davidfarmer

OK, I've never even considered this close until recently, but as much as I dislike the DP cars, the Rolex competition is better, and the fields are larger. I still like the ALMS cars much better, but just not close racing.

Just wondering what everyone else thinks???

Short-Throw

The Grand Am series certainly has closer competition. Perhaps the cheaper price tag (yes still ridiculously expensive) allows more participation. Although there have been some world class drivers in those cars this year as well. I prefer to see the ALMS cars run at speed, just wish it was more exciting after the first lap.

MistressMotorsports

Rolex has ugly cars but great racing. Although, I am hoping that ALMS GT2 turns out to be exciting this year. I am expecting to see some great racing in the shorter races.

grantar2

Aesthetically I like the ALMS much better than the Rolex DP, I was a big fan of GTP class with thier lean taught lines, and would prefer to see them comeback. I agree the Rolex series are better races, but the LMP cars are fast, pretty and somewhat exotic. Rolex doesn't come to So Cal anymore so the question is really academic.



The question for me is whether it's better to go shoot the ALMS cars at the LBGP or to race my first Pro Solo which I have no hope of placing in but would love the experience.

Racer-38

when I first saw the DP cars I, like you, HATED them. But the racing is the best there is PERIOD!!! Of any race series. Now I'm even starting to like the way the DP cars look.
ALMS is a joke.....with the exception of the GT class. They keep jacking around the rules and classes trying to get "entrants" Atherton keeps talking about how great things are. Bullsh*t. The P1 diesels own the class, I don't know why anybody else even comes. Porsche builds a kick *** P2 Spyder that will run with P1 and they say>.Nope, too fast. You can't be as fast as a P1, new rules to slow you down. So P2 has 3 entries that half the time break down. Get rid of all the classes and keep the GT class.....great cars, great drivers and close racing.

But don't get me wrong.....I still watch ALMS>>>'cause I love racing.

1stZ

I mainly follow the GT class. Don't care much either way with the LMP cars or the DP in Grand Am. I like the GT alms better cuz of more advance technology, faster drivers & rules are more fair.

I don't like the Grand Am cuz the rules is BS. That Mazda GT class for example has tube chassy. How's that fair when other competitors must use stock chassy. At least with alms, all the gt cars are closest to the stock production cars. And as racing goes, most trick parts they have on the cars eventually become available to our cars.

vettehardt

It's not just the mazdas that have a tube chassis. The camaros running this year are rebodied GTO tube chassis from last year. There are two differend prep levels in the GT class. Prep 1 is stock chassis while prep 2 is tube chassis (you can look at the rules on the grand am website). LG chose to go with the prep 1 and stay with a stock chassis. I am not sure what the other vettes are going to do. Hopefully LG can get it sorted out and run better next race.

I like both series GT classes. I don't get too into the prototype catagories. I might get into prototype if Corvette had one, like the GTP back in the 80s. It could be the test mule for the C8's!

davidfarmer

good catch, I forgot about the Tube Chassis GT cars. I remember when they started doing that in 04 (ish?). I like "real" GT cars personally......... but they do put on a great show!

Kubs

I like the fact that in Rolex some of the GT cars are plucked off the street and plopped onto the track. I enjoy watching ALMS a little bit more though. I think this year there is going to be some tight GT competition.

Kanmer

Grand Am by far has the best racing...period. I might be in a minority but I do like the DP cars look. I prefer to watch the GT series but the DP cars provide good racing also. I also like the access you get with both series rather than ASSCAR. ALMS is fast becoming a joke, as unfortunate as that may be. I enjoy watch the GT classes in ALMS but there just seems to be an attitude amongst most of the drivers that I don't care for. I will say that without a doubt that Johnny O'connell is one of the best, most stand up guys out there

Bob

shakedown067

I'm a little Bias since I've got ties to the Corvette Racing team, but I've been a fan of the ALMS for over 10 years. I've also really come to enjoy the racing in the GTC class. I miss Team Snow though. They really torn them up last season. I've tried watching the GrandAm series, but for some reason it just doesn't suck me in like the ALMS.

