LMS 2009 Calendar

[Stefvh]

Even without a clash, one week between a 24h and a 6h is a bit short, i think we won't see a lot of LMS teams at Spa.

[panoz.lmp1]

How much teams are racing in both series this year?

[The Badger]

Originally Posted by rdjones

I have to say I like the sound of the round in Portugal, which give me an idea.....

Given me an idea too !!!

[The Badger]

Just found this .

http://autosport.aeiou.pt/users/0/51/9b7ab5aa.jpeg

looks like a nice track with elevation changes and nice scenery too .

Can anyone tell me the closest large city or airport please ?

Cheers .

[Marcel ten Caat]

Official website: http://www.autodromodoalgarve.com/index/

The airport of Faro is 70km from the track, Lisbon is 250km.

[knighty]

just to add a further 2 pence worth.......the current LMS races are way too long and boring, I have to sky+ them and watch them at night when the wife and kids have gone to bed, so I can skip through all the dull stuff, I cant justify 8 hrs of a sunday daytime watching racing, as much I would like to!.......as family commitments come calling, as I'm sure it does for all of you lot too.

if they were something like 3-4 hr races, they would still be much longer than an F1 race, but still long enough to be an endurance race.......that way there could be more races, just shorter, so not a great deal more expensive for the teams.

I just cant belive the manufacturers will stand for 5 races only, they will want atleast one per month as a minimum.......it just sounds like a skeleton schedule.

[Ayreon]

Silverstone was't boring! But it is better if you're actually there of course.....

[gwyllion]

Petit Le Mans wasn't boring even though it is a 10 hour race...

[JAG]

[QUOTE=The Badger]Did you not think the Group C calander worked then Jag ?
Plenty more races with full grids ..... If the teams are happy with that , why not ?[/QUOTE
Group C was 20 years ago.

Current cars are similar, cost wise, to 3.5 Group C, that series collapsed.

These days I can watch LMS at Silverstone live on TV one week, PLM the next. Teams that can afford a bigger schedule will add ALMS events, and still get european coverage.

[GT-Eins]

Talking fan-wise:
a calender with 4-5 races allows the fans to travel along with the series
(Pay-)Driver-wise:
More than 5-6 races would rise the level of necessary budget to a level where - especially next year - only a fraction of the non-works-teams would find a sufficiant funding

[sceptic]

So having said they would make it easier for drivers and teams who wished to do LMS and ALMS, they go and schedule two of the five LMS races on weekends where there is already an ALMS round...

Also, having given Eurosport exclusive rights to the LMS, they put one of the races on a weekend where there is WTCC.

[The Badger]

[/QUOTE]Group C was 20 years ago. [/QUOTE]

And so what !!! What does it matter how long ago it was ?

My question was ..... You didnt think the Group C race format worked ?

Not how long ago it was , cuz thats irrelevant .

3.5 litre Group C series basically collapsed because of the 3,5 litre engine size , thats from the horses mouth , which was said to me personally by Hugh Chamberlain ..... and that Alan Randell promising to field up to as many as 5 Jaguars ..... and Bernie & Max had their guns out because Group C was in danger of becoming more popular and threatening their beloved F1 .

[deggis]

Originally Posted by LeMans.pt

About the 2x 500km races... are we nuts?!!!! A mix of 1000km and 500Km races it would be nice, but this is endurance racing not sprit racing! There must be an equilibrium between endurance an tv friendly races. We canot burried the all concept of the series in order to get Eurosport atention.

Sprint racing is something that lasts for 15 laps. Once again, I would like to remind about these couple of apparently amazingly "boring" or "anti-sportscar" seasons... 1989, 1990 and 1991.

I would be in favour of shorter races. More racing, less pacing. I just can't see anything special in the 1000km heritage (unlike in 24LM, Sebring and also Petit). Altough I agree about this 2x500km, that just sounds stupid.

Already one WTCC clash? Great. I wonder if they've seriously thought about using Saturday as the race day - at least on weekends when there is a clash with some other major race (every but Algarve clashes with F1 btw).

No mention of the other rule changes, 2-race engines and the stupid air gun rule. No change of plans then.

.

[The Badger]

What about a 4 hour race then ..... ?

But the 2x500kms races sounds like crap . Totally unfair to a team who prang their chassis in the first event .....

[isynge]

Mixed feelings on my part about this calendar.

Very sad to see Monza not on the calendar. I appreciate it's never really packed in the crowds, but it's a hugely dramatic circuit and one with tremendous heritage at 1,000 km length. Never having got off my backside to go probably makes me complicit in its demise, but I'll really regret it if I never see world class sportscars blast around there.

The schedule in terms of before:after Le Mans makes sense to me and builds on the success of the last few years. I'd prefer Spa and Nurburgring to swap dates, for historic and personal convenience reasons, but I'm not going to get too hung up on this.

A night race on the Algarve? Hmmm, I'm really waiting to be convinced on this. Initial reaction was skeptical but if it ends up being like PLM this year or Silverstone back in 2005 then I won't grumble at all.

