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8 May 2010, 18:35 (Ref:2686645) | #401 | ||
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8 May 2010, 18:39 (Ref:2686646) | #402 | |||
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Rahal is BMW's North American team... no entry at LM, no entry in LMIC Dyson has no interest in LM, no entry in LMIC Highcroft... maybe P&M... maybe Risi, not likely The ALMS will not be restructured for fewer rounds. Repeatedly, some fail to understand it is a business, whose intent is to make profits. |
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8 May 2010, 18:41 (Ref:2686647) | #403 | ||
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When in doubt? C4. |
9 May 2010, 11:12 (Ref:2686976) | #404 | ||
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For the very same reason Peugeot are happy to compete at Sebring and PLM, Chevy would get worldwide publicity competing at Spa, Le Mans and Silverstone. Not to mention building these links can only benefit each regional series. Fernandez's links with Aston Martin could see a car on the ALMS grid for a full season, Audi may then decide to place a single car in the series and such. The cars are already out there, by spreading their resources sensibly, a manufactuer/team can have a presence in both regional series, and play a leading role in the ILMC. But as I said above, to do this their needs to be co-operation on the calender front. |
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9 May 2010, 13:12 (Ref:2687123) | #405 | ||
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The ALMS is part of a wider ACO sportscar scene, GT manufactuers seemingly can run factory backed programs on both sides of the Atlantic, prototype manufactuers not. An Audi Sport boss said they wanted to compete in a full LMS season this year, and presumably the ALMS too, along with the ILMC, but the budget wasn't available. I'm not sure how a bigger ALMS calendar would help matters, unless the series became so popular sponsors were throwing money at manufactuers and teams, personally I think that scenario is a touch idealistic. Theoretically would the ALMS not be in a healthier financial position if manufactuers such as Audi were pouring money into the coffers for 6-8 rounds, rather than the series having 10-16 rounds with the current grid? Then you have to consider how many of the current ALMS privateers would welcome more rounds, giving their sponsors greater expsosure, or are they infact funding much of their program out of their own pockets? Last edited by JAG; 9 May 2010 at 13:22. |
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9 May 2010, 22:56 (Ref:2687600) | #406 | ||
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Even to most ALMS watchers, I'm not sure how much of a presence the LMS gets over here. It's not on SPEED anymore, near as I can tell.
Corvette gets their worldwide exposure at the Le Mans 24 hours. At least until the economy improves, they have no good reason to take the factory team overseas for any other event. Mazda, who knows. Unless they and BP increase their sponsorship (may be tough for BP to do that right now), a trip, even just to Le Mans, is NOT going to happen. Porsche and Ferrari already have factory-supported teams on both sides of the pond, so they don't need for IMSA Performance to come to Sebring or for Risi to go to Spa. A larger ALMS schedule, when the money is in place, is good for getting the series into more markets, having fewer gaps in the calendar, and getting the series on TV more often to boost momentum and presence for the series. The ALMS had 12 rounds in 2007, and without the CCWS/ICS merger, would have been the same for 2008 (Houston wouldn't have disappeared). Don't forget, things are more geographically spread out in the US than in Europe, and we don't have bullet trains here. We don't have a mass transit system worth ****, because most Americans want their cars AND low taxes, and most cities are designed for cars. With all the lead time and lay-overs, unless the race is more than a full day's drive away (750-900 miles), it doesn't necessarily even make a huge difference to fly to a race, and airline tickets aren't cheap. Anyway, what events would we cut at present? As it is, we really could use an event that draws from the Pacific Northwest (Sonoma, Portland, Seattle Int'l Raceway). Canada might warrant a second race (St. Jovite, or a revived Vancouver). There's Mexico City, especially if Fernandez comes back over here full-time. There's also Texas (Houston, TMS, OKC as a possible draw from Texas) and the Mid Atlantic (VIR, Baltimore) to consider. I'd say it's more that there is this "bigger is better" mentality, and if you can support them, having more rounds gets you taken more seriously and gets you more attention. With NASCAR, MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, PGA, etc, you MUST be racing on a somewhat consistent, regular basis to garner real attention and to grow. A couple of things also strike me with your comments, JAG. You make little mention of European teams coming over here, but want our teams to go over there. Frankly, the Europeans have been looking after their own interests, and NOT coming over here in any significant numbers for the last five years, and the US teams have been looking after their own well-being, and NOT making expensive sojourns over to Europe, except for Le Mans itself. Also, for all the talk, Europe hasn't exactly been doing the best job of maintaining most of their marquee sportscar events. How consistently has the Silverstone 1000km been held over the last 45-60 years? What about the Spa 1000km, or the BOAC 1000km at Brands Hatch? The LMS has already let Monza lapse, which is pathetic given Ferrari's involvement in the series. It's not on the Nordschleife anymore, but Germany doesn't have an LMS round either. In the States, Sebring, Daytona, the Glen, and Road America still all have sportscar races, though Elkhart Lake's is not an endurance event just at the moment. We've also added PLM at Road Atlanta. Races are still held at Mid Ohio, Mosport park, Laguna Seca, VIR, and Lime Rock Park. Why shouldn't we continue to make the most we can of our road racing resources and venues? Just because European sportscar racing isn't doesn't mean we should have to sacrifice if we can support what we're already doing. |
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10 May 2010, 15:35 (Ref:2688010) | #407 | ||
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This year, yes, but in upcoming years it might be a different story. Audi and Pug will be there. Outside of that, I'm not expecting much anyway.
