Rolex qualifying at Homestead underway

[billnchristy]

GT and SGS qualifying now, DPs next.

http://grandamerican.vfx.com/Rolex/G...h=0&ID=94930PM

The Racers Group and BMW PTG are having a good little battle in qualifying and practice...should be a heck of a GT battle!!

http://www.grandamerican.com/race_re...results69.html

[billnchristy]

GT top 3
--------------
#21 PTG M3
#66 TRG Porsche
#44 Orbit Porsche

SGS top 3
--------------
#16 AASCO Porsche
#71 Doncaster Porsche
#38 TPC Porsche

[billnchristy]

link to videos

http://www.grandamerican.com/rolex_h...videos_04.html

[Osella]

thanks! must admit they look cool, esp the yellow one.. what is it?

[billnchristy]

its a pontiac crawford

[Patrick B]

There's a bunch of photo's up at-Racing Fanatic's

[gttouring]

the "pontiac" mosler- imean Chase is really ok looking, this generation of DP's are really sorting it out.
look real good in the sand LOL

[independent]

They look kind of like a VW Beetle with an extended tail. I understand the "dome" effect is for safety?

I guess its just an "American" thing like Nascar. I don't think the Europeans will ever get this form of racing. Superspeedways and banked ovals do not seem like an endurance test IMHO.

But to each his own then.

[gttouring]

it isn't an american thing- few of us are used to the idea or like it.
but racing is racing
i follow the 24hour2CV as well and the VW funcup enduros, those are fun.
this is a train wreck and i watch it because i am trying to understand it

[JAG]

They would look OK if they had a longer wheel base and were wider. At the moment they just look disproportioned.

I also do not see the need for such wide greenhouses.

[gttouring]

yes safety of the greenhouse is not found by simply making it bigger and having more open space in the cockpit, making it tidier and compact may have benefits over this large style. the group C cars certainly weren't as wierd and i am sure just as safe as these if not more so, considering the manner inwhich these are built.

[JAG]

Also whats the difference in price betwwen a DP and a LMP2 car such as a Lola or Courage?

[JAG]

Originally posted by gttouring
yes safety of the greenhouse is not found by simply making it bigger and having more open space in the cockpit, making it tidier and compact may have benefits over this large style. the group C cars certainly weren't as wierd and i am sure just as safe as these if not more so, considering the manner inwhich these are built.

The new LMP1 (closed car) regs incorporate the safety features of the DPs cockpit but do not demand such wide greenhouses.

I wonder in the DPs have the 'single seater' type driver cell that the LMP1/2 cars have such as the Audi. This stops the driver being thrown around and adds extra protection from side impact and from head injuries.

[Megatron]

Roger E said he wanted a car that could fit two people. The Saleen is designed for taller drivers like Tommy Kendell and fit two people but that doesn't mean that they made the greenhouse big enough to sit three or four people.

If it's racing, I watch it, and I watch this. That doesn't mean I agree with many of it's principles.

The backlash will be huge if Ganassi dominates the way I think he will. Perhaps they can add extra ballast to the cars or something.

The cars appear faster, and they are, but look what they had to do to have it as the "best" class.

SRP I: Effectively banned in one year. Their "grandfater" clause was silly. Do you really think that anyone would convert a Dallara or R&S to run a DP engine, which would most likely be heavier and not allowed to be a stressed member, for one year? Perhaps a better offer would be "All SRP I cars may run through 2003 if they have only reverse gear".

SRPII: More weight, less power, and less fuel. Despite saying they are "committed" to SRPII for three years in a press release, the class, as they proabably hoped, fails to draw significant numbers because of the insane restrictions.

GTS/AGT: A maximum of 6.0 liter V8s, effectively DQing Dodge Vipers, C5Rs, 550s, etc. Put more restrictions and aerodynamic aids on the cars for insurance. Before Homestead 2003 an extra 50 lbs is added. When that doesn't work, fuel capicity is reduced. Even so, an AGT/GTS Mustang leads at the season finale before cutting a tire.

GT: To avoid (just barely) a repeat of the GT win in 2003 Rolex 24, less power and less fuel are the norm. Despite this, a GT car nearly wins when only about 18 hours were actually spent racing.

