LMS Rnd 4: Donington 25-27 Aug 2006 - Page 11

Flat12-Aircool · 28 Aug 2006, 12:36 (Ref:1695307)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Does anyone have any idea at the attendance for race day? From a article I read over on DSC it sounds like it was fairly well attended with the main grandstand opposite the pits being full. I certainly hope this was the case, would definatly be a improvement.

LoL, it doesn't take much to fill that Grandstand.

I was sitting there for the last hour and I'd say it can't hold more than 300 people.

Like others have said it was an average attendance. Probably the same as last year but because of the smaller venue it may "appear" to be more.

JAG · 28 Aug 2006, 13:04 (Ref:1695332)

There were far more than Silverstone 2005, similar to Silverstone 2004, so probably 15,000 or so. DTM only had 15,000 in 2003.

But as ever, you'll not see any great crowds until Peugeot and Audi come on board and the series settles down. Everyone who goes is impressed, so will come back the following year, with promotion from manufactuers 25,000+ is easily possbile next year.

rdjones · 28 Aug 2006, 13:04 (Ref:1695333)

I have now uploaded a selection of photos from yesterday and they can be found at http://www.rdj-pics.co.uk/Photos/200...Sun/index.html

JAG · 28 Aug 2006, 13:09 (Ref:1695336)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdjones

I have now uploaded a selection of photos from yesterday and they can be found at http://www.rdj-pics.co.uk/Photos/200...Sun/index.html

This gives you a good idea of the attendance, plus a full start finish, first corner etc.

I shot about 40 mins of video I'll put it up soon.

JAG · 28 Aug 2006, 13:17 (Ref:1695346)

BTW, is Oreca now a full factory team?

Steve Saleen and his crew were over again.

Will Oreca build customer race cars?

jim69 · 28 Aug 2006, 13:23 (Ref:1695347)

Whilst I do feel a bit dissapointed for Martin and the 22 car team,

I was there as a friend and guest of Mike Newton and the AD Holdings Group. The elation in this team was amazing, Tommy and Mike were extatic about the win

. They have had their share of bad luck in the past so it was about time the luck fell for them.
To put the record straight, if they had not been driven into by another LMP2 car in the first 40 mins of the race, then they would have been in the lead of LMP2 throughout the race.

Well done Mike, Tommy and the whole RML team.

badgerbaiter · 28 Aug 2006, 13:42 (Ref:1695365)

some of my photos are at http://www.xynamic.com
or if you go to the 'photography' section of the forum i've posted some there

was a pretty good race whilst i could work out who was leading.. cars are so loud you cant hear the commentary

WouterM · 28 Aug 2006, 15:14 (Ref:1695439)

Donnington looked like a great track for spectators with little to no barrierers and the corners after the start-finish were simply spectacular. Anyways here is our report of the weekend's affairs:
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...em.php&rid=104

TheNewBob · 28 Aug 2006, 16:56 (Ref:1695532)

I had a great weekend, took a friend of mine on the Saturday in a sort-of experiment to see how much modern sportscar racing impresses occasional/casual enthusiasts who know of nothing other than F1 and/or BTCC. He had his jaw dropped in awe and had a big headache after ten minutes

.

I have some videos to upload, and did try a few pictures too but they're very amateur efforts.

Was anything wrong with PSI's 'Vette, by the way? Straight away it appeared to lose bucket-loads of time from the rest of GT1. I must remember to take a radio next time, I struggled badly wherever I stood trying to hear the commentary and understand what was going on. That said, the spectacle alone is always more than worth the entry price, nevermind the racing! Plus Donington is great for being able to see lots of areas of the track

Graham Goodwin · 28 Aug 2006, 16:59 (Ref:1695542)

The only problem with the PSI Corvette was that it was the only one of the GT1 pack that didn't start the race with a pro driver

TheNewBob · 28 Aug 2006, 17:10 (Ref:1695555)

That was clear to see! It dropped off very quickly.

Flat12-Aircool · 28 Aug 2006, 17:18 (Ref:1695559)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JAG

There were far more than Silverstone 2005, similar to Silverstone 2004, so probably 15,000 or so. DTM only had 15,000 in 2003.

But as ever, you'll not see any great crowds until Peugeot and Audi come on board and the series settles down. Everyone who goes is impressed, so will come back the following year, with promotion from manufactuers 25,000+ is easily possbile next year.

More than Silverstone last year? No, I'm sorry I can't agree with that, certainly not until I see the numbers.

Last year the Bad weather was the excuse, and this year it's supposed to be the fact that there was no Audi or Peugeot?! Nah, I don't buy that excuse. There are other reasons of an organisational nature that are more to blame.

Shotteh · 28 Aug 2006, 17:46 (Ref:1695606)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graham Goodwin

The only problem with the PSI Corvette was that it was the only one of the GT1 pack that didn't start the race with a pro driver

I would have thought that Jos Menten could be classed as a very good driver, he did stick the car on pole at Paul Ricard afterall.

Graham Goodwin · 28 Aug 2006, 19:50 (Ref:1695788)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shotteh

I would have thought that Jos Menten could be classed as a very good driver, he did stick the car on pole at Paul Ricard afterall.

But he didn't start the race!

The Badger · 29 Aug 2006, 08:49 (Ref:1696055)

Quote:

Originally Posted by racing59

What I find ridiculous is that the Rollcentre team are classified out of the results, even though they completed more laps than the 2nd placed team in LMP2. Rob.

