Nissan to Supply Power for DeltaWing Project's 2012 Le Mans Effort

Photo Credit: Nissan

Born as a candidate for the 2012 INDYCAR Series new car, the DeltaWing name and shape came to form in 2010. Of the five potential chassis suppliers vying for the right to represent the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR grid, the super sleek DeltaWing concept car was immediately regarded as most radical race car design.

A vehicle projected to weigh just 1,030 pounds, designers behind the DeltaWing concept estimated the vehicle would only require 300 horsepower to move at speeds up to 235 miles per hour. Besides the performance attributes, the DeltaWing's was effective in drawing motorsport fans to judge the exteme creation. Receiving strong positive and negative critiques from motorsport and non-motorsport observers, the DeltaWing made a distinct impact on the important IZOD INDYCAR Series season rules of 2012.

Photo Credit: Nissan

Ultimately, the INDYCAR sanctioning body elected to go with the more conservative Dallara plans under some modified framework where body kits would alter the race car's outer appearance. While the DeltaWing was praised for its innovation, it was suspected that the vehicle proposal was just too experimental for the open wheel racing series. Following the decision, it would have been likely that the DeltaWing design would be been retired as another concept car that was never meant for the light of day. However, shortly after INDYCAR rejected the DeltaWing race car, a new calling offered to bring the concept to the race track. Instead of competing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the DeltaWing chassis is being primed for the full-day motorsport affair known as the 24-Hour of Le Mans.

Photo Credit: Nissan

Preparing for its race track debut in the 2012 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans event, the DeltaWing's radical shape quickly received support for its road racing effort through 2011 into this year. Today, another major partner joined the experimental DeltaWing effort supplying the race car's engine power. Japanese automaker Nissan has signed onto the program as the engine provider for the innovative DeltaWing project. A 1.6 liter powerplant incorporating direct injection and a turbocharger, the Nissan engine being mated with the DeltaWing chassis features technology similar to the production Nissan Juke crossover vehicle. Nissan estimates 300 horsepower will be produced from the 1.6 liter racing engine. Combined with the DeltaWing's lightweight, the Nissan engine should avail the possibility of top speeds around 200 miles per hour on the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Photo Credit: Nissan

The race car chassis was brought to form by Dan Gurney's All-American Racer company. On a personal note, when I was composing an article for Canadian motorsport publication PRN Magazine on the activities of the INDYCAR chassis selection in 2010, I attempted to contact Dan Gurney knowing he would be a qualified voice to the process. Having been respectfully declined of the opportunity to gain insight from the legendary auto racing driver and engineer by Gurney's assistant, it is quite obvious now he took a liking to the DeltaWing project.

Under the support of experienced American Le Mans Series race team Highcroft Racing, the DeltaWing is now circulating test tracks in preparation for its sports car debut in June. Part of the DeltaWing testing will involve laps at the Sebring International Raceway in Thursday March 15th.  The Nissan powered DeltaWing concept will be invited to occupy Garage 56 reserved for experimental entrants of the Le Mans 24-hour race. While the Highcroft Racing-fielded Nissan DeltaWing will not be officially classified in a race category, the unique race vehicle is destined to receive front-running attention over the full day of on-track action.

Photo Credit: Nissan

Photo Credit: Nissan

Photo Credit: Nissan

Boss Mustang Takes Continental Tire Series Daytona 200 for 2012

Photo Credit: Grand Am

The Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race receives credit for being the annual kick-off for North American motorsports. However, the sensational around-the-clock event is not the first set of vehicles to compete at the Florida race facility. One day before the high-profile 24-hour event, the Grand Am Continental Tire Series christens the Daytona International Speedway with a brief 200-mile sprint race among production-derived race cars.

Composing of the two categories, the BMW Performance at 200 Daytona features the powerful Grand Sport and the smaller Sport Tuning category vehicles, The 2012 season opener for the Grand Am Continental Tire Series allowed the engine notes of the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Porsche 997, Kia Forte and the BMW M3 to hum across the Daytona track for 58 laps.

