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14 May 2013, 17:20 (Ref:3247355) | #226 | ||
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Theres always the grip strips they could put on the asphalt like Paul recard to slow em down.
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14 May 2013, 17:23 (Ref:3247356) | #227 | ||
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They'll slow down a car, but I don't think they'd help a downed bike and rider. The gravel traps are there to also soften the landing of bike and rider. As long as the FIM bikes are Laguna Seca's biggest money maker...
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Tim "Travel makes a wise man better, and a fool worse." Thomas Fuller |
14 May 2013, 17:27 (Ref:3247358) | #228 | ||
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Yup I was thinking more of turn one at Watkins glen.removing the gravel at laguna will personally ruin it for me, he'll even the asphalt they added to turn two bugs me it just looks weird.
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14 May 2013, 18:40 (Ref:3247409) | #229 | ||
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Even the grip strips are tricky. If they work too well, the vehicle will shred its tires, and be stranded in the run-off just as if it was gravel.
As for cranes, many tracks don't have them. They can be expensive, and then there's clearing the space to position them and the maintenance of the equipment. If you have large run-offs, like F1 and other FIA series seem to go for, the cranes have to be quite tall/long, which takes substantially higher-spec equipment, both to lift at that extremity, and also to support its own weight when it has a 100+foot arm. Tractors are easier, but that's an extraction vehicle within the primary lines of defense, and the operators have to know that they will be reasonably safe to work out there when they deploy to a stranded vehicle. Apart from the issue of arresting wayward vehicles, I have a general distaste for the abuse of track boundaries that paved run-off leads to. Also, I don't recommend those speed bump things; Scott Pruett found out at Austin what hitting something of that sort can be like. And before anybody brings up the Aston Martin at Mid Ohio, or Jimmie Johnson in the Busch Series at Watkins Glen, both of those incidents were a function of grading leading to the car going over portions of the run-off. No amount of asphalt replacing gravel can fix that. Honestly, most of the issues would be solved by having gravel traps start further back from the edge of the designated racing surface. Have actual grass verges to give an automatic grip penalty to abusers. At the same time, those who run just a bit wide will lose some speed, maybe have to saw at the wheel a bit, but will be able to continue, rather than getting beached. Last edited by Purist; 14 May 2013 at 19:00. |
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14 May 2013, 19:08 (Ref:3247430) | #230 | ||
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I thought this was a great race and very entertaining. I find it interesting the the FCL discussion comes up at LS every year. I didn't think any were thrown that shouldn't have been... that's just how Laguna Seca goes. Maybe it's because I grew up watching Nascar, but like the current IMSA procedures. Just go to the fridge, grab another beer, and mutter to yourself how Tracy Krohn (just for example ) shouldn't be on track.
I'd be concerned about this creating problems ahead of an incident at smaller tracks. You know what they say, "purples breed purples". |
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14 May 2013, 20:42 (Ref:3247505) | #231 | ||
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A question... while at the race, it sounded like the track PA announcers were talking about something being incorporated into the rearview mirrors of the P2 HPd's, which is why the housings are so large. We couldn't hear what they said it was, with race traffic going past. Anyone know what they were talking about?
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15 May 2013, 13:31 (Ref:3247859) | #232 | ||
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15 May 2013, 13:48 (Ref:3247868) | #233 | ||
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15 May 2013, 18:51 (Ref:3248029) | #234 | |||
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Quote:
P1's turned 1:14's this year--P2's 1:18----not many years ago both were doing 1:10's when we had Audi's, Porsches and Accuras. For reference DP pole time last year was 1:21..yawn. They have almost slowed the P2's down enough....to the point it is a challenge for a P2 to pass a GT on the straight. |
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15 May 2013, 19:08 (Ref:3248040) | #235 | ||
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Not only that leave the p2's out, they say dp is close exciting racing.its not.its over welmingly boring and slow in person. One of my favorite places to watch is against the fence at the kink between 4 and 5 looking down.its an amazing place to see some good drafting and passing even in the conti challenge, but for Rolex it's boring.big gaps to the next dp and they all sound the same and it takes a few laps to start passing traffic even then it's dull.
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15 May 2013, 20:39 (Ref:3248114) | #236 | ||
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I liked the race better when it was in the fall. From what I remember, the fall race actually ends in darkness, or at least twilight.
The crowd seemed much smaller from what I remember during the times I've been in the past (between 2004 and 2007). I wish they'd broadcast the PA over the radio. |
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15 May 2013, 22:03 (Ref:3248152) | #237 | ||
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Yes the crowd was smaller even compared to last year, on Friday and Thursday was so little people that it almost seemed like grand am.
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15 May 2013, 22:11 (Ref:3248155) | #238 | |||
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Quote:
You americans'll dearly miss the true sportscars for quite some time I guess. Gone are the grand races were Audi R8's battled it out against Panoz GTR's against BMW V12's against Porsche RS Spyders. Epic races on the great american sportscar tracks. Sad. |
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16 May 2013, 01:14 (Ref:3248201) | #239 | ||
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Yes sir, those days are long gone. I always stick around for scruteneerimg and walk around the paddock after the race as teams pack up.this year I stayed extra long left almost at ten as the ocean fog was starting to roll In.it was a weird feeling knowing this era was over and would never happen again, only to wonder how long it would take for it to come back
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16 May 2013, 11:50 (Ref:3248371) | #240 | ||
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When over half of the ALMS grid right now is made up of cars which don't confirm to ACO regs (GTC and LMPC spec racers), it doesn't really seem like the ACO link is doing much good. |
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16 May 2013, 19:17 (Ref:3248507) | #241 | ||
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As long as GTE exists, that's good enough for me.
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18 May 2013, 04:57 (Ref:3249212) | #242 | ||
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muscle milk's laguna video. gotta say i think this is the best produced one ive seen from them.
http://youtu.be/EAhnqAtBwBA |
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18 May 2013, 10:44 (Ref:3249311) | #243 | ||
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18 May 2013, 14:10 (Ref:3249398) | #244 | |||
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Quote:
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18 May 2013, 23:59 (Ref:3249620) | #245 | ||
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And they're just as bad as DPs. The chassis is better but the engines are just low revving sealed production Chevy motors. Oh, and spec tires too...
So we have 2 low tech spec "prototype" classes in USCR with a few castrated P2 and all on spec tires - no thanks. Too bad the ELMS has Pro Am driver rules as their class format is much more palatable. They embrace both the ACO and FIA rule sets to some extent, not the disaster requiring bespoke cars (DP, GTD, GX, and low downforce P2s) no one cares about (excluding GTLM) the USCR has. |
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19 May 2013, 00:24 (Ref:3249633) | #246 | |
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Should I point out that ELMS also has PC (called FLM) and GTC (though like Rolex it includes a few castrated GT3 cars like Ferrari, BMW Z4, and at Imola, Lamborghini)?
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19 May 2013, 00:56 (Ref:3249640) | #247 | |||
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Quote:
More track sounds at speed would have been nice, too. |
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19 May 2013, 01:40 (Ref:3249650) | #248 | |||
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Quote:
Say all you want about low car counts in P1, but there absence is definitely noticeable. |
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20 May 2013, 01:39 (Ref:3250203) | #249 | ||
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