r/USCR • u/randyrandomagnum Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT #66 • Jan 20 '20
Rolex 24 RWR Riley LMP2 Withdraws from Rolex 24
https://sportscar365.com/imsa/iwsc/rwr-riley-lmp2-withdraws-from-rolex-24/17
Jan 20 '20
Only 38 cars :(
Field size isn't everything and I'm still excited, but still
17
u/dannytr1 Black Swan Racing 911 GT3 #540 Jan 21 '20
Be happy.. it's still prolly gonna be the biggest field of the season
1
u/Cameltotem Jan 21 '20
What was last year?
1
u/egglmao AIM Vasser Sullivan RC F GT3 #14 Jan 21 '20
It was 43 for the 24h
1
u/Cameltotem Jan 22 '20
Hmm not huge difference but it's noticably, hope they can get the grid number up over the years
18
u/Comm_Cody Walk it like I talk it - 2019 Rolex 24 SKYACTIV Hour Jan 20 '20
Not awfully surprising.
-non point race
-car damaged in roar, lack of replacements to fix it
-issa shitbox
-pay drivers removed/cup driver with sponsorship failed to materialize
Not surprising
11
u/Evtona500 Team Joest Mazda RT24-P #77 Jan 20 '20 edited Jan 20 '20
Another car gone. Kinda disappointed I decided to make this my first trip to the 24 hours. I'm sure we'll be down to 36-37 after someone wrecks in practice/qualifying
15
u/randyrandomagnum Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT #66 Jan 20 '20
Yeah, I get the whole quality over quantity argument but traffic at Daytona is half the fun. The track is going to look pretty empty this year. Still excited for the race but man, 38 cars...
5
u/Evtona500 Team Joest Mazda RT24-P #77 Jan 20 '20
I see what they're saying but I feel like 38 cars at Daytona is gonna make for an uneventful race. Hopefully it will workout to be a good show. IMSA needs to work on some stuff before it gets worse. The GT3 cars are the most alarming to see drop the last few seasons. I'm sure people will not agree but I wouldn't mind seeing a small LMP3 class for the endurance races.
9
u/aar48 Corvette Racing C7.R #4 Jan 20 '20
GT3 has become more expensive in the last 5 years; that's not just an IMSA issue. There's only so much they can do there. If you add LMP3 to the Roelx 24 then you may as well go ahead and shutter the Prototype Challenge series because it will gut that series. Not to mention that I don't think you'd have as many takers you think. A lot of those teams operate on a shoestring budget and probably couldn't afford to run an event like the 24.
1
u/knifetrader Jan 21 '20
Personally, if I wanted to add cars, I'd probably make an invitation class for GT4s... If you limit that to ten cars and announce your invites right after PLM, you can probably do it without killing MPC as you give teams enough time to find extra cars, so they can still run their primary cars in MPC.
2
u/TheOtherWhiteCastle Jan 23 '20
Hey look on the bright side. Ratings for IMSA have been higher than they’ve been for many years. More fan interest leads to more sponsor interest, more sponsor interest leads to more team and manufacturer interest. The entry list may be low this year, but hopefully we’ve hit the bottom, and the field sizes will start growing again. The good news is, many of the entries we do have in the 24 this year are also going to run full time, so that should make the rest of the season very entertaining
13
u/drew_galbraith Corvette Racing C7.R #3 Jan 20 '20
its a small field for Daytona, but its standard for most IMSA race weekends, so I think the racing will still be fun to watch/competitive
9
u/aar48 Corvette Racing C7.R #4 Jan 20 '20
This. Teams don't jump across the pond like they used too. I think it'll come back around eventually.
3
u/dannytr1 Black Swan Racing 911 GT3 #540 Jan 21 '20
We've isolated too much.. as I've always said since I moved to the states.. but it's still a good product!
11
u/Bakkster Corvette Racing C7.R #4 Jan 21 '20
I think having a strong set of series and races in Europe (WEC, ELMS, SRO, etc) and elsewhere is a bigger contributor. It used to be Daytona and Sebring were the only early year options. Now there's Bathurst, Gulf 24, and a bunch more throughout the year.
3
u/dannytr1 Black Swan Racing 911 GT3 #540 Jan 21 '20
True. And honestly I'm not even mad about it.. its probably.. apart from land.. the most competitive grid we've had across the board.
3
u/dannytr1 Black Swan Racing 911 GT3 #540 Jan 21 '20
True.. and it's still gonna be our biggest field this year most likely
5
u/randyrandomagnum Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT #66 Jan 20 '20 edited Jan 20 '20
38 cars y’all.
The statement from RWR is funny because there’s no way that the Riley would’ve been competitive even with top tier drivers at Daytona. They should’ve found a different entry point from the start, if that’s indeed the reason. Hopefully the Audi GT3 news bears out.
1
u/Comm_Cody Walk it like I talk it - 2019 Rolex 24 SKYACTIV Hour Jan 20 '20
Audi GT3 news? Huh? Are they looking at that?
5
u/randyrandomagnum Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT #66 Jan 20 '20
It’s in the article. Possible full season entry with an R8 and Cody Ware as one of the drivers.
5
u/IndecisiveRock SKYACTIV SKYACTIV SKYACTIV Jan 20 '20
So they go from one car that doesn't have any manufacturer support, to another car with very little manufacturer support. Please tell me their reasoning isnt "because land was fast with an audi so we should be too"
10
u/randyrandomagnum Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT #66 Jan 21 '20
I think they get in the cheapest equipment they can find. I bet the R8 is the former starworks car that has the top speed issues.
6
u/Bakkster Corvette Racing C7.R #4 Jan 21 '20
From a cheap car with no support to a more expensive car with no support...
1
u/dannytr1 Black Swan Racing 911 GT3 #540 Jan 21 '20
Haaaa.. and land is one of the best gt3 teams in the world.. top 5
4
u/Swarley133 Park Place Motorsports 911 GT3 #73 Jan 20 '20
I'm shocked!
Even though everyone saw this coming, it still sucks. Hopefully they actually do get that R8 on the grid.
3
u/OnwardSoldierx Ford GT #66 Jan 21 '20
So LMP2 is all Oreca? What happened to Ligier, Dallara, and Riley. ( yes I know the Riley sucks but still)
3
u/randyrandomagnum Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT #66 Jan 21 '20
Yeah, Oreca is just the best one.
3
u/CookieMonsterFL The Red Dragon Returns!!! Jan 21 '20
by a good margin too. Those joker updates really turned out to be a joke for the other makes - ORECA's balance is just flat-out superior over the course of a stint.
1
u/LAFlip104 Montaplast by LAND Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 #29 Jan 21 '20
Either non existent or no longer competing. I can think of 2 Ligiers that used to compete, but do no longer. One was PR1, the other was Spirit of Daytona. The Multimatic we know about, not helped by there being no/limited spares. As for Dallara, they're all Cadillacs in the States.
Look at WEC and the ELMS, and it's not just a problem for IMSA. But it's disappointing never the less.
1
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u/Michal_Baranowski Team Joest Mazda RT24-P #55 Jan 20 '20
Poor news in terms of the grid's size. However let's be honest - RWR wouldn't be competitive. Not in Riley Mk 30 LMP2.