Three of the four new for 2025 LMP3 cars made their debut last weekend at Spa and I have the details and pics for you. I also have several racecraft tips, details on the new Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 and whether gaming makes you a better driver. All in this week’s Racecraft & Race Cars Roundup.
Racecraft Tips & Techniques
On-Track
Grassroots Motorsports looks at using data to determine why you are slow. “You don’t need a lot of sophisticated graphs for this, either. OBD or hardwired connections to the car are great, but you can also fall into a trap of overanalysis with too much data. Simply using a speed/distance graph, a lateral g graph and a longitudinal g graph can return a wealth of information that you can dissect quickly–even between sessions–and turn into a plan of action or at least further investigation. We keep our VBox data acquisition setup rather busy.”
Dale Thompson, Co-Founder of Racing Car Technology discusses the concept of rotation and car control in his article “Rotation – Your Primary Sense of Feel in Controlling the Race Car.”
“Rotation is more directly related to the feeling you get when controlling the race car – whether the race car is rotating faster or slower. This is your primary feel for the balance of the race car and the feedback you need to corner at the limit of grip without excessive oversteer.”
Read the full article here.
Ross Bentley of Speed Secrets explains how trail braking can slow you down. “Trail braking is the act of easing off the brake pedal while turning into a corner; it’s the overlapping of braking and steering. That’s the what, but what is the why? Why should we, sometimes, trail brake?” Read here to find out more.
Curtis Moldrich of Car Magazine tries out Hyundai’s N Challenge to see if gaming makes you a better driver.
“The premise of the event was simple; it was to test the results of a survey. Hyundai interview 1000 people – and 52% of them believed their reactions were better due to sim racing. 42% also said they had better road awareness and 39% said they could see hazards better because of it. These are punchy numbers, and ones Hyundai wanted me to consider by putting me in the sim-racing seat, and then the driving seat.”
Read more here to see how it all turned out.
Every driver can improve. There is so much to driving fast on track that knowing where to start can feel overwhelming. So the role of a driver coach is to help you breakdown the complexity. To simplify what to do and to help you prioritize what to do next. Part of this is to create a simple process that allows driver and coach to work together effectively.
Jim Kearney is a US based driver coach. His processes have been refined with a number of drivers over many years. He joined Samir Abid on the Episode 37 of the Your Data Driven Podcast to talk about his experiences and put forward a number of simple things you can do as a driver to help you improve. You can listen to the episode here.
Off-Track
If you are curious about plant-based human performance, Project Adapt is holding a one-day summit on that very subject on September 19, 2024 at the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, California. You can get the full details here.
Race Car & Series Developments
Is the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series becoming too much of a contact sport? That is what these two articles look to find out.
- IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series on Verge of Becoming (Too Much) Contact Sport (AutoWeek)
- Garcia: IMSA at the “High End” of Contact-Heavy Racing (Sportscar365)
Stephane Ratel has dismissed any prospect of torque sensors being used in SRO Motorsports Group-organized GT3 championships in the future, stating that the device, introduced into the LMGT3 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship and soon-to-be the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT3-based categories “are not for us.”
“Our end-goal is completely different. In IMSA, if you have 20 GT3 cars, it’s great. WEC is very happy with 20 GT3 cars too and DTM is as well. We need 200 globally, so it’s a different budget target.” Read more at Sportscar365.
Toyota Gazoo Racing has taken the wraps off its new GR Supra GT4 EVO2, which is set to debut in 2025 and aims to offer improvements in “performance, reliability, and operability”.
“The new evo package for the Supra improves on the original model which was launched in 2020 and the first EVO which was introduced in time for the 2023 season, when Toyota made gains in the car’s braking, handling, and engine performance.”
Read more at Daily Sportscar.
PRI looks at the science and innovations that are creating safer seats in motorsports. ” Significant innovation in seat technology has elevated safety in all forms of motorsports, giving today’s drivers the best chance of surviving even the most horrific crashes. As LaJoie pointed out, there’s still work to be done at the grassroots level, where unsafe seats still result in preventable injuries and death.”
Read more over at PRI.
Eurocup-3 general manager Marco Rodríguez explains to Feeder Series how the series is positioning itself in an evolving landscape for Formula Regional championships and the budgets required to race in it..
“A race in our championship costs a little more than a test session in an FIA F3 car. We thought that a driver who competes in FIA F3, because it is a championship that has such little track time, could even do an entire championship with that budget and that’s happening. I don’t think that’s FRECA’s philosophy. However, we do have it inside our philosophy for drivers to have confidence that many teams can adjust the budget to their conditions.”
Read the full interview at Feeder Series here.
Stalwart Dunlop Super2 Series team owner Amin Chahda has launched a staunch defence of the category in response to recent criticism. Chahda is adamant Super2 should be the undoubted top feeder system to Supercars, much like how the NASCAR Xfinity Series is to NASCAR Cup, Moto2 is to MotoGP, and so on – and he feels the attached expenditure gets blown out of proportion. Read more at V8 Sleuth.
Three of the four new-for-2025 LMP3 cars were presented last week at Spa-Francorchamps, giving the teams in the ELMS paddock a chance to get up close and personal with the new-look machinery before their debuts in the ELMS and Le Mans Cup next year.
DailySportsCar spoke to the three manufacturers present to get an update on the ongoing developmental work for their chassis ahead of the final homologation deadline. This was originally due to take place this month, but it has been delayed as a result of the teething troubles with the new Toyota-based twin-turbo V6 that DSC previously reported. Read more at DailySportscar and don’t forget to check out their LMP3 gallery.
The ability to compete in both touring car racing and rally with just one car? As far-fetched as it might sound, that’s exactly the idea behind FIA’s newly created “TC Lite” classes. The idea is that cars already meeting the regulations to compete in the Rally4 and Rally5 categories will be eligible to compete in TCL4 and TCL5, respectively, with only minimal modifications. Read more at Grassroots Motorsports.
For 2025, the Pittsburgh International Race Complex will host the SCCA Time Trials Nationals. The Grassroots Motorsports Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car Challenge, run in conjunction with the Time Trial Nationals, will also make the move to Pitt Race. Read more about the move at Grassroots Motorsports.
The Skip Barber Racing School has released details on the 2025 Skip Barber Race Series. Full details can be found here including cost, car details, format and alumni.
Goodwood Road & Racing have revealed that a brand-new race will be added to the schedule for the 82nd Members’ Meeting, a race for sub-3.0-litre Group 1 touring cars called the Win Percy Trophy. It’s an opportunity for the smaller cars that once raced in the Gordon Spice Trophy to engage in their own private battle for supremacy.
Expect to the see the likes of Mini 1275GTs, Volkswagen Golf GTIs and Ford Fiestas taking part in frenzied action on a new level playing field for these cars to properly showcase their potential as they fly around the Goodwood Motor Circuit in a relentless battle for momentum. More details can be found here.
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.
