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GRAND-AM
GRAND-AM: SPEED’s Till, Schroeder React To ALMS Merger
SPEED sports car racing analysts and former drivers Brian Till and Dorsey Schroeder shared their opinions and reactions to today's merger announcement...
Today, Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) officially announced they are merging into one sports car racing organization, starting competition together beginning with the 2014 racing season.
SPEED sports car racing analysts and former drivers Brian Till and Dorsey Schroeder shared their opinions and reactions to this historic announcement. Each have driven, and covered both series, throughout their careers. Here is what they had to say.
Brian Till, SPEED Sports Car Racing Analyst…
Initial reaction…
“I think in general, it’s probably the best outcome after having two sports car series for however many years. Like anything else, I think the idea of successful implementation is one thing, and actual completion of those ideas is another. Obviously, both series have some very serious and intelligent staff members working with them, and they have tremendous amounts of work ahead, not only organize the classes in the best interest of the sport, but also in the best interest of their competitors, sponsors, and I think I even heard (Grand-Am President & CEO) Ed Bennett say that, to make sure people didn’t lose a lot in trying to recapitalize a program because the rules had changed so much. I think if they can reach all of those goals, they’ll have single series that provides a highly marketable platform from which to build with towards the future. They have a tremendous amount of work ahead of them.
What are the strengths of both series you would like to see implemented?
“The (Grand-Am) Rolex Series has always been known for such close competition, and it still is. You look at it; you are going to be guaranteed a good race every weekend. That being said, I had the pleasure of calling the closest finish in ALMS history two weeks ago at Road America, so it’s not like they don’t have great racing as well. The ALMS has always had a more international flavor to it because of its ties directly to Le Mans, and it’s been a very high-tech series, so I thoroughly enjoy both of them for those reasons. There’s close racing in the Rolex, and obviously, there’s close racing in ALMS. The GT categories in both of them are very strong, and when you look toward the future, it just seems worldwide right now, that GT racing is stronger than prototype racing. I think that’s going to stay that way for a while because the manufacturers have identified with the idea and the concept that we’re going to race ‘what we sell’ and know that it’s easily identifiable to the customer base.
How important is Le Mans to the overall health of sports car racing, and that connection to the North American Series?
“I think half the sports car fans out there have a near religious relationship with Le Mans, and how it attaches to sports car racing, not only in the United States, but worldwide. They look at it as that center pillar of what sports car racing is all about. There’s another group that doesn’t, and then there’s a group of fans that have yet to be reached, that hopefully, can be reached with this merger, and fans who will be introduced to sports car racing, as a fantastic alternative to other forms of motor sport. It’s very easy to recognize the GT car class for certain, as recognizing the different makes and models racing against each other. You want to maintain the purist; you want to reach out to a new fan who may not understand the history of sports car racing. And I’m not sure that it’s imperative that they do, but that they understand that it’s a viable entertainment property. The two are not mutually inclusive, but the two certainly aren’t mutually exclusive.
Overall thoughts on the future of sports car racing…
“The implementation of the idea has been a long-time coming, seeing it through to its fruition; I have no doubt that it’s going to take place. It’s going to be a lot of work when you look at the staff on both sides. They are going have to sit down and come up with models and ways to eventually narrow down the scope of their competition department, and the rules and regulations. I think everybody needs to be realistic about that, as I liken it to a funnel, and it’s very broad right now. There are five classes of cars in the American Le Mans Series, there are two in the Rolex Sports Car Series, and you have seven classes of cars that are initially going to have to be narrowed down into just a few classes. That’s not going to happen overnight; it’s fantastic that they’ll maintain the relationship that they have for 2013. They have to do that anyway because of contractual responsibilities on both series parts, it also gives them more time to begin to try to ascertain how they are going to do that. There are going to be some people, some competitors that aren’t happy. There are going to be some competitors that do have to re-capitalize some of their equipment because they will become obsolete in the top class. What I hope that they do, with all of these other series that are underneath these sanctioning bodies, I would hope that there are competitors that would find their equipment viable for the top series. That they’ll find a place to race it in one of the support series along the way… If they can do that, it will be a homerun. But there’s going to be a lot of batting practice to get to that homerun though, and they are going to strike out from time-to-time too. I think they’ll be able to get that done.
