[FIA GT] Fia Gt 2004

[Geva]

After a fair ammount of thinking about next years FIA GT I've come to this conclusion which is probably completely wrong:

#01 BMS Scuderia Ferrari 550 GT
#02 BMS Scuderia Ferrari 550 GT
#03 Graham Nash Saleen S7-R
#04 Graham Nash Saleen S7-R
#05 Lister Racing Lister Storm
#06 Lister Racing Lister Storm
#07 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 GTC
#08 JMB Racing Ferrari 575 GTC
#09 Konrad Msport Saleen S7-R
#10 Reiter Eng. Lamborghini Murcielago
#11 Reiter Eng. Lamborghini Murcielago
#12 Force One Chrysler Viper GTS-R
#13 Force One Chrysler Viper GTS-R
#14 Creation Lister Storm
#15 Creation Lister Storm
#16 Zwaans Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R
#17 Wieth Racing Ferrari 550 GTS
#18 Optima Racing Chrysler Viper GTS-R

This is just for the GT class obviously.... what do ya thing??

[FIRE]

Welcome on this forum!!!

I am not sure about the 2 entries for Creative. And also about the entry of Force One (Carsport) with the Vipers.

[Graham Goodwin]

Creation already have two entries

[429CJ]

There could be one Ferrari more with Kuismanen Racing (from Belcar).

[FIRE]

Originally posted by Graham Goodwin
Creation already have two entries

Sorry, you are right.

[Zandbak]

Originally posted by 429CJ
There could be one Ferrari more with Kuismanen Racing (from Belcar).

Do you know more about this rumour (source ?)? Does he leave the Belcar?

[19dodge]

what about the Pagini project? i would have to assume that Force One or a linked team would run 1 or 2 of these cars.(maybe instead of the vipers?)

Maybe Larbre will come back with a saleen? (that was hinted a while back, but i think that was before the money issue)

Maybe still a 3rd BMS(Care) car?

what about the factory Maserati program?

[champcarman]

The FIA GTs look like a great Series especially if it continues to run in conjunction with the ETCC. As I hope to at least get to the Spa 24hrs next year I hope the projected entry list is somewhere near correct. I wonder if the Vipers will continue to run however given that their competitiveness has disappeared a little or is there a new version on the way. Also I would like to see some decent Corvettes but perhaps a European Series , apart from Le Mans, doesn't appeal to GM.

[slicktsax]

well Mercedes is supposed to show a race car version of it's new SLR at the end of the year and Carsport i think is still developing the Pagoni Zonda. i hope Larbre does return with a car. also Oreca is supposedly making new race vipers out of the new SRT-10's

[Kurt Maxwell]

The Maserati can't run unless three other factory teams decide to compete in the series. All four manufacturers must then supply four more cars each to existing FIA GT teams.

So if Maserati is joined by a 2 car factory Lamborghini team as well as ones from Mercedes and Porsche you would have 24 GT Supercars right there. Add in privateer Zondas,Saleens, Moslers etc and it would be quite a show.

All this is to prevent another Audi R8 situation and boring racing.

It probably won't happen until '05 which is also when the FIA and ACO rules for GTs will be in total alignment. The FIA GT could become a World Series that year as well. (some say it is done)

The Maserati might be seen at the LM 24 and the LMES races as the above rules won't apply.

[FIRE]

Originally posted by 19dodge
what about the Pagini project? i would have to assume that Force One or a linked team would run 1 or 2 of these cars.(maybe instead of the vipers?)

I think the Pagani project will be a disaster.

[jet]

Come on Fire you TRUST Mike Hezemans, don't you

[courage]

I hope too with Larbre..... but what is the story with the saleen??
It's completly wrong!!! If the car was developed it was for FIA GT...so .......
If they are back it'll be with a new car!

[FIRE]

Originally posted by jet
Come on Fire you TRUST Mike Hezemans, don't you

But his father...

I think Toine Hezemans is not the right man to lead the project. After Le Mans I readed on a Dutch forum some stories about the team which were not positive. Ten-Tenths member Zandbak can comfirm this. Also the Lotus/Bitter project was not succesfull.

BTW I have nothing against Hezemans & son and I hope really it will be a success.

[Zandbak]

Originally posted by FIRE
I think Toine Hezemans is not the right man to lead the project. After Le Mans I readed on a Dutch forum some stories about the team which were not positive. Ten-Tenths member Zandbak can comfirm this. Also the Lotus/Bitter project was not succesfull.

Yes

The car itself shows promise when it is testing at Spa and Zolder, but it still has major engine/gearbox problems. At the moment they are building a new gearbox, it's being done by a specialist firm.

