harperdc posted:

Super GT - Top Sports-car Racing Fun Time!

The beauty of sports-car racing is how specialized it becomes in different places while using some of the same pieces. This holds true for the Autobacs Super GT championship, Japan's top-level sports car series and one of the more competitively balanced, interesting, and fun-to-watch racing series out there. With a 20-plus year history, a legacy of awesome and batshit crazy cars, and fun action, it should definitely be on your radar.

The Super GT series consists of two classes: GT500 and GT300. This means there are two races within the event happening at the same time. GT500 cars have white windshield strips, white headlights and white number plates; the GT300 cars use yellow. All cars have two drivers, with some teams using three for the 1000 kilometer endurance race in the season. Pit stops are mandatory, tires and fuel etc.



GT500 is the top level class. Teams campaign factory and factory-supported cars in the form of the Nissan GT-R, the Honda NSX (sans hybrid), and from 2017, the Lexus LC500. These cars are built using a shared tub with DTM, and also use the 2.0 liter 4-cylinder turbo base as also agreed with DTM. The teams develop their engines and aerodynamics, in addition to the rest of the chassis.

Each manufacturer has good and bad teams. The last few years, the #1 Motul Nissan and #12 Calsonic Nissan were the standouts (the #24 and 46 both competitive), the #38 ZENT Toyota and #37 Keeper TOM'S car were the lead Lexus cars, and the Hondas were...there, I guess? The #17 Keihin car competed, but on the whole, the NSXes haven't been fast enough. Hopefully their trials and tribulations will lift a bit next year, as Mugen returns with a team in the championship too.

The last few years have seen the factory Motul Nissan team match consistency with speed and win the title, but with much of the same in 2016, one of the longest-running teams in the competition, the #39 Denso SARD team, FINALLY took home the title at the last race of the year. This means a driver's title for former Worst Thread favorite Heikki "Fast Heikki" Kovaleinen, who's now enjoying life as a factory driver in Japan.

There's enough good drivers and balance between three makes to mean the racing is great, and even between drivers in the same make, there are great battles. The "red" and "blue" Nissans have gone at each other as hard as any drivers in the world at times, same with the Lexuses. It's fantastic to watch.



GT300 is the lower-level class and consists of cars following two main rulesets: GT3 and JAF (Japan Auto Federation aka Super GT). Plenty of GT3 cars are represented in Super GT, including the Nissan GT-R, Mercedes AMG-GT and SLS, Lamborghinis, BMWs, Porsche 911s, Audi R8s, etc. All the ones you'd expect from privateers.

The other cars fall under homologation from the Japan Auto Federation, thus allowing for some wonderfully batshit crazy local creations to join the party. These come in a couple flavors. First, you have the infamous Toyota Prius. Operated by a Toyota dealer team in central Japan, the two cars are shaped like Prius sedans and used the Prius hybrid drivetrain but are mid-engined and make use of a Toyota LMP engine. Again, in a Prius.

The other factory-supported oddity is the Subaru BRZ, which is operated by Subaru Sports and makes use of a standard layout but uses the old WRC engine. This sounds absolutely sensational in person, btw.

The second format are what's called Mother chassis cars. These are a common tub/safety cell and share a "GTA" V8 engine roughly based on an older Nissan V8. Four teams competed with these last year, three as Toyota 86s (including the Tsuchiya team which won the championship) and one as the Lotus Evora. Another one has been unveiled in the offseason - another Toyota dealer team, running a Mark X sedan based off the Mother chassis.

That all these cars are balanced well to be competitive is reason enough to watch Super GT.



The last point to make is regarding the tires. To put it simply: Super GT is the last series with an active tire battle between multiple manufacturers. In GT500 and GT300, Michelin, Bridgestone, and Advan (Yokohama), and Dunlop all provide teams with tires that are developed throughout the year and actively help the teams to go farther than they could on a spec tire. Secretly, that's the reason why Super GT and DTM haven't shared a race yet - DTM cars on spec Hankooks would get smoked by any of the Super GT crews.

How fast are they? This year, the GT500 race fastest lap at Fuji Speedway was a 1:30.6. That's two seconds faster than the best in-race time for the WEC LMP2 cars. A lot of that is down to the sticky, sticky rubber.

