DIFFERENT NAMES, SAME CARS! IMSA, the WEC, and Hypercars
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- Опубликовано: 17 мар 2024
- During the Sebring 12hr on Saturday, there were a lot of people in the chat confused as to where Toyota were, where Ferrari were, and whether the WEC and IMSA are the same thing. And IMSA fans helping out the WEC fans, and trying to ease the confusion.
But at the same time, I'm a bit confused. Because there's so many names thrown around for the top endurance category, but when it all boils down to it... They seem to be the same.
LMDh is one thing, Hypercar is another, but then they enter the WEC as one name together and IMSA as another. So maybe it's not so confusing after all.
But it means things are cheaper, more fun, and fans of both series can go back and forth without having to learn anything new. That's a winner, I think.
Enjoy! And remember to like and subscribe for more!
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Okay, I learned some extra stuff today. Which is good, cos then we all learn. If you’re building an LMDH you need hybrid... But if you’re building LMH and go to IMSA you don’t have to have it. And at Detroit they are having GTP as well as GTD, but I read the P as the D because I'm an idiot.
Also Rexy isn't racing WEC because he's in IMSA all year due to driver ratings, and that the WEC uses the same driver rating rules as IMSA, which makes sense. I'll leave these bits here but it won't stop people mentioning because READING IS HARD!
Told you it was confusing
It is, I have just managed to juggle it all but YEAH! A lot of titles that cover similar items.
@@DuvJones and that the WEC uses the same driver rating rules as IMSA...only GTD Class uses the same rating not the GTD PRO...you can't have all pros in GT WEC anymore
I don’t get the no all pro teams in the WEC. So the pro team corvettes that have had a lot of success at Lemans can’t go to Lemans. I just don’t get it. Why did they get rid of all pro teams in the WEC GTD?
@@ralphlyons8020
Honestly, as the class ages I feel that their is going to be a pro/am split like the other GT classes.
coz gt3's are great for bronze drivers and they need people with money to be included, if you want all pro's you will have to get a hypercar... I would like that one gt3 car is pro and other is pro am but here we are.@@ralphlyons8020
Also. Sebring being decided on the last 15 minutes between Acura and Cadillac, with 8 cars on the same lap. I think we are lining up with a banger of Lemans this year
On the last 15 minutes?
I watched the whole thing, was a cracking race and the result was up in the air a few times. Some drivers shouldn't be on the grid though some of the driving was pretty poor! @@413TomaccoRoadyes 25mins left after the last safety car & the Cadillac & Acura went to battle till the end, was absolutely brilliant racing that iv never seen in an endurance race, it was like touring cars on steroids with the caddy pulling 5car lengths on the straights and the Acura making it back up under braking. Both putting in close to qualifying laps until they caught the back markers and banging doors with eachother till the acura got passed and managed to stay ahead.
i wouldnt say it was decided in the last 15 min when there was 10 hrs of intense racing when accounting for yellows.
The WEC code 60 alternative to the IMSA yellow flags will mean we will never see cars grouping up like in Sebring at LeMans. There is another video in there.
Including the Lambo!
IMSA doesn’t require all GTPs to be hybrid; Aston Martin intends to run the non-hybrid Valkyrie in both IMSA and WEC. It’s also the first confirmed LMH entry in GTP.
@@B__L That’s LMDh rules, GTP is just IMSA’s name for the class encompassing both LMDh and LMH. LMH cars are allowed in GTP but Aston Martin is the first OEM to enter one.
@@cco53587 they can compete in imsa as lomg as they sell enough cars in USA....see glickenhouse as reference
It looks like it because the majority of cars in the GTP class are all LMDh's... which is part of the construction has a spec mild hybrid unit.
Aston Martin's entry (assuming that it actually happens) would break that perception by being the first LMH, as well as the first non-hybrid to enter IMSA.
11:21 Peugeot will introduce a wing to the 9x8 for the imola weekend
I have a certian disdain for stellantis as a whole, but if the blurry spy shots are anything to go by, I'm excited. That lower angled nose with that "917k-ish" rear wing is going to look aggressive AF. The flying mohawk will finally have a muscular fast look to go with it.
