[ALMS Race] ALMS Rnd 7: Mid Ohio 20-22 July 2007

[HORNDAWG]

Well with about a week and a half till the race, I thought I would start the race thread.


Schedule


Entrant list


Track map


Timing & scoring


Internet broadcast ( Hindy)


IMSA




L.P.

[The Badger]

Ya think the long straights will appeal to the R10's , over the Spyder's ?

[mjmueller]

Is there anymore information on the Woodhouse Viper? I would love to see what IMSA is doing to start getting these cars our there.

mj

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Ya think the long straights will appeal to the R10's , over the Spyder's ?

I think that this track is better suited to the torque of the Audi than most of the previous races in the ALMS this year, so far. This might also be where we see the 5% play a roll in outright top speed. So yes I think that Audi will come back to the front. We have no comparison since Audi ran the R8 last year at Mid Ohio so it will be interesting to see what kind of speeds we get in practice! I also think we might see a better performance from Intersport and Autocon, since this track set-up translates so much better to Road Atlanta than Lime Rock ( )!! And as we saw at Lime Rock the Creation/Judd has plenty of stones on the straight stretches!!


L.P.

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by mjmueller

Is there anymore information on the Woodhouse Viper? I would love to see what IMSA is doing to start getting these cars our there.

mj

Good question! Some are saying it is a Comp. Coupe but from what I remember the comp. coupe is not ACO legal anymore. So it appears that they are fudging it a bit. But if this is a trial to homologate one of the new Vipers into the ACO then great!! If not it is a little puzzling as there are a sufficient number of GT-2 cars to not need to excise the rules to allow it in.

L.P.

[mjmueller]

What are the lap times of Speed Gt cars compared to GT2? I have no Idea.

mj

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by mjmueller

What are the lap times of Speed Gt cars compared to GT2? I have no Idea.

mj

Here is the SWC site , if you click on the track (same as ALMS runs) it will take you to the race page then scroll down about a third of the page for results/times.

Then you can compare them to ALMS GT-2 times.

L.P.

[jhansen]

Originally Posted by HORNDAWG

I think that this track is better suited to the torque of the Audi than most of the previous races in the ALMS this year, so far. This might also be where we see the 5% play a roll in outright top speed. So yes I think that Audi will come back to the front. We have no comparison since Audi ran the R8 last year at Mid Ohio so it will be interesting to see what kind of speeds we get in practice! I also think we might see a better performance from Intersport and Autocon, since this track set-up translates so much better to Road Atlanta than Lime Rock ( )!! And as we saw at Lime Rock the Creation/Judd has plenty of stones on the straight stretches!!


L.P.

Not to mention the Zytek (similar design) was magic here in 2005. But I'm not getting my hopes up for Autocon (drivers) or Intersport (tires).

I still think the Spyders (and Acuras) will go well here though.

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by mjmueller

What are the lap times of Speed Gt cars compared to GT2? I have no Idea.

mj

Go to the FIA GT website for slightly more applicable comparisons. The FIA GT3 cars are very close in performance to the GT2 cars. It shouldn't take much with the right team and drivers, for a Comp Coupe to be competitive. Given this is more of a test, don't expect too much first time out. If the car can stay close, then I think they might have something.

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by Fogelhund

Go to the FIA GT website for slightly more applicable comparisons. The FIA GT3 cars are very close in performance to the GT2 cars. It shouldn't take much with the right team and drivers, for a Comp Coupe to be competitive. Given this is more of a test, don't expect too much first time out. If the car can stay close, then I think they might have something.

So is this a FIA GT-3 Comp. Coupe instead of a SWC modified? And how do FIA GT-3 times give a better example of SWC vs. ALMS GT-2?

L.P.

[minimangler]

Because FIA GT is generally better
We'll ignore some odd decisions.
Then again, ALMS organisers have made some odd ones.

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by HORNDAWG

So is this a FIA GT-3 Comp. Coupe instead of a SWC modified? And how do FIA GT-3 times give a better example of SWC vs. ALMS GT-2?

L.P.

It is a Comp Coupe, that was SWC modified, and now has been further modified for this ALMS test.

FIA GT3 times comparison are better examples, as the relative performance differential should be closer. In my opinion, the Michelin tires used in FIA GT3, will offer better performance than the Toyo's in SWC. The Viper's in SWC are also more restricted.

[cmk]

Originally Posted by minimangler

Because FIA GT is generally better
We'll ignore some odd decisions.
Then again, ALMS organisers have made some odd ones.

Not relevant. Don't even try to start something, or we'll have to look at the whole GT3 homologation and equalization debate!

Fogelhund definitely hit the nail on the head with the tyre difference. Aren't the SWC Toyos high-performance road tyres or cut slicks or something? They're not true racing slicks, that's for sure. SWC cars are already fairly close to GT2 times, but the GT3 times in Europe are almost identical. IIRC the Ludwig Corvette outqualified the Mullen 430 at Monza during the FIA-GT meeting, had they been on the same grid.

Is the CC legal in the ALMS because it's running in 'GTS2' like the M3s last year, ie. effectively on a special IMSA dispensation?

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by cmk

ie. effectively on a special IMSA dispensation?

From what I understand, yes.

[yamato]

The car will be in GT2-S for sure; and there is no reason that it cannot be competitive. The questions are: 1) has the team made all of the allowable changes under the rules? 2) are the drivers and teams capable of hanging with other cars? 3) what type of tyre is Kumho going to bring to the table (have the serviced a GT2 team elsemhere?)?

BTW - the Toyos used in SWC are DOT (i.e. Street Legal) tires that have the treads shaved off. They work really well for what they are, but they just don't compare to a true racing slick. Around a track like Mid-Ohio, that's likely to be worth a couple of seconds.