Club Arnage

Well done to Johnny Herbert and Alan McNish ......on taking first and second at Monza today.The last 40 minutes was brilliant in the heavy rain......just goes to show ghow us Brits can drive in the rain compared to our fellow dry weather competitors,from around the world.

Wishy

It was brilliant race, as you say especially in the rain. Good to see all that coverage on MotorsTV too.

I'm just worrying whether I am getting too keen on the actual car racing... Will I start watching all the action next month? Does Anoraxia beckon? Is this how it all begins?

Will I have to miss out on meeting Paula, Jayne and RS2Babe just to stand and watch cars?

Ooh it's a worry!

 8) 8) 8)

 ;)

Perdu

While you were watching.Did you see the lack of spectaors?

I wonder if Canada Phil and Matt have any comments on the Alms serie?

Wishy

Perdu - it's a massive trap! Stick to the main things like alcohol and BBQ's - otherwise you'll become a meat paste sandwich eating fan with a flask of warm lemon drink.. milky, milky!

Mr.Toad

Don't worry you can be seirous when there is racing  on TV......on the real weekend the only time I will wear an anorak is if it is raining.

Wishy

ALMS is great. I can reccommend Sebring for the 12 Hour and Road Atlanta for the Petit in September this year. Sebring wa about 100,00 and Petit 50-60,000
Matt can explain about R2D2 and the need for huge amounts of Ice to keep the Beer Cold so one can watch and drink at the same time.
Anyone wanting to do the trip? arrangements can be made to meet you and include group camping arrangements. Club Arnage Fans not a commercial venture I hasten to add. Ask Smokie if he had a good time ??? Mosport in August is such a short race it would only be worth doing if you are going to be over this side anyway.
Canada Phil

I had a GREAT time but most of that wasn't mosport related, eh Phil?  ;)

Seriously...get across the pond once to see something if you can - you WILL be able to see it (unlike LM) and for sure you will be hosted in grand style...

Couldn't agree more with Phil and Smokie - it's the dogs over here.  However, it certainly has a different feel than Le Mans - the party is still loud and crazy, but certainly not a direct substitute - more like a good augmentation - and there's nothing wrong with a good augmentation if you know what I mean.  My neighbor's wife is a good example.

Anyone heading over the Indy for the 500 or USGP?

dh

Hi Wishy
At the beginning of the year, we went to Daytona for the Rolex 24 Hours - and watching the review on TV, the place looked empty - mind you it's a massive facility. There were probably around 50,000 people there - but all in the infield - not in the stands.
Same with Le Mans coverage - aside from first and last 2 hours, the plce looks worryingly short of spectators on TV.
Generally speaking, all forms of motorsport are more heavily promoted and fan-friendly than in Europe. NASCAR and NHRA events are always a sell-out. ALMS has a strong and loyal following, uses excellent venues and makes the fans feel part of the whole deal. Nothing like as popular as stock car racing, but accessible, fun for all the family (seriously) and reasonably good value.
I suspect that European fans are more knowlegeable - Americans just love going to auto races.
At risk of hammering it to death, ALMS also uses a very clever transponder system that enables the spectator to visually identify 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each class by colour coded lights on each car. It would be invaluable at Le Mans - why they haven't adopted it, is anybodies guess - but it really adds to the spectacle when you can easily determine track position at any time, day or night.
Matt

I agree Matt, the lights system would do well at Le Mans, particularly at night. Surely it can't be that difficult to fit to the cars that don't go to the US.

Did they use them at Sebring?? If so lots of the cars must have them, already.

JP,
The lights were used at Sebring and have in fact been in use for a couple of years now.  As you said, they come in very useful any time of the day but especially at night.  I would tend to disagree with Matt one one point, that regarding the knowledge of motor racing fans here in the US.  Taken as a whole I would agree, NASCAR fans in particular are more of a weird cult than true racing fans.  However I would say that road racing fans in the US are as knowlegeable as any in the world.  Many believe that a big reason for the sucess of the Petit, Le Mans is that it fills a autumn void left by the departure of F1 from Watikins Glen at the end of 1980.  Real road racing fans here in the States have never embraced the USGP at Indy and are unlikely too even less know that its been moved to June.  Road racing and in particular sportscar racing has a rich history over here with the Can-Am series and IMSA and dare I say its been far healthier over here for much its history and especially in recent years than in Europe.
John

Matt

You were talking about the coloured lights to make the spectators aware of the car positions at Sebring...etc.  

Don't quote me but at last years race I could have sworn that there were marker lights fitted to the cars for the same purpose.......mind you I could have been mistaken through the alcoholic haze,and i'm sure radio lemans talked about it as well.

Wishy

Oh buggerit! Now I'm beginning to worry for real. Have you seen the last few posts in here? Getting more serious?

