IMSA Race 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona

[tux]

Can’t really add anything to the rain drama because I stopped watching when the #4 crashed. Just wanted to say I thought that IMSA did a great job with the BOP and that the green flag racing really was superb. Thought Colton Herta did an outstanding job, star of the future for sure.

[Victor_RO]

For anyone still debating how wise (or not) trying to race in that rain was, here's Sebastien Bourdais' onboard from one of the last green flag runs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIdTgL39CYE

Half the lap is blind, the rest is riding through lakes. Windscreen wiper as useless as an umbrella in a hurricane.

[bentley speed 8]

Those onboards are really scary. Driving blind at that speed and not knowing what happens everytime you hit the brakes a little too hard...

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

For anyone still debating how wise (or not) trying to race in that rain was, here's Sebastien Bourdais' onboard from one of the last green flag runs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIdTgL39CYE

Half the lap is blind, the rest is riding through lakes. Windscreen wiper as useless as an umbrella in a hurricane.

Blimey and that clip is 14mins long.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Umai Naa

Perhaps IMSA/circuit management will learn from this one, and improve drainage?

But then again, history shows us that this never happens...

It's a road course built inside a completely flat speedway grounds (aside the banking) that's 36 ft above sea level where there's an actual lake because they "dug a hole" to build up the banking and hit the water table and it rained about 2 inches in an 8 hour period. What do you specifically propose they fix to provide "better drainage"?

Originally Posted by TF110

I know that. My point was the headline of the BIG BOLDED words of Alonso winning it. I get he had a part but the headline is about a single name instead of a team winning it, even if they're mentioned in the fine print at the bottom. It's cool and all but I'd like it if the motorsport media lead with something team oriented for once in a team oriented race.

I get your point, that journalists lead with what sells instead of the whole story but I'd be willing to bet the folks at WTR don't give a flying F.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by CyberMotor

Due to all the restrictions, I watched the race through in-car cameras and heard it through Radio Le Mans. The in-car video was incredible. Floating a car around a corner was the most amazing thing to watch and hear through the in-cars. Alonso is the master of this... late and delicate braking and then floating the car through the apex and then applying the gas.



In the most horrendous conditions, the master driver won.

I missed the in cars with audios, which wouldve really neat to see, but if you have a chance next time, check for online links posted here. I watched (what I could) thru links posted by our fellow forum members.

[MaskedRacer]

Originally Posted by CyberMotor

Due to all the restrictions, I watched the race through in-car cameras and heard it through Radio Le Mans. The in-car video was incredible. Floating a car around a corner was the most amazing thing to watch and hear through the in-cars. Alonso is the master of this... late and delicate braking and then floating the car through the apex and then applying the gas.

In the most horrendous conditions, the master driver won.

Great deal, i watched mainly through the in car streams too as I am primarily interested in the GTLM race anyway. I turned off radio le mans though. They are great of course, but I had no guilt doing that knowing the youtube replay is later in the week. I feared for a while that the NBC production would be come the youtube replays but my fears have been alleviated (so far) becauses the qualifying replay which is up now was the IMSA Tv production.

[Deleted]

Wow a non-Alonso story popped up

[RWill2073]

Originally Posted by RWill2073

"Yeah? Well 40 years ago somebody did something heroic in life threatening conditions in cars that were extremely unsafe compared to now, so everyone nowadays are sissies."

...or something like that...



There it is!

Originally Posted by jimclark

What a hollow victory for any of the classes.
Endurance racing? Where?

'Can't handle it? 'Supposed to be "the best". Ha. 'Sad what's happening to racing.....
It's over, for certain.

Originally Posted by jimclark

We would have witnessed the drivers that had the intelligente not to deserving victory. That's what.
Endurance racing....victory of man and machine, not just wimp calling.

If they can't handle it, they should go play golf or something.

There it is again!

[Anyopenroad]

What a fantastic event the Daytona 24 Hours is.

The facility is brilliant - great organisation, tremendously friendly and helpful people, an awesome track, great fans. Everyone I encountered was delightful, from the gate staff to the 'fan crew', from the fans who let me take pictures from the top of their RV to the couple who brought me a coffee while we cowered under shelter from the rain at 7am.

The combination of the banking and the infield makes for a terrific contrast. From high up in the stands the cars are like colourful ants speeding round in the distance; from the infield they are roaring monsters a few feet away.

I got sunburned on Saturday, freezing cold overnight and soaked to the skin on Sunday, truly all seasons in 24 hours.

