Too Many Series

[gttouring]

Is it possible to think there are too many series?
Too many touring cars, and sports car and those cross the line of both series, all over, not too mention the overwhelming openwheel formula that pepper the landscape.
How many sports car series can we handle? and what is enough?- at least all open wheelers culminate at F1 (or Cart/Indy) But all the sportscar series, can just 'Visit' LeMans and not have it be part of the championship, and LeMans has little effect to the Belcar, Brit GT, Euro GT, Trans-AM, JGTC (whose Taisan Porsche ran at LeMans as a GT)
and Speed GT, ALMS,Grand -Am, Fia GT, FIA SCC, Spanish GT chamionships, and I hope I didn't miss one...and then we have touring cars masquerading as GT cars like the DTM (or is it vice versa-GT's pretending to be TouringCars)...

[SALEEN S7R]

To be honest I think the Sportscar racing scene is OK as it is at the moment, when the LMES is introduced next year I think that it will be even stronger, as the FIA SCC seems to be dead it will mean there arent any more series than there are presently. But a better series replacing a weak series. Any more series than we have currently though and I think grids and crowd attendances really would suffer. But at the moment I think its ok.

Oh and btw Id say the DTM is not trying to make itself out to be a GT series. It is a touring car series and I belive isnt trying to immatate any Sportscar series. The words DTM stand for "Dutch touring car Championship" or words to that effect.

[gttouring]

DTM-Deutche (sp) (German) TourenwagenMeister.... The cars certainly don't look like touring cars, and they ran in the 24 hrs at the nurburgring as a GT (Opel Astra and Audi TT)
hence the blurred lines, and a Mercedes DTM racer ran as a GT at a BRNO race.
well i digress, it seems FIA GT, the coming LeMans Tourney and FIA SCC al seem to water down sportscar grids, As ALMS and GA do in the states (not too mention SpeedGT whose cars often double stint in ALMS GT and so on and so forth, and are ALMS teams going to contest the LeMans Tourney? most likely not, as budgets what have you..It seems as if-as healthy as Sports cars are right now they are reaching everywhere

[gttouring]

oyou know maybe there are too many touring car series about, or those pesky V8 championships-like Brit V8, V8 Stars, ASCAR, NASCAR, ASA, Hooters, ARCA, DTM,Trans-AM
ot whatever these series call themselves

[SALEEN S7R]

Im afraid I disagree. The DTM does look like a touring car series to me. Sure the cars are faster than a regular Super 2000 spec machine, but they arent much if any faster than the old STCC cars.

The Opel Astra lets not forget is effectivly the Vauxall Astra which races in the BTCC, but with a bigger engine than its BTCC counterpart. As for the fact the DTM machines ran in the GT class of the Nurburgring 24hrs, yeah but then the Belcar rules are a little erm flexible compared to other series. ie FIA GT, FIA SCC, ALMS etc.

I mean if someone wanted to they could enter a Ferrari 360 modena in the GTS class at Le Mans, but they dont because theyd be uncompetitive. My point is just because a car is eligable for a certain class dosent mean they belong there.

[Graham Goodwin]

The Nurburgring 24 Hours has nothing to do with Belcar.

I'd agree that the DTM cars are closer to the concept of a GT car than a Tourer.

It is in effect a sihouette series, the only real similarity between the BTCC Astra and the DTM Opel is the basic body shape - everything else is leagues apart starting from the gullwing doors downwards.

[cybersdorf]

Originally posted by Graham Goodwin
The Nurburgring 24 Hours has nothing to do with Belcar.

Nothing whatsoever.

I'd agree that the DTM cars are closer to the concept of a GT car than a Tourer.
It is in effect a sihouette series, the only real similarity between the BTCC Astra and the DTM Opel is the basic body shape - everything else is leagues apart starting from the gullwing doors downwards.

The BTCC Astra is FWD, 2l 4cyl.; the DTM Astra is RWD, 4l V8, with completely purpose-built chassis. It's something that looks like an Astra Coupé but that's where it ends.

[gttouring]

so DTM does tend to be more like a GT class than touring cars, hmm

[Zandbak]

DTM is not GT and not Touring Cars...........

It's Silouhette racing, it's not derived from a road car......ever looked inside? It's more like a formula 1 in Tin-top look.

Are there too many series? YESSSSSSSSS, but the weaker ones will drop out. Like FIA SCC and Euro GT's........

[GP Racer]

This is a great topic gttouring!

Right now, there are definetly to many series going on IMO. Unless your a total fanatic, and I'm sure there out there, who can possibly keep up with the rules, regs and specs of all these series, let alone getting to know who the drivers are. Many of these series have so little attendance that its a wonder they can stay alive. How the hell do they make money!? There's just not enough fans to go around to carry all these series. I agree Zandbak, the weaker ones will drop out, the question is when?

The only way to keep ones sanity, at least for me, is to pick a couple of series to watch and ignore the rest. I like Trans Am, ALMS, and Grand Am, in sports cars, and F1 and CART for open wheel. Now I'm sure I'm missing something great at sometime, somewhere, in some other series, but thats OK,I can live with that. To many series would just confuse me LOL!:confused:

[gttouring]

but it goes on and on- JGTC, V8stars? gt or touring?
BritV8's Touring or GT, Brit car? where does it stop, even here USTCC, and speed GT, and TC- all the iron series..west and east coast, Panoz Pro Gt/GTS all the single marque series-I know many of them are meant for driver development, but it seems like many participants do not wnat to be developed and are happy just to be there, confusing the would be scouts and not giving a good chance to people who want to come up-the ferrari challenges, Porsche supercups yadda yadda yadda .
And don't even get started on open wheel smaller series' Star Mazda and what have you