The 9X8 both with and without rear wings are equally gorgeous looking cars.
11:39 yes we did. Especially here in North America, it’s difficult to watch racing beyond NASCAR, INDYCAR and F1. The Sebring IMSA race was a real treat. Hopefully it sets a trend.
I live in Sebring, FL, home of the 12 Hours. My son went to the race this past weekend, and I watched it on Peacock. What a race! The first and second place GTP cars (Acura and Cadillac, respectively) were separated by less than a second. AFTER 12 HOURS OF RACING! F1 can only wish for that kind of competitiveness.
the whole 2024 F1 field is the closest its been since its inception. P1 to p20 is within 2 seconds from q1 to q3. and a few of the cars are overweight and missing 20 to 30 hp, but endurance racing is getting tight too and the bop seems to be working i guess.
@@ryancuda45 That doesn't matter when nobody is close to Max or challenging him for race wins. What matters is the closeness in the races, especially up front, not close qualifying and practice time sessions. You can literally watch all the other motorsport series to see the close practice and qualifying times in a much tighter and closer field than F1 field.
You forgot to mention the best part: The racing is brilliant. The last hour of the 12 hours of Sebring was an absolute banger.
That's all I care about is the racing. All the car builds and tech, I don't care for whatsoever as I find all of that boring as hell.
Way more banger than the whole 2023 and 2024 F1 Seasons and 2023 and 2024 NASCAR Cup Season (except 2024 NASCAR Atlanta and Daytona).
IMSA is the best racing in the world right now. WEC is fun too but the IMSA race officiating (cautions over VSCs or FCYs) makes the racing far closer and more exciting. I agree completely though that the continuity between the two series makes them both way better.
Strongly disagree. IMSA's FCY rule turns Sebring 12 Hrs into 11 1-hrsish. races. If I want to see sprint races I will turn F1 on. If someone has made an advantage in the race on merit by being very good at dealing with traffic why cancel it out every time. I watched whole race and it turns out you could basically watch last 20-30 min. This is not endurance racing.
@@michawozniak5492 yeah idk about all that. IMSA races are far more exciting. Which was a better race? The 2023 Sebring 1000 or the 12 hr. No contest.
@@michawozniak5492Yep, I enjoy IMSA races but they do feel manufactured. Those 11 and a half hours meant nothing. If you make a mistake and crash someone else for example and get a drive through, it doesn’t really matter at all.
A minor national series compared to a global one?
I love both series but I think the FIA and WEC have it right with full course yellows. Due to the time needed for a pass around, a yellow and safety car that lasts a minimum of 10 minutes ( and often more) is ridiculous when all that is needed is for marshal to remove debris from the race course.
I remember seeing you on the livestream! I remember you mentioning a video for Hypercars/GTPs this Monday, good to see it's happening.
Also, it has to be noted that one of the attractions to endurance racing on both sides of the Atlantic is the absolutely brilliant commentary by John Hindhaugh & his team...! He does such a good job, he's informative, fun, listenable, engaging, & in comparison truly puts to shame the Sky F1 production effort by their certain "senior producer", dullard pundits & perma-shouting lead commentator... John proves again & again how motorsport should be presented to the fans (& even casual viewers) & commentated on...👌
Yeah but he’s from Sunderland tho. 😣
Qatar wasn't established in 1812 - the 1812 refers to their national day - 18th December
Hmm. Sure I heard Hindy say it was for the year.
@@AidanMillward Hi Aidan - if he did then he was incorrect - It's called Founders Day - info came directly from the Qatari Gov't
@@grahamgoodwin203 this is why o love the editor feature in RUclips studio. I can make that bit go away. 🤣
Very happy to help with this type of stuff in the future - Trust me I know it's complicated!
@@grahamgoodwin203You should've also told Aidan about the "h" meaning "LMDhusky" :)
IMSA is my favourite world series by a mile. I love the way they fall over themselves to let us actually watch the races by making them available.
Absolutely - it's so easy to watch. The variety of race lengths and tracks as well is awesome, from 100 minutes at Long Beach to the Daytona 24 - its a proper all round test
World series you say, where outside of the USA does IMSA run?
