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Club Arnage / General Discussion / Re:Honda To ALMS In LMP2(?)
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on: July 04, 2005, 06:55:42 pm
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Chop, I can relate to your poster procrastination. I've got a nice poster of the Momo Nissan GTP that Derek Bell signed for me over a decade ago at Mid-Ohio, I'll get it framed one of these days. HAHA! Does it look anything like mine?   You're scaring me.  |
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587
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Club Arnage / General Discussion / Re:Honda To ALMS In LMP2(?)
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on: July 04, 2005, 12:13:53 pm
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Chop,
You mentioned the old Acura-Spice effort from the IMSA GTP days. Some fond memories there. Good old Parker Johnstone was a hell of a Camel Lights racer, shame it didn't translate to CART Champ cars. Spent a bit too much time trying to knock down cement walls for his own good.
Fax
Too true. In fairness, Brix/Comptech was a small team that didn't always run the full schedule. He was fast on occasion, a good qualifier and driver/engineer, but as you said, keeping it in one piece is an important element of success.  I got a poster of the Acura-Spice car the last year they raced at Road America, and I have yet to frame it. Get off my back, it's only been 11 years. What am I, a miracle worker? |
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588
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Club Arnage / Help / Re:2006 help for American newbies
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on: June 30, 2005, 08:05:41 pm
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Excellent. Thank you!!! You hit almost every question I was going to ask, except the important one. How do we keep our beer cold? I was actually considering buying a large cooler at Carrefour, then enrolling it in a cooler exchange program with a group of you guys. You take care of our cooler during the year, then we'll visit it at Le Mans, and you can visit yours at Sebring and/or the Petit. Either that or take one along as checked baggage and pack other stuff in it. |
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589
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Club Arnage / General Discussion / Honda To ALMS In LMP2(?)
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on: June 30, 2005, 06:21:54 pm
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http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/17918/Nothing official and no word about the 24, but LMP2 could sure use some help in the U.S. Between this possibility and the Porsche reality, I'll take whatever I can get. Their Camel Lights effort, though not a true factory effort, was a smash in the IMSA GTP days. I'm hoping at least a few people give a rat's arse about this. Honda, Looking for Real Competition, will Take the Fight to ALMSWritten by: Robin Miller Indianapolis, IN – 6/30/2005
Honda will head to ALMS, and perhaps Champ, in pursuit of serious competition. (Photo: Darrell Ingham/Getty Images)
Brian Barnhart, the chief operating officer of the Indy Racing League, stated Wednesday that he wasn't sure if his series was any better off with Toyota and Honda since it hasn't improved attendance and television ratings. Hmmm, that sure sounds like a rather unappreciative man without an engine program for the future.
Because that's not how Barnhart and his IRL brethren sounded a four years ago when those two major manufacturers dumped CART for Tony George's series. The "League" was downright giddy and used phrases like "a great day for the IRL" and "the IRL has turned the corner."
Of course that lovefest is over.
The competition between those two hated Japanese rivals pretty much ran off General Motors and all but one of the IRL's original teams by 2004. Big money and free engines brought in five high-profile CART teams and the once level playing field where Jim Guthrie beat Tony Stewart's team now sports a Grand Canyon gap in competition.
With Toyota set to leave open wheel racing following 2006, the IRL is staring down the barrel of racing reality. Honda, which supports Andretti/Green, Rahal/Letterman and Super Aguri/Fernandez in various degrees, wants real competition (preferably from another manufacturer) or it's probably down the road.
And, despite Barnhart's insulting analogy, the IRL cannot afford to lose Honda since it's responsible for nearly half of the current lineup. Barnhart is right in that the IRL might be better off to revert to its old motor mantra of the late '90s where many teams bought parts and assembled their own engines. Except it's too late.
The IRL abandoned those by-laws to accept engine leases, more technology and the millions of dollars spent by Toyota and Honda. They brought in their own CART teams so it was goodbye to Fred Treadway and Brad Calkins to welcome Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi. Everybody was dazzled by the bright lights and, like CART found out, it's great while it lasts but what happens when Toyota and Honda leave?
That's the immediate challenge for the IRL since car count is so contingent on those two manufacturers because current sponsorships certainly can't carry the flag. Barnhart claims there are plenty of companies that can supply race engines and that's true. But he's going to be hard-pressed to find any that will subsidize teams and drivers like Toyota and Honda. Matter of fact, he won't.
