Why arent all those ex grand am open top sportscars racing in the alms?

[Mopar]

Simply question with which i expect a complex answer from! No really cars like the crawford looked great are we never going to see it race again?

[gttouring]

good point as the open tops are no good in GA anymore really, they can run a full LMP2 season and have good races in the ALMS traffic...i wonder

[billnchristy]

Umm, it would seem some of them could maybe hold a candle to the also rans.

Gotta remember, even before GA got flamed and disowned from the "real" sports car fans, they ran 3 or more year old technology. The MkIIIs were As and so forth.

Seeing as how the Crawford could barely keep up with an older R&S I would assume it would be horrid against 900s. I might be wrong, and all it might take is the right motor...

It would be nice, and would definitely fill the field!!

The old champion porsche, some MkIIIs (updated), a crawford and some silly SR2s would be quite welcome i think.

[billnchristy]

Oh yeah, personally I like the Crawford, some development might make it a winner, but since Dyson was its only supporter, that probably wont happen.

[skycafe]

I was always rather stunned that there weren't more of the Lola srpII's running around in either ALMS or Grand Am. I know that they weren't competive in ALMS, and Grand Am absolutely emasculated them with weight, smaller restrictor and smaller mandated standard wing. But, gee, someone could have been running around, winning a class, taking a championship, for less then what some people are spending in Historics.

The same could be said for pulling an R&S out of mouthballs and running around in ALMS.

[Fab]

At least the Lista Dallara...

[The Badger]

Im wondering where the Robinson Racing R&S MK.3C Judd V10 dissapeared to . I remember something about an interview with Jack Baldwin saying something about missing the ALMS in 2002 , where did that car go ? A lot of teams disapeared when Grand-am changed its rules but then again a lot of those teams were a little on the second rate side . It would be interesting to hear what Andy Wallace has to say about racing the MG,Crawford,Dome,R&S MK3 and the 3C,DBA and the Bentley in such a short time . Just as a comparison !

[Graham Goodwin]

The Champion Lola Porsche was sold some time ago and with Lista now racing in G-A I think sadly we may have seen the last of the Dallara.

The Andy Wallace question is indeed an interesting one. I'm not going to plug where you can find the answers!

[The Badger]

Originally posted by Graham Goodwin
The Champion Lola Porsche was sold some time ago and with Lista now racing in G-A I think sadly we may have seen the last of the Dallara.

The Andy Wallace question is indeed an interesting one. I'm not going to plug where you can find the answers!

Hey Graham ..... maybe that will be a good question to put to him the next time your paths cross . It would make a very interesting read !!

[Megatron]

The Lola Porsche was an imbalanced unloved machine that in retrospect suffered from the "GT1" intergration that the Joest machine suffered from in 1998.

The Ferrari 333SP days are long gone.

ACO doesn't particurally care for Fudds.

The Crawford I feel is underated. NO Audi beater but it never tested in ACO trim and actually wasn't that bad.

The Dallara could be a podium getter if Doran got serious and got the last updates from ORECA.

The Robinson MKIIIC R&S can't pass front impact structures, or at least would have to be tested. George Robinson was not impressed when he bought a brand new MKIIIC, hired a designer to redo it on top of it, developed the 5.0 Judd, only to hear that his equipment was obsolete in one year.

Intersport's final days with thier Lola B2K/10 saw them duke it out with GTS and GT machines.

[cybersdorf]

Originally posted by Mopar
Simply question with which i expect a complex answer from!

Simply put, lack of $$$$$.

[thebear]

Originally posted by cybersdorf
Simply put, lack of $$$$$.

Well said, 'dorf.

Start with rules DIFFERENCES:

1. Rollbar width
2. Add Carbon Fiber brakes
3. '03 and earlier cars "grandfathered" in only for the '04 season
4. Crash testing of '04 and forward
5. and the list goes on

Do you hear (cashregister) bells ringing?

[billnchristy]

maybe we will see em in historics. the r&s are already eligible as are the 333s.

[Fogelhund]

A R&S ran at the recent Daytona Historics. Car won its race, but was DQ'd for having removed its air restrictors.

The Dallara seems to be done. Oreca would only race in LMES, and Leinhart has parked his, after substantial damage at what Sears Point. There seemed to be some rumours that he was miffed that there was no penalty against whichever Audi knocked them off the track.

The Crawford.. well, Dyson drove it, and chose to go with the MG/Lola instead. Really that says it all doesn't it.

I feel bad for Robinson being given the shaft by GA. Shame he couldn't get the car back to regular C specs and race the thing. It certainly could have been done if desired.

As mentioned, the Lola/Porsche never really did much.

As far as the SR2 cars, in particular the Lola's, that is a good question. Probably one of the better bangs for your buck to go topline endurance racing.

[noise boy 2]

Originally posted by thebear
Well said, 'dorf.

Start with rules DIFFERENCES:

1. Rollbar width
2. Add Carbon Fiber brakes
3. '03 and earlier cars "grandfathered" in only for the '04 season
4. Crash testing of '04 and forward
5. and the list goes on

Do you hear (cashregister) bells ringing?

The current cars are grandfathered throuhg the 2005 season. Crash tests are valid for those cars until then. Robert

[billnchristy]

By the way, you dont HAVE to have carbon brakes. Besides, i believe dyson did use carbon brakes in the ALMS and switched back and forth for GA, so it couldnt be too bad...

[skycafe]

And the people running an R & S in Historic, or a Panoz, or serveral 962's are spending a good bit of money. For the same or less you could have put a Lola/Nissan out in Grand Am, with almost no competion in its class, and come away with race wins and, well, memories.

If I had the money....that is what I would do.

[thebear]

Originally posted by skycafe
And the people running an R & S in Historic, or a Panoz, or serveral 962's are spending a good bit of money. For the same or less you could have put a Lola/Nissan out in Grand Am, with almost no competion in its class, and come away with race wins and, well, memories.

If I had the money....that is what I would do.

Me too!

[Adam43]

If I had the money, I'd run the 962

If I wanted upto date I run a 911 in a class with lots of other cars.

[billnchristy]

id run a moped if I could afford it!!

[FastJoel31]

Originally posted by Megatron
...Intersport's final days with thier Lola B2K/10 saw them duke it out with GTS and GT machines.

Alas, my boys at Intersport did not focus on their B2K/10... You take a team like Taurus, with their Lola B2K/10, and compare it to some of the P900s.

[Megatron]

That Taurus has a lot of updates to it, thus the B2K/10"B" name. They also had a development deal with Dunlop while the Intersport had old Goodyears. Goodyear's main focus was on GTS and Dyson MGs.