By Peter M. De Lorenzo
Elkhart Lake. This past weekend was special for road racing fans in the U.S., with the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship series at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and NASCAR at Watkins Glen International, in Watkins Glen, New York. These two road courses are not only two of this country's most iconic natural-terrain circuits, this past weekend reminded many road racing enthusiasts why they still care about the sport.
First off, Road America - America's National Park of Speed - shined on a weekend jam-packed with several different classes of racing. America's premier road racing circuit proved yet again that it is one of this country's racing treasures, and it lived up to its name by providing a stunning backdrop for the United SportsCar Championship events (see more coverage in "The Line" - WG). Although the caution-fest that unfolded on Sunday wasn't one of the USCC's finer moments, the racing was as intense as ever at the picturesque 4.048-mile circuit.
IMSA also released a series of announcements which covered the future direction of the USCC (see below) and the 2015 schedule. A couple of noteworthy items? The DP category has two years left to run (for some, two years too many) before a new prototype class is unveiled for the 2017 season, which will be an evolutionary development of the P2 class if you read between the lines and listened closely to the comments made off the record at Road America. And GTD will become a full-on, international GT3 specification class in 2016 (one year too late as far as I'm concerned), which will be a definite upgrade.
I'm not going to regurgitate IMSA's long-winded schedule release (see below) but Lime Rock is back for the Prototype Challenge and GTD classes, and the stops at Kansas and Indianapolis were mercifully dropped. Kansas, because the series had no business running there in the first place, and Indianapolis because running at the cavernous Indianapolis Motor Speedway looked as if the USCC was running a non-spectator event for insurance purposes. Is the 2015 schedule ideal? Certainly not, but now that the merger is approaching the end of its first year, I expect the series to do better overall in 2015.
But once again I have to say that America's premier, major league road racing series was simply outgunned by the show that NASCAR put on at Watkins Glen. This isn't news, as I've commented before that the NASCAR road races are traditionally the best road racing of the year, and this past weekend was no different. The duel between AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose was simply riveting and everything road racing should be. (See more coverage in "The Line" - WG)
Would an all-GT USCC series put on as good a show? I think even better, actually, but we'll never see it. To me, the beauty of the NASCAR road races as opposed to the USCC is that you can focus more on the actual racing instead of trying to wait for sustained coverage on a particular class battle. The multiple class aspect provided for difficult TV viewing in the old ALMS days and it still does today, no matter how hard the TV people try to make it compelling. Be that as it may, the Sprint Cup series outshone the USCC by a bunch last weekend, and that simply shouldn't be.
Are there any short-term solutions available to the USCC? Given the politically-charged atmosphere of the current regime running the USCC, no, of course not. But I would take a serious look at the duration of the races in the USCC. For the distance races at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta, sure, the longer races are welcomed and have historical context. But a two-hour-and-45-minute show is simply too long to be standard operating procedure for the series.
The USCC needs to focus its racing. The classes need to be trimmed, the races need to be shorter (except for the classic endurance events) and the show needs to be much better overall. Yes, I know, it sounds like so much pissing in the wind, but it needs to be said. With racing losing its overall luster and appeal in this country except for the hard-core aficionados, the sport needs to do everything in its power to make itself better.
And the operative word is sooner, not later.
2015 TUDOR UNITED SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
|
Date |
Event |
Classes |
|
*Jan. 24-25 |
Daytona International Speedway |
ALL |
|
*March 21 |
Sebring International Raceway |
ALL |
|
April 18 |
Long Beach Street Circuit |
P/GTLM |
|
May 3 |
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca |
P/GTLM and PC/GTD |
|
May 30 |
Detroit Belle Isle |
P/GTD |
|
*June 28 |
Watkins Glen International |
ALL |
|
July 12 |
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park |
P/PC/GTLM |
|
July 25 |
Lime Rock Park |
PC/GTD |
|
Aug. 9 |
Road America |
ALL |
|
Aug. 23 |
Virginia International Raceway |
PC/GTLM/GTD |
|
Sept. 19 |
Circuit of The Americas |
ALL |
|
*Oct. 3 |
Road Atlanta |
ALL |
* Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup Event
Elkhart Lake. (8/9/2014) Editor-in-Chief's Note: The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship has outlined its vision for at least the short-term future of the series, which is outlined with details provided in the release below. The big news? GTD will align with full FIA GT3 specifications beginning in 2016. The other big news? The Daytona Prototype cars will go away beginning in 2017 in favor of a new prototype category that is, although not stated in the release, said to be an evolution of today's P2 class. Progress, to a degree, although the changes can't come soon enough. - PMD
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 8, 2014) – Officials from the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) today confirmed the structure and specifications for all four of its current TUDOR United SportsCar Championship classes through the 2016 season.
“It is important to all of our stakeholders to have a clear understanding of where the TUDOR Championship is headed from a technical standpoint, which we now have established through 2016,” said IMSA Vice President of Competition and Technical Regulations, Scot Elkins. “This will enable our manufacturers to build race cars with these specifications and timelines in mind, and allow our competitors to make fully informed investment decisions for the future.”
A breakdown of each class is as follows:
Prototype (P)
The Prototype class will continue to consist of Daytona Prototypes, race cars built to LM P2 specifications per rules established by the Automobile Club l’Ouest (ACO), which governs the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the DeltaWing through 2016. Last fall, officials from IMSA, the ACO and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) World Endurance Championship (WEC) jointly announced these Prototype regulations would remain in place for three seasons. A new, globally unified Prototype format for all three organizations will be introduced in 2017, with a planned vehicle life of at least three years (through 2019). The Prototype class will continue to feature predominantly professional driver lineups while also allowing pro/am driver combinations.
GT Le Mans (GTLM)
The GTLM class adheres to GTE specifications established by the ACO. New GTE technical specifications will be introduced for the 2016 season, with a planned vehicle life of at least three years (through 2018). The class, which includes factory-backed teams from many of the most iconic automotive brands in the world, will continue to feature professional driver lineups while continuing to allow pro/am driver combinations.
Prototype Challenge (PC)
The Prototype Challenge class will maintain its current format through 2016, with every team using ORECA FLM09 chassis and 6.2-liter Chevrolet engines. Driver lineups will continue to require a mix of professional and amateur drivers. Beyond 2016, the class will be further evaluated once the vehicle design, performance levels and cost is finalized for LMP3 and the new Prototype referenced above.
GT Daytona (GTD)
The GT Daytona class will utilize its current race cars through 2015. In 2016, the class will adopt full FIA GT3 specifications for all of its cars. Traction control, Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) and the full FIA GT3 aerodynamic specification will be allowed beginning in 2016. An Adjustment of Performance process will be managed through restrictors and weight. Driver lineups in GTD will continue to require a mix of professional and amateur drivers.
Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD
(Photo by Dave Friedman, courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives)
Riverside, California, January 16, 1977. David Pearson (No. 21 Wood Brothers Purolator Mercury) on his way to the win in the Winston Western 500 at Riverside International Raceway. Cale Yarborough (No. 11 Junior Johnson Holly Farms Chevrolet) finished second after leading the most laps and Richard Petty (No. 43 Petty Enterprises STP Dodge) was third. Cale would win the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship that year with nine wins and 25 top five finishes in 30 races.
Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD