United Sports Car Championship (USCC)

Nathan · Nov 5, 2013

Ford confirms it will supply Ganassi Racing in Tudor United SportsCar Championship

Multitime Grand-Am championship winning team will switch from BMW to the Blue Oval

Read more: Ganassi switches to Ford for United SportsCar Championship - Autoweek Racing United SportsCar Championship news - Autoweek

Steve · Nov 7, 2013

Racer put up a long(ish) Q&A article, Marshall Pruett interviewing TUSCC CEO Ed Bennett. Looks like part 1 (of 2) in sort of a state of the union (merger).

Click to read the full article.

Here's the snip that interested me (page 3):

MP: We've come out of the past few week with a fair amount of questions, a lot of strong opinions, some controversy, and that's left us with some less savory items to discuss. Indecision seems to be the state of the union within the Prototype class right now. Most owners I've spoken with are hesitant to make serious commitments, aren't sure which type of car is going to have an advantage, are concerned about costs, and so on. How do you get things to a calmer place within that portion of the paddock?

EB: We certainly don't celebrate the challenges. Any time you're changing the paradigm… and it's not to be flippant about it, but you're going to have some issues. It's just part of change.

I think the timing of the DP technical specifications, if that would be something you could do this over again, no question, you would love to expedite that. We went through the process of getting out a draft, got a lot of good input. I think generally people are comfortable with the direction and where that's landed.

The timeline is a challenge – I can't say that it's not. We certainly don't relish the incremental investment that's attached to upgrading the performance of those cars. But it was also necessary. It depends who you talk to, honestly, in terms of people understanding why we had to increase the performance. Some people want to believe that it needed to be increased because of getting to the performance level of P2, particularly at the smaller, windier tracks because of the downforce that it has. And it really had little to do with that, everything to do with if the Prototype class is going to be the top performance class of the four classes, then the Daytona Prototypes have to perform at a level higher than the GTLM and LMPC cars.

And that was the first issue. And then secondary to that, once you have performance levels that are above that, then it's doing the best job you can to balance DP and P2. But in my mind, and I'm not a technical guy, but that's the way I've always thought about it. Some have gotten hung up on: well, why don't you just slow down the P2s? There aren't that many P2s and why should we have to upgrade for a handful of P2s? I've heard all the stuff. And that's not the reason that you have to increase the performance. The reason you have to do it is because you need, whatever it is, a 6 percent-ish gap between GTLM, LMPC and the top prototype class. And then after you do that, you do the best job you can to come to balance two very different designs of cars between the DP and the P2.

I think right out of the gate, like in GT, there's different shapes, different sizes, we're going to do it to the best of our ability but it won't be perfect because they're just different cars. I think in some cases the DP will perform better, given the nature and the characteristics of the track. And in some cases the P2 will. That won't be by design; it'll just be because it kind of happened. But our goal would be they're able to race together really well and really close, competition racing. But we can't change the fact that they really are different cars.

One thing we did to try to help the DP guys out and the P2 guys was adding an additional year of life to the chassis. You have to make an investment to upgrade the DP, as an example, but being able to race that design in 2014, ‘15 and ‘16, adding that extra year and not really potentially having a change on prototypes until 2017, not that you can wait till the fourth quarter of 2016 to figure it out, but that gives people three years to amortize those investments. And while the DP guys are having to add some new parts and some new bits, it will be a heck of a racecar I think with all these things that have been made and added.

When you look at the economics of the series to participate in the P class, it's true that the DP's are having to make some changes in aero stuff and some more horsepower and paddle shifts, the different elements – I think you've seen all that – and the P2 guys aren't having to do as much, but the part I think that gets lost is the running time. And the running time is going up for everybody. If you're a Grand-Am guy racing a DP in the Rolex series, you're running time from 2013 to 2014 is up around 25 percent. If you're in the ALMS with the P2, 2013 versus 2014, it's going up over 50 percent.

So the budgets are going up. One's going up I think a little bit more with the capital than operating; the other is going up a little bit on the operating budget. But they're both going up. I'm not saying it's going up dollar for dollar. I know they're not happy it's going up at all but it's the nature of putting together a calendar that has all the endurance racing as a part of it.
Click to expand...

Steve · Nov 17, 2013

Some video from the Sebring test.

Day 1 video is mostly interviews until about 5:45, Day 2 video is just cars on track.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=769AoDlmWa4]RACER: TUSCC Sebring Test November 2013 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_syYsBEdelc]TUSCC: Sebring Test November Day 2 - YouTube[/ame]

Steve · Nov 19, 2013

Interesting insights from the Sebring test.

Page 1 below, full article here.

