The Grand-Am series, also very exciting and attractive is fairly similar to the ALMS. Both leagues are made up of a series of endurance and sprint races on primarily road courses, different though they may be. We’ve discussed the five classes of race cars competing in the 2010 ALMS; LMP1, LMP2, LMPC, GTC and GT2. Grand-Am Road Racing is similarly divided into two primary series with four total classes. The top-tier Rolex Sports Car Series includes the fastest cars in the league; Daytona prototype cars followed by GT cars. The Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series is comprised of the Grand Sport (GS) and Street Tuner (ST) classes which bear little to no modifications from their factory form other than those mandatory for safety purposes. The 2010 schedule consists of 13 road races in the Rolex Series and 11 in the Continental Tire Series.
While Grand-Am may contain a larger number of teams/competitors racing in its league than the ALMS, both leagues have felt the effects of a weakened economy and may be considered in a “rebuilding” stage. Decreased team participation does not necessarily equate to a failing league or an unexciting race and certainly not to a lack of fan support. The fact that there’s more teams scheduled to compete in 2010 Grand-Am racing than the ALMS, may be due to lighter financial obligations? For example, how expensive is it to maintain an unmodified 4 or 6 cylinder engine race car like those in the Grand-Am ST class for a season as opposed to a full blown prototype race car? ALMS cars are in general, faster, lighter, less constrained, more diverse and technologically superior. Teams and drivers are among the best in the world. This may be part of the major appeal of the series to sports car club members, racing aficionados and particularly to those who really appreciate it for what it is; pure competition.
I believe either league would benefit from the addition of a race venue here through Baltimore. As a Baltimore native and resident I also believe the city would do extremely well, significantly benefitting from such an event. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, hope Baltimore Racing Development makes this thing happen in 2011 and go see some street racing!!
Jason Schiavonee
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Jason,
WE are both hufe road-racing for sure. I have been involved in various forms of racing for years having worked with numerous teams on hi-performnce parts ete. Love all typesof racing and just hope and pray the State of Maryland can finally support BRD’s effort to bring the IRL, Grand AM, ALMS whoever to the streets of Baltimore. There have been countless attempts to bring both temporary and permanent type racing to Maryland and hopefully Jay’s group can close the deal with all those involved this go around.
Without beating a dead horse, Grand Am’s Continental Series, formerly Koni, formerly a whole host fo other names, is a stand alone support series that doesn’t race with the Daytona Protoype’s and GT type cars at the sametime. They have a huge following and had over 76 cars race @ Daytona earlier this winter. Koni, now Continental series are GS and ST type cars, basically showroom stock but they are far from what you and I drive down I-83. Again, they do not race along side of the DP and GT cars in the ROLEX Series by GA.
Car counts at the 24 Hour race @ Daytona this year was 43 cars.Last year’s count was over 70 or so. American Le Mans will launch 26/27 cars @ Sebring in a few weeks.
Price for a 2009 GT Porsche 997 RSR from Germany was just under $ 300,000. Price tag for a DP Riley Scott car hovers around 700,000 or more depending on what type of powerplant you choose. Operating budgets for a year long campaign in Grand AM GT is right around a million give or take for a competitive car. DP, you need to add a at least a few hundred more thousand of so, 1.2 million oor therabouts.
In American LeMans, the high end cars exceed the milllion dollar price quite easily. They are more technically developed than their DP counterparts but because of the their inital high cost(s), the number of teams running these wonderful pieces of engineering art is very low.If you look at the some of the lower classes ( if you can call 300 / 400 K GT type cars lower ?), ALMS is doing a good job attracting some of the same teams running in GA, a good thing mind you.
Whether it’s 27 cars taking the green @ Sebring in a few weeks or 43/44 cars @ Daytona last month or so, the starting grids are hurting as most of us are at the present time.
I am and will always be, optimistic, that ALMS and GA can settle their differences for the betterment of the sport of road-racing in the years ahead. Similar to the CART and IRL divide, it only hurts both series.
Hi Paul, Thank you very much for your obviously well informed response. Clearly you’re a racing fan too, so we all appreciate your contribution and advocacy.
