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4 May 2003, 20:18 (Ref:589488) | #26 | |
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The 350Z is a NISMO project while prodrive are 'supposed' to be working on 2 prototypes (Nissan/Mazda??) and a GT/GTS (Mazda??)
The 550 is a privateer project. I think the organisors of the WRC round in Germany are pretty confident they have solved the safety worries. In the future when the WRC drops tarmac rounds Germany will relocate to gravel stages as Germany is too important a market to ignore. |
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4 May 2003, 22:21 (Ref:589599) | #27 | ||
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JAG, Prodrive was working in one prototype project (LMPGTP+GT) for Mazda and in one (GTS) for Lamborghini.
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4 May 2003, 22:45 (Ref:589611) | #28 | ||
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i was at last years german wrc round and there were twice as many french ppl than germans if not more
wrc is just beginning to become popular in germany and has a big potential |
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4 May 2003, 22:53 (Ref:589621) | #29 | ||
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Quote:
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6 May 2003, 08:39 (Ref:590650) | #30 | |||
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10 May 2003, 16:18 (Ref:595452) | #31 | ||
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Bring back the good old days of Group A. Can you imagine what an M3 Evo X or a Mercedes Evo VII would be like now. And if they had to build and sell 5000 eaxample of each, or even the 500 for the evolution, there would be a lot of nice cars out there for the rest of us to play with.
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11 May 2003, 11:51 (Ref:596017) | #32 | ||
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Couldn't agree more about Group A, though the 500 sport evolutions shouldn't have seen the light of day, that is what killed it.
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13 May 2003, 10:45 (Ref:597730) | #33 | ||
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i read today that opel will bring the vectra gts and abt/audi the a4 in 2004
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13 May 2003, 18:34 (Ref:598194) | #34 | |
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Good news that Audi/Abt enters the A4 in 2004. That car looks much nicer than the TT.
Where did you get this news? Is this official? Because this means Opel will not pull out DTM next year. |
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13 May 2003, 19:12 (Ref:598237) | #35 | ||
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it was written in a weekly german motorsport magazine which is usually very reliable
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13 May 2003, 19:56 (Ref:598269) | #36 | ||
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Heeey, that is good to see that 4 door sedans will return to the DTM? I wonder if MB will respond with the C-Class. But I highly doubt it.
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Supertouring Forever and Ever... |
13 May 2003, 20:14 (Ref:598284) | #37 | ||
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i think there will be a new c model in 2006, so building a new car for just 2 years might be too expensive and they just entered their new clk last year
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13 May 2003, 21:24 (Ref:598335) | #38 | ||
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But what about Opel's situation? There's going to be a brand new Astra in '04 or '05 I believe? How old is the Vectra? So Opel could still race either car? The Astra would be the most logical since it would be newer and the car will be around the longest? Though it would be nice to jumpstart Vectra sales?
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13 May 2003, 21:30 (Ref:598340) | #39 | |
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Latest Vectra hasn't been out more than a year anyway.
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13 May 2003, 21:53 (Ref:598350) | #40 | ||
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the new astra doesnt look like a car which could be used for touring car racing
if i remember the right pics |
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14 May 2003, 00:06 (Ref:598392) | #41 | |||
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OTOH, I guess things can't get much worse (competitively) for Opel if they switch to the Vectra. They have to start fresh again? |
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Supertouring Forever and Ever... |
15 May 2003, 07:20 (Ref:599412) | #42 | ||
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Racer 69, I wouldn't blame the Sport Evolutions entirely but they were part of the reason. Things just got too advanced in the next few years with the technology.
I, for one, am eternally grateful that BMW built 600 Sport Evolutions though as I was lucky enough to own one. What a sweet car! The current rules are really a bit silly and the cars are nothing more than a European version of NASCAR stockers in my opinion. |
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15 May 2003, 21:30 (Ref:600318) | #43 | |
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There are strong rumours Opel will enter the WRC with an Astra WRC car in the next two years. This would put Opels participation in the DTM in doubt.
The belief was also that Opel would pull out of the DTM at the end of 2003 if they did not return to being regular winners, which is not looking likely. |
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15 May 2003, 22:49 (Ref:600388) | #44 | ||
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Which makes it all the more important that the DTM's organisers successfully woo another manufacturer. Ford seems the obvious choice...
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15 May 2003, 22:58 (Ref:600393) | #45 | |
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But Ford are commited to the WRC, F1 (Jaguar/Jordan) and Sportscars with Aston Martin. DTMs problem is that its a national championship with budgets closer to LM/F1/WRC than ETCC or BTCC.
IMO DTM should take the base of the ETCC cars, use 2.5L V6s and bigger wheels, and bodywork modifications. That would be more like the DTM of the Group A days. |
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15 May 2003, 23:07 (Ref:600394) | #46 | ||
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Interesting thought, JAG. I'd rather see DTM-looking saloons and coupes with 3-litre engines (as many or as few cylinders as you like) as a Europe-wide formula, but what do I know?
Your point about expense is well made. Question: if the DTM had more manufacturers, and each factory didn't ahve to tun 6-8 cars, would costs come down? The fundamental truth, I suppose, is that European touring car racing is screwed without a common formula. I told you Super Touring was a good idea... |
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Interviewer: "Will the McLaren F1 be your answer to the Ferrari F40?" Gordon Murray: "Hmm... I don't think we have anyone at McLaren who can weld that badly..." |
15 May 2003, 23:29 (Ref:600400) | #47 | |
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I think ETCC/BTCC are pretty successful and secure. But the DTM always places itself at the top of the touring car tree and needs to be different.
As I say take the ETCC cars as a base but fir bigger engines like when the BTCC had 2l Group A M3 and the DTM 2.5l Group A M3s. Would cut costs and open up the championship to more manufactuers. The ideas of V8 DTM cars, initially, appealed to me but the cars soud terrible and you don't get the same banging of doors and great racing as you had in the Group A days, before Class 1. |
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