ALMS Round 6: Road America 18-20 August 2011

[arakis]

Originally Posted by Ferrari333SP

According to an interview Jamie Howe did with Toni Vilander during the race on the ESPN 3 broadcast, Luca di Montezemolo, CEO of Ferrari, was at Road America for the race this weekend to watch how the Ferrari's did. Can anybody confirm this?

it wasnt LDM but Amedeo Felisa CEO of Ferrari SpA, I think LDM is the chairmen of the board.

from Risis site

The victory was witnessed by a delighted Ing. Amedeo Felisa, the CEO of Ferrari SpA and Mr Marco Mattiacci, President and CEO of Ferrari North America as well as two of their fellow directors who had travelled to Road America for the day to view the race.

[AGD]

I got done watching the ABC highlights a little while ago. It was a little tough following the race (1.5 hours for a 4 hour race plus all the commercials ABC has), but I thought they did a pretty decent job catching up with the action with the race recap segments whenever they skipped ahead. Fortunately, they did not waste any time showing laps under yellow.

That was some good racing to the finish in P1 and GTC. How close was the #16 to the #6 during the last hour of the race? ABC did not even talk about the P1 battle it seemed from the time Humaid crashed until the final 3 laps when they seemed shocked that Smith was battling for the lead. It was pretty surprising to see Dyson be so fast during the race. I don't think that was expected. Was it simply a case of Graf saving fuel at the end? Then again, the #16's fastest lap was almost a full second faster than the #6's fastest. But, anyway, it was a real close finish yet again at Road America and I don't think they needed a safety car to achieve that.

So Butch wins the pole and then takes the race win. Is anyone surprised? It looks like he still has what it takes to run well in a P car. Kane looked very racy at the start. That was great to see. What wasn't so great to see was Dyson's pit stops (at least the one that ABC did show), but I guess we've come to expect that now. How did Level 5's day go? ABC never talked about them.

Was it Milner that threw the Corvette into the barriers? The #4 was running well all day, it was a bit of a surprise to see them finish so far behind. Anyway, the last four races have seen a BMW, Corvette, Porsche, and Ferrari win in GT. Everyone is getting their chance at glory it seems.

[Deleted]

A bit off topic here but oh god how unrealistic that Forza 4 gameplay footage was. During the SC interruption they had GT1 vette going around the track and it was terrible, GTs don't handle like that in the corners! I can fire up my GTR2 right now and make the C6.R look almost like the real thing (compared to what I just saw) in no time

[WolfsburgRS]

Fantastic to see yet another winner after the 56 dominated the first few races so convincingly. Congrats to Risi for pulling out the win that we all knew they had in them.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by AGD

Was it Milner that threw the Corvette into the barriers? The #4 was running well all day, it was a bit of a surprise to see them finish so far behind.

Yup it was mr Milner with cold tires and too wide line, and as for #4 I heard the car was not too happy with the lowered temperature as the afternoon progressed so Magnussen just kinda brought the car home. But of course the contact with Risi just ruined the day altogether, plus getting stuck behind Lizards. Those damn Bimmers just got even more advantage in points, grr

[Deleted]

I'm absolutely loving these RSR press releases, good laughs.

MAJOR PERFORMANCE GAIN FOR JaguarRSR STYMIED BY FUEL PUMP FAILURES

-- Coming into the Time Warner Road Race Showcase today the team anticipated a top five finish. --

-- “We were pleased with every practice session, the JaguarRSR XKR GTs have shown great reliability and ever increasing performance. --"

"-- As you get close to the front, all you want to do is race for the lead. We are frustrated, on the other side, we are certainly reinforced by the performance gain. JaguarRSR went four seconds faster in 2011 than it did in 2010 at Road America and we attribute that so much to the work we have done on the race car, on aerodynamics, and our engine program.”

[Purist]

Guys, do you think we could actually remember that PG has most definitely put together some VERY competitive cars LONG BEFORE he ever had an ownership stake in a series? For one, the IMSA GTS Oldsmobiles were certainly no slouches against the factory Nissan 300ZX-Ts.

And come on guys, the RSR Jags have been coming along quite nicely of late. Wasn't it at Mosport where one of the cars stayed in touch with one of the BMWs for 35 laps? And before somebody complains about their drain-pipe restrictor, Mosport is mostly high-speed turns. There is just ONE long straight there, so you're NOT going to keep a good, consistent pace at that track without the handling being there somewhere.

Alright, now then, I could have done with fewer ad breaks on ABC, but the main incidents/battles were shown, so fair enough. Also, I did have the Vuelta a Espana to turn to while the commercials were on.