@@ronbelanger4113Canada! Lol
Having recently got into endurance racing in late 2022, it's looking good, and it's nice to hear something other than the Netherlands national anthem at the end of a race
We had to listen to "god save the queen" for 7 years.
Bet you weren't complaining at the time?
@@EricW6800 I was, because it's a dirge of a song and I have no desire to save the UK monarchy
@@Chris-et2fm
😂 I agree it's not the most exciting series to watch.
I think it's safe to say we've entered another golden era for sportscar racing.
Both IMSA and WEC have put on some great races thus far, and there is more to look forward to!
New to endurance racing this year. Absolutely loving it. Sebring was outstanding.
Sports car racing is absolutely where it's at!!!! All other motorsports need to take notes.
I've been watching both series whenever possible since last year's Sebring weekend. I'm loving it. The crossover between the two is awesome to see too. I'll watch LeMans then just a couple weeks later see many of the same teams/drivers in person at Watkins Glen!
I can see the Peugeot 9x8 be rebadged to like SRT or Dodge. And remember, Qatar was the final race for the Wingless Boi. Starting at Imola, the 9x8 will have a wing on the back.
So in theory, you could have a Dodge/SRT 9x8 with a wing, on the IMSA grid in like 2025 or 26.
Alpine rebadged as Nissan in IMSA.
Test cricket fans like me are the perfect target audience for endurance racing!
Endurance racing is just ODI cricket in comparison!
Took me a second, then I howled.
Endurance racing is just going to keep getting better too......and I LOVE It!
Endurance racing is not gotten better it's only gotten worse they are not as fast they're just safer and slower and easier to drive and Bop tuned which is the worst thing that's ever happened to racing
@@evangarriott6306 ....If it stayed like it used to there would only be Toyota, literally no one wants to watch that shit.
When I saw you in the chat I knew a video about it would come. Continue the good work 💪
Endurance racing has been so great these years
The addition of more manufacturers is just awesome
Giuseppe RIsi of Risi Competizione said he would love to run 499P at IMSA, but he said Ferrari needs to ensure the stability and reliability of 499P during a whole season, and that requires observing AF Corse running them for at least two years. He acknowledged that these Hypercars are complex, so it pays to take some time to learn. Here's hoping Risi being able to run 499P for Daytona, Sebring and Road America.
Also I'm still hoping Honda would consider running ARX-06 at Le Mans, much like the old ARX-03. Which was designed by Nick Wirth, by the way.
Lime Rock has less crashing than one might expect. If/when it happens, it's one car going off and getting trashed or a spin in the grass in the area of the Big Bend and Esses.
I sure miss having John Fitch there. Guess we couldn't keep him there forever.
@@GregBrownsWorldORacing I've been there 5 times since 1970. The last time was 1999, I never saw him.
@@413TomaccoRoad He was probably out running the Salt Flats in a Gull Wing... What a life :)
3:17 my man is spitting fax 🔥
I can't watch to your intros without dancing, just amazing
In an interview during Rolex 24, Risi Competizione hinted hard at working on a 499P program for the future. Just hinted, but you know.
Giuseppe Risi wants to make sure that 499P platform is stable enough and reliable enough before pulling the trigger on buying at least 1 chassis. I hope 499P got better and better so Risi can be confident enough to run 499P at IMSA. That would be epic. Ferrari v Porsche v Cadillac v BMW in Daytona.
this video was amazing and cleared up a thousand questions i've had about imsa and wec
Biggest issue for us Canadians is no GTP for the IMSA visit to CTMP (Mosport). This makes us sad....
It’s no quicker round Mosport than Road Atlanta. Weird.
My honest Canadian guest here is that IMSA and the teams simply don't want to deal with customs, because that is a thing.
JUSTICE FOR THE ISOTTA FRACHINI
Buy their cars so they can go to Daytona!
One extra bit on the regs differences: WEC and IMSA use different wiring looms for scrutineering systems on LMDh. So going between the two series requires swapping a lot of electrical. Lambo this year opted for two different chassis for that reason.
