ALMS Round 4: Lime Rock

[dxk1]

What was Malucelli thinking?

DK

[Simmi]

Bit of carnage there. Malucelli getting pretty badly caught out.

Have to say I don't really like the vibe in the ALMS race threads recently.

Congrats to Jonathan Edwards on his ALMS class win.

[schmidder]

I have a lot of respect for Dyson Racing, been watching them compete for 20 years, but the last two years have been a disgrace. They just don't belong at this level with their current equipment. Embarrassing, frankly.

And these kind and number of cars with the speed differential between classes, don't belong at Lime Rock IMHO....sorry folks, I understand the history, etc, but its just too short and tight. When the entire race for the prototypes is essentially trying to use the GT cars and moving screens (sorry for the basketball reference), it's time to find another place to race.

Punishing to watch.

I guess the racing is close, but it would be on a 3/4 mile modified oval too.

[Dead-Eye]

Originally Posted by dxk1

What was Malucelli thinking?

DK

I think the #48 just braked earlier than he was expecting....

[Ephaeton]

He was all 2014 in 2013.

[dxk1]

Very nice last lap by Bomarito to get 5th from Gavin.

DK

[dxk1]

Originally Posted by Simmi

Congrats to Jonathan Edwards on his ALMS class win.

Agreed! Big congrats to one of our own!

DK

[Pandamasque]

Originally Posted by Dead-Eye

I think the #48 just braked earlier than he was expecting....

I'd say much earlier, but there was a traffic jam ahead so that's understandable. My first thought was 'we'll never see Mateo with Risi again', but looking at the onboard, it's not that bad of a miscalculation. I feel sorry for him.

[deltawinger]

Originally Posted by schmidder

I have a lot of respect for Dyson Racing, been watching them compete for 20 years, but the last two years have been a disgrace. They just don't belong at this level with their current equipment. Embarrassing, frankly.

2? They've been lost since they switched to the Spyders in what, '07?

[Maelochs]

What I saw was the struggling Dyson car slow up, Cosmo, going all-out because of Briscoe on his tail, slammed on the brakes and INDYCAR driver Ryan Briscoe tapped him from behind.

Malucelli is a pretty new addition to ALMS, and he was definitely trying too hard in the final minutes. Von Moltke was also trying too hard, considering he was a lap down on the NGT-Momo car. Young driver, red mist.

What I didn't see was a bunch of deliberate dive-bombs and bump-and-ruins. I saw driver error, which is pretty much part of racing.

Cosmo says "Apparently Briscoe thinks this is NASCAR. Ryan, you can't do that, man."

[Dead-Eye]

Originally Posted by Pandamasque

I'd say much earlier, but there was a traffic jam ahead so that's understandable. My first thought was 'we'll never see Mateo with Risi again', but looking at the onboard, it's not that bad of a miscalculation. I feel sorry for him.

I'm not saying it wasn't a mistake, but it's an easy one to make. Lots of cars queuing up, everyone brakes early and you have no idea where exactly the braking point is. I don't even think he was trying to pass the Porsche.

[deltawinger]

Cosmo: "This is Gentlemen racing, this is for fun".

There ya go EP, there's your difference between the two series. Rolex is a pro series with big name teams and pro drivers racing hard, the ALMS is gentlemen, racing for fun.

Makes sense.

[Dead-Eye]

I love how the pit reporter just called Junqueira "Juno Brunqueira"

[Ephaeton]

There's a difference between "we're here to have fun" and "this is for fun" that is huge but obviously too fine for you, deltawinger.

[schmidder]

Originally Posted by deltawinger

2? They've been lost since they switched to the Spyders in what, '07?

True....

[Purist]

Schmidder, most of the passing in Sportscar racing IS due to traffic, even when it's between two cars in the same class. This is NOT a phenomenon that is isolated to Lime Rock specifically. Mosport is almost a mile longer, and a HUGE amount of the passing, within a given class, occurs because of traffic and the abundance of high-speed corners, but the circuit only having the one real "straight".

As to Dyson, they finished the race, and came second overall, which is a HUGE improvement over the last couple races. More to the point though, I was watching the lap times, and the car actually had the race pace in it to keep with the HPD. The car wasn't struggling at Dyson today; the drivers were. I'm sure Chris was getting worn toward the end of the first stint, and again at the end of the race, but considering Guy couldn't manage the double, I can't complain about Chris having difficulty. I'm sure the HPD spyder was kinder to Lucas and Klaus than the Lola coupe was to Chris and Guy out there today, given the heat AND humidity, on a track where you NEVER get to rest.

[Mechanic Z]

First of all, congrats to John Edwards. Great job, even if you do drive for the enemy!
Congratulations, also, to Mike Hedlund on second in GTC.

