GT World Challenge Europe Season 2022

[airbusA346]

Is Tandy in #47 nursing a problem?

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by airbusA346

Is Tandy in #47 nursing a problem?

The car has been harsh on its tyres since the morning. All three drivers have been unable to match their pace from yesterday, with a drop-off at the en of their stints.

[gert]

#14 puncture

[J Jay]

Fair play to the #88 AKKA AMG, they were always at or near the front.

Is this the first 24-hour victory for Marciello & Juncadella?

[bentley speed 8]

A completely dry race. Was nice to have a few more cars on the lead lap in the closing stages, congrats to #88 for always being there and doing almost no mistakes.

[bella]

absolutely stanning the iron dames. sarah bovy continuing to be a superb bronze driver.

if there has to be a women only motorsport project, this is how it should be done.

[Mike E]

I was wondering how long Bovy could remain a Bronze. Not sure where she would fit in the new classification system.

[Anyopenroad]

Just while we’re grumping about Spa - 1645 is far too late (as in, hours too late) to start the race. No-one there wants to see French F4. The 30th Anniversary race was great but too long. Euro GT4 and Lamborghini Super Trofeo could have been finished much earlier (or run on Friday tbh).

/grumping over!

[Mike E]

A 1645 finish on Sunday also seems late for people travelling home directly after the race.

[Anyopenroad]

Originally Posted by Mike E

A 1645 finish on Sunday also seems late for people travelling home directly after the race.

Spa has always been slightly odd in this respect. The crowd on the Saturday is massive - stands rammed. Parking is strict, gates properly manned. Then really surprising numbers of people leave a few hours after the start and Sunday is far less busy. They also stop manning car parks, paddock access is no longer controlled, it’s very relaxed. Arriving at midnight and staying till the finish would be a very cheap deal. Late on Sat night I moved my car from a field 10 mins walk from the Les Combes entrance to a spot about 20m from the gate.

The time from pre-dawn to about lunchtime is magical in any 24H race but even more so at Spa because of the huge contrast with the madness of Saturday.

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by Mike E

A 1645 finish on Sunday also seems late for people travelling home directly after the race.

Yeah I can confirm. Had to split the drive on the way home - no chance to get back to Manchester on a few hours sleep.

First Spa experience though, loved it. Parade was great too.

[Badlands99]

Shame that there are so many negative comments about the race ......

It is what it is! SRO make the rules, if they don't fall in with your ideals then you don't have to watch - simple.

Due to work issues, I couldn't make it this year but I have been six times in the past and loved every minute of the event. Yes ..... for some, there are frustrations with the FCY/SC rules that SRO employ but, guys, it's their baby so they play by their rules.
Personally, I don't have any issues with the rules - IMHO, they are infinitely better that anything that comes out of IMSa - which is why I choose not to watch any of it.
Enjoyed the race from afar this year and caught about 18 hours of the coverage and really had no issues with any of it - at least it is available and if you don't enjoy Watti fumbling through the commentary you can always turn the sound down!
Very pleased for Raffaele Marciello - he has been after this one for a few years and IMO has been one of the stand out GT3 drivers this year and thoroughly deserved the win and also Jules Gounon has had some brilliant drives - Oulton Park for one.
Hope I can get there next year as i enjoy this even more than Le Mans.

[PhilipR]

Really enjoyable race. I do not mind FCY going to Safety Car I just think they last a bit too long, they could porbably speed the process up a bit. I am also enjoying changes to Spa and the extra run off at Eau Rouge, we have not missed on the challenge but makes it less of a chance of a huge crash - see Thiim and Gounon

I do say that the highlights that they show every hour are way too long - they could do them every 4 hours or shorten them significantly

[Badlands99]

I do say that the highlights that they show every hour are way too long - they could do them every 4 hours or shorten them significantly[/QUOTE]

Agree about the highlights - too often and too long - every three or four hours would be better or whenever there is a FCY/SC maybe.
Also agree about the run off at Eau Rouge - Thiim/Gounon would have been a proper mess with the old run off ..... but there again, maybe they would have been a little more circumspect if the changes hadn't been made.

