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CTSCC Rules Change for 2017 and 2018

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For 2016 they pretty much killed the class and I'm not sure if these rule changes are going to be any better. Does anyone know if the GT350 will be homologated as a GT4? And they'll need to figure out the BoP for the Mustangs and Camaros to compete with the much lighter cars.

@blacksheep-1
@ArizonaBOSS

"IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge: Beginning in 2017, IMSA will allow race cars from mainstream automotive manufacturers homologated as GT4 cars by the Stephane Ratel Organization (SRO) to compete in the series’ top Grand Sport (GS) class alongside select “grandfathered” vehicles built to IMSA GS technical regulations that are currently racing in the class.

At the start of the 2018 season, all GS category cars will be built and strictly adhere to GT4 technical regulations with the requirement that they are from a mainstream automotive manufacturer. A number of manufacturers are currently developing new GT4 race cars that will roll out gradually before the start of 2018. The Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport is already competing win the GS class, with its primary competition being the Ford Shelby Mustang GT350R-C. Recently, BMW announced plans for a GT4 car to be available in time for the 2018 season, and a number of other manufacturers are considering GT4 platforms as well.

In the Street Tuner (ST) class, all cars currently competing will be eligible to continue racing in ST through the end of the 2018 season.

IMSA is also in discussions with the Touring Car Racing (TCR) International Series, regarding a cooperation agreement for TCR-homologated cars which have consumer brand relevance in the North American market. The concept would be to initially establish an additional class within the Continental Tire Challenge beginning as early as 2018. Current cars racing in the TCR series include the Volkswagen Golf GTi, the Honda Civic and the Subaru WRX STi.

And finally, the 2017 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge schedule will include a pair of four-hour endurance races – the first on January 27 as part of the Rolex 24 At Daytona weekend, and the second at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on September 23. That second date is expected to be confirmed soon."

Read more: http://autoweek.com/article/imsa/imsa-announces-significant-changes-2017-2017-weathertech-continental-tire-series#ixzz4GYy0LqTM
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
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Not sure how the Mustang fares for GT4; the S197 is not supposed to be competitive at that build level (because that is the way they are pushing things at PWC and supposedly next year you will probably be at the back if you have a Mustang).

For the S550, not sure how this plays out. I would think that they could get the GT350 in there, but I'm not sure what all the requirements are.
 
To me, the biggest problem with GT4 is wide range of specs on the cars. Weight, Horsepower, downforce, tire sizes are all over the map. The beauty of GS was how close the M3, Camaro SS, and 302R were in power, weight and fuel tank, no wonder why the racing was so good back then.

The problem in GS this year is the Cayman GT4( not a SRO GT4 car yet) is 6 or 700 lbs lighter than the Mustang, but its front tire is only 30mm smaller.

The same is true in GTS, KTM has a 305 Rear tire but weighs 1000lbs lighter than the Mustang on 305's all the way around.

Sure the cars can do the same laptime over a lap, but the KTM can do it on its 15th lap in qualifying, vs the Mustang doing one lap and saving its tires for the race.

The cool thing is a 4 hour race at Daytona. Would be sweet to run it into the night, but that is hard for the teams to then get kicked out of the paddock so they can use the garage for shuttle stops.
 
AJ, thanks for sharing your perspective. It's really a shame they have screwed up this series as it used to be a fun series to watch and I'm sure to drive in as well. Seems to me the BMW, Mustang, Camaro and even the 350Z were all similar enough that it was relatively easy to make them all competitive with one another. For what ever reason IMSA wants to shut out the American manufacturers which seems a shame to do. It also looks like PWC is heading in a similar direction. Good luck with your C7 and I know many of us hope to see you behind the wheel of a Mustang again in the near future.
 
I could spend forever typing, but I think it comes back to the sanctioning body trying to please the current source of money. Its been a bit of every manufacturer over the years. BMW, Nissan, GM has been the big one in most recent years. Ford is now in favor in CTSC because of the GT program, which is fine as its been a long time but nobody is going to buy a car to run in CTSC because IMSA treated everyone like dirt, and let the arms race escalate too far. Porsche is always up there being favored, but only if its a car they have blessed. They usually stayed out of CTSC, but now they have a factory car.

To be honest, some of the best/biggest years were when the manufacturers were not doing good in the economy and not spending money on factory racing. We got the Boss302Rs /S's and the supply of racing worthy parts from Ford Racing (to help make money) The racing wasn't swayed as much. Look at 2009, 10, 11. Huge fields with a lot of privateers. No factory teams, or at least none that were being the 800lb gorilla.

2014 rolls along and with the merger they took their eye off the ball and let the Z28 in. It was a full factory effort, and a car that was no where close to fitting the rules or even the spirit of the rules. Then they treated people like crap, and here we are. PWC was looking bright, but did a similar thing at the end of 2015, and pissed on the biggest contingent of cars(Mustangs) and long time supporters( like Baldwin).

Its also getting harder to build racecars from street cars without a lot of help, or new systems completely. But honestly both Ford and GM offer standalone engine management, couple that with a Bosch ABS and you are almost there. (electronic power steering is the next pain in the butt) No need for high-dollar engine management, pit speed and lanuch control and TC are all nice, but not needed at this level of racing. put the driver back in control.
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
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Arizona, USA
@ajaquilante I am interested to hear more about the C7 build and if you guys retained all of the OEM coolers and E-Diff stuff, and if so, how that stuff fares with long-term track abuse.
 

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