IMSA Race 2016 12 Hours of Sebring

[Matt]

Originally Posted by MoMedic9019

I'm betting that team isn't showing up, and the NDA would have expired by now.

You've been going on, and on, and on, and on about this magical team that nobody else has heard of.

Well, there's a first time for everything....

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by MoMedic9019

I'm betting that team isn't showing up,

They're already testing for their WEC entry in Europe.

and the NDA would have expired by now.

How would you know if you haven't been party to it?

You've been going on, and on, and on, and on about this magical team that nobody else has heard of.

Teams pop up out of nowhere quite regularly. The fact that you've never heard of it frankly means nothing.

They're keeping their heads down for a reason - they've already got Atherton's ire, and once they debut with their win-at-all-costs mentality and extremely large budget they're certain to earn the ire of the other teams as well.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by FormulaFox

They're already testing for their WEC entry in Europe.



How would you know if you haven't been party to it?



Teams pop up out of nowhere quite regularly. The fact that you've never heard of it frankly means nothing.

They're keeping their heads down for a reason - they've already got Atherton's ire, and once they debut with their win-at-all-costs mentality and extremely large budget they're certain to earn the ire of the other teams as well.

Just out of curiosity, is this for 2017? The 2016 WEC list has already been announced.

[TF110]

I hope what Fox says is true. I'm not going to call him out on it, nor take his word just because. So, hopefully we'll see.

[MoMedic9019]

Originally Posted by FormulaFox

They're keeping their heads down for a reason - they've already got Atherton's ire, and once they debut with their win-at-all-costs mentality and extremely large budget they're certain to earn the ire of the other teams as well.

Did Corey Shaw finally buy into a customer program? He irritated Atherton quite badly a few years back.

Listen, I hate to say it, but, being fairly well connected to some, ehm... Well connected sportscar journos, nobody has heard anything, and if they are being this secret, and have been able to somehow test in ultra secrecy... Then they are on a whole new level of private.

I'm not buying it.

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by joeb

Just out of curiosity, is this for 2017? The 2016 WEC list has already been announced.

Yes, it's for 2017 in both series. LMP2/DPi.

Originally Posted by MoMedic9019

Did Corey Shaw finally buy into a customer program? He irritated Atherton quite badly a few years back.

No. This is a completely new program out of Europe.

Listen, I hate to say it, but, being fairly well connected to some, ehm... Well connected sportscar journos, nobody has heard anything, and if they are being this secret, and have been able to somehow test in ultra secrecy... Then they are on a whole new level of private.

I'm not buying it.

They haven't been talking to the journalists, and they forced IMSA to sign the NDAs as well(despite Scotty's protests), so nobody at the top can give them any details, either. In the mind of the average journalist, no details = nothing happening. However, that's simply not always the case. Journalists miss more than half of things going on in the background until they actually happen anyway - a group that wants to cover it's tracks and has no prior direct involvment in racing can easily be missed.

I can point you to this little tidbit, though: A new race shop was being constructed in Charlotte, NC. That was to be this team's US shop.

Emphasis on "was" - the project was terminated due to one of the owners choosing to move the location to Florida due to reasons best kept secret to prevent controversial commentary. (I'll only say that an owner was not impressed by his visit)

Construction ultimately may or may not get finished and the building sold off to another party - that was undecided as of my last update.

There may be something else I can point to, but I need to double-check whether or not the NDA covers it first. I can only point to the above because, well, race shop construction in Charlotte is rather...public. They can hide the identity of the team behind it, but not the project itself.

[Akrapovic]

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/es...r-12h-sebring/

lol. Won two races and still managed to not be winning the championship.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/es...r-12h-sebring/

lol. Won two races and still managed to not be winning the championship.

That is kind of messed up. I've never liked the imsa points system because I feel the benefit for winning isn't as good as it should be. This only strengthens my feelings on that!

[Maelochs]

Originally Posted by joeb

That is kind of messed up. I've never liked the imsa points system because I feel the benefit for winning isn't as good as it should be. This only strengthens my feelings on that!

I think the whole point of NAEC (besides getting patron to pony up more cash) was to create excitement in the middle of long races, during stints when certain parties (maybe parties more used to frequent cautions and restarts) felt that the cars weren't actually racing.

By giving points at four-hour segments, they hoped to create mini-sprints in the middle of endurance races. Interesting how it works out.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

I think the whole point of NAEC (besides getting patron to pony up more cash) was to create excitement in the middle of long races, during stints when certain parties (maybe parties more used to frequent cautions and restarts) felt that the cars weren't actually racing.

By giving points at four-hour segments, they hoped to create mini-sprints in the middle of endurance races. Interesting how it works out.

I think the points system works how it was intended, keeping everybody close so the last race matters. The cars are balanced, might add week balance the points as well!

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by joeb

I think the points system works how it was intended, keeping everybody close so the last race matters. The cars are balanced, might add week balance the points as well!

What we need a is a knockout system! In a race to the chase to the cup!

[Madkart]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

What we need a is a knockout system! In a race to the chase to the cup!

Oh goodness why even bring this up

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

What we need a is a knockout system! In a race to the chase to the cup!

These comments hurt my soul.

