Offical Grand-Am GT RX-8 Thread
05-18-2009, 09:51 AM
#931
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I love the new front end. Then again I think the '09 bodywork looks nicer anyways. The plus side is that they get a performance gain from it so it's more than just cosmetics.
05-18-2009, 10:12 AM
#932
It's Not Easy Being Green
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Of course the Porsche teams were already bitching to SpeedTV about how much faster 70 was on the straights so look for more weight or another random rotary specific competitive 'adjustment' made before the 6hr enduro. Sylvain and Nick need to drive a little slower next time.
Oh and I like the Mazdaspeed front end for the 09s but the normal Mazda front end isn't nearly as nice. Hopefully the new MS front end will go on sale at some point either packaged as a Mazdaspeed body kit or on via the Mazda competition selection.
05-18-2009, 11:29 AM
#933
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05-18-2009, 11:49 AM
#934
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I'm getting rather tired of the Porsche teams crying "we're not competitive" in the series this year. I guess they must be overlooking the fact that they've won half the races thus far, two of four, including the 24 hour at Daytona. Wow...must suck to be so uncompetitive. Mazda has one win, and one third place, so the RX-8s should DEFINITELY be nerfed. Can't have them challenging Porsche's supremacy in the series.
05-18-2009, 12:31 PM
#936
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I was dusgusted with Rolex Grand Am when they came up with the RPM limitation. The Speed Source guys worked hard at making the car run like stink with the restriction and it is obvious with the poles they have taken that their hard work has paid off. Lets hope the officials leave the RX-8 alone and they may be able to move to the top.
05-18-2009, 01:33 PM
#937
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I'm getting rather tired of the Porsche teams crying "we're not competitive" in the series this year. I guess they must be overlooking the fact that they've won half the races thus far, two of four, including the 24 hour at Daytona. Wow...must suck to be so uncompetitive. Mazda has one win, and one third place, so the RX-8s should DEFINITELY be nerfed. Can't have them challenging Porsche's supremacy in the series.
Still doubt that GA will let the 8 beat up on Porsche the way it did this weekend.
05-18-2009, 02:45 PM
#938
Proud RX-8 Owner
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It'd be one thing if all the RX8s were dominating but only the #70 is consistently on top. The Racing Edge and the #69 are both able to get up in the top10 but the top Porsche teams were able to keep the Edge car and 69 car from passing. While I'm sure the extra downforce helped the #70 on this particular race it won't necessarily help them on courses that don't have such an emphasis on downforce the way Laguna Seca does.
Still doubt that GA will let the 8 beat up on Porsche the way it did this weekend.
Still doubt that GA will let the 8 beat up on Porsche the way it did this weekend.
05-20-2009, 09:31 AM
#940
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05-20-2009, 10:11 AM
#941
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I have no idea why the Germans keep crying. It must go back to that whole got their *** kicked over their superiority complex back in WWII. Whatever it is I'm sick of it. It's not like they lost by several laps or even minutes. They were bumper to bumper with the Pontiac the whole race and within sight of the Mazda the whole time so I don't know what all the fuss is about. It was close enough that a mistake in the pits could have changed the results for any of the front running teams. When are they going to realize that the best balanced cars don't have engines behind the rear axle? Even that hurdle still allows them to do remarkably well. If they'd build a race car based on the Cayman instead of the 911, they'd be hard to beat. Porsche, quit crying and actually better yourselves rather than trying to make others worse.
05-20-2009, 01:17 PM
#942
Row faster, I hear banjos
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+12345 Weird, I was having this actual discussion with someone the other day. We both agreed the mid-engine Cayman chassis would be better to use in racing than the rear engined 911 chassis.
05-20-2009, 02:10 PM
#944
Row faster, I hear banjos
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Press release from Speedsource
SpeedSource Takes Home Victory at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Posted (05/19/2009)
The SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 endured a heat soaked California day to take the GT-Class win and regain valuable championship points in Round 4 of the Rolex Sports Car Series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The team arrived on setup day with a determination to succeed while sporting the new 2009 RX-8 R3 edition front end. A clear crowd favorite, the SpeedSource Mazda sat near the top of early practice sessions foreshadowing what was to come race day.
Nick Ham started the No. 70 Mazda from the pole position after setting fast time in Saturday's qualifying. This was the third time this season that the car led from the top spot at the start of the race. Managing a congested race start, Ham held off contenders to maintain the GT lead in the opening laps of the race. "I had a good race with Leh Keen at the start and then again on one of the restarts after a caution, but was eventually able to put a little distance on him and pull away. I always enjoy racing with Leh, he's a tough racer but very fair," Nick commented.
