Le Mans Series 2007

[Graham Goodwin]

Nope you had Jarama

[The Badger]

Ok then smartypants ..... What about Jerez ?

[Hammerdown]

How about a race at Paul Ricard instead of just testing? I think you need to give these cars the opportunity to stretch their legs. Not to mention the drivers!

[old man]

Originally Posted by rdjones

I have also noticed that the Valencia round clashes with the FIA GT's at Silverstone.

Yes, good planning that!!!

Also Monza clashes with Long Beach ALMS so whoever put these dates together did not check the other two major series, or did not care to avoid clashes.

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally Posted by old man

Yes, good planning that!!!

Also Monza clashes with Long Beach ALMS so whoever put these dates together did not check the other two major series, or did not care to avoid clashes.

LMS teams wouldn't come all the way over here for a 90 min. street fest anyway....

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Ok then smartypants ..... What about Jerez ?

No....

It has short straights, too, and is better-suited as a bike track, IMO...

I'd rather have Barcelona....

[The Badger]

They used to race Group C cars there !!!

Good enough for Group C ..... why not LMS ?

Barcelona would be good though .

[JAG]

We need a mixture of circuits, tight, long, fast, slow, even street circuits in the US (to continue the IMSA GTP tradition).

I've never understood complaints about tight street circuits, isn't that the point?

[old man]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

LMS teams wouldn't come all the way over here for a 90 min. street fest anyway....

No, but drivers do and now can't do the full series somewhere

[The Real DMN]

It would be nice to see a few more venues.

[dj choc ice]

imagine a street race for LMS on the streets of monaco omg that would be pretty damn good although a bit tight but would be an amazing spectacle to see a aston martin DBR9 and a pescarolo and many of the other cars blasting through that tunnel woooooooooooooooow!!!!!

but for next year i would hope to see silverstone return for the LMS it was a lovely track in 2005 despite the **** attendance there is a lot of good spectating positions, there is bridge corner one of my favorite spots and the section before birdge corner just after the chicane here you are very close to the cars.

there is the brooklands corner its amazing to watch the car's accelarate away up the start finish straight.

there is also the end of the hangar straight were the LMP1 and GT1 cars blast past at about 165mph-175mph maybe even quicker nowadays with these new hybrids.

the bridge on the hangar straight and what you do is climd up the bank and sit there so you are very very close but also have a unobstructed view of the cars blasting past down hangar straight and the noise of the cars shrinking away is the best especially the old courage C60 judd hybrids, the RFH dome and the dallara LMP and the zytek's and my baby the audi R8 yum yum lol.

[GT-Eins]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Ok then smartypants ..... What about Jerez ?

They had a 1000k-event in 1987
interesting layout today after the extension with the fast Sito Pons curve :

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally Posted by The Real DMN

It would be nice to see a few more venues.

Yep....

Assen

Brno

Any others that you'd like to see???

[Marcel ten Caat]

Assen with Champ Car...'a typical American weekend'

[The Real DMN]

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

Yep....

Assen

Brno

Any others that you'd like to see???

Brno would be a very good circuit, would also help build the series status in another part of europe. I'm afraid I don't know that much about Assen though. Why there is not a race at Zandvoort seems almost stupid, given there is no F1, or FIA there and thats even before counting RFH and Spyker.

Those two alone would add two great dates to the calander and serve to boost the series image. TBH I'm rather disheartend by the FIA's new rules, even though I see the reason for bringing them in. The ACO has the perfect bandwagon to steal the FIA's thunder and produce a better series, but I doubt if they have what it takes.

[TWK]

Going to different circuits every season does not help a series, it hurts it. If you want to grow attendence (and some clearly do not, by their own actions), you are as consistant as possible with your scheduling. You return to venues year-after-year. Attendence usually doesn't increase signficantly until the third year, in the experience of series which have made an attempt to have a relatively stable schedule.

You go back, preferably on the same weekend in successive years. The failure to do that is a problem of FIA-GT and LMS, both of which have had absolutely lousy fan support at their events. One might almost conclude that they don't really care if anyone outside their teams shows up. I've got a message for them. Ask your teams and drivers. They notice the crappy attendence, and they don't like it at all.

[Fogelhund]

Adding to TWK's comments, stay where your teams want you to be, Europe. Perhaps they should rename the series LMES, so that Ratel has a clue where to schedule races. Some of the rumours floating about are ludicrous.

[old man]

TWK and Fogelhund are quite correct, neither SRO nor the LMS organisers care about spectators. The financial viability of their series is based on finding circuits that will not charge them more than the amount they have from the teams. Ratel had long discussions with Palmer and said simply that he could not afford the price asked by Palmer for circuit hire. The spectators are the responsibiity of the circuit owners and we must assume that Palmer has now found that the gates for the British GT justify a lower charge to Ratel.

