ALMS 2005 Entries

[tblincoe]

yes, '03 specs for the 2005 ALMS. the '04 rules will come into effect in 2006, which means that this is the last year for the Audi R8 and Lola B160 battle.

[Foster]

I thought that Intersport had one of the new R&S P1's. What ever happened to that car?

[Fogelhund]

Originally posted by Foster
I thought that Intersport had one of the new R&S P1's. What ever happened to that car?

Well, they have a MkIIIc, which is hardly a new car, and not made to current P1 rules. It could run due to ALMS grandfathering, but they've chosen to run the Lola so far.

[Fab]

A bit early, but reports that Yves Courage mentionned a P1 entry (L70) for ALMS 2006, with an american dedicated team.

[tblincoe]

few updates: with the news coming fom Courage, it sounds as though the next LMP1 from Yves will not be a straight Hybrid of the C60, but rather an all new car with possibly an Elan engine in the back, called the L70. because of this I doubt the presence of any Courage LMP1 cars in the ALMS in 2005 outside of Sebring, Petit, and Laguna Seca.

also, courtesy of lmsr.net, it looks as though Creation will indeed contest the entire ALMS schedule with the DBA-Zytek, with the possibility of a tie-in with a customer Corvette C5-R...

LMP1

2x Champion Audi R8
2x Dyson Lola B01/60 AER
1x Creation Autosportif DBA 03S Zytek

LMP2

2x Miracle Courage AER
1x Intersport Lola B05/40 Judd
1x Intersport Lola B2K/50 Judd
1x Van der Steur Lola B2K/40 AER

GT1

2x Corvette C6-R
1x Risi Maserati MC12
1x ACEMCO Saleen S7-R

GT2

2x Alex Job Porsche 911 GT3-RSR
2x Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3-RSR
2x The Racers Group 911 GT3-RSR
2x J-3 Racing 911 GT3-RSR
2x Dick Barbour Panoz Esperante eGT-LM
1x BAM! 911 GT3-RSR
1x Petersen White Lightning 911 GT3-RSR
1x PK Sport 911 GT3-RSR

[jhansen]

Has there been an official press release regarding Creation tblincoe? I've only seen this on lsmr.net so far.

[Tim Northcutt]

On the ALMS site, there was an article about Creation and that article did not say that they would compete in the entire ALMS season....

It did mention how much they enjoyed racing over here in the ALMS, but it stated that would be here for Sebring, the last two events in the schedule (PLM and Laguna again) and possibly some other races as $$$ and schedules allowed....

I'm not quoting that directly, but that was what I gathered from the context of the article....

So unless lmsr has an inside source that knows more than the interviewer did from the ALMS itself, I have a few doubts about this news....

I could be wrong....

Please feel free to read the article on the ALMS site for yourself...

[Tim Northcutt]

I just re-read the article, and here is what was said....

"Theoretically" Creation could run two cars...one here and one in the LMES...provided an American sponsor could be obtained....and they are not ruling that out....

But the "Likely" scenario would be to compete at Sebring, PLM and Laguna, and "if adventurous," possibly some othr events during the season....

THus, it IS possible...but NOT LIKELY....

I'd be inteested in knowing the sources for the lmsr report....because the owner and principal in charge of Creation was quoted in the ALMS piece....

I would think he would know what their prospects are for running the full ALMS season...and right now, those "prospects" are "Theoritcal" at best, and in his words, not as "likely" as the scenario I described in my previous post...

[pirenzo]

Wouldn't running a car in ALMS and in Europe mean effectively operating two separate teams at once? That's gotta cost a lot, more than running two cars in the LMES for instance.

[Tim Northcutt]

It would depend....

Either you would have shops over here to serve as a base of operations for the ALMS events, and get lots of "frequent Flyer" miles with your crew to and from Europe, or you would be spending tons of money in shipping your people and your car back and forth....

Both scenarios would not be cheap....

So the American sponsor would have to be a significant one with a fat checkbook...

[tblincoe]

Originally posted by tblincoe
few updates: with the news coming fom Courage, it sounds as though the next LMP1 from Yves will not be a straight Hybrid of the C60, but rather an all new car with possibly an Elan engine in the back, called the L70. because of this I doubt the presence of any Courage LMP1 cars in the ALMS in 2005 outside of Sebring, Petit, and Laguna Seca.

also, courtesy of lmsr.net, it looks as though Creation will indeed contest the entire ALMS schedule with the DBA-Zytek, with the possibility of a tie-in with a customer Corvette C5-R...

