Lime Rock Pics and a Real Surprise Inside
07-24-2017, 02:59 PM
#21
Melting Slicks
I was a little surprised they actually green flagged that start, they had been not allowing that in the past. Didn't really matter though, Porsche winning this one was a pretty forgone conclusion if they had no issues.
Last edited by z28lt1; 07-24-2017 at 03:00 PM.
07-24-2017, 06:20 PM
#22
I think Miler can drive fine, is he a little aggressive at times? Sure, but you have to be in racing. The #4 has had a series of bad luck this year, realistically the #4 has nothing to lose at this point. The car is not in a place to be in championship contention, however it could still score meaningful manufacturer points. Now that's not to say that he should be taking consistent unnecessary risks, like the Porsches last year. Many times Milner's fast lap times are better than Gavin's. Also look at last year, the #4 won the series overall, was on podium 6 times, four of which were first place finishes. Most notably the Road America finish where the Corvette went from 5th to 1st with less than five minutes in the race. Granted there was some luck with one of the Porsches and the Risi car spinning out. But Milner still showed remarkable skill to get the car to first With less than a minute the Ford GT still had a one second lead. I will say though, with some of these hiccups, I'd be miffed if the #4 car was in contention as the implications would be much more severe.
Job One is scoring pts. for the team and Milner makes more mistakes than the other 3.
As I said earlier, I believe there are better American drivers available.
Considering Corvette Racing's #1 GT rating over the last 20 years, no doubt they could have almost anyone.
Just as a note to the Corvette/Ford incident, I heard a driver say at CTMP that one of the Fords was doing some early "Brake Checking" probably to make sure they got some extra room coming out of the corner.
I have absolutely 0 idea of that is what happened in this incident and I don't want to accuse the Ford of anything bad when Milner clearly lost control of the car taking out himself and the Ford. However, when I hear about something 2 weeks earlier, and then see this incident, and Tommy's quotes (below - particularly about him already being slower in that area than he had been), i do have to wonder if this wasn't totally a once sided incident...
“It’s hard to tell what happened there,” Milner said. “It looked like the Ford checked up earlier than I expected; I tried whatever I could to not hit him but that probably caused more problems. I’m sorry for those guys. I never want to be involved in an accident like that and take somebody else out of the race. Looking at the data, I was slower than I had been going in there. But that’s racing. We’re trying to make split-second decisions. Most of the times they are the right ones, but every now and then they’re the wrong ones.
I have absolutely 0 idea of that is what happened in this incident and I don't want to accuse the Ford of anything bad when Milner clearly lost control of the car taking out himself and the Ford. However, when I hear about something 2 weeks earlier, and then see this incident, and Tommy's quotes (below - particularly about him already being slower in that area than he had been), i do have to wonder if this wasn't totally a once sided incident...
“It’s hard to tell what happened there,” Milner said. “It looked like the Ford checked up earlier than I expected; I tried whatever I could to not hit him but that probably caused more problems. I’m sorry for those guys. I never want to be involved in an accident like that and take somebody else out of the race. Looking at the data, I was slower than I had been going in there. But that’s racing. We’re trying to make split-second decisions. Most of the times they are the right ones, but every now and then they’re the wrong ones.
Dealing with it is a skill drivers have to have.
I don't really know what the PRECISE rule concerning the starting line at Lime Rock.
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Foosh (07-24-2017)
07-24-2017, 07:48 PM
#24
You're right about that.
The World's #1 GT racing event of the year is Le Mans.
Mistakes are not acceptable.
The World's #1 GT racing event of the year is Le Mans.
Mistakes are not acceptable.
07-24-2017, 08:45 PM
#25
Le Mans Master
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St. Jude Donor '15-'16,'18
The BOP adjustments after each race are clearly trying to give each team an opportunity to win. Different tracks also favor different cars as some favor a high top end, others make cornering and braking more important. I'd like to see Mercedes and Audi move up to GTLM next year. Personally, I prefer the races without the LMP cars. The remainder of the season should be interesting.
07-24-2017, 09:42 PM
#26
Melting Slicks
World Challenge has specific rules against it. I believe WEC and IMSA rules are somewhat similar that they don't specifically call it out as illegal, but have general rules about taking unnecessary risks and blocking competitors. I know at least one time WEC issued a penalty for it.
As a reminder, I didn't say Milner was not at fault for the incident and agree it needed to be dealt with better, just pointed out some facts about the incident.
As for Milner, I'm not as down on him as others. Remember, he's won Le Mans (twice), has two driver/team championships, and I think at least 4 manufacturers championships. Seems to be doing just fine.
