2018 Pirelli World Challenge silly season

[Lanky Turtle]

Originally Posted by rich07

Anyone know what Realtime are up to this year?

I think they're planning a Civic TCR program.

[cbbrit]

Some more GTS SprintX news:

http://sportscar365.com/world-challe...4-for-sprintx/

[Coach Ep]

TRG obviously applying its own version of "weight-based-BoP" there...

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by Coach Ep

TRG obviously applying its own version of "weight-based-BoP" there...

hahaha! comment of the year

[NaBUru38]

Now that's success ballast!

[Bcarr6]

Daniel Morad for full season at CRP Racing

[JLGarcia]

priceisrighthorns.wav

http://sportscar365.com/world-challe...eason-program/

[Coach Ep]

Originally Posted by JLGarcia

priceisrighthorns.wav

??

[JLGarcia]

Originally Posted by Coach Ep

??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Jz1TjCphXE

[cbbrit]

A possible interesting development for some select races this year:

http://sportscar365.com/world-challe...-gt-gts-races/

[JorritVD]

DXDT Mercedes GT3 for SprintX Cota event

[cbbrit]

Great news for Alec Udell going forward:

http://sportscar365.com/world-challe...rn-with-udell/

[Bcarr6]

So, I looked on Motortrendondemand, and the replays from St Petes arent on there.

Are we set for another year of useless on demand coverage?

Youd have thought PWC would be doing anything for exposure with their current barely double figure GT3 entry right now.

[NaBUru38]

Streaming worked fine here in Uruguay (unlike Fox Sports or Carlo Olympics).

I guess that GT3 will be dropped for 2020.

[Mechanic Z]

Originally Posted by Bcarr6

So, I looked on Motortrendondemand, and the replays from St Petes arent on there.

Are we set for another year of useless on demand coverage?

Youd have thought PWC would be doing anything for exposure with their current barely double figure GT3 entry right now.

PWC's agreement with Motor Trend on Demand has come to an end, the races are now live-streamed through Youtube.
I'm guessing that they will upload the replays to their YouTube account sometime after the CBS Sports broadcast airs.

[Akrapovic]

Streamed live, but not announced on YouTube. The video is hidden before the green and appears with no notice and therefore no "live" tag until half an hour in. So you have to go to the website to get it...and the website spends a lot of the time down.

They really make it hard to watch this series.

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Streamed live, but not announced on YouTube. The video is hidden before the green and appears with no notice and therefore no "live" tag until half an hour in. So you have to go to the website to get it...and the website spends a lot of the time down.

They really make it hard to watch this series.

Yup. Such a let down

[cbbrit]

Confirmation of RealTime Racing's switch to the TCR class with a pair of Honda Civic Type R entries:

http://sportscar365.com/world-challe...switch-to-tcr/

[Bcarr6]

Compass Racing will bring a Mclaren 570s GT4 for new Mclaren Factory Driver Paul Holton and Ray Mason.

Sprint X only.

Will be nice to see how Paul stacks up in GTS, he always goes very well in CTSCC.

On a side note, this is a rather new trend for factory drivers to be running in GT4...

[JorritVD]

Today YouTube suggested me to watch the 2014 St Pete GT race video. And that made me thinking... what went wrong with GT3 in PWC?

The management of this series is just one big joke. It is because GT4 and TCR became popular, otherwise the PWC would have been in big problems i think.

They just keep on messing up with the GT3. The base is completly gone due to mismanagement and miscommunication. How come the YouTube livestream announcement just came on Saturday. Why this haven't been done three months ago and repeated by every announcement they made after that? Really, I can't understand this anymore.

The series really need to work on their base. They really have some sources to work with like GT3, GT4 and having events together with IndyCar.

GT/GTA should stop with SprintX, more teaming up with Indy-Car, and consider one or two less events. Also add there a trophy class for older spec GT3 cars like the many Gallardo, R8 LMS ultra and 458 who are there.

They can launch a seperate endurance championship with the GT and GTS cars, which has about 4 events, including the Laguna Seca 8 Hours.

PWC can send me a PM if they would like to hire me

[JorritVD]

I just see NA Sportscar's article. It seems we hit some similar points.
http://nasportscar.com/im-not-worrie...ittle-worried/

Lastly, the cost of running a GT3 program in North America right now is very high. In 2014 and 2015 you were looking anywhere from $800,000 to $1.2million for a GT3 program in World Challenge. Now you’re closer to $1.5million in PWC and over $3million for a full season of IMSA racing.

