We all remember our school days and those tests where we were asked to compare and contrast two differing situations.
On the third weekend in April, there was enough “comparing and contrasting” for everyone with the IRL running in Japan and the now- defunct Champ Car organization holding its swan song at Long Beach. Also, on that Southern California city’s street was the American Le Mans Series playing before a packed house on Saturday, while slightly earlier in Mexico City the Grand Am’s Rolex Sports Car tour did the same thing in front of a large and enthusiastic gathering of fans at the Mexican capitol’s famed “in town” road course.
While I will let others comment on Danica Patrick’s historic IRL triumph, the opportunity to make comparisons between the Rolex and ALMS championships seems quite appropriate, given that they both raced on the same day of the same weekend before similarly sized audiences.
Interestingly, the action, and there was plenty of that, was nearly identical among both ALMS and Rolex competitors with each race coming down to the final laps and an unknown outcome. Moreover, the talent level was likewise amazing whether it was Marc Goossens leading by inches over Scott Pruett and Ricardo Zonta in Mexico, or Marco Werner holding off the pack in California.
What fans of professional sports-car racing got to see thanks to the way the television schedules worked out, the Rolex being live on Saturday and the ALMS tape delayed on Sunday afternoon, was some of the best in road-course competition.
Ten years ago, we were all worried there wouldn’t be any such motorsport to watch here in North America. Now, those fears have disappeared.
Clearly what happened Saturday was professional and entertaining. Just as clearly, though, one has to wonder if North America will continue to support two championships in an arena that traditionally has had only a single headlining show using similar equipment. The answer is probably yes, given the mission of each camp.
The Rolex title chase has curbed technology, while the ALMS has embraced it. Yet, both have a product that is anything but boring to watch. Still, for fans, especially the traditionalists, there is a certain lack of zoom in the Grand Am camp that goes against the grain of creating “dreams” in the minds of the spectator audience.
On the other hand, the cost of competing at the top level of the ALMS has driven out all but a few privateers, leading to a situation where in the top LMP1 category, the third-place car was simply nowhere to be found among the first 10 overall finishers.
That is worrisome since the regulations for the ALMS are leased from the folks at Le Mans who have a very different viewpoint when it comes to the needs of the major manufacturers they want to attract and the desires of their fan base to be entertained for the money they paid to get through the gate. Already this year the ALMS has added 25 kilograms, or just under 54 pounds of extra weight to the LMP2 cars so that they won’t overshadow their LMP1 brethren, with Le Mans officials demanding they add another 25 before the end of the current season — something that would truly destroy the ALMS’s entertainment package.
They say that compromise is the end to all negotiations. Right now the ALMS needs to stand firm, while the Rolex tour needs to gain credibility. We’ve come a long way in 10 years, one suspects we still have some way to go yet. Meanwhile, we can enjoy the ride.