A first time for many driver and car combinations unite in competition, the The 200-mile event on the 3.56-mile road course proved precarious even before the green flag dropped. Jarrett Andretti (son of NASCAR/INDYCAR winner John Andretti) made contact with the turn 2 retaining barrier. Along with Andretti, the #57 Volkswagen Jetta piloted by Eric Metzger spun in turn 3 minutes later.

When the green flag finally dropped after the chaotic warm-up laps, pole-sitting #10 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302R driven by Shelby Blackstock enjoyed a short-lived time at the front of the GS class. Launching from 4th place in the opening lap, the #01 Chevrolet Camaro of Eric Curran took the lead of the Daytona race. By lap 3, the #55 Aston Martin Vantage was running in second place while the #13 Rum Bum Racing BMW M3 was third. In the Grand Am Continental Tire Series ST category, the Kia Forte Koup driven by Andy Lally led the first 10 laps until the #81 BMW 328i took the class' top position.

Photo Credit: Grand Am

As the race progressed, the front position of both Grand Am Continental Tire Series categories would not be entirely enviable. Consisting of a total of nine lead changes on the front, the BMW Performance 200 at Daytona GS class would end with some pacesetter falling out of the fold. the #01 Camaro early race-leading pace ended with a 22nd place finishing position. The BGB Motorsports Porsche 997 also led mid-way through the event but resulted in the race team settling for 11th place.

Taking the lead on lap 41, the #61 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302R driven by Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr never gave up the top position in the BMW Performance 200 at Daytona. Taking the checkered flag, the 2012 race victory is the first for the Ford Mustang since 2007. In the final results, the Grand Sport category  Ford Mustang Boss 302R and BMW M3 sports cars that covered the top 11 spots. Behind the winning Roush Performance Mustang Boss 302R, three BMW M3s fielded by Fall-Line Motorsports finished 2nd through 4th place.

Narrowing losing the GS class to the Ford Mustang Boss 302R car, the BMW brand's plans for one class victory was also quashed in the ST category. The #31 i-Moto Mazdaspeed3 won the class with the #10 Kinetic/Kia Racing car ahead of the #81 BMW 328i.

Peugeot Grabs Petit Le Mans Pole Over Audi

Photo Credit: Peugeot UK

American Le Mans Series-style sports car debuted on the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta circuit for the first time in 1999 for the Petit Le Mans event. One of the most recent endurance races, victory at the Petit Le Mans has gained the prestige as a coveted victory in sports car racing. Pleasing the American Le Mans Series head and Road Atlanta owner Don Panoz, teams competing in the event stretching 1,000-mile or 10-hour (whichever mark is approached first) can also secure an automatic entrance in next year's 24-Hour of Le Mans. For 2011, 58 cars among 5 racing categories have shown up for the 12th annual autumn race.

With Audi confirming the presence of Team Joest at the event last week, the 2011 Petit Le Mans is set to become another modern rivalry between the Peugoet 908 and the Audi R18. In what amounted to be a close qualifying result, the overall lead to the green flag, the French squad of Peugeot claimed first blood against Audi. Featuring the driver pairing of Sebastien Bourdais, Simon Pagenaud and Anthony Davidson for this weekend, the #7 Peugoet 908 flew around the Road Atlanta track in 1 minute, 7.428 seconds.

The pole-winning Peugeot claimed only a 0.128 second advantage for the top spot. The #1 Audi R18 demonstrated the ability to keep pace with the winning team of the past two Petit Le Mans events. Competing the past two times with variations of the R15 prototype, Audi Sport Team Joest have been foiled for what would be their 10th Petit Le Mans victory by the Peugeot 908. Audi Sport Team Joest is determined to claim back its dominating ways which transpired as their storied R8 and R10 prototype sports cars went mostly contested. In the second row for the 2011 Petit Le Mans start, Peugeot and Audi cars share the grid position for the LMP category and overall for the event.

