New RSR tightning the noose around Ford GT...

[Tilikum Turbo]

This years Daytona should be an epic race in the GTLM ranks.

Porsche's new RSR in its first race is right there with the Ford GT, and with every practice session, keeps getting faster. Practice session 4 today, and something like
.05 seconds separates them.

Porsche also has the advantage of having much more wiggle room in terms of development, whereas the Ford(like any product from cradle to grave) has less options as a function of age. Once you pick the low hanging fruit at the onset of development, advances going upward become harder and harder to obtain.

I'm chomping at the bit to see tomorrows race!

[pwd72s]

Endurance racing is known for it's sandbagging. The real test begins tomorrow. No predictions on my part.

[BK911]

We used to take about half the throttle away during qualifying and still get 1 and 2 on the gt grid.
Couldn't trust the drivers to chill so we had to help them.

[URY914]

It was 4 Fords against 2 P-cars. This was very early in the race, shot it from the pits.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Close but not quite enough, though 2nd isn't bad. I though the RSR would reel in the GT in the last 10 minutes but the car seemed to fade in the final laps, very nearly falling prey to the 458 and falling to 3rd. Good racing though!

[umgang]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Close but not quite enough, though 2nd isn't bad. I though the RSR would reel in the GT in the last 10 minutes but the car seemed to fade in the final laps, very nearly falling prey to the 458 and falling to 3rd. Good racing though!

Patrik Pilet in the 2nd pl GTLM 911 said his tires were shot at the end. That is why you saw the Ford GT suddenly pull away at the last minutes. He said at that point he needed to keep Ferrari behind him- they came in .09 seconds behind the 911.

Those Ford GTs are awesome cars and they, Ferrari are way quicker in flat out speed than the RSR.
The sanctioning body needs to give Porsche some allowances in weight reduction for that disparity.

Awesome race though.
Porsche took first in class in GTD too.

[Adrian Thompson]

Originally Posted by umgang

The sanctioning body needs to give Porsche some allowances in weight reduction for that disparity.

I don't see that happening. Fastest race laps for the top 4 cars were:

Ford GT 1:43.522
Porsche 911 RSR 1:43.964 (+0.442)
Ferrari 488 GTE 1:43.654 (+0.132)
Chevrolet Corvette 1:43.979 (+0.457)

And the fastest race lap by each Marque were:
Ford GT 1:43.385
Ferrari 488 GTE 1:43.654 (+0.269)
Porsche 911 RSR 1:43.964 (+0.579)
Chevrolet Corvette 1:43.979 (+0.594)
BMW M6 GTLM 1:44.247 (+0.862)

Considering the Porsche and BMW are both fresh out of the box chassis while the Ford and Ferrari both have a year of development under their belts I'd say it's pretty damn close. The top seven cars were covered by 7 seconds after 24 hours with Ford, Porsche, Ferrari and Chevrolet in the mix I'd say things were spot on. Listening to the last couple of hours on Radio LeMans was intense. There were numerous passes for the lead on track as well as the pits. It could have gone to any of those 4 manufacturers and anyone of them would have deserved it. It was a stunning race for three of the four classes, only PC was a bit of a let down in the end.

[Deschodt]

Porsche guy here, but that pic of the winning car is stunning.
I always loved the looks of a dirty damaged tired race car... (and the ass end of the RSR looks like the rear bumper fell off)

[onewhippedpuppy]

Totally agree that the GT is a stunning capable car, and that the racing was awesome in the last 10 minutes.

[URY914]

Here is a couple of looks of it under the skin.

[URY914]

[DaveE]

Have Ford actually delivered a street car yet? This may date me but I remember when you had to have production vehicles to race in GT. This is their 2nd year at Daytona.

[URY914]

Here is a pic of a 911 with a rear trunk.

[URY914]

Her is the flat bottom tray of the 911. What do you think that piece of carbon fiber is worth?

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by DaveE

Have Ford actually delivered a street car yet? This may date me but I remember when you had to have production vehicles to race in GT. This is their 2nd year at Daytona.

This is why I don't really pay attention to the GT class at the moment. Its a prototype in a production based class, doesn't belong.

Porsche's some what gotten on board after the Ford GT debacle last year, now the 911 has the engine in front of the rear axle.

A rename of the class is in order perhaps, or something to re-write the rules back to production cars.

[David]

I was surprised when I heard the Ford GT was running the intercooler piping thru the buttress but I'm more suprised that they run it on the outside edge of the body. Seems like it would be prone to get crushed during a bump with another car.

Deliveries started in December.