This is the part that annoys me, like, really? Its just electrical bits? Why not just use the same system, or at least compatible systems.
@@alexisborden3191 because option 13
It was great seeing you in the IMSA chat and getting to speak with you!
IMSA and WEC arriving to a middle ground so the teams can race in both is amazing for the fans of endurance racing.
Great video Aidan! I’ve personally gotten really interested in endurance racing, and watched nearly the entire 12 Hours on Saturday. It’s frustrating that Ferrari and Toyota haven’t crossed the pond yet; I hope they reconsider.
I started building of an interest in endurance racing since 2023 Le Mans, and this video helped to clear things of about WEC vs IMSA
What drew you to LeMans? General interest or was it because of a certain make such as Ferrari? Ferrari coming back after 50 years was big.
@@williamford9564 I have a general interest in nearly all motorsports, but the centenary race, proper hypercar grid and Ferrari comeback, also maybe less exciting F1 season
@@pasztorferenc6741 WELCOME!
I've been so confused over this exact topic. Being a big Le Mans fan. And there you go. Now im not! Thank you so much Aidan. You're the hero and bringer of post-confusion bliss :) Cheers from the Denmark Aka mag/gatting land ;)
this is the DPi 2.0 era. and it is proving to be very attractive to teams manufacturers and fans.
This type of formula is going to find its way to Indycar and maybe others in the future.
Indycar NEEDS to attract a third engine supplier. Now that Indy cars are going hybrid with a V-6, I think this will check more of the boxes that a new engine manufacturer requests.
the last point/ idea I want to share is about engine commonality between different classes of race cars.
I think I am correct in saying that HPD and Ferrari are using engines that can be turned for different cars.
The Honda V-6 in the Indycar is very similar to the V-6 in the Acura GTP.
The Ferrari V-6 in the 499p is very similar to the 296 GT3. I don't know what the percentage of similarity is but I'm sure someone out there does.
Lets call it engine convergence! lol
I think the the next 4 years in Indycar are going to be very critical in showing new brands that Indycar is worth investing into.
I would also like to see more chassis competition in Indycar....but that might be a bridge too far at the moment.
Any thoughts?
Why are IC fans so insistent on a new engine supplier, is it a cash infusion thing? I think identity/personality of the teams and drivers would go so, so much farther than a couple manufacturer decals slapped on the nose cone/engine cover.
I introduced a friend to IMSA this weekend and he was completely bewildered by all the classes. imho that's the good and bad of endurance racing, but it's still a lot to take in- there has to be other aspects to hook people: my friend saw Rexy and by his own admission, a cool livery was all it took to develop an attachment to that car.
Fans can hope for a new engine but in the meantime, I say putting a distinctive look on a car is infinitely more feasible (e.g. Scott McLaughlin's team mimics the 90's AAR eagle only with a kiwi).
@PanderingSlats I wish Indycar drops manufacturers all together. Manufacturers have ruined multiple racing series either by dropping support out of nowhere or banning certain technologies. An example is the American Le Mans Series which died due to the lack of manufacturers. Grand Am won in the end because it didn't rely on manufacturers. Look at the Baja 1000 and Dakar. Dakar is full of stupid rules that help manufacturers, hell the T1+ rules happened because of Audi lobbying. Now look at Baja. They have 1100 hp trophy trucks with insane long travel active suspension and remote tuning. While technological beasts exist in the Baja, due to its relaxed regulations, it is more friendly to amateur teams as well.
@@johncarl5505 it's practically a spec series as it is, and I think Chevy and Honda are in negotiations for a collaborative hybrid powertrain plant- for all we know you'll get your wish.
Great explanation. Thank you
Quick correction gtp will be at Detroit
I read the P as a D. Been one of those days.
@@AidanMillward yeah no problem mate.
I'm going to Detroit so you gave me a heart attack 😅
Great detailed insight 👍🏼
Fucked some bits up but that’s what the editor is for.
Endurance is - in my opinion - the best of the motorsport disciplines. I don't watch races from start to finish, I have a family and stuff to do, I cannot simply but 6-24 hours (race dependent) aside to watch in one go. But - for my money at least - there's a wonderful conjoined purity to IMSA and WEC what a wonderful global whole sports car racing has become.
