Rinaldo Catria

.... if Gnassi or Multimatic or other privateer ante up.. I hope so.... https://autoweek.com/article/sports-...ram-after-2019

jdvann

I would like to see it as well, competition makes everyone better.

rmorin1249

I do hope Ford stays in the fray. I also hope that GTLM can attract some additional makes or perhaps combine with the GTD class. 4 manufacturers and 8 cars do not make for a great lineup IMHO. Time will tell.

kozmic

I give Ford the benefit of the doubt, but I do find it interesting/funny/sad that Ford ends its factory GT program/support the year before the new C8 platform debuts....

keagan

I doubt the C8 had anything to do with it. I think there were rumors about it not racing very long since the New FGT debuted.

tw78911sc

It was always declared as a 4 year program, the customer program is a great extension idea, like what Aston Martin has done now that the new model is the factory backed and the older one is customer based. SO much $$ is invested in the development of these cars, it is great that a customer can use that as a starting basis and has the manufacturer's ear and part support. Porsche has done this for decades.

Foosh

It is sad, and I believe the end of the FGT as a serious contender. It doesn't bode well for the Weathertech GTLM series and is a huge step backwards. However, it was always planned this way because once street FGT production ends, loss of homologation approval soon follows. I think FGT would have only been eligible through the 2020 season as a factory-backed team.

In order for GT road racing to stay healthy, I think both FIA/WEC and IMSA need to take a serious look at integrating the GTLM and GTD classes.

jefnvk

Is GTLM restricted to factory entry like GTE Pro? If so, you might see them on the same track together, but they won't technically be racing one another, and the quality of drivers certainly won't be equivalent.

ChumpVette

Not sure what you are expecting. With the BOP they can reward Ford or penalize Chevy or vice versa.

z28lt1

GTLM is not restricted to factory entries, its just the economics make private entries tough. The Ford program won't be a factory program anymore, but it it operates, it will still be somewhat factory supported. The Risi Ferrari (which hardly races anymore) is somewhat factory supported as well, but not enough to make the $$ work. Hopefully Ford puts forward a little more.

GTLM/GTE quite possibly doesn't have a long term future (thinking 2023-2024 range). I've thought for a while it would make sense to make them GT3+ classes, slightly modified versions of GT3 with pro drivers, which may make it more affordable. Aston seems to have figured out how to easily convert from GT3 to GTE, so using that as as starting point might work. However, it seems WEC is at least slightly considering creating a Super GTE class, to compete with the top class there. That might make sense as well (going bigger instead of smaller) but some of the current cars can't get to that level of performance. Either way, having something slightly faster than GT3 at a much greater cost probably won't be viable long term, unless a few more manufacturers commit to it (Looking at you Lamborghini, Mcleran, and Nissan).

KnightDriveTV

Mclaren just committed to IMSA, they debut a GTD car at Mid Ohio with the 720S. GTLM/GTE strikes me as well positioned and is a pretty participated field. You're saying they're entertaining 3 tiers of GT grade cars?

Foosh

I think the best thing for big-time, road-racing in the US is for GTLM to go away and consolidate into what is now GTD. Without a new entrant, GTLM is about to become a 6 car, 3 manufacturer series. It is anything but well-participated in, but GTD is getting very healthy.

It's heading backwards into the mid 00's, when Corvette was racing primarily against Corvette, with Aston-Martin in the mix every so often.

z28lt1

WEC doesn't have GT3/GTD, so for them a Super GTE is just a second GT class. GTE-AM and GTE-Pro are the same cars (with the Am cars requried to be 1 year old), so they only have 1 now. IMSA already has GTD(3) and GTLM, so
who knows what happens if WEC really does Super GTE. It would be a competitor to DPI, which seems to be pretty successful, so someone needs to decide if there is a future in prototypes, or just really fast GT cars in endurance racing. WEC's issue is no one besides Toyota wants to invest in a P1 car, and they were too stubborn to accept IMSA's DPI was a good idea, so they are scrambling to make sure there is a valued top class.

Would be nice if McLearen would move to GTE/GTLM, but that's probably not in the near future with the recent GTD entry.

z06801

I would like to see them release a c8 GT3 car that private teams could buy and race in GTD or even PWC. won't happen I know.

z28lt1

It probably will happen. You could buy and race a C7 GT3 car right now if you want to work out a deal with Callaway - they are GM's exclusive builder for the GT3 car -- and wtih Caddy's withdrawl from PWC (not named PWC anymore) before the start of last year, GM has given the go ahead for the C7 GT3 to race in World Challenge or GTD (you could have raced it outside of North America prior to that). Problem is, 1) Callaway doesn't have the resources to run it themselves state side along with their current Masters program, and 2) no one seems to want to pony up a bunch of cash to race one here. GM's already paid the manufacturer's fee to IMSA, so its even easier to do. . No reason to think it will be different for the C8 (probably not right away).

This myth about no GT3 Corvette isn't correct.

born2beS12

Seeing as Ganassi already runs and maintains 4 Ford GTs (2 state side and 2 overseas) it wouldnt cost them anything to continue the program other than what it cost to maintain and enter the cars in competition. So unless they want to self support the cars they would just need to find sponsorship for how ever more seasons they cars are eligible to race. Which is typically 3-5 years after the last production model.

Foosh

It costs a small fortune to run 4 cars in WEC and IMSA GLTM. Every car gets essentially rebuilt between every race, not to mention the cost of personnel to run 4 teams, transportation, etc. Finding a sponsor to fund that enormous budget is not easy if it's not a factory sponsor. Once Ford pulls out, Ganassi simply owns some museum pieces that can't be campaigned without a lot of money.

Sports car racing doesn't get the television exposure of F1 and NASCAR, etc., so sponsors willing to pony up that kind of money are very hard to find.

born2beS12

Correct, but it would not be as expensive for Ganassi as it would be for a new team which would have to purchase a new(used) car and all the equipment that is needed to maintain it.

Foosh

Still likely too much for Ganassi to run 4 cars. We may see them operate more like Risi Ferrari, which only shows up with 1 car for LeMans and Daytona, etc. That's all they can afford.

born2beS12

Maybe, but Ganassi has his hands in a lot of series, Nascar (cup and xfinity), Indy car, IMSA and WEC. He has alot of contacts to get sponsorship if he decided to saty in IMSA and only run 1 maybe two cars.