If this is the principle that SRO and LMS work on we will continue to have changes in calendar and that is a vicious circle that does not benefit anyone. The low attendances mean that the series drops down the priority list for a circuit and we have this years ludicrous situation where an FIA round is on the same day as an LMS round and Monza is one week after LM.

How can teams sell sponsorship if they cannot show spectator and media interest in what they have to offer and without team sponsors you need paying drivers so cannot employ true professionals and so you compromise your chances of success, another vicious circle. We do need more attention to the spectator than any European Sports-GT series gives

[dj choc ice]

one more thing i would love to see the races run from 4-10 so the races run into the night instead of running the races from i believe what was 1-7 or 2-8?

[russ250575]

I went to silverstone in 05 and the thing i found worst about the whole event (Bar the Weather) was the race finishing in the Dark. you couldnt keep up with the creation/Audi battle for the last hour and also after the efforts but in by both drivers and all the other drivers out there I wanted to applaud them..clapping someone making about 3million decibels of noise in the dark seems rather pointless. IMO its not that great for TV either..

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Fogelhund

Adding to TWK's comments, stay where your teams want you to be, Europe. Perhaps they should rename the series LMES, so that Ratel has a clue where to schedule races. Some of the rumours floating about are ludicrous.

I don't think Ratel has much say, it's Philip Peter.

You have to take into account there was little money to back up the series in it's early days, they had to take what they could, which resulted in poor promotion and support packages.

2007, with the improved TV package, Peugeot backed support package, and Audi/Peugeot money helping to promote the series/TV, the organisors can be choosier.

The schedules is fine as it is, many of the changes were forced onto the series, i.e. Monza noise issues, Spa works, Silverstone choosing that GP series over LMS as a promoted event etc.

The core races of Silverstone, Spa, Nurburgring and Monza are there, while it was a good decision to take the fith race away from Istanbul and place it in southern Europe.

Those four core races will remain, with the possiblilty of rotating the fifth race dependent on support, while there is space for a fly away race to Asia.

The ACO/LMS needs to consider Asia with the JLMS now in place, as we know the ALMS will not venture there.

[davemk7]

Originally Posted by russ250575

I went to silverstone in 05 and the thing i found worst about the whole event (Bar the Weather) was the race finishing in the Dark. you couldnt keep up with the creation/Audi battle for the last hour and also after the efforts but in by both drivers and all the other drivers out there I wanted to applaud them..clapping someone making about 3million decibels of noise in the dark seems rather pointless. IMO its not that great for TV either..

I can help but agree. the only way I had any idea what was happening was because of the creation electronic score board and then we didn't know for sure until we got back to the car and put the radio on. I have to say that the timing at donington was much better this year imo.

[dj choc ice]

im surprised, i thought the racing into the dark was a great idea as its what you get with endurance racing and is most associated with endurance racing and also it is a spectacular spectacle these cars racing at night the massive flames shooting out of the back of the dallara judd LMP's and the zytek's was something awe inspiring it was a shame though, 2005 was an epic race at silverstone yet the attendance was quite frankly and bluntly ****, no advertising for the event at all an idiot friend of mine suggested "why dont they run the LMS with F1" like that would ever happen and the FIA and bernie would find a ever more imaginative way to destroy the series lol

[kingkai]

Originally Posted by The Real DMN

Brno would be a very good circuit, would also help build the series status in another part of europe. I'm afraid I don't know that much about Assen though. Why there is not a race at Zandvoort seems almost stupid, given there is no F1, or FIA there and thats even before counting RFH and Spyker.

Zandvoort would be freaking awesome, since it is only 3/4 of an hour away for me. But sadly due to our government the circuit has a handfull unristricted sound days, which are filled with the DTM, F3 Masters and the A1GP. More days are given if bigger races would come like the F1, except they don't come because the circuit waits with rebuilding the pits when the bigger races do come.... idiots endless discussion zandvoort has become sadly.

[Flat12-Aircool]

Originally Posted by russ250575

I went to silverstone in 05 and the thing i found worst about the whole event (Bar the Weather) was the race finishing in the Dark. you couldnt keep up with the creation/Audi battle for the last hour and also after the efforts but in by both drivers and all the other drivers out there I wanted to applaud them..clapping someone making about 3million decibels of noise in the dark seems rather pointless. IMO its not that great for TV either..

That depends where you were watching from. If you were "out in the sticks" away from the Pit Straight like I was then yes you may have a point, but around the more floodlit areas viewing was still quite good.

I think next years Silverstone race should go into the evening a little, maybe not as late as 10pm as that makes for a very tired drive home. But perhaps 3pm-9pm or as the race will be in September this year maybe even 2pm-8pm would bring a least some "low light" racing as the Sun sets.