The Official ALMS Thread

[E-Thirty]

I know there has to be some fans on here. Qualifying times are in and it looks like the diesel juggernauts managed to lose pole position to one of the new Acuras. Though this doesn't mean much yet in an endurance race, it's still impressive to see the different approach Acura took with a petrol engine and manage to prove itself on it's first event so far.

Things don't look as bright for the BMWs though. =\

1 1 66 P1 de Ferran/Pagenaud/Dixon 1:45.278 126.522 11 -.--- 11 Acura ARX 02a
2 2 2 P1 Capello/Kristensen/McNish 1:45.360 126.424 7 0.082 9 Audi R15 / TDI
3 3 07 P1 Minassian/Lamy/Klien 1:45.462 126.301 2 0.184 3 Peugeot 908
4 4 1 P1 Luhr/Rockenfeller/Werner 1:45.551 126.195 4 0.273 5 Audi R15 / TDI
5 5 08 P1 Sarrazin/Montagny/Bourdais 1:45.559 126.185 1 0.281 2 Peugeot 908 HDI FAP
6 6 9 P1 Brabham/Sharp/Franchitti 1:46.504 125.066 10 1.226 11 Acura ARX 02a
7 1 15 P2 Fernandez/Diaz 1:49.686 121.438 2 4.408 4 Acura ARX-01B
8 2 16 P2 Dyson/Smith/Lally 1:51.534 119.425 8 6.256 10 Lola B09 86 Mazda
9 7 12 P1 Willman/McMurry/Burgess 1:51.598 119.357 10 6.320 11 Lola B06/10
10 3 20 P2 Leitzinger/Franchitti/Devlin 1:51.840 119.099 8 6.562 11 Lola B08 86 Mazda
11 1 4 GT1 Beretta/Gavin/Faessler 1:57.882 112.994 2 12.604 4 Chevrolet Corvette C6R
12 2 3 GT1 Magnussen/O'Connell/Garcia 1:58.203 112.687 3 12.925 4 Chevrolet Corvette C6R
13 1 87 GT2 Henzler/Werner/Lietz 2:03.051 108.248 2 17.773 6 Porsche 911 RSR
14 2 45 GT2 Bergmeister/Long/Lieb 2:03.433 107.913 3 18.155 5 Porsche 911 RSR
15 3 95 GT2 Companc/Russo/Bruni 2:03.487 107.866 5 18.209 7 Ferrari 430 GT
16 4 62 GT2 Melo/Kaffer/Salo 2:03.829 107.568 8 18.551 9 Ferrari 430 Berlinetta GT
17 5 40 GT2 D.Robertson/A.Robertson/Murry 2:04.333 107.132 3 19.055 5 Doran Ford GT-R
18 6 21 GT2 Farnbacher/James/TBA 2:04.437 107.042 7 19.159 8 Panoz Esperante
19 7 90 GT2 Hand/Auberlen 2:04.566 106.931 4 19.288 6 BMW E92 M3
20 8 11 GT2 Feinberg/Hall/Holt 2:05.619 106.035 5 20.341 6 Dodge Viper
21 9 007 GT2 Drayson/Cocker/Bell 2:05.692 105.973 4 20.414 7 Aston Martin Vantage GT
22 10 18 GT2 N.Pastorelli/Stuck/Stuck 2:05.805 105.878 7 20.527 8 Porsche 911 RSR
23 11 28 GT2 Gigliotti/Curran/Molo 2:06.678 105.148 9 21.400 10 Chevrolet Riley Corvette
24 12 61 GT2 Krohn/Jonsson/van de Poele 2:08.386 103.750 6 23.108 8 Ferrari 430 Berlinetta GT
25 13 44 GT2 Law/Neiman/van Overbeek 2:10.912 101.748 2 25.634 10 Porsche 911 RSR
26 14 5 GT2 Westbrook/Basseng/David -.--- --- 0 0 Porsche 911 RSR
27 8 37 P1 J.Field/C.Field/Ducote -.--- --- 0 0 Lola B06/10
28 15 92 GT2 Mueller/Milner -.--- --- 0 0 BMW E92 M3

[TDE30]

Bets for class win:

LMP1: Audi R15 TDI (Capello/Kristensen/McNish)
LMP2: Acura AX-01B (Fernandez/Diaz)
GT1: One of those homo Corvettes.
GT2: Porsche 911 RSR (Bergmeister/Long/Lieb)

I'd really like to see BMW establish some solid results in their inaugural race, but being realistic, a class podium might be as far as they get. IMO, the real racing this year will be in GT2 (and maybe, maybe LMP1 depending on how strong Acura is.)

