Explane this

[Hawkeye]

OK, so the Corvettes are going to run in the Le Mans Evo Prototype class, and Corvette Racing is going green in the American Le Mans series (ALMS), Then why is there only one, rather non competitive, Corvette entered in the Rolex 24 hr of Daytona, and that by Team Sahlen.

This is a "Grand Am" GT class dominated by Porsche GT 3 cup cars. Are there rules that limit favour the porsches and limit the performance of Corvettes?

Hawkeye

[Guest 7]

OK, so the Corvettes are going to run in the Le Mans Evo Prototype class, and Corvette Racing is going green in the American Le Mans series (ALMS), Then why is there only one, rather non competitive, Corvette entered in the Rolex 24 hr of Daytona, and that by Team Sahlen.

This is a "Grand Am" GT class dominated by Porsche GT 3 cup cars. Are there rules that limit favour the porsches and limit the performance of Corvettes?

Hawkeye

I thought the same thing. Where are all the vette's? <_<

[Robert and Elizabeth]

OK, so the Corvettes are going to run in the Le Mans Evo Prototype class, and Corvette Racing is going green in the American Le Mans series (ALMS), Then why is there only one, rather non competitive, Corvette entered in the Rolex 24 hr of Daytona, and that by Team Sahlen.

This is a "Grand Am" GT class dominated by Porsche GT 3 cup cars. Are there rules that limit favour the porsches and limit the performance of Corvettes?

Hawkeye

I thought the same thing. Where are all the vette's? <_<

[MOTV8]

I'm plagerizing some, but here's my two copper....

Dude, it's a Porsche race at the Rolex every year! Hell, Daytona's practically been co-opted by Porsche, with the Rennsport Reunion being held for the second time there last year.

GT3 Cup cars practically own the GT field, like 28 of the 40-odd GT field are GT3 Cup cars, and there are about six Porsche-engined cars in DP. Some of the GT3s will even beat some of the Daytona Pro-turtles.

Not much Corvette action at the Rolex since the C6R or whatever factory Corvette racecar that's current doesn't run there anymore. Only five 'vettes made the results last year, highest finish was 21st in GT class and 42nd overall for the #43 Corvette driven by Joe Sahlen. And yes, rules are different for Riley-prepped C6's and Pratt & Miller prepped ALMS C6R's.

Interestingly, the Ferrari 430 Challenge car has been beating Porsche the last season, but I doubt the single 430 in the race will do much.

[Hawkeye]

I'm plagerizing some, but here's my two copper....

Dude, it's a Porsche race at the Rolex every year! Hell, Daytona's practically been co-opted by Porsche, with the Rennsport Reunion being held for the second time there last year.

GT3 Cup cars practically own the GT field, like 28 of the 40-odd GT field are GT3 Cup cars, and there are about six Porsche-engined cars in DP. Some of the GT3s will even beat some of the Daytona Pro-turtles.

.........................

Dude????????

Porsche has had some relationship with Daytona since the first Road Race of Champions--way back-- when Porsche 911s were the first spec car of that series. Now I'm not sure if that is the case. I am more inclined to believe that the Grand Am series has a close tie with Porsche and the rules favour that make, and obviously the Mazda RX-8s.

I was really looking for a some what more technical answer. Such as ---are the corvettes penalized by weight, engine size, etc. ? Any thoughts on that?

Hawkeye

[MOTV8]

Dude...

In the past, two or three different classes for production-based cars were included in the Rolex 24 field, but for 2005 the rules were changed to include only one GT class with the rules tailored for different types of production cars to compete equally. The only rules I've located are from 2005:

• Solid roof and roll cage

• Rolex Series homologated bodywork

• Aerodynamic wing

• 18 x 12-inch wheel diameter and width

• Working headlights and brake lights

• Six-speed transmission

• 6.0-liter maximum engine displacement

• Weight: 1,850 to 2,650 lbs., depending on engine size

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup will continue to be the most prevalent entry in the GT class. The BMW M3s and Ferrari 360s have provided the main competition for the Porsches the past few years, and the GT rule changes last year were intended to attract more entries from different manufacturers. The Pontiac GTO.R debuted during the 2005 season, and the cars were very fast during the official Rolex 24 test at the beginning of January. Now we have the Mazda.

