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Old 1 Apr 2013, 19:39 (Ref:3227697)   #251
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Originally Posted by TF110 View Post
You so sure of this? New regulations are next year, then you can judge, but actually we can't since they aren't 'allowed'. Toyota, Audi, Porsche, Rebellion (Lola), HPD, Oak, Lotus (Kodewa) all will have new cars for 2014. That's dead outside the WEC why? Those guys would show up if there was relevance in America.
But is there relevance? What would any of these manufacturers gain by running a car in North America, and would it be enough to boost numbers to an acceptable level (aka above 5)? Audi wasn't happy with ROI in North American sportscar racing and they're about as committed as any manufacturer to P1.

If anything P1 has more of a chance making some kind of a showing in the AsLMS as it's a new market and has local manufacturers involved. OAK has completely pulled out of the North American market and is moving it's focus to Europe and Asia.
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Old 1 Apr 2013, 19:43 (Ref:3227699)   #252
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But is there relevance? What would any of these manufacturers gain by running a car in North America, and would it be enough to boost numbers to an acceptable level (aka above 5)?

If anything P1 has more of a chance making some kind of a showing in the AsLMS as it's a new market and has local manufacturers involved. OAK has completely pulled out of the North American market and is moving it's focus to Europe and Asia.
America is Toyota's biggest market. Audi and Honda I'd argue it's the same. Is Indy getting Honda the exposure it wants? Where's Audi's racing exposure in the U.S.? Porsche's exists in many forms, but racing at the front for wins is something they want. If the manufacturers want to run in America, that may be what this rumor caters to. But that's all it is, a rumor, or a big 'if'.
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Old 1 Apr 2013, 19:48 (Ref:3227703)   #253
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Is Indy getting Honda the exposure it wants?

Honda must be seriously ticked off. Their competitors at Toyota are getting huge ROI and recognition within the United States in NASCAR while Internationally Toyota is making waves with their Hybrid LMP1 program which has to be the favourite to win Le Mans this year, arguably the biggest auto race in the world.

Meanwhile, Indycar is well, Indycar, and they're getting beat there by Chevrolet. I could see them wanting a larger presence in sports car racing in the United States.
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Old 1 Apr 2013, 20:34 (Ref:3227724)   #254
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You so sure of this? New regulations are next year, then you can judge, but actually we can't since they aren't 'allowed'. Toyota, Audi, Porsche, Rebellion (Lola), HPD, Oak, Lotus (Kodewa) all will have new cars for 2014. That's dead outside the WEC why? Those guys would show up if there was relevance in America.
Once again, the thoughts from the series on P-1. This from Don Panoz who is a staunch Le Mans fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCSXK6PikhQ&t=44m35s






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Old 1 Apr 2013, 20:43 (Ref:3227731)   #255
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From Marshall Pruett:
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...d-am-programs/
"P1 is not included in the USCR's class structure, but there's a belief that with enough support, a concession to keep the top-tier prototypes remains a possibility."

????
It might be more or less a way of grand fathering the Dyson Lola in.
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Old 1 Apr 2013, 20:48 (Ref:3227737)   #256
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It might be more or less a way of grand fathering the Dyson Lola in.
Dyson's Lolas can be converted to P-2 spec.





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Old 1 Apr 2013, 21:57 (Ref:3227762)   #257
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Not sure where else to post this gem from Magnus Racing... so here it is.

Magnus Racing Reveals “New” Team Branding

SALT LAKE CITY, UT (April 1, 2013)- Now in their fourth season of professional racing, Magnus Racing has grown from a fairly unknown organization to undoubtedly one of the most well-known Porsche teams in the professional sportscar scene. Like any world-renowned organization, however, the 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona GT Champions have undergone an effort to appear as though they’re giving a detailed, thorough examination of their branding prior to entering the 2014 United Sports Car Racing season.

