2018 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship Season Discussion
#102
Zoom-Freakin'-Zoom
iTrader: (5)
and if you just want to enjoy the friday events it is stupid expensive.. i have been doing the conti race on friday before the daytona 24 for about 12 years now..
sebring fail.. i sent an email to imsa. please feel free to help.
btw i live 62 miles from sebring.
beers
sebring fail.. i sent an email to imsa. please feel free to help.
btw i live 62 miles from sebring.
beers
#105
After 10 hours, 55 is 3rd overall and less than a lap behind the leader. 77 is in 9th.
Considering they started at the back of the class, there's a really good chance for a win in the rest of the season. It's all down hill from here.
I know I do. After the rotaries were discontinued they were saddled with that slow diesel engine for 3 years, then an old Lola for a year, and then they weren't even allowed a season with the RT24.
Considering they started at the back of the class, there's a really good chance for a win in the rest of the season. It's all down hill from here.
I know I do. After the rotaries were discontinued they were saddled with that slow diesel engine for 3 years, then an old Lola for a year, and then they weren't even allowed a season with the RT24.
#106
Rockie Mountain Newbie
Well, both Mazda's finished the race, which is an improvement.
#55 was 1 lap down in 6th place, and #77 was 10 laps down in 8th place.
#55 was on the lead lap when they came back from a yellow flag, and then chose to go into the pits.
#77 decided that 3 minutes left in the race was also a good time to pit, which makes me wonder what is going on with these teams and their pit crews.
BC.
#55 was 1 lap down in 6th place, and #77 was 10 laps down in 8th place.
#55 was on the lead lap when they came back from a yellow flag, and then chose to go into the pits.
#77 decided that 3 minutes left in the race was also a good time to pit, which makes me wonder what is going on with these teams and their pit crews.
BC.
#107
Dodging those Corollas
iTrader: (2)
#55 was 2nd place when it pitted around 38 minutes, and then couldn't restart. had to push start, failed once, and then second push start it worked.. then it was down 2 laps. By the end of the race, it only caught up 1 lap...
Terrible fate... they risked their pit strategy (probably had to get fuel one last time), and their gamble lost.
Terrible fate... they risked their pit strategy (probably had to get fuel one last time), and their gamble lost.
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gwilliams6 (03-18-2018)
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Jedi54 (03-23-2018)
#110
40th anniversary Edition
#55 was 2nd place when it pitted around 38 minutes, and then couldn't restart. had to push start, failed once, and then second push start it worked.. then it was down 2 laps. By the end of the race, it only caught up 1 lap...
Terrible fate... they risked their pit strategy (probably had to get fuel one last time), and their gamble lost.
Terrible fate... they risked their pit strategy (probably had to get fuel one last time), and their gamble lost.
Last edited by gwilliams6; 03-20-2018 at 06:43 AM.
#111
Rockie Mountain Newbie
#112
Former Sponsor
Unfortunately, Joest is in a "here you go, make it work" situation. They inherited underdeveloped cars that had issue's and they are getting them sorted. I would say that the 12hours was a much better overall result than we have seen in the past. Sure, their not there yet, but at least they no longer appear to be lost.
They were running at a strong pace, both cars finished the race and nothing caught fire. It appears as if they are headed in the right direction finally. Perhaps not as quickly as we would like to see or with the engines we would prefer but not stagnant in their efforts.
Go Joest/Mazda!
They were running at a strong pace, both cars finished the race and nothing caught fire. It appears as if they are headed in the right direction finally. Perhaps not as quickly as we would like to see or with the engines we would prefer but not stagnant in their efforts.
Go Joest/Mazda!
Last edited by RX-Tuner; 03-23-2018 at 11:50 AM.
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Jedi54 (03-23-2018)
#113
40th anniversary Edition
We all want them to succeed, but I think this engine is not the winner that Mazda hopes it will be , against the best from the other teams. IMO
I forgot, how many years is the Joest/Mazda contract ?
I forgot, how many years is the Joest/Mazda contract ?
#114
Administrator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (7)
sorry guys been on vacation for 2 week and hadn't had time to post.
I think some of you are giving up on this Team far too quickly, Mazda was LEADING the race at one piont and had not been for what, a battery issue they would likely have been on the podium and probably contending for an overall win.
I think this team is definitely moving in the right direction, they seem to have figured out the heating issues, the cars were more reliable than ever before, and they finally have the pace to run with the front of the pack.
I absolutely expect them to be contending this season for podium finishes
I think some of you are giving up on this Team far too quickly, Mazda was LEADING the race at one piont and had not been for what, a battery issue they would likely have been on the podium and probably contending for an overall win.
I think this team is definitely moving in the right direction, they seem to have figured out the heating issues, the cars were more reliable than ever before, and they finally have the pace to run with the front of the pack.
