Making Room for New Class

This is the Statt Mann Baby. Time to Scatt a little bit.

Thousands pay attention to the Rolex 24 at Daytona not for the racing but for the diverse field of drivers and teams.

It’s the off season around the world of motor sports. So, you get F1 guys racing with NASCAR drivers and liking it. IndyCar drivers crowd in with IMSA regulars to see what they’re all about.

But there’s a problem developing. This year a fifth classification was added to the lineup. LMP3 was added to LMP2 and the fast guys in DPi.

The problem, though, is the Balance of Performance between LMP3 and the GT classes: GTLM and GTD. There’s little separation between the cars. In fact, some are running on the same second around the track.

I’ve always been told the Prototype drivers like their speed differential because they can get away from the slower GT cars without problems. But little, nimble Prototypes that can’t get out of the way of the lumbering GT cars defines a problem that’s only made worse in long form races like the 24 hour.

The LMP3 class was added to infuse money. Now, maybe, they can get the rules worked out to make everyone safer at any speed.

Peace.