With many fans wondering over the years just where the “Magnus” name came from, the entire organization is proud to capitalize on this opportunity to announce a complete and thorough re-branding.

The story actually begins with the team’s recent partnership with the highly touted New York advertising agency, Sterling Cooper.

“When the time came to create and re-brand our new sportscar entity, we knew it was key to partner with the right agency,” stated Magnus Racing Team Owner John Potter. “For me, it was less important to work with someone who knew the motorsport scene, but instead, someone who came from a city that would impress everyone around me. Sterling Cooper are from New York, so I figured that would work.”

Located on Manhattan’s famed Madison Avenue, and with a vast list of highly touted clients, the principals at Sterling Cooper were thrilled to take the call from Potter.

“When we got the call from John, I was absolutely thrilled,” stated Roger Sterling, Senior Partner at Sterling Cooper. “It was clear from our first conversation that he was he completely open to our meticulous, two-step approach. It all begins with step one: ask for a credit card. It’s a very critical part of our research and understanding of the client’s need. Step two is simple: make sure the charge clears. That’s the part of our research that really sets the stage for the project’s future. Once we realized our numerous charges on John’s credit card would clear, the team became an instant fit!”

With an impressive resumé of projects prior to Magnus, Steling Cooper are a signature part of the Manhattan scene, and have been involved in a number of prestigious projects over the years.

From managing the Lucky Strike advertising account for years, to working with Heinz, Secor Laxatives and even The American Cancer Society, Sterling Cooper are known for their strong ability to speak in vague tongue to any client with deep pockets.

“We take what we call a multi-billable approach,” stated Don Draper, Junior Partner at Sterling Cooper. “The biggest part of branding research is creating a giant document that really makes the client feel good about hiring you. In our experience, we’ve found that you can’t properly create a massive research document without first putting a lot of writing in it, as clients catch on when you just write with a big font. Because of this, we have to take a lot of time to think of things to write about, and of course you need a partner who allows themselves to be billed for that.”

For Potter, what impressed him the most about the Sterling Cooper research approach, was the number of people they reached out to as they gathered information.

“I was thrilled with the comprehensive approach the group took,” continued Potter. “They seemed to include a number of people from different outlooks, and that was important to me in the process of branding Magnus.”

Roger Sterling echoed that sentiment.

“The single most important part of branding research is making sure the client thinks you’re working,” stated Sterling. “The first thing we did was gather a list of people who were friends with Potter. We knew if we talked to them, he’d think we were working really hard. We find it’s not that important to actually get a lot of opinions, just those of the people that report back to the client. It’s a tradition that has served very well in advertising, and seems to apply well to racing.”

After impressing everyone at Magnus Racing that they were successfully getting “everyone’s” opinion, Sterling Cooper then turned to the most important factor; the fans.

“It was clear from the beginning, that we needed to look like we were listening to the fans,” claimed Don Draper. “It’s really great. By creating fan initiatives, we gave the illusion to everyone that we really had our finger on the pulse of modern marketing. Of course the by-product is that we didn’t really have to be accountable for our own ideas… talk about two birds with one stone! Some might say that was just an easier way of cutting out the need for any overhead internally, but I’ll take any of those critics on. We’re advertisers, accountability isn’t our problem.”

As announced last week, the team launched a number of social media contests, forum questions, and more. This lead to a massive response from the “Magnus Nation,” only further dissolving any responsibility from Sterling Cooper. With the fans now feeling successfully integrated, Sterling Cooper had to move to the third phase of their invoice: design and creation.

“Once we received our ‘inspiration’ from the fans, we of course came to the hardest part of the process: the design and implementation,” lamented Sterling. “This is the most challenging part, as we’re actually expected to deliver something at this point. For most marketing groups, delivery isn’t really the specialty, so we had to make sure that John Potter was ready for this stage of the invoice. Luckily, Potter was OK with paying for hours and hours of: ideas, designs, and round-table discussions with our top creatives.”

