ALMS 2011 Discussion

[ger80]

Just watching highlights on ESPN UK - since when do they show ALMS?

[dxk1]

Just looking at the Entry list for Road America and noticed Level 5 Motorsports is back with Tucker, Bouchut & Diaz. Also noticed that our old friend Sean Edwards is listed as one of three drivers for NGT Motorsports in the GTC Class! Good luck Sean!

DK

[Jonerz]

Glad NGT Motorsports is back. And go Sean!

Chris

[WolfsburgRS]

Does anyone think that the ALMS will go back to the IMSA branding for 2012? It seems they are upping the visibility of the IMSA logo and name (just received a promo email and all 4 new products are either IMSA / ALMS branded or just branded as IMSA) - I know IMSA has never really gone anywhere, as it's always been the sanctioning body for ALMS, but if a new rules set skewing away from the ACO comes around for 2012, they certainly won't be able to use American Le Mans anymore.

It'd be a heck of an announcement "The return of IMSA GT"

[AGD]

Originally Posted by WolfsburgRS

Does anyone think that the ALMS will go back to the IMSA branding for 2012? It seems they are upping the visibility of the IMSA logo and name (just received a promo email and all 4 new products are either IMSA / ALMS branded or just branded as IMSA) - I know IMSA has never really gone anywhere, as it's always been the sanctioning body for ALMS, but if a new rules set skewing away from the ACO comes around for 2012, they certainly won't be able to use American Le Mans anymore.

It'd be a heck of an announcement "The return of IMSA GT"

I don't think anything will change for 2012, but it could happen in the future. I think the ALMS has to be upset about the WEC and their lack of participation in it, but at the same time, I don't see them making any significant changes away from ACO rules in 2012.

Ultimately, there will still be things that the ALMS and LMS will do better than the WEC so there is still the possibility for both series to carve a niche for themselves within the Le Mans ecosystem. Granted, although the ALMS and LMS may do GTE-Pro/GT (and P2 in the case of the LMS) better than the WEC, I'm not sure if the fans will really care about that. We'll see. Even with all the complaining, one could still say that the ALMS and LMS have better media deals than the WEC.

[Acid09]

The LMS has a better media deal than the WEC? Live on MotorsTV is better than live on Eurosport? I don't think so...

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Acid09

The LMS has a better media deal than the WEC? Live on MotorsTV is better than live on Eurosport? I don't think so...

How many ILMC races are shown in their entirety live on TV? Certainly not all of them.

[Deleted]

I think what he meant is that Eurosport can definitely attract bigger audiences - even if it just means one-hour highlights - and that's what Audi and Pug are after... Motors' TVs flexible schedule and flag-to-flag coverage might be superior but in the end it's more of a minor specialist channel really.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Chiana

I think what he meant is that Eurosport can definitely attract bigger audiences - even if it just means one-hour highlights - and that's what Audi and Pug are after...

That's true, but I don't know what Audi wants. Dr. Ullrich was complaining about the new ALMS media package, but it sounds like it is exactly what he would like. Highlights (often close to the whole race with the shorter races) of the race are offered on the highly visible networks of ABC and ESPN2 and live streaming offered on the Internet instead of the races just being on a specialist cable channel. That's pretty much how the ILMC is covered, right? The only difference is that the live streaming is from Audi and Peugeot in the case of the ILMC and it debately isn't as good as what the ALMS shows online! Ok, maybe Speed is more popular here in the US than MotorsTV is in Europe, but still.

Plus, there is the matter that BMW brought up about the ILMC not even showing the non-LMP1 classes on TV. That's good for Peugeot and Audi, but not so good for some others and it might hurt the WEC's chances of becoming the top series for LMP2 and GTE racing. The ALMS tends to be more inclusive and hopefully the LMS will show all the classes with LMP1 gone next year.

[Fogelhund]

http://lastturnclub.com/index.php?op...=786&Itemid=51

An interesting article from a Motorsport executive.

[Deleted]

I'm agreeing and disagreeing on 50% of the stuff he mentioned, but he's calling ALMS the "former" premier sportscar series in America... so what does he think is on top now? Grand-Sham, World Challenge... Trans Am?!

Als, have I missed something major or WTF is this about:

Interestingly, 2011 GT3 spec cars will be allowed to run in the series [WEC], thus setting up a showdown between the Audi R8 LMS, the Ferrari 458 Italia, and the McLaren MP4-12C GT3.

[Bob Riebe]

I agree with huge amount of what that article says, partly because a portion of it is what I was already saying six years ago.

The IMSA has become, like the Grand Am at least was, just another spec. weekend amateur race meet. There is no real top series anymore.

The fat lady has been singing for half a decade. Only interrupted by IMSA and Penske ignoring the asinine ACO rules that cause the demise of the IMSA, but now she is in full song.

I still do not fully believe that the Grans Am is going to get its act straight, so it will be interesting to see what is happening a year from this month.

[WolfsburgRS]

I have to say i chuckle reading this line. I mean, I know the ALMS paddock isn't CART in the 90s, but has this person been to an ALMS race and looked at the paddock? Even the GTC teams have garage-mahals for crying out loud

They want the overscale transporters and massive paddock setups and all that team gear painted in team colors.

[JAG]

By 2014 green issues will be the driving force behind Le Mans by conserving energy through the use of new technology. The last time that happened Group C produced some of the most exciting cars and best grids in sportscar history.

