Speed World Challenge Finale tomorrow...

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...And I for one, am fairly excited. Who else is going to be watching it tomorrow on Speed Network?

I'm rather upset that Henzler and Liddell qualified first and second, respectively. Pilgrim and Angelelli only managed fourth and fifth, which has me nervous about Cadillac's standing to win the Manufacturer's Championship, and could jeopardize Pilgrim's chances of winning the Driver's Championship, as Tommy Archer qualified in third and could possibly best Pilgrim in the race.
 
As much as I'd have liked to have seen Archer take the championship (Mopar and 3R all the way) Caddy earned their championship this year. They were often untouchable thanks to the combination of the gutsy LS6 and their Pratt & Miller chassis.

However, don't look for them to repeat it next year. I guarantee you that the SCCA is going to (wisely) reel the Pratt & Miller Caddys in if P&M doesn't make the cars more widely available.
 
I don't see as to why anyone would have to make anything more widely available. If you can't afford to buy the best, you can't afford to be the best. This holds true to everything - Cars, drivers, pit crews, etc.

There are some mighty unhappy Porsche fans. I personally think the race was pretty fair, but alot of people believe that Gigliotti opening a hole for Mad Max is somehow dirty and that they should've been black flagged for it, among other moves, such as Angelelli holding Archer back, or the accidental tap on McCann.

Lots of pissed off Porsche fans. But that's what racing is, I suppose.
 
Well, you see that's the beef that many competitors have with the Cadillacs. There's so little that's factory andso much that's one-off about the CTS-V's that Angelelli, Papis, and Pilgrim (and occasionally Fellows) drive that no privateer could practically replicate the cars.

The other cars on the grid are readily available (heck, the Viper Competition Coupe is turn key SWC with a sealed Mopar engine) for purchase by other competitors for a fraction of the money that Pratt & Miller spent on the CTS-V's. However, you cannot buy a CTS-V in GT spec from Pratt & Miller.

In many ways, the CTS-V is outside of the spirit of the rules of Speed World Challenge. I do believe that in the off season we'll see the car legislated into a closer to stock form without the radical gearboxes, suspensions, or weight setback that the SCCA permitted them this year.
 
For those who missed it, they're re-airing the GT race, followed by the TC race in about 15 minutes on Speed Network.
 
Oh, yippie...The factory team that couldn't hack it in prototypes just beat a bunch of privateer teams!!! (Edit: To be fair, the car was decent, it's just that GM wouldn't spend the money to be competitive with Audi.)

What a crock. How is the CTS-V a GT car? Isn't a GT car, by definition, supposed to have a maximum of two doors? And how many times did they have to bribe/strongarm Gigliotti into moving over for or not passing the Cadillacs?

The SWC GT is turning into a complete joke. First they allow the Viper Competition Coupe, a purpose-built race car in a road car-based series and now their champion is a factory-campaigned 4 door. I just hope the Caddy move on and GM will give the new Corvette Z06 support next year.
 
To be fair, Mulsanne, have you read the rules for the VCC in the Speed World Challenge GT rulebook?

Here are some of the "highlights" of the most recent VTS (Vehicle Technical Specifications" sheet for the Viper Competition Coupe.

- Competition Weight - 3100lbs (100lbs over curb)
- Port Work is Disallowed (no machining or matching)
- No Aftermarket Pistons or Connecting Rods
- Only One Throttle Body Allowed
- Stock Exhaust Manifolds
- Engine Must Be Sealed Mopar Unit provided by Dodge (they include a list of seal locations)
- Spec trans gear ratios
- Rear end ratios may be no more than 3:73 and no less than 3:07
- Front brakes may be no larger than 14"
- Rear brakes no larger than 13"
- Rear diffuser must have all strakes removed except the both outside panels on vehicles with 2005 body.
- Remaining outside strakes must have 13 mm trimmed from the bottom edge the entire length of the strake.
- 2005 body updates must be done as a complete package (hood, fascia, splitter, wing).
- 50mm splitter requirement must be met on 2005 vehicles. Vehicles equipped with 2003-2004 body may run 80mm splitter.
- spec Cam profiles

Heck, the Viper Competition Coupe, considering it's a tube cage on the production ladder frame, is closer to stock than most other cars in SWC. And when you go down the list of restrictions, it's pretty obvious that Dodge is getting strung up by the short hairs while Caddy gets to take their wallet.
 
Mulsanne
What a crock. How is the CTS-V a GT car? Isn't a GT car, by definition, supposed to have a maximum of two doors? And how many times did they have to bribe/strongarm Gigliotti into moving over for or not passing the Cadillacs?
Click to expand...

Have a look at the rules of the GT class, please. The Cadillac fully complies with all of them. Thank you.

GM gave Gigliotti wind tunnel time, that's it. And that was before Laguna. Also, in a post by Lou himself on the SWC forums, he had this to say in response to the "conspiracy" to let Papis pass at Laguna...

