|
 Welcome to the Island of Misfit This is the Misc. Racing Thread, home for discussion of all kinds of racing that aren't Formula 1, IndyCar, or NASCAR. Feel free to post about sports car racing, touring cars, rallying, off-road racing, motocross, and anything else you can think of. So much good racing is available to watch (especially online officially) that we can share and discuss while enjoying speedy race cars.  So what kind of racing are you talking about here, then? We talk a lot about sports-car racing. It’s the racing, primarily on road and street courses, of cars which come closest in design and spirit to street cars. After the big And at the top of sports cars are what’s called prototypes -- single-seat racers with closed tops and fenders. The Grand Prix cars of long-distance racing. Why should I care about sports car racing? There’s a wide variety -- of cars, drivers, locations, and of race distances. It’s where your favorites from Formula 1, IndyCar and NASCAR past will wind up. Races are often long (6-, 12- and 24-hour races are not uncommon), and feature multiple classes of car racing on the same track but in individual class battles alongside the overall win. The world of sports car racing tends to be friendlier and more approachable than other parts, while still attracting many colorful characters. Okay. So what's new for 2020? There have been a few changes to our favorite series following on from the end of the 2019 season and since this time last year. Trying to recount some of the news as follows: 
So, what are the series I should know?  The FIA World Endurance Championship is the highest level of sports-car racing. It’s an FIA World Championship, same as Formula 1 and the World Rally Championship, which means a lot. The WEC schedule includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which means almost as much, if not more, as Le Mans remains a hugely popular event and a major marketing point for all these big manufacturers. The WEC features LMP1 cars, LMP2 cars, and two GT classes, and is pretty fun to watch. Its season starts in the late summer and runs across winter, ending at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in mid-June. So we're in the middle of the 2019-20 season now, and there is plenty to look forward to for the 2020-21 season as well!  Below the WEC are various regional series using much the same cars and classes, the highest profile of which is IMSA in the United States. Its a US and Canadian-based series, but many teams and drivers will also compete at Le Mans on an annual basis. IMSA also has a number of high-profile races: endurance epics include the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, the Sebring 12 Hours in March, and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October, plus marquee shorter races at Long Beach, Road America, and more. Other regional series which are directly under the ACO (who co-organize the WEC along with the FIA) include the European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le Mans Series, which both act as feeders of a sort to the World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans. There's no direct relegation/promotion, but teams gain experience in the regional series and sometimes step up to the WEC; also, all of IMSA, Asian Le Mans and European Le Mans all receive invites to the 24 Hours of Le Mans annually.  But there are other series in this sports car world! Many of them fall under a sports car rulebook called GT3. These are cars made by big companies (Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, Audi) which are sold to customers. GT3 cars are expected to be balanced to achieve a similar level of performance -- in theory, a driver could take each of those cars around a track and get roughly the same lap time. This has led to a boom in series aimed to customers, as the cars are relatively affordable, well-built, fairly easy to drive (especially compared to customer cars from the 1970s and ‘80s) and eligible to race in a lot of exciting events. The 24 Hours races at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and the Nurburgring in Germany are highlights for GT3-type racing worldwide. Great! So how/when do I watch? First, you need to know when a race is! Custard Undies recommended this link to Motorsport.com's schedule for racing series. Use it, learn it, love it. Because the sports-car world is so diverse, there’s a lot to watch. Happily, much of it is readily available online or even via YouTube.
