24H Series

[MaskedRacer]

Originally Posted by B0U170NS

So the Silverstone 12 and 24 hours is now under a week away. Have to say from looking at the entries, which I think are 23 and 19 cars respectively, I am disappointed there aren't more, particularly for the 12 hours. I thought there would be at least 30, 40 or 50 entries, but perhaps Silverstone in March is too early!

Having looked at the schedule, apparently on the Saturday both the 12h and 24h cars will be on the track together. But when the 12h cars finish their race how will they get back safely to pit lane whilst the 24h cars are still racing. Normally when a race finishes cars slow down dramatically, but this surely can't be allowed.

If the protos and GTs turn off right after pit lane exit, then it will work just fine.

Creventic is known for their weird scheduling, and I thought the 24 hours of COTA was the strangest one yet. But I liked that since we got more daylight racing.

I checked the schedule for Silverstone it works like this:

P/GT: 5 hours Friday
Everybody: first 7 hours on Saturday

Then P/GT finish and the TC's go on for the remaining 17 hours. I'll watch the 12 hour race for sure. No interest in TCE.

[mattt]

Or even simpler the cars carry on at race speed and peel into the pits at the end of the lap. Its not the first time it has happened.

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[Truckosaurus]

I am somewhat disappointed by the 1030 start for the 24hrs. Means there's little point attending on the Sunday. I'm sure it is better for competitors though.

Anyone else planning on being there Saturday?

[Truckosaurus]

With the Silverstone 24hrs yet again having to call a halt to proceedings overnight due to poor weather, perhaps Creventic need to be even more radical with their timings for 2019.

Perhaps 2x12hrs, 3x8hrs or even 6hr/12hrs/6hr - with the Saturday race being the 12hr race for the GT cars.

[snowen250]

Or just move it along in the year?

March at Silverstone was always going to be problematic from a weather perspective, I would have attended, but didn't fancy the cold night trackside!

[Truckosaurus]

Good weather one year was what killed off the Britcar 24hrs as all the locals (including some on this forum) complained about the noise.

[snowen250]

Originally Posted by Truckosaurus

Good weather one year was what killed off the Britcar 24hrs as all the locals (including some on this forum) complained about the noise.

Didn't realise that! Il have to buy extra coats and try to make it next year.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Truckosaurus

as all the locals (including some on this forum) complained about the noise.

Motorsport fans complain about the noise?

[Truckosaurus]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Motorsport fans complain about the noise?

Indeed. The point of view put over by one poster (I do not recall who) was that by annoying the other locals with a minor/unpopular event you might impact the local opinion towards popular events that Silverstone needs to survive.

[MaskedRacer]

I found the Silverstone 12 hours a bit confusing. All we had to rely on to get the real running order was Paul Truswell. I did not even know until the end that the Ginetta won overall not the ROFGO Mercedes.

[MaskedRacer]

The next race at Navarra, not a single prototype and just 10 GT3/A6 cars. European Creventic races off to a slow start this year in grid numbers.

https://www.24hseries.com/2018/12h-n...018/entry-list

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by MaskedRacer

The next race at Navarra, not a single prototype and just 10 GT3/A6 cars. European Creventic races off to a slow start this year in grid numbers.

https://www.24hseries.com/2018/12h-n...018/entry-list

Feels like Crevenetic have lost their way a little bit this year... cant quite put to words why or how to fix it

[NaBUru38]

Not many GT cars in Spanish racetracks. It's mainly a Seat León and Renault Clio stronghold.

[FIRE]

Too many events? For me as a keyboard fan they have.

[sceptic]

Anyone at / watching / listening to Imola?

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by sceptic

Anyone at / watching / listening to Imola?

First minutes of the race. Grid size is good.

Why do they race on Friday?

[MaskedRacer]

Been a big fan of this series over the past couple of years. Really flies under the radar other than the Dubai 24. I would like to propose they invest in more on-track cameras. They did not have enough to cover the spa track. Been an issue in other races too. Hopefully with more cameras you can follow cars around the track better.

[NaBUru38]

The 24H COTA is next on November 17-18. There are over 40 entries announced.



https://www.24hseries.com/2018/24h-cota-usa-2018/start

[MaskedRacer]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

The 24H COTA is next on November 17-18. There are over 40 entries announced.



https://www.24hseries.com/2018/24h-cota-usa-2018/start

Thank you for the link. I focus on the GT3/A6 mainly, not interested in the rest honestly. That breaks down to 11 cars which is disappointing, but it has competition from the Laguna 8 and Sebring Encore now.

