[FIA GT] FIA SCC at Monza

[billnchristy]

This race just aired on Speed last night.

What was an ancient Ferrari 333SP with Judd power doing leading the field the majority of the race?

Is this a factor of Monza or are we overlooking this car as a real contender still? It was faster than the RfH Dome which had some of the fastest trap speeds at LM...

Any thoughts or is this just a fluke?

[Duffacus]

That Ferrari is a very rapid car! I didn't really get much info on that race so i can't really answer the question but it has been known to be quite fast

[The Badger]

That was GLV Brums , owned by Giovanni Lavaggi . It was a fast car but its a little long in the tooth now . Cant wait to see what his next plan is ?

[Duffacus]

Still haven't heard anything about that yet. Wonder when, or if, he will tell his plans to all.

[RM40]

I remember hearing rumors a while back that he was building an LMP2, but I guess not.

[FIRE]

Originally posted by RM40
I remember hearing rumors a while back that he was building an LMP2, but I guess not.

Do you mean the Piper car?

[cybersdorf]

Lavaggi's name has been mentioned in connection with a number of projects but I wouldn't be surprised if he were to sit out this season altogether.

The GLV Fudd is 333SP chassis #003, built in 1994. I seriously hope we won't ever see that car in competition again!

[FIRE]

Originally posted by cybersdorf
The GLV Fudd is 333SP chassis #003, built in 1994. I seriously hope we won't ever see that car in competition again!

If we see this car back it's not a good sign for prototype racing. Give the car some rest...

[billnchristy]

I still find it impressive that a 1994 car could put it to one of the best of the rest. The 1000k at Monza outta be a killer with a lot of old point and squirt cars coming out of the woodwork I would think!!

[cybersdorf]

Originally posted by billnchristy
I still find it impressive that a 1994 car could put it to one of the best of the rest.

In an unimpressive series...

[Fogelhund]

Perhaps an unimpressive series, and yet, next to the Audi's, the Dome and Courage are two of the best LMP's out there at the moment. It is a testament to a great chassis that it can still run competitively with cars that are anywhere near the top.

[cybersdorf]

Yes it was a great car. With a little factory development esp. in the engine department, who knows what would have happened. But things being as they are, it is old now, and should rest in peace.

[Tim Northcutt]

BTW...

The R&S MkIIIA regularly beat that same Ferrari chassis over here in North America....

and it is one of the reasons why I suggested a MkIIIB (a "Longtail" R&S) that has been homologated as such, as a possible chassis in my
"Shoestring" thread....

I would have suggested this Ferrari chassis as well, especially after seeing it last summer on "Motorsports Mundial" running at Monza because I was impressed with Lavaggi's run there last summer, but didn't see any of them for sale on the web....

I'd rather see cars "not as long in the tooth" race as well....but as I said in that "Shoestring" thread, if someone wants to race there ARE inexpensive cars out there that will be reasonably competitive...

I would thingk this, too, would be one of them to consider....

[gttouring]

so what would keep ferrari from making a 340 or 350SP?
they have a V12 from the enzo, and most of the aero from the Enzo to make a great proto Challenger- they could even simply sell it as the 333sp just as a customer car and wipe their hands clean of it.
the 333sp was fantastic, and it still has bite the old dog.

[jhansen]

Again some great racing between the Pescarolo team and RFH. If anything, this gets me pumped up for this year's LMES!

And yes, I was also amazed that the old F333SP was setting that kind of pace. Interesting that they had a Judd in it.

Next Saturday they will have two rounds from the FIA SCC.

[cybersdorf]

Originally posted by jhansen
Interesting that they had a Judd in it.

The engine was the package's achilles heel. Hed the factory contributed to the development work in any way, who knows, the car would have been successful in ALMS for longer than it was. In FIASCC, the regulations did help it somewhat.

[Tim Northcutt]

This weekend, we'll get to see Oschersleben and Donnington...correct??

DBA's 1st overall win on the tight German circuit, followed by an attrition-fest in dangerously hot (air temps near 100 F, wasn't it???) conditions at Donnington with RfH winning it and Promec getting its first spot on a podium (3rd place)...

I'm looking forward to it....but I wish SpeedChannel would show these the day after the races or a week after the races, instead of many months later...

But on the other hand, seeing tapes of them over the winter sure beats not seeing them at all, so I am grateful for at least getting that chance!!!

[HaRdCoRe-WeZ]

So not nice i can't see Motors TV here in Holland. Ow well...i've seen all race live except Monza and Nogaro.