I absolutely expect them to be contending this season for podium finishes
#115
Zoom-Freakin'-Zoom
iTrader: (5)
Unfortunately, Joest is in a "here you go, make it work" situation. They inherited underdeveloped cars that had issue's and they are getting them sorted. I would say that the 12hours was a much better overall result than we have seen in the past. Sure, their not there yet, but at least they no longer appear to be lost.
They were running at a strong pace, both cars finished the race and nothing caught fire. It appears as if they are headed in the right direction finally. Perhaps not as quickly as we would like to see or with the engines we would prefer but not stagnant in their efforts.
Go Joest/Mazda!
They were running at a strong pace, both cars finished the race and nothing caught fire. It appears as if they are headed in the right direction finally. Perhaps not as quickly as we would like to see or with the engines we would prefer but not stagnant in their efforts.
Go Joest/Mazda!
i dont do this,
but.
dilly, dilly!
the car is sound.. the fact that the two finished where they did impressed me..
btw, scott thanks for the tedious help!
beers
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Jedi54 (03-24-2018)
#117
Administrator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (7)
we're only 2 races in and those two races both happen to be endurance races where we knew Mazda would have issues.
The car is in MUCH better shape than it's ever been so I'm still confident.
The car is in MUCH better shape than it's ever been so I'm still confident.
#118
This month's Racecar Engineering magazine has an article on Joest's work on the RT24-P.
Here are some excerpts:
If Speedsource received the car in the summer of 2016 and it was still in that state by Daytona 2017, I could see why Doonan was quick to hire Joest before the flag dropped.
However, they were running a race program at the same time unlike Joest which had 6 months of just R&D time.
Yep, Riley screwed the pooch on the chassis.
Here are some excerpts:
One of the first DPi Mazdas was delivered to Joest’s workshops in Germany, and work immediately began in turning it into a competitive car. That process included a general tidying of the cockpit and particularly focussed at the rear of the car in terms of cooling and suspension layout. ‘I saw the very old car that came to the workshop in Germany and is still there,’ says team manager Ralf Juttner. ‘It was a shock to see that. This is still not what a racecar should look like; that was a nightmare. Looking at our situation now, hats off to SpeedSource that they ran with two racecars at all, but why didn’t they use the second half of the year to clean up what was obviously a ‘get it ready somehow’ car? There was no cleaning up process. For example, they had a drinks system in it, welded aluminium. [Drivers] Jonathan [Bomarito] and Tristan [Nunez] were in Germany with us, and I asked how much are you drinking in the stint? They said not much, because it doesn’t work anyway. It looked like a small nuclear power plant!’
However, they were running a race program at the same time unlike Joest which had 6 months of just R&D time.
But now Multimatic has taken on sole development of the chassis, and put former Lola designer Julian Sole on the case.
...
The overheating issue on the original racecar Sole mentions above had led to some rather unusual solutions. The radiators were stood up in the sidepods, with a reduced size compared to when the engine ran in a Lola. So the first job was to improve the internal design and airflow. ‘I heard even with temperatures like this [speaking at a freezing cold Daytona at the ROAR before the 24 test in January], they would have struggled with the old cars,’ says Juttner. ‘They ran that engine in the Lolas, and they were on the limit, and then Riley made the radiators 70 per cent the size of the Lola. We have gone for bigger radiators. The radiators were standing on the left, and behind that was the big inlet for the turbo, so 60 to 70 per cent was blocked. The car that we received in Germany, they had a constantly blowing ventilator for the radiator to survive somehow. Now they are angled, bigger, and the inlet configuration is different.’
...
The overheating issue on the original racecar Sole mentions above had led to some rather unusual solutions. The radiators were stood up in the sidepods, with a reduced size compared to when the engine ran in a Lola. So the first job was to improve the internal design and airflow. ‘I heard even with temperatures like this [speaking at a freezing cold Daytona at the ROAR before the 24 test in January], they would have struggled with the old cars,’ says Juttner. ‘They ran that engine in the Lolas, and they were on the limit, and then Riley made the radiators 70 per cent the size of the Lola. We have gone for bigger radiators. The radiators were standing on the left, and behind that was the big inlet for the turbo, so 60 to 70 per cent was blocked. The car that we received in Germany, they had a constantly blowing ventilator for the radiator to survive somehow. Now they are angled, bigger, and the inlet configuration is different.’
Last edited by j_tso; 03-24-2018 at 10:18 PM.
#119
Administrator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (7)
yup, for sure.
glad to hear Joest is on the job and making the necessary improvements to make the car competitive.
glad to hear Joest is on the job and making the necessary improvements to make the car competitive.