2 Aston Martins, 2 Glickenhaus, 1 Porsche, 4 Mercedes, 1 Audi, 1 Ferrari

[LC2guy]

2019 Calendar is out, and No Silverstone races next year. A shame, have been to all the 24hr races since it started in 2005.

[MaskedRacer]

Originally Posted by LC2guy

2019 Calendar is out, and No Silverstone races next year. A shame, have been to all the 24hr races since it started in 2005.

Yeah it had one of the more unique formats too with the 12 hour GT/Proto and the 24 TCE overlapping.

Is the Dubai 24 hours GT only? Don't see TCE listed as being part of that race this time..which I hope is true. Would like to see GT and TCE split up more. I guess that depends on grid numbers. Dubai certainly has enough numbers to warrant it.

[MissClarrpz]

TCES was removed from Dubai entry when they released the 2019 calendar but they've been put back on. They 'only' had about 70 GT cars entered where as with TCES they have 99 (they average around 90 cars per Dubai 24h). I was surprised TCES had initially been removed.

[MaskedRacer]

I found the COTA 24 to be an interesting race. Coverage of the 2017 inaugural running was good. And I kind of like the format where they take an overnight break. Makes it more spectator friendly to the point I would like to see this race in person one day if it stays on as a proper event in Austin.

Always hope for more GT3/A6 cars though. Personally I don't take much interest in the other categories. Looks like we are barely cracking 10. Listed right now is 4 Mercedes, 2 Glickenhaus, 1 Porsche, 1 Audi, 1 Ferrari, and 1 Aston Martin. I don't see it listed but we hard about the Gradient team Acura NSX. I assume for now they'll be there which gives us 11. Too bad Risi has not gotten a team together for it. Maybe in 2019 the prospects will be better with the Laguna Seca 8 moving to spring.

The favorite to win will probably be the Black Falcon Mercedes that has Keating/
Bleekomolen/Stolz who have been together all year.

[NaBUru38]

The Dubai 24 Hours are underway.

[Anyopenroad]

If a 24 Hour race happens with no discussion on Ten Tenths ... can it really be said to have happened at all?

Well I know it did happen because I was there. And it was lots of fun.

You can read proper race reports on Dailysportscar; I'll just describe a bit of the experience.

This is a very low-key event. 90% of the spectators were ex-pats with kids taking selfies on iPhones. There was virtually no signage to the car park and very little guidance about where to go in the circuit. So I adopted my usual rules of (1) go anywhere unless a sign or a person says I can't and (2) ask nicely.

It turns out you can get to about 90% of the track, albeit with some walking over hard and sandy ground. The sand gets everywhere, I was caked in it and all my clothes are completely coated. But it is worth it: there is a pretty lax attitude to use of marshal access grills and plenty of large fence photo cut-outs in places which would have UK circuit management waking up in a cold sweat.

The track itself is quite interesting: a good mix of long and short straights and bends with more elevation changes than I realised from prior TV viewing. You can see a lot of it from the main stand, along with the incongruous sight of a major highway and beyond that the towering skyline of the city (the Burj Khalifa was just about visible in the distance, through the omnipresent haze). There was a big screen and the RSL commentary over the PA.

It officially got dark at 1745 and light at 0700. But with twilights it was properly dark from about 1830 to about 0630, still a long night session (and enough time for me to get a solid 7 hours' kip in the back of my car, parked about 30m from the side of the track - oh to sleep to the rumbling thunder of a Corvette more often!).

The race itself was enjoyable. 74 cars is less than they have had in the past but in my view still too many for a 5.4km/3.3m track. It means everyone is either over-taking or being over-taken the entire time. It's not just two speeds either, there are a lot of classes. Personally I'd lose the 991s, 11 identical and quite underwhelming small GT cars don't add much (though of course their owners add plenty to Creventic's annual income and I appreciate this is very much an amateur series).

The variety was also a little lacking. Good to see a Corvette, a Vortex, a couple of GT-Rs and two tiny Lotus Elises (man did they look small compared to the big GT3s). But no Astons or McLarens in GT3 or GT4. Only one Ferrari. No RS.01 or random Viper. Largely a parade of admittedly awesome but very familiar German machinery. The 2019 Audis look very strong.

Overall this was a very enjoyable experience. Perhaps not one to do every year, but definitely one to do every now and then. If anyone is interested in the logistics/costs of the trip then send me a PM.