Lou Gigliotti
So on the restart, I was told I had a stop and go penalty for the restart 20 minutes earlier. I took the green while yellng on my radio that it was a bogus black flag and I went into turn one too slow. I didn't want to let Wolfie or anyone else by so I tried to keep the position. We both went wide and hit the sand on the track which is worse than racing in the rain, and we both slipped out wide.

THAT is what allowed Papis to slip by.

Keep in mind that I was still protesting the black flag while trying to race, and we made the decision to stop on the first time by after the green flag.

For all of you who think you know
EXACTLY what was happening without being in my shoes are wrong.

The reality of the situation was that there was a desire for Porsche to win the Championship by some of the powers that be. The Caddys were loaded with an extra 100 pounds of weight and had their engines restricted for 3 races which allowed the points chase to come down to the last race. This is the cause of the problem.

Given the choice, I would be nuts to favor Porsche over Caddy. GM gave all the Corvettes some wind tunnel time this year. that is all we got. I didn't see any free wind tunnel time coming from Porsche.
Click to expand...

So what do you say, is Gigliotti lying?

The SWC GT is turning into a complete joke. First they allow the Viper Competition Coupe, a purpose-built race car in a road car-based series and now their champion is a factory-campaigned 4 door. I just hope the Caddy move on and GM will give the new Corvette Z06 support next year.
Click to expand...

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Team Cadillac probably will not be supporting the Corvettes next year. They won this year, and there's no reason to think they won't be looking for a repeat next year. My only question is, what are you going to whine about next season?
 
Come on, did you expect him to say anything different? Such as: "I intentionally pushed the Porsche out of the way and held them up to give the other GM cars an advantage." So, yeah I'm saying Gigliotti is lying. And I'm a huge Corvette fan who rooted for him when he was the closest 'Vette challenger. There's a load of politics behind this. GM wants the "right car" to win. And right now, that's not the Corvette.

I'm not expecting Team Cadillac to help the Corvettes win next year. What I meant was that I hope General Motors (and their marketing people) will give support to the new Z06 so it can start winning again.

I never said the Cadillac does not comply with current SWC GT rules. I'm just saying the rules are poorly written when they allow purpose-built race cars* and four door cars in a supposedly production-based GT (two door) class.

*LK, I have read the SWC rules. And you're right, the SCCA has done a lot to penalize the VCC. But the VCC compared to the street Viper is comparable to a street Ford Taurus and the NASCAR Taurus. The basic look is the same, but you can tell it's not a street car. And I find that ridiculous in a "production-based" racing class. Perhaps I'm just longing for the days when Archer raced against the Corvettes and NSX in a Viper that actually looked like a Viper.

What will I be whining about next year? Well, other than Sebring, which I'll watch since I'll be there, I probably won't watch the other GT races. Touring Cars, otoh, is still an interesting class. (Probably because the SCCA hasn't screwed it up yet. But give them time...)
 
Well, seeing as Angelleli has driven that EXACT SAME WAY in two years of Speed GT, I don't see any 'Corporate Politics'. Also, it was mentioned by SCCA Pro that one of the rear tires on the Porsche went down PRIOR to contact with Angelleli in turn one, possibly from side-to-side contact with Archer's Viper.

In reading some of the posts by a former Porsche 928 Speed GT driver based in CA., the new improvements to the curbing at Laguna Seca make for absolutely horrendous conditions racing on four wheels. Every improvement made was solely for World Superbike considerations, since they out-draw every other event at that track. The worst condition being the four wheeled racers tend to bring a lot of sand onto the racing line. I'm willing to give Lou G. the benefit of the doubt on his contact, as I seem to remember it was on the first lap of a restart, so the tires were cold as well.



Almost forgot: The champion in the GT class for the last three years has been the Champion Audi team, in 4 door , semi-factory cars.
 
And the changes to Laguna Seca may not be over, if Valentino Rossi and the rest of the MotoGP boys get their way. They want Turn 1 changed and the minor hump before the Corkscrew shaved down. As much as I love MotoGP and am glad that the U.S. Grand Prix finally returned, it's almost not worth what they're doing to the place.

As for the kerbs, could they do like Monaco and put down some temporary raised kerbs for the cars? That might eliminate a lot of the sand being put on the track.

One of the things I noticed while watching both the Speed WC and ALMS races (and something Creamer brought up in his commentary) is the proximity of the gravel traps to the tarmac. I'm sure this was also a consideration for the bikes. A car just gets offline and they're sucked into the gravel. Full course caution. Over and over and over. That really needs to be addressed.

And yes, I know the Audis were four-door cars in GT. I didn't like that either. Believe me, my problem isn't with Cadillac (other than the tactics they used in Laguna). Caddy would be fine if they entered a few XLRs. (In fact, that would be really cool with me since they're good-looking cars.) But for the SCCA to allow Audi and Cadillac into a GT series with four-door cars is ridiculous, IMHO. The Corvettes, Porsches, Saleen Mustangs and Vipers weren't good enough for them? They had to throw out tradition and even the definition of what a GT class should be purely to get a few more manufacturers in. Does that not mean anything to anyone running a racing series these days or is it all about the bottom line?
 

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