Official ALMS 2010 Discussion thread.

[AFSil80]

Ok folks, with all of the teams gearing up for Sebring here in about a month, I'm curious as to what my fellow road racing enthusiasts are thinking.

Sebring stuff:
Today was Open Practice for the teams, and I've seen some pretty good representation from the ALMS and Speed TV profiles on facebook.

- Peugeot has confirmed two entries, and Audi won't be participating due to Peugeot vetoing the team due to the nosepiece design of the R15.

- Looks like the LMP-Challenge class is going to have a lot of contenders.

- GT2 should be interesting as always. I'm eager to see how Scott Sharp's pair of Ferraris will do, as well as the Jaguar RSR.

What's on your mind?







Rest of the gallery...
http://www.speedtv.com/gallery/view/1036823/339537

Front stretch fly-by's...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2V7zUR_5tQ

[Elbow]

Peugeot wins Sebring, Le Mans, and Petit.

[AFSil80]

Peugeot wins Sebring, Le Mans, and Petit.

Ugh, hope not. Hahaha. Hopefully Audi can get things pulled together and yield different results. I'm still gonna pull for my all-time favorite underdog: Intersport Racing.

[Elbow]

Ugh, hope not. Hahaha.

There will be no hoping or chances, it's a fact.

[EJ25RUN]

Peugeot wins Sebring

No kidding when you tell your only rival not tp show. (Audi brought the car to Sebring to test and see what it can do but it's obviously not for the race)

Peugeot has spent the winner upgrading the 908...
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81638

I'm pretty bitter about no Audi.

[AFSil80]

I'm pretty bitter about no Audi.

Total hater move by Peugeot.

[dazn]

yeah, peugot sucks for keeping Audi out of it. what a bunch of sissies.
I was there thursday and saw the gt2 corvette team testing. then sunday all the other boys started showing up. Shaping up to be a decent year. i heard 6 Challenge cars were sold. And know of another serious bidder. Im interested to see how that class will do. A lot of drivers will be ALMS rookies so lets see if they play a big role in traffic.

[Jenson]

I hope Puegot gets tangled up with the C cars...buncha babies. Nothing bad just so they cant win, I hate to see anyone wreck but that just destroyed the race for protoypes imo. Im anxious to see the Aston's, but is that a Lowes sponsor with the Gulf livery?!? Odd. The GT2 race will be the only good one it looks like. Hopefully the Jags will be able to finish and my boys at Robertson have a good showing.

[EJ25RUN]

but is that a Lowes sponsor with the Gulf livery?!? Odd.

Adrian Fernandez' team had to end shop after the Laguna Seca round of the 2009 season but Adrian was able to get the Aston Team to ship the 2009 car for Sebring and Long Beach and therefore his sponsor, Lowes, will be on the car. Hopefully the car will be at Petit as well.

David Richard's squad is building a new prototype for 2011 but he didn't want to build one for 2010 cause Prodrive sees no reason to make a prototype to win the "petrol" race against the diesels.


Here is the new livery on the 2010 rules Pug 908.



And here is a shot of what could have and SHOULD HAVE been.

Audi R15 last week.





Don't forget our friends at Radio Le Mans for Sebring. I'll make sure to listen to Hindy trackside.

http://radiolemans.com/

[AFSil80]

Looks like Jon Field wrecked the car yesterday...

http://www.americanlemans.com/index_news.php?n=14567

[EJ25RUN]

Looks like Jon Field wrecked the car yesterday...

http://www.americanlemans.com/index_news.php?n=14567

It said he wasn't badly hurt but that really doesn't do well for the team having to use a spare car now.

[AFSil80]

It said he wasn't badly hurt but that really doesn't do well for the team having to use a spare car now.

Yeah, like I said earlier in the thread, that's my favorite car to watch. It's so ridiculous that it's awesome. I hope they get everything sorted out.

[EJ25RUN]

Bad news.

Autosport:

Intersport to miss Sebring after crash

By Matt Beer Wednesday, March 17th 2010, 11:23 GMT

Jon Field crashes in Sebring testingIntersport has withdrawn its Lola from this weekend's Sebring 12 Hours following Jon Field's huge crash in testing on Monday.

The team will continue to run its LMPC class entry, but will not attempt to prepare another LMP1 car for this weekend, instead focusing on returning for the next round of the American Le Mans Series in Long Beach next month.

"First and foremost, we are relieved that Jon was able to walk away from the wreck without injury," said team manager Brian Alder.

"It is a tribute to IMSA safety regulations and the construction of the Lola to see our driver walk away from such a horrific crash.

"With Jon on the mend, we will channel our focus for the 12 Hour to the team's LMPC car. We will also be busy with our IMSA Lites entries. We're very confident and enthusiastic about the teams competitiveness in those programmes.