I also took just over 6,000 photos, which will take me some time to sort through! From the start in glorious sunshine to glowing brake disks at night to cars sliding around like a demolition derby at turn one when the rain came in the morning.

Next year I'm taking the final step: I'm going to camp on the infield rather than pay through the nose for a nearby hotel.

What an event. Thank you Daytona!

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

What a fantastic event the Daytona 24 Hours is.

The facility is brilliant - great organisation, tremendously friendly and helpful people, an awesome track, great fans. Everyone I encountered was delightful, from the gate staff to the 'fan crew', from the fans who let me take pictures from the top of their RV to the couple who brought me a coffee while we cowered under shelter from the rain at 7am.

The combination of the banking and the infield makes for a terrific contrast. From high up in the stands the cars are like colourful ants speeding round in the distance; from the infield they are roaring monsters a few feet away.

I got sunburned on Saturday, freezing cold overnight and soaked to the skin on Sunday, truly all seasons in 24 hours.

I also took just over 6,000 photos, which will take me some time to sort through! From the start in glorious sunshine to glowing brake disks at night to cars sliding around like a demolition derby at turn one when the rain came in the morning.

Next year I'm taking the final step: I'm going to camp on the infield rather than pay through the nose for a nearby hotel.

What an event. Thank you Daytona!

Glad you enjoyed it! Your description of the weather was great, and because of that it makes camping that much more difficult to pack for!

[joeb]

Originally Posted by kevin993

Apparently the safety car almost lost it coming out of the bus stop just before they put out the red. That's what Alonso went up to the safety car driver to talk about. If the safety car is getting sideways under yellow, that's a good indication that parking the field is the right move.

I thought Taylor's last stint in the car was pretty heroic in the rain as well. He took the car to the front in just as bad of conditions.

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

For anyone still debating how wise (or not) trying to race in that rain was, here's Sebastien Bourdais' onboard from one of the last green flag runs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIdTgL39CYE

Half the lap is blind, the rest is riding through lakes. Windscreen wiper as useless as an umbrella in a hurricane.

Imsa should require some type of mudflaps on the cars to keep spray down,

[Maelochs]

@Anyopenroad: would that I were young enough--or spry enough--to find that sort of stuff entertaining, still. Glad you did.

Track management has changed a few times in the past decade, and from my experience Everyone is a lot nicer and a lot more interested in fans having a good experience.

Best bet? Rent a minivan, get a really cheap hotel about ten miles away, and drive everything you need to the track. That way if you want, you can sleep in the minivan in pretty fair comfort, change clothes in comfort, store snacks in a cooler and carry a tiny grille, store your camera gear securely, and if you want to go back to the hotel, during off-peak hours traffic won't be too bad.

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

@Anyopenroad: would that I were young enough--or spry enough--to find that sort of stuff entertaining, still. Glad you did.

I was born the week of Woodstock so I don't get called young very often!

I distinguish between the event and the race. When at the track for any event I pay no attention to who is winning or what is happening in the race. I enjoy the sights, sounds and atmosphere of the event. Then when I get home I download or stream the race to see what happened.

It's not uncommon for me to greatly enjoy an event but then find the race itself dull when I subsequently watch it - the Spa 24 Hours, with its artificial rules, is often like this, despite being an incredible event to attend.

So I may well not enjoy this Daytona 24 race when I watch it back this week. But as an event, to attend in person, to endure, to share with other fans, it was wonderful.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

I was born the week of Woodstock so I don't get called young very often!

I distinguish between the event and the race. When at the track for any event I pay no attention to who is winning or what is happening in the race. I enjoy the sights, sounds and atmosphere of the event. Then when I get home I download or stream the race to see what happened.

It's not uncommon for me to greatly enjoy an event but then find the race itself dull when I subsequently watch it - the Spa 24 Hours, with its artificial rules, is often like this, despite being an incredible event to attend.

So I may well not enjoy this Daytona 24 race when I watch it back this week. But as an event, to attend in person, to endure, to share with other fans, it was wonderful.

Glad you did find the enjoyment, despite the weather, young person .

In the world view, it is a very unrated event. Yes, it's a roval, but it's at one of THE historic venues for motor racing and in such a relaxed, fun atmosphere. Also, being the "start" of the racing season, it gains some serious attention.

Unfortunately, you discovered you can live through 3 seasons during a 24 hour period.

[chernaudi]

I don't know how they can improve the drainage at Daytona. Track's on mostly flat ground 35-40ft above sea level inside a high banked oval with several paved run off areas.