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by Badlands99

I do say that the highlights that they show every hour are way too long - they could do them every 4 hours or shorten them significantly

Agree about the highlights - too often and too long - every three or four hours would be better or whenever there is a FCY/SC maybe.
Also agree about the run off at Eau Rouge - Thiim/Gounon would have been a proper mess with the old run off ..... but there again, maybe they would have been a little more circumspect if the changes hadn't been made.[/QUOTE]

Its crazy that the 'highlights are too long and too often' complaint has been pretty firmly circulating for many years now and SRO haven't gotten any kind of hint.

It's so irritating if you're actually watching a substantial part of the race, or indeed going all the way through.

[tux]

Its a blessing and a curse. On the one hand its very annoying because of how long it takes but when you dip in and out of the race it can be helpful to find out what happened while you were away.

[Mike E]

It's streamed on YouTube. They should just drop a separate highlights video every hour or two and you can go and catch up if you need to.

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by tux

Its a blessing and a curse. On the one hand its very annoying because of how long it takes but when you dip in and out of the race it can be helpful to find out what happened while you were away.

Im all for a highlights pack, maybe do 60 seconds on the top of each hour, you dont actually need to show every bit of action of the last 17 hours to update returnees on progress. A 60 second best bits reel + the commentary giving an overall update on key happenings so far would do it

[Simmi]

From a practical standpoint they either can't be bothered or don't have the capacity to re-edit that highlights package mid-race. So it just balloons out in duration.

It's been like that for a decade almost so clearly not deemed an issue.

[Simmi]

Forgive me for a bit of a photo dump. Some shots here from Spa if anyone is interested.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/949985...77720301101706

Definitely a very photogenic circuit, even if it's been carved up a bit in the first sector. Can see why the new grandstand is controversial but it's a pretty stunning place to watch the action from. Really not a bad seat in that thing.

My first time at Spa so weirdly felt cheated not to get a massive downpour at some point. Would recommend the parade if anyone can get there early enough in the week. Incredible access to the drivers and you're literally tripping over GT3 cars. Very cool and chaotic.

1 by Richard Simpson, on Flickr
2 by Richard Simpson, on Flickr
4 by Richard Simpson, on Flickr
8 by Richard Simpson, on Flickr
5 by Richard Simpson, on Flickr
10 by Richard Simpson, on Flickr
11 by Richard Simpson, on Flickr

[Adam43]

Lovely shots.

[gert]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Forgive me for a bit of a photo dump. Some shots here from Spa if anyone is interested.

Great shots!

Glad you enjoyed your time at Spa!

[Anyopenroad]

Not amatch for Simmi in quality but well ahead on quantity, here is my first Spa 24 album: https://bit.ly/3QzpG4g.

This is the first six hours of the race, from start ay 1645 until abut 2245 when I went for a few hours sleep having realised the promised fireworks weren't happening.

It's most of a lap, with the latter part (mostly around Bruxelles) in the dark - unlike Nurburgring, Spa is great for night photos.

The second album - from pre-dawn until about 1400 - will follow in a week or so.

Enjoy!

[Racing Harz]

All our galerys from the weekend are now online.


24h Spa:
https://gt-place.com/2022/08/12/24h-...7-22-31-07-22/


SRO 30th GT Anniversary by Peter Auto:
https://gt-place.com/2022/08/11/sro-...7-22-30-07-22/


GT4 European Series:
https://gt-place.com/2022/08/04/gt4-...7-22-30-07-22/


Parade:
https://gt-place.com/2022/07/28/24h-...rade-27-07-22/

[tux]

Why do some teams run their national flag on their cars and some dont? The flags all seem to have the same graphical style so im sure its a championship specific thing.