2013 ALMS Schedule Posted

[cosworth151]

The Cowpie on the Prairie has destroyed another of America's great races. The American Le Mans Series just released the schedule for next season. The wonderful ALMS-IndyCar joint week-end at the beautiful, wooded Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will be sacrificed to give a date to the bland, barren Austin circuit. 

ALMS CEO Scott Atherton explained: “Our business plan calls for a maximum of 10 events. This situation, coupled with lack of viable television options with our traditional August Mid-Ohio date, prevented us from returning in 2013. We consider Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to be one of North America's best road-racing venues, and we look forward to opportunity to return with the unified series in 2014.”

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121019/alms/121019814#ixzz29r4EPw3q

[F1fanaticBD]

CEO wanted to say

"We know it is all good, and yet we will not go there to race..

Why shall we do that? Because we need to prove that we are.. STUPID"

[John S]

Come on Cos, if you were organising the ALM series would you really not consider taking your cars, in the last year as a proper tech series, to the most up to date race track surface in the US, especially to join up with the World Endurance championship?

ALMS certainly has more in common with the Endurance field than Indy cars, but I think dropping Mid-Ohio has more to do with new the tie up with Grand-Am than the emergence of COTA onto the scene.


  

[cosworth151]

Just because the FIA made an incredibly stupid move (After all, that's what the FIA does) why should the ALMS follow suit? Since the ALMS-owned Sebring is being knifed by the FIA, why in the world would The ALMS help to justify the move. If anything, they should schedule a race at Sebring for the same week-end.

COTA is a poorly designed (Tilke) track in a bland setting in an area that has proved time and time again that they only watch races that turn left. Anybody remember Texas World Speedway? Mid-Ohio is a proven, classic circuit in a beautiful woodland setting. If they felt it necessary to go to The Cowpie, why not dump one of the street circuits?

[John S]

COTA is a poorly designed (Tilke) track in a bland setting in an area that has proved time and time again that they only watch races that turn left. Anybody remember Texas World Speedway? Mid-Ohio is a proven, classic circuit in a beautiful woodland setting. If they felt it necessary to go to The Cowpie, why not dump one of the street circuits?

Without seeing a single race take place at COTA that seems an extraordinary claim to make.  

I can understand your frustration at losing the race at a venue you rate, but I'm reserving judgement until I've seen some racing take place at the new Texas track. From what I've seen from promo pics and vids, the elevation changes and variety of corners at COTA seem to make it anything but cowpie.

As for the woodland setting that's not really an objective qualification, might be real purty - but not all areas of the world are blessed with forested areas to drive through. I much prefer Brands Hatch in it's wooded setting to the open, flat and windy Silverstone, but F1 will never return to Brands.    

 

[lkjohnson1950]

I agree John. Tilke has only designed 1 decent track in my opinion, Turkey. But, I'm willing to postpone judgement on COTA until I've seen some racing there. San Antonio is a nice town, and they seem to want the race while Indy doesn't. After all the Indy road course is not exactly a classic either. As for the ALMS, Sebring not being in the WEC is a tragedy and stupid, I hope the FIA and ACO reconsider. The ALMS will get a lot more publicity and exposure to a wider audience at COTA than at Mid Ohio. I'm sure they understand the importance of M/O to their fans and will return there as soon as possible.

[cosworth151]

Without seeing a single race take place at COTA that seems an extraordinary claim to make. 

I know a Herman Tilke track will be awful the same way I know a Real Housewives of.... TV series will be awful, the same way I know an Adam Sandler movie will be awful: because they all are. They are the Trabaunts of their respective fields of endeavor.

I'm sure they understand the importance of M/O to their fans and will return there as soon as possible.

They won't exist after next year. They will be swallowed up by NASCAR and gone in 2014.

[lkjohnson1950]

Then Grand Am will race there. I know, you don't like such crude technology. I assume you also hate Sprint Cars and Midgets, because they are equally crude. Did you know that Toyota has won the last 2 LMS races with their minivan motors?

[cosworth151]

Sprints and midgets don't claim to be prototypes of future technology. They aren't supposed to be the apex of technology. They rejoice in being anachronisms. They are entry level racing.

ALMS, as good as it is, is still a feeder series. The same minican that won at Petit is a backmarker when real engines (like Audi) are in the field.