You did your best, don't understand yet... need to watch it again😅
12:34 u bagged a good one Aidan
Great video thank you.
If the wec just streamed it cheaper and without ads, or free like imsa, I'd love to watch them both.
Look at Fernando going in the wrong direction at Indy!
This type of racing I could watch for 12hrs easy, can't watch 5 mins of F1 😮
Also, how does Aidan not have 100k subscribers?!
If I remember correctly, when he hits 100k subscribers he'll do a video on Roberto Moreno. IDK if that offer still stands though....
As far as I'm concerned, there are slightly diferences between the WEC LMDh and IMSA GTP. When Regner Van der Zande crashed at Spa, when he had to race few weeks later at IMSA, he said that it was not the same car, as the 2 categories, even been almost the same, they have minimal diferences...
its mostly the amount of telemetry sensors allowed by imsa
It's mostly because it wasn't the same chassis. He binned the spare GM had for WEC which was basically a new car, a consequence of that is that they were forced to ship the IMSA car (they could not get the spare car repaired in time) out for LeMans and then back to make it for the 6hr of the Glen.
awesome video
LMGT3 does have Driver restrictions - There must be a Bronze-ranked driver and a second must be a maximum of Silver
A 1970s Lola T70 and a GT40 & a Ferrari 512S are three completely cars from the ground up!
A 2024 WEC/GTP cars are all build identically with only minor body fabrications and dashboard panels.
As for the engines they each sound the same too!
This reminded me of a Technology Connections video, not something I'm ultimately interested in, but the presenter makes it interesting.
10:00 : the cars are the same. The porsches in WEC and the ones in IMSA are the same cars so the lap times the WEC cars make will be the same as the IMSA cars
13 second intro is crazy bro
Unless that's you playing piano, then it slapps and Im sorry
The LMH Valkyrie has virtually nothing in common with the road car, other than the name and both being V12's. It is built to the prototype ruleset like all the other LMH vehicles, rather than the road-car based rule set which is far more restrictive. The LMH Valkyrie will be far more similar to the AMR Pro track car, which itself was based on the original Valkyrie LMH before it got cancelled.
The wire loom for IMSA and WEC are totally different, and takes 8+ hours to change them out. But, it's still far less money than making a new car.
There was a meeting with IMSA, WEC, F1 and IndyCar in 2018/9 something, with the idea of a car manufacturer making one engine and hybrid system, and can run it in all of those series. But, IndyCar is way behind now, but IMSA, WEC are in a good place now.
Indycar has been way behind for an eternity at this point.
But I suppose the gatekeepers on Reddit like it and hate it at the same time.
Can't wait to see Peugeot's Evolution of the 9X8 with a rear wing at Imola. I'm hoping they may have got it right as they have a history of doing that, create the car, lose with the car, redesign the car, win with the car.
I always thought endurance racing was cool but I've never really legitimately got into it only ever watching lemans. With these new regulations I've been hooked on it. Great racing wide breath of cars and I can go see a bunch of the cars locally in the states. I really hope they don't mess this up for a long while.
I caught the bug with the first Le Mans i watched, cant remember the year but it also decided my all time dream car, the McLaren F1, i had recently decided to be a McLaren fan in F1 because of the Hakkinen/Schumacher battles in the late 90s and then i watch bits of this really long race that i didnt understand but i found it absolutely awesome, never looked back
There is also some discussion among Indycar fans (and maybe a team owner or 2) about changing Indycar's formula to be more like IMSA GTP, at least making their engines legal.
Yes, some of the engines will require cages because they arent stressed blocks and the cars will get a bit heavier because but that seems like a good tradeoff.
On another note, there were about 450k views for the Sebring 12 livestream on RUclips. I assume that, when everything clicks, it'll be possible to have a "main event" endurance race livestreamed on RUclips viewed by 1 million people live.
This would be basically the endurance racing version of all those Taylor Swift The Eras Tour "fan livestreams" you'd see on either here or TikTok.