The Oreca look-a-like partnerchip between Carsport (Hezemans), American Viper Racing (Weickhardt)and GLPK (Kumpen) can be considerded as over. Weickhardt has left the building, read that somewhere on the internet.

Hezemans in its days was a good driver, did a very good job in real-estate.............but that doesn't mean you can manage a raceteam.

Not only was the Lotus/Bitter GT1 project a disaster, look at the results of their Vipers. OK, they have the fastest Viper........but how many times did it finish? You can't blame them all to bad luck


If you look at the other Viper teams..........maybe a little bit slower but a finishing record that is quite good.

My conclusion, place the Pagani at a decent and proven team, it will deliver. Continue with Carsport and it will lead to nothing.

Don't expect much from Horacio Pagani, he doesn't care about racing. The guy slept next to us at Parking Blue, Le Mans in a cheap Fiat Camper. If you look to his wife you know where he got the inspiration for the Pagani

[429CJ]

Originally posted by Zandbak
Do you know more about this rumour (source ?)? Does he leave the Belcar?

Nothing more really, just a remark on this website.
http://www.rpmm.net/asp/vm_varikolla.asp

The original text:
... että Pertti Kuismasen ruokahalu kasvaa syödessä. Orecan valmistamalla Viperilla GT-sarjoja kiertävä turkulainen vaihtanee kuluvan kauden päätteeksi automerkkiä, eikä ihan mihin tahansa merkkiin. Ensi kaudella hänet nähtäneen GT-sarjan kilpailuissa Ferrarin tuulilasin takana.

It just says, that Oreca prepared Viper could change to a Ferrari to compete on GT-races, no mention of Belcar.

[kdr]

closest thread i can see to this point. eurosport is showing the lg super racing weekend and the alms race from laguna seca this morning. subject to them changing their minds at the last minute because - well just because they always seem to!

[Patrick B]

What about Prodrive? If they are thinking about running the LMES they might as well run the FIA GT season too.

[Fab]

Welcome to the forum, Patrick !

Two parallel seasons with LMES and FIA-G ? Expensive ...

[Russfeld]

If FIA GT is with ETCC, who's going to run with the 1000km races? Not only as support, but within the races. It'd suck to see such important and historic events have a handful of prototypes and thats it

[SALEEN S7R]

Russfeld there are lots of teams who will compete in the LMES from FIA GT, as well as a few from the British GT championship, FFSA, Spanish GT. Expect ex FIA GT teams such as Labre and Paul Belmondo racing to also be there, especially as this is only a 4 round series and costs will be less.

Dont worry there will be plenty of teams in the series Id imagine, particulary the bigger teams like TMC, GNM, BMS, JMB, Freisinger as regulars. And when the series visits GB there will be lots of British GT entrants, the same applies for Italy and Germany. I dont think Stephane Ratel would run the series if he thought it woudnt work.

He runs FIA GT and LMES anyway u see, so I think hes eager to not have any clashing dates with the FIA series. The LMES will have the best LMP cars in Europe racing there, and SOME of the best FIA GT teams, and some entrants who arent quite as good in the GT/NGT classess. The best series for the top teams and drivers of course is obviously FIA GT.

[Russfeld]

So it will be combined grids like ALMS? or like FIA SSC where its just lmps?

[SALEEN S7R]

Yes it will be like the ALMS, all the rules will be the same for each class in ALMS and the LMES. This applies in FIA GT also, every series having the same rules is a good thing. Russfeld do u remember the ELMS back in 2001? Its basically a re-named ELMS most people think. Only other real differnce is that these races are 1000km, not 500km, and these races will be ALL held at world class tracks, unlike a lot of the ELMS. Oh and this series should be sucessful.

[Graham Goodwin]

Lets wait and see which teams will enter - there are guaranteed LM slots for FIA teams next year too and Ratel was talking at spa about including runners from national GT series on the LMES grids when they visit those countries

One way of reading this is - Good move, it gives a way up the chain for the national runners.

Another way might be - Hang on a minute. Isn't that just a way of preventing teams from leaving the FIA GT championship.

There will not be too many teams with the budgets available to do both!

The selection criteria will be very interesting indeed.

I think LMES, if done properly, is a major step forward for european sportscar racing, it needs however to co-operate with the other players both in Europe and in the US if we aren't to get in an awful mess again.

[RM40]

Exactly how many ELMS races were their in 2001? Does anybody have any results/entry lists, etc. of them? I believe their was one at Silverstone, but I know nothing else about this. That was the year I basically started watching ALMS/Le Mans. So some info/link to web page would be greatly appreciated.