[ELMS] ELMS 2013 Discussion

[kober]

Any coverage (e.g. video stream) for the second practice session?

[rwindle]

Interesting, a Judd-powered Oreca is at the top of the field after Free Practice 2 at the Red Bull Ring ... albeit by only 0.188 sec.

[Maelochs]

Any good streams for this event? Thanks in advance either way.

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Any good streams for this event? Thanks in advance either way.

Official stream starts here in about an hour: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpl...o#.Uep70o0we7k

[Ginaro Zukovsky]

The race starts at 1436 GMT, so over an hour to go, with a revised grid: http://elms.alkamelsystems.com/Resul...ctice_ELMS.PDF

[Gingers4Justice]

Ah, excellent. The video stream is down.

[SpikerJack]

Quite a lot of people in the grandstands in comparison to others rounds (especially imola, we were very few spectators..)

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by SpikerJack

Quite a lot of people in the grandstands in comparison to others rounds (especially imola, we were very few spectators..)

They are partnered with World Series by Renault this weekend so there have been plenty of free tickets and plenty of promotion... remains to be seen how many fans will be left in the stands come the last hour.

[SpikerJack]

Yes you're right. Didn't think about that!!

[kober]

What's the URL of live timing again?

EDIT: live timing

[kober]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

They are partnered with World Series by Renault this weekend [...]

The great news is that ELMS will be partnered with WSR during the last two rounds too.

[TheMightyM]

With the World Series by Renault cars getting the garages at the Red Bull Ring while the ELMS cars are operating out of tents...

[kober]

Originally Posted by TheMightyM

With the World Series by Renault cars getting the garages at the Red Bull Ring while the ELMS cars are operating out of tents...

What's wrong with that? They do this all this time on this side of the pond.

[TheMightyM]

Originally Posted by kober

What's wrong with that? They do this all this time on this side of the pond.

I didn't say that there was anything wrong with that. It could though be taken though as a sign as to which series are the headliners and who gets second billing...

[Dead-Eye]

Originally Posted by TheMightyM

I didn't say that there was anything wrong with that. It could though be taken though as a sign as to which series are the headliners and who gets second billing...

Other signs are the Renault Safety Cars and the fact that most of crowd is there because of Renault giving away tickets

[Pandamasque]

What a fantastic circuit. I'd love to see WEC here.

[The Badger]

What happened to Murphy ..... 3 laps in ?

What about the luck of the Irish ..... not much their getting of that !!!

[Dead-Eye]

Originally Posted by The Badger

What happened to Murphy ..... 3 laps in ?

What about the luck of the Irish ..... not much their getting of that !!!

Not 3 laps in, starter failed at the first pitstop.

[bella]

Originally Posted by TheMightyM

I didn't say that there was anything wrong with that. It could though be taken though as a sign as to which series are the headliners and who gets second billing...

this is hilarious. the elms has joined 'our' (world series by renault) circus for a few rounds, you bet your backside they're not headliners! and rightly too, they certainly don't pay for the entire event to happen, they just buy track time. and besides, the lmp2 cars were 6 seconds a lap slower than the 3.5 cars in qualifying

elms is fortunate to have access to the bigger crowds and increased media attention that comes with the wsr. if they want the garages they're going to need a bigger wallet

on a logistical note, the paddock was closed during every elms session and effectively the elms section was a live pitlane area for teams to be able to carry out more serious maintenance mid-session. and regarding sharing the garage space, even if the elms teams shared a garage (bloody challenging at places like the hungaroring with dinky pits), they wouldn't all fit. and it's actually great for real fans as well - you can get so much closer to the cars and teams when they're in an open paddock.

the only problem is that of safety - once the elms guys had decamped to the back of the garages it clearly made access for fire services almost impossible.

and the circuit is AWESOME. the landscape is incredible, the drivers turn into giggly schoolgirls when they talk about it and no corners have been cut in making sure it's 'right'. which is ironic since unfortunately the drivers take liberties with the four wheels off rule, and the race directors have been very busy all weekend...

[Simmi]

Really enjoyed seeing them pound around the Red Bull Ring. It's also great to actually see the P2 cars running wheel to wheel. It's just not something we really see in the WEC or at Le Mans.

