Porsche, follows Audi, quits ALMS

[MOTV8]

That's right, der faktory Porsches are kaput....in P2. Corvettes will still have to deal with the 911 RSR's in GT2, damn them.

This economy will force more and more shit like this to happen, like in Neckcar already...

Oh, yeah...almost forgot, rumor mill says part of Aston Martin may be up for sale again. Let's hope they can keep it afloat long enough to field a factory GT1 Aston at Le Mans for Corvette to whup on one last time...

[MOTV8]

Now that Audi and Peeeuuugot have packed up and headed back to Europe after Sebring, ALMS will fill out the thin fields at several races this year with the addition of even slower GT3 Porsches in yet another class:

ALMS to allow GT3 Challenge cars to compete alongside top-flight racers

The American Le Mans Series announced Friday that it will allow top teams and drivers from the Porsche-based Patron GT3 Challenge series, which began in 2005, to compete in the ALMS alongside LMP and GT machinery in five races this year.

The ALMS said the move comes to "promote the brightest and best of a new generation of sports-car drivers," but the decision was obviously made to address concerns about car counts throughout the season.

Thirty-three cars took the green flag at the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring season-opener last weekend, but with Audi and Peugeot returning to Europe to prepare for Le Mans--and other notable entries such as Corvette Racing running a partial schedule--the entry list for the next race, in St. Petersburg, Fla., next weekend, boasts just 16 cars across all four regular ALMS classes.

Series president and CEO Scott Atherton said at Sebring that he expects car counts to increase after St. Pete and expects to have more than 20 consistent competitors after Le Mans in June. But he acknowledged that addressing the car count is his No. 1 priority, and allowing the Porsche 997 Cup cars that pull duty in the GT3 driver development series is the first step.

The Cup cars will race alongside the significantly faster "normal" ALMS competitors in what is dubbed the "Challenge Class," which will make its first appearance at Miller Motorsports Park in May and conclude at Mosport in August. The Challenge Class will not run at Petit Le Mans or the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Sanctioning-body IMSA said it "will oversee selection of drivers in the Challenge Class ensuring the appropriate level of driver experience. To be eligible, drivers and teams must have had notable success for at least a year within GT3 level of racing.

"In order to maintain the affordability of the class, the cars exclusively will be the Porsche 997 Cup car utilized in the Patrón GT3 Challenge by Yokohama. The Porsche 997 Cup car is one of the most widely raced cars in the world. The technical regulations will be virtually identical to those used in that series, although the sporting regulations will be generally those used in the American Le Mans Series. The class will run on a spec Yokohama tire identical with the tire that has been successfully launched with the Patrón GT3 Challenge by Yokohama."

If nothing else, the speed differential between the Cup cars and others will be something for both fans-and especially drivers-to keep a close eye on when the Challenge Class debuts at MMP.

Sure, there'll be more cars on track, but this is like tossing a bunch of blue-hairs from Sun City on golf carts into Loop 101 rush hour. I guess it could be cool, in a demolition derby sorta way.

[P51tj]

Now the teams will need to bring even more spare parts, more tore up souviners for the fans!

[Desertdawg]

Loose the GT1 class and replace it with the GT3 class, at least all the OTHER rides in GT2 will have somewhere to go in a couple of years when Team Corvette reigns supreme over the entire field!!!

How long do you think they will keep GT3 all portches ???

And if one of those P1 or P2 cars hits a GT3 it's going to splatter like a bug on the windshield!