Waiz

iTrader: (57)

For those of you who have no interest in NASCAR or don’t quite understand the F1 race series I would definitely recommend that you check out the ALMS series of endurance races as an alternative.

If you are familiar with the 24hr of Le Mans race you will appreciate this type of race series since it is the only one of its kind in the US that truly is an endurance race and not about who has the biggest race budget, or the most sponsors.

The series is broken into 2 types of categories:

Prototype or LMP (Le Mans Prototype)- full-race spec open and closed cockpit cars, that are purpose built for the track

GT – highly modified production-based race vehicles

They are then broken into 4 additional sub-categories:

LMP1 - 600-700 horsepower, have a minimum weight of approximately 1,985 pounds, can accelerate from 0-100 mph in three (3) seconds and reach top speeds in excess of 200 mph (Audi R15 TDI, Acura ARX-02, Peugeot 908 HDi and Zytek 07S)

Audi R15



LMP2 - LMP2 cars are the smaller brothers of their P1 counterparts. They are lighter and less powerful but also more nimble, having the capability to win overall races. Produce between 500-550 horsepower and have a minimum weight of approximately 1,820 pounds. (Porsche RS Spyder, Acura ARX-01b and Lola B09/80)

Acura ARX-01b (last years first entry into the LMP2 category)





GT1 – Highly modified super-car-status 2WD vehicles with 600 – 650 horsepower (Aston Martin DBR9, Corvette C6.R, Maserati MC12 and Saleen S7R)

Aston Martin DBR9





GT2 – Moderatly modified 2WD vehicles with 400 – 450 horsepower (Aston Martin Vantage GT2, BMW M3, Corvette C6.R, Dodge Viper Competition Coupe, Ferrari F430 GT, Ford GT-R, Panoz Esperante GTLM and Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. GT2)

BMW M3 ALMS (VolK Equipped)




There are some interesting stories this year, especially with the return of Ford and Aston Martin to endurance racing. Also, Acura will be returning this year with a new entry to LMP1 with their Acura ARX-02. There will also be a continued rivalry between Peugeot and Audi for diesel dominance especially in the weeks race leading up to the Le Mans 24hr in France.

So now that you know more about the racing series, be sure to watch the first race on March 21st at Sebring Florida on SPEED tv and post your opinions on this thread

For more info check out:
http://www.americanlemans.com

Here's a video from last years Long Beach Grand Prix with the Porsche Ferrari battle to the finish.

<EMBED src=http://www.youtube.com/v/YniY-2PAfhg&hl=en&fs=1 width=425 height=344 type=application/x-shockwave-flash allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></EMBED>

Waiz

iTrader: (57)

Bump for the first race of the season the "12hrs of Sebring" tomorrow.

Schedule for Speed TV and Speedtv.com is as follows:

10am - Noon ET on SPEED Channel - Live Race Coverage.
10am - Noon ETon SPEEDtv.com - Live Race Coverage Via 3 On Board Cameras Streamed LIVE.

Noon - 2pm ET on SPEEDtv.com ***LIVE Un-Interrupted Race coverage along with 2 On board Cameras Streamed LIVE!

2pm - 11pm ET on SPEED Channel - Live Race Coverage.
2pm - 11pm ET on SPEEDtv.com - Live Race Coverage Via 3 On Board Cameras Streamed LIVE.

Cameras are attached to the following cars:

#9 Patron Highcroft Acura (LMP1)
#66 De Ferran Motorsports Acura (LMP1)
#92 Rahal Letterman BMW (GT2)

I would recommend watching at least 30 mins of it and I'm sure you'll be hooked.

Note: Audi will be racing in this event, contrary to some rumors stating that they have dropped out of the ALMS.

Jimmothy

Thank you for breaking it down. Always wondered what the differences between the classes were.

thom000001

The New P1 Acura is quite intriguing with the same size wheels/tires front to rear......they obviously make up for less straightaway speed to the diesel's in the corners. Gonna be a great race.

Already have the DVR setup to record the 11hours of the race SPEED is brodcasting.....the "live news" from sebring last night was such a tease

And I can't wait for corvette to get into the GT2 class later this year.......that is going to be such a competitive class again.

tom

Waiz

iTrader: (57)

No problemo!!

I think knowing the classes and the rivalries between each manufacturer in each is important in showcasing how cool this series is.


I saw the Acura LMP2 special on Speed and I'm really curious to see how the stresses of a 12 hour race affect the matcing wide front and rear tire configurations.

GT2 will be very competitive this year and it will be interesting when the Ford GT and Corvette go head to head.

Also, there is a preview and qualifying action on speedtv.com available right now: http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/lemans-alms/ The Peugeot is running really fast laps....

PDX_Racer

iTrader: (2)

Also, if you look at the side of the car, there are marker lights on the side that shows the car's position (1st-2nd-3rd). You can see them just in front of the rear tire on the BMW.

racerbob4

iTrader: (8)

those marker lights are really nice. At Sebring a few years ago you needed them because a lot of Sebring doesnt haven any lighting at all and its hard to tell whos leading, especially with all the pit stops.

Congrats to Honda-Acura for putting both of their prototypes on their respective poles.

thekinn

iTrader: (18)

Sweet! Thanks for the post. Glad I caught it in time to see some racing this morning.

thom000001

Man those Audi's and Peugeot's are FAST on that track......gonna take a lot of abuse for Acura to find a way to catch them.......

tom

hran

i'm confused as to why the lmp cars get passed by the gt cars sometimes..?

thom000001

Only reason that would happen is if a lmp car had a problem, or during a caution. They usually get the lmp cars grouped ahead of the GT cars on cautions so there aren't accidents on restarts.

Tom

Waiz

iTrader: (57)

Glad everyone is enjoying the race so far.

There is continued coverage online here until Speed Channel picks up the final hours tonight:

http://www.speedtv.com/programs/amer...on-board-pass/

Some interesting action so far:

-The Diesels are blasting through the corners and clearly are the front runners of the race.

-Acura is making progress and is doing well in the corners but is losing ground in the long straights, we'll see how they end up

-BMW was having some problems early and will need to make up time, but hopefully they can work out the issues

Also, one thing to remember is that this is a lonngggggg race and anything can happen.

Enjoy the action guys!!

madwi

Really great race to watch! Thanks for pointing out the position lights, i wouldnt have noticed otherwise. I really dig the Peugeot's car, all of the cars are fun to watch though. This is so much nicer to watch vs nascar racing.
Edit: That is crazy the in car cams now that the sun went down. Those speeds would be a B!tch at dark.

Waiz

iTrader: (57)

Wow what a sick race, the night racing was crazy and I have no idea how they were able to see anything.

The Audi's looked unstoppable and bulletproof.

I'm disappointed that Acura didn't do better in LMP1, but I know its hard to compete when you're running at such a power disadvantage to the diesels, although they were able to win LMP2.

Final results are as follows:

LMP1 - Audi R15

LMP2 - Acura ARX - 01B

GT1 - Corvette Racing

GT2 - Ferrari F430 GT

For those who missed it, the last lap is presented below:

<embed src="http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/626910340" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=17158126001&playerId=626910340&viewerSecu reGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed>

Next up: Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg April 4th.

Scott Webb

Following are some video clips I strung together from the Hairpin and the Turn 3-4-5 complex after dark, if anyone has an interest:
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WqezC-MGuug&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WqezC-MGuug&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Waiz

iTrader: (57)

Ohhhh sickkkkkk

Thanks for posting.

*Boose*

iTrader: (3)

Hm. One day when I get out the military I shall be there. Then on to the real Le Mans. One day. But in the meantime I will subscribe to this thread.

Waiz

iTrader: (57)

For those of you who missed the last race, below are the highlights.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/...id=17842204001

Waiz

iTrader: (57)

This weekend, the ALMS heads into St. Petersburg Florida for the 2009 Acura Sports Car Challenge of St Petersburg.

Those of you who watched the previous 12hr race at Sebring will be in for a change of pace as the event moves to a road-course setup with a much shorter overall race time of under 2 hours.

The course has one long straightaway and 14 corners and will be held during the day, so the the action will be much easier to follow than the 12-hour endurance race at Sebring.

Course map (http://www.gpstpete.com/uploads/fanguide_3-23_2009.pdf)

Race time is scheduled for 1hr, 55 minutes on Saturday April 4th, 1:00pm EST on ABC.

Total vehicles entered: 17

-LMP1 - 2 Acuras , 1 Lola (Audi & Peugeot will not be competing in the race, so the field will be much more competitive)

-LMP2 - 2 Lolas , 1 Acura (model from 2008)

-GT1 - (class is merged with GT2)

-GT2 - Full field is competing (Porsche GT3 RSR, Dodge Viper, Ferrari F430, Panoz, Corvette, & BMW will all be represented)

With such a tight road course look for the Porsche, Corvette, and Ferrari teams to be the most competitive in the GT2 class. In LMP1 Acura should be able to take advantage of their awesome cornering speed from their wide front tire setup to gain some ground in the points race.

IMO, keep an eye out for California's own Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche GT3 RSR to make some headway in the GT class and rebound from their 4th and 5th place finishes at Sebring






Enjoy the race!!

2k6-z33

iTrader: (67)

^Fawking awesome