up, so it is indeed a very good possibility.

Ferrari probably is indeed the "scougher" of the new regs. But hey, they're no longer needed with that dreadful engine they've gone to anyway. :sly:

And how could I not mention Aston Martin? :D I think they will consider entry into DPi and use the V8 from the GTE car. :drool: Or that's what I'm dreaming of anyway. :P
 
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