If one day Lone Star Le Mans does not get renewed, it would always be nice to have a full WEC race in a full-fledged FIA Grade 1 street circuit due to cost of build, and it would be nice to race the NA round permanently in either Montreal (Gilles Villeneuve), or permanently in Mexico (Hermanos Rodriguez) due to high latitude and high elevation respectively, thus to make it the ultimate challenge for LMH/LMDh and LMGT3 alike.
LMGT3 has the same rules as the Am Class of GTD for drivers.
I wondered about that when he said it. You are correct.
I’ve thought for years the 2 series should combine.
As for watching different motorsports and explaining it to others in my opinion as follows,
F1, F2 etc, Indycar, Nascar is like watching athletes sprint races (BTCC is 3 mini sprints)
Endurance racing is like watching cricket. You can have it on in the background whilst doing different things and just keeping a ear/eye on things happening in the race.
😉👍
Nah. I’d describe it as snooker. Becuase unlike test cricket it’s not shit.
Technically the Lambo has become the first car Hypercar/GTP to go from the WEC to IMSA...
WEC and IMSA are just so darn watchable right now. The cars look beautiful and have a much stronger identity with looking and sounding different from each other - but its the racing which has been really captivating. The Hypercars/GTP have absoutly nailed it in being hard to overtake, but not impossible. Just as it should be, and no DRS in sight.
the Lambo hypercar in WEC and IMSA are not the same, I would call it first if it was an LMH but since its an LMDh like porsche and cadillac
Not really, when it comes to chassis that would got to the Porsche 963... specifically the Proton Competition's 963. That car's debut was at Monza and then they put that car on a boat for the IMSA round (I think that it was the Road America sprint). The car at Fuji was an entirely new chassis that has been racing since.
That said, as far as factor efforts go, this is the first time that I heard of that with Lambo....
The final hours of Sebring 12 hours in 2024 is as equally chaotic as in last year, especially when Luis Felipe Derani on the Cadillac, crashed out.
The new WEC/IMSA regs are perfect. It is the equivalent of what Motoamerica superbike and supersport are to world superbike and world supersport. No learning new regs, or anything crazy. You can just drop in, watch and enjoy.
It feels a little bit like independent wrestling. You find people you like and support them, watch some matches (or races) and then end up finding a few more wrestlers (or race teams) you like and then have so much more stuff to watch
In my opinion, the Mazda MX-5 Cup in IMSA has some of the best racing I have seen.
This would be amazing 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏!!!!!!!!! Hopefully all this will happen and broadcasters will show it.
Would be pretty epic to see the WEC Hypercars like Ferrari and Toyota do the Rolex 24. Similarly, seeing the Acuras among others at Le Mans would just add even more cars to a stacked top class. Can't wait to see WEC and IMSA both grow and develop over the coming years with renewed interest, more teams and races
Combining both series, not just Daytona and Le Mans, is my endurance racing wet dream.
Sebring is bloody bumpy in sim, I can’t imagine what it’s like in an actual race car. I bet the dentists near the track must make a mint 😂
You mean the ones not on the track?
Sebring plus Rf2’s ffb on a simucube is not fun.
@@AidanMillward direct drive wheels, making wrists sad everyday
@@Woodie-xq1ew after the 8hr charity race I did mine were sore for a week. 🤣
You just know the local Chiropractors are also rubbing their hands together every time March comes around.
..."If you can not win them joint them "...
LMH, LMDh, LMP1, LMP2, DPi, GTP, GTD, LMGT3, IMSA, WEC, BoP. It's all so simple!
Full support manufacturer entry Hypercars, private party entry and/or partial support manufacturer entry Hypercars, a category that no longer exists so don't worry about it, spec chassis downforce prototype cars, a category that no longer exists so don't worry about it, The IMSA class that Hypercars run in, the IMSA class GT3s run in, the WEC class GT3s run in, the sanctioning body/series for US endurance racing, the sanctioning body/series for global endurance racing, keeping cars from being uncompetitive.
It's not as hard to figure out as you make it seem.
