Sebring 2009 Protest (Audi's Spirit < Acura's Challenge)

[TWK]

Originally Posted by JAG

If the LMS ran a schedule similar to the Group C World Championship grids would be half the size, IMO. The ALMS is running a similar schedule to IMSA GTP, fine when the economies good, the manufacturer's will put on a great show, not so good when there's a downturn.

The LMS attracts teams from different formulas, it's value for money, and can even be an addition to other programs.

The ALMS is a huge commitment, it's difficult to put together a program without a big sponsor or very wealthy individual. You could even look at someone like Panoz, challenging Audi for 10+ rounds, plus Le Mans was a big commitment, if there were only 5-6 rounds maybe the program could have continued, or alternative funding sort.

I don't know, I just look at the most popular, core, ALMS rounds and think the series could attract LMS like entries if 5 or 6 rounds were cancelled. You may lose some factory support, you could gain others.

After fixed costs, the variable costs of additional rounds are much less than a straight percentage-of-the-season calculation.

ALMS has 9 rounds this season. LMS has six. The difference in cost for a team is no more than 20%. So I can't see that as a rationale for the difference in ALMS/LMS grids.\