There have been a small handful of incidents, but on whole, probably less than many of the other drivers who have been around as long. Off the top of my head he can get blamed for this one and 2016 Le Mans (for not dealing with a bad setup change). This year at Le Mans reports were of a loose wheel that caused the incident, and certainly Milner can't be blamed for the CTMP incident where he was clipped or COTA when the Ferrari went spinning across the track in the first tunr after getting hit by a Ford. Last year he was spun by the Porsche at Long Beach. My memory isn't what it used to be, so I'm sure someone will correct me, but is there anything else? Are we just talking about a a Le Mans wreck and this one?
Either way, despite the fact that it is true Corvette probably can have some pretty good options in drivers if it wants, it isn't Corvette Racing's way to change drivers just because someone else might be a little better. They value the "team" and feels like long-term drivers help them win more and it is pretty hard to argue with the results.
I'm sure if a driver keeps needless wrecking the car or causes ill-will with competitors at some point a replacement would be found, but I'm not seeing it as the case here.
07-24-2017, 11:27 PM
#27
Indeed! I was a bit surprised by that comment above, along w/ Milner's excuse, somehow implying that the driver who was rear-ended was somehow at fault. That's right up there with saying blocking maneuvers to prevent a pass are unfair in racing.
07-25-2017, 08:05 AM
#28
Burning Brakes
Lime Rock was my first track experience as a spectator.
I seem to recall Trans Am times back in the day- 69/70/71 - around 59 seconds.
Giving the development of tech across the time period, getting to 50 seconds doesn't seem like a huge decrease. 15% faster?
Over the years We have had the occasional bicycle race at Lime Rock on Sundays when the town doesn't allow car racing. That's as close as I ever came to racing here.
Very different pedaling 1.5 miles vs. driving.
Lap times are a little longer....when doing 25 - 30 mph.
A "brake check" in cycling is called "hooking". The guy in front sweeps his rear wheel across the front wheel of the guy behind. Tends to get your attention.
I seem to recall Trans Am times back in the day- 69/70/71 - around 59 seconds.
Giving the development of tech across the time period, getting to 50 seconds doesn't seem like a huge decrease. 15% faster?
Over the years We have had the occasional bicycle race at Lime Rock on Sundays when the town doesn't allow car racing. That's as close as I ever came to racing here.
Very different pedaling 1.5 miles vs. driving.
Lap times are a little longer....when doing 25 - 30 mph.
A "brake check" in cycling is called "hooking". The guy in front sweeps his rear wheel across the front wheel of the guy behind. Tends to get your attention.
07-25-2017, 09:50 AM
#29
Melting Slicks
Pretty neat to race bicycles on an auto track. Must be fun.
As far as lap times, these cars are artificially limited (minimum weights, wing limitations, engines restricted, etc...) The class target is around 500 hp and most of these cars would make much more if unlimited in restrictor or boost, so the tech can only help lap times so much. They run most of the races with 2 additional prototype classes (only one next year), so the series is trying to keep a speed difference between each of the 4 classes, so they also need to leave room for 2 faster classes.
Where the newer technology really comes through though is safety and reliability. These are endurance cars and generally in a 24 hour race, 80% of them finish all 24 hours without any significant issues. There also tends to be some crashes that look bad that drivers totally walk away from.
As far as lap times, these cars are artificially limited (minimum weights, wing limitations, engines restricted, etc...) The class target is around 500 hp and most of these cars would make much more if unlimited in restrictor or boost, so the tech can only help lap times so much. They run most of the races with 2 additional prototype classes (only one next year), so the series is trying to keep a speed difference between each of the 4 classes, so they also need to leave room for 2 faster classes.
Where the newer technology really comes through though is safety and reliability. These are endurance cars and generally in a 24 hour race, 80% of them finish all 24 hours without any significant issues. There also tends to be some crashes that look bad that drivers totally walk away from.
07-25-2017, 10:06 AM
#30
Tell that to Sebastian Vettel...
07-25-2017, 10:49 AM
#31
Looks like a fun time!
07-25-2017, 11:22 AM
#32
As far as lap times, these cars are artificially limited (minimum weights, wing limitations, engines restricted, etc...) The class target is around 500 hp and most of these cars would make much more if unlimited in restrictor or boost, so the tech can only help lap times so much. They run most of the races with 2 additional prototype classes (only one next year), so the series is trying to keep a speed difference between each of the 4 classes, so they also need to leave room for 2 faster classes.
Where the newer technology really comes through though is safety and reliability. These are endurance cars and generally in a 24 hour race, 80% of them finish all 24 hours without any significant issues. There also tends to be some crashes that look bad that drivers totally walk away from.
Where the newer technology really comes through though is safety and reliability. These are endurance cars and generally in a 24 hour race, 80% of them finish all 24 hours without any significant issues. There also tends to be some crashes that look bad that drivers totally walk away from.
The pressure of the Scuderia has really got to him...unfortunately.
07-25-2017, 12:11 PM
#33