=================

How and When to Watch

If you're in Japan, it's o...okay so you're not in Japan. Well, luckily for you, Nissan has helped support promotion of the series by putting the Japanese coverage live on YouTube with commentary support from Radio LeMans. You can find the Super GT races at the NISMO.TV YouTube page, and if you're in a time zone to watch, or just want to watch afterwards, give it a shot. The 2016 races they covered are also up still. This is the final round of the season, for instance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s7wvfN_7bI

Now, to complete an otherwise long guide about Super GT, here's the 2017 Schedule:

Round 1 - Okayama - April 8-9
Round 2 - Fuji Speedway - May 3-4
Round 3 - Autopolis - May 20-21
Round 4 - Sportsland SUGO - July 22-23
Round 5 - Fuji Speedway - August 5-6
Round 6 - Suzuka Circuit - August 26-27
Round 7 - Chang Int'l Circuit (Thailand) - October 7-8
Round 8 - Twin Ring Motegi - November 11-12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oDWQf0ATcA

LETS ENJOYING GT RACING 2017!!!

MazeOfTzeentch posted:

The Classes:

Class A - GT3 Pro, Pro/Am, Am
Started in 2005 this class of GT cars was built with the intention of bringing in several one make series cars and really any racecar under homologation rules to run in this series. In this way you get a vast amount of cars from McLaren 650’s to Bentley Continental to Chevrolet Camaro.. Usually not ran by a factory team but by privateers and rich people who can fund these cars. That’s why at Spa you get 60 some odd cars for the running and most like to get Ferraris Lamborghinis and almost kill people with them if the 2014 race was any idea. Cars of all sorts can be made put into GT3 by homologation rules and balance of performance so you get such a wide array of cars, but it’s preferable to get newer cars with development closer to the manufacture (looking at Bentley, Cadillac, and McLaren).

Pro – for entries featuring all-professional drivers
Pro/AM – for entries featuring a maximum of two (2) professional / seeded drivers.
Am – for entries featuring a maximum of one (1) professional / seeded driver.


Class B - GT3 Cup
Basically 911 GT3 RS's, but race prepped. Often seen in spec races against other 911 GT3 Cup Cars, these are basically regular old 911's but racecar. There are several generations of them in current use today, Current ones are 991.2, 991, and 997 generation cup cars

Class C - GT4
shamelessly stolen from Opposite Lock posted:

The GT4 class was created to support the GT3 class with a true low tech amateur sports car series. The GT4 class consists of cars that are much closer to the road cars they are based on over than the other classes featured here. GT4 cars are often referred to as "Track Day" cars, as they are at price points that make them very accessible to gentleman drivers who want racing experience. The GT4 class is often seen accompanying GT3 classes in series around the globe. You'll also see GT4 class cars compete in single make series.

Class D - Invitational
The sloppy seconds, whatever's left over that SRO let in to fill out the grid. For Bathurst, expect lots of MARC V8 Supercars, and the occasional random race converted street car that doesn't fit somewhere else in the grid.

MazeOfTzeentch posted:

RACING THIS WEEKEND

Series: SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge

Venue: Mount Panorama Racing Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
Circuit Length: 6.213km
Length of Conrod Straight = 1.916km
Length of Mountain Straight = 1.111km
Lap record: 2:01.567 (Shane van Ginsbergen, 2016, McLaren 650S GT3)


Bathurst 12hr



Schedule:
http://www.bathurst12hour.com.au/the-event/schedule/

All times below EST (GMT-5)

Feb 02
4:10 PM - Bathurst 12h Practice
8:30 PM - Bathurst 12h Practice

Feb 03
12:00 AM - Bathurst 12h practice
3:55 PM - Bathurst 12h practice
6:30 PM - Bathurst 12h qualifying
11:30 PM - Bathurst 12h Top Ten Shootout

Feb 04
1:00 PM - Countdown to Green
1:40 PM - Bathurst 12h Race
7:00 PM - Bathurst 12h race

Streaming:
Quali, Top 10 Shootout and Race Broadcast: https://www.bathurst12hour.com.au
Top 10 Shootout and Race Broadcast on NismoTV Youtube
All sessions in audio at Radio Le Mans

Timing and Scoring:
https://livetiming.getraceresults.com/bathurst#screen-results

iospace posted:

Hi new thread

e: could you link the old misc racing threads, thanks!

njsykora posted:

Need to have emotes by the Mazda. Also should have something about Blancpain and Super GT in the OP since them streaming free on Youtube makes them way easier to get into.