P.S. I think there was something up with the Forza 4 display on the broadcast (both today and online yesterday), as the other clips I've seen look quite a bit better. I don't know if it was shown on a bad screen, or shot with a bad camera, but that wasn't an accurate showing of visual quality as far as I can tell.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Purist

Guys, do you think we could actually remember that PG has most definitely put together some VERY competitive cars LONG BEFORE he ever had an ownership stake in a series? For one, the IMSA GTS Oldsmobiles were certainly no slouches against the factory Nissan 300ZX-Ts.

And come on guys, the RSR Jags have been coming along quite nicely of late. Wasn't it at Mosport where one of the cars stayed in touch with one of the BMWs for 35 laps? And before somebody complains about their drain-pipe restrictor, Mosport is mostly high-speed turns. There is just ONE long straight there, so you're NOT going to keep a good, consistent pace at that track without the handling being there somewhere.

Alright, now then, I could have done with fewer ad breaks on ABC, but the main incidents/battles were shown, so fair enough. Also, I did have the Vuelta a Espana to turn to while the commercials were on.

P.S. I think there was something up with the Forza 4 display on the broadcast (both today and online yesterday), as the other clips I've seen look quite a bit better. I don't know if it was shown on a bad screen, or shot with a bad camera, but that wasn't an accurate showing of visual quality as far as I can tell.

The RSR Jaguar has improved considerably since last year in every regard, but it is still pretty much a backmarker even with a mighty restrictor. The difference being that it can actually sniff the back of the lead pack now whereas it was useless last year. It looked like reliability was improving, but this weekend was definitely a major setback.

As for the ABC/ESPN coverage, I'm actually enjoying Till, Johnny O, and Bill Adam doing the race calls. Adam and Johnny seem to be doing a good job of translating their racing knowledge to the viewer without having to go over the basics. I think they are doing a good job. It wasn't so obvious in the race because things were chopped up so much, but they had some great analysis during qualifying. Ok, Johnny O gets a bit excited at times to say the least and he is a bit of a homer, but then again, so is Hindy and we all enjoy his calls. Actually, Johnny might be showing his favoritism less than the RLM guys, but maybe that is because we would kind of expect it from Johnny so we can deal with it ahead of time.

I agree that the Forza video was a bit weird. The ABC guys did not even know what to say. There was like 10-20 seconds of dead air. Or something like that, I did not put a stopwatch to it. Anyway, I think we all know that Forza is a mixture of arcade and simulator and we don't know what driver aids were enabled for that clip. As far as the graphics go, maybe it was just a bad capture. Also, maybe the graphics have been toned down a bit to get more cars on the track or something? I don't know. Unlikely, but who knows. Hopefully that is the last time we have to see any clips like that on TV though!

[Carsandmotorracing]

The Jag used to be a tiking time bomb

[Audi Racer]

After watching the race im amazed at how planted the 458 looked going around the corners...too bad its being killed by its restrictor. I think the aco are indeed afraid the 458 will dominate.

[Cuttlefish]

Originally Posted by AGD

As for the ABC/ESPN coverage, I'm actually enjoying Till, Johnny O, and Bill Adam doing the race calls.

Wait, what? I didn't realize the ABC clipshow didn't have Hindy and Shaw. It had always bugged me how on ESPN3 they had Till, O'Connell, and Adam introducing the broadcast for 15 minutes before turning it over to Hindy and Shaw for the whole race. Seemed awkward to just have them dressed up and micced for the brief intro. Does that mean the ABC guys are also commentating at the same time over the same video, and then they cut it up? It's pretty strange to be paying five commentators for the race. Sharing pitcrew reporters between the two commentary teams must be awkward as well.

[Audi Racer]

Also looks appear to be very decieving..... apparently the Vettes have push to pass as well as the BMW. and after watching the race i have a very good evidence to believe that the Ferrari has a push to pass as well.

[TF110]

Why is this track so awesome? Serious speed, unforgiving corners, 3 flat out sections; this is my favorite course. And yes, that Forza 4 footage was so off. NFS: Shift was a more accurate depiction of the track. You could hardly tell the elevation change on the front straight. The track looked 'empty' the Vette was horribly wrong, this is why I stick with Gran Turismo. Even NFS looks better IMO. The cars will look pretty, but some of the tracks are so off it's just stupid.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Cuttlefish

Does that mean the ABC guys are also commentating at the same time over the same video, and then they cut it up? It's pretty strange to be paying five commentators for the race. Sharing pitcrew reporters between the two commentary teams must be awkward as well.

Yeah, I think that is how it works. It seems odd, but I guess they do it so that the American/Canadian trio can do the announcing based on the ABC/ESPN commercial breaks and ESPN promos (like for Sunday Night Baseball promos etc. that Till voices over) and the British duo can do their announcing based on more limited commercials and limited ESPN references. That is probably good for international TV companies that re-air Hindy's coverage.

