Mar 17, 2007 3:01:05 AM
Mar 18, 2007 8:42:44 AM
Mar 18, 2007 6:09:47 PM
Mar 18, 2007 6:29:21 PM
Mar 18, 2007 11:06:29 PM
Quote:
Ron (Houston) said:Quote:
911fan said:
IMHO, they should merge the GT2 and GT1 classes.
I agree.
Mar 19, 2007 12:39:43 AM
Mar 19, 2007 9:27:13 PM
Mar 20, 2007 1:03:11 AM
Mar 20, 2007 1:19:13 AM
Quote:
mawyatt said:
Don't get me wrong as I am a true Sports Car and Porsche fan. But at Sebring this is what the series really needs. Acura's win is great for the series as is Ferrari. Domination will kill the series for us all and in P1, GT1 and GT2 this was about to happen. NASCAR found the right equation, equalize the cars so the drivers and crew decide the race not the car manufactor. Remember the M3's in GT2 the DB9's in GT1, even the Salene in GT1. We need more cars in every class. How has Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Ford and everyone else allowed Audi to rule P1? Credit to Audi they could have just kept on running the R8 and probably winning, but they invested in the R10. Where has everyone else been??? In Porsche's case maybe counting thier profits and not managing their heritage!! Why hasn't Ford or GM or Chrysler fielded a P1 car, have they ever?? Well maybe the old GT40, why doesn't Ford field the new GT40?? Where is Mercedes with the CLK and Porsche with the EVO and the Jag GP and Nissian GP and Toyota and so on? I for one would love to see a series as close as NASCAR. The best Sports car race I can remember just happened in GT2, and Porsche didn't win but it was close and fun to watch. Lets see some of this in P1 and GT1 as well, I think P2 has the beginnings of a great series. Remember we Sports Car fans are a small minority and we need to capture the interest of the general public like NASCAR and F1 do. For this to happen we need parity in all race catagories.
Hopefully more close races to come.
Mike
Quote:
mawyatt said:
dan996,
I would like to believe that the Le Mans series can survive without parity in the classes, but I don't think it can. IMO for the series to be successful here in the US we need excitement for the general public like NASCAR brings. Sebring this year with the dramatic GT2 finish and the Acura win will do nothing but help the series. We sports car fans are to few here in the US, check your local newspaper for any writeup about Sebring, even with these dramatic events...not much here in Clearwater/St Pete Florida! Like it or not NASCAR is very successful because of the parity they have forced, anyone can win any race anytime. I even got bored over the years watching Porsche win every GT2 race until Panoz and Ferarri stole some wins. It was like watching a Porsche Cup race instead of GT2, not much fun IMO. Audi has completely distroyed P1 and we seriously need some challengers in P1 and GT1. I don't think GT1 will survive because it's almost as expensive to field a winning GT1 car as a P1 or P2 car, and only very high end private (Dyson & Pensky for example) with factory support or true factory teams (Audi, Corvette, Acura) can support this investment.
This is a business and must show value added, meaning large audience awareness for the sponsors and factory investments to pay off. This can only happen if we have classes that are not dominated by one manufactor, where any race can be won by any car anytime with races like the Sebring GT2 finish.
Just my thoughts,
Mike
Quote:
mawyatt said:
dan996,
You bring up a good point about NASCAR, I can't tell a Chevy from a Ford from a Dodge...they all look the same. That would be terrible for any sports car race. I did have a hard time identifing the Acura and Dyson Spyders in P2, wish Dyson and Acura had an easlily identifiable paint scheme, the Penske are easy because fo the speed yellow.
St Pete races coming up in a couple weeks, I'm going to try and attend.
BTW Porsche has no excuse in my mind for these electrical problems with the Spyder. I'm an EE and can tell you electricals are the last thing these cars should have problems with.
Mike