Recommended Links/Follows
Other questions? Reach out and ask! Recommendations? Please suggest and we'll try to add them in. Come join us on Discord! https://discord.gg/kg3d2Uu Misc Threads of the Past Misc Racing Thread 2019: I woke up to a smoking hulk Misc Auto Racing 2018: Mazda gonna Mazda Misc Auto Racing 2017: gently caress off Whincup Misc Auto Racing 2016 : Downgraded From Silver Posters to Bronze Misc Auto Racing 2015: At least our criminals are non-violent Misc Auto Racing 2014: So long and thanks for all the McNish Misc Auto Racing 2013: Beware: Ferrari Ahead Misc. Auto Racing 2012: No War But Class War Sportscars 2011: Racing with Class (ILMC/ALMS/GrandAm) 2011 Daytona 24 Hours 2010 Daytona 24 Hours harperdc fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Jan 19, 2020 |
#
¿
Jan 18, 2020 02:24
|
|
...thanks to heavy restrictions on the Toyotas 
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 01:46 |
|
|
Other Wonderful Misfit Series of Note Sports car racing is a lot, but it's not all of what we cover/discuss in here. Here are some primers for other big series that fall under our umbrella. Formula E  Now in it's sixth! season, Formula E is gaining strength and a character from its unorthodox setup and choices. Founded as a way to promote battery-electric technology, Formula E takes a lot about a traditional Formula 1/motorsport racing weekend and turns it on its head. The usual three-day (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) schedule is compacted into one day; the races take place all in city centers, as opposed to traditional racing circuits; the racing has improved, and is very different with the addition of things like Attack Mode; and now that cars last the entire race on a battery charge, it's leading to very hard-hitting racing. But this year is notable for one reason: two major factories jumping in. Joining Nissan, DS, Jaguar, Audi and BMW are Mercedes-Benz, officially joining after having a semi-supported team last year, while Porsche has finished its year testing and is throwing its resources at its first open-wheel challenge since they tried to run in IndyCar. How to Watch Formula E in Your Location Note that all the races will go up later on the Formula E YouTube channel.
Super GT  A favorite of hardcore racing fans, Japan's premier series is still going strong. A sports car series utilizing two classes -- the big-power GT500 cars, and the smaller and more pro-am GT300 -- Super GT is known for hard racing, excellent engineering, and an actual tire war between multiple brands who are free to develop their products. The GT500 cars are now aligned with the German DTM series, which culminated in last November's first "Dream Race" event featuring five manufacturers. The three major Japanese factories support the GT500 teams, and for this year, the Toyota teams are moving to a new model: The GR Supra. GT300 has traditionally been a pro-am class, and in the last decade has seen a number of teams import and use international-spec GT3 cars to great effect. There are still a few Japan-only one-offs, including Subaru's factory-supported BRZ, and now the Saitama Toyopet dealer team is developing a Supra of its own for GT300. Bonkers. Last year the international broadcast was a bit of a mixed bag, not taking effect until a few rounds into the season. Once there's news I'll update it here. Super GT 2020 Schedule
World Rally Championship  Someone not named Sébastien won the WRC for the first time in 15 years!  (That is a true statement from forums user Jehde, who provided the calendar and broadcast details below as well. Thank you!) The WRC is a series still on the rise. A new generation of awesome cars and extremely talented drivers are on the way up, Ott Tanak is a star and has moved to the team that wants it the most this year (Hyundai). Toyota and Ford also have factory teams still in the championship, while Citroen took their ball and went home.  Kenya, Japan ,and New Zealand return this year.
You can subscribe to a fancy live service with a bunch of features at WRC+, or you can just watch the daily recap videos for rallies for free on RedBull TV. harperdc fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Jan 18, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2020 02:25
|
|
|
Peanut President posted:whens lemans Mid-June, as always.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2020 02:57
|
|
|
Peanut President posted:(shakes you) WHEN IS IT June 13-14, 2020
|
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2020 06:43
|
|
|
Basticle posted:minor quibble but can each instance of "under" be replaced with "below" ? It currently makes it sound like these other series are affiliated junior series of WEC. for IMSA that's not the case, but the ELMS and AsLMS are literally organized by the ACO so yes, they're affiliated series. I've updated the wording -- they don't have direct promotion and relegation, but it's the place where teams get experience. Basticle posted:also this post got passed over in the old thread https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3879462&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=45#post501389584 I mentioned Motor Trend On Demand for US customers! But forgot the deal. It's been added. (it's still criminal you can't just get the WEC App/subscription in the U.S., it remains a good deal)
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2020 02:44
|
|
|
