Nick F40 Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) The 47th running just finished and WOW what a race, that is the reason why I love sports car racing and why the Rolex is the best! Such history with Brumos, Porsche winning both classes and having both Brumos cars come in the top 3. It's been 30 years since Brumos has won the 24 and 5 years since they won with the Daytona Prototypes and with David Donohue winning it from the pole. Also big after 40 years with his dad's win. Bob Carlson and Bob Snodgrass were looking down and smiling for sure. Big names there, like Hurley Haywood, Brian Redman, RJ Valentine, Pruett, and many more. Most of you don't realize how exciting this was for me, I love this series and this race was so thrilling from the start. Nice to see an array of manufacturers even though some had mishaps. It was nice to see Penske with Porsche and Dumas/ Briscoe/ Bernhard behind the wheel, they did a great job. In GT, my Mazda boys just couldn't recover from the early race mishaps and the two 430 CH's just didn't have it but i'm glad Porsche got the win, the TRG crew is amazing with Marks/ Lally/ Valentine/ Bergmeister/ Long. The commentators were phenominal gotta love David Hobbs, Diffey, Calivn, Till, Justin Bell, Chris Neville and all the rest and Varsha does great and the 16 hours of coverage was surprisingly very well and I watched all 16 hours! Hey if there would have been live streaming, I would have watched all 24 hours. The vintage race footage was really cool. Results, http://laptrax04.racersites-cluster.com/Or...iew.jsp?sid=475 Edited January 25, 2009 by Nick F40
Rob Hall Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 Yes, it made for great viewing...watched quite a bit last night and today.
Modellpularn Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 Ok, you guys are probably going to hate me for saying this...... but I think those Daytona prototypes are ugly! Ever since I saw them the first time, I thought: "are they supposed to look like that?" Strange looking cockpit/glass area, and the front....no thanks! No Porsche ever looked like that.... How does it work, since they look the same, do the race teams buy a couple, and then stick their own engine in 'em?
935k3 Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 The racing is very good in this series which why I do watch, but I still think these cars are UGLY. The bulbous roofs just ruin the overall look of the cars. I just wish the rules makers would adjust the rules to allow better looking cars.
Nick F40 Posted January 25, 2009 Author Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) Dale, Rolex is the best. They are kind of a weird shape but they are all actually very different like in the different years as some today ran last year bodywork on some of the cars while the rest ran the new bodywork. They aren't supposed to represent anything, it is just a chassis manufacture and an engine supplier, which there are a good many, but the bodies are just picked, yes the teams put their engine in. I like them becuase they are coupes, I like coupes, I liked the GTP and GT1 cars, and these kind of represent them, if you look at the GTP cars, they were weird and looked somewaht the same, now they did have style and power but that was the best and wish they would come back with cars like that. Ferrari is thinking, well one of the teams is thinking of using a Ferrari V8 powerplant, ohhhh man I hope so. I still like them GT cars! Edited January 25, 2009 by Nick F40
Brendan Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 Ok, you guys are probably going to hate me for saying this...... but I think those Daytona prototypes are ugly! Ever since I saw them the first time, I thought: "are they supposed to look like that?" Strange looking cockpit/glass area, and the front....no thanks! No Porsche ever looked like that.... How does it work, since they look the same, do the race teams buy a couple, and then stick their own engine in 'em? I agree with you that the cars are very ugly. There's no variety in how they look. They all look the same. And that's due to the way the rules are written and the way aerodynamics come into play. I don't know how they can call themselves a prototype when there's nothing prototype about them. They using technology that is 30+ years old for the chassis. As for the person just buying a car, that's essentially what they do. There are five main chassis manufacturers (I believe) and you buy a chassis from them and you can put whatever motor you want that is within the rules which is pretty much Ford, Pontiac, Porsche and Toyota. It was a good race but they shouldn't be trying to compare what they are doing to Le Mans or any other 24 hour event. Most of the drivers will tell you that this race is one of the easier of the 24 hour races. You're at full throttle almost 70% of the time. These are just my opinions.
Nick F40 Posted January 25, 2009 Author Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) I agree, but this is a prestigious event known aroudn the world but it doesn't compare to LeMans, Spa, Nurburgring, Dubai and so on. Too many commercials and they should jsut show full coverage, the people that want to watch it, will watch it and for those who don't and sleep, they do recaps. BMW's in there too, is it a Toyota motor or Lexus, I forget. I don't really like them either, I don't hate them though but the prototype I guess just came because they were prototypical in the Grand Am, not full on factory. They aren't all the same, they have some minor but noticable differences and don't forget the Gurney flap! Edited January 25, 2009 by Nick F40
Rob Hall Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) It's not just the prototypes, though...I saw some normal looking 911s, F430s, RX-8s, a Mustang or two, Corvettes in the coverage...even a Pontiac G6! Edited January 25, 2009 by Rob Hall
ismaelg Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 It was a great race. The intensity at the end was amazing. It is great to see the name Donahue and Porsche winning. OK I confess. I don't like Montoya so I was happy he was beaten Great race but I have to ask: Why in the world did they never show or mention what car was in what position? I watched for a few hours trying to figure out what car was in what position because they only mention drivers, and the ticker thing in the screen was the same. Only driver's name. It was quite confusing. Their website was no help either. Maybe it's a licensing issue and everytime they show or say the name Pontiac, Porsche or Mazda they need to pay a royalty Thanks,
Andy Wyatt Posted January 25, 2009 Posted January 25, 2009 I kept expecting Juan Pablo to wreck his way to the front like he would in a NA$###### race...
