Amazing....

full throttle · 24 Mar 2004, 16:12 (Ref:918065)

I've looked thru quite a few of the Sebring threads here and elsewhere and have seen almost no mention of the outstanding job done by the Autocon team with their R&S Mrk3C. These guys ran a flawless race both in terms of car preparation, pit stops, and consistent driving. Finished ahead of many larger and much better financed teams (Dyson, Citgo, Panoz, Intersport, etc..), qualified faster and ran faster race laps then the 'Batmobile' (despite having to use last years under-powered engine due to wiring loom difficulties leading up to the race..), and yet still no attention from the fans? They are fairly lowkey guys and put there entire attention on the car and the race instead of the 'show'. I guess that just isn't enough anymore. That's a shame.

Let me congratulate the guys both on the crew and driving staff for having an almost flawless race. There were some very late nights and tired faces but the in the end it was all worth it. Let's hope the Le Mans organizers noticed it more than most of the BB's.

Tim Northcutt · 24 Mar 2004, 16:21 (Ref:918074)

I just got back into town from "The Sunshine State" and you beat me to it, Full Throttle......

I thought they ran superbly the entire week....if they would have been able to run the Elan engine instead of the Lincoln engine last Saturday, they would have been even faster and better....

I sure hope that the factors you mentioned ARE weighed by the ACO's selection committee....

and I think they deserve an invite....I was very impressed with their efforts last week....

Very Impressed....

Duffacus · 24 Mar 2004, 16:26 (Ref:918079)

It was a good, fast but steady drive to the finish and thats some times what endurance racing is all about!!! They need that Elan!

cybersdorf · 24 Mar 2004, 16:35 (Ref:918086)

Quote:

Originally posted by full throttle
I've looked thru quite a few of the Sebring threads here and elsewhere and have seen almost no mention of the outstanding job done by the Autocon team with their R&S Mrk3C.

I must admit I all but forgot about them

- thanks for the reminder & well done AutoCon. Was it Tomy Drissi that was interviewed on the Radio Web?

full throttle · 24 Mar 2004, 16:35 (Ref:918088)

Duf,

ELAN on the way. The drivers were actually quite happy to see the batmobile pulling away on the straights during the race as they knew that they will have that engine for the next event!!

The Badger · 24 Mar 2004, 16:55 (Ref:918117)

I didnt forget Tim ? In the after Sebring race thred , I did ask you about how they did and any news about them ? Im looking forward to when they get their new ELAN powerpack !!!

What did you think of the Dallara ? These guys were mz stars of the race !!!

Maybe next year I will get to go to Sebring again .

The Badger · 24 Mar 2004, 17:30 (Ref:918158)

Sorry Tim , it isnt in that thread , cant remember where it is !!!

Tim Northcutt · 24 Mar 2004, 19:33 (Ref:918277)

I was impressed with the RollCentre Dallara as well.....they were consistently quick all week...

They will be a contender in every LMES race this season...no doubt about it....

The Taurus Lola also ran well on Saturday before the mechanical failure....

Apparently, now they will run Diesels (according to another thread)....announced a deal with Caterpillar for the engiens in AutoSport????

Maybe that is another way to get the ACO Committee's attention for an invite....especially since no one else that I'm aware of is going the diesel route this year....the committee seems to consider diversity as one of its criteria for the invites....

But to bring it back full circle, I just hope that AutoCon doesn't become the "Taurus Lola" of 2004....on the outside looking in while another team is selected that may not have the talent that AutoCon has....the way the Norma was selected last year while Taurus was the bridesmaid....

It would be a shame if AutoCon does not get an invite....

I fell like they earned one last Saturday, give the circumstances of their situation.....

Tim Northcutt · 24 Mar 2004, 19:42 (Ref:918294)

BTW....

I'm doing a lot of photo clean up, etc., plus catching up on the last seven business days while I was out of the office...

But hee is a pic of the AutoCon car that I shot in the Paddock area last Friday....

That chassis was "born to be black".....looked beautiful on the circuit.....

The Badger · 24 Mar 2004, 19:55 (Ref:918300)

Im sure Taurus will get a double invite because of their diesel route . I wondering what it will sound like ?

I will be very disapointed if Autocon dont get an invite for LeMans . One thing in their favour is the fact that they are an American team running in LMP-1 and we dont have so many of those ! We will all find out sometime on Friday . The LeMans list will supposedly be published then .

Was the "Johnsonville" bratwurst 40 foot grill there this year ? A big friendly Wisconsinite called Dale is the man .

full throttle · 24 Mar 2004, 19:55 (Ref:918301)

Word from the team is that they have been turned down for Le Mans. A bit of a blow considering their strong finish at Sebring. It will be interesting to see who is accepted.

The positive is that this opens the door for a complete ALMS season.
Something that was doubtful with a Monza/Le Mans trip.

Tim Northcutt · 24 Mar 2004, 20:10 (Ref:918320)

They will be contenders in the ALMS this year....

I'll make the drive over to Mid-Ohio in June to watch them....

"The positive is that this opens the door for a complete ALMS season.
Something that was doubtful with a Monza/Le Mans trip."

(Posted above by FullThrottle)

It's a shame that they have been notified that they aren't getting an invite to the Big One, but this may be one of those times where the saying "Every disappointment is not necessarily a misfortune..."

Running a full season together might work out be better for their long-term plan as a team than running a partial season that included Le Mans and Monza due to the expense of the Trans-Atlantic operation for 6 weeks....

and Le Mans will always be there next year...

But I am interested in seeing who gets selected when the list does become public....

The Badger · 24 Mar 2004, 20:12 (Ref:918325)

Well , the word is that WR have two entries , or should I say Terada has the other entry with a Mazda engine in the back . That car has never performed well . And if that Norma gets in , well , I say no more on that .
If its true that Autocon has been refused an entry I am disgusted with the logic of LeMans selection committee . But whats new !!!

Fab · 25 Mar 2004, 06:08 (Ref:918758)

Quote:

Originally posted by The Badger
Well , the word is that WR have two entries , or should I say Terada has the other entry with a Mazda engine in the back .

No, Terada seems to be in one of the two official WRs.

Quote:

Originally posted by The Badger
If its true that Autocon has been refused an entry...

Are they already refused ?

Difficult job with only 50 places ; the worst is that we don't know why they chose one more than an other... the less bad choice is to enter only one car per team, to let the others having one too...

I happy that I'm not in the selection committee !

The Badger · 25 Mar 2004, 09:46 (Ref:918905)

Id love to be a fly on their wall when that meeting is going on !

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