Personally I don't want to see a pair of 500 km races. I like the 1,000 km format and having lived through the supposed golden age of the short sprint race Group C period I'm not that dewy eyed about them - sure there were (at times) great grids, and the cars were spectacularly outrageous, but I also recall feeling a bit almost short changed by the brevity of some of races, especially by the time we got to 1991 when it was possible to basically do it all with one driver. I can see the arguments on the other side, I guess it's personal preference and I just like the concept of long distance sportscar racing

And a sixth round? Happy with Brno, would be happy to see Monza back, or what about a tacit nod to acknowledge the Vallelunga 6 Hours for those teams that don't want to head off to Asia (in the event that happens)?

[The Badger]

Originally Posted by isynge

Mixed feelings on my part about this calendar.Very sad to see Monza not on the calendar

Well , remember Monza ditched the LMS a couple of years back , but yes , it is a shame not to see Monza on the list . Brno would be a great circuit for LMS , I think , or how about Imola , cuz I feel that Italy does deserve a sportscar race considering their sportscar heritage .

Im going to persuade my missus in the morning about a nice little summer break in the south of Portugal about the end of July next year ..... im sure she will like that idea .

Funny enough there seems to be a LMS race that weekend dear ..... imagine that !!!

[LeMans.pt]

Originally Posted by deggis

Sprint racing is something that lasts for 15 laps. Once again, I would like to remind about these couple of apparently amazingly "boring" or "anti-sportscar" seasons... 1989, 1990 and 1991.

Do me a favour... don't put words on my mouth that i didn't said. You didn´t read me speaking of "boredom" or "anti-sportscar races"... so... take it easy.

I remember 89/90/91... i remember the death of WSC for the survival of Formula One! And i remember 83 (6x 1000km races plus Le Mans 24), i remember 84 (10x 1000km races plus Le Mans 24) an also 85 (8x 1000km races plus Le Mans 24)... i grew up admiring those races, those cars, those pilots....

1000km are the soul of endurance racing. Le Mans is Le Mans, but any sport-prototypes championship has to have some 1000km races. I don´t care if they do other races with 100, 300 or 500km in order to be TV friendly and give some payback to F1 steeling their audience, but a basis of some 1000km has to be kept. I don´t fall asleep watching them!

[Subaru_WRX_STi]

Originally Posted by panoz.lmp1

How much teams are racing in both series this year?

at the start of the season 2, Larbre Competition Saleen and the IPB Reiter Lambo, then, Larbre withdrew from LMS, and the Lambo team concentrate on LMS with some appearnces in FIA

[Mirage M6]

Silverstone, Spa and Monza weren't boring, we had competition until the very end. Keep some 1000km events, specially the classics, is essential to have a real endurance championship. Then put a couple of sprint races along with the 1000km could be great, but I don't like the idea of split an event into two 500km races. Really sorry for Monza too, but you can not keep forever a race with less than 12000 spectators or so every year, its just a disaster

[Spyderman]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Well , remember Monza ditched the LMS a couple of years back , but yes , it is a shame not to see Monza on the list . Brno would be a great circuit for LMS , I think , or how about Imola , cuz I feel that Italy does deserve a sportscar race considering their sportscar heritage .

Im going to persuade my missus in the morning about a nice little summer break in the south of Portugal about the end of July next year ..... im sure she will like that idea .

Funny enough there seems to be a LMS race that weekend dear ..... imagine that !!!

I might see you there Badger! It's a perfect excuse to go back to my home country for a vacation!

[johntt]

I think we need a mix of races, have the 4 1000km classics (Monza, Spa, Nurburgring, Silverstone) along with some some 2 hour 45 min races like the ALMS has.

And before anyone says anything; it was the 3.5l formula that killed Group C, not shorter races.

[LeMans.pt]

Originally Posted by johntt

And before anyone says anything; it was the 3.5l formula that killed Group C, not shorter races.

Yes it was!...

[The Badger]

Spot on Spyder , if I go . You will be the one with the Porsche t-shirt I presume ?

[Spyderman]

..and hat, flag, gloves, etc.

Wife's 40th and My 50th, so it will be perfect!

[JAG]

Group C was 20 years ago. [/QUOTE]

And so what !!! What does it matter how long ago it was ?

My question was ..... You didnt think the Group C race format worked ?

Not how long ago it was , cuz thats irrelevant .

3.5 litre Group C series basically collapsed because of the 3,5 litre engine size , thats from the horses mouth , which was said to me personally by Hugh Chamberlain ..... and that Alan Randell promising to field up to as many as 5 Jaguars ..... and Bernie & Max had their guns out because Group C was in danger of becoming more popular and threatening their beloved F1 .[/QUOTE]

You could run a 962 on a much smaller budget than current LMP's, maybe even GT2's.

The 3.5 cars are much closer, technology and cost wise, to current cars, so large calendars cannot be sustained, particularly when you add Le Mans and wish to give European teams the opportunity to race in the US classics.