Corvette preventing other teams from enterting GT1???

[ss_collins]

I spoke to Steve Wesloski about this time last year about the future of GT1 and he was scared that AMR would pull out - if they did it would mean that GM were not really racing anyone. They are committed to racing in GT's for the long term but would have to do something drastic if they had nobody to run against.

The solution to GT1 problem is GT500 and GT300 - instantly three works teams plus odds and sods like the Lambo's and Ferraris.

[David]

Corvette races, among other reasons, to....


....learn about customer cars (May, 2005 - Former Chief Corvette Engineer Dave Hill reading my Corvette Specs and History sheet at Mid-Ohio Corvette Corral)....


....expose the product to others (Corvette parade at Petit Le Mans - limited to the first 100 Corvettes to sign up) ....


....and to provide lunch, seminars, new product exposure and a great meeting place for exisiting customers (a few of the several hundred Corvettes in the Road Atlanta Corral).

Racing in Europe or racing in LMP1 won't do those jobs nearly as well. I am sure they will do everything possible to stay in ALMS and to encourage competition.

By the way, Lou Gigliotti of Speed World Challenge fame, has been asked by a customer to build a Corvette GT2 car. Lou has apparently launched discussions with the sanctioning bodies about the possibilities.

Back in 2000, Trinkler Motorsports had Pratt & Miller help them build and homologate the only LM-GT (GT2 equivalent) Corvette ever approved:

[marcush.]

Originally Posted by JAG

It's unlikely to happen but I'd like to see GM/Corvette in P1 with a test bed for future roadcar technologies, thereby retaining the roadcar link.

GT2 customer Corvettes with a support program ala Porsche would see plenty of cars going up against the Z06's road car competition, 911 GT3, 430, Panoz, M3 etc.

Seems logical to me, and you'd think they've at least considered this scenario.

I wonder how far they got in that idea...I would not be too surprised to see such a car very soon...the GT3 car is already a lot more a GT2 than a GT3 as it was intended..with customade uprights,etc .so the step to GT2 is more of a homologation and less a development issue...

[Bob Riebe]

Originally Posted by marcush.

I wonder how far they got in that idea...I would not be too surprised to see such a car very soon...the GT3 car is already a lot more a GT2 than a GT3 as it was intended..with customade uprights,etc .so the step to GT2 is more of a homologation and less a development issue...

It would be nice to see Chevy go head-to-head against Porsche in a top class GT series.
Porsches reaction to Greenwood destroyed the original IMSA series, including Chevy "supported" Monzas (I never liked the Monzas) so it would be Chevrolet's chance for pay-backs.

Sadly, until the rules are rewritten, it is not going to happen.
Bob

[old man]

Originally Posted by Bob Riebe

It would be nice to see Chevy go head-to-head against Porsche in a top class GT series.
Porsches reaction to Greenwood destroyed the original IMSA series, including Chevy "supported" Monzas (I never liked the Monzas) so it would be Chevrolet's chance for pay-backs.

Sadly, until the rules are rewritten, it is not going to happen.
Bob

Showing my ignorance again Bob, what is/was Greenwood and what did Porsche do please.

[Bob Riebe]

Originally Posted by old man

Showing my ignorance again Bob, what is/was Greenwood and what did Porsche do please.

http://www.greenwoodcorvettes.com/Racecars.html

This will say more than I could; beyond that John Greenwood was Porsche's biggest worry during the original IMSA GT series.

Unreliability (due to Chevrolet's engines being far more capable than even the hardiest heavy duty parts available for the drive train) made finishes, much less wins, rare for Greenwood, and other Chevy powered cars (Many times a Chevy, even it was top six, was being nursed around the track with gears missing from the tranny) BUT when Greenwoods cars did run well, it annoyed the Porsche big-wigs greatly for Greenwood to drive by their top teams like they were standing still.

Porsche did not know that the lack of support by Chevy for Greenwood would make him finally say to hell with it and pretty much quit, so the turbo Porsches were created keep up with Greenwood on fast tracks that once were run.

The 934, though loathed by John Bishop for the expense to run one, were capable of running with the top Detroit Iron, heads-up, but not run away from it.
John Bishop did not want to allow the 935, but the Camel sponsor badgered him until he did, with the results he had pretty much expected.
The Detroit Iron drivers were not driving factory developed cars, and were already at a budge limit in 1977; in 1978 when the 935 showed up and dominatedm the last of the top AAGT driver just plain quit, as they had no factory supplied warehouse of go-fast goodies to call on.

John Bishop opened the GT rules a bit more and created the GTX class out of AAGT, but again there was no money to pay for developement of US cars.
Maurice Carter, and Billy Hagan, took adavantage of the GTX rules to adapt short track Camaros to road racing with some good results, but the handwriting was on the wall and when Bishop announced the new GTP rules the last of the US GT boys quit.
Bob
PS--The later GTO class was a totally tube-frame animal not related to the first prod. based GTs.