• BMW Motorsport M3 GT's finish 1st and 2nd at the 12 hours of Sebring, good start to ALMS season

                    
      		   
      Published on 03-19-2011 10:41 PM
      20 Comments Comments
      What a start to the ALMS season! BMW has finished 1st and 2nd in the GT class. It was a hard fought battle, with the the Ferrari 458 leading at the halfway point and BMW running in 2nd and 3rd. In the next 6 hours, the M3's put up a strong showing. The number 56 car driven by Joey Hand set the fastest lap in the GT class with a time of 2:01.56. Ex-BMW Driver (traitor jk) Tommy Milner finished in 3rd place in his new Corvette C6 ZR. Excellent start to the ALMS season and congratulations to the BMW teams and drivers!


      Result:


      Video of the Ferrari 458 and the M3 battling it out:


      Start of the race:

      This article was originally published in forum thread: BMW Motorsport M3 GT's finish 1st and 2nd at the 12 hours of Sebring, good start to ALMS season started by Sticky View original post
      Comments 20 Comments
      1. M3_WC's Avatar
        M3_WC - 03-19-2011, 10:47 PM
        Good race. Having to watch it on ESPN3 was just stupid.
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 03-19-2011, 10:51 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by M3_WC Click here to enlarge
        Good race. Having to watch it on ESPN3 was just stupid.
        I just followed the live scoring and updates from the web.

        Why did ESPN3 suck?
      1. M3_WC's Avatar
        M3_WC - 03-19-2011, 10:53 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by Sticky Click here to enlarge
        I just followed the live scoring and updates from the web.

        Why did ESPN3 suck?
        Not exactly High Def picture. Watched it on a lap top. Much better watching it on speed channel in the past, rather than second rate espn internet announcers.
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 03-19-2011, 10:54 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by M3_WC Click here to enlarge
        Not exactly High Def picture. Watched it on a lap top.
        That sucks, figured it would be an HD stream.
      1. M3_WC's Avatar
        M3_WC - 03-19-2011, 10:59 PM
        I am ready for the 24 hour Le Mans race in June, it seems so long away. Hopefully BMW will have the suspension sorted out, unlike last year. They were way off the pace, due to not being able to use their ALMS suspension components.
      1. DBFIU's Avatar
        DBFIU - 03-19-2011, 11:42 PM
        Where is the 24 hours gonna be held at?
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 03-20-2011, 12:48 AM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by DBFIU Click here to enlarge
        Where is the 24 hours gonna be held at?
        Is this a serious question?
      1. Itsbrokeagain's Avatar
        Itsbrokeagain - 03-20-2011, 11:17 AM
        Not bad. Kinda feel bad for Magnus as they were doing good but then got hit by a prototype..I dont see the 77 car in the roster, I guess it got bumped out of the race.
      1. lughed's Avatar
        lughed - 03-20-2011, 02:40 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by M3_WC Click here to enlarge
        Good race. Having to watch it on ESPN3 was just stupid.
        I enjoyed watching it on espn3 other than the low quality do to my weak net card. The coverage was way better than Speed showing P cars 90% of the time. Great race overall. Close racing through out because of the new cleanup rules but made cautions way to long. Cautions cant be that long in a 1:45 race!
      1. lughed's Avatar
        lughed - 03-20-2011, 02:43 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by Sticky Click here to enlarge
        That sucks, figured it would be an HD stream.
        It was in HD stream but you needed high net speed and good signal to get that quality. I still enjoyed it more. I hated Speed coverage. It was very partial towards P cars.
      1. lughed's Avatar
        lughed - 03-20-2011, 02:59 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by M3_WC Click here to enlarge
        I am ready for the 24 hour Le Mans race in June, it seems so long away. Hopefully BMW will have the suspension sorted out, unlike last year. They were way off the pace, due to not being able to use their ALMS suspension components.
        They now have the newer suspension on the car but i think the biggest problem they had last year were soft drivers and lack of straight line speed. This year they have a much more aggressive driver lineup and they were the fastest in a straight line at Sebring. The 458 still has a alot of sorting to be done (according to the teams) but i doubt it. Either way it will get stronger. Corvette seems to become crash bandits when they get desperate. WTF happen to Porsche tho? Has that age old design been maxed out?
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 03-20-2011, 08:02 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by lughed Click here to enlarge
        WTF happen to Porsche tho? Has that age old design been maxed out?
        I certainly hope so.
      1. M3_WC's Avatar
        M3_WC - 03-20-2011, 08:10 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by lughed Click here to enlarge
        They now have the newer suspension on the car but i think the biggest problem they had last year were soft drivers and lack of straight line speed. This year they have a much more aggressive driver lineup and they were the fastest in a straight line at Sebring. The 458 still has a alot of sorting to be done (according to the teams) but i doubt it. Either way it will get stronger. Corvette seems to become crash bandits when they get desperate. WTF happen to Porsche tho? Has that age old design been maxed out?
        They had some problems with the ACO last year. Something about the suspension layout is suppose to remain stock. They were not allowed to use their double-wishbone suspension setup from the ALMS in last years 24 hour of Le Mans. Instead they used front strut/rear multilink suspension. You would think BMW would have known this more in advance and had tested the cars more prior to the race. They showed up some what ill prepared for the 24 hour race.
      1. activ3's Avatar
        activ3 - 03-20-2011, 08:16 PM
        I also can't believe it wasn't on speed this year. I usually make the 2 hour drive over to the race but this year planned to watch it at home... that didn't happen lol.

        I was expecting the 458 to do a lot better also. I'm sure with time they'll get faster.
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 03-20-2011, 08:29 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by activ3 Click here to enlarge
        I was expecting the 458 to do a lot better also. I'm sure with time they'll get faster.
        I was a bit surprised by that as well but remember they were leading at the half way point. The M3's strength seems to be how consistent it is throughout the race.
      1. lughed's Avatar
        lughed - 03-21-2011, 12:25 AM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by activ3 Click here to enlarge
        I also can't believe it wasn't on speed this year.

        I was expecting the 458 to do a lot better also. I'm sure with time they'll get faster.
        None of the the ALMS race will be on Speed.

        I think the 458 did as well as it could in this race and i think it did very well. I also think all the talk about having the cars delivered the week of the race was bs.
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 03-21-2011, 12:26 AM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by lughed Click here to enlarge
        None of the the ALMS race will be on Speed.
        Why not? They were there last season? Really enjoyed watching them. Where will they be?
      1. lughed's Avatar
        lughed - 03-23-2011, 01:37 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by Sticky Click here to enlarge
        Why not? They were there last season? Really enjoyed watching them. Where will they be?
        No contract or something with Nascar. They will be on ABC i believe with a weeks tape delay and in edited shortened version. Some races will be picked up by Versus.
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 03-23-2011, 10:31 PM
        Click here to enlarge Originally Posted by lughed Click here to enlarge
        No contract or something with Nascar. They will be on ABC i believe with a weeks tape delay and in edited shortened version. Some races will be picked up by Versus.
        A delay of that length ruins it for me.
      1. Sticky's Avatar
        Sticky - 03-24-2011, 11:56 AM
        Another good vid: