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While there has been much to dampen spirits around the ALMS this year, and while excitement and pride for the series don't compare to 2008, I still look forward to each ALMS race knowing it will be (sadly?) one of the best races on American (and Canadian) soil this year.
This week the addition of the Autocon car does provide some intrigue in LMP1, while I don't think they have the driver roster to compete even with the Oryx-Dyson car it will be interesting to see how close that car is on pace, and what its relative performance is like. As we know, John Field will be watching the 12 car as well, and he may bring his(/yet another) Lola back to LMP1 if he likes what he sees from the 12 car. A busier LMP1 grid is a weapon that can be used in board rooms from Hyundai and Audi to Gamma88 when trying to raise funds to compete in the ALMS, so the addition of the 12... and if it happens the addition of the 37 LMP1... is good news for the type of racing we love.
As far as the GT battle is concerned, you should be kicking yourself if you miss one of these races as the class is at an extremely high level of professionalism and competition and we don't know how many more seasons on this level we have upcoming. Putting politics aside, the Falken Tire Porsche, while having benefited from the 2x Corvette, BMW, ESM Ferrari, LMPC shamozzle at Lime Rock, appears to be closer to the pace of the leading GT cars than its ever been. With Derrick Walker on the pit stand the preparation and strategy of that team is in the same league as BMW, Corvette, Risi and the Lizards. Further, the 04 Ford GT seems to have the ability to hover around the top 6 in GT and could make itself a fly in somebody's ointment on any given weekend.
At the very least LMPC and GTC provide the overtaking we love, and while (Jarrett Boone is it?) some entries seem to be club racers way out of their depths in the ALMS (dangerously so, tarnishing the image of the ALMS and yet welcomed by management) there are professional drivers and teams that manage to put on good shows in both classes.
So yeah, we don't have Audi, Porsche or Acura like we did in 2008. And yes, management does seem to insulate itself from our complaints (many facets of reality,) and it is shocking what has happened to our beloved series; where once it was the darling of the racing world... but look at American racing, its all broken and the debt crisis and slow economic growth sure isn't helping. Of course, I'm just restating the obvious.
Chris
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