As a Motorsport fan this era of WEC has me so excited! F1 has bored me to death 💀 😴
Some smaller differences ive noticed between imsa and wec in terms of the racing:
Imsa has more opportunities to take laps back with wave arounds than wec (partly due to not having virtual safety cars) which means in general the pack is close for most of the race and often comes down to a short dash at the end.
Also imsas lmdh bop seems to be tighter since the cars seem more competitive with each ither than in wec (also it seems like the performance of cars is more consistent in imsa whereas in wec sometimes it feels like at least to me that cars get a massive bop boost/nerf or something and change competitiveness completely)
The lmdh cars have tighter BOP due to them very similar to each due to how that regulation class works.
I’ve also loved how IMSA brings EVERYONE together. You get NASCAR, Indycar, F1 and even dirt drivers all compete at once together. Still wish Mazda prototype program survived long enough to join this new regs
LMH : Toyota, Ferrari Peugeot & Isotta Fraschini. (Retired Glickenhaus & Vanwall)
LMDh : Acura, BMW Cadillac, Porsche, Alpine & Lamborghini
Private Customer : JOTA, Proton Competition, JDC Miller & AF Corse
The reasons for WEC not racing at Sebring this year are 1) Qatar paid to host the first race, 2) it would then be a big effort to go from Qatar to Sebring then back to Europe doesnt make economical sense and 3) WEC doesnt want to play second fiddle to IMSA, being an FIA World Championship.
Also one thing to add for new fans, for any teams wanting to run at Le Mans be it from IMSA, ELMS, AsLMS or GTWC, the car has to be running in WEC and is why Acura cant run at Le Mans in Hypercar or any Mercs or Audis in LMGT3.
And a great thing about the crossover between series, gaps between endurance races are quite long, so watching both series keeps the downtime between races quite short in comparison to watching just WEC for example but is still quite long going off F1 gaps between races.
As a Ford fan, I want a factory Ford team in Hypercar/LMPh.
Thanks that helped but what I'm still wondering is why your coffee is at the same spot you started the video as the end.
Because I didn’t touch it in the 20mins it took me to record this.
Do you think if I got on my knees and begged at their HQ, Polyphony would add more GTPs/hypercars to GT7?
Give it time and LOTS of dosh.
No, but you can get a new variant of the Skyline GTR.
Is it just the toyota or are there any others? Either way, they definitely should. And iRacing should get the Lamborghini, get back to having the full GTP field again. Also excited for AMS2 getting the IMSA cars, its gonna be good to have one that's more single player focused.
@@alexisborden3191 the only hypercar/GTP is the Toyota GR010. All other top class endurance cars are either Group C or LMP1
Gotta love Sebring, the surface is as rough as a cob and they want it left alone (as do I) glad you watched it. Watch this17 year old North Carolina native Connor Zilisch who has won the Rolex 24 and Sebring in LMP2 and will run COTA Next week in a NASCAR.
I read somewhere that they’ll only resurface it when it’s genuinely not safe and there’s some sort of local or Florida state law that says this to protect it. But that might just be one of those internet myths.
@@AidanMillward
Given that it's an old World War II Air Base, Sebring basically gets treated as a memorial site. One that's constantly in use, and has to be preserved....
I fear the day that comes when Sebring is so unsafe that it has to be rebuilt...
As nice it is for LMP2 to exist, it would be more fun if the GTP class was so big that the field fillers weren't needed. Super nice to see the crossover, that's is for sure.
AMS2 just released they signed a deal with IMSA on the 16th!!!!!!!
That does look good tbf.
How many views did that international stream on RUclips get? I was at the race and the experience was amazing
17k I think.
@@AidanMillward I was expecting at least 50k but they should gain some momentum over the season.
You should do a piece on how driver hires by IMSA teams for the endurance races proves Nascar drivers arent great racers since they are never recruited to fill in for other teams, they will hire indy lights before even considering a driver from the top stock car series
NASCAR Cup drivers are probably both very expensive to hire and their teams may (with some exceptions like Kyle Larson) prohibit their drivers from racing in other series by contract.
