At IMSA’s Daytona opener, 17 different marques will grace the paddock. Alfa Romeo won’t be one of them, though.
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After six seasons of campaigning the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering will move to the latest Honda …
Kind of sad that the little Alfa that could will not be around any more. I always enjoyed watching it run in the MPC race at Daytona. The first year that I saw it, I couldn't figure out what kind of car it was!
I recall seeing the car and thinking it was neat to see an Alfa–especially one not sold here in the U.S.–racing.
Sadly, I didn't know the truly awesome story behind the effort.
RacerBoy75 said:Kind of sad that the little Alfa that could will not be around any more. I always enjoyed watching it run in the MPC race at Daytona. The first year that I saw it, I couldn't figure out what kind of car it was!
Yeah, first time I saw the Alfa in the paddock I was like, Um, did we teleport to Europe?
Cool to see the underdog out there, but totally understand that technology marches on.
So there was apparently no rule that the car be sold in the US to be eligible to race with IMSA? Does the shorter wheelbase just make the car less stable in high speed corners?
dannyp84 said:So there was apparently no rule that the car be sold in the US to be eligible to race with IMSA? Does the shorter wheelbase just make the car less stable in high speed corners?
If there is a rule about being sold in the U.S., it's not enforced. The Cupra TCR that debuts at Daytona is not sold in the U.S. The brand isn't even sold here, although there are plans for that.
And, yes, the shorter wheelbase makes the car less stable in high-speed corners. Longer wheelbase cars are more stable at higher speeds.
Interestingly enough, Louis cited the Kink at Road America as another good example. Sure, they won there four time straight, but Louis went on to say that the abundance of 90-degree turns and the long length of the track helped them overcome that shortcoming. A track like Lime Rock is also another difficult track for the Alfa, because Louis said it's mostly high-speed corners there and a short overall track length.
The raison d'être (reason to be) of TCR is an international formula for touring cars that effectively creates an international market for the cars. TCR eliminates the need for domestic sales of the base vehicle and allows cars to race anywhere with a known rule set.
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