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30 Mar 2015, 22:19 (Ref:3521998) | #76 | ||
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GT(A) could run separately and the Porsche can join GTS, making both groups much more balanced. Won't work for Long Beach is that one is only for GT(A) + Cup but is worth a consideration for Detroit and Mid-Ohio as well. |
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30 Mar 2015, 22:35 (Ref:3522004) | #77 | ||
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You know on these discussion forums there is a lot of disagreements between us fans on various topics (especially TUSC/IMSA related content) but one thing I think we universally can agree on is that we hate full course yellows. Any idea to help reduce wrecks and car damage which in turn reduces FCY's and unneeded financial expenses should be considered most certainly. |
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30 Mar 2015, 22:41 (Ref:3522006) | #78 | ||
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There is a lot of negative talk regarding the standing starts from the drivers.
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30 Mar 2015, 22:52 (Ref:3522009) | #79 | |||
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Here's to seeing the back of standing starts before the season is over. |
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BoP is democracy for racing. |
30 Mar 2015, 23:29 (Ref:3522018) | #80 | |||
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Instead, Brian started the meeting by telling everyone in attendance (drivers, team managers, and owners) that nothing was going to be discussed. For the first few minutes I actually thought that meant we were doing rolling starts.. then he proceeded to explain to us how the cars being crashed at the start were all due to driver mistakes and that we must do a better job. Rob Dyson then brought up a few points showing that it had become such a regular occurrence in the series that maybe it wasn't necessarily the drivers fault. He was shot down and the meeting ended. Everyone went back to their trailers in pretty much shock and amazement and not just the things we were told in the meeting, but also in the manner and attitude of the series towards it's entries. Even as I sit here and type this, I'm dumbfounded by their change in attitude since last year -- it was one of the things I would speak most highly about in terms of PWC (while not perfect, was a nice change of pace from IMSA's style). We spoke about it with a few other team owners under our tent before the race started and as far as I could tell everyone was of the same opinion (except maybe Cadillac, but it's basically the Cadillac World Challenge and we all live with that! ). On Friday afternoon I had spent a lot of time talking with the Scuderia Corsa guys about other events and testing for them. I was 100% on Long Beach, 25% on Barber, 65% on Mosport, 25% on Detroit, 50% on Road America (found a way to do both PWC at Road America and Tudor WGI on the same weekend), and 100% for Sonoma and Laguna Seca assuming my car doesn't get written off before then. After that drivers/owners meeting Sunday morning I told the team to count me out of anything besides Long Beach, Sonoma and Laguna -- basically our "local" races. I'm only doing Long Beach because I told the team from the start I was doing that race. I still hold out hope the series will eventually grow into something worthy of the teams and drivers now participating (not including yours truly, i'm just a scrub ) but it looks like it's going to be a bumpy road. I'll probably return once they get it ironed out, or I'll race somewhere else. And don't even get me started on the GTA class, officiating, or non-GT3-homologated BoP. -mike |
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30 Mar 2015, 23:41 (Ref:3522020) | #81 | |||
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* Smaller field. * Almost all cars had a developed launch control or NO traction control at all which is much easier to launch, albeit slower (you just do a smokey burnout, but chance of stalling is much lower). * The competition was much lower, which reduced the importance and aggression on the start. * Cars were cheaper to repair, replace, and maintain. Standing starts for the season (without even practicing them, only the races) adds $35-50k year in maintenance costs to my 458 GT3. Personally, I don't have a fundamental problem with standing starts. But if you take into consideration all the variables to put on a good PWC race in 2015 (especially at a street circuit!) you simply need more green flag running and to keep your competitors happy. If 2/3rd's to 3/4th's of the entries are fielded by owner/driver combinations, you're playing russian roulette on every start. The racing itself in perfect conditions is risky enough, IMO. Of course, if I was being paid to be there, was driving someone elses car and weren't liable for the damages, I'd be ok with it. Even though I don't think it's healthy for the series overall in it's current state. But what do I know... I'm just a programmer and part time wanna-be race car driver. :-) -mike |
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31 Mar 2015, 01:07 (Ref:3522041) | #82 | ||
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POOOOOOH ! on BRIAN for having such a DICTATORIAL ATTITUDE .
Can't think of a better way than to give a one finger salute and WALK OUT YOU CAN't keep 100% of your competitors HAPPY ALL the time But that was STUPID |
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31 Mar 2015, 01:17 (Ref:3522044) | #83 | |||
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-mike |
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31 Mar 2015, 06:32 (Ref:3522095) | #84 | ||
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Many thanks for your thoughts Mike it's great to hear from a competitor within the series about how a series decisions affect them as a competitor. No butt kissing here I'm genuinely thankful that you post on here your thoughts and opinions on what's going on because it's a much different viewpoint from us the fans.
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Somebody asked if the McLaren F1 was going to be like the Ferrari F40, Gordon Murray replied, "I don't think so, there's no one at McLaren who can weld that badly." |
31 Mar 2015, 06:57 (Ref:3522103) | #85 | |
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Whilst we all dislike FCYs, I thought a larger issue was the amount of time it took to clear it. 25 minutes into it, we were still watching an Audi R8 being pulled onto a truck, which had crashed 20 minutes earlier. I can't help but feel that most series would've cleared this earlier.
