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I don't feel like the GTD grid is going to be that much smaller next year with 10 full time entries and 11 for the NAEC & 36H FL. I think that allowing Acura and Lexus to run full factory teams last year caused some damage, but the series stuck to their word and moved beyond that.
We lost full time entries from Stevenson, 3GT, CORE, Park Place, MSR, Riley, Change Racing, and what Turner is doing is a bit of an unknown. However, we also added Land, Wright, Magnus and have a few teams joining the part time ranks and there are a few teams out there rumored to being running partial schedules (GMG, Lone Star, TRG, Konrad, etc). I am a little disappointed that we are not seeing more for the 36H FL out of the European ranks, but it is what it is.
I know the $2.5-3m price point is high, however, that does not seem unreasonable considering the costs associated with running the full IMSA schedule and the testing that goes with it(which I look at as extremely strong right now with venues that good fan support). That actually sounds like good value for money when you consider what the NASCAR budgets and costs are in the lower series (especially when you look at it on a per hour basis with 75ish hours of racing on the calendar).
Full Time (10)
15 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3
29 Montaplast by Land Motorsport Audi R8 LMS
33 Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3
44 Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS
48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3
58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
63 Weathertech Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3
75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
93 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3
96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 (Bit of an unknown)
NAEC / 36H FL (11)
11 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 (36H FL)
14 3GT Racing Lexus RC F GT3 (NAEC)
19 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 (36H FL)
51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 (36H FL)
59 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (36H FL)
64 Weathertech Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 (NAEC)
69 HART Acura NSX GT3 (NAEC)
71 P1 Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 (NAEC)
73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (NAEC)
82 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 (NAEC)
86 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 (NAEC)
Last edited by Dyson Mazda; 30 Dec 2017 at 14:40.
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