WindyMan posted:IMSA DPI 2.0s will be eligible to run alongside ACO Hypercars starting in 2022. Ooooh I missed this somehow in my sweep of the news this morning. Will be very interesting to see what the fine details will be. Also frustrating that this is the one race this year put on a cable channel in Japan, thus keeping the IMSA TV feed blocked out. Boo.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 24, 2020 03:04
|
|
|
drgitlin posted:So, yet again Dagys broke an embargo. I’m not sure it’s polite to cackle in Tokyo trains so I didn’t, but reading this I absolutely wanted to. Yikes. And it’s not like sports car racing reporting isn’t a small world or anything... As for Acura/RP: Would they ever consider a third car for any of the endurance races? Factories used to run four or even five cars for Daytona/Sebring/Le Mans back in the day, but besides adding extra drivers, none of the factories do that. I know the costs are extra these days, but they certainly have the stable of drivers (between Penske and Honda) and both Daytona and Petit are at a time when drivers are available.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 24, 2020 10:26
|
|
|
Rally Monte Carlo spoiler: Holy loving poo poo, Tanak had a massive off. Sounds like everyone’s safe.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 24, 2020 13:16
|
|
|
Frond posted:Aston pulled out of DTM. The grid has 14 cars now. It’s got to be a more complex situation than that, because Aston wasn’t directly funding/supporting the team in the way Audi and BMW do and Mercedes did. It was put together by R Motorsport, who still were apparently trying to get the cars on the grid as of a week or two ago. It sounds as if both Aston and R Motorsport are out, but still - really strange situation. Wonder if any old chassis will be dusted off and rolled out to make the numbers up. First time with only two brands in a long while, too.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 24, 2020 16:19
|
|
|
get up and get the race started and....caution. saw the replay a minute ago too, and yikes, scary when somebody gets punted due to the closing speeds like that.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2020 00:38
|
|
|
orange juche posted:Being geoblocked sucks. I’m geoblocked for only one IMSA race this year. Thanks for nothing, JSports.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2020 04:29
|
|
|
hunnert car pileup posted:hell loving yes The MotoGP house commentary is perfectly good, I know we love the guys based out of the US but it’d be worse for them doing the commentary out of a Charlotte studio. All NBCSN needs to do is play the world feed. MotoGP is fantastic, and also has the best OTT streaming service. Great package and No Spoiler mode.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 00:34
|
|
|
That could make the race better, too many high-quality GT3 cars stumbling over traffic on top of the mountain in years past.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2020 07:53
|
|
|
drgitlin posted:Some good photos here. Didn’t get to ask about a third Penske, sorry. As I posted earlier, the team say they have worked a lot on rear tire wear and a lot of that is down to controlling traction events. What’re you using for a camera for events/coverage like this?
|
|
#
¿
Jan 31, 2020 01:54
|
|
|
And this is just practice/quali. The standards on that wreck at the top...the marshals don’t throw a flag for about 10 seconds. Not good.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 1, 2020 04:45
|
|
|
For all those outside Australia, you can watch live on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS-ubIbvw_A
|
|
#
¿
Feb 1, 2020 23:41
|
|
|
Cygni posted:LMP1 entry list is 3 cars for COTA. Toyotas and 1 Rebellion. Merge this stupid class with LMP2, thanks. The Ginettas pulled out for COTA but not for Sebring (yet). No statement as to why yet. [Edit] statement via Daily SportsCar: quote:Ginetta released a statement on Tuesday morning explaining their absence: And there are three more races left of this rule set, and then the first year of Hypercar, followed by the first season where the LMDh rules will be allowed. Why would you merge it now, even if you could? harperdc fucked around with this message at 10:56 on Feb 4, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Feb 4, 2020 10:47
|
|
|
Big Huski Boi posted:Can you please stop doing this crybaby troll bullshit where you tell people to "calm down" when they're perfectly calm as it is? Thanks in advance. They're also slowing the P2s to provide scope for slowing the Hypercar/LMDhs as well. And along with BOP the Hypercar proposal had extensive regulations about aero and aero efficiency, plus a relatively easy target for power figures as well. The entire point of that being there wasn't much reason to throw hundreds of millions at the development. LMDh just takes that and makes it cheaper (basing off of a P2 chassis, which the Rebellion already technically is as well don't forget) and has a standardized hybrid system. I'm pretty sure Peugeot will be taking that option for their WEC challenge. Toyota is already in, Aston has backing for the Valkyrie project, so if one more (Porsche?) jumps in then the good times are back for the WEC. That doesn't help the next race from having only three P1s, sure, but what else should all parties be realistically doing?
|
|
#
¿
Feb 5, 2020 23:28
|
|
|
MazeOfTzeentch posted:https://twitter.com/Glickenhaus/status/1225806081181585410?s=19 still really curious what OEM is going to be making the Glickenhaus Hypercar's engine. when announced signs pointed to the big Chevy V8 for that too, but at some point plans changed and it seems more likely to be another brand (Alfa Romeo?)