[LC2guy]

To Tim Northcutt;

I hope you get a better TV coverage of th FIASCC than we did here in England. I went to the Donnington Race and along with my friends thought it was a great race with the DBA and Lammers Dome never that far apart until the DBA hit trouble. Also, the Podium places changed almost every lap in the last 20 minutes due to unreliability ( caused by Molten Lava temperatures ). However, when i watched it on TV, i wondered if the Cameras had been at the same Race ! OK, its difficult to condense a 2-3 Hr race into 30 mins, but the first half of the programme was just going through the grid. I might also add that i felt exactly the same when i saw the Le Mans 1000KM on TV. Again, i was there, and what i witnessed first hand was deffinately not reproduced on the Telly. And Here-in lies the problem with TV coverage of Sportscars. How to transmit the excitement / expectation and Drama of an endurance race onto the small screen , in a short, made for TV programme. I for one am at a loss, hence i spend a small fortune every year at the Trackside. TV isn't , in my humble opinion, the best way to promote our favourite form of Motorsport. In the last 5 years or so ,I have taken a number of friends ( who thought motorsport meant F1 ) along to sportscar events ( Le Mans, ELMS at Donnington, ALMS at Silverstone, British GT ) and NOT ONE now looks at F1 as the pinnacle of Motorsport. It is down to the Sportscar enthusiasts across the globe to educate beyond F1. TV will not help. I look forward to the ALMS slots on Motors TV, but am always left thinking " when did that happen ". I don't blame the programme producers, it must be a thankless task to edit a thrilling 3 hours into 30 minutes. So the next event you go to, take that friend who likes to sit in watching Soccer/Rugby/baseball. I guarantee he'll be on at you to take him whenever you're going again. This is only my opinion, and doubtless many will disagree, but i'm open to others opinions.

[Tim Northcutt]

The taped telecasts that SpeedChannel has been showing are one hour in length....

Their coverage of Estoril and Monza was fairly decent...they took looks at battles throughout the pack in both classes, and gave in-cockpit views from the R&M, the Durango (even got them in a spin)and other cars in both classes during the action...

Was fairly decent....

When SpeedChannel covers ALMS they do a great job....but the network telecasts (CBS or NBC) tend to focus on leaders...the action is not as good, or as in-depth, as a real race fan would like....

But of course, nothing beats actually "Being there...." and TV will never replace that....

My son was a casual observer of racing until he attended his first Indy 500...now he goes every year, and he's making his first "in-person" foray into sportscars when he will go with me to Sebring...

He watched with me last Saturday night, and told me that he can hardly until March....

[GeorgeA]

The FIASCC broadcasts we're getting on SPEED seem to be produced by the same people who do Motorsport Mundial, which means a single commentator in the studio, talking over the action as taped by the host broadcaster or some such thing. It's not an ideal way to watch a race, but it's the best we're gonna get as long as Libratore runs SPEED.

George

[skycafe]

Originally posted by Tim Northcutt
When SpeedChannel covers ALMS they do a great job....but the network telecasts (CBS or NBC) tend to focus on leaders...the action is not as good, or as in-depth, as a real race fan would like....

One thing you notice about Nascar coverage, and to a lessor extent Indy cars on ovals, the television coverage will occasionally cover all the cars in the field. First to about mid pack (I don't remember if the go all the way back) giving you a rundown of where the car is and how it got there, and what they were expecting to do next (pit, change setup, etc.). Great exposure for the sponsors of all the teams. So, even a slower team can still get some sponsor exposure, which is so important. All this is much easier on an oval where the cars are traveling at roughly the same speed. Sports cars on a road course would be so much more challenging.

All to say that for the novice fan, Nascar is easy to watch whereas sports cars take some effort and knowledge, not usually provided by the television crews.

I have a friend who is a stick and ball person who has attempted to watch ALMS, and gives me reports that he is confused by how one car zips past another, and yet they are both leading. The classes are lost on him. I just call him a Simpleton and we argue about something else. But, it is sadly indicitive of the challenge of creating an audience here in the US.

Ah, and then there were two people at work recently asking about my tan. I explained that I had been at Daytona for 24 Hours practice, and both dropped jaws. They didn't know about 24 Hour races. Not Daytona, and we are only 50 minutes away, but not Le Mans either. My jaw dropped then.

[Patrick B]

Did anyone see round 2 of the SCC on Speed? It was in Germany i think. I taped round 1 and 3 but they skipped round 2...

ps. I quite liked seeing the 333 leading(and pulling away) from the Courage and Dome's.

[skycafe]

I missed round two also. It seems sacrilege to be putting a Judd engine into a Ferrari chassis, even if it was built by Michelleto. Yes, I know Doran did it in US too. Still, I didn't realize that it lead the bloody race for a good bit. The GLV chassis doesn't even look like it has the later aero updates that were floating around at the end decade.

Very fond memories of the 333's at Daytona, and going to grandstands at night with both children. Walking out onto the walkway in front of the grandstands in the chill of the night, lessor cars ripping by, and then behind us it came, shreiking through the night like a banshee, and blasting by less then ten feet away, showering us with sand, a blast of wind and the shriek out of an Italian V-12. Eleven year old son used to this by now, but nine year old daughter I was worried about. I looked down at my little girl, whose hand I was holding, and she looked up, not with tears as expected, but with a broadening smile and the words, 'Daddy, that was a Ferrari!'

Yes Kelly, that was a Ferrari.
Mind you, we all like Judd's too!

[billnchristy]

touching, I think I will hear that too someday. My daughter is just 1 but at six months she was sleeping in the paddock at LRP to the sweet soothing sounds of Formula Ford Zetecs and giggling to the mean sounds of T/A...

As for the "simpletons" and sportscars, someone needs to come up with a format like ESPN does with NHRA drag racing. You can tune in one weekend not even knowing what Nitromethane is and walk away after 3 hours with a decent knowledge of the sport. Tune in every week and youre an expert...if 20 minutes of the race was spent with facts and such, I think Mr and Mrs casual observer wouldnt feel so left out.