LMP1

2x Champion Audi R8
2x Dyson Lola B01/60 AER
1x Creation Autosportif DBA 03S Zytek

LMP2

2x Miracle Courage AER
1x Intersport Lola B05/40 Judd
1x Intersport Lola B2K/50 Judd
1x Van der Steur Lola B2K/40 AER

GT1

2x Corvette C6-R
1x Risi Maserati MC12
1x ACEMCO Saleen S7-R

GT2

2x Alex Job Porsche 911 GT3-RSR
2x Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3-RSR
2x The Racers Group 911 GT3-RSR
2x J-3 Racing 911 GT3-RSR
2x Dick Barbour Panoz Esperante eGT-LM
1x BAM! 911 GT3-RSR
1x Petersen White Lightning 911 GT3-RSR
1x PK Sport 911 GT3-RSR

scratch that, dont think we're gonna see Creation for the entire schedule... btw, what happened to the GT1 class???

LMP1

2x Champion Audi R8
2x Dyson Lola B01/60 AER

LMP2

2x Miracle Courage AER
1x Intersport Lola B05/40 Judd
1x Intersport Lola B2K/50 Judd
1x Van der Steur Lola B2K/40 AER

GT1

2x Corvette C6-R
1x ACEMCO Saleen S7-R

GT2

2x Alex Job Porsche 911 GT3-RSR
2x Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3-RSR
2x The Racers Group 911 GT3-RSR
2x J-3 Racing 911 GT3-RSR
2x Dick Barbour Panoz Esperante eGT-LM
1x BAM! 911 GT3-RSR
1x Petersen White Lightning 911 GT3-RSR
1x PK Sport 911 GT3-RSR

[jhansen]

Hey tb, I saw on lsmr.net that Rahal may enter a 550 next year? Have you heard anything about that? I don't want to get too excited, as no source was quoted, but it would sure help. GT1 is looking pretty thin again.

[tblincoe]

lmsr.net is reporting that since the works/customer program for Aston Martin doesn't start till 2006, Rahal is looking at leasing a pair of 550s and running them next year. would make sense to me that way they become familiar with Prodrive machinery and the ALMS series before become recipients of the DBR-9s in 2006. they would also have a good chance of winning as the C6-Rs are bound to have some teething problems...

LMP1

2x Champion Audi R8
2x Dyson Lola B01/60 AER

LMP2

2x Miracle Courage AER
1x Intersport Lola B05/40 Judd
1x Intersport Lola B2K/50 Judd
1x Van der Steur Lola B2K/40 AER

GT1

2x Corvette C6-R
2x Rahal Ferrari 550
1x ACEMCO Saleen S7-R

GT2

2x Alex Job Porsche 911 GT3-RSR
2x Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3-RSR
2x The Racers Group 911 GT3-RSR
2x J-3 Racing 911 GT3-RSR
2x Dick Barbour Panoz Esperante eGT-LM
1x BAM! 911 GT3-RSR
1x Petersen White Lightning 911 GT3-RSR
1x PK Sport 911 GT3-RSR

[jhansen]

So no word on Krohn-Barbour then? And what about Rafanelli, is he still looking for funding?

[tblincoe]

Krohn is returning to Grand-Am and if you look at the list above, Barbour will be running the factory Panoz Esperante eGT-LM program next year in GT2. There have been rumors of Rafanelli looking at everything from 550s to Maserati MC-12s, but unless he can come up with some funding it looks doubtful that he will be able to race in the ALMS in 2005.

[Tim Northcutt]

That's interesting news, especially since the Indianapolis Star reported this morning that Bobby Rahal is expanding his IRL team to three cars, with Danica Patrick as the likely 3rd driver, and that "Most of the funding is in place, but not all of it" to race that third entry....

What I'm wondering is how he will afford running and competing a 550 next season if he is still looking to wrap up funding for one of his prize pupils...Danica...so that she can compete as part of his IRL effort next season?

I'm not questioning the validity of this news....

But I'm just seeing some conflicting info when it comes to the $$$ to do it....

Bobby is extremely interested in running the third entry in his existing program, so I know that getting the funds for Danica Patrick settled is a high priority for his operation...and his team manager said that the total sponsor package for her is not fully in place yet...but they are confident that it will occur...

For whatever that is worth...

[jhansen]

I agree with Tim. I was surprised by lsmr.net's statement. A source or a confirmation would be nice.

Didn't notice the Barbour entry, thanks tb.

[tblincoe]

i'm beginning to grow weary of LMSR.net's reporting... it seems to me that mike just posts random rumors as his "news". from now on i'm not going to post any changes to the list unless it is confirmed as a possibility by dailysportscar.com... so the list stands at:

LMP1

2x Champion Audi R8
2x Dyson Lola B01/60 AER

LMP2

2x Miracle Courage AER
1x Intersport Lola B05/40 Judd
1x Intersport Lola B2K/50 Judd
1x Van der Steur Lola B2K/40 AER

GT1

2x Corvette C6-R
1x ACEMCO Saleen S7-R

GT2

2x Alex Job Porsche 911 GT3-RSR
2x Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3-RSR
2x The Racers Group 911 GT3-RSR
2x J-3 Racing 911 GT3-RSR
2x Dick Barbour Panoz Esperante eGT-LM
1x BAM! 911 GT3-RSR
1x Petersen White Lightning 911 GT3-RSR
1x PK Sport 911 GT3-RSR

[jhansen]

I don't blame you tb. It seems rather flippent. We can at least discuss rumours, but maybe leave the list to confirmations.