Champ Car weathered the Japanese typhoon by having everyone run the same Cosworth engine and now that's actually a valid selling point for competition and prospective owners.
But Honda isn't waiting around to see if Barnhart finds it any competition.
SPEEDTV.com has learned that Honda Performance Development will enter the American LeMans Series next year in order to compete head-to-head with Porsche and Penske in the LMP2 category.
It's believed Bobby Rahal will be the lead team and it's also likely than Andretti/Green could be involved as well as another prominent car owner.
"That's news to me because no one from Honda has said anything to me about it," said Rahal on Wednesday night. "Now I've made no secret of my desire to be involved in sports car racing and I've talked to Audi, Aston Martin and Ferrari in the past few years but haven't been able to put anything together.
"All I know is that I've got a contract with Honda in the IRL."
This scenario becomes extra interesting because Champ Car and ALMS are working on a deal to run half a dozen doubleheaders together in 2006 -- beginning with Long Beach. So, indirectly, Honda would be again associated with Champ Car.
And, despite earlier denials from HPD president Robert Clarke, don't think for a minute the six-time manufacturer’s champion in CART still isn't looking at returning to Champ Car if the IRL can't provide suitable competition.
Clarke has been talking with both sides for several weeks about having a unified series by 2007 (it ain't gonna happen) and would like the Cosworth IRL engine (owned by Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe and currently badged by Chevrolet) to continue competing against Honda.
Hyundai, the seventh largest car manufacturer in the world, is exploring the possibility of badging the Cosworth in the IRL. But it's rumored that Honda has no desire to run against the Korean manufacturer it considers inferior, so that might not work.
HPD thrives on using its engineering prowess and resources to compete against major brands so taking on Porsche in the ALMS certainly meets that criteria.
But right now it's hard to say where Honda will be past 2006. Other than sports cars, of course.
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590
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Club Arnage / General Discussion / Re:Magic Roundabout - F1 USA
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on: June 29, 2005, 07:22:12 am
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Kate,
I tend to disagree with you on a couple the points you made in your last post. First off, in the good old days there was every bit as much in the way of motor-racing choices as there are today, it just wasn't as promoted. There are some forms of the sport which were much healthier in the "old days", Indycar racing springs to mind instantly. As far as needing a metro area to draw from? Most of the largest attended races in the US every year are at relatively remote venue's.
The NASCAR races at Talladega and Bristol draw massive crowds and both tracks are in the boonies. The largest attendance for any bike race in North America (including the Daytona 200 and the World Superbike round at Laguna Seca) every year is the US Superbike championship double-header at Mid-Ohio, another venue out in the sticks. How do you explain the 200,000 spectators that show up at Sebring every March, talk about a circut in the middle of nowhere. Circuts like Mid-Ohio and Road America draw huge ALMS crowds. The spectators that make a single trip to an event and make a big production out of it aren't the fans that will make or break an event. That's Bernie type thinking.
You need a strong, loyal fan base that returns year after year to a venue that will keep a race healthy. Look at the crowds that go to the Glen every year for the NASCAR race, many of them are veterans of the GP days there.
Going to a race meeting isn't about going clubbing at night in a big city and staying in posh hotels. Its about camping at the circut ot staying at a cheap hotel nearby and enjoying the friendship of fellow racing fans. Many times its the small towns nearby that add to the charm of the event. I think you look at it too much from the "Big Event" viewpoint. Very Bernie-esq.
Fax
I agree 100%, except for the ALMS at Road America comment. They drew well the first year, but it's been off each year since. Last year was a ghost town, complete with tumbleweeds. |
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591
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Club Arnage / General Discussion / Re:Mad Friday
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on: June 28, 2005, 08:49:05 pm
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Although not an expert on these matters at all, it is my understanding that, in previous years, the 'party' element had got a bit out of hand at Sebring.
Hence, when I was there in March, I noticed that there was a strong, but silent, police prescence in parts of the camping and trackway areas.
Apparently, the craze at one time was to wedge vast quantities of pissed youths in the back of pickup trucks (usually standing) and then hoon around the trackways.
All very well until some unfortunate fell out and was run over and killed. So now the police seem to enforce a responsible attitude to drinking and driving within the site.
