[macdude357]

Wow,

The BMW's had a rough time at Laguna Seca over the weekend. One of the Turner cars managed a 3rd place in GTD but the GTLM cars didn't show well at all. Bummer because I thought the M6 would be able to stretch it's legs a bit vs the tight confines of Long Beach.

[Gabe@TAG]

Interesting you say that. I find that Laguna has much shorter straight segments than Long Beach does.

[macdude357]

yeah, Maybe "stretch it's legs" wasn't correct. I was referring to the comment that commentators made about the M6's size vs. the closer quarters at Long Beach.

[chillindrdude]

Think it was a wheelbase issue? The commentators and Auberlein said it was a Michelin tire compound issue. But damn, they got hosed.

[macdude357]

Originally Posted by chillindrdude

Think it was a wheelbase issue? The commentators and Auberlein said it was a Michelin tire compound issue. But damn, they got hosed.

No, kinda the opposite. I thought the wheelbase would be a non-issue at Laguna Seca (and it seems it was) so I thought they'd place better but they got bit by the tire compound issue. Although I thought Auberlein said they changed compounds during his stint (to what, I'm not sure) and they still got caught and passed by the #4 Corvette when the #4 had a drive though penalty.

[bradleyland]

The team sounds a little demoralized. Looks like it's going to be a learning year for BMW RLL. Hopefully they can turn it around and make the M6 a winner in GTLM.

http://rahal.com/uscc-news/bmw-team-...rix-post-race/

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by macdude357

Wow,

The BMW's had a rough time at Laguna Seca over the weekend. One of the Turner cars managed a 3rd place in GTD but the GTLM cars didn't show well at all. Bummer because I thought the M6 would be able to stretch it's legs a bit vs the tight confines of Long Beach.

Where'd you get the info about a 3rd place finish for Turner? The provisional results show the #96 5th and #97 12th in GTD. Not a bad day, but would have been great to see them in 3rd. The #97 car is 4th in the team points standings though!

[macdude357]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

Where'd you get the info about a 3rd place finish for Turner? The provisional results show the #96 5th and #97 12th in GTD. Not a bad day, but would have been great to see them in 3rd. The #97 car is 4th in the team points standings though!

I was watching the race and the last time I looked they were running in 3rd. Guess I didn't pay enough attention to the end.

[DieGrüneHölle]

GTLM were running new Michelins that will be used at 24hr Le Mans, so teams that will be traveling to 24hrs can get some experience on the tires. Same tires they run in WEC series. They are designed for double and triple stints at Le Mans, so a very hard compound. Drivers said it felt like driving on ice at Laguna Seca. Teams like Ford, Porsche, and Ferrari probably have some setup info from their sister teams in WEC.

Congrats to Ford getting their first win with the Ford GT program.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by macdude357

I was watching the race and the last time I looked they were running in 3rd. Guess I didn't pay enough attention to the end.

I made that same mistake at Long Beach. I saw #25 cross the finish line after the #912 Porsche and got all excited. We were a lap down though

[gunnersfan10]

While BMW didn't fare too well I was excited to see the Ford GT get it's first win. "Murica!

I agree that the Ford/Ferrari/Porsche teams probably benefitted from the WEC knowledge about the tires.

[bradleyland]

I have to say, I'm pretty excited for Ford as well. This was the first race where the Ford GTs didn't have any significant gremlins. Of course, this was a sprint race. Let's see if they can keep the door latches working for 24 hours at Circuit de la Sarthe

[RSBro]

Originally Posted by macdude357

I was watching the race and the last time I looked they were running in 3rd. Guess I didn't pay enough attention to the end.

Same here- the BMW I think ran short on fuel and ended up in 5th...

[RSBro]

Originally Posted by gunnersfan10

While BMW didn't fare too well I was excited to see the Ford GT get it's first win. "Murica!

I agree that the Ford/Ferrari/Porsche teams probably benefitted from the WEC knowledge about the tires.

