View Full Version : A Little Help?
I know zip about the politics of motor racing but I clearly remember the days when there was a F-1 world championship AND a Sportscar world championship. The sportscar thing used to be a big deal, bigger than now anyway. So, what's up with this new 24 car, 6 teams X2, World GT Championship? ALMS has GT2 now, but no GT1? That makes sense but why not just call it GT1? Is World GT and ALMS GT2 the same...or at least real close? Of course no WORLD GT races in the US. (I guess Road America gets Nationwide instead?:shakehead)
FCYTravis
03-04-10, 03:28 AM
Right now, the French run sports car racing.
That explains everything.
opinionated ow
03-04-10, 04:19 AM
The GT1 regulations per the FIA have changed for 2010. AFAIK the ACO GT1 regulations have been modified as well (note Natacha Gachnang/Cyndie Allemann Ford GT1 2010 entry at Le Mans). The FIA decided to reduce the performance gap between the classes and SRO who run the FIA GT series decided to split the cars into separate races. The FIA GT1 championship is therefore now global and the GT2 series is just European along with the FIA GT3 & FIA GT4 series.
Confused yet?
Let's break it down.
GT1: Most extreme. Used in FIA GT1 World Championship (last year's FIA GT), Le Mans 24 hour, Asian Le Mans Series, European Le Mans Series and possibly at the Spa 24 hours (SRO want GT1 to not run in the endurance race for some reason), French GT Championship.
GT2: Still largely modified. Used in FIA GT2 European Championship, some national GT Championships (UK, Italy, Spain), European Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series, Spa 24 Hours, Le Mans 24 Hours. Convoluted version of the class is used in ALMS.
GT3: One-make class spec (eg. Ferrari 430 Challange, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car). Used extensively in national GT Championships (Australia, UK, Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, Germany etc), FIA GT3 European Championship, Spa 24 hours.
GT4: Almost production specification. Used in FIA GT4 European Trophy, some national series (Germany, Belgium etc.).
Rogue Leader
03-04-10, 08:28 AM
My question is are we gonna get the new FIA GT1 on US TV or do we just get 10 second clips between hours of NASCAR bull***** on speed?
Methanolandbrats
03-04-10, 09:05 AM
10 seconds? No way they cover it for that long.
extramundane
03-04-10, 09:26 AM
GT2: [...] Convoluted version of the class is used in ALMS.
ALMS GT(2) is running to full ACO specs, with the sole exception of a restrictor break for the Ford GT.
opinionated ow
03-04-10, 09:38 AM
ALMS GT(2) is running to full ACO specs, with the sole exception of a restrictor break for the Ford GT.
Aren't they running upspecced Carrera/GT3/Porsche Cup cars?
OK,OK, so no giant honker Corvettes, even Euro 'vettes, with World GT-1's most extreme? And no US races? To me that lends little credibility to the series, then. Aston, Maserati etc? And convoluted or not the ALMS GT-2 spec matches up with World GT-2? Don't give a crap.:thumdown: Can a US ALMS team still "win" at LeMans? Probably more important to do that than win a bogus world title anyway. Smacks of :tony:ism.
Hmmm...reading on Autosport that Andreas Zuber has been signed to drive the Phoenix Carsport GT-1 lead (#1?) Corvette. So, is this a "factory" or mfgr. entry? How much more "extreme" is it than the ALMS GT-2's? Other drivers include Bernoldi, Turner, Enge, Dumbreck and Krumm. Supposedly a GT championship, so why a Maserati "supercar?":saywhat: (temporary, I guess, somebody got thrown a bone?)
extramundane
03-04-10, 11:00 AM
Aren't they running upspecced Carrera/GT3/Porsche Cup cars?
The GT Challenge class is open to GT3 Cup cars from IMSA Patron GT3, Grand Am GT and World Challenge GT. It's a different class from GT(2).
And convoluted or not the ALMS GT-2 spec matches up with World GT-2? Don't give a crap. Can a US ALMS team still "win" at LeMans?
ALMS GT = ACO GT2, so yes, an ALMS GT team can still win at LeMans.
Methanolandbrats
03-04-10, 12:00 PM
This thread is like reading Latin........anyone want to translate the impact on ALMS this year and next year...will it get better or continue to get worse? Dust off those crystal balls :)
extramundane
03-04-10, 12:06 PM
This thread is like reading Latin........anyone want to translate the impact on ALMS this year and next year...will it get better or continue to get worse? Dust off those crystal balls :)
ALMS will continue to get worse all on its own. No outside interference necessary.
Methanolandbrats
03-04-10, 12:24 PM
ALMS will continue to get worse all on its own. No outside interference necessary. The 2008 race at Road America was outstanding and it looked the series was going to get a lot better. Then everything went in the tank :(
TrueBrit
03-04-10, 04:22 PM
The 2008 race at Road America was outstanding and it looked the series was going to get a lot better. Then everything went in the tank :(
Yes it was, and yes it did...oh well...
10 seconds? No way they cover it for that long.
Coverage will depend on the size of the crash and how spectacular it looks on tv.
Right now, the French run sports car racing.
That explains everything.
Yep, It explains a lot if you look at all the years the FIA made a mess of it all.
:rofl:
Killing Group C and thus the World Sportscar Championship at the same time wasn't an easy thing to do, as one of many many examples of FIA bungled muggings. The BPR was going the right way until it was premeditatedly killed off by the FIA as another example.
Heck, France and Bishop had to start IMSA here just to have a functional series to compete at Daytona many years ago. That went well till they sold it off.
extramundane
03-04-10, 08:06 PM
And, almost on cue, Stephane Ratel proposes killing off the Euro GT2 Championship for 2010. Way to go, sir. :rofl: :shakehead
Easy to figure how he still has a job within the FIA. :rofl:
I'd love it if North America could have a sports car series that didn't have anything to do with the French and the ACO. The France Mafia's goofy DPs just don't cut it for me, though, and I suppose it is but a vain hope I will ever see a real top level racing series again on this continent.
I could go for a western hemisphere professional sports car series that wasn't built on endurance racing at all.
I could go for a western hemisphere professional sports car series that wasn't built on endurance racing at all.
USRRC and Can Am sports car sprint races rocked. Even IMSA GTP was an attention grabber for the shorter races.
FCYTravis
03-05-10, 03:50 PM
Thing is, single-driver sprint races don't allow for the "gentlemen" drivers to get their stints... and given how many teams are funded out of the pockets of those gentlemen drivers, that's an important consideration.
Yep, thats how it works in endurance racing. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
But isn't GT1 mainly a series of two-heat one hour sprint races?
Steve99
03-05-10, 08:00 PM
But isn't GT1 mainly a series of two-heat one hour sprint races?
Depends on the series. Le Mans and ALMS had a GT1 class that ran longer races (ACO rules). FIA GT has a GT1 class (almost the same kind of cars, but a little more leeway in the spec) that runs shorter races.
NismoZ, the FIA and ACO each make GT rules for their own use. Sometimes they play nice and the specs are very similar, othertimes they wander down their own path. The nice thing about similar specs is it allows cars to move back and forth between the series with only minor mods. The FIA is letting Stephane Ratel run the new FIA GT1 World Championship. I guess he would be the Bernie equivalent in GT.
The ACO GT1 class is dieing off, but I don't think the ACO has completely described what the future holds for their GT classes.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81993
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