Houston GP Attendees

I might have two gen admin tix & paddock passes for Saturday. I'll find out and get back to you.

 

If anyone has a ticket to spare let me know; I might go to Houston but to visit my Mother for Mothers Day.

 

Get 'em at the gate, I know General Admission will be there!

 

Great racing last night. Good to see Grady, Tammy and Robert again and to visit with the guys from FoH, meet Mika too. We had general admission tickets and paddock passes and we had some excellent viewing spots during the race - ended up standing in front of the giant tv for the last part of the race. This was a wonderful experience if you've never been to an ALMS race - everyone is very friendly, you can get right up with the cars and the autograph session is something F1 should do! I can say that we'll definitely be putting ALMS on our to do calendar. The Ferrari did well and I would have like to have seen it in first but third is okay! Porsche #23 with Graff and Rockenfeller took the win and one of the Flying Lizard cars took second. I was elated that Liz and Clint took first in LMP2 and even better was Alan McNish's win with the R8. My event highlight was a very nice visit again with Alan before the race. The weather couldn't have been better, in fact it was a tad cool last evening during the race. Can't wait to go to LeMans in less than a month and see most of these guys at work again - only the R10 this time!

Carol

 

Thank you for the report, Carol. Was the ALMS race televised, if so what channel?

 

It was replayed on CBS (11 in DFW) this afternoon. Fun to watch, though little disappointing that the 430GT was not on camera very much.

 

D'oh!! I was out running my mom around town helping her with various chores.

 

Yeah, what was up with that? Those damn GT2's hogged up the TV screen the whole time. Awesome race though.

 

You haven't seen anything yet, just wait for their F1 coverage! Btw, I'm watching the champ car race on Speed. I can't believe how rough that course is but it is a parking lot, if all possible it needs to be held at TMS.(road course)

 

ALMS commentators were far better than the F1 commentators.

I don't think I heard the word "brutal" uttered once.

 

Really? When I lived in Houston the whole Reliant area, as far as the pavement goes, was really really smooth since it's relatively new. Not sure if they re-paved everything for the race like they did the last time they held the Grand Prix in Houston.

 

Track was bumpy - coming out of one turn if you were on the inside you bottomed for sure. Allan bottomed the R8 several times past us at one of our locations. Mika locked up into whatever turn number it was in front of us - not so good on the tires and when the RS Spyder had it's problem, the Ferrari got clipped with the Porsche which caused a stop for the tire problem. All in all everything was so very convenient - we stayed at the Holiday Inn and just walked across the parking lot to the race. Based on incurred costs to attend this race and the overall racing (in comparison to F1) ALMS is very definitely the way to go. The whole experience at Houston Friday was very European in nature - far more so than the F1 race at Indy has ever been.

Time to make reservations for the Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta.

Carol

 

Picture time:

1. Ferraris in a row.
2. More Ferraris in a row.
3. How many blondes does it take?
4. I really like this car.
5. One that got away, the car that is. Pasty is our social director.
6. Houston looking good.
7. Drivers Meeting.
8. Track view
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Other cool cars --

1. 930s are looking better and better.
2. Very well done Gulf Porsche
3. Pretty GT. Too bad Porsche & Ferrari can't mix up on the track. I wonder who would win been a GT and an Enzo.
4. Born in the USA
5. C5 in Black looking good.
6. I think these C4s are rare, but not sure.
7. Which color do you like best?
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these were all randomly seen in the parking lot i take it?

 

Kind of. The Ferrari, Porsche, and Corvette clubs all had tents next to each other in the Blue lot. The Ferrari tent was, of course, the best.

Dale

 

Excellent pics Dale, did you also get some photos of Risi's 430 GT?

 

Here: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105579

Good job Dale!!!

 

Look in the track and race section.

Dale

 

I was there from Wenesday afternoon till Sat night around 10 PM. Was stationed on turns 1a, 1b, and 1 b mirror. Had a great time. Not nearly as smooth as the Sebring race or the Petite. The course was punishing to all of the drivers. Number of complaints about sore backs, kidneys and tired hands. Contract was signed for 3 years, so it will be back next year.
My favorite...the Compuserve Vettes. They and the Astons would run nose to tail most of the race, as team members. The vettes came in 2nd and 3rd overall. Did anyone see the champ car go full throttle into the run off at 3?? Momentarily we weren't sure if we had a fatality of not. He hit the tire barrier, ran into cemene blocks and moved them about 3 feet. Had to be cut out of car, Very lucky!! Formula MAzda's were all over and were a blast to watch.

 

Like I said, you have to hand it to the Vettes. They may be dinosaurs, but great gawd awlmighty, they be fast dinos.

As far as the course goes, the best quote I heard all weekend (who shall remain anonymous) is that this course separated the men from the boys in terms of who is really ready for the big one in France.

Dale


Dale

 

Hi Dale -

We're headed to the big one in France next month and if the quote you heard is correct then Liz and Clint (Intersport) should do awesome! and Allan in the R10 should be the overall winner (I hope so). Scuderia Ecosse will have their 430 there and those guys are terrific. You're correct, got to hand it to the Vettes Friday night - they not only sound awesome, they go very fast. We watched them earlier in the day placing weights on various parts of the car and doing computer work and weighing the cars. We had heard that the Astons were dealing with tire issues - they sound really sweet too - kinda like a giant bee compared to the throaty Vettes.

Carol

 

True about the vettes, but we walked the infield Friday as the Pace Car tried, in vain, to get started!



*crank crank crank.........crank crank crank*

 

I was there volunterring/ushering Thurs. and Fri. my first ALMS race and I'm hooked. I would like to thank all of you owners that brought your cars out. It was a personal pleasure seeing so many F-cars out plus the few I had never seen before in person. Most notably the F50, F40 and the 360 CS's.

I was in Grandstand 8 working the two days and will be doing my best if I'm still living in Houston to get in that section again next year. Turn 6 and 7 seemed to be somewhat of a hot spot for overtaking. A great weekend overall, and I'm now looking forward to my first F1 race in July!!!