So... I don't know what exactly it is about the current weight/power formula that hinders 'vettes, but there obviously is something allowing little rotary-powered MX8's and GT3's run so well. Also, remember, this format is one of the only ones in the world where Joe-blow amateur (Mr. only Corvette entered) can and does race against full blown factory efforts and world class drivers. No factory Corvette effort, no hot-shoe drivers. Sorry, can't help you any further....I'm not a professional racer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Hope that helps some.

[Hawkeye]

Dude...

In the past, two or three different classes for production-based cars were included in the Rolex 24 field, but for 2005 the rules were changed to include only one GT class with the rules tailored for different types of production cars to compete equally. The only rules I've located are from 2005:

• Solid roof and roll cage

• Rolex Series homologated bodywork

• Aerodynamic wing

• 18 x 12-inch wheel diameter and width

• Working headlights and brake lights

• Six-speed transmission

• 6.0-liter maximum engine displacement

• Weight: 1,850 to 2,650 lbs., depending on engine size

The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup will continue to be the most prevalent entry in the GT class. The BMW M3s and Ferrari 360s have provided the main competition for the Porsches the past few years, and the GT rule changes last year were intended to attract more entries from different manufacturers. The Pontiac GTO.R debuted during the 2005 season, and the cars were very fast during the official Rolex 24 test at the beginning of January. Now we have the Mazda.

So... I don't know what exactly it is about the current weight/power formula that hinders 'vettes, but there obviously is something allowing little rotary-powered MX8's and GT3's run so well. Also, remember, this format is one of the only ones in the world where Joe-blow amateur (Mr. only Corvette entered) can and does race against full blown factory efforts and world class drivers. No factory Corvette effort, no hot-shoe drivers. Sorry, can't help you any further....I'm not a professional racer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Hope that helps some.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

OK, thanks ------ thats more of what Iwas looking for.

It seems that the 2,650 weight limit might be one of the factors that keep corvettes out of the series. The Sahlen team has been around since the late 80s and should know how to field a car properly. Whether they do field a "proper" team or not, I don't know, as I haven't been following this series.

Haweye

[Ted Y]

The Corvettes will also have to keep the LS2 based engines to be under the 6.0l maximum.

[MOTV8]

The Sahlen team has been around since the late 80s and should know how to field a car properly. Whether they do field a "proper" team or not, I don't know, as I haven't been following this series.

Haweye

I saw the team name in the 'Corvette' results from last year, so I got curious...and found this little blurb over at Racesite.com:

Sahlen Corvette Team Sahlen made the switch from Porsche to a pair of Chevrolet Corvettes and Wayne Nonnamaker will be in the 42 car with his father Joe, his brother Will and Joe Sahlen. In fact, all four men will be piloting both cars setting up what could be a sleep-deprived 24 hours for the men in red and yellow. But the weekend is fully underway now and Wayne feels the team is moving forward as they should.

"We are just working through all the new parts we put on the car for this season, just getting them all sorted out. It's kind of like wearing a new suit. We have new parts from the front bumper to the rear bumper. Everything that moves practically! The car was designed by Irv Hoerr.

"If we can keep the car together for the entire race we are pretty excited about our chances. Last year we got the Corvette just a few days before the race. Just finishing last year was our goal and this past season we have really learned a lot. But Speed Source will tough to beat, and the Pontiacs are coming on strong.

The Corvette is at a little disadvantage here because it is not as slippery as the Porsche and it doesn't have quite the grunt of the Pontiac. And what is a cool difference for us with the Corvette instead of the Porsche is that you have to engineer this car whereas with the Porsche you just get the parts and go run the car. With a prep two car there are so many things you can try. It's been a lot of fun for our team. We have a whole list of things at the end of last year that we wanted to try and that is what we have been doing.

"I'm really looking forward to the race but I don't think I am going to get much sleep!"

So, seems they're relative newbies to the 'vette...and it sounds like they've got too many variables to test, let alone race up front with.

Maybe next year....