Daytona 24 Hours-Does anyone care anymore?

[The DJ 27]

Just thought that there are a good many sportscar racing fans on here, and it's the Daytona Test Weekend, and no-one has mentioned it, not even the US members. I have a feeling that when it was being run to broadly similar rules to Le Mans (I.e. Proper prototypes, not the pig ugly, slow things they have now) that it would have been mentioned. So, does anyone care anymore?

[The DJ 27]

I think the main problem is that it's not part of a major international championship anymore, and hasn't been for a number of years. Now, the same criticism can be levelled at Le Mans, but LM has carisma, and the worldwide media attention that comes from that. Daytona is basically a big oval with a couple of hairpins and a chicane added on. Plus, since the rules changed from SRP1/II to Daytona Prototypes, the cars have got slower and a hell of a lot uglier. I think I'm right in saying that GT3 class cars are heavily restricted in both the engine and aerodynamic department this year, so they don't score an overall victory, as happened last year. The whole thing is just a joke to me. They only have 450bhp FFS! A proper modern sports prototype should have at least 200bhp more than that. In an ideal world, the rules would be a modern interpretation of Group C before it went a bit silly, with the Pug 905 and Toyota TS010 etc. Imagine a modern field of 850bhp, closed top, proper prototypes, racing together with GT cars and smaller, open prototypes.

[The DJ 27]

Just thought I'd bump this up since the race finished yesterday and no-one on here seems to have batted an eyelid. A sign that the new regulations, giving slow and ugly cars (the Crawford excepted), haven't worked Grand-Am?

>> Edited by The DJ 27 on Monday 2nd February 03:59

[The DJ 27]

littlegearl said:

1. an ex-pat Brit won (Pilgrim) 2. two brits finished 2nd and one the GT class (Mowlem, Lidell) 3. one of Britians best sportscar racers nearly won outright (Wallace) 4. another Brit finished 7th (Newton) 5. various other Brits such as Ian James and Justin Bell entered the race along with Graham Nash and Cirtek motorsport... surely enough reason to at least have a hour long highlights program?

Yup, knew all of that Some good points in there though. Having watched the videos off the Grand Am website the DPs have grown on me, though I still think they're pig ugly

[The DJ 27]

Ahonen said:

All the DPs really need is a smaller glasshouse and another 100-150bhp. I used to race the old Prosport 3000s which were very similar in construction, if a little smaller. They managed to have small glasshouses, so why can't the DPs? That's why they look so damn ugly! The Crawford is probably the best looking: mainly because they've taken the time to reduce the cockpit to the bare minimum size. The concept isn't a bad one, really, and they're certainly starting to get cars on the grid now. If I was organising ALMS I'd be starting to get a touch concerned. DPs aren't high-tech and they are very, very slow on the straights, but their popularity among teams is rising.

Wish I'd been old enough to go and see Prosport 3000s. I've seen a couple racing in other series and they're very pretty, very quick cars. You're right on the power thing though. They desperately need more.

[The DJ 27]

WRC was on for an hour this afternoon mate. Much better than the old C4 coverage as well I thought. More action, less talk