After all of the research, the discussions with people close to Potter, and of course ‘inspiration’ from the fans themselves, Sterling Cooper were finally ready to deliver the proposed name and logo for this new sportscar entity.

“Magnus Racing; Team 44”

“Magnus is a name that epitomizes everything this team is about,” stated Draper. “It has a European feel to it, almost like a Nordic God. This team is powerful, it is unrelenting, and bigger than life. We actually came up with pages and pages of rationale behind the “new” name, which we were happy to bill the team for.”

Even though all the new agency did was add “Team 44” to the brand, John Potter felt satisfied that, even though he’d paid a lot, he’d totally received something that he could never have just done on his own.

“It’s crazy that after all of the research, all of the time billed, and all of the fan discussions…. Sterling Cooper delivered something incredibly underwhelming,” stated John Magnus Potter. “Regardless, I was very satisfied. I had a massive book to justify the process, which makes it easy to defend in case fans don’t like it.”

With the team now recognized as one of the best in GT racing, it’s clear that Sterling Cooper did a great job of making a great spectacle out of a fairly average re-branding. While Magnus’s popularity may have more to do with their ability to create exciting on-track action as well as interactivity with fans, Sterling Cooper still likely to take credit.

“The beauty of agency work is the ability to modify your story,” stated Roger Sterling. “Because Magnus has become so successful recently, we’ve been able to take a lot of credit for our work, even if the team’s on-track results are a large part of their current reputation. What’s great, however, is if the team wasn’t popular, we could have just quietly walked away and no one would have known. Either way, the credit card cleared!”

With Magnus Racing headed in to the third round of the Rolex Series championship as the GT point leader, who knows what the next steps of the legendary brand may be.

Whatever the future holds on this April Fool’s Day, the team would like to express their gratitude to the fans, media, and competitors alike.

(Sterling Cooper's Roger Sterling and Don Draper. Photo Credit: AMC)

(Roger Sterling, John Potter, Don Draper. Photo Credit: Regis Lefebure and Photoshop)
--
Magnus Racing will continue to provide updates and coverage throughout the week via their Facebook (facebook.com/RacingMagnus) and Twitter (@MagnusRacing), as well as via www.magnusracing.com. You can also follow Andy Lally on Twitter (@AndyLally).
More information about Magnus Racing can be found at www.magnusracing.com. Any organization interested in learning more about how to be involved with one of the most unique and visible teams in sports car racing can e-mail info@magnusracing.com. All press inquiries can be directed to press@magnusracing.com.
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Old 1 Apr 2013, 22:29 (Ref:3227782)   #258
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Originally Posted by HORNDAWG View Post
Once again, the thoughts from the series on P-1. This from Don Panoz who is a staunch Le Mans fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCSXK6PikhQ&t=44m35s






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September 2012- when that video was uploaded- is a good half year ago. I don't see the series as even sure of where the(ir) future is going.
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Old 1 Apr 2013, 22:49 (Ref:3227787)   #259
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September 2012- when that video was uploaded- is a good half year ago. I don't see the series as even sure of where the(ir) future is going.








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Old 1 Apr 2013, 22:55 (Ref:3227790)   #260
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L.P.
You can't refute that statement, you're not sure either.
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Old 1 Apr 2013, 23:04 (Ref:3227792)   #261
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You can't refute that statement, you're not sure either.
The series has set out goals and intervals and met every single one of them so far. As to refuting, I can not refute that an asteroid will hit his ball of mud we call home and destroy it, so what!






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Old 1 Apr 2013, 23:25 (Ref:3227803)   #262
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So, what? So what I'm saying isn't wrong. There is no clear direction on where the future of the series is going to end up. At least pertaining to the cars involved. 'Goals and intervals' aren't the classes we'll see.
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 00:52 (Ref:3227820)   #263
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So, what? So what I'm saying isn't wrong. There is no clear direction on where the future of the series is going to end up. At least pertaining to the cars involved. 'Goals and intervals' aren't the classes we'll see.
Frankly I have no idea why there is the disconnect!
.
USCR has clearly stated what the classes will be, several times.