INSIGHT: Sebring test lessons (Racer.com)

Marshall Pruett | November 18, 2013

Lots to digest from Sebring's two days of testing. (Marshall Pruett photos)

A few major lessons came out of the first-ever TUDOR United SportsCar Championship test at Sebring last weekend. The first was obvious: Despite the high number of brand-new cars (or teams working with cars they were unfamiliar with) in the GT Daytona class, lap times were fairly close and there were no glaring deficiencies among the leading manufacturers in the pro-am category.

Some degree of performance balancing will take place before the TUDOR Championship kicks off its inaugural season at Daytona, but as a whole, none of the GTD cars in attendance were woefully lacking in any major performance area.

The second item, which is a bit more nebulous, involves what we learned about the very first attempts at establishing parity between Daytona Prototypes and P2s. By the numbers, the 2014-spec Action Express Racing Corvette DP, which carried all of the available high-downforce additions and carbon brakes, was significantly faster than the near-2014-spec Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b, which lacked the required low-downforce body kit.

The Corvette DP recorded a best lap that was a full 4.1 seconds better than its P2 counterpart while sharing the track at the same time.

The 1:53.74 set by AXR's Sebastien Bourdais on Sunday was well clear of the 1:57.947 posted by ESM's Ryan Dalziel, but the gap would have been halved, according to the Scot, had they been working from the same testing objectives.

â€œSebring was only meant to be a shakedown for us; we were only going to test at Daytona, but went to Sebring to work out some kinks first,â€ Dalziel told RACER. â€œMore than anything, we were wanting to get the drive-by-wire throttle sorted out and to turn a few laps to make sure everything else was good, so the intention wasn't to go flat out; that's what we have planned for tomorrow and Wednesday.

â€œBut if we'd bolted on a set of sticker tires and really tried to go for it, I'm confident we'd have gotten into the 55's, but with the air restrictor and the weight we're carrying, there's no way we're capable of going any faster than that right now. The biggest thing to remember is this is just the first test for all the performance balancing, so there's no reason to get upset about anything.â€

As Dalziel noted, the 2014 rulebook, along with the respective DP and P2 regulations that are in place for Sebring and the Tuesday/Wednesday Daytona test, is far from being set in stone. Sebring, like Daytona, will provide IMSA rules boss Scot Elkins and his team with data to make necessary adjustments leading into January's Roar Before the 24 test, the final dress rehearsal before the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Within the Prototype class, vehicle weights and horsepower outputs are likely to be the first changes made once testing concludes this week. The 2013-spec DPs weighed a minimum of 2325 pounds (1055 kilos), and that has been decreased by 40 pounds to 2285 (1036 kilos) for 2014, but that figure is expected to be adjusted prior to the final rules being locked into place.

2013-spec P2 cars weighed in at 1984 pounds (900 kilos), and that has been increased to 2116 (960 kilos) for 2014 â€“ at least during the November tests â€“ as a starting point.

Sonic restrictors have been employed for the first time on all TUDOR Championship cars, and with the DPs, an increase in power has been made in concert with the weight loss to keep pace with the P2 cars. An estimated horsepower figure of 625, an increase of 60 or so from 2013, along with a significant spike in torque, said to be up by 90 lb-ft over last year's spec, has given the DPs a noticeable acceleration and top-speed advantage at the moment.

Based on private figures supplied to RACER from pre-2014-spec DP and P2 testing at Sebring, a top P2 speed of 160mph was seen entering Turn 17, while 166mph was reached in the DP. Based on what this writer captured via radar gun, the AXR DP reached a peak of 165mph before braking into Turn 17, while the ESM P2 topped out at 155.9, a difference of 9.1mph.

For the sake of comparison, Pickett Racing's PC car posted a 155.0, Aston Martin Racing's GT Le Mans V8 Vantage reached 154.8 and NGT Motorsport's GT Daytona Porsche GT America recorded a 152.4.
Click to expand...

Steve · Nov 19, 2013

The Daytona test started today. Unfortunate results, at least no one was injured in either incident. Both Corvette DPs...hmmm..... :sosp:

Barbosa Uninjured after Second Airborne Accident at Daytona (sportscar365.com)

by John Dagys | November 19, 2013

Joao Barbosa escaped injury following a second airborne accident of the day at Daytona International Speedway in TUDOR United SportsCar Championship testing.

The Portuguese driverâ€™s No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP suffered a suspected tire puncture in the closing minutes of Tuesdayâ€™s test session on the 3.56-mile oval/road course, sending his Coyote-chassied car around and into the air on the backstretch.

â€œI was on my in lap. I had actually called the team saying Iâ€™m coming in this lap,â€ Barbosa told Sportscar365. â€œJust coming out of NASCAR Turn 2, the
rear tire blew up.

