IMSA TUSC 2015 Entries, Schedule, and Rumors

[Rcz]

It's like people have forgotten that we're getting full GT3 cars in 2016.

As well as a phase out of the DP class in the future.

Weren't they told that 2014 and 2015 were going to be goofy years?

[Deleted]

Yes because full GT3 will magically fix and heal everything in the world forever.

DP as current DP may phase out (eventually), but seeing as they are incorporating the same US-only OEM external bodywork + more spec parts into the new LMP2 concept it's hardly going out as ideology.

All of them are gonna be goofy years.

[Purist]

Well, and originally, it was only supposed to be 2014 and 2015, but now it's 2014-2016 that are "goofy" years for the Prototypes.

Also, how many of those GT3s will we see, especially full-season efforts, given the exodus that appears to be underway by GTD teams over to World Challenge? Are they magically going to return in 2016 when the full-spec GT3s are allowed?

And then, there's the matter of having lost the factory Vipers.

[jasonjessica09]

Originally Posted by Purist

Well, and originally, it was only supposed to be 2014 and 2015, but now it's 2014-2016 that are "goofy" years for the Prototypes.

Also, how many of those GT3s will we see, especially full-season efforts, given the exodus that appears to be underway by GTD teams over to World Challenge? Are they magically going to return in 2016 when the full-spec GT3s are allowed?

And then, there's the matter of having lost the factory Vipers.

I would not call it goofy years but interesting years. The whole DP/LMP2/DW dynamic has made for interesting multi-class racing which I like. Even in 2016 we could throw GTLM in there if they get the horsepower boost that is being talked about.

And yes I do think GT3 will increase grids substantially. Its going to be a big hit! The 2016 Daytona 24 might have one of the best GT grids in North American sportscar history.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by jasonjessica09

I would not call it goofy years but interesting years. The whole DP/LMP2/DW dynamic has made for interesting multi-class racing which I like. Even in 2016 we could throw GTLM in there if they get the horsepower boost that is being talked about.

And yes I do think GT3 will increase grids substantially. Its going to be a big hit! The 2016 Daytona 24 might have one of the best GT grids in North American sportscar history.

Daytona will be great in 2015 as well. The big thing is what do the grids look like by middle of the season?

[PointDSM]

Exactly, Road America needs WEC... (and frankly deserves it)

[Lagunaseca_4life]

What makes road America so special over laguna seca,road Atlanta,sebring,or Watkins glen? What it's length?wec would be much more enjoyable to watch on a shorter tracks where their low car counts aren't spread out and creates a better spectical like it used to be.

[Rcz]

I don't think the WEC will ever go there unless it's a Grade 1 FIA approved track like COTA or Indy...

Because you know, COTA is know the center of North America racing now, apparently.

Maybe they may go to Sebring for historical reason, but you know history means squat to the FIA.

[Deleted]

I won't ever bother mentioning these great tracks in the same sentence as WEC anymore unless it's for moaning purposes (), realistically it's never gonna happen under current regime's F1 ideology so CotA/Montreal/Indy/to-be-Mexico only it is

[Disraeli Eers]

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2014/1...on-martin.html

"Beyond that there are other races I’m interested in doing, including the big ones in North America. I’d like to do those in this (GTE/ GTLM) car. (This looks set to emerge as an NAEC campaign with at least one Aston Martin Vantage GTE)."

Looks like to AM to NAEC seems more and more plausible.

[Deleted]

They will only enter it if IMSA gives them same level of Christmas BoP presents as ACO does in WEC.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Chiana

They will only enter it if IMSA gives them same level of Christmas BoP presents as ACO does in WEC.

Well the Dalla Lana car seems set at least. Aston has also talked about having more cars at Daytona, but as you say, the relations between AM and IMSA haven't been great the past 2 seasons. So even with an announcement things could still change depending on bop.

[Purist]

LS4F, even putting the apparent Grade 1 requirement aside, Laguna Seca is too short by the FIA's own circuit regulations/guidelines for a 6-hour, top-level, multi-class, Sportscar race. Road Atlanta might fall into that category as well; it probably does for a race of over 6 hours.

JJ09, I've found the Prototype BoP to be one of, if not the, biggest negative distraction/element/whatever of this season. And when a DP wins, especially if it looked like an LMP2 might have had a chance, it's just deflating. It makes it seem like the DP win was an inevitability, not just a product of the usual processes of chance.

There is NO WAY that the GTE Evo cars will be allowed to challenge the Prototypes. IMSA management, as well as Ganassi and the "Corvette" DP teams, won't hear of such a thing, I'm quite certain.