WindyMan posted:

This was as the cars were finishing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRlvfk5gJmA

ed- lol Sebastian is eliminated

MazeOfTzeentch posted:

Racing this weekend:

Venue: Daytona International Speedway Road Course


IMSA Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge: BMW Endurance Challenge at Daytona

Qualifying: Thursday, Jan 26 5:30-6:00 PM EST
Race: Friday, Jan 27 12:15-4:15 PM EST

Streaming worldwide on: http://imsatv.imsa.com/
(not sure if quali will be streamed with video, but there should at least be audio commentary on radio le mans)

The Classes:
Grand Sport:
GT4 homologated hardware and 2016 legacy GS cars. GT4 are paddle shift, GS are manual.
(this seems to be out of date for the GT4 hardware, take it with a grain of salt)


Street Tuner: IMSA's bastard child Touring Car class, manual transmission only


IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship: Rolex 24 at Daytona

Qualifying: Thursday, Jan 26 3:10-4:40 PM EST
Race: Saturday January 28, 2:30 PM EST - Sunday January 29 2:30 PM EST

Streaming on FSGo with FS1 credentials, or Internationally (or with a VPN) on http://imsatv.imsa.com/

The Classes:
Read the OP, I'll make a big write-up later.


Do you guys like this sort of upcoming weekend announcement? If so I can keep it up for all the series that I follow.

MazeOfTzeentch posted:

Man I wish I could be there. I think since my dad retires this year, we're gonna do 2018 Rolex24, and maybe stick around for the 500, if cost and time off allows. I think this year we're gonna hit the VIR races, cause the tickets and RV spots are dirt effing cheap.

iospace posted:

https://twitter.com/mwoodski/status/824777456917835780

Cygni posted:

The WEC P2 grid is all ORECA. Not a single entry from another brand. And there is already talk that Riley may pull the plug. The FIA/ACO are bad.

Kilonum posted:

Wait has the 12 hour already started?

iospace posted:

So if the C7.R is based off the Z06 (or base model, not sure which one), can't they say the GT3 is based off the grand sport?

Also, why is the GT3 C7 prohibited in the US?

Cygni posted:

I wouldn't bet on Honda using Oreca, honestly.

harperdc posted:

And his NASCAR drivers are Ford guys. They'll find a way.

dentist toy box posted:

Everyone on the stand needed new pants after that gently caress.

FuzzySkinner posted:

https://twitter.com/VolusiaSheriff/status/833520162439573504

MazeOfTzeentch posted:

njsykora posted:

I'm also interested in what kinds of teams go in to program them. Like will it be mostly tech companies and universities or will we get the best possible world and have game devs going in and giving us Forza AI in real life.

Cygni posted:

little bit of comptech orange still there. i approve.

lol, man, that thing is even more low effort on the aero side than the Nissan. Spec oreca:

Basticle posted:

https://youtu.be/GJJ9C6NYKUo

harperdc posted:

Listening to Midweek Motorsport, if you're at all interested in the WEC "super season" then it's a must-listen. They have interviews with both the head of the ACO and the head of IMSA, and while there's a loooot to take in, one point is that the Sebring double-headers will not be twin 12-hour races. Scott Atherton with IMSA was very insistent that there is one 12 Hours of Sebring, it will not be a combined race so therefore the WEC race will be shorter (or have a tricky name). It also sounds like the details we have are very much so the first draft of things to come, so expect updates and changes in the next 1.5 years ahead of that Sebring weekend.

WindyMan posted:

Entries were capped to 63 cars in 2013. That was the last ALMS race there and also the last appearance of the Audis at Sebring.

Cygni posted:

As theorized, looks like the Callaway GT3 is available for US teams now that the factory program is gone:

http://www.dailysportscar.com/2017/09/29/the-corvette-c7-gt3-can-now-be-sold-raced-in-the-usa.html

iospace posted:

Looks like they're using the base chassis instead of the DPi.

Still sexy.

CBJSprague24 posted:

Ricky Taylor hosed off to Penske.

I wonder if the motivation is an IndyCar ride since he's tested with them, as unlikely as that seems.

http://www.teampenske.com/news/index.cfm/c/687/53473/TAYLOR,_RAHAL&PAGENAUD_COMPLETE_IMSA_LINEUP

It's Ricky/Helio, JPM/Cameron for the pairings. SiPag and Graham Rahal are the third drivers for Daytona and Sebring.

orange juche posted:

http://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/mazda-joest-begin-u-s-testing-program-with-revised-dpi/

Mazda Team Joest has begun their US testing program with their revised RT24-P car. Initial driver impressions are the car feels way more confident and planted in the corners, which will definitely help the drivers put down faster times.

financially racist posted:

can't wait to see what new and interesting ways they find to lose the daytona 24

iospace posted:

Wouldn't be surprised if it's the same engine from the C7.R.

WindyMan posted:

I'm perplexed as to why they still don't have separate colors for the Protos and the GTLM cars. Same with the PC and GTD cars before PC went away. OK, you want red to designate the pro classes, but there are plenty of situations where it's handy to be able to differentiate at-a-glance between P and GTLM, like in the spotters guides or especially in the scoreboard tickers.