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Old 2 Apr 2013, 04:10 (Ref:3227843)   #264
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Honda must be seriously ticked off. Their competitors at Toyota are getting huge ROI and recognition within the United States in NASCAR while Internationally Toyota is making waves with their Hybrid LMP1 program which has to be the favourite to win Le Mans this year, arguably the biggest auto race in the world.

Meanwhile, Indycar is well, Indycar, and they're getting beat there by Chevrolet. I could see them wanting a larger presence in sports car racing in the United States.
I'm thinking this USDTM is a way to get not only Audi into the US market with something other than their P1, but with it coming after the SGT/DTM rules merger as a way to offer Honda something better than IndyCar.
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 06:28 (Ref:3227857)   #265
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Frankly I have no idea why there is the disconnect!
.
USCR has clearly stated what the classes will be, several times.






L.P.
You have no idea, period. What they say is words, what will happen is yet to be. Sure next year will be what they have announced, but you don't know beyond that. They don't even know. I don't see great satisfaction with GTLM and P2/DP being the main draws.
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 12:12 (Ref:3227976)   #266
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I'm thinking this USDTM is a way to get not only Audi into the US market with something other than their P1, but with it coming after the SGT/DTM rules merger as a way to offer Honda something better than IndyCar.
I'm thinking there is even odds on USDTM taking off, versus a successful full season, on schedule of AsLMS.
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 13:21 (Ref:3228006)   #267
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You have no idea, period. What they say is words, what will happen is yet to be. Sure next year will be what they have announced, but you don't know beyond that. They don't even know. I don't see great satisfaction with GTLM and P2/DP being the main draws.

How the heck is L.P. or anyone supposed to know what the rules for 2015 will be? tell me one sanctioning body that has it's formula set in stone for 2015? But since USCR hasn't annouced what the rules will be for 2015 they have no dirrection and are doomed to fail?

Last edited by 962; 2 Apr 2013 at 13:34.
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 13:46 (Ref:3228022)   #268
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How the heck is L.P. or anyone supposed to know what the rules for 2015 will be? tell me one sanctioning body that has it's formula set in stone for 2015? But since USCR hasn't annouced what the rules will be for 2015 they have no dirrection and are doomed to fail?
If they haven't announced a direction, there is no direction... should be easy to see that. It has sounded like they don't even know at this point, given recent rumblings about being too busy running their own series etc. I would also submit that 2015 is status quo with 2014, so we are talking about years beyond that.

I don't know, 2016 maybe, and at that point there is some uncertainty.

I would agree with the assessment that DP's and LMP2's are not headliners. That doesn't suggest failure, it just suggests that if this is the long-term structure, the popularity will slide away from that of the ALMS, and approach that of Grand Am. Failure and success depends on your objectives. It could still be a profitable venture for NASCAR ownership, in a monopoly, and they might define that as success. At the same time, it might be disinteresting to many purists and long-term fans, and we could call it a failure.
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 14:06 (Ref:3228030)   #269
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I would agree with the assessment that DP's and LMP2's are not headliners.

Well it's not going to stop me from going to the races.
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 20:36 (Ref:3228226)   #270
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I would agree with the assessment that DP's and LMP2's are not headliners.

Well it's not going to stop me from going to the races.
Sure, but they already have guys like us. We don't provide enough eyeballs. They want to attract Joe Carfan and Jane Sportsfan, increasing the visibility of the series, attractiveness for sponsors and thus profitability for the invested and pitential stakeholders.