I'm psyched for Saturday's race, make sure you guys remember to check ESPN tonight at 9:00 PM EST.

[E-Thirty]

There will be an interesting battle in every category besides the obvious(GT1). Dyson seems surprisingly strong with the Mazda/Lola and who's to say Audi wont have it's own teething issues on its first race? I'm with you for BMW. Hopefully they can prove themselves somehow.

And to spice things up - could Panoz be making a comeback with a new chassis?
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090319/ALMS/903199991

[Charlie]

(and maybe, maybe LMP1 depending on how strong Acura is.)

Acura is racing against itself in LMP1 the rest of the season. Won't be a race.

Dyson seems surprisingly strong with the Mazda/Lola

Huh? They're two seconds off the pace of the P2 Acuras, and 7 seconds off of the P1 cars. The car is a dud.

-Charlie

[TDE30]

I'm still unsure of how Acura (LMP1) will do tomorrow, they put up solid qualifying results, but after watching a program on their LMP2 to LMP1 move and learning that their secret to success is to use four rear tires I am a bit skeptical. Having a larger contact patch is great in theory, but will it win them races instantly?

More info on the ARX-02A located here.

[Hallen]

I am looking forward to the race tomorrow. I hope the BMW's can keep up and finish the race. They ran some lower times earlier in the week, mid 2:03's. I wonder what happened during qualifying. I just wish they could manage these speeds without using the GT2S specs. Bill Auberlen is the man though. He is a master and Joey isn't far behind.

The Audi will be tough to beat, even in a new car. I am sure they learned a lot from the R-10 and have applied it to the R-15. But they went with a longer wheel base which implies to me that they may have never planned on running a full ALMS season. They might just be ticked about getting beat by P2 cars for the last two years.

If the BMW can't win GT2, then I am rooting for the Lizards. Long/Bergmeister are great drivers and you just have to love the 911, even if you hate it, if you know what I mean.

[Hallen]

I'm still unsure of how Acura (LMP1) will do tomorrow, they put up solid qualifying results, but after watching a program on their LMP2 to LMP1 move and learning that their secret to success is to use four rear tires I am a bit skeptical. Having a larger contact patch is great in theory, but will it win them races instantly?

More info on the ARX-02A located here.

Yeah, we'll see. They say they are sill having to compensate for the disparity between diesel and petrol power. It seems petty common for the cars that corner really well to do well in quali. But for race pace, it is much harder on them if they don't have the power or straight line speed to clear traffic efficiently.

[CleanAzzE30z]

Did they add Cali SPeedway to the schedule??? please please please?? I went to all of them out here and it was the baddest ass of experiences.



Mariano

[TDE30]

No California Speedway, you poor guys will have to make do with Laguna Seca and Long Beach. Not fair at all.

[norcalE30]

im stoked for the new season acuras cars look really strong and i like the different approach they took. cant wait for the race

[BillBrasky]

I'm psyched for Saturday's race, make sure you guys remember to check ESPN tonight at 9:00 PM EST.

What was on ESPN? I didn't see this thread until 11:50p


I'll be at the race at Mid-Ohio again this year. I'm glad to see BMW back in it again.

[E-Thirty]

Huh? They're two seconds off the pace of the P2 Acuras, and 7 seconds off of the P1 cars. The car is a dud.

-Charlie

Well, for now I'm just comparing them to how BK was running the car and I like to root for the underdog team.

[E-Thirty]

Yeah, we'll see. They say they are sill having to compensate for the disparity between diesel and petrol power. It seems petty common for the cars that corner really well to do well in quali. But for race pace, it is much harder on them if they don't have the power or straight line speed to clear traffic efficiently.

I also think the Acura is better suited for a track like sebring.

[Hallen]

No California Speedway, you poor guys will have to make do with Laguna Seca and Long Beach. Not fair at all.

That's one of the "locked out" NASCAR tracks like Watkins Glenn and Daytona. No ALMS races will be held at those tracks unless NASCAR gives the OK, which they won't.

The closest race to me now is Laguna since they stopped coming to Portland.

I dunno about the Acura, I suspect it will do better on the street courses and tighter tracks than it will at Sebring.

[CleanAzzE30z]

No California Speedway, you poor guys will have to make do with Laguna Seca and Long Beach. Not fair at all.

Wait, ALMS is going to Long Beach?? I didnt know that. Awesome. I just wanted something in Southern Cali. I may even go up to Laguna Seca.



Mariano