Thoughts on ALMS's LMPC formula

This year ALMS unveiled many changes to the structure of the series. Two of the most noticalbe changes are the addition of two "Challenge" classes. GT Challenge consists of variants of the ever popular Porsche Cup car and ran at selected events in 2009. 2010 marks the first year for Le Mans Prototype Challenge, or LMPC. The class consists of spec Courage prototype chassis with Corvette engines supplying the power. The whole idea is to allow teams to experience prototype racing on a budget.

IMSA estimates the full season budget to run one of these cars to be around $1.0M. But don't be fooled by
the budget minded nature of the class; these are real LMP cars. They feature paddle shift gear boxes and the chassis was originally built for Courage's LMP2 machine. Costs are kept under control by cutting back on many of the high tech electronics found in     LMP1 and LMP2 machines, and the sealed          engine                  
package. Unfortunately the teams will most likely end up spending more than the intended $1.0M. Sebring showed us that the teams severely lack spare parts. Sebring is a notoriously bumpy circuit and tends to always be especially hard on new machinery. When teams broke certain parts there was a scramble to try and find a replacement and this resulted in long stays behind pitwall. The Level 5 Motorsports team spent 3 hours behind the wall and Team Gunnar had to drive around for a whole stint with a broken rear shock. The cars also seem severely down on power, even the most experienced drivers like Ryan Hunter Reay had difficulty passing the GT cars. Once the hot-shoes stepped out and the gentlemen drivers stepped in, it was obvious to see that some of  the GT2 cars were being held up. At a track like Long Beach this is a recipe for disaster. Hopefully the ALMS gives the cars a bigger restrictor to give these cars some much needed power.

Stay tuned for Long Beach news and predictions

Photo credit: John Dagys