â€œThe car got a little airborne and then I stopped. I didnâ€™t hit anything. I tried to fight the car and I was able to hold it a little bit, then it just spun. When I was going backwards, it blew [out] the door and windshield. It was interesting.â€

Barbosaâ€™s accident was the second of the day involving a tire failure and the car subsequently catching air. Richard Westbrook also escaped injury after his Spirit of Daytona Racing Corvette DP went end-over-end in dramatic fashion.

A Continental Tire spokesperson said the results are so far inconclusive and they are working diligently to pinpoint the issue, which could be a function of the additional load created by the DPs in their upgraded configuration.

The company has used the same P1000 tire compound (formerly DP-I) at Daytona for the past two years without problems.

Prior to the accident, Barbosaâ€™s No. 5 Corvette DP posted the quickest time of the day, a 1:39.645 lap time in the hands of co-driver Christian Fittipaldi.

While Spirit of Daytona has packed up, itâ€™s unclear if AXRâ€™s car could be repaired for tomorrowâ€™s second and final day of testing at DIS, especially due to the current lack of spares for the seriesâ€™ new diffuser and tunnels package.
Click to expand...

Here's the Spirit of Daytona car after its incident.

Nathan · Nov 20, 2013

Ouch, that car is done tore up!

Glad the driver is OK.

mrntd · Nov 20, 2013

We need a new Timmy

Crashton · Nov 20, 2013

Glad the drivers walked away. Yikes!

ScottinBend · Nov 20, 2013

Airborne and race cars should never be used in the same sentence.......

CHKMINI · Nov 20, 2013

Combining these series and trying to adjust weights and power is going to make for some interesting events. I still don't like it?

Steve · Nov 20, 2013

They were both Corvette DPs using all the parts they could get at the time of the new DP aero package. But, like the article above says (page 3, linked in post #104), the full Corvette DP aero package hadn't been in the wind tunnel prior to hitting the track.

After the Sebring test Barbosa said the downforce was biased to the rear and Bordais said of the AXR car "... with the team having to wait for more downforce-generating pieces to add to the front of the Coyote chassis, a few setup compromises had to be made." and "... there's nowhere near the aero we need on the front."

The Corvette DP CoP (Center of Pressure) is rear-biased because they couldn't finish and supply all the new parts (or test them in the wind tunnel) before putting them on the track. They had setup issues at Sebring but at Daytona they use 90-95% of the NASCAR circuit and spend a lot of time at top speed on the high banked turns. Reminds me of the issues F1 had at Indi in 2005 when Michelin cars were having blowouts because they hadn't built tires capable of handling the load/track.

Yes, I'm arm chair quarterbacking here, but I think the short time lines everyone has been complaining about (rightly so) may have finally caused some serious consequences. Imagine the outrage and backlash if someone had been hurt.

minimark · Nov 20, 2013

Just suspended testing.

Those huge rear diffusers trap air under the cars when they spin around at that high speed and toss the car up in the air. Roof flaps like in NASCAR would go far in settling the cars back to earth.... Will be interesting to find why the tires were blowing out in the first place.....

Steve · Nov 20, 2013

minimark said: ↑

Just suspended testing.
Click to expand...

I think that's just for the prototypes. For others, testing continues.

minimark · Nov 20, 2013

Yes.

Steve · Nov 20, 2013

Westbrook says "I Just Canâ€™t Believe That I Walked Away From It" - must have been a crazy incident. Hope to find some video soon.

Apparently that's Darren Turner, happy to see he's ok. Must have stopped his car on track to check on him?

Crashton · Nov 20, 2013

That's a hell of a picture. Apparently Darren Turner is very happy to have found Westbrook alive & well.

Steve · Nov 20, 2013

Speaking of Turner, they switched to a different car this year...

Nathan · Nov 20, 2013

Turner is running the same Z4-GTE that RLL ran last year?

Um no, I was schooled. The RLL car meets the GTE rules, the Turner car is a GT3s version of the Z4.

Crashton · Nov 20, 2013

Man does that wide angle lens shot make that car look odd.

Rally · Nov 20, 2013

The GTEs were brought over strictly for ALMS after the GT3s had been run in Europe for a while. The GTE has a much blockier aero setup as it had to work within the ALMS rules. IMHO, the GT3 is a much sexier car.

Now that USCC has come along, the rules have opened up and allowed the GT3s to come in as well. It'll be interesting to see how the rules handle them as the European version of the GT3s were faster cars compared to the GTE under ALMS regulations.

At the end of last season Rahal and the team were really hoping they'd open up the restrictors on the GTEs because they couldn't keep up on the straights with the rest of the field.

I'm looking forward to next year's season. We'll be out there with BMW again and it'll be great to be able to work along side Turner and some of the other companies now that we're all under one series. Should be a blast.

Here's our article going over the debut of the GTE last year:

Stance Works -The new ALMS BMW Z4 GTE

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