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10 May 2010, 19:41 (Ref:2688176) | #408 | |
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For good or for worse the ALMS has alligned itself with the ACO.
The series benefited greatly from the likes of Joest Audi, Schnitzer BMW, ORECA Chrysler, Aston Martin etc. competing, but now there are alternatives. For the ALMS to go it alone and expand, the above manufactuers and teams need to be replaced by home grown alternatives. Last edited by JAG; 10 May 2010 at 20:10. |
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11 May 2010, 16:28 (Ref:2688692) | #409 | ||
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I wasn't talking about the ALMS just going it alone.
And the ACO should be mindful that unless the ALMS looks after its own interests, they simply won't have a North American arm anymore. And so, it comes down to the fact that the ALMS needs the larger schedule (compared to the LMS) to be viable. It's just that simple, and I don't understand why that's so hard for you, JAG, to accept. |
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10 Jun 2010, 11:03 (Ref:2708150) | #410 | |
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The China race will be Zhuhai, November 7.
In 2011 Le Mans will be included in the ILMC with double points! source: http://www.endurance-info.com/versio...ance-4613.html |
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10 Jun 2010, 11:07 (Ref:2708152) | #411 | |||
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We are getting close to a real World Series now! |
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Hvil i Fred Allan. (Rest in Peace Allan) |
10 Jun 2010, 11:28 (Ref:2708164) | #412 | |
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Good to see the test day back too!
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10 Jun 2010, 11:40 (Ref:2708171) | #413 | |
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10 Jun 2010, 11:47 (Ref:2708176) | #414 | ||
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Hvil i Fred Allan. (Rest in Peace Allan) |
10 Jun 2010, 12:51 (Ref:2708234) | #415 | |
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That is a dream calendar, I didn't think the ACO would include Le Mans.
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10 Jun 2010, 12:56 (Ref:2708241) | #416 | ||
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Great calender for 2011!
My only regret is the fact that they'll race at the current Fuji track, which is bloody awful (bring Suzuka or - let me dream - Autopolis). |
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10 Jun 2010, 13:23 (Ref:2708257) | #417 | |
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10 Jun 2010, 18:09 (Ref:2708508) | #418 | ||
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I'll believe this when I see the cars racing on the track for the cup, but it could hardly get better than this!!! Oh, Suzuka and a South American race... but anyway, this is amazing!!!
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10 Jun 2010, 19:15 (Ref:2708577) | #419 | ||
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You could have races in South America under the ALMS banner. One at Interlagos, another at San Luis and then another at Mexico City. Can't be that hard.
How many cars per class? |
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10 Jun 2010, 21:47 (Ref:2708748) | #420 | ||
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They need to be replaced NOW. When was the last time Schnitzer ran a full season? Oreca? Aston Martin? Audi would have run here with or without the LeMans' blessing. The relationship with the ACO is bringing absolutely nothing to the ALMS right now. The ALMS has needed to kick the ACO to the curb for about the past three years. |
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11 Jun 2010, 02:12 (Ref:2708845) | #421 | ||
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sweet! good to see my backyard race is still on (this) calender; maybe more of the "cross the pond" LMPs at PLM 2011.
and i am all about some Fuji, too. |
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11 Jun 2010, 12:44 (Ref:2709134) | #422 | ||
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Alternatively, if you use the ACO classes and regs as a basis, then how much does it change things? Breaking the ACO link could leave ALMS as nothing more than a more expensive alternative to Grand-Am... |
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11 Jun 2010, 13:54 (Ref:2709182) | #423 | ||
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I just hope that the inclusion of LM in the LMIC doesn't mean ACO will favor teams that enter the LMIC over others. It would spell the death of the lower budget regional teams that nowadays stay at home but have a bit of extra money to invest for a trip to Le Mans.
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11 Jun 2010, 16:02 (Ref:2709273) | #424 | ||
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The ALMS is only lacking half a dozen P1/P2's and all could potentially be sourced from North America. This could be achieved by teams expanding or moving up in class and new entrants attracted by cost cutting measure and announcements such as HPD supplying customer engines. IMO the ILMC can only have a positive effect on the ALMS as it will attract manufactuers to the sport, most of whom will also want a presence in the LMS/ALMS, and by guaranteeing Sebring and PLM remain world class events. |
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11 Jun 2010, 16:52 (Ref:2709302) | #425 | ||
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I would have a Le Mans Americas Cup from October to March, with Petit Le Mans as season opener, then those three races (for teams who don't go to Asia) and Sebring as season ender. And how about replacing Interlagos with the Sao Paulo Indy street circuit?
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