|
|
#
¿
Feb 8, 2020 03:50
|
|
|
Spaced God posted:There should just be a "gently caress it" exhibition class a le mans for things like Project 400 and people who just wanna drop a CART engine into a 911 or bring back a 917k where you're not rewarded for race position but rather how much cool poo poo you can cram into the car and records you can break. They already have too many people trying to get into the rain without the real wacky ideas. At least have fun and useful ideas, like hydrogen, or allowing handicapped drivers to compete.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2020 09:37
|
|
|
Ferrari a year from now: “It’s a whole-new Ferrari! 100% Prancing Horse” *very small chassis plate inside says “Dallara”*
|
|
#
¿
Feb 11, 2020 00:19
|
|
|
Bloopsy posted:So i'm completely new to motorsports and i've found i've got a hankerin' for sports car racing. If you want to see more of the sports cars that were at Bathurst (and also as the GTD class at Daytona), the YouTube channel for that group should have plenty of its live coverage and highlights still up from 2019: https://www.youtube.com/user/gt1world It’s nothing but GT cars, and plenty of endurance races at famous tracks.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 11, 2020 02:31
|
|
|
Asian Le Mans Series is supposed to be at Sepang tonight, but rain and lightning strikes have delayed the start (and taken down some of the production apparently). It'll be here once it's running properly: [edit] Three and a half hours left! They've gotten started https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UURTa7hMJqE I would blow Dane Cook posted:Has anyone been to the Le Mans 24 hours before and can answer some questions I have about going to it? haven't been yet but there are some resources out there depending on the question. what're the topics? harperdc fucked around with this message at 12:12 on Feb 15, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2020 11:08
|
|
|
Bloopsy posted:In all seriousness, what caused that? sounds like one part heat causing mist/steam after the rain storm earlier, one part a car locking up (or multiple cars locking tires into the corner, the tricky downhill hairpin), and one part no breeze to clear the mist and smoke out of the way. I think that's all correct. I would blow Dane Cook posted:Just the basic logistics. How you get there, accommodation options? I'm planning on being in Europe at the time its on so I could re-arrange my itinerary to get there. I'm coming all the way from Australia so I can't really bring a tent and sleeping bag with me. WikiTravel has a page for the town of Le Mans, basic idea is get to TGV at Charles de Gaulle / Paris and then on to Le Mans town itself. Within the town, the local streetcar service runs to the main entrance (near the pit straight). A regular partner/advertiser on Radio Le Mans is Travel Destinations, who do travel packages for the Le Mans 24 from "a place in the campground" all the way to glamping and more expensive options at the track. If you go dig back into Radio Le Mans' Le Mans 24 preview from 2019, there should be segments during the preview episodes that cover Le Mans travel options with the head of Travel Destinations. I'm thinking of going with my dad in a few years, and they're my first stop.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2020 14:38
|
|
|
Basticle posted:I'm 5 years behind but I just started listening to Dinner with Racers. I'm sure many if not all of you have already listened to this but holy poo poo check out Episode 8 where engineer Jeff Braun details how Level 5 Motorsports owner/crazy man (and current prison inmate) Scott Tucker had them spend millions of dollars developing the fastest D Sports Racing car ever made. I won't spoil it. That episode, the Bill Riley episode, and the Tommy Kendall ones are amazing. I need to catch up with more recent ones but they just dropped a bunch last weekend. Also this season has an interview with former sports car racer Michael Avenatti, which, maybe not the best timing.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2020 05:30
|
|
|
Peanut President posted:isn't the toyota hypercar just a modified version of their lmp1? Sounds like it shares a lot with the TS050, with new aero of course. Also the COTA round literally wouldn’t exist if the Brazil race didn’t fall through, so while that kinda sucks for the show, it’s hard to get too upset about.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 19, 2020 05:37
|
|
|
MazeOfTzeentch posted:Yeah being able to find support races outside of the traditional North American racing season on 3 months notice is pretty impossible, I'd be willing to bet. Only if at least one of them flies fox tails like the Opel Manta at the Nurburgring.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 19, 2020 08:35
|
|
|
