Questions about racing cars...

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Is there a good general website that discerns between all the different racing types? Like a brief description of BTCC, ALMS, Trans-Am, NASCAR, F1, SCCA races, IMSA races, etc? Or are there a few main ones for open-wheel racing, closed wheel?

More importantly, what website can I view to find out about the different Le Mans classes, restrictions, etc?

Thanks.
 
What would decide whether or not a Le Mans manufacturer would go open-****pit versus closed with their cars? Are open-****pit cars less or more aerodynamic? Or is it more of a weight consideration?

For instance, the Audi R8. They made an R8R open-****pit racer, and an R8C. They abandoned the R8C a year later... were they in different classes?

And further, would F1/Champ/IRL cars fare better or worse if they were closed-****pit?

Personally, I would feel a hell of a lot safer in a closed-****pit car that is this fast.
 
unfortunately, I've yet to come across an all-encompassing motorsport site that has equal coverage for all series. There is a pretty good British site, crash.net, that has news on a wide array of racing, from NASCAR to CART to BTCC, DTM, IRL, ALMS, SBK, etc. But it's mostly news, and doesn't really provide a background on each series. For that, I'm afraid you'll pretty much have to go to each respective series' home pages. There's cart.com, CART's official page. seventhgear.com is a good unofficial CART site. Trans Am's home page is trans-amseries.com. It's about as good as you're going to get for T/A, although it is dry and updates aren't very frequent. But there's a forum there, and links to teams pages (although those can be somewhat outdated, to say the least.) For the actual Le Mans racing, there is the official site of lemans.org. Lots of info there. The ALMS/IMSA sites I'm less sure of. IMSA, by the way has just started being called IMSA again, after a short-sited name change to Professional SportsCar Racing in '97, I think. So that may still be under a PSR-related address. Although I'm sure you'll find a link to IMSA at the ALMS site, as it is the sanctioning body for ALMS. I don't have it now, but I'll try to get you those addresses, as well as an excellent all-around sports car site. Also, try out mulsannescorner.com for some really interesting articles on the Le Mans type prototypes.
 
about the open/closed ****pit: The manufacturer's decision to run any class, such as the open prototypes, specifically the LMP900 class, is dictated by the fact that the rules as stated by ACO make that configuration the most likely to win. You'll notice that the Bentley was the only closed prototype this year, I'm pretty sure. Just an interesting side note, it was running the Audi engine...Anyway, Tire size, engine size, weight, gas tank size, engine power, etc. are all very specific for each class, and there are advantages and disadvantages for each. As for the safety, they are just as safe as the "tin tops"; every car has to meet crash standards. The only change in regards to open seat safety is that, if I read the rules correctly, the LMP900's will have to return to a full-width roll hoop instead of the current CART-style that is just over the driver's head. For an example of what I mean, look at an old Riley and Scott Mk III chassis, or a Ferrari 333sp, versus the BMW V12LMR (which started the trend) and the Audi R8R, R8. CART cars are very safe, Zanardi, Rodriguez, Moore, et al. not withstanding. A closed ****pit on those cars would most likely only be beneficial from an aerodynamic standpoint, as it would on any open ****pit car. Besides, the closed top prototypes were sometimes more interesting to look at...
 
Sorry I can't offer any help but just want to say that it's quite funny how the anti-profanity software has pick up on the word "c0ckpit" in your post :D
 
Originally posted by huyster
Sorry I can't offer any help but just want to say that it's quite funny how the anti-profanity software has pick up on the word "c0ckpit" in your post :D
Click to expand...
Actually, it should only pick up the word when used by itself. :thatsodd: :confused:
 
Originally posted by doubleclutch
about the open/closed ****pit: The manufacturer's decision to run any class, such as the open prototypes, specifically the LMP900 class, is dictated by the fact that the rules as stated by ACO make that configuration the most likely to win. You'll notice that the Bentley was the only closed prototype this year, I'm pretty sure. Just an interesting side note, it was running the Audi engine...Anyway, Tire size, engine size, weight, gas tank size, engine power, etc. are all very specific for each class, and there are advantages and disadvantages for each. As for the safety, they are just as safe as the "tin tops"; every car has to meet crash standards. The only change in regards to open seat safety is that, if I read the rules correctly, the LMP900's will have to return to a full-width roll hoop instead of the current CART-style that is just over the driver's head. For an example of what I mean, look at an old Riley and Scott Mk III chassis, or a Ferrari 333sp, versus the BMW V12LMR (which started the trend) and the Audi R8R, R8. CART cars are very safe, Zanardi, Rodriguez, Moore, et al. not withstanding. A closed ****pit on those cars would most likely only be beneficial from an aerodynamic standpoint, as it would on any open ****pit car. Besides, the closed top prototypes were sometimes more interesting to look at...
Click to expand...

Thank you thank you for all of your help... I do agree that the closed c0ckpit racers are more intersting... I have checked out mulsannescorner.com, and it is a great site. I just wish it delved into the theory behind LMP and GT1 a bit more... It would seem that if you have the space to work with, close the c0ckpit...? Hmmm, dunno, thanks again.
 
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