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nrc
11-06-04, 12:28 AM
http://www.carpages.co.uk/aston_martin/aston_martin_images/aston_martin_dbr9_04_11_04.jpg

Is it time to start the countdown on GM's exit from GTS?

Sean O'Gorman
11-06-04, 02:42 AM
At least wait until they commit to a full season first.

Racewriter
11-06-04, 11:27 AM
Yeah, because Aston really dominated in...

Well, there's their success in....

Uhh.....

Was it '59 that they were last a force?

Pretty pictures do not a race car make.

nrc
11-06-04, 01:09 PM
It doesn't take much to scare Chevy off. :)

Seriously though, the program is run by Prodrive who have already shown that they can build a competitive car if they have the funding. They're planning three factory cars and a number of privateer entries. It will be interesting to watch.

extramundane
11-06-04, 02:09 PM
I don't think GM's too worried about the DBR9.

The MC12 on the other hand...

Sean O'Gorman
11-06-04, 02:34 PM
I can't believe they are going to be dumb enough to let the MC12 in. This is why sports car racing is always in such bad shape!!!!

Racewriter
11-06-04, 10:24 PM
I can't believe they are going to be dumb enough to let the MC12 in. This is why sports car racing is always in such bad shape!!!!

Exactly, Sean. The organizers are such whores for the manufacturers that they have lost all perspective. The idea that an actual production, buy the frickin' thing in any city in the United States, car like the Corvette should have to compete against the MC12 - or the Aston for that matter - is nuts.

Used to be that there were "prototypes," which were one-off cars, "sports racers" that had to be built in quantities of at least 25, and "GT" cars that had to have at least 100 real examples.

Nowadays, the manufacturers just convince the promoters to give them a ******* and allow their one-off stuff in.

Sean O'Gorman
11-06-04, 11:43 PM
Exactly, Sean. The organizers are such whores for the manufacturers that they have lost all perspective. The idea that an actual production, buy the frickin' thing in any city in the United States, car like the Corvette should have to compete against the MC12 - or the Aston for that matter - is nuts.

Used to be that there were "prototypes," which were one-off cars, "sports racers" that had to be built in quantities of at least 25, and "GT" cars that had to have at least 100 real examples.

Nowadays, the manufacturers just convince the promoters to give them a ******* and allow their one-off stuff in.

I agree completely, except for the Aston Martin part. I think a car is ok for GT if it was designed as a true road car first, and race car later. Of course, once GT1 and GT2 implode and everyone leaves for Grand-Am GT, the bashing of tube-framed and true-production based GT cars here by the ALMS fans can begin. ;)

Ankf00
11-06-04, 11:51 PM
the c5-r is just as whored out as that dbr-9

nrc
11-07-04, 12:01 AM
the c5-r is just as whored out as that dbr-9

Exactly. You can go down to your Aston Martin dealer and buy a DB9 off the showroom floor that will have as much in common with the a DB9R as the showroom C5 has with a GTS Corvette (which is to say, not much).

Last I heard the M12 wasn't approved for next year, just as a non-points entry in the last few races this year. I do agree that it shouldn't be permitted if they don't sell 100 road-going examples.

Racewriter
11-07-04, 12:13 PM
Last I heard the M12 wasn't approved for next year, just as a non-points entry in the last few races this year. I do agree that it shouldn't be permitted if they don't sell 100 road-going examples.

This week's Autoweek reports that the MC12 is in for next year.

pchall
11-07-04, 06:32 PM
Yeah, because Aston really dominated in...

Well, there's their success in....

Uhh.....

Was it '59 that they were last a force?

Pretty pictures do not a race car make.

There was also the special aluminum bodied DB that did very nicely in GT racing in the early 60s.

Railbird
11-07-04, 10:25 PM
I gotta say that the whether the DBR9 is a front runner or not they will add a lot to the series for me, especialy to the events I attend. IMO sportscar racing in general and endurance racing in particular is not about wheel to wheel racing but more about interesting cars on great circuits.

While the Lamborghini GTs weren't very effective this year they were in fact a very interesting addition to the field.

I've yet to develope an interest in spec cars on rovals no matter if "they race the crap out of them" or not.

Sean O'Gorman
11-07-04, 10:51 PM
Understood, but after awhile, a car show gets boring if there's no action to back it up. The first time I went to Petit Le Mans it blew my mind, the second time, it was nothing spectacular. The last two times I saw ALMS at Mid-Ohio, I looked at my watch 15 minutes in, thinking "there is still another 2 and half hours of this!" There was nothing going on, the cars were so spread out.

Railbird
11-07-04, 11:03 PM
Gotta get you to the short tracks Sean'O, short attention span racing at it's best.

Sean O'Gorman
11-07-04, 11:16 PM
At least the sounds never get old. They really need some rotaries back in the mix though.

Ankf00
11-07-04, 11:46 PM
There was also the special aluminum bodied DB that did very nicely in GT racing in the early 60s.

DB4 GT Zagato :D

pchall
11-10-04, 10:19 PM
the c5-r is just as whored out as that dbr-9

http://www.speedarena.com/news/uploads/sportscar/001_087.jpg

Whored out or not, I'm in love. Makes the C5-R look like skank.

L1P1
11-11-04, 07:21 PM
I love it except for the fish mouth. Maybe taking the lipstick off would help.

Ankf00
11-11-04, 07:33 PM
http://www.speedarena.com/news/uploads/sportscar/001_087.jpg

Whored out or not, I'm in love. Makes the C5-R look like skank.

oh don't get me wrong, I love this whore, just my type :gomer:

Sean O'Gorman
11-11-04, 08:14 PM
I love it except for the fish mouth. Maybe taking the lipstick off would help.

It could be worse. Here is what someone on the MR2 forum thought it should look like:

http://img122.exs.cx/img122/4052/AM-DBR9-2.jpg

:shakehead

pinniped
11-11-04, 10:06 PM
Pretty Ford! ;) At least it doesn't look like a Contour. :gomer:

extramundane
11-12-04, 03:44 PM
This week's Autoweek reports that the MC12 is in for next year.

They're in for FIA-GT, which presumably means they're ACO-legal (given the new rules consolidation), but I've heard no confirmation of it actually running in an ACO race yet.

nrc
11-12-04, 05:06 PM
Pretty Ford! ;) At least it doesn't look like a Contour. :gomer:

Hey, I resemble that remark!