I may have just died and gone to heaven.

I don't have much to say about this, other than WOW. I have often, very recently in fact, lamented that so much of the classic sportscar racing of our times has occurred pre-internet. The Porsche 956, 962, 935's and what not are fairly abundant in still pictures, or perhaps highlighted in Le Mans coverage. Usually finding those highlights means sifting through seemingly endless links on youtube, half of which have poor video quality, poor audio, or both. Toyota, Jaguar, Nissan, Mazda. Brands that used to have a huge commitment to real motorsport. (I don't count F1, sorry folks)

Well apparently I wasn't alone in wishing there was more of this stuff to go around...the real racing footage I mean, from Daytona in the 80's and 90's, from Laguna, Sebring, Lime Rock; all of the classic USA tracks. As I was listening to Radio Le Mans' Midweek Motorsport show, Marshall Pruett made a mention of his brand new website, www.grandtouringprototype.com. A site all about IMSA, sports prototypes, and the classic race battles featuring the names and cars of a bygone era. And what a site it is! We're not talking about 10 minute clips. We're not talking about a few bits of info, we're talking about full features. Hours and hours of video content and more, all direct from the vault of IMSA. (granted, it's a video vault, so there are SOME quality problems, but it's nothing too crazy) Once again, all I can say is wow, and that I'll be busy for the next, oh, 10 years with all the great content on the site.

GTP: 1989 Portland IMSA GTP Race Broadcast from GrandTouringPrototype.com on Vimeo.

For example, this 1989 clip from Portland. It's a full hour and a half of coverage! Amazing. I know I for one will be keeping a very keen eye on Marshall's site, and may put in a request for some Audi 90 Quattro coverage if he has it...granted it's GTO and not GTP, but I'll be sure to post up if it's available. I take no responsibility for any missed dates, being late to work, or anything else that may happen when you become engrossed in the content.

_WRS