An early caution 15 minutes into the race presented an opportunity for the team to run a two stop strategy. Pitting from the lead, a great stop by the crew got the car out of the pits faster than the other competitors to rejoin the race in second position. Ham regained the class lead after only five laps under green and would continue to hold his position. "Hats off to our engineers and the entire crew for giving Sylvain and I such an awesome car all weekend. The car was fast right out of the truck and we continued to fine tune it right up to the race. This was a huge win for SpeedSource, Mazda and Castrol especially at Mazda's home track," Ham said.
Nick Ham brought the car back to pit lane on Lap 60 to hand over driving duties to Sylvain Tremblay. With a little over an hour remaining in the race, Tremblay would have to compete with some very strong running GT cars to bring the car to the checkered flag. The two stop strategy eventually returned the car to the lead position as competitor cars cycled through their pit stops. "When you have a car that is this good to drive, you really need to concentrate on running a clean race. We had a fantastic setup for the race and the SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 was phenomenal," Tremblay said. A few late yellow flags near race end repacked the GT field, however great restarts by Tremblay were enough to hold off any charge for the lead. Tremblay commented: "The strategy by our engineers and excellent pit stops by the crew put the car in prime position for the race win. It is good to be back on the top spot of the podium and I am really happy for the guys on the team and our great sponsors for all of their work and support."
Running an equally great race, the No. 69 FXDD SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 of Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal finished the race fifth in GT. Emil kept the No. 69 running at the front of the GT field up to the halfway point of the race before handing over control to his co-driver. "It was pretty hot out on track but the guys gave Jeff and I a great car to drive," Assentato recalled.
The SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 currently sits 18 points from the championship leader. The next round of the Rolex Sports Car Series will take place at Watkins Glen International Raceway for a 6-hour endurance race on June 6th. Catch the action live on SPEED at 2pm EST
Posted (05/19/2009)
The SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 endured a heat soaked California day to take the GT-Class win and regain valuable championship points in Round 4 of the Rolex Sports Car Series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The team arrived on setup day with a determination to succeed while sporting the new 2009 RX-8 R3 edition front end. A clear crowd favorite, the SpeedSource Mazda sat near the top of early practice sessions foreshadowing what was to come race day.
Nick Ham started the No. 70 Mazda from the pole position after setting fast time in Saturday's qualifying. This was the third time this season that the car led from the top spot at the start of the race. Managing a congested race start, Ham held off contenders to maintain the GT lead in the opening laps of the race. "I had a good race with Leh Keen at the start and then again on one of the restarts after a caution, but was eventually able to put a little distance on him and pull away. I always enjoy racing with Leh, he's a tough racer but very fair," Nick commented.
An early caution 15 minutes into the race presented an opportunity for the team to run a two stop strategy. Pitting from the lead, a great stop by the crew got the car out of the pits faster than the other competitors to rejoin the race in second position. Ham regained the class lead after only five laps under green and would continue to hold his position. "Hats off to our engineers and the entire crew for giving Sylvain and I such an awesome car all weekend. The car was fast right out of the truck and we continued to fine tune it right up to the race. This was a huge win for SpeedSource, Mazda and Castrol especially at Mazda's home track," Ham said.
Nick Ham brought the car back to pit lane on Lap 60 to hand over driving duties to Sylvain Tremblay. With a little over an hour remaining in the race, Tremblay would have to compete with some very strong running GT cars to bring the car to the checkered flag. The two stop strategy eventually returned the car to the lead position as competitor cars cycled through their pit stops. "When you have a car that is this good to drive, you really need to concentrate on running a clean race. We had a fantastic setup for the race and the SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 was phenomenal," Tremblay said. A few late yellow flags near race end repacked the GT field, however great restarts by Tremblay were enough to hold off any charge for the lead. Tremblay commented: "The strategy by our engineers and excellent pit stops by the crew put the car in prime position for the race win. It is good to be back on the top spot of the podium and I am really happy for the guys on the team and our great sponsors for all of their work and support."
Running an equally great race, the No. 69 FXDD SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 of Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal finished the race fifth in GT. Emil kept the No. 69 running at the front of the GT field up to the halfway point of the race before handing over control to his co-driver. "It was pretty hot out on track but the guys gave Jeff and I a great car to drive," Assentato recalled.
The SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 currently sits 18 points from the championship leader. The next round of the Rolex Sports Car Series will take place at Watkins Glen International Raceway for a 6-hour endurance race on June 6th. Catch the action live on SPEED at 2pm EST
05-26-2009, 06:43 AM
#945
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If you're on Facebook, join the SpeedSource Mazda RX-8s (Grand-Am) group!
