2019 Rolex 24

Might as well get the party started, right?

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/wtr-confirms-alonso-kobayashi-in-rolex-24-lineup/

Wayne Taylor Racing adds Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi to their lineup for the race. Van der Zande and Taylor remain the primary drivers.

 

Yes with Jimmie Johnson fishing to be included although, maybe, that ship just sailed thanks to Konica Minolta.

 

I am really interested to see the speed differential between the DPi and P2 now that they are in separate classes.

Bummed to see Paul Miller Racing move to PWC (or whatever it is called) purely because of driver ratings. They always claim the driver rating system is there to keep the AMs interested, but I wonder how many would actually pull out if all Pro teams were allowed.

 

Is WilliamH competing???

 

that really is a shame, and should be a wake up call to IMSA and the FIA to scrap the system.

 

Scrap the system or have a universal system? FIA have Sellers as silver and IMSA have him gold. If we didn't have the constant "not invented here so can't be any good" between the 2 bodies maybe this wouldn't have to be an issue.
Basically the GTD Champions are leaving the series because of a driver rating and an AM driver who wants to stick with his team mate.

 

Let's not forget that they were also expanding to a 2 car team, so IMSA lost 2 entries...not just 1.

 

my issue isn't Seller's rating, it's Snow's. Snow got upgraded to gold (gold snow, huh huh) so the pairing doesn't work in IMSA.

Well, Snow is an Am-his family funds the program. The point of driver ratings was to delineate between pros and ams. So you have an Am rated gold (pro) with plenty of "fake silver" pros out there. And usually the "fake silvers" are supported by a manufacturer (junior team drivers, etc) as a way to manipulate the system to help GT3 manufacturers sell a program.

either scrap the system entirely, or make the distinction based on contracts/funding/how you earn a living and not some convoluted performance metric that is applied to pros and ams alike.

 

Thinking about attending Daytona.

Haven't been to a race in a while, starting to look as though it's shaping up nicely.

BHW

 

I might zip down to Daytona this year on Sunday. already have my tickets for Sebring 12h

 

I will likely be at Daytona. Really want to do Sebring as I have never been. Currently trying to convince my wife of all of this, who for some reason, thinks buying new furniture is a better use of money.

 

IMO, Sebring is a much better "experience" than Daytona.

good luck with your wife

 

I have heard that. Done Daytona twice so far, but I love it. One of the appeals for doing Daytona is my parents rent a house for the winter in Cape Coral, so we can go down for a week, spend some time with my parents, and then I can drive across for the 24. They won't have the house anymore when it is time for Sebring unfortunately.

She will come around. She gets pretty much a free vacation out of this. She just stays in Cape Coral while I go to the race. I just wish she would agree to all of this before everything gets booked.

 

Have hotel reservations for the Roar and for the race. Wife can't make the Roar trip but we might extend the race into a week and do a few days in Orlando.

 

FCA track day following race on Monday. FYI

 

Madison Snow won't be racing anywhere in 2019:

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Paul-Miller-Racing-Announces-Departure-of-2018-Champion-Madison-Snow.html?soid=1101805855523&aid=fvOJsOYsZRk

 

I checked on RV camping a couple months ago. It was all sold out. And at the time NONE of the RV lots were sold out for the 500. I’m still thinking about going for the day.

 

So much for the story from two days ago about how they were going to (Blancpain) PWC so that they could stay together!

 

RV camping, infield parking and hospitality all sell out by June for the 24H.

 

I wonder if that was an attempt to get IMSA to reconsider Madison's rating.

 

Funny how the story of the PWC move is now missing from the Racer site. I think a couple of journos are feeling like they got played.

 

I have a feeling this isn't the final chapter in this story either. On this week's Marshall Pruett podcast they talked bout PMR regretting having the story out there about going to PWC and didn't want to comment on it.

 

Now this is interesting...Core will be running the Nissan DPi.

https://sportscar365.com/features/core-switches-to-nissan-dpi-for-2019/?fbclid=IwAR0jGD3jAqIMvUZyCEsde9WKnuOAI7ze7VLXBHhLQ9Q-h6Nxs5dUL7HN4z0

 

I've been attending for the last 10 straight years and it never disappoints.

 

and rumors of a GTD Nissan entry to take advantage of the entrant fee being paid