19R in 2005 JGTC

[bucciali]

Some more pics of 19R and 25R. From various years.

I had named them with all data, then did renaming to add numbers (I know, smart order) and overwrote everything. So if you really wanna know where and when a pic was taken, ask and I will look it up.

These are a bit bigger than most of the pics we found on 19R and 25R, enjoy!

#25R



#19R



I particularly like this last one of #25R, very nice contrast of darkness and the cars colours!

[BMW.WilliamsF1Team]

Great pics, thanks!

[Peloton25]

My all-time favorite shot of #25R:


You know the drill...

>8^)
ER

[BMW.WilliamsF1Team]

Originally Posted by Peloton25

My all-time favorite shot of #25R:


You know the drill...

>8^)
ER

Actually, when I was saving the pics bucciali posted, I saw the last saved pic was that one you posted before. I then set it as my wallpaper. Looks awesome.

[FortuneF1]

excellent photos, thanks for sharing.
what are everyone elses thoughts on the work racing wheels though?
i cant say that i like them on the gtr very much

[Peloton25]

Originally Posted by BMW.WilliamsF1Team

Actually, when I was saving the pics bucciali posted, I saw the last saved pic was that one you posted before. I then set it as my wallpaper. Looks awesome.

It did a stint as my wallpaper too.

>8^)
ER

[bucciali]

More of #25R


...and #19R

[amanichen]

So how successful have these GTRs been over the past few years?

I'd like to think that because they're F1s that they'd slaughter everything out there, but I'm thinking that maintenance and driver skill have a big factor in their success (or lackthereof.)

[ArchangelGTR]

Excellent photos Bucciali!

I've read somewhere (a source which I can't find) that they are now severely handicapped with restrictors.. since most Japanese cars are not running the large 6.0 liter motors... but they're making equivalent HP with 2.4 to 4.3 liter motors. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong) I speculate that inconsistency on the teams/drivers and DNF's seem to make for dismal appearances at race events.

This year the Tajimax team #20 is not even in the top 20 driver standings. They've only entered 2 of the 8 races, in which both times they've DNF'd with the last race an absurd 21 laps completed out of 110.

The long-tails have never been as successful in the Japanese series as the short-tails were in 96.. in which they won the JGTC championship.

The Japanese GT series does not favor European nor American cars even the tried and true 911 which has always been a part of Japanese GT racing since I can remember from back in the Martini Racing days.

They plan on trying to make the Super GT formula THE formula for GT racing... As much as I enjoy JGTC/Super GT... I think something is askew in their formula especially since these cars are never successful at Le Mans but yet dominate over the same cars in their own series.

[FortuneF1]

the 'longtail' gtr running in the jgtc for the past few years is making only 500hp as opposed to 600, due to the class and regulations...it runs in the gt500 class, which is for 500hp cars, there is also the gt300 class for 300hp cars, much like gt1 and gt2 in european gt racing... the main reasons why it isnt very competitive is because its a: an 8 year old car, whereas the japanese cars running in the series are mostly state of the art brand new race cars, b: its running on a large displacement, highly restricted engine, whereas the japanese rivals are mainly running brand new low displacement turbocharged engines built for a certain amount of power rather than restricted like the f1's v12. the f1 is running the choked off 6.0l v12 while the next largest disp. engine is the toyota 4.3l v-8, then nissan is running 3.5l v6 twin turbos, and honda is running 3.2l v-6 twin turbos, and i think thats all of the gt500 cars... gt300 cars run turbo i-4's, na v-6's and some na i-4's, the point is that the mclaren's big v12 is choked off to 500hp while its rivals are running engines built specifically for 500hp, and thats the main reason why its not competitive... plus the whole outdated thing...

[F1 monster]

I don't get it. 500 bhp is 500 bhp, anyway you cut it. It is obviously uncompetitive, but not for the reasons you state. Instead of saying "choked" if you used the words "brought down to" 500 bhp, it might put it in a better perspective.

How is the cornering speed? How is the acceleration from the cornering speeds? Aerodynamics? Handling? Plus, comparisons of the drivers in this car and other cars, of course. These might give a better idea of the reasons behind its lackluster performance.

[FortuneF1]

Originally Posted by F1 monster

I don't get it. 500 bhp is 500 bhp, anyway you cut it. It is obviously uncompetitive, but not for the reasons you state. Instead of saying "choked" if you used the words "brought down to" 500 bhp, it might put it in a better perspective.

How is the cornering speed? How is the acceleration from the cornering speeds? Aerodynamics? Handling? Plus, comparisons of the drivers in this car and other cars, of course. These might give a better idea of the reasons behind its lackluster performance.

think of it this way... how well can you breath through a mcdonalds straw? when you take an engine built to produce 600 or more hp and choke it off with intake restrictors its linear performance falls drastically, it wont accelerate as hard and it wont reach the speeds its should, especially because the transmission is geared to work best with 600hp, if you take 100hp away the gearing may be to tall for the power the car is producing, therefore it wont accelerate as quikly or reach as high of speeds as normal... a engine restricted too 500 hp has an enormous disadvantage when compared to an engine built specifically for that output. as far as aeros and cornering performance, etc... its all the same as any other 97 gtr, so it shouldnt suffer much in that area, even though advancements have been made in aerodynamics and suspension components since the car was new, it suffers most in the engine performance dept. being an 8 year old car in a field of brand new state of the art racecars is also a huge disadvantage, the car is completely outdated, in fact even if the engine was unrestricted it probably still wouldnt stand a chance, a perfect example of how quikly racing technology advances is 95 to 96 lemans, in 95 mclaren outpaced everyone, 96 they were completely outpaced... 97 to 98 fia gt championship, 97 the f1 gtr's gave the mercedes clk-gtr's a run for their money, nearly winning the championship. in 98 the lone, one year old, mclaren in the field got lapped regularly by the new for 98 mercedes clk-lm's and new for 98 porsche gt1's. in the racing world a year old car is ancient, so the 97 f1 gtr in a field with 05 nsx's, fairlady z's, etc. is what, archaeic?

[ArchangelGTR]

A major problem is that the McLarens are not finishing races. You can't win a race if you don't even finish.. let alone finish on the same lap.

And you're right... old technology vs. the money and R&D into some of these cars which have little to no functional resemblance to their street counterparts. Similar to America's NASCAR where only the roofline is the same. The underpinnings, suspension, body panels (OK the door is the same), and even motor are far removed from the street vehicles.
I think the spirit of GT racing is no longer held in the Japanese GT series. It has taken its lead from the 98 FIA GT series.. where things were getting out of hand.

[Peloton25]

In my quest for new shots on Japanese websites, I found a ton of new pics of the Tajimax GTR. I figured it was best to keep them all together in one thread.











These are all clickable thumbnails - a few of which offer hires shots.












Finally here it is on the elevator (not kidding):



Going up...



Ahhh - home sweet home, and a very sweet photo as well.



Enjoy all the pics!

>8^)
ER

[payso]

amazing pics Erik, love the last 3