IRT Grand-Am favoritism, I don't really see it for the Porsches. I feel it more for the Pontiacs over the course of the last 3 seasons or so. In fact, the Porsche DPs have now joined the GT RX-8s in having rev limits. Then again, it seems the timing of appeals for "adjustments" makes a big difference. Get the rules tilted in your favor for the home stretch not early in the season should be the strategy.
IRT Grand-Am favoritism, I don't really see it for the Porsches. I feel it more for the Pontiacs over the course of the last 3 seasons or so. In fact, the Porsche DPs have now joined the GT RX-8s in having rev limits. Then again, it seems the timing of appeals for "adjustments" makes a big difference. Get the rules tilted in your favor for the home stretch not early in the season should be the strategy.
05-26-2009, 08:59 AM
#946
The Prototype
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Porsche have always been a bunch of cry babies, even in 2002 in the ALMS when the BMW M3's were dominating the Porsche teams in almost every race , they cried foul because the M3 were fitted with V8 instead of there traditional I6! Boo-hoo!
BMW made a handful of M3's with V8 in them in Germany ,very rare yes, but very legal to run because there were a limited run of these rare M3's. So ALMS let BMW run these beastly machines on the track. Porsche should have built a better 911 that could hang with that M3, its not BMW fault.
Porsche will cry foul even with there own German counterparts, let alone any manufacture that is not from Germany. They have the Hitler complex, we are better than the world , so we must win, end of story.
Since ALMS has a new class now, since GT1 has now deceased, the brand new
GT3 challenge class, I would like to see some rotaries join this class, possibly when the rotary ban is lifted in 2010.
Anyway it would be a bummer to see the #70 car get slapped with some penalty just because the Porsche teams can't hang. I hope the officials don't side with Porsche just because of 1 stellar race from ONE rotary car winning.
BMW made a handful of M3's with V8 in them in Germany ,very rare yes, but very legal to run because there were a limited run of these rare M3's. So ALMS let BMW run these beastly machines on the track. Porsche should have built a better 911 that could hang with that M3, its not BMW fault.
Porsche will cry foul even with there own German counterparts, let alone any manufacture that is not from Germany. They have the Hitler complex, we are better than the world , so we must win, end of story.
Since ALMS has a new class now, since GT1 has now deceased, the brand new
GT3 challenge class, I would like to see some rotaries join this class, possibly when the rotary ban is lifted in 2010.
Anyway it would be a bummer to see the #70 car get slapped with some penalty just because the Porsche teams can't hang. I hope the officials don't side with Porsche just because of 1 stellar race from ONE rotary car winning.
Last edited by DailyDriver2k5; 05-26-2009 at 09:11 AM.
06-05-2009, 11:13 PM
#947
Upsilon Sigma Mu Chi
Release from Grand AM Newsletter:
*Some of you probably got this.
**Watch the times, not fully covered by SPEED, they cut out halfway, then come back for the last 2 hours.
Mike
TUNE-IN ALERT
Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen
DATE: Saturday, June 6
TIME: 2 p.m. (airs until 4:30 p.m.; resumes at 6 p.m.)
NETWORK: SPEED
WHAT: Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen
Tune in to the second endurance race of the season. Competitors will face six hours of grueling, wheel-to-wheel racing, as the tight Rolex Series championship battles continue.
For weekend updates, please visit www.grand-am.com.
*Some of you probably got this.
**Watch the times, not fully covered by SPEED, they cut out halfway, then come back for the last 2 hours.
Mike
TUNE-IN ALERT
Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen
DATE: Saturday, June 6
TIME: 2 p.m. (airs until 4:30 p.m.; resumes at 6 p.m.)
NETWORK: SPEED
WHAT: Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen
Tune in to the second endurance race of the season. Competitors will face six hours of grueling, wheel-to-wheel racing, as the tight Rolex Series championship battles continue.
For weekend updates, please visit www.grand-am.com.
06-05-2009, 11:18 PM
#948
Upsilon Sigma Mu Chi
Porsche have always been a bunch of cry babies, even in 2002 in the ALMS when the BMW M3's were dominating the Porsche teams in almost every race , they cried foul because the M3 were fitted with V8 instead of there traditional I6! Boo-hoo!
Porsche will cry foul even with there own German counterparts, let alone any manufacture that is not from Germany. They have the Hitler complex, we are better than the world , so we must win, end of story.
Porsche will cry foul even with there own German counterparts, let alone any manufacture that is not from Germany. They have the Hitler complex, we are better than the world , so we must win, end of story.
06-06-2009, 10:53 AM
#949
whines all the way home
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Man I vebeen totally absent from this thread for the last month and Laguna Secca, but from looking at the galleries and the post I have to aggree, the new facelifted 09 bodywork is absolutely stunning, cant wait to see it in motion this afternoon....