Something New…..
Though the links to the old series are visible in the make-up of the new series, there is much new in the TUDOR Championship, with changes to the technical regulations as well as new teams and new cars entering the series.
Though the Daytona Prototypes are Something Old in terms of their prior running in the Rolex Series all have had a $800,000 upgrade package – intended to boost speed and increase downforce at the same time – applied to them. Under the bodywork the changes continue in the DP contingent of the top class, with Michael Shank Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates both powered by Ford’s EcoBoost engine, the Ganassi squad ending a long-running relationship with BMW to join the blue oval.
However, the biggest changes in the top class will be the new cars and teams fighting for the overall wins. After occasional appearances in ALMS races, OAK Racing jump into a full season of the TUDOR Championship for 2014 with a single Morgan-Nissan. Having to effectively drop down from P1 to enter the TUDOR Championship at all the ALMS champions Muscle Milk Pickett Racing had to find a new car, opting for the Oreca-Nissan combination that has become the weapon of choice for many teams in the WEC and European Le Mans Series. Their bringing of the Oreca chassis opens a new front in the Le Mans technology park sportscar civil war of Oreca vs Morgan that dominates the P2 classes elsewhere in the world.
At the same juncture as Pickett Racing are dropping down both SpeedSource and Marsh Racing step up into the P class. The latter move from Corvette GT to Corvette DP for 2014, while SpeedSource leap from the short lived GX class of the Rolex Series into Prototypes bringing with them the SkyActive-D clean diesel technology that endured such a baptism of fire at Daytona last January powering a trio of Mazda 6 racecars.
The team bring a majority of drivers – including SpeedSource head man Sylvain Tremblay – from the 2013 campaign, most charting unexplored territory given Mazda’s GT and GX past in the Rolex Series.
There is more new to see in the GTLM class as Corvette Racing prepare to give a race debut to the new C7.R. Porsche are also debuting a new car at Daytona, though their 2014 911 RSR is more of an evolution from the new shape car that competed in last year’s FIA WEC. The arrival of the Porsche North America team that will run the pair of machines is perhaps more important. It too has been something of an evolution out of the Porsche supported CORE Autosport team that entered the GT class of the ALMS last season. In terms of driving line-up only Patrick Long is maintained from the CORE (every pun intended) of the 2013 team amongst six Porsche works drivers for the start of the year. That number includes Nick Tandy, who won the GT class pole 12 months ago at Daytona, and Michael Christenson, one of the new recruits to Porsche’s works stable for 2014 as their racing interests expand with the arrival of the FIA WEC LMP1 program.
The comings and goings of Porsche squads continues in the GTD class where Flying Lizard Motorsports and Paul Miller Racing, both long term patrons of Porsche power both swap the 911 for the Audi R8 LMS, the latter effectively falling a class having been part of the ALMS’ GT class before the merger.
With the ream of regulation changes governing the GTD class nearly every car in the class is at least a significant evolution of its 2013 counterpart meaning that in many ways the class has the most new in it of all in the championship. However, for some the change is more outwardly noticeable. For example Turner Motorsports swap their BMW M3s for a Z4 and – in terms of US manufacturers – the Riley Motorsports team bring a GTD-spec SRT Viper to class as the Corvette and Camaro models from Chevrolet leave the class.
