GM to grand am

[richmini99]

By Rahal?

I'm hearing it's a Florida-based team.

[Danske]

Originally Posted by paul-collins

Fine, take GA on their word if you wish.

I'll believe there are customer GTOs widely available when someone buys one.

http://www.theracesite.com/index.cfm..._article=11019

2/5/2006 - Pacific Coast Motorsports (PCM), 2004 Toyota Atlantic Series champions, has announced it has purchased a GTO.R race car from Pratt & Miller Engineering.

[richmini99]

They did say they liked to keep a relationship going with GM, didn't they? I guess the have some money to "play" with now that Playboy is footing the bill in DP for the next two seasons.


Man Danske, you don't forget anything do you? I was going to let Paul stake on that one.

[paul-collins]

Hey, good for them.

Let's just hope this isn't history repeating itself.

edited to add, I see that this is a branch out effort by Tyler, so it's doubtful that the same pressures/expectations will exist on him for performance that did for the C5-R.

I also find it puzzling that P+M told his team they would not get a C6.R and yet they sold him a GTO.R. Perhaps it's just that Grand Am is able to enforce their "no factory teams" rule satisfactorily, which, if so, I applaud.

[tblincoe]

Pretty interesting in the press-release that the GARRA brass included the little tidbit about PCM not being up to competing in GT1 in the ALMS, and therefore came to Grand-Am.

[richmini99]

Those were Tyler's own words; not Grand Am's. The ALMS had nothing to do with P&M not making a C-6r availible to PCM. If fact, if Tyler felt any ill will towards P&M do you think he would have bought another one of their products? Lets not make something out of something that isn't there.

[paul-collins]

Originally Posted by richmini99

Those were Tyler's own words; not Grand Am's. The ALMS had nothing to do with P&M not making a C-6r availible to PCM.

In fact, the ALMS lobbied hard to try to get a C6.R made available, but to no avail.

If fact, if Tyler felt any ill will towards P&M do you think he would have bought another one of their products?

Ah, well, there's no ill will - Tyler recognizes the power of P+M, and he was only frustrated that he was never going to be able to get what he considered a sporting chance to compete with them in the ALMS. (Yes, you could say that was naive, Tyler would say so himself)

[tblincoe]

Originally Posted by richmini99

Those were Tyler's own words; not Grand Am's. The ALMS had nothing to do with P&M not making a C-6r availible to PCM. If fact, if Tyler felt any ill will towards P&M do you think he would have bought another one of their products? Lets not make something out of something that isn't there.

I know they were Tyler's own words, the interesting part about it was that Grand-Am allowed that to be used in the press release on their official website.

[Danske]

Originally Posted by tblincoe

Pretty interesting in the press-release that the GARRA brass included the little tidbit about PCM not being up to competing in GT1 in the ALMS, and therefore came to Grand-Am.

On motorsport.com the press release is attributed to GM Racing, not the series, and the only difference I see is that GARRA inserted "presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve" in the one on its site.

Originally Posted by paul-collins

I also find it puzzling that P+M told his team they would not get a C6.R and yet they sold him a GTO.R. Perhaps it's just that Grand Am is able to enforce their "no factory teams" rule satisfactorily, which, if so, I applaud.

I don't know that P&M are the ones who get to decide to whom they sell GM-commissioned designs anyway. Maybe whoever is in charge of GM's GARRA involvement isn't consumed by jealousy. The Pontiac commercials sure aren't shy about trumpeting the wins by all of the Pontiac-powered DPs. To whom the C6.R and GTO.R are sold could be a decided above P&M's heads, no? On the other hand, CTS-Vs don't seem to be for sale in SWC and GM didn't want anyone running a Caddy LMP even after they were done with them, so maybe the credit does go to Grand-Am. *shrug*

[paul-collins]

Originally Posted by Danske

I don't know that P&M are the ones who get to decide to whom they sell GM-commissioned designs anyway. Maybe whoever is in charge of GM's GARRA involvement isn't consumed by jealousy.

....On the other hand, CTS-Vs don't seem to be for sale in SWC and GM didn't want anyone running a Caddy LMP even after they were done with them, so maybe the credit does go to Grand-Am. *shrug*

When it comes to brand new chassis, P+M has a lot of input.

[Danske]

Okay, then maybe P&M are scared by Riley/Speedsource and Crawford entering the GT ranks and are requesting reinforcements. PCM's car may even have a higher serial number than TRG's cars. *shock*

[paul-collins]

Doubt that's the case; I don't see P+M fearing any of their competitors on the track.

Tyler was a bit taken aback that the press release was out; he told me today it was done by GM, not by him.

[Danske]

If I were totally serious there'd have been no smilie at all. See? Here I am being serious. :|

P&M maybe should be worried about the Riley/Speedsource RX-8. In the 24, even with that being their debut race, going out early and P&M/TRG having several months of development, the RX-8's best lap was within a tenth of the GTO.Rs' best.

Heh, Tyler's racking up a lot of quotes he might rather not have repeated, eh? What, no one seemed to care what he said back in Atlantics and he didn't learn what not to say in front of the press?

[ghinzani]

So have Pontiac pulled out of Grand-Am then? Where they off to now? What about the Daytona protos with Pontiac engines? And will they support customer GTO's?