Yes, there will be plenty of GT3s at Daytona, and hopefully Sebring also. However, beyond that, I don't see the full-season numbers looking that great.

In 2015, I'd guess we'll see 45-55 cars at the enduros, and around 40 cars elsewhere, at those circuits where all four classes are on the slate. Long Beach could be below 20 entries on the grid, and Lime Rock and VIR could see barely over 20 cars.

Also remember, on the Prototype front, we're not expecting the DW to run Long Beach and Belle Isle.

[Maelochs]

Grim, grim, brim.
Grim, grim, grim.
Bleak; grim.
2017.
Sad, disappointing, deflating.
Grim.

Look, I wrote a poem about sportscar racing in North America.

Here's a better one:

Broken, broke.

Equally poignant, and much shorter.

Sums up everything I have said and 95 percent of what I was going to say--but much shorter. Thus better.

[BullMan]

IMSA doing things bass ackwards again. Make a sweeping rule change, teams get ****ed, then change it back. Seems like it would have been a good idea to talk to teams about making the change, then react based on their feedback. WTF?

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/gt...s-regulations/

[Gulf]

Originally Posted by BullMan

IMSA doing things bass ackwards again. Make a sweeping rule change, teams get ****ed, then change it back. Seems like it would have been a good idea to talk to teams about making the change, then react based on their feedback. WTF?

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/tusc/gt...s-regulations/

That's the NASCAR way of doing things.

[Maelochs]

Originally Posted by Gulf

That's the NASCAR way of doing things.

NASCAR knows best ... then NASCAR knows better ... than NASCAR, even. Lordy, those folks at Daytona are sharp!

[Mike Hedlund]

These are IMSA people making the decisions. NASCAR has nothing to do with it.

-mike

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by Gulf

That's the NASCAR way of doing things.

As Mike has stated, this is IMSA people doing this, and it really is the IMSA way of doing things, make changes without asking the customer if it is what they want, and then having to back track... so many times. #competencefail

[Lanky Turtle]

IMSA never made the change. They sent out a memo to receive feedback on and when the majority of the teams rejected the change, they decided not to implement it.

[TzeiTzei]

Originally Posted by Lanky Turtle

IMSA never made the change. They sent out a memo to receive feedback on and when the majority of the teams rejected the change, they decided not to implement it.

Hey! Don't let the truth get in the way of some good old Nascar bashing.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by Lanky Turtle

IMSA never made the change. They sent out a memo to receive feedback on and when the majority of the teams rejected the change, they decided not to implement it.

Originally Posted by TzeiTzei

Hey! Don't let the truth get in the way of some good old Nascar bashing.

Except for the fact that it is NOT the truth. IMSA/NASCAR did send the bulletin, yes, but it wasn't asking "do you like this or not" but "we will implement this". So now they'll just make a turnaround.

[Disraeli Eers]

So wait a minute. People are angry at IMSA for making a bunch of rules you don't like and being too stubborn to change them.

Now people are angry at IMSA because they made a rule change, it got horrible feedback, and they changed it back?

Damn.

[Danske]

Originally Posted by Disraeli Eers

Now people are angry at IMSA because they made a rule change, it got horrible feedback, and they changed it back?

But look at the irreparable harm that was done to teams' and drivers' lives running to those rules over the weekend before it was reversed!

[Mike Hedlund]

Originally Posted by Disraeli Eers

So wait a minute. People are angry at IMSA for making a bunch of rules you don't like and being too stubborn to change them.

Now people are angry at IMSA because they made a rule change, it got horrible feedback, and they changed it back?

Damn.

No. People are angry at the way they did it. They didn't bother asking the people who were being effected their change. They instead issued a "Competition Memo" which is an official communication of their intention to change rules without warning, AFTER a bulk of the teams had their lineups already set for next year. It's not how you deal with customers in any form (and the teams are IMSA's customers), let alone racing.

It's also maddening because they don't seem to even have a rudimentary understanding of how ProAm team budgets work. One of the biggest, if not THE biggest issue (in every class as of now, not just ProAm) is COST. Their stupid little idea would DOUBLE the budget for the "real" ProAm teams next season.

DOUBLE
THE
****ING
PAYING
DRIVER
BUDGET.

And they didn't have a clue.

The issue would be getting more bad press had IMSA not asked the major sports car news outlets and reporters to "go easy on them" because there's been so much negativity the last few months (gee, I wonder why when you mismanage something this bad).

Having said all that, I'll still be there for the NAEC rounds -- if they make the officially say something about the driver pairing rules soon.

-mike