Merger of ALMS and Grand Am

[boba]

Braking news - ALMS and Grand Am to merge.

More info coming with Wed announcement.

[911dean]

Probably a good idea. The Grand Am field was really small at RoAd America.

Dean

[5:04]

As long as they go by ALMS rules I have no complaints.

[DaddyGlenn]

Originally Posted by 5:04

as long as they go by alms rules i have no complaints.

+1

[jackb911]

I'm all for this as well. The U.S. fanbase for GT racing unfortunately isn't large enough to support two series, IMO.

I miss the old IMSA days. THAT was real racing with real cars.

[Flieger]

I like ALMS but they are a little too quick to penalize drivers for racing incidents. Grand-Am should fix that.

I just really hope they get rid of those stupid DP cars.

[tmsautoart]

Sweet!....I think....

Flieger, the DP cars were finally coming around. I know what you mean though. The first few years they were hideous looking, but the last 2 they have made some great advancements both in the mechanics and the visuals. I hate to say it, but the Corvettes looked pretty good this year.....and I hate Corvettes. (Even though its getting harder to hate them. Everytime I see a Z06, I say "Geez I wish that was a different car because its freaking amazing looking")

[Flieger]

The "Corvettes" look alright but I like prototypes better. Not spec stuff. For me it is about the cars. That was always the big division -- GA was about the drivers and ALMS was about the cars.

[boba]

Originally Posted by Flieger

-- GA was about the drivers and ALMS was about the cars.

Not to disagree but a bit of a different perspective, as a former GA team owner, GA was focused around the privateer entrants and ALMS was focused on the manufacturer.

There is a lot that that implies not the least is the manufacturer decision to continue to participate year over year. GT1 went away when no one wanted to play and Corvette got empty wins. ALMS is seeing it again in LMP1.

[tmsautoart]

Originally Posted by boba

Not to disagree but a bit of a different perspective, as a former GA team owner, GA was focused around the privateer entrants and ALMS was focused on the manufacturer.

There is a lot that that implies not the least is the manufacturer decision to continue to participate year over year. GT1 went away when no one wanted to play and Corvette got empty wins. ALMS is seeing it again in LMP1.

Bob, whats your take on this? My initial thought was that this is possibly a good thing, especially for GA.

[boba]

Originally Posted by tmsautoart

Bob, whats your take on this? My initial thought was that this is possibly a good thing, especially for GA.

I am hopeful that this will be good for the race fans and the teams. The market for sports car racing is not big enough to support two series. The idea of having Daytona and Sebring on the same schedule again, just seems so right. It will be interesting to see how the classes get sorted. One thing, when the manufacturers only have one set of rules for the GT cars it will be easier for them to support the teams. The prototype classes we will have to see. IMSA was able to manage the politics for a period and we had some of the best racing ever.

[tmsautoart]

Originally Posted by boba

I am hopeful that this will be good for the race fans and the teams. The market for sports car racing is not big enough to support two series. The idea of having Daytona and Sebring on the same schedule again, just seems so right. It will be interesting to see how the classes get sorted. One thing, when the manufacturers only have one set of rules for the GT cars it will be easier for them to support the teams. The prototype classes we will have to see. IMSA was able to manage the politics for a period and we had some of the best racing ever.

Agreed! In my perfect world, sports car racing would be bigger than NASCAR in the US. For the life of me I will never understand the draw of NASCAR over any other type of racing. I think with this merger, maybe a side effect will be the chance of having a bit more exposure in the media and drawing in some new fans. Remember when IMSA and F1 were shown on Wide World of Sports and other major networks? I remember ESPN and TNN showing sports car racing in the early 80's. What happened?

[911 in SC]

I personally have always loved the way ALMS ran their series as opposed to GA. Definitely a personal choice. I may have had a different opinion had GA come to Road Atlanta. Of course, with Don Panoz owning RAn, among others, that wasn't going to happen. Maybe with the merge, I'll have the opportunity to watch former GA cars at my 'home' track.

[69-912-swt]

Hard to believe that GrandAm is now going to own Sebring Raceway, Road Atlanta and any other assets of ALMS racing. I hope they keep the emergency staff of ALMS as the traveling team. I have attended both ALMS events and GrandAm events. I'm hoping for them to have a four classes. LMP2, DP, GT and GT2. Two classes from each series. Will learn more at Wednesday's press conference

[DaddyGlenn]

Originally Posted by 69-912-swt

Hard to believe that GrandAm is now going to own Sebring Raceway, Road Atlanta and any other assets of ALMS racing. ...{snip}

GrandAm is a sanctioning body. It is not likely to acquire race tracks. IF tracks were to be purchased, that would be its sister company, International Speedway Corporation. but given the poor attendance since 2009, I don't see ISC buying much of anything except its own stock. (to buoy the stock price)

[RichardNew]

ALMS does not own Sebring. They lease it.

Richard Newton
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[NOLAsc]

The link at alms.com: Welcome to the Future of Sports Car Racing! | American Le Mans Series

[javadog]

If you liked the prototypes that were raced in the ALMS, liked the ties to the international series and the occasional trip across the pond by the big boys in Europe, and if you hated the Daytona prototypes...

...then I think you are not going to like 2014.

They can call this what they want but it isn't a merger.

JR

[wayner]

Found this:

"Questions remain over the exact class structure of the unified series. Atherton confirmed he expects ALMS GT category to be included, but Panoz has essentially ruled out the top-tier P1 class from being in the show. It’s expected both of GRAND-AM’s Daytona Prototype and GT categories will also continue."

LE MANS: ACO Supports GRAND-AM, ALMS Merger

[jackb911]

One thing I prefer about GrandAm is that there aren't a plethora of classes as in ALMS.

IMO, three classes would be the magic number...like IMSA did it so successfully when sports car racing was fun to watch. I'd love to see:

Prototype = rules in accordance with what USA spectators will accept, not freaking diesels! We don't need the ACO or LeMans.

GTP = GT's > 5 liters or any GT car with non-factory tube chassis.

GT = production based GT cars (no tube frame funny cars) under 5 liters

Regarding Porsches, let the Cup GT3's run F1 support races or SCCA/POC/PCA club events. The GT3 RSR should be in a first-tier US pro racing series.

Just my opinion as a 40+ year fan of sports car racing...