Petit Le Mans Question - Spoiler Free

"Jcarr" (jcarr)
10/05/2014 at 22:44 • Filed to: Racing, Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta

So I know pretty much nothing about racing outside of NASCAR. Out of curiosity I recorded the 2-hour coverage of Petit Le Mans on NBC today.

My question is: What is the rationale for running multiple classes on the same course at the same time? Seems like a recipe for disaster to a layman like me.

DISCUSSION (8)

IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK > Jcarr
10/05/2014 at 22:47

I think it's mostly due to practicality. Since endurance races last up to 24 hours straight it's not like you can easily have multiple sessions for all the different classes.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Jcarr
10/05/2014 at 22:47

I watched the whole 10 hours and have watched all but 2 IMSA races this season. Sports car racing when done well is so much better than NASCAR trust me. Now I didn't watch the 2 hour thing but whatever they show should be good.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > Jcarr
10/05/2014 at 22:47

That's just how endurance racing is. I don't think there really is an answer to that other than it adds to the challenge of trying to make it to the end of a really long race.

hike > Jcarr
10/05/2014 at 22:53

I think it just adds another dimension to the racing. It also allows for a lot of different competition within class. I do kind of wish they ran 2 or 3 classes instead of 4 or 5, however. I just can't keep up with all the different teams. I mostly watch for gtlm, being a big Corvette fan.

LappingLuke > Jcarr
10/05/2014 at 22:53

Other than 4x the awesomeness? I'm not sure

Viggen > Jcarr
10/05/2014 at 22:56

That's really just how sports car racing is. Sprint or endurance, it's usually multi-class. Even small tracks, like Long Beach or Lime Rock are done in the format.

And, sports car racing drivers are a bit more....cautious.

Squid > Jcarr
10/05/2014 at 23:08

The IMSA series is a merge of what was two separate series that unfortunately needed to be done to save both of the sportscar series here in the states. Also it is hard to organize separate events for the two series as they are endurance based. On the short tracks where it is a hazard to run 40-50 cars, they will break up the session but really that is just how enduro races are. Put a bunch of cars on track and make them race until the end. Also sportscar races tend to have much closer racing between classes and less rubbing is racing stuff than NASCAR. There is also the much added strategy of how to pass traffic and use the faster cars to help pass the car in front of you. I find the sportscar series to be much more entertaining than NASCAR going around in circles.

GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo > IDROVEAPICKUPTRUCK
10/06/2014 at 00:09

or past 24 hours in the case of The 25 Hours of Thunderhill