The Audi didn't get any attention until after the main accident had been cleared. Presumably this is because there wasn't another flat bed truck to put it on. So was this a lack of resources? Because half the race to clear it seems to be another part of the same problem. |
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31 Mar 2015, 07:04 (Ref:3522107) | #86 | |||
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They say money corrupts; it seems success does as well. It's a disease that I thought at one point germane to IMSA, but WEC and PWC are catching it as well. Where have the happy sanctuaries gone? Such a pity.. |
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Q: How to play religious roulette? A: Stand around in a circle and blaspheme and see who gets struck by lightning first |
31 Mar 2015, 11:45 (Ref:3522191) | #87 | |
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31 Mar 2015, 11:50 (Ref:3522192) | #88 | |
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How's does everyone's crow taste? Has IMSA closed its doors out of fear yet?
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31 Mar 2015, 12:31 (Ref:3522220) | #89 | ||
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I heard that the little birds were whispering this series was supposed to be the land of unicorns and eternal happiness? Guess the birds were as drunk as they are when they visit the kingdom of Daytona Beach. |
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31 Mar 2015, 12:41 (Ref:3522224) | #90 | |
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Regardless it seems like the Brian Till era of PWC is NOT off to a good start. Stop talking Brian and start listening. You have 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason. You act like its the reverse. Being on TV that long he has forgot about listening.
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31 Mar 2015, 12:52 (Ref:3522226) | #91 | |
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Thanks for bringing out the dirty laundry Mike!
Maybe it was the Indycar stress that got to PWC staff, maybe the excellent organizer-clients relationship management we saw last year went away with Geoff Carter, who knows. If the latter, we should see more and more improvements with IMSA and - in the light of your "my way or the highway!" comments - the prospect of a possibly GT3 sprint series under the IMSA umbrella suddenly makes a whole lot more sense! |
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31 Mar 2015, 13:36 (Ref:3522244) | #92 | ||
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31 Mar 2015, 15:03 (Ref:3522292) | #93 | |
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All, some quick background on my role with PWC. I am a Drivers Steward...not a Race Director. Therefore I have no power to make policy decisions or procedural changes. What my thoughts are on such policies/procedures are discussed with and known by the series.
That said, the meeting on Sunday morning was a Drivers' Meeting, therefore I led it. There was to be no discussion of the pros/cons of the standing start policy as that is not something I can affect. I was there to discuss what the group, as drivers, could do to try and make a difficult situation better. I started the meeting by saying that Saturday's start was like an airplane crash...meaning that one small mistake led to a cascade of other small mistakes that spiraled out of control. I stand by that comment. Drivers will ALWAYS make small mistakes...they're human. There has never been a perfect race lap and there never will be for that very reason. Are the risks magnified on a standing start? Most certainly they are. The point of Sunday morning's meeting was to get everyone to use a little bit of extra caution, hear a couple of other ideas on what to think about and to understand that ultimately it is up to the drivers to try and mitigate the small mistakes that would be made and SURVIVE the start. And everyone on Sunday did just that. Everyone lined up straighter than the day before, everyone found their way through to turn one even with a slow get away back in the pack. The drivers did exactly what they needed to do and it worked. That is in no way a pat on the back to us for having a meeting. That is a pat on the back to everyone that ultimately is responsible for the success of the standing start process...the drivers. If you know me personally, you know that there is no "dictatorial" attitude. My job is to use my experience as it pertains to performance inside the cockpit. That is what I am trying to do. This is not "my era". I don't know where that even comes from. There will be those that disagree with penalty calls that I make during on-track sessions and I get that. Just like the drivers, I will not always be right. And if I make a mistake, I will own it, and I have done just that. But when after video and data have been reviewed, I make a decision and I stand by it, I stand by it because I believe that I am correct. If that is "dictatorial" then so be it. And please note, I replied here because the link was passed along to me by someone in the business. Replying to threads is something that I generally shy away from. That is not hiding, it's just that I don't really have a lot of spare time between work and family to get into long discussions. If you see me at a track and I have time, I will gladly take a few moments to chat. I believe I have a reputation for being very approachable. Hopefully this will give all of you here (who are obviously passionate about the sport and the series) a little better understanding. Cheers, BT |
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31 Mar 2015, 15:12 (Ref:3522297) | #94 | ||
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31 Mar 2015, 15:26 (Ref:3522299) | #95 | |||
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Great to hear from you Brian personally. I'm not gonna stick my foot into this seeing as I'm not really into the series anyway, but just one thing...
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...? |
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31 Mar 2015, 15:29 (Ref:3522303) | #96 | ||
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And yes, we all (well, most of us anyway ) fully understand that where people work, people make mistakes, it's no different in any other place in society. I'm sure you were one of the busiest persons in the paddock in St. Pete with all the stuff that was going on track, too bad the relief about the much cleaner standing start on Sunday was thrown out of the window barely two turns later... Anyway, all this still leaves the standing starts untouched but I'm hopeful that PWC will respond to all the moaning (and *****ing), not only from fans but - more importantly - also from participants! Too bad we didn't get the chance to meet at Cota, good luck for the remainder of the season, it's still on course to be a grand cru PWC! |
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31 Mar 2015, 15:39 (Ref:3522308) | #97 | |
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Accidents will happen, but I personally thought the length of time taken to clean up was a bigger issue.
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31 Mar 2015, 15:47 (Ref:3522314) | #98 | ||
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31 Mar 2015, 15:55 (Ref:3522318) | #99 | ||
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Like I said, just tell those flatbed operators to just yank the cars up and bring them back to the pits, none of this delicate loading crap.
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31 Mar 2015, 16:20 (Ref:3522329) | #100 | ||
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