Andretti Green Racing to run the Acura team for Honda in the ALMS. With Peugeot planning a diesel that may see its way to the USA, this could be the series to follow in 2007/2008. Beginning to sound like the good old days of sports car racing. AGR is also adding Danica Patrick to their IRL lineup.
Outside F-1, this is the series. There are rumors of other new entrants for 2007. The good old days of sports car racing. Remember when IMSA cars and entry fees were being paid with big bags of cash.
You mean the days of the Whittingtons, John Paul Sr., and Preston Henn using ill-begotten money? All of this is strictly a rumor of course.
I am sorry to say but I do not think that this series (ALMS) has got anything on Grand AM @ this point. Low turnout and pretty uninteresting racing @ best.
Remember that Grand Am is the project of the France family - ala NASCAR so yes there the bumping, etc. that goes hand in hand with NACAR. ALMS has Don Panoz behind it and a true sportscar person so yes the racing is more real and better. Just look where the factory teams play! Sorry Carol
You are so right. And the cars look good in ALMS, where in Grand Am they look so unattractive, not to mention they all look the same. Besides, the ALMS is as close as some of us will get to the real LeMans.
Quality is not about car counts. I enjoy watching the Rolex cars in person, but they look like kit cars. And in person they are not all the same. The Toyota looks like it has a Bio-Dome roof, like they are growing something in there.
And it is rumored that AGR will run an additional Acura at Sebring for Michael and Marco Andretti, and, possibly, Danica Patrick. Now that would be an interesting driver team! The great thing about ALMS is that it (and, admittedly, GrandAm as well) is about the only racing series in the world where all the cars don't sound the same! Think of it: typically an ALMS field has 6, 8, 10 and 12-cylinder cars, some normally-aspirated and some turbocharged, and now with a diesel as well! Ironically, the quietest cars on the track are usually the fastest.
According to the full report on autosport, it was stated as "not verified" about her signing for AGR. Honda's Acuras will be running in LMP2 - I have no doubt that that Porsches with their current driver line-up (assuming it stays the same) will trounce AGR - just look at their challenge with the R10's. They will have gotten all the kinks out of the car by next year and definitely be unstoppable. Talk is for AGR to run Sebring - well I doubt that the "AGR" team is anywhere the caliber of the Porsche team when they add their other factory driver Patrick Long for that race. Last year in the Daytona 24 Patrick couldn't figure out how to adjust the mirrors on the Howard Boss car for the few laps she ran. Next year's LMP2 class will definitely be interesting. My support will not be for AGR or Porsche, I will remain supportive of the small privateer group of Liz Halliday, Clint and Jon Field. They do a helluva a job considering they only have one full-time mechanic; a part-time mechanic and the other help joins them at the races. Talk about initative, desire to win and the fact they fit into my favorite saying - don't give up, don't ever give up. GO INTERSPORT. Peugeot will introduce a scale model of the 908 at the upcoming Paris Auto Show (Mondial de l`Auto) in September, begin test driving in December, and compete in test races in 2007 (including Sebring), leading to the Le Mans run in June 2007. I'm ready to go back to Le Mans right now! Icing on the cake would be for Risi to receive an invitation for 2007 (they ran two 360's at Le Mans before) and Intersport to go back again. Carol
Until Porsche showed up this year, there was absolutely no "real" racing at all in ALMS the past four years or thereabouts. Giant Audi, who literally spent more on their food catering, than Dyson's spends on their entire race effort, made for absolultely no racing what so ever. I am glad Porsche finally showed up to actually make Audi sweat and to stop all the Audi PR which made them sound like the greatest race team on earth. As for AGR not cutting the cake in ALMS, don't be too sure of that. AGR competed at the highest levels of motorsport with full factory support from Honda in IRL and dominated even Penske for a couple of years. If Honda puts their full effort behind them Porsche has a real battle on their hands.
If Honda's "full factory support" for AGR is anything like their "full factory support" in F1, there's no sweating for the Penske team in ALMS is there? (I hardly consider IRL the "highest level" of motorsport). If you look at the drivers, cars and records (especially the wins with the R8 in the various racing venues and multiple drivers of same) I would hardly say that "all the Audi PR made them sound like the greatest race team on earth". Carol
I cannot give away details right yet (I am involved in program.), but Acura plans to have a pretty strong showing in ALMS. (3-4 teams.) But, unlike IRL, this is not a huge factory supported effort by Hond. The teams will be self funded with this being more of an engine deal by Acura to the teams. Nonetheless, it is the start of what could be a really good program for ALMS. More teams, another mfg, etc.