I reckon thats fair .....if you want to be classified , you have to take the flag . Its run to Le Mans rules , and thats the rule for the 24 hour race too . Ive no trouble with it at all .

cg7aa · 29 Aug 2006, 10:03 (Ref:1696105)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cg7aa

Just got back too and my ears are still ringing! Not good. Anyway, I really enjoyed today, always nice to watch sportscars. Weather wasn't bad either, a bit of a breeze and the sun coming through now and again.

I take back what I said previously about the lack of photo ops for the amateur photographer at Donington. I went there for the MotoGP race and the placed was fairly packed to say the least and with a general admission ticket I couldn't really roam about. Today however I did and got some fantastic pictures and views.

I started out at the Melbourne loop, then through the pits area (drivers everywhere on their way to the autograph session) then into the grandstand after Goddards hairpin (photo heaven!) then into the infield where I headed for Redgate and basically walked around and ended up back at the start finish again.

The view from Redgate through Craner all the way to Starkeys is quite nice when you are standing on high ground, you get to see a lot! I had no idea that was the case.

It was quite interesting watching the brakes beginning to glow on some of the cars at Redgate, some cars were running the brake bias clearly to the front (Works Zytek), others to the rear slightly (Pescarolo), the Oreca Saleen looked round about 50/50. How sad am I?

How sweet do those Courage LC70s look.

I noticed during the weekend that 'Endurance' appears to have been dropped from the series title. I couldn't see it written anywhere. How long has this been the case? How on earth did I miss the change? Doh!

Can someone tell me what the reasoning behind this was, are they planning 'shorter' sprint races for the future?

isynge · 29 Aug 2006, 10:22 (Ref:1696126)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cg7aa

I noticed during the weekend that 'Endurance' appears to have been dropped from the series title. I couldn't see it written anywhere. How long has this been the case? How on earth did I miss the change? Doh!

Can someone tell me what the reasoning behind this was, are they planning 'shorter' sprint races for the future?

Name changed for this season. I seem to remember it was to try and avoid any direct associations with the somewhat less than successful European Le Mans Series (ELMS) and reinforce the "Le Mans" brand. I wasn't 100% convinced - not least as "Ell-mez" tripped off the tongue reasonably easily!

JAG · 29 Aug 2006, 17:15 (Ref:1696835)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flat12-Aircool

More than Silverstone last year? No, I'm sorry I can't agree with that, certainly not until I see the numbers.

Last year the Bad weather was the excuse, and this year it's supposed to be the fact that there was no Audi or Peugeot?! Nah, I don't buy that excuse. There are other reasons of an organisational nature that are more to blame.

There were far more than Silveratone 2005, without a doubt.

Last year, and this year, there is only one excuse, promotion, and that will only arrive with manufactuers.

dj choc ice · 29 Aug 2006, 19:01 (Ref:1696959)

i think promotion they could quite easily promote the aston martins, ferrari, corvette and saleen in GT1 and the porsches and ferrari's and panoz in GT2 since they are recognisable brands which should bring the crowds in

JAG · 29 Aug 2006, 19:10 (Ref:1696974)

Thats what FIA GT claims, but it falls flat on it's face.

What you need are major manufactuers promoting races through dealerships, major sponsors etc., and that's what Audi and Peugeot will bring.

dj choc ice · 29 Aug 2006, 20:59 (Ref:1697085)

guess youre right JAG, think audi and peugeot should bring the crowds in as long as they do the promotional side of things right if they balls it up then things wont get much better in the future

dj choc ice · 29 Aug 2006, 21:06 (Ref:1697092)

oh yeah just wondering as well has anyone put up any videos of donington yet on googlevideo or youtube btw?

thanks

cg7aa · 29 Aug 2006, 21:52 (Ref:1697127)

I've just finished watching the race highlights I recorded earlier this morning and I've got a question. At one point Joel Camathias is interviewed and he says he has his fingers crossed that the Autorlando car can finish where it was running (2nd in class) so they can clinch the championship. Mark Cole then says Joel should be careful about counting his chickens or something to that effect. David Leslie then 'corrects' him by saying Mark is perhaps thinking of the teams championship and that in actual fact Joel must have been referring to the GT2 drivers championship where he can indeed clinch the championship.

Mark Cole goes on to say that only ONE car per team scores points for the teams championship. This came as a complete and utter surprise to me. What is the thinking behind this? He even mentioned that he was talking to Lawrence Tomlinson about this and he was saying there wasn't much point using up resources running a second car thanks to the points system and I must say I can see where he is coming from!

The only explanation I can come up with is that such a ruling is there to help the more cash strapped priviteers so they can run just the one car and score points for the team without being overwhelmed by the 'bigger' teams with multiple entries. Even so, it is a bit of a disincentive for the teams which can run two cars and boost grid numbers?

JAG · 29 Aug 2006, 23:55 (Ref:1697195)

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj choc ice

oh yeah just wondering as well has anyone put up any videos of donington yet on googlevideo or youtube btw?

thanks

Just downloaded 40mins worth, but having trouble getting them onto Google.

The Badger · 30 Aug 2006, 07:43 (Ref:1697336)

I think its brilliant , in the face of the Ferrari 430 , the little'ol 911 will win the LMS series in class , again .

Cant wait for the new model to stir it up come next year . Beautiful little car .

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