utkinpol

Hi,

i just read that article on page 36 on latest Panorama where they talking of new 'improved' RSR car to be almost 2sec behind competition at qualifications and an idea that Porsche needs to ask for different restrictors - so, it is the end of the game, pretty much?

i just cannot see how a car can win much if it is almost good 2sec behind.

GuyIncognito

I think the 997 RSR is at the end of its lifecycle, they badly need a 991 RSR.

if you're referring to ALMS, look at the qualifying and race results so far this year...BMW and Corvette are tearin' it up. even Aston won a pole at Laguna. The RSRs (and to a lesser degree the 458s) don't have the pace or the factory support of the BMW and Corvette.

utkinpol

it was sebring. QF:
ferrari - 1:58:427
corvette - 1:58.996
bmw - 1:59.776
rsr - 2:00.119

in the race:
bmw - 2:00.498
ferrari - 2:00.504
corvette - 2:01.260
rsr - 2:01.839

utkinpol

that is true.

i just wonder - those 'super' corvettes, what engine do they run? they are supposed to be almost stock internally, right? or totally wrong and what they got in that car has no relevance to stock car at all?

GuyIncognito

well to be fair the RSR (and the rest of the field) are pretty far from stock

bgiere

The RSR's are neutered because of the "balance of performance" regs that ALMS uses I believe...BMW car isn't even homlogated...the Vette who knows? Pratt and Miller builds a pretty good race car and if the racing Vette shares anything with the road Vette I'd be surprised. the RSR is much closer to a road car than most of the competition.

Horus2000

At Laguna, the Flying Lizard #45 was poised to win until during the final pit they accidentally hooked an air hose on the rear wing and received a stop and go penalty. Prior to the pit PL was in 4th and lapping at more than a second faster than the Vettes and BMW's in 1st-3rd. Also, Bergmeister complained about a bee in the car after that pit stop. They were doomed with bad luck at the end, but very competitive.

GuyIncognito

I heard about the bee incident, was it just an annoyance or is he allergic?

the GT battle at MRLS was a great one! I was hoping for better for the #45. close, but no cigar.

gt2urbo

I heard the announcers say that for laguna they added power weight and down force to the rsr to make it more competitive. I think it worked since they rsr's were on lead lap for hours and only about 10 sec separated many manufacturers.

MrMan

I am new to watching GT racing. I have been surprised to learn that the difference in performance in alms and grand am is due largely to the handicapping done by the organizers. I guess the corvette engine has a better torque curve so that even under restriction the ls7 engine does better? It is odd because the car is capable of more yet people say it is obsolete. Why wont the next car porsche comes out with be similarly disadvantaged?

hoggel

According to the ALMS website, at LS the RSR had the second fastest lap in GT. Only 9/100 slower than the corvette.

ECS

I have been a big fan of ALMS for a while but starting to get disillusioned as all the cars are basically restricted in some manner to ensure tight racing. It is definitely good racing but this is not a vette vs RSR vs 458 vs bimmer event. I think I would rather have it like F1 in which the manufacturers had to go for it and come up with the best car under the same rules that don't change.

bgiere

Think $$$...if the organizers don't have some balancing the series costs would quickly sprial out of control.....I think they are all scared Porsche will build another 962 and wipe the floor with everyone else.

stuttgart46

The Vette's braking and handling seems to have finally caught up with their straight line handling. It wasn't so long ago that Porsche could catch the Vette in the corner under hard braking or a twisty bit. Now, not so much. GM/Chevy has stepped up their game and surpassed Porsche IMHO. Same with Ferrari. They used to not be around much at the end but their reliability has increased dramatically over the last few years. Porsche needs to step it up. They have rested on their laurels long enough.
We can sit here and blame politics all we want but as long as there has been racing, there has been politics involved. Didn't seem to effect those 16 overall victories at LeMans or the multiple GT victories from the past.

J richard

Look at the mid nineties and the GT1, mclaren F1 and Mercedes, all of which pushed the Gt car to near prototype levels. The costs were incredible, the reason it all stopped in subsequent years. I'd did however make for a more pure GT2 class where the cars were more factory delivered platforms.

I think now you see the leveling of the field that results in some cars dropping suddenly and the working their way back up as they work around it and as the restrictions are rebalanced. You saw that with the BMWs not so much with the vettes interestingly...

Would be fun to lift all the restrictions and see how they run...