They be using both Lola and the Courges chassis for their cars to startout until they see which one is better. My only problem during this Audi reign is that they didn't do what Porsche did and sell R8s and now the R10s to anyone who wanted them. Like Porche did with the 962s back then (for anyone who doesn't know) here in the States all you had to is go to Al Holbert shop and by one or if you wanted to you could buy the plans to the 962s and build the car yourself and get two engines and gearbox's be on you way.
Peugeot may race at Sebring, but that would be the only race for them in ALMS. http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.endurance-info.com/article.php?sid=2206&thold=0
Correct. Don't ya'll discount my friend Duncan Dayton's outfit, Highcroft. They're the real deal and may very well outrace Fernandez and AGR next year simply because they have a couple years head start with prototypes. -Peter
You're absolutely correct about Highcroft - Duncan Dayton definitely has the experience factor over the other two entries. I hope that Fernandez and AGR don't bring the Rolex or IRL "tactics" into play into ALMS - ALMS is pretty clean good racing in my opinon and it doesn't need the bumping/banging of the other series. My support in LMP2 is still and will be for Intersport. Carol
Carol, Maybe you aren't impressed with their IRL effort but I bet Penske is, since AGR has whiped them the past two years for the championship trophy. As for F1, time will tell if it will take Honda 21 years to win their next title. They won every constructors title between 1986 and 1991. They have another 7 years before they match Ferrari's record dry spell. As for the IRL and Grand Am reference you made, that may apply to Grand Am but it doesn't apply to IRL, unless you and I are watching different races. Are the Fields, who run Intersport still under federal indictment for embezzelment ? Last I heard it was $1.9 million swindled from investors. As for your reference to "good" racing in ALMS, a couple of weekends where Porsche actually showed up to contest Audi, doesn't replace the lack of ANY racing over the past four and half years in ALMS. Audi hasn't beaten anyone of note at LeMans or in ALMS. No Porsche factory effort, none from Jaguar, Peugot, Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, BMW or anyone else.
We sure watched a heck of a race at Le Mans this year between the Audi's and Henri Pescarolo's cars! (Henri has the distinction of 33 participations - the most of anyone - at the 24 hours of Le Mans) Montagny-Loeb-Helary finished second overall in a Pescarolo-Judd four laps behind Biela-Pirro-Werner. They split the Audi's. In ALMS, both LMP1 Dyson cars were on the front row in Portland last week . . Next year's Le Mans will be interesting with the Peugot diesels running and, Sebring in March will be a race to definitely attend. Carol
I agree with previous posts that ALMS racing is a higher level than the slam/bang of GrandAm, and to my mind, that is what defines sports car racing. The ability to run someone close and find a way by w/o punting them into a wall requires much more talent than the alternative. That said, if ALMS were to start generating fields w/ car counts of 45 -55 entries, would the quality of driving suffer? On another topic, I believe the aforementioned indictment was only for Jon Field, relating to some property development deal in Colorado that went upside down. Perhaps that's why Clint is now listed as Intersport owner/ entrant. Cheers
Carol, Don't take this the wrong way, I am a fan of both ALMS and GA and wish they would just settle their differences and make one great sports car series like the heyday of racing in the 80's with IMSA. I know it will never happen but neither series has the full package so we are left with something less than perfect in either series. I've always been a huge fan of Pescarolo but Audi has no business making a big deal out of beating their tiny outfit. My often posted comment about Audi spending more on their food catering for LeMans is pretty spot on. See below the recent headline from Autosport. Henri's team is close to bankruptcy again. The fact that they could challenge Audi on one tenth the budget doesn't say much for Audi's competition. In reference to Jon Field, it harks back to the days of IMSA and Jon Paul Jones. Here is the Autosport article on Pescarolo: Pescarolo hit by financial problems Thursday, July 20th 2006, 12:29 GMT Championship leaders Pescarolo Sport could be forced to abandon their Le Mans Series campaign this season due to a lack of funds, this week's Autosport reveals. Team principal Henri Pescarolo, whose team are unbeaten in the series this year with three victories, told Autosport that he is not certain to take part in either the next round at Donington or in September's LMS finale at Jamara. The same financial problems have prevented Pescarolo Sport from pressing the green light on plans to build a new chassis for next year. "We would like to do the full championship but we are in terrible financial situation," said Pescarolo. "I do not know if I will be at Donington." Pescarolo's failure to sell one of his two C60s at an auction at this month's Le Mans Classic event hasn't helped the team's dire financial situation. "That money would have helped me finish the season and start work on next year's car," said the four-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner.
