IMSA Race 2018 Watkins Glen 6 Hours

[joeb]

The third round of the NAEC is here. I will add all the usual links at a later time but just wanted to get the thread started.

Entry

Schedule

[fieldodreams79]

Damn! This snuck up on me! Thx joeb!

[MaskedRacer]

I still hate the early Sunday start times. People do go to Church you know!

[MaskedRacer]

Will generally pull for the teams that have not won yet. Such as R.L.L. BMW in GTLM. Any team that runs Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi in GTD.

[Nick Woodbury]

Muahahaha!

God save the queen!

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2018/0...ic-livery.html

[joeb]

Two P2 cars in the top 4 in Practice 2, including Dumas on the top in the Core Oreca.
http://results.imsa.com/Results/18_2...actice%202.PDF

[skycafe]

GTLM teams running in formation

[Turbodcc]

Practice 3 ended early, Mazda #77 accident.

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/a...ds-practice-3/

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Turbodcc

Practice 3 ended early, Mazda #77 accident.

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/a...ds-practice-3/

An upside down car is never good. Neither is having both red flags of the session caused by Mazdas.....

Times are a lot faster this year compared to last.

And 3 of the top 4 are P2 cars.

[joeb]

Gtd qualifying is great right now!

[joeb]

Imsatv stream dropped out for me during gtlm qualifying. Anyone else have issues?

[Maelochs]

Colin Braun ... in P2 ... 32.687

[Maelochs]

Paul Di Resta complains that IMSA's DPi/P2 balance is ruining the series ... and then beats all the DPis in a P2.

[joeb]

Bruan takes the overall pole!

[TF110]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Paul Di Resta complains that IMSA's DPi/P2 balance is ruining the series ... and then beats all the DPis in a P2.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. How many times do they have to bop down the dpi's just to get lmp2 close? Lets see how they do during the race but at least they're close.

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Paul Di Resta complains that IMSA's DPi/P2 balance is ruining the series ... and then beats all the DPis in a P2.

di Resta moans far too much, but lets not judge speed over a single lap qualifying for a 6 hour race.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Paul Di Resta complains that IMSA's DPi/P2 balance is ruining the series ... and then beats all the DPis in a P2.

I Wonder how much the track and drivers matter on this one? I know there has been some bop too. Maybe it is genuinely getting better? Bottom five were DPI cars.

[Maelochs]

I assume it was a matter of a smooth track without a lot of slow corners where excess torque would come into play, plus the DPi teams being less than interested in pole.

In the race, where torque and traffic = overtaking ... meh. I hope the Acuras beat the Cadillacs.

We all know the BoP is "balanced" so it is heavy at one end ... not surprisingly, the end weighted down with manufacturer dollars.

Still psyched to see Braun and Core on the pole. I have always liked that team, and I think he is a better driver than he has been able to show in Core equipment, perhaps. Until now, at least.

[chernaudi]

Could it be like last year where the LMP2s did better on natural terrain tracks vs places like Daytona, Sebring and the street courses?

[carbsmith]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Paul Di Resta complains that IMSA's DPi/P2 balance is ruining the series ... and then beats all the DPis in a P2.

It's charity season, let's not pretend this doesn't happen every year, and that they aren't miles behind again when the big early season races happen every year.

Remember 2016, when 4 of the top 5 qualifiers for this race were LMP based cars?

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by carbsmith

It's charity season, let's not pretend this doesn't happen every year, and that they aren't miles behind again when the big early season races happen every year.

Remember 2016, when 4 of the top 5 qualifiers for this race were LMP based cars?

Exactly - and this is what will happen as long as DPi has open development whilst LMP2 doesn't. DPis will pull away over the winter, then have to be BoP'd back.

[Akrapovic]

Are we doing the Conti race in here?

The usual accident in the esses. Glad this is a 4 hour race as we've lost 15 minutes already.

[Maelochs]

Nice little three-way battle between the two fords and the merc.

[Akrapovic]

That was brilliant racing.

TCR is interesting. That Aston is fast enough to keep up with the lead TCR cars, but the driver can't hang with them in the corners.

[Nick Woodbury]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Still psyched to see Braun and Core on the pole. I have always liked that team, and I think he is a better driver than he has been able to show in Core equipment, perhaps. Until now, at least.

As much as I share your enthusiasm about that #54 Core team and how much I'd like to see them get a much needed good result since Daytona, I don't see this happening so long as Jon Bennett is sharing the car with Colin. If anything, Jon has been a continued hindrance for that team, Colin and which ever hired hot-shoe they hire for the endurance races. If only Jon could realise this and hand over his drivers seat to a fresh, more deserving driver, (Much like what Seth Nieman did whilst with Flying Lizard) they may actually enjoy some much welcomed success, this years Rolex 24 result notwithstanding of course.

But of course, since we all know that Jon is the one paying the bills, and his company's name is on the side of that car, that will likely not happen anytime soon.