#120
40th anniversary Edition
Hey I have been part (as crew and photographer) of championship winning racing teams in SCCA and IMSA including VW & Mazda (Valvoline/Inner City Youth Racing); Mazda (Z&W), and Porsche (Al Holbert) teams ,so I do know that this process takes time. Yes the shorter races may yield better results. I guess I am spoiled for how well the rotary and Porsche teams did in endurance races.
I did not know the full extent of how poorly the previous Mazda prototype cars were designed, under the skin.
I did not know the full extent of how poorly the previous Mazda prototype cars were designed, under the skin.
Last edited by gwilliams6; 03-28-2018 at 12:20 PM.
#121
Administrator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (7)
Long Beach is this weekend, you guys ready?
IMSA handed out some BoP adjustments for the race and it should be interesting to see how that affects the cars. (Mazda changes in bold)
less boost and fuel restriction?
ouch.
Lets hope it doesn't hurt their pace too much and they can maintain a similar fuel strategy to the rest of the pack.
IMSA handed out some BoP adjustments for the race and it should be interesting to see how that affects the cars. (Mazda changes in bold)
All four DPi manufacturers have been hit with Balance of Performance changes ahead of next weekend’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at Long Beach.
There have been boost reductions across the board for the three teams running turbocharged prototypes.
The Acura ARX-05, Mazda RT24-P and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring-winning Nissan Onroak DPi have all had their boost levels affected for the first sprint race of the year.
Cadillac’s DPi-V.R, meanwhile, will run with a 0.6 mm smaller air restrictor than it had at Sebring, while the Joest-run Mazda DPis have also been been hit with a 10 kg weight increase.
No aero changes have been made to the Prototype category, which has 14 cars listed for the third round of the season.
All four DPi manufacturers, however, will have reduced fuel capacities, with Acura and Nissan losing 3 liters, Cadillac 2 liters less and the Mazda getting handed a considerable 7-liter decrease.
The changes come amid a dominant run from DPis at Sebring, which saw the global-spec LMP2 cars, which are not subject to BoP adjustments by IMSA, struggle to match the pace in the 12-hour race.
There have been boost reductions across the board for the three teams running turbocharged prototypes.
The Acura ARX-05, Mazda RT24-P and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring-winning Nissan Onroak DPi have all had their boost levels affected for the first sprint race of the year.
Cadillac’s DPi-V.R, meanwhile, will run with a 0.6 mm smaller air restrictor than it had at Sebring, while the Joest-run Mazda DPis have also been been hit with a 10 kg weight increase.
No aero changes have been made to the Prototype category, which has 14 cars listed for the third round of the season.
All four DPi manufacturers, however, will have reduced fuel capacities, with Acura and Nissan losing 3 liters, Cadillac 2 liters less and the Mazda getting handed a considerable 7-liter decrease.
The changes come amid a dominant run from DPis at Sebring, which saw the global-spec LMP2 cars, which are not subject to BoP adjustments by IMSA, struggle to match the pace in the 12-hour race.
ouch.
Lets hope it doesn't hurt their pace too much and they can maintain a similar fuel strategy to the rest of the pack.
#122
Administrator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (7)
1st practice of the day is in the books and Mazda is showing good speed.
although there's 3 cars between them and the leader, that's a pretty good pace so far.
There's a 2nd practice later today and then we'll see what the cars really have in them when they qualify later today.
- Action express was fastest with a lap of 1m13.582s
- The #77 of Mazda was 5th with a lap of 1m13.743s
although there's 3 cars between them and the leader, that's a pretty good pace so far.
There's a 2nd practice later today and then we'll see what the cars really have in them when they qualify later today.
#123
Administrator
Thread Starter
iTrader: (7)
More lap records shattered at Long Beach today during qualifying and Mazda finishes 3rd!
c'mon Mazda.
looking forward to seeing them take a run at this tomorrow.
c'mon Mazda.
looking forward to seeing them take a run at this tomorrow.
Last edited by Jedi54; 04-13-2018 at 11:23 PM.
#124
4th (77) and 9th (55) which is not quite better than last year.
Jarvis in 77 had a good tussle with an Acura towards the end, but an LMP2 and Cadillac got by Bomarito (55) during the last several minutes. I think the BoP adjustments hurt Mazda and Acura more than the Cadillacs.
Jarvis in 77 had a good tussle with an Acura towards the end, but an LMP2 and Cadillac got by Bomarito (55) during the last several minutes. I think the BoP adjustments hurt Mazda and Acura more than the Cadillacs.
#125
Rockie Mountain Newbie
I can't understand how a race car, that already makes less power than every other engine in the series, needs to have its power levels reduced, more weight added, and have their fuel load decreased.
In what alternate universe is that Balanced and Fair?
BC.