[TzeiTzei]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

I think the whole point of NAEC (besides getting patron to pony up more cash) was to create excitement in the middle of long races, during stints when certain parties (maybe parties more used to frequent cautions and restarts) felt that the cars weren't actually racing.





By giving points at four-hour segments, they hoped to create mini-sprints in the middle of endurance races. Interesting how it works out.

The problem is that as I was watching the stream I had no idea they were giving points at some stages of the race. They really should emphasize this more.

[Maelochs]

I have to admit I was a little surprised when AXR stepped up to claim the NAEC trophy ... I guess they figured they could give the race wins to ESM at the first two races and then win their third overall championship through the rest of the season, and pick off the rest of the NAEC points at the same time ... now that the MSR Ligier can be further restricted because of the performance of Pipo Derani in the ESM Ligier, which won't be seen again here.

Good strategy.

[Matt]

NAEC points favor having a well rounded lineup like AXR has over the large gap in talent that ESM has.

[Deleted]

Don't worry about the points, as NAEC sub championship is pointless (no pun intended). No-one will remember who won what, even less so than with regular championships, and there are no carrots at the end for competitors either. If teams want to enter those races they will because of the events themselves.

Who clinched NAEC in 2012? 2014? The other years? I don't know. Does anyone really care?

Even Michelin Green X Challenge had more going for it back in the day.

[Coach Ep]

Spot on Chiana.

In 20 years time most will still remember ESM's victory in the '36 Hours of Florida of 2016' - much like Moretti's accomplishments back in '98. Does anyone remember how the season ended for him and his team? Correct!

[TzeiTzei]

Isnt there a 100k prize?

[Maelochs]

I believe AXR has won the NAEC the past two years ... and no, I don't care enough even to google it ... but a couple folks did care enough to discuss it ...

Not sure it is designed to favor "well-rounded" (read "all-pro") teams ... pretty sure it was designed to get teams to race a little in the middle stretches of endurance races, so there would be something else to hype.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

I believe AXR has won the NAEC the past two years ... and no, I don't care enough even to google it ... but a couple folks did care enough to discuss it ...

Not sure it is designed to favor "well-rounded" (read "all-pro") teams ... pretty sure it was designed to get teams to race a little in the middle stretches of endurance races, so there would be something else to hype.

Never said it was designed to, but it does.

[Lanky Turtle]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Don't worry about the points, as NAEC sub championship is pointless (no pun intended). No-one will remember who won what, even less so than with regular championships, and there are no carrots at the end for competitors either. If teams want to enter those races they will because of the events themselves.

Who clinched NAEC in 2012? 2014? The other years? I don't know. Does anyone really care?

Even Michelin Green X Challenge had more going for it back in the day.

It's true. In sportscar racing, winning big races like Le Mans and Sebring are usually viewed as a greater accomplishment than winning a series championship. I barely keep track of the season championship compared to say, Indycar or F1 where the focus seems much more on the war than the battles, other than the Indy 500. I think it's because of the nature of endurance racing with multiple drivers. If a team's top driver misses a race during the season, the slowest AM driver on the team could end up winning the driver's championship.

[Lanky Turtle]

Originally Posted by FormulaFox

Yes, it's for 2017 in both series. LMP2/DPi.



No. This is a completely new program out of Europe.



They haven't been talking to the journalists, and they forced IMSA to sign the NDAs as well(despite Scotty's protests), so nobody at the top can give them any details, either. In the mind of the average journalist, no details = nothing happening. However, that's simply not always the case. Journalists miss more than half of things going on in the background until they actually happen anyway - a group that wants to cover it's tracks and has no prior direct involvment in racing can easily be missed.

I can point you to this little tidbit, though: A new race shop was being constructed in Charlotte, NC. That was to be this team's US shop.

Emphasis on "was" - the project was terminated due to one of the owners choosing to move the location to Florida due to reasons best kept secret to prevent controversial commentary. (I'll only say that an owner was not impressed by his visit)

Construction ultimately may or may not get finished and the building sold off to another party - that was undecided as of my last update.

There may be something else I can point to, but I need to double-check whether or not the NDA covers it first. I can only point to the above because, well, race shop construction in Charlotte is rather...public. They can hide the identity of the team behind it, but not the project itself.

1.Atherton doesn't want them due to previous actions but was forced to sign an NDA.
2. Based in Europe
3. Win at all costs mentality that will garner the ire of the sanctioning body and competitors.
4. A group that has no previous direct involvement in racing and wants to cover their tracks.
5. Decided to cancel plans for shop in cold North Carolina to be in hot Florida.

I've been forced to conclude that the new team you are referencing is ISIS Racing.

[Ephaeton]

Originally Posted by TzeiTzei

The problem is that as I was watching the stream I had no idea they were giving points at some stages of the race. They really should emphasize this more.

They (Radio Le Mans commentary) properly pointed it out for one of the occasions during the Daytona 24, as they were commending Corvette (iirc) for rushing to one of the intermediates. Can't comment for Sebring, its poor flow this year had me mute most of it.

IMO, the presentation of the peculiarities of endurance racing in general, and IMSA rules in special (e.g. pit procedures, a somewhat voluntary penalty box (except when it isn't), voluntarily doing a lucky dog wave by, ...) by the commentators can be improved still.

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by Lanky Turtle

I've been forced to conclude that the new team you are referencing is ISIS Racing.

Not funny.