Sebring Grid

[David Morton]

The starting grid at Sebring

1 Biela/Pirro/Werner (Audi R10 TDI) 1m 44.974s epper:
2 Capello/Kristensen/McNish (Audi R10 TDI) 1m 45.326s epper:

3 Dumas/Bernhard/Castroneves (Porsche) 1m 46.046s
4 Brabham/Johansson/Dayton (Acura/Honda) 1m 47.109s
5 Wallace/Leitzinger/Lally (Porsche) 1m 47.130s
6 Herta/Franchitti/Kanaan (Acura/Honda) 1m 47.423s
7 Dyson/Smith (Porsche) 1m 48.175s
8 Fernandez/Diaz/Martinez (Lola-Acura/Honda), 1m 48.417s
9 Maasssen/Briscoe/Collard (Porsche) 1m 50.185s
10 Bach/Devlin/Matos (Lola) 1m 50.312s

Now lets see how they fare in the race it's self.

 

[Scott Calabro]

Can't wait to see Butch L. and his new RS Spyder !

Even better when the Dyson/Thetford team come to LRP in July for the New England Grand Prix.

I'll one of the maniacs on top of an RV going deaf !!!

Go Butch .... kick Audi's ass!

rockonsmile epper: rockonsmile epper: rockonsmile

 

[David Morton]

kick Audi's ass! ?

Wishful thinking Scott !
:lol: rockonsmile :dead:
But the times are ( interestingly) much closer.
epper: BRING IT ON !epper:

 

[Scott Calabro]

You're right Dave, watching the R10 and its predecessor the R8, is kind of like the Bruce and Denny show. Fun at first but then it gets boring. Besides its EASY to root for the winners. We'll just see about LRP, the R10 has no real advantage there. If not for an accident, Dysons Lola would have beaten them there last July.

When the R10 blasts by it smells like I'm at work at the airport ground running one of my jets engines.

Diesels belong in heavy construction equipment !

We'll see.... Good Luck !

Best,
Scott

 

[David Morton]

"Besides its EASY to root for the winners" Of course it is.
"is kind of like the Bruce and Denny show. Fun at first but then it gets boring." Absolutely. I secretly support the back markers. It's true because they are the 'field' and without them there is no race.
ps - who is Bruce and Denny?
Audi (VAG -Volkswagen Audi Group) hurls so much dosh (gelt,lucre,dollars?) at these particular events does anybody else stand a chance? The ACO legislate against their cars with ballast, tank sizes, wing widths, gearbox casings, and what ever they can, but still Wolfgang’s boys do the business time after time.
"When the R10 blasts by it...." By comparison, you can hardly hear it. (A group of American marshalls working at last years LM24 told me it should be fitted with a bell on the front so they can hear it coming).
"Diesels belong in heavy construction equipment !" Wake up America. They're here and now in Europe. So many cars here are diesel - my next ride may be a Japanese diesel -Toyota Amazon.
ALMS/LMS/LM24 ?- Unless Peugeot gets its act together, the "boredom"
will continue - a bit like Schumacher and Ferrari in F1. Audi Motorsport may be going for a "Decade of Dominance". Three in a row has been done before and the R8 made that look easy in its first three years at the 24 hour between 2000-2002.
Perhaps it's all about innovation and adapting to it. Remember the gearbox/transmission change in 2001 ? All completed in less than one lap of the safety car. That’s another thing the ACO subsequently legislated against, but it was quite a feat and all about the innovation that Audi Motorsport combined with Team Joest are excellent at. But its the Pescarolo's, the Dysons, the Lolas, the Vipers, the Morgans and so on, that are the real heroes in the sports car world. Without them, Audi Motorsport couldn't do a thing. For whatever reason though, Skoda (part of VAG) doesn't seem to be able to cut the mustard in WRC.
Dave M

 

[Scott Calabro]

Dave,

You've heard of Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme right ? You know the 1969 CAN-AM, Team McLaren won 11 of 11 races.

Diesels...no thanks, other than my 97 MB E-Class and 92 VW Jetta with 313,000 miles !

Those are the only CARS they belong in !!!!!!

How to get rid of boredom ?

Change the ALMS/IMSA P1 rule book to the 1966 CAN - AM rule book.

Run what ya brung.......

ALMS P1 will no longer be boring !!!

It would still be awesome to see Audi's R10 CHOKE !!