"Jon and Clint Field will return to Long Beach with our LMP1 car in April. Not starting Sebring is disappointing and significant as it ends Jon's streak of 13 consecutive 12 Hours of Sebring starts."

Intersport has traced the accident's cause to a problem in the right rear suspension, which sent the Lola off the road. It then rolled several times before coming to rest. Field was taken to hospital for precautionary checks, but released with a clean bill of health later that evening.

[AFSil80]

Yeah, I just read that on the site. I could cry. They'll still be repping LMPC, but it's not the same as watching the #37 blow the doors off the Acuras down the straights.

[Elbow]

Ouch that sucks!

[5speed]

Anybody notice Simon Pagenaud looks like Jean Gerard (Sacha Baron Cohen) in Talladega Nights? lol

[AFSil80]

Glad to see the #81 win GTC...

And I was hoping to see Drayson stick around until the end, b/c they were giving those Peugeots a run for their money in the first few hours. Intersport's LMPC entry didn't fare too well, either.

[EJ25RUN]

Glad to see the #81 win GTC...

And I was hoping to see Drayson stick around until the end, b/c they were giving those Peugeots a run for their money in the first few hours. Intersport's LMPC entry didn't fare too well, either.

I was standing right over their pit box as the guys were working on it 10 mins before the checker.

[thegreatfnr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5lJT7-Z00U

I was glad to see the corvettes take each other out of contention early on. The Risi Ferrari kicked some major ass.

[Elbow]

Hey guys, just got back from Road Atlanta.

Yeah um...PEUGEOT FTW YAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYYYAYAYAAYAYYA



I need to watch a highlights show or something.

[AFSil80]

Hey guys, just got back from Road Atlanta.

Yeah um...PEUGEOT FTW YAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYYYAYAYAAYAYYA



I need to watch a highlights show or something.

I'm still trying to figure out how you can be such a Peugeot fanboy and have a German flag as your avatar. It just doesn't make sense.

[Elbow]

I'm still trying to figure out how you can be such a Peugeot fanboy and have a German flag as your avatar. It just doesn't make sense.

Well I'm a fan of the car itself, I loved closed cockpit, I love the driver lineup, I especially loved Brabham running Le Mans with them, it's not really as much as the brand as it is the car and team.

[dazn]

Hey guys, just got back from Road Atlanta.

Yeah um...PEUGEOT FTW YAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYYYAYAYAAYAYYA



I need to watch a highlights show or something.

only because they had no real competition. lame.

[EJ25RUN]

When Peugeot were getting their trophys, and the Speedtv guy asked the crowd to "Let's hear it for the winning team" half of us in the crowd including me said "WOOO GO AUDI."

And sorry Simon but the whole race had the feel of a hollow victory as the Audi boys went to Miami to either test at Homestead or play on the beach.

One interesting thing i was able to do besides get someone David Richard's autograph (yes really), was talk to the Aston team about how they felt about it. One of the pit workers being unbiased toward either Audi or Peugeot since they were a running a gas car said that Audi and Peugeot were trying to stay away from each other to keep from further rules regs to be enforced on them before Le Mans and 2011. This was interesting to hear from their view but at the end of the day, Peugeot was seen as the cheater by most counts.

[AFSil80]

While factory backed teams are always exciting to watch b/c they can push the envelope in technology, the quality of a good race can be lacking if there aren't many manufacturers involved. Peugeot proved that at Sebring. Without Audi there to give them a run for their money, it was left in the hands of two teams that were just starting to get a slight bit of help from the rules.

It really states something when they shrink the diesel restrictors and increase the gas restrictors and they still have difficulty keeping up.

Anyways, I just wanna see #37 come out and lay down the law. :P

[thegreatfnr]

Who else thought it was pretty funny/ironic that the Jag broke down in the first hour?

[EJ25RUN]

Who else thought it was pretty funny/ironic that the Jag broke down in the first hour?

Was expected. For the majority of the race the GTC classes were lapping faster than the Jag. As much as i respect Paul and his RSR effort, this Jag is out of its league.

[AFSil80]

Yeah, its pretty bad when they talk about how nice the Jag sounds as opposed to it's actual performance.

I cracked a joke after it happened, and said 'I wonder how long until the Pace Car blows chunks' hahaha.

[EJ25RUN]

Jags been doing better of late in terms of street cars and had a booth to show their new XJ models. It's just Paul's team doesn't have the funds to fight a factory done car.

[AFSil80]

1:12 mark made me bust a nut when I watched it happen the first time. I still get wood watching it again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30mQkTYD_9w

And I think I'm gonna have to come up with an ALMS sig. to compare with y'all.