SPEED sports car racing analysts and former drivers Brian Till and Dorsey Schroeder shared their opinions and reactions to this historic announcement. Each have driven, and covered both series, throughout their careers. Here is what they had to say.
Brian Till, SPEED Sports Car Racing Analyst…
Initial reaction…
“I think in general, it’s probably the best outcome after having two sports car series for however many years. Like anything else, I think the idea of successful implementation is one thing, and actual completion of those ideas is another. Obviously, both series have some very serious and intelligent staff members working with them, and they have tremendous amounts of work ahead, not only organize the classes in the best interest of the sport, but also in the best interest of their competitors, sponsors, and I think I even heard (Grand-Am President & CEO) Ed Bennett say that, to make sure people didn’t lose a lot in trying to recapitalize a program because the rules had changed so much. I think if they can reach all of those goals, they’ll have single series that provides a highly marketable platform from which to build with towards the future. They have a tremendous amount of work ahead of them.
What are the strengths of both series you would like to see implemented?
“The (Grand-Am) Rolex Series has always been known for such close competition, and it still is. You look at it; you are going to be guaranteed a good race every weekend. That being said, I had the pleasure of calling the closest finish in ALMS history two weeks ago at Road America, so it’s not like they don’t have great racing as well. The ALMS has always had a more international flavor to it because of its ties directly to Le Mans, and it’s been a very high-tech series, so I thoroughly enjoy both of them for those reasons. There’s close racing in the Rolex, and obviously, there’s close racing in ALMS. The GT categories in both of them are very strong, and when you look toward the future, it just seems worldwide right now, that GT racing is stronger than prototype racing. I think that’s going to stay that way for a while because the manufacturers have identified with the idea and the concept that we’re going to race ‘what we sell’ and know that it’s easily identifiable to the customer base.
How important is Le Mans to the overall health of sports car racing, and that connection to the North American Series?
“I think half the sports car fans out there have a near religious relationship with Le Mans, and how it attaches to sports car racing, not only in the United States, but worldwide. They look at it as that center pillar of what sports car racing is all about. There’s another group that doesn’t, and then there’s a group of fans that have yet to be reached, that hopefully, can be reached with this merger, and fans who will be introduced to sports car racing, as a fantastic alternative to other forms of motor sport. It’s very easy to recognize the GT car class for certain, as recognizing the different makes and models racing against each other. You want to maintain the purist; you want to reach out to a new fan who may not understand the history of sports car racing. And I’m not sure that it’s imperative that they do, but that they understand that it’s a viable entertainment property. The two are not mutually inclusive, but the two certainly aren’t mutually exclusive.
Overall thoughts on the future of sports car racing…
“The implementation of the idea has been a long-time coming, seeing it through to its fruition; I have no doubt that it’s going to take place. It’s going to be a lot of work when you look at the staff on both sides. They are going have to sit down and come up with models and ways to eventually narrow down the scope of their competition department, and the rules and regulations. I think everybody needs to be realistic about that, as I liken it to a funnel, and it’s very broad right now. There are five classes of cars in the American Le Mans Series, there are two in the Rolex Sports Car Series, and you have seven classes of cars that are initially going to have to be narrowed down into just a few classes. That’s not going to happen overnight; it’s fantastic that they’ll maintain the relationship that they have for 2013. They have to do that anyway because of contractual responsibilities on both series parts, it also gives them more time to begin to try to ascertain how they are going to do that. There are going to be some people, some competitors that aren’t happy. There are going to be some competitors that do have to re-capitalize some of their equipment because they will become obsolete in the top class. What I hope that they do, with all of these other series that are underneath these sanctioning bodies, I would hope that there are competitors that would find their equipment viable for the top series. That they’ll find a place to race it in one of the support series along the way… If they can do that, it will be a homerun. But there’s going to be a lot of batting practice to get to that homerun though, and they are going to strike out from time-to-time too. I think they’ll be able to get that done.
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