Nick F40 Posted January 25, 2009 Author Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) Rob, oh yes and that is why I love the GT class. It was a great race. The intensity at the end was amazing. It is great to see the name Donahue and Porsche winning. OK I confess. I don't like Montoya so I was happy he was beaten Great race but I have to ask: Why in the world did they never show or mention what car was in what position? I watched for a few hours trying to figure out what car was in what position because they only mention drivers, and the ticker thing in the screen was the same. Only driver's name. It was quite confusing. Their website was no help either. Maybe it's a licensing issue and everytime they show or say the name Pontiac, Porsche or Mazda they need to pay a royalty Thanks, on the Montoya..... The intensity was amazing and Donohue and Brumos/Porsche winning is just awsome, I felt a historic type of chill when he crossed the finish line. I was thinking the same thing. Edited January 25, 2009 by Nick F40
CAL Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 Very historic day... the drought has lifted on Brumos, and a overall good day for Porsche. The DPs kind of grow on you. I used to hate the look of them too. JPM is a wanker, couldn't believe he was such a whiner in the winners circle. Donnon they musthave explained it a jillion times, plus all the DPs are labbled acrossed the upper windsheild what motor they are running.
rick6343 Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 I missed all but an hour or so of Saturday night's coverage. Sounds like an exciting end to the race. I think the Daytona Prototypes are ugly- The great parts of sports car racing (cutting edge technology, maximum performance) seem to have been left out of that formula. I had a chance to speak to someone who had driven both DP cars and ALMS LMP cars, and he told me that DP cars were a lot closer to sedans than "real" prototypes: less power, less downforce, etc. Still, any racing is good racing this time of the year. Time to start counting down the days until the Road America ALMS date...
CAL Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 They did it to keep cost down and competitive racing on the track. It's say it works pretty darn well.
Nick F40 Posted January 26, 2009 Author Posted January 26, 2009 I missed all but an hour or so of Saturday night's coverage. Sounds like an exciting end to the race. I think the Daytona Prototypes are ugly- The great parts of sports car racing (cutting edge technology, maximum performance) seem to have been left out of that formula. I had a chance to speak to someone who had driven both DP cars and ALMS LMP cars, and he told me that DP cars were a lot closer to sedans than "real" prototypes: less power, less downforce, etc. Still, any racing is good racing this time of the year. Time to start counting down the days until the Road America ALMS date... I can agree.... and yeah me too They did it to keep cost down and competitive racing on the track. It's say it works pretty darn well. yes, the main reason and the main reason why I like this over some of the others.
CAL Posted January 26, 2009 Posted January 26, 2009 RA is one of the best tracks in the country. I always liked going to that track.
Nick F40 Posted January 28, 2009 Author Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) It just has everything, it's like VIR. Edited January 28, 2009 by Nick F40
Tommy Kortman Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 I gotta say, I loved the race! It like a 24 hour sprint race. When the series first started I wasnt crazy about the styling either, but the compition is much better than in ALMS and has won me over. Nick, if you get the chance, go see the series when they come to Thunderbolt Raceway here in NJ.
Nick F40 Posted January 28, 2009 Author Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) I gotta say, I loved the race! It like a 24 hour sprint race. When the series first started I wasnt crazy about the styling either, but the compition is much better than in ALMS and has won me over. Nick, if you get the chance, go see the series when they come to Thunderbolt Raceway here in NJ. your exactly like me. Bob Varsha, I think it was him it might have been Diffey or Calvin but they said, the way these guys were racing, it wasn't one 24 hour sprint race, it was 24 one hour sprints. 4 cars on the lead lap after 24 hours? that's crazy, either though they broke the record for cautions, but they were for cars being stuck in the middle of the track or fenders, tires, etc on the track so. Well, that's nice, you live right there but I would like too. Maybe you can give me a tour around and stuff Can't wait until March for the 12 Hours of Sebring! Man, we have to wait until April for the next Grand Am race BUT it's at one of my favorite tracks. It would be sweet if Summit Point was a good track for them, I could go to that one! Edited January 28, 2009 by Nick F40
CAL Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 And then the Grand Daddy of them all 24 Heures du Mans
Nick F40 Posted January 28, 2009 Author Posted January 28, 2009 Ohhh yes and correct spelling, is that why it's in bold print? I think the granddaddy of 24 heur races is the Nurburgring
CAL Posted January 28, 2009 Posted January 28, 2009 Ohhh yes and correct spelling, is that why it's in bold print? I think the granddaddy of 24 heur races is the Nurburgring Nurburgring is a whole nother deal.
Nick F40 Posted January 29, 2009 Author Posted January 29, 2009 Oh yes it is, there's a reason they call it Greenn Hel...yeah
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