Fia gt1

[ioan]

Watched both races at Zolder this week end and have to say I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the level of competition in this series. Watching the BMW Z4 fight tooth and nails to stay ahead of the charging SLS yesterday, as well as the Porsche fighting hard under extreme pressure from the Z4 today was seriously entertaining.

Anyone else following this series closely?

[F1boat]

Yes, I follow the series this year and I am pleasantly surprised by the results. After Nogaro, I expected that Audi will win again, but we had a highly entertaining and competitive races. I have to admit that it is very nice to see so many beautiful cars racing each other. For me it is difficult to choose which to support, but I agree with John Watson - to see Porsche, with their classic silhouette, winning against so many modern sports cars, is frankly awesome

[ioan]

Audi made serious strategy mistakes with their tire choice.
Yesterday they stayed on wets when the track was drying, today they started on slicks when the rain was about to start falling. They were clueless.

I supported the BMW as they were the outside bet for this race and because I've been a long time supporter of Michael Bartels, however I was just as happy to see Mike Parisy take the win in the 911 Porsche, which has a classic silhouette but also impressive modern technology beneath it's skin.

[F1boat]

BMW did very well and I think that they will continue to do well, as the Vitaphone team is probably the best in GT racing, they won numerous championships with Maserati and Michael Bartels... I am also curious when Hexis will be able to unlock the potential of the McLarens.

[wedge]

Considering Ioan denigrated F1 I'm greatly surprised how he can rave about FIA GTs

I find FIA GTs far too contrived for my liking.

It's now basically glorified Touring Car racing just to make GT racing TV friendly.

Performance balancing and success ballast.

It started off with 4hr races, 3hrs, 2hrs and now twin 1hr races with mandatory pit window. Its not how GT/endurance racing should be IMO, even if Stephane Ratel has cornered the market in making GT racing appealing.

SRO has done a fantastic job with GT3s and GT4 but money in GTs is drying up. Watching some of the top drivers in the had its appeal but less so now. Saying that Portugal/Portimao will always be a must. A shame San Luis isn't on the calender this year as well. Another under rated circuit.

[ioan]

GT1 racing is not endurance racing.
Check the WEC and the Blancpain series for endurance racing, you'll be surprised to find the same cars though as in GT1.

[harvick#1]

these are not GT1 cars, they are GT3's. GT1's were the old Dodge Viper, Corvette C6R, and Aston Martin DBR9, Maserati MC-12, Saleen S7, etc... they were far faster than any GT2 car but the cost was unbearable and they killed the class.

GT2 is now the top GT class

[F1boat]

GT1 World is not endurance and thanks to God for that. I love the cars, but could not stand to watch 3 or 6 hours of racing. The new format is fun and entertaining, with iconic cars and lots of overtaking. About the ballast, as John Watson said, after all, these series are for fun and, as ioan pointed, there are some endurance racing with these cars So I am a huge fan of the current GT1 World series.
But I don't agree with ioan about F1.

[wedge]

GT1 racing is not endurance racing.
Check the WEC and the Blancpain series for endurance racing, you'll be surprised to find the same cars though as in GT1.

What you think of F1 today is what I think of FIA GTs today = gimmicks for people with a short attention span.

GT1 World is not endurance and thanks to God for that. I love the cars, but could not stand to watch 3 or 6 hours of racing. The new format is fun and entertaining, with iconic cars and lots of overtaking. About the ballast, as John Watson said, after all, these series are for fun and, as ioan pointed, there are some endurance racing with these cars So I am a huge fan of the current GT1 World series.
But I don't agree with ioan about F1.

If it's not endurance racing then what is it? Why the mandatory pit stops and driver changes for a 1hr race? Why on earth does it require a 'qualifying race'? After all it is supposed to be a top tier category, not a national series as is say SRO affilliated British GT championship which too has 1hr races.

IMHO it's glorified Touring Car racing. If you took away the pit stops its not that much different to WTCC.

[algarvissimo]

Hello from a new member,
living 26km from the race track of Portimao, I saw there will be FIA GT1 racing in June. I used to be F1 all the way till some years ago, but know not much about GT. Any recommendations on reading and understanding GT?
Thank you