Great race in P1 for the first hour, good to see Dyson at the front of the field.

I was going to complain about the 62 not getting penalized for snowplowing the 4, but it looks like they paid for it eventually.

As for the Briscoe/ Cosmo incident, we'll see what happens, but I side with the 01.

Good race for the 3, bummed for the 4 and the 17.

[schmidder]

Originally Posted by Purist

Schmidder, most of the passing in Sportscar racing IS due to traffic, even when it's between two cars in the same class. This is NOT a phenomenon that is isolated to Lime Rock specifically. Mosport is almost a mile longer, and a HUGE amount of the passing, within a given class, occurs because of traffic and the abundance of high-speed corners, but the circuit only having the one real "straight".

As to Dyson, they finished the race, and came second overall, which is a HUGE improvement over the last couple races. More to the point though, I was watching the lap times, and the car actually had the race pace in it to keep with the HPD. The car wasn't struggling at Dyson today; the drivers were. I'm sure Chris was getting worn toward the end of the first stint, and again at the end of the race, but considering Guy couldn't manage the double, I can't complain about Chris having difficulty. I'm sure the HPD spyder was kinder to Lucas and Klaus than the Lola coupe was to Chris and Guy out there today, given the heat AND humidity, on a track where you NEVER get to rest.

I certainly understand that lots of intra and inter-classpassing happens in traffic at lots of different courses and how interesting it makes this series. At Lime Rock (compared to Mosport and the other tracks in the series), being only 1.5 miles, its just too many cars or too short of a track IMO. For me...not much fun to watch.
As for Dyson, the car did seem better, and it was hot from what I could tell...what the hell happened during the first pit stop (sorry, I was watching intermittently and did not ever hear the explanation)?

[Mechanic Z]

Originally Posted by deltawinger

Cosmo: "This is Gentlemen racing, this is for fun".

That is not quite what he said.
I don't think anyone regards Briscoe as an amateur, and as for Cosmo, well, let's face it, he's a very fast Pro, regardless of his current classification as a 'silver' driver!
He was referring to drivers behaving themselves better in the ALMS than GRAND AM.

There ya go EP, there's your difference between the two series. Rolex is a pro series with big name teams and pro drivers racing hard, the ALMS is gentlemen, racing for fun. Makes sense.

The ALMS is the more professional of the two series.
Many of the teams in GRAND AM run cars for amateurs as a business and are quite upfront that they do so. That is why they are concerned about cost for 2014.
There are quite a few amateurs in ALMS, but the focus is on Pro cars, in GT and in P1.

[Mechanic Z]

Originally Posted by schmidder

I certainly understand that lots of intra and inter-classpassing happens in traffic at lots of different courses and how interesting it makes this series. At Lime Rock (compared to Mosport and the other tracks in the series), being only 1.5 miles, its just too many cars or too short of a track IMO. For me...not much fun to watch.
As for Dyson, the car did seem better, and it was hot from what I could tell...what the hell happened during the first pit stop (sorry, I was watching intermittently and did not ever hear the explanation)?

One belt got twisted and another got sat on. Rotten luck for them.

[Mechanic Z]

Sounds like Bleekemolen is OK, and Malucelli walked away, so looks like it was a fairly safe race.

[chernaudi]

Watching the race today, I was surprised at how much top-end speed that the Muscle Milk HPD seemed to have. Granted, some of that undoubtedly was down to drafting and the Dyson Lola was reported to have some type of intermittent misfire, but the HPD never seemed to be a pretty rapid LMP1 car in a straight line. Remember, it's open cockpit, so it naturally has more drag, and the HPD engine is believed to be down on power compared to the TMG and Mazda/AER engines.

Dyson seemed to be completely unable to shake Luhr down the front straight, where that lower drag and more power should come into play, so either the HPD has found some speed at top end, or it was just getting off the diving turn that much better.

[Mechanic Z]

Originally Posted by chernaudi

Watching the race today, I was surprised at how much top-end speed that the Muscle Milk HPD seemed to have. Granted, some of that undoubtedly was down to drafting and the Dyson Lola was reported to have some type of intermittent misfire, but the HPD never seemed to be a pretty rapid LMP1 car in a straight line. Remember, it's open cockpit, so it naturally has more drag, and the HPD engine is believed to be down on power compared to the TMG and Mazda/AER engines.

Dyson seemed to be completely unable to shake Luhr down the front straight, where that lower drag and more power should come into play, so either the HPD has found some speed at top end, or it was just getting off the diving turn that much better.

Should make Road America a good race!

[davehenrie]

Is the Muscle Milk now a 03c due to the large front wheels?

[Purist]

Yes, this was their first race with that package. Up until now, they had been using the ARX-03a setup, as they were more familiar with it, and the drivers were more comfortable with that arrangement.