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Old 2 Apr 2013, 20:52 (Ref:3228234)   #271
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Yeah, I never said they'd fail. I said that's no headliner. "Look at us" should be something special, but sticking with what they have now and combining it with (how many?) LMP2 is like saying, "ok, and?"
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 21:25 (Ref:3228242)   #272
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The trick is, Grand-Am was supposed to appeal to that wider crowd, as NASCAR does, but it has LESS following than the ALMS. Frankly, that more casual, and potentially more brutish, crowd already has sports to watch, and that crowd watches those sports. You'd have to provide something that isn't just the same, but that they would find "better" to watch, as an alternative to what they have and watch right now.

Making Sportscar racing into NASCAR hasn't worked. They're going to have to attract a different crowd. It may be smaller than the "Joe Sixpack" crew, but it's larger than the fraction of that group that they can ever hope to get converted over to Sportscars. So, they'd be better off changing the direction to get the biggest group/following they can.
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 22:28 (Ref:3228265)   #273
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The machinations of USCR thus far seem to be focused on keeping car counts up by any means possible, with quality, at least in the top tier (DP/LMP2) be damned. The mantra from USCR management is that this will be a "North American" sports car series. Grand-Am is a North American sports car series and it doesn't attract fans.

I'm not sure I should have used the word "focused" regarding USCR management, because it seems like they're also focused on DTM in the States, which is a huge red flag to me. DTM is closer to the NASCAR mindset than sports cars and I suspect NASCAR will do more to ensure the success of that series than USCR.

As far as technical regs for 2014, USCR owns a TON of tracks. Exactly how hard is it to lease a DP (any DP, because they're pretty much the same other than paint) and a couple of LMP2s and figure out what they're going to do to equalize the two formulas? It's not hard, but it's more about politics than anything else. What we have is all the ACO-style BS without cool cars.

We'll see what kind of product USCR has at Daytona next year. I'm sticking with USCR management's catch phrase:

"They have ONE chance to get it right."

I'm not NASCAR and I'm not going to subsidize a series for two or three years while they try to figure the mess out. ALMS may have had low car counts, but at least they tried to have cutting edge INTERESTING cars. The new series seems to embrace mediocrity.
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 22:28 (Ref:3228266)   #274
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Sure, but they already have guys like us. We don't provide enough eyeballs. They want to attract Joe Carfan and Jane Sportsfan, increasing the visibility of the series, attractiveness for sponsors and thus profitability for the invested and pitential stakeholders.

Chris
I would argue that they don't "have" guys like us. Guys like us will only stay if the product is what we like. I think if they continue with DP's and LMP2's, they'll lose a large chunk of guys like us.

I would also argue that the series had enough eyeballs, or nearly enough eyeballs at most of the races. The challenge has been converting those people to watching on TV. More is always better, and that comes down to effective sales and marketing, something the ALMS people failed at miserably. The NASCAR company is very good at marketing typically, but had a product that wasn't particularly saleable IMO.

You have to have a saleable product, and a sales staff that can sell it.
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Old 2 Apr 2013, 22:31 (Ref:3228267)   #275
Dodge_Swinger
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Dodge_Swinger should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridDodge_Swinger should be qualifying in the top 5 on the grid
Quote:
Originally Posted by Purist View Post
The trick is, Grand-Am was supposed to appeal to that wider crowd, as NASCAR does, but it has LESS following than the ALMS. Frankly, that more casual, and potentially more brutish, crowd already has sports to watch, and that crowd watches those sports. You'd have to provide something that isn't just the same, but that they would find "better" to watch, as an alternative to what they have and watch right now.

Making Sportscar racing into NASCAR hasn't worked. They're going to have to attract a different crowd. It may be smaller than the "Joe Sixpack" crew, but it's larger than the fraction of that group that they can ever hope to get converted over to Sportscars. So, they'd be better off changing the direction to get the biggest group/following they can.
I'm originally from the South. I know a TON of hardcore NASCAR fans. Not one of them gives a rat's rear end about Grand-AM. Not scientific by any means, but I think (lack of) Grand-Am attendance supports that.
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