Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

sorry for the slow responses, been a really busy couple of days with some home improvement projects.

Man, what a way to end the season!
I thought the Cadillacs would be way too strong for the field given their speed leading up to the race and given the blistering speed they showed in the first 2 hours but that's the funny thing about endurance races, anything can happen.
when the 77 moved to the lead, I thought they had a legit chance to hold it but unfortunately that same fuel injector issue plagued the car. Bummer because they had the pace and the victory slipped between their fingers. Either way, in a way it showed that the BoP was working because all 3 manufacturers had a chance to win.

I'm really looking forward to next season given the success that Mazda had, where the series is going and the fact that it'll be the last year of these current prototypes so I expect teams to leave it all on the table.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

obviously the BIG news today was Doonan being named the new IMSA President. I did NOT see that one coming but talk about picking the right guy for the job. Doonan lives and breathes racing and has a proven track record in motorsports so congrats to him and I'm sure he'll do well.
It'll be interesting to see where Mazda goes without Doonan but I think the program overall is in great hands with multimatic being so hands on, Joest running the race strategies, and the steller driver lineup they currently have.

going into next season i wonder if Joest will still be around (I believe their contract is now officially up)
will Mazda make further enhancements to the car? (not sure if they're allowed to switch engines but I had heard rumors of them testing a 2.5L)
Customer car for 2020?
so many questions but still stoked to see where Doonan takes the series and what role Mazda will play in it all.

gwilliams6

But with the BOP, they will never have the pace and have to count on the Caddy's or Acura misfortune to get a place. Not the way to compete fairly. Joest will probably exit now from Mazda, they won't want to be saddled with a car that is crippled by IMSA, that only hurts their reputation as a winning team.

SayNoToPistons

iTrader: (8)

That is certainly happy news and a well deserved position for Doonan. I'm sure it's no surprise in-house at Mazda.

I don't see why Joest would jump ship given the fact that they finally have the logistics and technicalities buttoned up. Their year and a half of hard work finally paid off this season.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

yeah, I actually listened to an interview he did with sportscar365 and it was cool to hear him talk about how it all came together starting with a phone call back in March and by May he had a meeting with Moro-San (Mazda CEO) where he told him that there was only ever one job that would ever cause him to leave Mazda and this was it.

The Joest thing is interesting becasue it's not whether they stick around but whether Mazda still keeps investing that type of money into them managing that program given their expansion with the Mazda TCR car and with Doonan not running the show, will his replacement value them as much as he did.
Joest did one HELL of a job considering the mess they inherited from SpeedSource and it was great to see them get back to their winning ways towards the end of the season.

Interesting note, going into Pettit LeMans

• Cadillad had 3 wins
• Acura had 3 wins
• Mazda had 3 wins

This leaves the series in a great position heading into Daytona (which will be here before we know it)

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

one more thing about next season, I think we could see LMP2 car participation go way up.
They were talking about it during that sportscar365 podcast that the cost to run LMP2 has remained relatively low ($1.5-$2M per season) which is almost HALF of what teams were spending on GTD cars.
Sounds like Oreca sold and / or has commitments from several teams that might make the move to LMP2 as it is more bang for the buck and they think LMP2 cars could double or triple by next season. I'd love to see that given that it was literally just 2 cars out there all season and at Pettit LeMans neither car even finished the race.


oh and in the GT LeMans class, I can't wait to see that new Corvette turning laps.

Steve Dallas

Finally made it through the whole race. That was a pretty great show. Mazda is steadily getting stronger and stronger. Hopefully next year the reliability gremlins will all be identified and fixed. And hopefully IMSA will let them take it to the big boys.

gwilliams6

IMSA will never let Mazda dominate the big-money boys, not going to happen next year either, sorry. .

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

oh not this again gwilliams.
c'mon man, you're so jaded.

SayNoToPistons

iTrader: (8)

Agreed, it becoming tiring.There may be a potential to be biased, but they're not crooked.

Jedi, what's your source for IMSA news? I'd like to keep up with developments during the off season. Mazda being back on track this past season has my enthusiasm back on track as well.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

SNTP: my go to sites (in this order) are
https://sportscar365.com/ - They do a great job of covering the series, better than any other site I've found.
https://racer.com/ - Good but they don't cover IMSA as much as SC365 when it's not a race weekend.

I agree, Mazda showing so much potential this season really has me intrigued and looking forward to next season. I don't think I've been this engaged since Mazda was dominating with their RX-8's about 10 years ago. This is what we've been hoping / waiting for and I for one am excited to see if they can carry that momentum into next season

gwilliams6

I have been involved with both Porsche ,,Mazda and their teams in IMSA since the 1979 24 hours of Daytona, both as a news photojournalist, race team photographer, and occasional crew member. I have seen this play out in several classes that Mazda has competed in . Mazda has had historic success in IMSA in RS, GTU, GTO, Camel Lights, and more, but they also have had to fight against unfair BOP every time they were dominate. In each of those fights it was a major manufacturer that cried foul at the little car maker that could. I hope Mazda gets some relief next season, but I am not holding my breath waiting for that. I give team Joest and all much credit for how far they have come and how hard they have fought.

Federighi

iTrader: (7)

Good thread. While I'm not currently following competitive sports, I must say I believe there is substance to gwilliams6's pov. Considering how much corruption, abuse and scandal seem to exist is every corner of life, this revelation should come as no surprise to anyone. I equate modern sports / entertainment very much to the latin poem by Juvenal. It's all a distraction from what matters most...

Bread and circuses - ESDAW

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Holy crap, MAJOR news over at Indycar: Roger Penske has just bought Indycar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!
Whoa. That's cool

While I don't follow the Indycar series, it seems as though they've been looking for a buyer for some time and what better owner than someone who lives racing like Roger Penske.
Lots of details still coming out (including how this isn't a conflict of interest for him) but what is exciting is how this could have an impact on the IMSA series.

Racer.com was has some thought on it here: https://racer.com/2019/11/05/penske-...car-imsa-ties/
I have to agree that seeing Indy and IMSA at Long Beach this past year was reall cool and I think the two series working together to get more shared race wekeends could really help the sport as a whole as motor car racing is still alive and well here in the US and attracting large audiences.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

side note: as we get closer to the Roar before 24 and more IMSA 2020 news comes out, I will most likely start a new thread for the new season so be on the lookout for that soon.

Steve Dallas

Whoa. That is all.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

Thanks everyone for making this such a fun thread all season long, I just happened to notice we had almost 300 posts and 14,993 views this year! (by far our most active season thread since I started these 6 years ago)

With that said, time for our 2020 thread which I'll put up in a few minutes since IMSA just posted an article last night about Mazda's 2020 season. How's that for a teaser.