I was watching the WEC-SPA race this weekend and they were talking about how Ford is probably holding back in both IMSA and WEC so they don't get any significant BoP adjustments before Le Mans. I think it was maybe John Hindhaugh (sp?) that said Ford wants to be #1, #2, #3, and #4 positions in GTE-Pro after the first hour to get that headline and if they win too, that would be awesome. Kind of agree with him. It's a hard choice between listening to John or Varsha for WEC races. Both guys are solid.

I thought I read McLaren was rumored to go back to Le Mans in GTE this year but obviously that didn't happen. I'm not sure why, as the 650S seems to be very much up to pace this year. Sad there's so many in PWC yet nobody in IMSA or WEC has chosen to run that platform (yet).

[gunnersfan10]

Originally Posted by RSBro

I was watching the WEC-SPA race this weekend and they were talking about how Ford is probably holding back in both IMSA and WEC so they don't get any significant BoP adjustments before Le Mans. I think it was maybe John Hindhaugh (sp?) that said Ford wants to be #1, #2, #3, and #4 positions in GTE-Pro after the first hour to get that headline and if they win too, that would be awesome. Kind of agree with him. It's a hard choice between listening to John or Varsha for WEC races. Both guys are solid.

I thought I read McLaren was rumored to go back to Le Mans in GTE this year but obviously that didn't happen. I'm not sure why, as the 650S seems to be very much up to pace this year. Sad there's so many in PWC yet nobody in IMSA or WEC has chosen to run that platform (yet).

I would love to see Mclaren get into the Weathertech series. I love seeing all of the different makes compete with each other and the organizers really have done a great job making it competitive across the board. I would be surprised if Ford was sandbagging, Lamborghini got busted for that at Daytona, with all the telematry that the organizers have access to it would be hard to pull it off. I think the GT's are the quickest cars out there but they seem to have had alot of teething problems with the platform(which is totally expected in a 1st year car). I'm looking forward to seeing how they do at LeMans where they can use their speed/aero advantages.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by gunnersfan10

I would love to see Mclaren get into the Weathertech series. I love seeing all of the different makes compete with each other and the organizers really have done a great job making it competitive across the board. I would be surprised if Ford was sandbagging, Lamborghini got busted for that at Daytona, with all the telematry that the organizers have access to it would be hard to pull it off. I think the GT's are the quickest cars out there but they seem to have had alot of teething problems with the platform(which is totally expected in a 1st year car). I'm looking forward to seeing how they do at LeMans where they can use their speed/aero advantages.

Yeah, with the on-board telemetry stuff IMSA implemented, it's tough to play some of the old games. It's not impossible that the Ford GTs have been sandbagging a bit though. They'd just have to be consistently sandbagging all the way up to Le Mans.

[RSBro]

Originally Posted by gunnersfan10

I would love to see Mclaren get into the Weathertech series. I love seeing all of the different makes compete with each other and the organizers really have done a great job making it competitive across the board. I would be surprised if Ford was sandbagging, Lamborghini got busted for that at Daytona, with all the telematry that the organizers have access to it would be hard to pull it off. I think the GT's are the quickest cars out there but they seem to have had alot of teething problems with the platform(which is totally expected in a 1st year car). I'm looking forward to seeing how they do at LeMans where they can use their speed/aero advantages.

That's a good point I hadn't thought about. They're about middle of the pack in WEC as well, which is why I think John made that comment. I'm not sure if WEC is as observant as IMSA about that stuff. But Le Mans is definitely going to suit their design no doubt. It's smart they're bringing all 4 cars, because from the way things have looked so far this season, they'll be lucky to get one home by race-end.
I'm predicting a Ferrari 488 win though. That car is impossibly fast this season and since it's a Ferrari, it just 'works'. Those Fezza customer teams really have their stuff together. I mean AF Corse runs in pretty much every series on the globe AND wins. Aston Martin are my favorite WEC team but they are running on new Dunlops this year and just are way off the pace.

[RSBro]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

Yeah, with the on-board telemetry stuff IMSA implemented, it's tough to play some of the old games. It's not impossible that the Ford GTs have been sandbagging a bit though. They'd just have to be consistently sandbagging all the way up to Le Mans.

And even then, they'd get a BoP at the official testing before the race too, I believe. Who knows. Their reliability is just too much up in the air to feel good about their chances for a class win.