Ford- LM, LMES & ALMS
Discussion
What with all the hoo-ha at Ford & Jaguar of recent, the closure of Brown's Lane, the withdrawal from F1 & WRC, isn't it about time Fomoco maybe considered getting that new GT on the track, and getting back some of the glory they had in the past......if nothing else, it would make their potential competitors wake up a little.
Then of course there's Jaguar, whose heyday & best perfomances have been achieved in sportscar racing.
Add a couple of new venues for ALMS & LMES, the new Audi R9 onto the grid, against the LMP's such as the Zytec etc etc Mazda, a new Porsche & the Maseratti (plus maybe a couple of other major manufacturers).......makes for an interesting & potentially irresistable 2005 sportscar season methinks....
Nothing more than a thought, that's all.
Then of course there's Jaguar, whose heyday & best perfomances have been achieved in sportscar racing.
Add a couple of new venues for ALMS & LMES, the new Audi R9 onto the grid, against the LMP's such as the Zytec etc etc Mazda, a new Porsche & the Maseratti (plus maybe a couple of other major manufacturers).......makes for an interesting & potentially irresistable 2005 sportscar season methinks....
Nothing more than a thought, that's all.
Bit of a quandry for Ford really...
Ford GT - great replay of history but no Ferraris to beat (great strategy by Luca here don't p**s Bernie off by participating in his least loved form of motorsport but enter an Enzo with ugly bits & a Maserati badge)
Jaguar - blew it by wasting the sportscar heritage on F1. To create a new car would be too expensive, to do a Luca (i.e. bolt some ugly bits on a GT and call it a Jaguar) too much like painting a Stewart F1 green and calling it a Jaguar (at least theres no scope in F1 regs to bolt something ugly on!)
Aston Martin - got heritage, making great cars now. Still seem by the majority of the public at British through & through (unlike Bentley)...
Ummm...perhaps not a quandry at all. Low cost (to Ford top brass), low risk strategy.
I, for one, can't wait to see the Aston's in action - hopefully against the MC12, 575s, C6Rs and all.
2005 should be a cracking season and let's all get behind LMES - its the only way people will see sportscar racing as it should be i.e. 6 hours and more rather the FIA GT series - a sprint top and tailed by saloon cars and single seaters.
Ford GT - great replay of history but no Ferraris to beat (great strategy by Luca here don't p**s Bernie off by participating in his least loved form of motorsport but enter an Enzo with ugly bits & a Maserati badge)
Jaguar - blew it by wasting the sportscar heritage on F1. To create a new car would be too expensive, to do a Luca (i.e. bolt some ugly bits on a GT and call it a Jaguar) too much like painting a Stewart F1 green and calling it a Jaguar (at least theres no scope in F1 regs to bolt something ugly on!)
Aston Martin - got heritage, making great cars now. Still seem by the majority of the public at British through & through (unlike Bentley)...
Ummm...perhaps not a quandry at all. Low cost (to Ford top brass), low risk strategy.
I, for one, can't wait to see the Aston's in action - hopefully against the MC12, 575s, C6Rs and all.
2005 should be a cracking season and let's all get behind LMES - its the only way people will see sportscar racing as it should be i.e. 6 hours and more rather the FIA GT series - a sprint top and tailed by saloon cars and single seaters.
Looks like the MC12 will be too wide for the ACO regs, and won't be homologated in time for LM....shame because it would have given the Vette's a good run, and shown the Ferrari's a thing or two.
Don't expect Ford to stum up any cash for the DBR9 development either, it's a Prodrive only deal (so I suggest we'll only see it at LM, Silverstone & 1 ALMS round (maybe Sebring)- testing starts in December so hopefully it should run well, with enough time prior to LM to prove a suitable contender at La Sarthe. I know who I'll be shouting for if that's the case......!
Some interesting developments on the LMP1 classification though.....especially IF the Audi R9 comes forth, and shows relability against the privateer R8's. Hopefully the Zytec will be more reliable this year though, and give them all something to worry about.
Don't expect Ford to stum up any cash for the DBR9 development either, it's a Prodrive only deal (so I suggest we'll only see it at LM, Silverstone & 1 ALMS round (maybe Sebring)- testing starts in December so hopefully it should run well, with enough time prior to LM to prove a suitable contender at La Sarthe. I know who I'll be shouting for if that's the case......!
Some interesting developments on the LMP1 classification though.....especially IF the Audi R9 comes forth, and shows relability against the privateer R8's. Hopefully the Zytec will be more reliable this year though, and give them all something to worry about.
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