What is really odd is that both crews cover qualifying (one for ESPN3 and the other for the international feed) even though qualifying has a very limited amount of commercials (if there are any) and few references to ESPN. I don't know why they do that. I guess they might as well use all 5 of them if they are all there.

[Deleted]

I've seen two ESPN2 broadcasts so far this year and they've been fine. Obviously your expectations aren't that high in the first place, editing might be a bit weird and things can get slightly confusing if you haven't watched the race online before, but overall it's a decent alternative. Plus it's in HD of course. O'Connel's orgasms are a bit annoying - yet funny at the same time - but Till & Adam are admittely better suited for network television than Hindy and Shaw. Not as knowledgeable or anything, but they've been around for ages and know how to do their job.Ttelling the story to perhaps not-so die hard fans (if there are any).

You know, having just watched Speed's Le Mans broadcast I'm actually missing Calvin Fish and Dorsey Schroeder on the commentary booth. Grand-Am just isn't the same

[Mal]

I am on holiday in Florida and so I watched the ABC highlights yesterday and I thought it was pretty good except for the amount of adverts.

It should be good for picking up some casual fans etc but it is clear that something is missing for the hardcore fans

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Chiana

A bit off topic here but oh god how unrealistic that Forza 4 gameplay footage was. During the SC interruption they had GT1 vette going around the track and it was terrible, GTs don't handle like that in the corners! I can fire up my GTR2 right now and make the C6.R look almost like the real thing (compared to what I just saw) in no time

We're well past the stage of GT/Forza lagging behind their PC equivalent in terms of physics, replays can be deceiving, how it feels is what matters. Anyone who's seen the latest footage can see the game is near enough photo realitsic too.

Back to the race, the ALMS proves yeat again it can compete with the WEC in terms of entertainment, even with a limited grid. If manufactuers and teams chose series with their heart, the ALMS would have amazing grids, nothing in NA comes close.

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by JAG

Back to the race, the ALMS proves yeat again it can compete with the WEC in terms of entertainment, even with a limited grid. If manufactuers and teams chose series with their heart, the ALMS would have amazing grids, nothing in NA comes close.

Of course they choose based on ROI... and well...

[NightStalk3r]

Originally Posted by Audi Racer

Also looks appear to be very decieving..... apparently the Vettes have push to pass as well

Not according to Milner they dont.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by Fogelhund

Of course they choose based on ROI... and well...

.......the little matter of NASCAR subsidising GA to drive the fans favourite out of business.

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by JAG

.......the little matter of NASCAR subsidising GA to drive the fans favourite out of business.

That certainly is a challenge to the ALMS business model. Having said that, it isn't as if Grand Am is growing at the expense of the ALMS. Really, you can blame the actions of the ACO far more than GA at this point.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Chiana

You know, having just watched Speed's Le Mans broadcast I'm actually missing Calvin Fish and Dorsey Schroeder on the commentary booth. Grand-Am just isn't the same

Frankly, I don't miss them. Dorsey's announcing seems like it would work better in a NASCARish series and Calvin's accent is a bit grating after a while. IMO of course. I hope Aussies don't take offense that that statement though! Brian Till is a local, literally in my case, so his voice/accent is just fine in comparison. I also like how Till's driving career is a bit of an inside joke on the broadcasts. It's mainly self-deprecating humor it seems.

I found Speed's Le Mans coverage to be so bad that I had to find a EuroSport link. EuroSport's commentators were pretty bad as well (except for Hindy, it was funny how much the broadcast quality improved when he came on), but it was still much more tolerable than Speed's broadcast.

[sil350]

does anyone know if trap speeds were taken at RA this last weekend. I just watched the final 15 minutes and the M3 blew past the 911RSR with about 5mph more top end. Jorg is a great driver but he was helpless down the second half of that long straight. thx!!!

[rich07]

Originally Posted by R4z3rw33n

Regretting having missed the live coverage for this one.

Thankfully these have already been uploaded:

Henzler/BMW pass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YutUA07NJHc

Graf/Smith final laps:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xToF...h_response_rev

Fantastic stuff indeed.

Thanks for posting those up. I missed the live coverage too.

That pass by Wolf Henzler was just impossible-but as he showed it wasnt.

Incredible battle between Smith and Graf, wonderful to watch.

[Ferrari333SP]

Originally Posted by sil350

does anyone know if trap speeds were taken at RA this last weekend. I just watched the final 15 minutes and the M3 blew past the 911RSR with about 5mph more top end. Jorg is a great driver but he was helpless down the second half of that long straight. thx!!!

Isn't the current 911 RSR being used at the end of it's development lifespan?