Everett Ogilvie

I rather like the looks of the DPs (I might be biased just a little bit).

I love the DP racing in Grand Am - it is Nascar on a road course, meaning very close hard hitting beatin' & bangin' racing.

I love the P1 and P2 cars in ALMS - very fast, very sophisticated cars, and GT(2) this year looks like it will be incredibly close racing (once the Vettes learn when to pit).

0Randy@DRM

They have two classes, prep 1 and prep 2 tube frame vs Stock chassis cars. There is some other differences but that is the major one.

Randy

96CollectorSport

Gotta love the close racing in the Grand-Am cup, plus there is no tire war going on there. Everyone runs on the same rubber not the ones lucky enough to be granted Michelins. But it really seems like the Falken and Dunlop tires have gotten quicker, or ALMS is slowing down cars running the Michelins.
It will be interesting seeing how a Prep 1 Grand-Am Corvette does (LG) vs a Prep 2 (Banner). Banners car is just the GXP-R rebodied fyi.
I think the ALMS will always have a little more prestige but you have got to love to competition in Grand-Am.
All in all it's a great time to watch GT racing (Grand-Am and ALMS) ,especially Corvettes,there are going to be great battles to watch all year, if some cars can make it out of the pits! Couldn't help myself

VetteDrmr

I enjoy both series, primarily just the GT classes. As far as prototypes go, I prefer the DP class over LMP. LMP to me is about as fun to watch as the last couple of years in GT1. DP has much better competition and variability. Different chassis, engines, combinations of the two, etc.

Asthetics I think are due much more to the "eww, DP is associated with NASCAR" than anything else. BOTH the LMP and DP cars look like nothing you'll see on the street, and that's OK.

For that matter, if the "yard dart" new Indy car works well (no, I don't think it will either), then I'll watch it. Heck, I'll watch it anyway if they'll just get on a channel I can watch!

Have a good one,
Mike

davidfarmer

I enjoy DP racing, but the cars still bug me. I always remember back to the first few years when they seemed like stock cars with wedge bodies on them, and they were slower than the GT cars for the first few years (didn't a GT car with Daytona OVERALL at least one year). They are much better now, carbon tubs etc, but they still don't feel like "prototypes" to me.

I first got into racing when the old GTP class existed, and ALMS is much closer to that for me.

And a final note, ALMS GT cars seem to look more professional to me. It might be as simple as the uniform number placards, but Rolex GT cars look like club race cars. Nothing wrong with that, they just aren't as cosmetically appealing to me.

joemoia

2001 - #2 C5-R Fellows/Knieful/Freon/O'Connell

TheKomoman

Definitely prefer the cars of ALMS to Rolex and I prefer the GT/GT2 class racing over Rolex, but the "prototype" of Rolex has it all over ALMS for competition. The only time LMP1/LMP2 is at all interesting is at Lemans or those rare events where both the Peugeot and Audis show up here in the States. But somehow the TV coverage is still dominated by the prototype classes even though they gave a big buildup to the GT class pre-race at Sebring.

Ah well, my DVR will still grab them both and I'll enjoy what I can when I can.

joemoia

Generally I still prefer ALMS. The DPs have been putting on a better show, but IMSA will be running 1 combined LMP class from now until Petit so LMP2's should have a shot at the overall wins.

In GT I'd much rather watch factory/factory-backed production based BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris and Vettes than watch tube-framed silouette BMWs, Mazdas, Camaros and Vettes.(P-cars and LGM are the only ones using prod. frames)

I'm actually more interested in the Continental Challenge series than Rolex GT, the Continental GS class is the closest thing we have to the original trans-am cars.

I go to ALMS races every year but have no interest in attending a Rolex race.

TLGunman

No carbon tubs in Grand Am.

I like both ALMS and Grand Am. I'm probably a bit partial to Grand Am, since I've worked on those cars more, starting with the Mosler, and then the Riley DP and GT cars, and I like the racing in both classes. In the ALMS I like the racing in GT(2), and the technology in the LMP cars, but the LMP racing hasn't been that great.