They really should keep the IMSA and WEC events together (assuming WEC goes there again). They moved the IMSA weekend up this year for some reason.
They really should keep the IMSA and WEC events together (assuming WEC goes there again). They moved the IMSA weekend up this year for some reason.
*checks*
Their reasons (from the quoted articles below):
1) Avoid conflict with college football
2) Distance themselves from the F1 race, which they acknowledge is COTA's by-far largest and most important event
3) Go back to a spring time event, which was popular with Grand-Am but not really possible to schedule with WEC
4) Avoid the compromised schedule and pit/paddock situation (WEC got all of the garages IIRC, IMSA teams were set-up like support race teams)
5) Hoping for a late afternoon start (which apparently didn't happen because of the music needs), which wasn't possible with a 6-hour WEC race afterwards and the pit-wall removal in the middle (I didn't know WEC and IMSA used different pit walls)
Edit: Oh, right, the pit wall between the mechanics and the car, I never thought about that before: US series have a wall that the mechanics have to jump over, European/International series just use a painted line. More info at the bottom.
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/a...-a-compromise/
http://www.racer.com/imsa/item/14022...one-cota-event“It’s been a spectacular weekend, but it’s come with a lot of compromise by all involved,” Atherton told NBCSports.com.
“It also has had issues with its proximity on the calendar to college football which is enormous in that part of the world and also in proximity to the Formula 1 race that takes place.
“So it definitely has a distraction from their staff, their marketing efforts. Let’s be honest: a Formula 1 weekend is their biggest so that’s where their focus is.”
---------------------
“We had a desire to go to a springtime date,” Atherton said. “GRAND-AM raced there in the spring, had a very successful weekend and that’s been our desire.
Details on the pit wall and its removal: http://www.mobil1thegrid.com/article...tures-collide/"For starters, with a weekend focused solely on IMSA content, we have had total flexibility to work with the COTA staff to optimize the way the weekend schedule was built. We also aren't in a situation where either our series or the WEC has had to compromise with the logistics of organizing the paddock, pit lane, media center, race control and other procedures that in recent years were all impacted by the shared event.
"Our event this year is consistent with most of our event weekends. However, we always enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate on the same weekend with WEC. Those combined events represented a unique opportunity – but the quality and quantity of the racing we will put on the track this weekend will be second to none."
One lingering problem with the former September date came with the start of the college football season and the looming October U.S. Grand Prix date at COTA. As Atherton explains, asking football-crazed Texans to forego long-held traditions to watch sports cars, among other considerations, was always going to be a stretch.
"The autonomy gave us the ability to move to a spring date, moving away from potential football conflicts and the distraction of F1 that were a constant with the fall date," he said. "It also enabled us to provide a more traditional IMSA experience; an event schedule that features nearly all of the IMSA [series] and because we don't have to absorb the fairly lengthy process of removing the pit wall and accommodate a six-hour race after the WeatherTech Championship Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown, we have a more traditional race start time."
Last edited by Kchrpm; August 1st, 2017 at 04:53 AM.
Get that weak shit off my track
To clarify, I thought the combined IMSA/WEC weekend was an AMAZING deal for sports car racing fans, and I also wish they would have figured out a way to keep them together.
Back to the news:
https://www.autoblog.com/2017/08/08/...ototype-racer/
Get that weak shit off my track
There really doesn't seem to be much changed from the Oreca. For the sake of comparison, here's a bare Oreca 07
Besides the obvious wing, the nose is slightly redesigned and the front fenders seem much flatter and more square, but mechanically everything seems the same. Brake ducts where they should be and such. They've kept the super keeled-over rear fenders. The only other real difference is that the sidepods have louvres in them, but that's likely to do with the Acura being turbocharged.
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Full 2018 schedule announced, zero conflict between IMSA and PWC races Also, Prototype Challenge is going away.
http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/20...dule-released/
2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Schedule:
Jan. 5-7 – Roar Before the Rolex 24
Jan. 25-28 – Daytona International Speedway*
Mar. 14-17 – Sebring International Raceway*
Apr. 13-14 – Long Beach Street Circuit (P and GTLM only)
May 4-6 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
June 1-2 – Detroit Belle Isle (P and GTD only)
June 28-July 1 – Watkins Glen International*
July 6-8 – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
July 20-21 – Lime Rock Park (GTLM and GTD only)
Aug. 3-5 – Road America
Aug. 17-19 – Virginia International Raceway (GTLM and GTD only)
Sept. 7-9 – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Oct. 10-13 Road Atlanta*
*Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup events
Get that weak shit off my track
Prototype Challenge as a class was planned to be phased out, thats what the Prototype Challenge Series is for now (LMP3s and Mazda Prototype Lites).
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I get limiting classes at the tight/small tracks, but why no P cars at VIR??
My guess is going to be the pit facilities. My hope is that it's proof of a higher being.