It has to be remembered that Fuji in Japan has similar problems for some similar reasons, namely geography (in this case being in a small valley in a hilly/mountainous region) and being in an area where water has little place to go once the ground is saturated.

[broadrun96]

Because smarter people than us here in the US think the track should be built for the 24 and that other race is just a nuisance. It's a track built for one purpose and a 24 hour race just isn't it. Well and the basic understanding of Florida is a floating state, the water table can be hit by a kid with a shovel. When it rains, things get very wet and they don't drain. That's what happens and pretending it doesn't or you can fix it is futile.

[carbsmith]

Is the race really competing with the NFL so directly it has to be on this exact weekend though? The weather certainly couldn't be worse on any other date and it was a week later the first 40 years. It would be over hours before the Super Bowl anyways.

I don't see how crap drainage aids NASCAR exactly, unless 9 hour Monday events and jet dryer explosions are considered an upgrade from the current product.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by carbsmith

Is the race really competing with the NFL so directly it has to be on this exact weekend though? The weather certainly couldn't be worse on any other date and it was a week later the first 40 years. It would be over hours before the Super Bowl anyways.



I don't see how crap drainage aids NASCAR exactly, unless 9 hour Monday events and jet dryer explosions are considered an upgrade from the current product.

They don't run in the rain at all so if it rains they get postponed, especially on superspeedways.

And yes, EVERYTHING gets cancelled on Super Bowl weekend. There are multiple studies to show nothing gets done after about 3 on "Super Sunday." Grocery stores can tell you exactly how a game is going by business at half time. And the weather doesn't appear to be better any time in January on average so it's pick a weekend and spin the wheel. Plus those guys who pay for the cars without driving? They're all at the Super Bowl next weekend making deals and driving the ticket prices into the price of a decent used car.

[joeb]

DSC has an article about how IMSA made the decision to end the race early.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/0...eavy-rain.html

The last bit I found interesting:

There’s not really (much else they could have done had they known how bad the weather would be in advanced), we do a lot of work with weather services to anticipate rain, wind, lightining. We knew it was coming, it was just how much comes and at what periods of time. It came slowly, but it built and it was quite a load of rain today. The track itself is fine, the banking isn’t bad, but visibility was another thing, with Michelins that was a new experience for us.

Was Raffauf saying that the Michelins caused more spray than the Conti's? I find it hard to believe the brand of tire made that much difference. There is spray because there is water, or am i missing something?

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by joeb

DSC has an article about how IMSA made the decision to end the race early.

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/0...eavy-rain.html

The last bit I found interesting:



Was Raffauf saying that the Michelins caused more spray than the Conti's? I find it hard to believe the brand of tire made that much difference. There is spray because there is water, or am i missing something?

I'm guessing they throw more water in the air because they can actually move the water out from under the tires so there's a bit of this weird time called grip even in the rain?

[joeb]

Originally Posted by broadrun96

I'm guessing they throw more water in the air because they can actually move the water out from under the tires so there's a bit of this weird time called grip even in the rain?

That's why it is a weird comment, because the alternative would be worse.

But every rain tire, and car driving through it makes spray. I remember being at imsa races at Road America in the 80's where that was the coolest part about racing in the rain - the rooster tails.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by carbsmith

Is the race really competing with the NFL so directly it has to be on this exact weekend though? The weather certainly couldn't be worse on any other date and it was a week later the first 40 years. It would be over hours before the Super Bowl anyways.

Super Bowl changed to the current "February date" in the early 2000s when they added a week after the conference championship games:
http://www.espn.com/nfl/superbowl/history/winners

Daytona 24 looked to be consistently the weekend after until the aforementioned recent Super Bowl date change:
http://www.racingsportscars.com/trac...e/Daytona.html

So yes. They've been avoiding it for years purposely or not...recently, very purposefully.

And 7 days one direction or the other doesn't change the weather a whole bunch.

I don't see how crap drainage aids NASCAR exactly, unless 9 hour Monday events and jet dryer explosions are considered an upgrade from the current product.

I despise the current nascar product as much as the next, but statements like this don't really boost any arguements for or against drainage improvement or make you seem classier because you hate nascar.

[MaskedRacer]

I agree it should be moved up by a week to be closer with NASCAR speedweeks. Doubt any of us cares much about american football. I don't see the conflict myself. Having it a week later gives us a few more minutes of daylight racing too.

[MaskedRacer]

Want to recommend this youtube video by David Land. He covers all forms of auto racing, but big credit to him for having a video devoted 100% to the Daytona 24.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-QH_cflLjw