So the general concensus is that Intersport will run two P2 entries next year? Not that I'm doubting this, but did we have a confirmation, or is that the most likely possibility? And why did the Don Panoz Courage-Elan entries disappear?

[Tim Northcutt]

For all I know, maybe Bobby Rahal has a sponsor that is interested in backing this effort with a 550, but was not interested in the IRL....

I just wanted to raise the point for no other reason than I know that his primary focus since last March has been his IRL operation...and he found that his results did improve once he quit splitting his resources between the IRL and Champ Car series and chose to race in only one....

The fact that the sponsor package that he seeks to run Danica as his third car is not quite complete yetdoesn't mean that this 550 effort isn't in the works or already a reality....

I just wanted to make all of you aware that his is still looking for that final portion of his funding for his open-wheel program, and I know that this is a high priority for him....

[Fogelhund]

Originally posted by tblincoe

LMP1

2x Champion Audi R8
2x Dyson Lola B01/60 AER

LMP2

2x Miracle Courage AER
1x Intersport Lola B05/40 Judd
1x Intersport Lola B2K/50 Judd
1x Van der Steur Lola B2K/40 AER

GT1

2x Corvette C6-R
1x ACEMCO Saleen S7-R

GT2

2x Alex Job Porsche 911 GT3-RSR
2x Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3-RSR
2x The Racers Group 911 GT3-RSR
2x J-3 Racing 911 GT3-RSR
2x Dick Barbour Panoz Esperante eGT-LM
1x BAM! 911 GT3-RSR
1x Petersen White Lightning 911 GT3-RSR
1x PK Sport 911 GT3-RSR

I'm still not certain if that second Miracle car is a certainty.

There are a couple of classes there that the numbers could be much higher, or lower, depending.... but they won't be the number listed here.

One team listed has not yet finalized their plans, and hope to be racing, but aren't certain.

The field will have somewhere as high as 34 next year, though it could be worse then what you've posted. It'll be an interesting, and tense off season.

[tblincoe]

oh no Tim, it wasn't just your comments that made me doubt LMSR.net's news, its a whole lot of things that has been posted on that site that are just plain wrong. mike never includes a source or anything like that when he posts stuff so until i get the feeling that LMSR is starting to leave rumor as rumor and news as news, i'm gonna wait till a more reputable news source confirms things.

as for Intersport, Lola announced that they have two teams in Europe and one in the US signed for delivery of the first B05/40s. because Jon Field has said that their B01/60 Judd is at the end of its life, I believe that the first B05/40 in the US will be under the Intersport banner. I also know that Jon wants Clint to continue racing, and the best car for Clint to race in right now is the B05/40. if Intersport runs the Judd in both cars then it will be cost effective to run this combination of cars too.

as for the Courage-Elan Hybrids, i explained earlier that the reason why I took those down was because Courage is now developing a totally new LMP1 called the L70. it looks likely that a deal will be inked between Yves and Panoz to run the Elan in the L70, but because of the fact that this will be a totally new car, it is very unlikely we will see any Courage LMP1s on US soil outside Sebring and the end of the year races. there is rumor that a US team will run a two car L70 effort in 2006, but as of now thats just rumor and too far ahead to speculate on right now.

[jhansen]

But the new Lola could be run as a P1 car correct? Or am I mistaken?

As for Panoz, he took a beating for not supporting the P1 class in 2004. He could easily run a pair of C60's with Elan power next season. The cars would be reasonably competitive under 2003 specs. I'm not saying that he will enter a team, but he still could.

[Shady#30]

Originally posted by jhansen
But the new Lola could be run as a P1 car correct? Or am I mistaken?

yup, it can be either

[tblincoe]

Originally posted by jhansen
But the new Lola could be run as a P1 car correct? Or am I mistaken?

As for Panoz, he took a beating for not supporting the P1 class in 2004. He could easily run a pair of C60's with Elan power next season. The cars would be reasonably competitive under 2003 specs. I'm not saying that he will enter a team, but he still could.

he could purchase two C60s, but that would be the dumbest move in motorsports history IMO... buying two cars for one season only doesn't make sense.

as for the B05/40, it will be homologated for both LMP1 and LMP2, and its definitely within the realm of possibility that Intersport puts a Judd GV5 in the back of the car... it would actually make more sense in competitive terms as there won't be many 2004-spec LMP1 cars next year in comparison to the LMP2 class, and the chances of winning are much greater. hopefully the B05/40 proves to be more reliable than the B01/60...