ALMS 2011

[HampusA]

Anybody follow it?

I watched some of it last year but this year i´ve watched all of them that´s been so far. Though it´s only been 2 races yet.

I just follow the GT class to be honest, it´s got some fantastic racing in that class with so many brands fighting it out, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, Ford, Panoz etc.

July 9th it´s time for Lime Rock Park or a knife fight in a phone booth more specifically Should be fun though.

[Pandamasque]

I follow it. Just heard there'll be another Lola-Mazda in P1 at Lime Rock. Otherwise LMP look a bit sad this year. But hey, one of them has a V12.

And GT just keeps delivering amazing battles.

[HampusA]

Agreed

It´s so evenly matched in GT class, they always adjust stuff to keep it as close as possible.

[HampusA]

Can´t believe the low buzz about this series. Mosport is on right now and it´s crazy battles in GT class.

[scuderiafan]

It's nice to watch the GT battles, but I really wish there was more prototype involvement. Even with the cost capped P2 regs, the field is bone dry.

[Ray]

I've lost a lot of interest because of the bonehead TV deal they have. If you guys think the Sky deal is bad, check out what deal the ALMS made for TV coverage. Live streaming on the website. Very low res stream. ESPN3.com coverage is only an option if you ISP has inked a deal with ESPN and there aren't very many that have signed up to offer that service. No broadcast coverage at the track for those at big tracks and can't see all the way around. The head of the ALMS was so bold as to tell people to get over the fact that a massive chunk of their fan base was but completely out of getting coverage and the 'solution' was to complain to your ISP. Don't even get me started on the 'coverage' of CBS. 6 hour race, 1 hour of drama filled garbage is what they consider adequate.

The GT battles are great, but 3 out of the 4 classes are so unnecessarily close on performance it becomes a massive traffic jam and crashes ensue. They had a great thing going, then shot themselves in the foot with ridiculous 'close racing' regulation changes and I'd say a good 80% of their fan base can't watch the races anymore. I catch the races when I can, and that's not very often. I don't try really hard either because the races are NASCAR crashfests and I have no interest in that WWE type crap anymore. I will be going to the Petit Le Mans this year though, it's been 15 years since I've gone to Road Atlanta. Want to hear the Vettes before they completely neuter them sound-wise.

[fritticaldi]

I totaly agree that this series has lost a lot of it's past appeal. Such a pity. The only class worth watching is the GT1. Worth mentioning is the Great maiden victory at Road America for the Risi Competizione Ferrari. The car driven by Melo/Vilander also set the quickest time in the race. A significant statistic given all the problems they have had sorting out the new Ferrari 458 Italia. The BMW's and Corvette's are very strong. On the other hand, the Flying Lizard Porsche has dropped significantly in performance.

[Ray]

The Flying Lizard team has dropped in performance because the ALMS keeps adding weight and restricting the inlet on every car, and the FL even more than anybody. The BMWs have a huge amount of speed over everyone else and the ALMS is letting them get away with it. IF they allowed every team to base the engine in their racecars on the sizes of the street cars the landscape would be very different. I think the BMWs are sandbagging (nothing wrong with not showing your whole hand) and they aren't being 'equalized' as much as the rest of the field. I sincerely hope that all the Porsche teams are barking up the right trees because they are at a serious disadvantage to everyone and having the BMW walk away from the rest of the field even more so. If they can't get the stupid restrictions the ALMS are imposing on the off the car they won't win a race this year.

[F1PuertoRico]

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[F1PuertoRico]

I posted some pictures of the Road America race.