"" .....and Mazda goes NASCAR. This car has as much in common with a stock RX-8 as a Winston Cup cars ........."

NASCAR with wankel engines....... I might watch that!
LMAO

What makes anyone think that Prep 2 cars run against prep1 cars? That's like saying since GT, and GTS cars run at the same time they race each other, true, but not for points. Basicly, who cares, if its exciting to watch, and uses technology we can learn from, I personally would watch it. I love DTM, JGTC, and AU supercars(all same premise). I think it is some of the most exciting racing to watch on the planet...

Carl,

Grand-Am's 2005 GT rules and regs (link here: http://www.grandamerican.com/CONTENT...0GT%209-14.pdf) do:

"The GT class for 2005 will be comprised of two distinct preparation methods, all designed to have cars at similar competition level for GT class racing.

Prep 1 Unibody GT...

Prep 2 Semi-Tupe GT..."

If you go to sporting regs (http://www.grandamerican.com/CONTENT...gs%2011-15.pdf) you'll see:

"Grand American will award points in each class by finishing positions..."

and

"Grand American will recongnize manufacturer champoinships in each class as follows -
15-6.1 Daytona Prototype - engine and chassis manufacturer
15-6.2 GT- automobile brand manufacturer
15-6.3 Grand-Am Cup (all classes) - automobile brand manufacturer"

Didn't see anything stating that points would be awarded seperately for the two prep levels in GT. Hence my discontent.

Gene

I'd rather see a tube or semi-tube frame periph 20b rx8 have a chance to win than a unibody rx8 2rotor renesis get it's butt handed to it every race.

Plus when you add in the years, decade(s) of R&D the Porsches and BMW M3's have had to develop and tune I'm glad to see the Rx8 is given a good platform to start with.

And it's not like Grand-Am does not do competetion adjustments during the season.

Thanks for taking the time to look that up Gene. I do think that you will see weight adders, restrictors ETC ALa world challenge, JGTC etc, so I think it's more cars, more intreresting designs, and more fun, which for me is what it's all about. On a side note, all the '04 GA tires are on closeout from Hoosier, at a nce savings. anyone know the difference between the "Cup" tires, and the "Rolex" tires?

Looks like from the practice times our beloved rotary was the slowest car there. In other news a guy by the name of Zach Arnold from my home town (Tiffin, OH) who I've raced with in ITS is entered in GT with a Corvette. Small world.

http://www.gscdownloads.com/leh/role...testing002.jpg
http://www.gscdownloads.com/leh/role...testing003.jpg
http://www.gscdownloads.com/leh/role...testing004.jpg
http://www.gscdownloads.com/leh/role...testing033.jpg
http://www.gscdownloads.com/leh/role...testing038.jpg

Jeezus, I just drooled all over my damn keyboard. Those cars are sexy!!!!

I was going to grab those pics of Lehmans post, thanks for saving me the time ;)

i don't know if anyone noticed the 935 (think K3) in one of those pictures. now that is a racecar

What... and a purpose-built, tube-framed 8 isn't a racecar?!?!?

I noticed it. And you are correct sir! :D

Goldin Brothers must be having teething problems with their new toy, which is to be expected. I hope they resolve them and pick up some speed. Otherwise they won't Qualify for Daytona.

Excuse my ignorance on Grand-Am and feel free to correct me:
In Grand-Am all the engines make the same peak HP, correct? For instance in the DP class they've got a 4.4L Lexus engine competeting against a Pontiac 5.5L (destroked racing LS1) and each have different specified maximum revs. They specify specific parts to castrate the engines, such as on the racing LS1 I believe they are required to have a OEM Camaro throttle body. Does anyone know what the HP numbers are? Without looking into it, I suspect that the GTs are in the ~400hp range. I don't see why they couldn't take a 3-rotor engine, make the HP with a PP and have the Grand-Am officials agree to certain port dimensions. Then they'd specify it in the rules and everyone would be happy.

That RX-8 is one nasty looking racecar (I mean that in a good way!) and black is certainly its color. I just hope they can get it sorted and up to speed!

I can't wait to see the car in person for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. It's less than two weeks away. Also, Speed Source should have another great year in Grand-AM Cup.

Whether it shares any resemblance underneath to a stock RX-8 or not, the car is great looking! Hopefully they can be competitive.

Qualifying is Thursday Feb 3rd. Wish the 8 lots o luck. Hope to see it on Speed Tv.

52 08 GT 26 K Goldin/ S Goldin/ Finlay/ Sh Goldin Brothers Racing / Mazda RX-8 2:07.188 100.764 CCM Cellular/ C-Wings Inc/ Malibu Beach Beverage Co

Well they qualified at the back of the pack with a 2:07.188. Fastest Gt was 1:55.9 so they have an uphill battle. Best of luck boys!

It's not so necessarily who's the fastest at the start of the race but rather who has fallen off the least over 24 hours that counts. Rotaries have been pretty good in this area in the past. Of course if you get a car that is alot faster and still doesn't fall off as much, you're screwed.

2.07? What I saw on live timing from final qualifying was the fact they are 30+ seconds off the pace in their own category nevermind the DP's. Their going to be lapped in the first ten mins. And in the cup race Tremblay's 8 that started from the pole wound up 30th overall. I should have bought the new FRD mustang... :D

That's not so true anymore. The cars are so well developed that the 24 hour races end up running at the same pace as regular events. They run hard the whole time nowadays...

Too bad they were out after two hours. Buddy of mine at the race said they crashed but it didn't even make the highlights :(

Yes, but they also repaired the vehicle, and got back in the race after about 90 minutes worth of repairs. I talked to them on the grid before the race and the plan was just to stay in the race. They managed to do that.

I haven't looked at the final results yet, but I believe they finished 49th out of 62 cars.

Wow, and just now I find this thread. I was about to ask if anyone knew anything about the car. ;)

Too bad they weren't up to pace at Daytona but... maybe that'll change? Good to see someone trying!

48 08 GT 26 Goldin/ Goldin/ Finlay/ Shuster Goldin Brothers Racing / Mazda RX-8 336 2:04.747 95 50 CCM Cellular/ C-Wings Inc/ Malibu Beach Beverage

The 8 finished 48th out of 63 overall, placed 26th out of 34 in GT class. Fastest lap time 2:04.747 and 336 laps completed.

A Porsche finished first in GT class with a 1:56.89 fastest lap time and 664 laps completed.

Could have been worse boys. At least they qualified and ran half the laps that the 1st place car in class did. Remember the 13b periph Miata that didn't qualify for Daytona a few years ago?

The 8 will gain some speed and be more reliable; remember, they just finished building the car!