Also nice to finally see a bit of stability and the arrival of a new P2 squad in SMP.

Murphy really aren't getting the luck of the Irish this year.

[Paradise City]

They were doing so well the Murphy boys. Someone has been sticking needles into their leprechaun voodoo doll.

[Gingers4Justice]

Originally Posted by bella

this is hilarious. the elms has joined 'our' (world series by renault) circus for a few rounds, you bet your backside they're not headliners! and rightly too, they certainly don't pay for the entire event to happen, they just buy track time. and besides, the lmp2 cars were 6 seconds a lap slower than the 3.5 cars in qualifying



elms is fortunate to have access to the bigger crowds and increased media attention that comes with the wsr. if they want the garages they're going to need a bigger wallet



on a logistical note, the paddock was closed during every elms session and effectively the elms section was a live pitlane area for teams to be able to carry out more serious maintenance mid-session. and regarding sharing the garage space, even if the elms teams shared a garage (bloody challenging at places like the hungaroring with dinky pits), they wouldn't all fit. and it's actually great for real fans as well - you can get so much closer to the cars and teams when they're in an open paddock.



the only problem is that of safety - once the elms guys had decamped to the back of the garages it clearly made access for fire services almost impossible.



and the circuit is AWESOME. the landscape is incredible, the drivers turn into giggly schoolgirls when they talk about it and no corners have been cut in making sure it's 'right'. which is ironic since unfortunately the drivers take liberties with the four wheels off rule, and the race directors have been very busy all weekend...

Thing is with the ELMS, is that even for us sports car fans, it's a bit of a non-event. It's a pro-Am garagiste series - which is fine, I like and I find it interesting, but it's not the most exciting series in sports cars, let alone the rest of motorsport. The race didn't even have its own thread on here!

Therefore, you can't really complain about the series not having its own pits. It's lucky to share the meeting with FR3.5 - otherwise, pretty much nobody would have turned up.

[bella]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Really enjoyed seeing them pound around the Red Bull Ring. It's also great to actually see the P2 cars running wheel to wheel. It's just not something we really see in the WEC or at Le Mans.

i think the race distance helps a lot, it's so short that track position is even more critical than it usually is perhaps? personally, i'm still struggling to find a way to follow the race without a timing screen and making notes and i find the pit strategies difficult to work out as well.

it still has the feel of an exhibition series that has this blanket of pompous stuff around it to make it feel loved and important, but i guess that's the french for you

in the long term, i think wsr and elms is a pretty good match. they do both generate new media interest, they both have similar levels of "prestige" and relevant bureaucracy, faffery, and so on. by nature the elms has very little manufacturer involvement that'll clash with the renault theme, and the serious elms talent is ex-formula renault 3.5 too. the timetable worked too, especially on such a sunny, warm weekend. the lmp2 and fr3.5 cars kind of complement each other as well, neither is more silly than the other.

so it all makes a lot of sense.

going back to the race and i'm not sure i understand how the alpine car made up the places and time lost from being sent to the back of the class? was it cunning pitstopping or were they that much quicker than anyone else?

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by bella

going back to the race and i'm not sure i understand how the alpine car made up the places and time lost from being sent to the back of the class? was it cunning pitstopping or were they that much quicker than anyone else?

They started eighth on the grid so they were literally metres behind their opposition. Not a big penalty at all compared to what it could have been.

[bella]

Originally Posted by Simmi

They started eighth on the grid so they were literally metres behind their opposition. Not a big penalty at all compared to what it could have been.

you mean, if the class was bigger, or if the stewards had thrown the book at them properly? i can't remember if setting a time under yellows means the back of the grid or the pitlane in other series or not.

to be fair to panciatici, he's really not one of "those" drivers who push the boundaries and take the mickey, he's pretty sensible and conservative but on the other hand i don't know what their argument was.

on a seperate note, all of the awards to the ecurie ecosse boys for having the stones to hand out irn bru during the autograph session at the red bull ring

edit: also, going back to the future, so to speak, apparently the meganes will be no more at the end of the year so it looks like it's setting up for either elms to step in or as italiaracing ponder, perhaps an opportunity for renault to create something around the alpine brand.