Space Butler posted:I wouldn't be all that surprised if they've got an eye on formula e too. I'm sure they've taken a look, but Toyota hasn't been on the battery-electric side of things -- hybrid and hydrogen instead. jammyozzy posted:For Toyota in-particular, LMP1 is a test bed for their own, designed and made, hybrid powertrain. The way the whole program is structured is that TMG is almost a sub-contractor to Toyota Japan, with the task of building a car to put Japan's powertrain into. and don't forget, at the peak of LMP1-H against Porsche and Audi, Toyota was spending multiple hundreds of millions of euro a year on the WEC team, and it was coming from their R&D/engineering department, not from marketing. Yeah, all of the powertrain stuff is coming from Japan.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 19, 2020 23:24
|
|
|
From excitement about LMDh to extreme worry about the immediate future of the WEC in like three weeks, the sports car cycle can be an absolutely unstoppable mistress sometimes.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 20, 2020 11:22
|
|
|
Big Huski Boi posted:This is the most hysterical poo poo I've ever listened to in my life They possibly spent more time and development resources on a D-Sports racer for a bet than they did on their ALMS program. It sucks that it took a billionaire spending money that was earned through lovely ways, but still absolutely hilarious. They also talked to Tucker a couple seasons later right before he goes to prison, it’s quite the interesting conversation.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 20, 2020 14:23
|
|
|
Cygni posted:I mean does anyone really... care about the WEC? Outside of lemans and maybe spa, most of the races are pretty thin in both fields and audience. It can’t die yet, I haven’t gotten to the Fuji round yet!! I like how it’s grown and the action generally has been good, and 30+ car counts the last five years is nothing to sneeze at. It’s been fun to watch, especially with the app being $30 a season or so.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 20, 2020 23:33
|
|
|
You Am I posted:God I wish another Aussie would win the F1 Driver's Title so we can all forget about this man Mahk Wibbah was so close in 2010 but alas we got Seb instead. In actual news, the FIA World Motorsport Council put it’s rubber stamp on the prototype convergence plan, so LMD(eez nuts)h will now be allowed in the WEC. Expect more news at Sebring, assuming it goes forward. Haven’t heard any rumblings from IMSA or the WEC about canceling, but lord knows if Florida or the county might act.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 9, 2020 04:46
|
|
|
I’m not seeing anything official-official yet, but it’s being reported by Racer. Given the ban on travel from Europe, it’s hardly surprising. Quite sad.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2020 06:26
|
|
|
It's been confirmed now that the race -- and the test beforehand this weekend -- will not take place. time to crate everything up and send it back to Europe.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 12, 2020 13:36
|
|
|
WindyMan posted:No better time to round up all the  Man that stretch is going to be hell for some of the smaller teams’ budgets.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2020 00:36
|
|
|
In happier news, looks like Mugen have a sponsorship deal with Red Bull for their Super GT NSX for this season. https://twitter.com/AUTOSPORT_web/status/1238308594522542080?s=20
|
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2020 04:54
|
|
|
Kilonum posted:Shoehorn Bathurst 12 hour in between Daytona and second Sebring for some of the drivers. The WEC calendar for 2020-21 is also official if you want to see how hectic it could get for some people across the winter.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 13, 2020 06:05
|
|
|
net work error posted:With so many events getting called off The Race youtube channel (the folks who used to stream SuperGT) is putting together an rFactor 2 race with some pretty big names: The Race also has a website now that is a recommendation for me if you want F1, MotoGP, or Indy news. It's a slick website. I'll also try to remember to put on this rFactor 2 race tonight, it's midnight Australian time Sunday night / 1 pm UK time. also the Super GT testing is still underway at Okayama and the new GR Supra is looking mean in proper liveries: https://twitter.com/TOYOTA_GR/status/1239015169511936000 [edit] oh hey The Race is run by Torque Esports, which is run by Darren Cox. Hmm. harperdc fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Mar 15, 2020 |
|
#
¿
Mar 15, 2020 03:33
|
|
|
Holy smokes, the ACO delayed Le Mans from June until September 19th and 20th. Wow. First time that Le Mans has been moved since 1968, when civil unrest meant it couldn’t be held in June.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2020 01:16
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 01:46 |
|
|
I see your Super Sebring and raise you a true 12 hour classic, Dinner with Racers’ Pooper Sebring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-P0f53FMgg
|
|
#
¿
Mar 22, 2020 09:54
|
|