However, in the article there is actually no comparison made between the Grand-Am ST class and the Le Mans prototype class. The comparison was simply between 4 and 6 cylinder engine cars (like those in the GA ST class) and prototype cars in general, be they Daytona or Le Mans. Now this is, grant you, a dramatic comparison but the point is, that some cars, and teams therefore, are simply much less expensive to operate and maintain throughout a season. You’d have to agree? That’s not at all to say they’re any less competitive or thrilling to watch.
Secondly, there is in fact an entire class of these unmodified cars in 2010 GA not to mention the unmodified GS class. I understand these are both classes in the Continental Tire Series but if you disclude them, the number of teams participating in GA as opposed to ALMS is not quite so different.
So for anyone unaware of how much it costs to operate a racing team for a season….it’s alot. For GT and prototype cars, think hundreds of thousands, millions and on up depending on how competitive you want to be.
I think I may be more of an ALMS fan, leaning more towards the innovation and technology incorporated into these cars and teams as opposed to the impressive number of participants involved in Grand-Am. Perhaps by showing my support, and others doing the same, the league might…I don’t know…attract new/additional teams to the grid? But I do enjoy Grand-Am as well. Both make for exciting racing and as I said, I would love to see Baltimore Racing Development bring either or both leagues to the city alongside the Indy Racing League!
J
Jason ….. Great article but I have to take exception to a few things you wrote in your piece.
Why would you try to compare Grand Am’s “Street Car “Contential Support Series cars to that of the ALMS Highly engineered machines in their premier division of racing? It is like comparing the Orioles major league team to one of their minor affiliaties. Way off on trying to compare the two series by a long shot. Anyone who follows road racing at all knows the two series you tried comparing to one another in your article are world’s apart and are in a different league all together.
BTW … A great street stock type race can be fantastic racing too. Isn’t that the key point of racing.
Now, if you wrote to compare the Daytona Prototype cars (DP)and/or the GT cars in the higher levels of Grand AM, not GA’s own support league with the incredilbe machines of the ALMS, I will agree with you that the Prototype cars in ALMS are superior to the DP cars. The GT cars in BOTH racing bodies are very similar and some of the same teams cross over from time to time.
Another fact. Because of the lower car counts in recent years, ALMS has opened up their GT style cars to several manufactures and teams of varying performance criteria. Basically, they are trying to lure in some of the teams that left IMSA years ago and who went to help build-up Grand Am to what it is today. The fastest growing racing series in North America.
In closing, I love both series a great deal and will support either series when they come here to “Balmer.” I just do not find ALMS all to interesting , especially the prototypes because they have 2/3 or 4 cars racing for the overall lead in a given race. The GT cars are amazing in both series. In Grand AM though, you have 20 / 25 DP cars and countless GT type cars running nose to tail in every race. The same CANNOT be said for the ALMS.
You also mentioned that the ALMS has some of the best drivers in the world. Check-out the drivers line-up for the ROLEX 24 Hour and you will not have a better group of world class drivers anywhere.
I long for the day when the best road-racing teams can enter the ROLEX 24 Hour, 12 HRS @ Sebring and of course the 24 Hours of LeMans.
In closing, I need to mention that the IRL has had the Grand AM at several of their venues over the years and the fans loved the close racing. The same can also e said of the ALMS. I just like seeing more than two cars battling for the lead in a race.
BRD .. keep up the great work !!
…Le Mans 6 hours night race in Baltimore? I agree, I’d miss work too! Sounds like a great time.
I will attend no matter what racing series comes to Baltimore, but if all three are not possible, I’d prefer Grand-Am to ALMS as it is right now in 2010.
I love ALMS, but only when the prototype field has the Peugeots and Audis stateside. I watch all the ALMS races on television and pull for the Rahal Letterman and Highpoint teams.
Many people say that Grand-Am is just NASCAR-ized road racing, but that is not a bad thing. After attending the New Jersey race last year in the pouring rain, I think it is the most exciting road racing to watch in the US. I follow Grand-Am more now than ALMS. The fields for prototype and GT classes plus the Continental/Koni Challenge cars would crush the number of ALMS teams. They also have the star power of McDreamy.
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Would I take time off to see an Indycar race? Absolutely.
Would I do the same for ALMS? Most likely. (Without a doubt for a 6 hour night race)
For Grand-Am? Heck no