Rolex 24 hour starts today

[Rooster]

For those interested in taking a peak at the Rolex 24 when they can.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports ... dule-2018/

[73emgee]

This will be a great cure for Winter cabin fever, looking forward to seeing 1:1 racing again.

[bigman]

Guys
:text-goodpost: If you have cabin fever :angry-tappingfoot: :text-bravo:
This will make you feel way better. :banana-dance: :banana-dance: :banana-dance:
GREAT LOOKING CARS :clap: and lots of Sports Car Fans :o 8-) :clap: :drool: watching the Great Race.

bigman :flags-waveusa: BIG Fan of any type of Racing. :clap: :auto-driving: :auto-checkeredflag: :auto-driving:

[Racer944]

Absolutely great racing!! Go Wayne Taylor Racing in Prototype, go Chip Ganasi Ford in GTLM (or Porsche), and go Will Turner BMW in GTD!

Sports car racing... there is no substitute! :-)

Eric

[Modlerbob]

As I have been for the last six years I was at the race. This year was very comfortable, daytime temperatures in the mid 70s while it just dipped down into the low 60s at night. The wind was blowing hard enough for the flags to be straight out most of the time and for the most part there was a light overcast. There was a short but intense rain shower at about 8 PM. Even though it was comfortable the extreme noise caused me to leave around midnight plus my dog was home alone. A friend had dropped by around 5 PM to take her outside and make sure her food and water bowls were full. Next year she will be 6 years old and I might just take her with me.

With all the rules regulating performance, even that during pit stops, the competition was very close. The top two or three cars in all three classes ended the race on the same lap. Years ago the lead cars might have been 20-30 laps apart. These cars are also very reliable not having to spend hours in the pits. I think this reliability has trickled into the population of street cars.

Prior to the race there was a parade of winners of the race from past years which was fun to watch. Right at the start the Lola T70 of Dan Gurney from another historic race lead the field around the course.

My favorite new car in the race was the new BMW M-8. I sure hope that Scalextric produces this one in 1/32 scale. And finally the lamborghini Huracan won its class at a major race. WTG Lamborghini.

[Racie35]

Those Ford Gt's put spank on them boys. Makes me want that Carrera offering :music-rockout:

[Modlerbob]

I wouldn't exactly call winning by approximately a minute after 24 hours as spanking the competition. But they were impressive. The Corvettes did win one competition. They were, in my estimation, the loudest cars on the track.

[RBPhillips]

Thanks for starting this thread, Rooster! I checked in when not doing weekend chores and ended up watching quite a lot of it. It's healthy to get out of my 60s nostalgia rut and start thinking about today's endurance racing!

[buspor63]

[Racie35]

[chappy]

Right you are Bob the Corvettes were the loudest in the field, even at Lemans when the Ford GT made its comeback in 2016. The Euro cars were much quieter and the LMP cars were too.
I always knew when the Corvettes were coming. Loud for sure, but still a beautiful car.
The Fords were a bit quiet quieter. It seemed the American Iron was roaring power while the Euro cars were built differently and ran with a lot less noise.
But it was very close racing. Which was exciting to see.
Bob

[Modlerbob]

[chappyman66]

IMSA added a balance of performance penalty for pit work too. The leading GTD car was held for 5 minutes (2.5 laps) for refueling too quickly. Apparently their hose was shorter.
Nothing to do with the car or driving infractions. So they are attempting to even things up and it may be a very different story at LeMans.

We handicap our races to allow slower cars/drivers have a chance....IMSA is doing the same thing.

[Racie35]

Staying on the same lap is easy when you're being toyed with. Those Fords weren't trying to go faster.
Reminded me of the 123 for Ford at lemans in 1966...photo op for sure.

[Modlerbob]

It's called trying to keep from breaking down. I doubt that anyone on the Ford team had any thoughts of teasing the Vettes. If it were my team I'd calculate that at least a 10 lap lead would be comfortable. Especially the way some teams were blowing right rear tires.