LOL
S

 

[Ron Earp]

"Diesels belong in heavy construction equipment !" Wake up America. They're here and now in Europe. So many cars here are diesel - my next ride may be a Japanese diesel -Toyota Amazon.

Competely agree with David's statement. I've driven a bunch of the diesels in Germany and in the UK on business trips and I really like them. And I'd love to race one too. That six speed VW/Audi V6 turbo diesel would be flat out awesome in a Lola Spider for some serious enduro work. The average US car buyer though isn't aware of what the rest of the world is doing with diesels and that they make fantastic car engines.

We really like the Lola we've got and plan to enduro race, and we're thinking about a sister for it, albeit a diesel powered sister...

VW and MD are trickling a few diesel cars into the US and if more follow suit maybe we'll be lucky enough to have a small taste of what you folks already get. And maybe some racing efforts would follow some years later.

Ron

 

[Scott Calabro]

Hey Ron,
How come you are not identified as a member viewing a post ? (stealth)
I never can tell when you are viewing until just after you post.



Scott

 

[Ron Earp]

Admin for one thing, but also I don't wish to be. I use Firefox and it loads GT40s.com everytime I use the browser, as well as about 10 other pages in various tabs. As one of the admin I've found that people will PM me sometimes when they find me online to ask questions. But with Firefox many times I'm not actually online - the browser loads GT40s.com but I'm not looking at it. I don't want people to think I'm rude in not returning PM's quickly, so, as an admin I can "turn myself off". Hope that helps explain that quirk.

Ron

 

[Scott Calabro]

Oh, Ok!
S

 

[Gary Kadrmas]

Diesels belong in heavy construction equipment !

No they don't! They belong in Ford's F Series Pick-ups and Trucks.....so we can pull our trailers with our race cars to the track...........Remember?

 

[Scott Calabro]

Ok Ok ! , Just Not In Race Cars !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[David Morton]

AND ... there are diesel motorcycles as well:
Diesel motorbikes: Journey to Forever

and sooner or later, somebody will make a GT40 Look-a like car with an engine that runs on the juice that runs out of the bottom of a barbeque.

 

[Scott Calabro]

:yuck:

 

[Gary Kadrmas]

juice that runs out of the bottom of a barbeque................

Oh boy,............I bet there are alot of members that run off the juice that runs out of the bottom of........nope, I'm not going there.

 

[Brett James-McCall]

Scott,
Sorry, but I have to agree with David. Over Diesels are well regarded and you will hopefully see the same soon in the US. The case of point is that probably the best car in the Jaguar Line up uses the current 2.7V6 diesel and you should also try the new 3.6V8 that is in Rnage Rover. They offer a lot more versatility and sometimes better real world drving characteristics. Another case in point: Renault have just launched a Megane Sport diesel, which whilst its slightly slower 0-60, it outpulls the 225 Sport option in a drag between 50-75.

Brett

 

[Mesa]

This thread took a dump rather quickly.....

BTW It's a Dodge (- to avoid) turbo dualie baby! Had some guys over from England, it's time to break from the meeting for lunch. Out of all the cars in the company only my TRUCK can seat 6 ...... comments heard "Nice truck... how do you feed this thing? ... nobody could afford to drive this giant in England". If it wasnt a diesel. I probably coudnt afford it either.

I remember my only experience 5-6 years ago? with WSC .... Sears Point, the BMW V12 cars were there, carbon fiber everything (on the engine!). My god those things were LOUD, LOUD, LOUD. I couldnt hold my ears closed tight enough for comfort as they blasted by the start line. I was really surprised by the noise level.

 

[Scott Calabro]

Mesa,

It sure did take a dump, as soon as David mentioned that pesky R10.

For all the fellow freaks that drive a diesel.... I do too, an MB & a VW, but IMNSHO they have no place in prototype cars unless the rules allowed a free for all.

Whats next helicopter turbo-shaft engines ?

I know of a few that produce 950 + SHP and weigh less than 300 lbs, but they are French built.

S

 

[Richard Timte]

Scott,

They did the turbo shaft in the late 60's. Here is a link to one of three that is for sale.

1968 Howmet Turbine

Here is a picture:

 

[Scott Calabro]

RTIMTE,

I thought there was a CAN-AM car that was turbo-shaft powered . I don't know how competitive it was as turbine engines eat kerosene at an alarming rate. That particular engine is an Allison 250 series, turbo-shaft engine. It is used in many light to medium weight helo's, single and twin engine.

I bet the CAN-AM Guru Johan could shed more light on the subject though.

Best,
Scott