Teams from FIA to LMS?

[JAG]

With a German manufactuer!

[SALEEN S7R]

More wild speculation JAG?

[JAG]

Deduction, ala Morse.

[KA]

Originally Posted by chunterer

The Felbmayer situation may simply have been driven by them being fed up with getting panned in GT2 for so many years and have finally decided to go and play in a series with longer races for their fun!

What's interesting about the Felbermayrs jumping ship, is that they've also, from the DSC report, stepped up their programme at the same time as they're moving to LMS- 3 cars, a pair of new 997s and Lieb/Pompidou in the lead car. If they've got the money to do this, then why haven't they stayed and done it in FIA?- unless it's a simple equation of existing budget divided by less races=money towards running a 3rd car.

I'm looking at this with no inside knowledge, but maybe you could read it as a team with ambitions to move upwards and work towards a shot at winning something, and looking to the LMS rather than FIA to do that. Surely you don't upgrade the hardware, expand to 3 cars and hire a pair of top-line drivers if you're just wanting to play around for fun at the back of the grid?

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by KA

I'm looking at this with no inside knowledge, but maybe you could read it as a team with ambitions to move upwards and work towards a shot at winning something, and looking to the LMS rather than FIA to do that. Surely you don't upgrade the hardware, expand to 3 cars and hire a pair of top-line drivers if you're just wanting to play around for fun at the back of the grid?

Well you certainly have a good point there! Look like they feel they will get better value from changing series and want to up their ante in order to do it.

[Gendebien]

Originally Posted by KA

. If they've got the money to do this, then why haven't they stayed and done it in FIA?- unless it's a simple equation of existing budget divided by less races=money towards running a 3rd car.

They don`t want to run races over 2 hours only, that`s all.

[JAG]

A major attraction of the LMS must be the fact you can race in 6 high quality events (assuming media/promotion etc. are eventually sorted), and supplement your program with the best ALMS and FIA GT events.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by JAG

With a German manufactuer!

Running a Audi R10? With Peugeot joining LMP1 maybe Audi is willing to sell some cars to privateers. Ok, I know this is pure speculation and wishful thinking....

[dj choc ice]

if audi were to sell cusomer R10's it wont be till atleast the 2008 or 2009 season, hopefully veloqx would make a return in a R10 they did a stirling effort in 2004 with the R8 audi's.

[TheNewBob]

Veloqx!? Are they still a team? Thought they broke up after '04...? Or are they just in other areas of motorsport now?

[The Badger]

Audi Sport UK did say awhile that they had plans to get their mits on one ?

[Satorian]

Christian Ried of Proton-Felbermayr speaks:

An der LMS reizt uns, daß es längere und weniger Events sind, was günstiger von den Reisekosten und dem Zeitaufwand ist. Die Verkürzung der FIA-GT-Rennen auf 2h war für uns der entscheidende Grund zu wechseln. Auf einem Präsentationsmeeting in Paul Ricard im letzten Jahr hatten alle GT2-Teams sich für das 3h-Rennformat ausgesprochen. Als beim folgenden Rennen in Mugello das von den GT1-Teams favorisierte 2h-Format verkündet wurde haben wir recht schnell entschieden die Meisterschaft zu wechseln.
http://www.gt-eins.at/cms/index.php?...=1055&Itemid=1

Quick and dirty translation by me:

"What attracts us to the LMS are the longer and fewer events, which is cheaper in regard to travelling costs and time requirement. The shortening of the FIA GT races to 2h has been the deciding reason to switch. At a presentation at Paul Ricard last year all GT2 teams had spoken in favour of a 3h race format. When at the following Mugello race the 2h format had been announced, as favoured by the GT1 teams, we decided rather quickly to switch championships."

And now they are shooting for the champion's title there.

[duke_toaster]

FIA GT is like a cat with serious injuries that needs being put out of its misery.

This speculation about Vitaphone - surely a contributing factor on why they haven't gone to LMES is that the Maserati MC Hammer is illegal in LMES (FIA GT allows LM GT but not vice versa).

[Chad Rogers]

I would disagree 100% Duke, as a GT1 fan the FIA offers the best GT racing in the world at the moment. Perhaps that could change in the future, but the last couple of years nothing else comes close to thier product. LMES is great for prototypes, but like Indycar and Grand Am, it is essentially running a series based on the popularity of one race.

Chad

[JAG]

I disagree, FIA GT can be rather predictable with a good first hour with all pro line-ups, then a split as the all pro teams pull away from those with amateurs as the second driver.

After a stagnent second hour you sometimes have a good race to the line, but often it's a cruise home.

ALMS GT1's were exciting to watchbeing so closely matched, whilst the endurance aspect of the LMS allowed teams to run differing strategies which were intriging to watch, add faster protoypes and slower GT2's, and the action was none stop.

Personally I'd like to see FIA GT run GT3's only, with some kind of two day knock out format. Give the teams lots of track time and stay in Europe.

Maybe sprint knock-out races on Saturday and a 4 hour endurance race on Sunday.

GT1's could stay in the LMS and ALMS while GT2's would have those options plus the Euro GT Series.

[EuropaBambaataa]

So you actually want to see faster and more powerful cars with more engineering development in national and trans-national championships than in proper international FIA championships?

[JAG]

The ALMS and LMS are the best of the best.

GT1 is suffering a similar crises as LMP1 a few years back, these cars cannot sustain 15+ car fields, they are better incorporated into the ALMS/LMS with 8-10 top quality entries.

Since the end of real GT1 cars in '98 FIA GT has swayed between targeting privateer and factory teams.

It's now quite obvious only GM and possibly Maserati can sustain a fuill factory GT1 effort so, IMO, it would be beneficial to move to a GT3 format, embrace the privateers and amateur drivers and try out a uniqie race format with a combination of sprints, endurance and knockout racing.

Take the best of A1GP and the old Super Touring World Cup, you could potentially have 100 entries every round.

[Chad Rogers]

For GT1, ALMS and LMES are only the best of the best with regard to one team, the Vettes. ALMS had a four car field each race last year ,a total joke and they will be lucky to have that this year. As for LMES vs FIA, I would certainly put the FIA GT1 cars above the LMES. Now I live in the states, I would love to see an ALMS revival, but it doesn't seem to be going that way. My hope is that the FIA series grows into a worldwid one. Again, not a ton of signs to show that will happen, but I for one am certainly hoping for it.

Chad

[Justin Moran]

May be I missed it earlier, but surely the reason to switch to LMS is a chance to race at the greatest endurance race of them all? I know the FIA has the Proximus but that does pail rather compared to Le Mans!
Discuss.......

[SALEEN S7R]

The FIA GT Championship also gives teams to race at Le Mans, the top 2 places from both GT1 and GT2 get automatic entries for Le Mans. As for Le Mans being the best endurance race, personally I prefer the Spa 24hrs.

[SALEEN S7R]

[Graham Goodwin]

It isn't an automatic entry - They didn't award the entry last year for instance - Hence GruppeM didn't get an entry

[SALEEN S7R]

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[Bentley03]

Originally Posted by saleen S7r

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?

[SALEEN S7R]

I was going to post something but later decided against it thats all Bentley03.