The LMP2 and Daytona Prototype automobiles will compete against each other subsequent yr. (Getty)
The concept behind the unification of the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Series is easy: one sports automobile series for the United States.
In that vein, it is similar to the merger between Champ Automotive and the IndyCar Sequence 5 seasons ago. Two related series blended below one sanctioning physique to not solely enhance competitors, but in addition ease confusion amongst fans.
For the brand new United SportsCar Racing sequence, it isn’t that straightforward. But. When Champ Automotive and the then Indy Racing League came collectively, the groups that made the transfer from Champ Car started working the Honda engines and Dallara chassis that the IndyCar teams have been using. While the USCR will embrace 4 sports automobile classifications when it begins in 2014, the automobiles within two of these classes shall be blended together from each collection. While they might look similar to the casual fan, that’s about so far as they go.
The two merged courses are the new GT-Daytona class and Prototype class. (The GT Le Mans and LMPC lessons are coming over straight from ALMS.) The GT-D class will include the automobiles that you simply see in the Grand-Am GT class — the Porsches, BMWs and Camaros that almost all strongly resemble excessive-performance cars you’d see next to you at a stoplight — and Porsches from the GT-Problem class in the present ALMS. The brand new Prototype class is a merger of the LMP2 class in ALMS and the Daytona Prototype classification in Grand-Am. These are the vehicles that bear a vague resemblance to the Batmobile.
“I try to keep my head and nose in all the data I can get,” DP staff owner Michael Shank stated. “Info is king, so that I can start to do some predictions of where we want to be from a performance standpoint, which means we are able to take our greatest guess at what we predict is going to happen and be prepared earlier than other individuals can be. So we will start serious about what we expect is going to occur.”
That predicting is necessary. Due to the combining of automobiles, teams haven’t acquired word on what the technical specs for those lessons will be and what changes they’re going to need to make to their vehicles to conform with 2014 guidelines. Nor has the schedule for subsequent season been launched.
“We don’t know, like you stated, the schedule. We don’t know how a lot our budgets are going to change,” Spirit of Daytona group proprietor Troy Flis stated. “All we can do is estimate. But being in the sport.. being in the sport for 15 years is, you already know what pretty much is coming. We may give and take just a little bit – but you’re going to overlook it by slightly bit – but you’re going to pretty much determine it out at the end of the day.”
One of the most important things to determine within the combined prototype class is the stark differences between the LMP2 and DP automobiles. On August 8 and 9, each sequence raced at Highway America in Wisconsin, the first time they’ve shared a monitor weekend together. The LMP2 cars ran laps across the four-mile highway course that were six and seven seconds sooner than DP vehicles.
“It’s lots,” driver Richard Westbrook mentioned. “We can velocity the DPs up six seconds, however you don’t know how a lot that additional load on the car goes to start – we don’t know if your car goes to blow up in beneath an hour in Daytona as a result of it’s below so much load as a result of it is going six seconds a lap quicker. So that is really going into the unknown.”
The DP vehicles have extra horsepower than the LMP2s, but the LMP2 vehicles are lighter and corner quicker. The 300 plus pound difference comes into play not solely in cornering sped, however tire put on. If the DP vehicles are sped up, they’d inevitably wear tires even quicker. Although if it came to rock ‘em-sock ‘em fender battle, that additional weight gives the DPs a monstrous positional benefit.
So next 12 months will possible flip right into a rather large experiment between the two automobiles to see what works and what does not. Regardless of the preseason testing and tinkering, the best way to matching up the different automobiles’ performance on the monitor to see if every type can competitively coexist with the other will be the head-to-head racing.
Shank, who received the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2012, is a DP loyalist.
“On the racing facet, I think it’s incredibly tough,” Shank said. “I’m undecided what the reply is. I am pot dedicated – pot dedicated – to the DP. I can’t afford to go purchase LMP2 cars, I don’t need to go buy LMP2 cars. I’m dedicated to what has gotten our crew up to now in history.
“There could also be some people playing each side of the fence potentially, however I don’t have that luxurious.”
And yes, there’s the schedule too. No official announcement of the complete schedule, expected to be 10-12 races, has been made. A Grand-Am spokesperson stated there is no such thing as a timeline for the announcement of the schedule or the rules for every class.
However, groups are already counting sports automobile staples like the Rolex 24, Sebring and the Petit Le Mans on the schedule. And all of those races underneath one roof is seen as a significant constructive.
“We can speak rather a lot about, on the advertising facet of it, the potential is simply off the charts,” Shank said. “We are able to already promote that now. So for instance if I’m making an attempt to promote anyone on any deal for subsequent 12 months, there are particular things that we know. We know the TELEVISION deal, we kind of know the schedule more or less plus or minus a couple of occasions, however we know our marquee occasions that we get large attracts from. Just that means is a new device that we’ve never had earlier than.”
Earlier in August, USCR announced a 5-yr tv settlement with Fox Sports activities. From 2014-2018, all collection races will be on both Fox Sports activities 1 or Fox Sports 2.
That 10-12 races for next year is in the neighborhood of every series’ schedule this season. However, it’ll be a reduce general for some drivers and crew members who work in both collection. Drivers like Westbrook and former Dash Cup Sequence driver Andy Lally drive in each Grand-Am and ALMS.
There’s only going to be a handful of people in relation that isn’t going to want (unification) – I’m one in every of them,” Lally said. “Right now I have two jobs; from a selfish standpoint, myself and about six to 10 drivers double dip and we get to do each collection, after which in all probability I’d say 20-30 crew guys double dip they usually get to do each sequence. From a fan standpoint, I feel it’s going to be a very good factor because you’re going to have huge fields.. and from a manufacturer standpoint, I feel the readability, identical to the merger in IRL and IndyCar was a very good factor.”
Ultimately, that readability moving ahead might trump any growing pains in 2014 because the collection works out the inevitable kinks. 2014 will be a transition yr, with the give attention to one secure series in the years to comply with. Lally says that the clarification and simplification of the class distinctions transferring forward is a very powerful thing for the brand new collection.
“I’ve probably the most religion in the sanctioning physique that I’ve had since I’ve been racing in sports activities vehicles now,” Lally stated. “That doesn’t imply I’d do issues the identical or have the identical opinions as them, however I have probably the most respect for the blokes which are making – we don’t share numerous the same views, however I no less than respect the logical approach to it.”
There’s uncertainty as United SportsCar Racing heads towards its first season
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