Questions... Questions... Questions

[Hallen]

Originally Posted by John Thawley

Hey... I'm just scratching my head trying to figure out where the hell I was when Chris Dyson suddenly became consistent.

lol, yep, you do have a point.
However, you do see Chris making the full fledged effort to be a pro driver. He might not make a great one or one that would get a ride without owning a team, but he does seem committed.

You really have to wonder about Jon. It seems more like an ego thing for him. But what do I know? I have never met the man so I am just guessing.

I don't understand how some of these "gentlemen" drivers justify their place on the grid. Imagine baseball if the team owner put his son in the lineup. Wow, what an uproar that would cause. It is a self policing thing though and since racing is very expensive and cars on the grid is important, I think we will continue to see this until the funding and sponsors are more readily available to the Pro teams.

[John Thawley]

Originally Posted by Hallen

lol, yep, you do have a point.
However, you do see Chris making the full fledged effort to be a pro driver. He might not make a great one or one that would get a ride without owning a team, but he does seem committed.

You really have to wonder about Jon. It seems more like an ego thing for him. But what do I know? I have never met the man so I am just guessing.

I don't understand how some of these "gentlemen" drivers justify their place on the grid. Imagine baseball if the team owner put his son in the lineup. Wow, what an uproar that would cause. It is a self policing thing though and since racing is very expensive and cars on the grid is important, I think we will continue to see this until the funding and sponsors are more readily available to the Pro teams.

Well, I think gentleman drivers have a long history with sports car racing... and, I think you'll find many people that prefer to see it stay that way.

And... for the record, I have to tell you, Jon is one of the nicest, easiest going guys you'll meet. As a team, their egos are in check and they have a great time. Very family-like environment among their crew... and it doesn't appear to be by accident.

JT

[dysonfan]

Originally Posted by John Thawley

Well, I think gentleman drivers have a long history with sports car racing... and, I think you'll find many people that prefer to see it stay that way.

And... for the record, I have to tell you, Jon is one of the nicest, easiest going guys you'll meet. As a team, their egos are in check and they have a great time. Very family-like environment among their crew... and it doesn't appear to be by accident.

JT

Too bad no one in the "family" can quicken the pace! haha

[dysonfan]

I'd like an opinion on BK. I don't think the drivers at BK are all that bad. I think Devlin has shown he has a decent pace in the past, and though Bonilla is new, he has dominated in other series in the past as well. Is it a case of dated equipment at BK? Until last year, I thought the team was rather small, but was at mosport one night at the oval and saw the team haulers pull in and was surprised they had two haulers for a single car team. Not that, that says anything, but they must have a decent budget. And Especially now with the sponsorship they have. They had decent pace last year at mosport as well. So I'm kind of confused. I really like the team, and just wish they would do a little better.

[apc_monk]

From what I have seen, it seems to be a decent chassis and engine. I have heard that they are running some pretty high amounts of boost so I am not sure how much power is left to be gained. Also the DI system may not be ironed out yet. If you look across the pond Kruse Schiller Motorsport is running the same Lola-Mazda package. They ran decent at Monza. Not RS Spyder level but running with the other P2's quite well for not having the chassis to long.
I wish Mazda would have stuck with the rotary though.

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by dysonfan

I'd like an opinion on BK. I don't think the drivers at BK are all that bad. I think Devlin has shown he has a decent pace in the past, and though Bonilla is new, he has dominated in other series in the past as well. Is it a case of dated equipment at BK? Until last year, I thought the team was rather small, but was at mosport one night at the oval and saw the team haulers pull in and was surprised they had two haulers for a single car team. Not that, that says anything, but they must have a decent budget. And Especially now with the sponsorship they have. They had decent pace last year at mosport as well. So I'm kind of confused. I really like the team, and just wish they would do a little better.

While I understand your desire for them to do better it seems rather inequitable to compare them with the results of an LMS P-2 team. B-K runs in the ALMS where the only other competition in P-2 are 4 Spyders and 3 Acura's (now 4) most of which are either 'works', 'semi-works' or arguably one of the best privateer teams in Sports Car racing. I think in the latter half of last year and so far this year we have seen improvement and glimpses of competitiveness in P-2 from them. I just hope they stay the course and continue to improve!

When I see things like this my mind goes back to this quote from Creation at about the time of the race at Interlagos last Nov. after Creation had just made the sweep through the States on their way to Brazil;

The level of the ALMS has gone up a quantum since 2006 and it is tough to keep up. Our gap to the front runners was disappointing although our inability to make effective use of softer rubber was a contributing factor--particularly at laguna.

Comparisons between the two series are difficult as the nature of the circuits are in some cases polar opposites: Monza vs St Pete. The races are also longer--setting a premium on reliability. It is clear, however, that many of the ALMS LMP2 grid would harass/outpace LMS Petrol P1s on most of the circuits bar Monza--even in full ACO 2008 spec. It just shows how much work needs to be done on this side of the pond.

[Audifan]

No chance that Ferrari enters a prototype in the near future...As long as they are successful in F1, they wont put money in any other projects...MAYBE, BMW would be back if they cut off the F1 b/c they havent been that great...But not Ferrari...