I can rely on RadioLeMans to tell me who's doing what, to whom, mstly. Don't want them telling the same about me though.... ;)

Never fear for Bill, he will never allow any mechanical contrivance to take his mind from the truly important things in life..... Paula, Jayne, Rs2Babe, beer, jayne, beer, Paula more beer more Paula Jayne, Mrs Rs2Babe, beer, more beer, beer and more.... :-*

Well I bet you get the drift...oh yes Mr Toad, barbies and pools too. A man needs priorities after all, and standards!
 :D :D :D

I thought there was a very small crowd too. Nearly empty around the podium. Compare that with the hordes around the podium at Le Mans last year, weird. Great spectacle though! ;D

Bill

You must have dreamed it Wishy. These are not marker lights - usually roof or door mirror mounted - to help identify cars to pit/signalling crews during the hours of darkness.
They are mounted in the side of the car, usually in the door panel or rear quarter panel. They are 3 large LED's Red (LMP), Green (GTS) and Blue (GT)
If 1 light is on, the car is leading it's class, 2 it's running 2nd etc., etc.
It allows the spectator to follow the action in an enduro and means you can leave trackside for a few bevvies, a barby or even some shut-eye and pick the whole ting up when you get back. It also indicates when two cars are racing for position - all in all a lot more involving.
Radio Le Mans is better than nowt, but it's obviously not constantly updating track position and could never report a diving manoever for 2nd place in GT at any particular spot on the track. Le Mans needs this system - I can't think why they wouldn't embrace it.  

The position lights are nice but of course from time to time contact between cars can throw wrench into the lighting system.  There was a car circulating at Sebring (can't remember for the life of me what it was) that clearly had taken a pop in the side and its lights were flashing sequentially up like airfield landing lights.
John

This is something I've never really been able to understand either. Actually keeping the spectators informed would seem like a no-brainer priority to me.
I think one year we had a tower, similar to Indy, but it never actually got up and running. Work that one out.
RLM's ok, but you don't get that many updates, and it's not unusual to have to sit through a lot of drivel before hearing what's what. Actually, when I say it's ok, I mean it's been pretty poor the last couple of years. Recovering conciousness on a Sunday morning is always a very disorientating experience, bringing more questions than answers. 'Who's in front?' normally goes unanswered for a while. 'Who am I?' though, usually gets answered straight away, and it's not always flattering.
I read somewhere of a radio attachment for a gameboy, which constantly updates the display with race order, now that sounds neat, but not as good as actually having the position lit up on the car. Can you get shirts that do the same?
H

Even if they don't use the ALMS transdponder system a few strategically placed electronic scoreboards would be helpful.
At Sebring, Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta, etc. they have video screens showing the Speedchannel feed as well as simple electronic scoreboards that continually cycle through the standings in each class.  This comes in very handy at some venues because the ALMS radio network feed can sometimes be at best...challenging.  Dave and I bought a pair a cheap radio headphones at a Sebring Walmart once that left us convinced they were programed to only pick up country music.
John

I saw a dude at Sebring using one of these - looked like it worked pretty well.
There are other track monitoring devices you can rent here in the US that provide you with a variety of different data and information - including circuit TV links (believe it or not) for pits footage during the race etc.  I remember them for rent at Road Atlanta.

But all these great things would only be viable if the ACO gave a flying crap.  I rather suspect they interpret the needs of most fans to be grubby turd-laden fields where folks can stack-up empty green beer bottles and the ability to buy $40 per bottle mediocre Champers.

Yes, I came to the conclusion a few years ago that they in fact don't.

Last year they decided that seeing as how the big screen in the village had been so popular in 2002, then we really didn't need it in 2003. Viewing has gradually got worse, and any areas that could be improved haven't. Hope is not lost though! I reckon this year they will excel in the 'turd laden field' field, as MB is now much larger, and you can bet your anusol that there will be no extra showers or bogs. It's deja-vu time I think.
Isn't it dijon-vu when you think you've had that mustard before?
H

Christ it must have been a nightmare before RLM because at times it can be a fiasco with RLM.  In all fairness they do seem to try very hard but as you guys have said, the updates can be few & far between and good grief the pitlane reporting is a three ring circus in itself.  A few years ago we were sitting around the old champers stand and I was listening to some guy on RLM telling me that the Toyota lads had set about changing that "metal thingy" at the back of the car...What the f**k! Metal thingy?  Gearbox, halfshaft...wheel nut perhaps?  Incisive bit a reporting that was.
John

Hi Guys, The live scoring system is called iCard and it fits
into a gameboy. Gives a live feed of the timing and scoring that ALMS feed to the screens in the pits. It has taken 3 years to get it working at all and still alittle unstable ( aren't we all ???) However at $169 a bit expensive for one or two races a year. Fax i think the flashing postion lights is the default position as they all do that for the practice sessions to test they are working. The scoreboards are indeed briliant and make for a better understanding of what is going on. I too recall RLM being more informative in 99 than in recent years.
Canada Phil

Nice one fax!
That reminds me, I've got to re-new some of the metal thingies inside the big metal whatsit in the brick thingy next to the thingy with a tiled thing on top where I sleep.
H

What a phantastic weekend !!! ;D Despite the forecast this one  8) was needed, I burned my skin, excellent. Pictures will come tomorrow, I didn't have the time to go through all of them yet.
Monza IS racing history. I wasn't aware that the old oval does still exist. However, as Martin Short said, this place is a bitch to get to. ;D The Italian road signs are rarely pointing into the correct direction.

Phil,
Come to think of it, I have seen cars circulating with the lights flashing during morning warm-up.  Makes sense to run the test signal then.  HGB, must admit I'm jealous that you've been to Monza.  Its always been one of those venues I've wanted to see before I check into that great Holiday Inn in the sky.  The old banking while still there, is apparently in a terrible state and may have to be torn down for saftey reasons.  Motor Sport magazine visited Monza a few years ago to take a look around the banking and things looked pretty grim.  The underside is crumbling badly and there just isn't the money to repair it.  The was some kind of a fund drive going on a few years ago to raise some dosh to help restore it but I'm not sure what ever became of that.
John