Just I would be interesting where the cost rise comes from. Is this due to Sprint X? Is this due to increased support of customers racing.
If IMSA is double the money, maybe it is currently triple worth compared to PWC with the big events and more driving time. Though GT3 there is a lower class.
Cost increase isn't bad, if the value you can offer is also increased.

About the killing factories i am not that sure. As far as I know Acura could continue their factory programm in PWC. Though they decided to switch to TCR. Also the Blancpain Endurance Cup has got a bigger variety in factory brands, with Porsche, Lexus, Aston Martin joining.

[TRspitfirefan]

Originally Posted by JorritVD

......About the killing factories i am not that sure. As far as I know Acura could continue their factory programm in PWC. Though they decided to switch to TCR. Also the Blancpain Endurance Cup has got a bigger variety in factory brands, with Porsche, Lexus, Aston Martin joining.

^ Yeah that.
It seems to me that PWCs refocus towards fully privateer teams is a reaction to the loss of several manufacturer programs rather than the cause of it. Like you pointed out, the SRO doesn't seem to be against factory support of GT3 teams. Also it appears that the Bentley program in PWC still has some factory backing.
IMSA's GTD class is supposed to have a manufacturer support ban, perhaps people are confusing the two series.

[nasportscar]

It wasn't RealTime's idea to get rid of the NSX and Acura's factory backing for the GT3 program. It wasn't Cadillac's idea to stop the ATS V.R GT3 program and no, neither of these teams could come back to PWC in the same way they raced in 2017 or before. Bentley and the Dyson factory effort could not return and Always Evolving and the Nissan factory effort could not return, they need to be privateer programs.

To me it's healthy to have a mix of factory and privateer programs and when you have BoP leveling the field, the spend by CRP compared to Cadillac Racing doesn't matter. This is the whole point of BoP.

Trying to market GT3 cars to wealthy people while also marketing GT4 cars to wealthy people does not make sense. A GT4 program is 1/4 of the cost of a GT3 program, so of course people will gravitate there.

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by nasportscar

It wasn't RealTime's idea to get rid of the NSX and Acura's factory backing for the GT3 program. It wasn't Cadillac's idea to stop the ATS V.R GT3 program and no, neither of these teams could come back to PWC in the same way they raced in 2017 or before. Bentley and the Dyson factory effort could not return and Always Evolving and the Nissan factory effort could not return, they need to be privateer programs.

To me it's healthy to have a mix of factory and privateer programs and when you have BoP leveling the field, the spend by CRP compared to Cadillac Racing doesn't matter. This is the whole point of BoP.

Trying to market GT3 cars to wealthy people while also marketing GT4 cars to wealthy people does not make sense. A GT4 program is 1/4 of the cost of a GT3 program, so of course people will gravitate there.

Well said,

I hope there is still a solid future for GT3 in PWC, they always made for good races in their format.

I kind of think they should just pick one or the other with Sprint, Sprint X though, although I have no preference on which.

[TRspitfirefan]

Originally Posted by nasportscar

It wasn't RealTime's idea to get rid of the NSX and Acura's factory backing for the GT3 program. It wasn't Cadillac's idea to stop the ATS V.R GT3 program and no, neither of these teams could come back to PWC in the same way they raced in 2017 or before.

Keep in mind that Peter Cunningham is one of the stakeholders in the series, Also Cadillac brought a lot more to the series than just two cars. They were also a major sponsor that provided safety vehicles and a lot of trackside promotion. I still don't buy the narrative that PWC actively chose to end these manufacturers involvement in the series. The recent talk of being a more privateer friendly series appears to me to be simply trying to cope with the situation. Incidentally I can't find anything in the PWC rulebook officially banning full factory programs.
http://files.world-challenge.com/rul...egulations.pdf

....Bentley and the Dyson factory effort could not return and Always Evolving and the Nissan factory effort could not return, they need to be privateer programs.

Not sure why you're bringing up those two examples. The Nissan factory program ended quite some time ago, at about the same time that Ed Brown returned to IMSA with a couple of Ligier LMP2s decorated so that they sort of look like a hideous mutation of a Nissan GT-R . The Bentley program was just scaled back a little and still continues with K-Pax.

.....To me it's healthy to have a mix of factory and privateer programs and when you have BoP leveling the field, the spend by CRP compared to Cadillac Racing doesn't matter. This is the whole point of BoP.

Agreed.

Trying to market GT3 cars to wealthy people while also marketing GT4 cars to wealthy people does not make sense. A GT4 program is 1/4 of the cost of a GT3 program, so of course people will gravitate there.

While that is part of the problem, it's interesting to note that most of the growth in GTS has come from new teams or TC class teams moving up. There are only a few entries that came at the expense of a GT program.