It doesn't help attract typical sports car fans when the man in charge makes it a point in every interview to tell them they aren't needed. My first feeling on the DP was to give it a chance, but when you hear that your "kind" isn't really needed, it just doesn't sit well.

So yes, the DPs are gaining popularity and customers, but not without virtually eliminating the bulk of the rest of the grid or puting insane restrctions on them.

[JAG]

Apparently the engines that were considered the best in 2003 have been pegged back in 2004. Why not up the performance of the poorer engines?

There wil also be no more constructers allowed to build DPs. So no Lolas etc. to push the development of the class forward.

It seems as though G/A do not want cars that overshadow the powerful NASCARS.

[veeten]

then again, with absolutely no live coverage, outside of its own website, and no broadcast of the race, except for a delayed broadcast of it March 7th on Speed Channel, it's hard to say that this is the way to attract new spectators or fans.

To paraphrase a saying, '... what if someone had a motor race, and no one knew of it?...'

[JAG]

I would really like to see some of the racing but there is zero ceoverage of Grand-Am in the UK, even Daytona 24Hr.

[Fab]

We had an hour of summarize last sunday at 11pm on Eurosport...

At the end, the speaker said : " some may think that Le Mans is the biggest 24 hours race, but Daytona is the most attractive" (paraphrasing : he said something with three advantages for Daytona, I cannot remember right now). I think it was a Speed Channel coverage...

The weather conditions were terrible, but was it worse than at LM in 2001 ? Someone to compare who lived both ? (certainly pilots)

Nice sounds, but DPs should be faster ; I hope they'll improve that in the future. DPs are here, GARRA rules are here to stay : let's do with it and let's enjoy. A race is still a race !

Originally posted by Patrick B
There's a bunch of photo's up at-Racing Fanatic's

Nice shots, thank you Patrick ; I like the side of the red one... if the car was a little longer and the green house a little less high, I think it could be aestheticaly perfect (IMHO).

Keep on showing nice stuff, DPs fans, we'll join the cause at last, you'll see !

[billnchristy]

Just to keep you guys up to date:

This race and maybe one or two more are the only tape delays (the Paul Revere is always tape delayed because it runs at 11pm-1:45am)

There will be a new constructor announced hopefully tomorrow so I can talk about it more...

The other engines arent brought up to speed because the baseline is the Porsche Flat 6 which cannot make more than 500hp...therefore everyone else has to be penalized, until the flat 6 is dropped as baseline this will always be so!!

[independent]

I have heard from other sites that yesterdays race became a rather ugly scene of ramming.

Is this condoned by the series coordinators? Will there be future suspensions for this conduct?

I was quite surprised to see it presented by the series press office as a "historic" finish.

I can only imagine this type of driving occuring at LeMans. It would be quite a long spell before another invite.

I am quite confused by this series. Perhaps it is still the American angle that is difficult to understand in professional endurance race accepted behavior.

[Megatron]

Originally posted by JAG
Apparently the engines that were considered the best in 2003 have been pegged back in 2004. Why not up the performance of the poorer engines?

There wil also be no more constructers allowed to build DPs. So no Lolas etc. to push the development of the class forward.

It seems as though G/A do not want cars that overshadow the powerful NASCARS.

There was also a new set of bodywork that ran on the 54 car during the race to try and "make it look beter". ALthough it was within the rules, G/A requested that the bodywork be removed for round two. Forest Barber said the car might actually perform slightly worse, they were just trying to get the looks appealing. Apparently Grand Am doesn't like anything that makes a car look better?

[Danske]

The official press release does say that penalties will be assessed for the late-race incident. I wonder what got into Magnussen's head, as it sounds as if he was overly "spirited" in defense of his lead.

Re: the 54's bodywork. I got the impression that the change was not legal, and Barber didn't think it was either.

[billnchristy]

Both drivers were talked to, I dont know if there are going to be penalties, but they both went before the big man.

Apparently Chip Ganassi's team were laughing about the incident so I wouldnt expect too many hard feelings.

[Danske]

Oops, I retract my blaming Magnussen. Too early in the morning for me.

[veeten]

that's just it... The names of the "participants" may change, but, looking at last season, this has been common for Grand Am.

While boorish on-track behavior is "just part of the excitment of 'close, competitive racing'"(as a few may just try to foist upon you), to many it'll seem to be more of the "NASCAR-ization" of Grand Am.