Grand-Am 2011 Discussion

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Not as good sounding as the GT2 car, but today with a new exhaust package the car sounded much better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKXcprSutME
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skUv4gz23pE

[Jonerz]

Originally Posted by FordCosworthPanoz

What is Guy Cosmo doing at Daytona?? hmmm...

While he very likely is a sought after driver for this program for a multitude of reasons, he is entrenched, well respected and all that in the Grand-Am community.

Chris

EDIT: Sounds WAY better with the new exhaust package. Not the screamer the ALMS car is, but a serious improvement. Don't know how loud it will be relative to the Mazdas and the Porsches and the droning V8s. I was really disappointed yesterday with the sound, because the Grand-Am spec Porsche sounds way better than the standard GT3 Cup car and I assumed that it was because there was no silencer, but this car was heavily silenced yesterday.

[rich07]

Originally Posted by FordCosworthPanoz

Not as good sounding as the GT2 car, but today with a new exhaust package the car sounded much better:

Thats so much better, thank goodness for that.

[WolfsburgRS]

Now that sounds proper! Very nice.

[joeb]

So it has been mentioned (via radiolemans twitter), that there will be corvette bodywork next season for the DPG3.

Also on twitter (via johndagys) Coyote has reached an agreement with a car manufacturer for bodywork for next season.

Are those two things related perhaps?

Also, if the DPG3's are going to look like road cars, wouldn't it be a gt class?

[kober]

Originally Posted by joeb

Also, if the DPG3's are going to look like road cars, wouldn't it be a gt class

GT? Not really

[Danske]

Coyote was working with P&M, so ya, the speculation is that the Corvette bodywork would be debuting with the Coyote.

[Speed-King]

The Coyote is (co-)developed by P&M, so I supposse they will indeed have the Corvette-body next year. Dagys also mentioned one top-team moving over in the Coyote camp, that's probably Gainsco then. It pretty much has to be a Chevy-team and SunTrust are Dallara's preferred partner, so I don't think they'd switch.

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

The Coyote is (co-)developed by P&M, so I supposse they will indeed have the Corvette-body next year. Dagys also mentioned one top-team moving over in the Coyote camp, that's probably Gainsco then. It pretty much has to be a Chevy-team and SunTrust are Dallara's preferred partner, so I don't think they'd switch.

Gainsco is probably a good guess. Other than them, I was thinking of possibly a team not currently running DP's.

[MitchZ06]

According to Hindy in this weeks Midweek Motorsports there is a Corvette styled prototype in the works, hopefully it looks something like the design posted on badboyvettes.com a while back.

[Speed-King]

Not quite sure if cool or absurd:

HELLS BELLS: AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson plans on driving in #Rolex24 in ex-Southard Riley owned by Predator Performance in Tampa, FL.

But if Dempsey can do it...

[MitchZ06]

ON THE HIGHWAY TO DAYTONA! Haha my god this is going to be entertaining, in car footage will be like when the Stig is doing hotlaps on Top Gear just with Acca Dacca playing

[Audi Racer]

^^ do post. youll love the south of the border.

[MitchZ06]

Originally Posted by Audi Racer

^^ do post. youll love the south of the border.

What?

Thinking about this, do you think I'm going to Daytona or something? Have you missed the AC/DC reference in the first line? I'm not going to Daytona, try understand things as they're said for once...

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

Not quite sure if cool or absurd:

I say "cool". Plus the man is a historic racer as well, so...

[chernaudi]

I remember when Brian was on Top Gear and I believe he ran one of the top 5 fastest laps on their board before they retired the Lacetti in favor of the C'eed.

Of course, they awarded him for the fastest time turned during that season of the show with a crappy hockey trophy with his name misspelled "Brain" Johnson (this is Top Gear, after all ), but it seems like old British and Aussie rockers are into vintage racing. Everyone here knows about Pink Floyd's Nick Mason and the late Steve O'Rourke, but PF's David Gilmour was also into vintage racing.

For Grand Am, it might be a big promotional boom to get Brian in the Daytona 24, but it would be nice if NASCAR would promote the series on their own.

[chernaudi]

In addition to Brian Johnson supposidly (according to Speed Center) being entered at Watkins Glen next week along with the NASCAR double duty drivers, John Dagys has posted that a "certain tall, Porsche factory pilot" has been a late entry.

Can't be much more obvious if John had just said that Joerg Bergmiester has been added to a team for this race.

[Speed-King]

Chris Neville has the details:

Porsche factory driver J. Bergmeister will drive the Starworks DP nxt wk.Exciting list of drivers, Logano,Ragan,Blundell and Stenhouse.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

Chris Neville has the details:

Wow, put him with Ryan or Raphael and you have a potential race winning combination. Mike Forest is gone, and Leigh Diffey hinted at all pro lineups at Starworks next year.

[Speed-King]

SpeedTV's Chris Neville via Twitter:

Headed to Watkins Glen. Heard Greg Pickett and Team Muscle Milk will have a new Riley DP3 for the Rolex24. No info on engine.

And I might be completely crazy for even suggesting this, but if the ALMS switches to a Performance Balanced Prototype class with something close to current LMP2-speeds, could Pickett run that Riley in ALMS for the regular season?

[Fogelhund]

http://thegarageblog.com/garage/cana...e-at-the-glen/

Interesting read.

[Félix]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

SpeedTV's Chris Neville via Twitter:


And I might be completely crazy for even suggesting this, but if the ALMS switches to a Performance Balanced Prototype class with something close to current LMP2-speeds, could Pickett run that Riley in ALMS for the regular season?

Very interesting. Aston Marin might have an engine suited for DP/LMP2 as well...

[TerribleWone]

Originally Posted by Fogelhund

http://thegarageblog.com/garage/cana...e-at-the-glen/

Interesting read.

ms paint? Anyways its an interesting idea, and yes I would love to see more series at Mosport.

[ptclaus98]

Originally Posted by Speed-King

SpeedTV's Chris Neville via Twitter:


And I might be completely crazy for even suggesting this, but if the ALMS switches to a Performance Balanced Prototype class with something close to current LMP2-speeds, could Pickett run that Riley in ALMS for the regular season?

Whatever you do, DO NOT GIS Riley DP3.



Don't do it.

[Purist]

I'm just going to say this straight up. I think the Nationwide Series at Mosport is a BAD idea. In the dry at least, they'll have a hell of a time passing before they hit the Mario Andretti Straightaway. More importantly though, there is the issue of high-speed corners everywhere else, and narrow confines between the edges of the track and between the barriers in some places. Imagine those guys having a pile-up exiting Turn 1, or going through Turn 4. It ain't a pretty picture, even compared to the messes these guys already make at Road America, Sears Point, and Watkins Glen.