There were LOTS of undercover cops at Sebring this year. They themselves will ride around in the backs of pickups holding empty beer bottles to fit in with the crowds. They made a ton of weed possesion arrests this year, also. From what I was told, the new county sherriff wanted a major crackdown this year to make a name for herself as being hard on crime and they arrested loads of people. |
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592
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Club Arnage / General Discussion / Re:Magic Roundabout - F1 USA
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on: June 28, 2005, 08:31:36 pm
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This just in: 2005 United States Formula 1 Grand Prix, Indianapolis
Straight talk and a sincere gesture for the American spectators:
It could have been an exciting race
One week after the Indianapolis Grand Prix, Michelin wishes to make a sincere gesture of goodwill towards the people present at the GP, a group whose passion for F1 is encouraging in the development of this sport in the United States.
Therefore, on our own initiative and in total solidarity with our partners, we have taken two decisions:
1. Michelin has decided to contribute to the costs incurred by the spectators present at the circuit on Sunday June 19th 2005 by offering to refund their tickets. This is an important decision, since Michelin is not at all legally bound to do this.
Michelin deeply regrets that the public was deprived of an exciting race and therefore wishes to be the first, among the different groups involved in the Indianapolis race, to make a strong gesture towards the spectators.
2. Michelin also offers to buy 20,000 tickets for the 2006 U.S. Grand Prix to be given to spectators who were present at the Indianapolis race in 2005. We are offering this to promote further Formula 1 interest in the United States.
We would also like to take this opportunity to underline the fact that it is unacceptable that our partner teams have been accused by the FIA of having boycotted the Indianapolis Grand Prix. The reality is that together, Michelin and its partners have done everything possible to assure that the race could take place in total safety.
We are extremely disappointed that the proposals made with all our teams were not accepted. These proposals, including a chicane, were technically viable and totally met all safety requirements. On Sunday morning, June 19, the sporting authority had all the means necessary to preserve the interest of the race.
And yet, the sporting authority rejected the proposed solutions. Why? In our view this is totally incomprehensible and reflects a lack of respect for the spectators.
It is the spirit of respect for the spectators that brought us, with our partners, to propose solutions to allow the race to take place in total safety. It is this same spirit that leads us today to make this gesture.
I'll take it!  |
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594
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Club Arnage / Just To Say Hi / Re:Greetings, All
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on: June 24, 2005, 12:12:43 pm
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Hi Chop Are you anything to do with the Turn 10 guys at Sebring? A few of us CAers (14?) were over there this year and they gave us great hospitality. They are planning a return match to LM in 06, you may well learn something from an American perspective by logging onto the www.sebringfans.com forum. Hopefully there will be a few of us coming over to Road Atlanta in October, maybe we could hook up there? I had a couple friends in Turn 10 this year, but they're not turn 10 "regulars" (or irregulars as the case may be  .), nor are they part of our crew. They just had a rather nondescript U-Haul with a blue tarp sunshade on top.  We camped further up the straight inside T8-T9. If you saw a large "Your Favorite Driver Sucks" banner flying the Union Jack, U.S., Norweigan, Canadian and Ferrari flags, that was us. Unfortunately, I spent a good part of Saturday afternoon at the Sherriff's office trying to claim one of our crew. Though I've a feeling Sebring will be sacraficed next year due to the planned Le Mans trip and spousal "feelings" [/shakesfist], I assure you we'll be at Road Atlanta in force Thursday PM 'til Sunday AM. We'll have a draught system too, so there's some incentive to come over and say hi. We can most definitely hook up. I'll check out SebringFans.com, too. Haven't been over there in a while. Cheers! |
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Club Arnage / Just To Say Hi / Greetings, All
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on: June 23, 2005, 08:24:26 am
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Well, it seems this is the place to be for LM discussion, so I figured I'd dive in. Rob 34 y.o paunchy, balding male Married (sorry ladies) Chicago, USA Unskilled Geek Interests: F1, Champ Car, Sports Cars, WRC Favorite beer: The kind in my hand Usual races: Champcar wherever available, Sebring, Road America (ALMS, ChampCar, historics), Mid-Ohio, USGP  . Doing the Petit Le Mans for the first time this year. Went to the French GP last year (first time to Europe). I've a lot to learn, as we're planning a group LM trip for '06. I'll be reading and learning a lot. Brace yourselves for the oft-asked stupid question. It's my speciality. Cheers! |
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