No shit, those guys have been racing stock cars in ovals and dirt tracks for their whole life, of course they don't have the experience and expertise when it comes to endurance racing in a road course. Indy Lights prospects on the other hand have been racing in junior formulae in the US and most of the time also have experience in Europe. Because of their age, some of them (the under 20s and even under 18s) classify as Bronze drivers, so they are a cheatcode of some sort, given that you have an 'amateur' driver that is a pro in the making, circumnavigating the need to put a gentleman driver in the car. When it comes to the top class of prototypes, you rarely see very young drivers racing there.
They are usually busy doing their day jobs, for this past weekend - they were testing & qualifying in Bristol, TN on Saturday. You can get a few NASCAR stars for Daytona 24 because their season has yet to begin. Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Dale Jr, (A.J. Allmendinger & Kyle Larson - still active) come to mind.
You seem to forget Nascar races roadcources
I find it interesting you don’t “prefer” endurance racing. So much to learn every race it’s just a fountain of racing knowledge
The reason given for not running both events at Sebringwas WEC felt the logistics of running both events at the same time made it too difficult to meet what they felt their market wanted. Essentially WEC had to conform to IMSA's schedule, and didn't feel like the headline event.
Some out of date info. Peugeot is getting rid of the wingless car. Suppose to deploy a car with a wing in the next WEC race. Vanwall was turned down by WEC in 2024 for ungiven reasons. and Glickenhaus has dropped out.
The best part of WEC and IMSA is how accessible they are. They post the races on RUclips so you can spend all week watching them.
There was also a bit of marketing confusion in regards to that, because the WEC headliner was the 1000 miles of Sebring (an 8 hr race) while IMSA always had the 12 hours of Sebring... on quite literally the same weekend...
the WEC was never particularly happy with that arrangement, because it makes their global round feel like a support race. So after last year they left, deciding to do their American round at COTA instead.
on the, load a car up and go between series
its not quite as simple, as they have completely different wiring/logging looms for BoP monitoring, which takes a few days to change over
and also some other changes like the position panels
LMGT-3 = GTDPro = GTD. And that's a bit of a problem for IMSA. If I was a large manu, i certainly wouldn't want a car with a bronze or silver driver anywhere near my car (and my star drivers) at the end of the race. That was the beauty of GTO/GTU, GT/GTS, GTP/Camel Lights, etc. Separation of classes.
LMDh (LeMans Daytona hybrid)= GTP - jam an engine in there, and send it to the styling team.
LMH (LeMans Hypercar) - Bespoke cars; with or without hybrid; large manu or boutique. Would still be called LMH at Daytona.
I did not know about the IMSA wing rule. I'll look into that, thanks!
Was sad to hear today that Ganassi and Caddy are parting ways. Will CGR be the factory Ferrari team in the US, or something more bold like...the Dodge 9X8...prolly renamed to "Viper"..?
These are, indeed, great days for endurance racing.
I have gotten on board, thanks to the hypercar regulations. It has become IMHO the leading top-level series for innovation. Love wec now go Cullum illot!!
You Forgot Acura in the 24H of Daytona List. As Im Reading an Article thats says that Acura will not be lone standing brand and comes under Honda again after 30 Years. Is it because of this that you not listed Acura in there?
No, this time I genuinely forgot. The people saying “I forgot” are right for the first time ever 😅
Ferrari rumoured to enter their 499P to IMSA with Risi Competizione but Risi lack the necessary monetary funds and technical skills to run those cars.
It isn't as easy to bring a WEC car to IMSA for example. It's actually a reasonable sized job as the loom etc has to be changed as how WEC and IMSA reads BoP is completely different.
Still, few hours to replace a wiring loom versus designing and building a whole new car.
I’ll take it. 🤣
9:15 I thought hybrid was not required for GTP givent that AM is entering with the valkyrie, which has no hybrid.
It turns out if you want to do LMDH you have to have it but LMH coming over doesn’t need it.
Yeah I don’t get it either.
I would like to see when AMG returns to sports car racing due to cost cap of F1, and make second gen AMG One while still meeting NHTSA safety standards, and make it qualified to LMH standards. Gone the F1-derived engine, and put the same old 6.2L flat plane v8 in place, the same way AMG GT3 does, and make it E-performance sports hybrid.