ALMS: Mid-Ohio

  • Thread starter Thread starter dougiemeats
  • 46 comments
  • 2,492 views
its rare for a sports to go airborn, but its even more rare when its a GT car. Last three cars I've seen take off have been Prototypes.
 
It is very rare for GT cars to get airborn. I think the Aston Martin is a different situation because of the terrain where the Aston Martin went off track. It wasn't a cause of aero dynamics in the Aston's case. I do remember watching the Porsche 911 GT1 getting airborn at Road Atlanta and the Mercedes CLK GTR getting airborn at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was a sight to see when aerodynamics of a car get reversed some way or another.
 
I was there at Mid-Ohio this past weekend:sly: . Honestly, I've never seen anything like those Penske Porsches. If they can work out any reliability issues, they will be unstoppable around the ALMS circuit.

However, at Le Mans, I believe that the R8s and Pescarolos will easily run away from the Porsches, as well as the other P2 machines, largely due to the added power in combination with Mulsanne. (assuming none of the cars break)

I will still look foreward to seeing Audi and Pescarolo battle it out. I would like to see the Pescarolos beat Audi, but I'm looking foreward to seeing the R10 anyway.

As for the Aston Martin, I am sad to say I missed it. But, I bet Pedro Lamy got quite a scare!
 
imsa77
It is very rare for GT cars to get airborn. I think the Aston Martin is a different situation because of the terrain where the Aston Martin went off track. It wasn't a cause of aero dynamics in the Aston's case. I do remember watching the Porsche 911 GT1 getting airborn at Road Atlanta and the Mercedes CLK GTR getting airborn at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was a sight to see when aerodynamics of a car get reversed some way or another.
Click to expand...
There was also the BMW V12 LMR I believe at Road Atlanta as well. anyhow, you have a point on the terrain. that could have been a lot worse, had it not been for the sand trap and the barrier.
 
superfast
I was there at Mid-Ohio this past weekend:sly: . Honestly, I've never seen anything like those Penske Porsches. If they can work out any reliability issues, they will be unstoppable around the ALMS circuit.

However, at Le Mans, I believe that the R8s and Pescarolos will easily run away from the Porsches, as well as the other P2 machines, largely due to the added power in combination with Mulsanne. (assuming none of the cars break)

I will still look foreward to seeing Audi and Pescarolo battle it out. I would like to see the Pescarolos beat Audi, but I'm looking foreward to seeing the R10 anyway.

As for the Aston Martin, I am sad to say I missed it. But, I bet Pedro Lamy got quite a scare!
Click to expand...

I agree as well about the Penske Porsches. They still have some bugs to work out in the car but they will get there very soon if not already. I haven't seen or heard any news regarding Porsche's intentions of running at Le Mans.........first things first they must get invited and I don't believe they got an invite for 2006. Seeing the R10 in person at Sebring was a sight to see. The cars are super quiet. They do not make an exhaust note at all. I can't wait for the return of the R10 back to the ALMS rounds.
 
Re: Porsche - There were never any plans to run Le Mans this year. Had they wanted to, I'm certain they would have gotten an entry. However, as others have said, there will be customer RS Spyders at Le Mans next year (hopefully from Alex Job, Petersen and Flying Lizard).

When they do sell customer cars next year, I wonder what will happen to the Penske team. With Acura coming on line in '07, will they leave the fight to the customers or have customer cars AND the factory-supported Penske team to fight Acura? (My hope is that Porsche builds a LMP1 version of the RS Spyder for Penske, but I'm not counting on it.)

Also, it's too bad the ALMS and LMS schedule races on the exact same weekend or a week apart, so that there is very little crossover between teams on either side of the pond (other than Le Mans, obviously). Would be nice if they could get someone like DHL to transport some of the LMS competitors over for Sebring or Petit Le Mans and make it a points-scoring LMS event.
 
Well, after their 1-2 finish at Mid-Ohio, they got a little taste of what its like to be a contender for the overall win. I too hope for a secret LMP1 project run by the factory, while selling the LMP2 RS Spyder to customers.
 
I would also like to see LMES teams compete in ALMS races other than our enduros like Sebring and Petit Le Mans. ALMS is in need of bigger grids at the moment. The grids should be packed for 2007 from what I assume.
 
Would awesome to see Porsche back at le mans in a Prototype rather then those redundent GT cars.
 
Oh, I'm sure that exactly one year from this weekend, you'll see a Porsche (or three) at Le Mans for the Test Day.

As for 2007, I am really excited about the possibilities. Acura's involvement alone will almost double the LMP2 field. Here's my 2007 LMP2 possible entries list (just from reading the rumors):

1x Intersport Racing: Lola B05/40-AER
1x B-K Motorsports: (new chassis)-Mazda
1x Van der Steur Racing: Radical SR9-AER - debut at Petit Le Mans
1x Miracle Motorsports: (Courage LC75?) - saving money to buy new car for '07?
2x Flying Lizard Motorsports: Porsche RS Spyder - rumored
1x Alex Job Racing: Porsche RS Spyder - rumored
4x Acura: Andretti/Green? Rahal? 2-3 teams, 4 cars, both Lola and Courage chassis
1x Panhard: car almost complete, testing in summer/fall
1x KSS? (Georgia team who was working on the Ford GT): Radical SR9 - rumored purchase
Subaru? - rumored LMP2 entrant

I'm (cautiously) optimistic. :D Plus, dailysportscar.com is hinting at other Ferrari F430 entrants in GT2 later on this season. No mention of teams, just that there may be other Ferraris entered. (fingers crossed)
 
Yeah, that is quite a list. I've never really enjoyed P2 action as much as the other classes. This is probably due to the fact that P2 was very faceless before the RS Spyder came into the picture. Now it's right up there with the rest of the classes again.

And, ALMS seems to be on the rebound, which I'm very happy to say. I very much miss the 2002-03 years which included many P900 (as it was then called) Panoz cars, Marenellos in GTS, and just a lengthier field overall. But now, with the R10 running a limited ALMS schedule, hot action in GT1 between Aston and Chevy, Porsche's participation, as well as the upcoming Acura prototype, I am feeling that ALMS will be back and better than ever in the upcoming few years.
 
Are Courage LM P2's called LC75? I thought they were called LC70's and the P1's were LC70, do I have that backwards or just plain wrong?

m.piedgros
 

Latest Posts

Back