As for Ferrari going to GA, that's like saying they support British GT along with Porsche, Mercedes, Mclaren, Audi etc. Hardly comparable to the ALMS's GTE field, nevermind the factory prototype teams referenced earlier.

The other angle has already been raised, it's down to ACO rules. You can take that stance, trouble is those rules are working elsewhere, even GA's adoption of a variation of GT3 has been met with a lukewarm reception. When you add Indycars wows to the the list you begin to see a pattern, and it's now down to any particular ruleset.

[WolfsburgRS]

If the ACO has opened a class to 2011 spec GT3 cars for 2012, does that mean the same for the ALMS I wonder?

[Ferrari333SP]

With the amount of awesome cars in GT3 vs the amount that compete in GT2, I wish the two classes were just combined so we could finally get those GT3 cars in the ALMS, because right now the ALMS could really use some help. I'm not so sure having GT2 and GT3 in the ALMS at the same time would be the best idea.

I'm pretty sure this has been talked about already in this thread, but I'm too lazy to look back for other posts on it.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by WolfsburgRS

If the ACO has opened a class to 2011 spec GT3 cars for 2012, does that mean the same for the ALMS I wonder?

No, I don't think it is going to happen in either the WEC or the ALMS. Not anytime soon at least. The WEC may need field fillers for the Asian rounds so maybe it will happen there. We'll see if the WEC will need field fillers anywhere else.

Originally Posted by Ferrari333SP

With the amount of awesome cars in GT3 vs the amount that compete in GT2, I wish the two classes were just combined so we could finally get those GT3 cars in the ALMS, because right now the ALMS could really use some help. I'm not so sure having GT2 and GT3 in the ALMS at the same time would be the best idea.

I'm pretty sure this has been talked about already in this thread, but I'm too lazy to look back for other posts on it.

The ALMS currently features Ferrari 458s, Porsche 911s, BMW M3s, Corvettes, Ford GTs, and Jaguar XKRs. There were Lambos earlier in the year as well. That's pretty good IMO. There may be a lot of things in the ALMS that need tinkering, but I think GT is ok.

Opening up GTC to other one-make cars like the LMS is doing could inject some interest in that class, but that's a whole different story.

[Deleted]

Sorry that's a terrible idea, both production classes would get horribly mixed up, factories fed up and we'd have seven hundred pages of GT3 adjustments after every weekend... there's always that other series if you wanna see GT2/GT3 squeezed together, maybe they even run some joint events who knows?

[Ferrari333SP]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Sorry that's a terrible idea, both production classes would get horribly mixed up, factories fed up and we'd have seven hundred pages of GT3 adjustments after every weekend... there's always that other series if you wanna see GT2/GT3 squeezed together, maybe they even run some joint events who knows?

Well I think in combining both classes, cars would eventually be adopted to one set of rules, being brought to a set up rules between GT2 and GT3 to make it easier for both classes to adapt their cars to that one set of rules.

In any case, I just want the GT count in the ALMS to increase, especially when you see the amount of GT3 cars that show up at Blancpain, VLN, and ADAC GT races. The Audi R8 and Merecedes SLS would be such perfect fits for the ALMS, but because of the GT3 class they're in, they can't compete. Both the Audi and Mercedes would be awesome to see flying down the Mulsanne straight at LeMans.

[Deleted]

Looking at the Baltimore schedule, the race has been shortened from original 2h45min to just 2 hours, making it a very similiar event to Long Beach - the race even starts and ends at the same time!

[arakis]

no one is stoping neither Audi nor Mercedes to build GTE race cars

[Ferrari333SP]

Originally Posted by arakis

no one is stoping neither Audi nor Mercedes to build GTE race cars

Yeah, why haven't Mercedes or Audi built GT2/E variants of those cars yet?

[TWK]

Originally Posted by Ferrari333SP

Yeah, why haven't Mercedes or Audi built GT2/E variants of those cars yet?

Not enough market to offset the cost?

[MitchZ06]

Wasn't the Audi R8 LMS GT2-ish? And I'm not sure if Mercedes has flipped their decision on not returning to Le Mans....

[TWK]

Originally Posted by WolfsburgRS

I have to say i chuckle reading this line. I mean, I know the ALMS paddock isn't CART in the 90s, but has this person been to an ALMS race and looked at the paddock? Even the GTC teams have garage-mahals for crying out loud

I have known Miles for most of the past decade. He is certainly no stranger to the ALMS paddock. Did you miss the motorsports executive uniquely positioned to assess the prospects of the American Le Mans Series part?

Perhaps you weren't around ALMS paddocks when Penske, Audi, and before that Schnitzer-BMW were there running the LMR and GTR?

I was, and I know to what he refers...a matter of degree. He doesn't even make an exception for the ALMS team he "most intimately" knows about... He knows, and I know that there is a big difference between the paddock productions of the "prototype Stars" of the past and the present GT teams (which is where the "big" teams now are...not in prototype...which is part of his point).

To your first question...has this person been to a race? If you really read it with care (and understanding) you'd know that this individual might be found quite frequently in that very same paddock of which you claim such great knowledge.

What makes this article unique amongst others (some of which I have been involved in) is NOT that it contains a single new point of view, but that it brings together eight items that the author identifies as, ah..."weaknesses." But the BIGGEST difference is not the content but WHO the author is. Unfortunately, I can't tell you that. Perhaps when all the principals have died.

I will say I think he knows the ALMS better than anyone who posts on this forum (that I know of).