The second-most watched class in the Petit Le Mans on Saturday will be the GT category where Ferrari, BMW, Porsche and Chevrolet all have a likelihood for claiming a season-ending honour of victory. With each of these automaker recording at least one win in the American Le Mans Series season entering Road Atlanta, the GT class is a battle royal among the production-based vehicles. Leading in the overall team point standings is the BMW M3 GT cars fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing convincingly over the fierce competitors for 2011. For Petit Le Mans qualifying, the #51 Ferrari F458 Italia took the class pole over the BMW M3 pair. The #51 Ferrari who be starting 24th overall in the starting line-up for the Petit Le Mans with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing BMWs securing 25th and 26th. The top-3 cars in the GT running order were separated by only 0.52 seconds on the qualifying time sheet.

Making its American Le Mans GT class debut at Road Atlanta will be the Lotus Evora GTE race car. Campaigned by Lotus Jetalliance, the Evora GTE will be participating as a prep for the car's full season of competition in 2012.    

In the Prototype Challange category, Intersport Racing's #89 car was rebuilt from a Friday morning practice crash to lead class. Concluding the practice session at Road Atlanta, the Intersport Racing crew were able to effect repairs to the exact racing machine that was involved in a massive crash with the Robertson Racing #40 Ford GT. Unfortunately, the Robertson Racing car was unable time into the Petit Le Mans event Friday but could race Saturday.

Starting at 11:30 an Eastern time, the 2011 Petit Le Mans under what is expected to be a largely sunny day at Road Atlanta.

 

Canada's Kyle Marcelli Wins in ALMS Prototype Challenge Class

This past Saturday, the American Le Mans Series run a wickedly wet race at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course. As rain soaked the 2.258-mile road course, the racing-prepared sports cars skated through the late stages of a 2 hour, 45 minute event practically on the edge of control. Claiming some of the better, more experienced road race drivers in the American Le Mans Series field, there was one young Canadian competitor who weathered the horrific driving conditions to claim glory winning his first American Le Mans Series sanctioned event.

Partnered with experienced American road racer Tomy Drissi, the Intersport Racing #89 car Mid-Ohio event started under inclement circumstances prior to the rain drenching competitors. Competing in the Oreca-Chevrolet only Le Mans Prototype Challenge category, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge saw Marcelli and Drissi playing catch up for nearly two hours of the race’s timed distance. Early in the American Le Mans event, Drissi made contact with another race vehicle while running in 4th place. The Intersport Racing team collected a 60-second penalty from the American Le Mans Series officials for avoidable contact (one of many drivers to be assessed a reprimand in what quickly turned into a rough sports car sprint race).

When the race's first caution flew after 45 minutes into the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge, the #89 team initiated a driver change as Kyle Marcelli entered the Intersport Racing car. A lap down to the leading Prototype Challenge car, a combination of team strategy and fastest laps from the driving talent placed the #89 Intersport Racing vehicle into class winning contention.

Grabbing the lead into the final hour in the LMPC category, a last pit stop allowed the Intersport Racing’s sister #37 car. In the final 30 minutes, Kyle Marcelli would have to race around the #37 car being skillfully handled by Jon Field. An exciting dice between the two team machines resulted with Marcelli taking the advantage in turn one. A 21-year old racer hailing from the Ontario city of Barrie, emerging motorsport talent Kyle Marcelli put his inclinations on Canadian roads to use keeping his #89 Intersport Racing Prototype Challenge adhered to the slippery race track. Able to persevere the limited traction, Marcelli drove to victory and 3rd overall in the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge.

This Mid-Ohio victory was an important claim to redemption after Kyle Marcelli was spoiled out of a top Prototype Challenge class finish at the previous Grand Prix of Mosport. The only Canadian event on the 2011 American Le Mans Series schedule, Marcelli had cut his teeth on the historic 2.54-mile race track and wanted a home field victory. Posting the fastest time in class for the Mosport event, Marcelli and his #89 Intersport Racing team were forced to retire due to mechanical problems.

Marcelli's first class victory in the American Le Mans Series, this top podium finish is the sophomore driver's second major triumph in 2011. In July, Marcelli was part of the winning driving team for the 6-hour race at the Italian Imola circuit. Behind the wheel of the #99 JMB Racing/Merchant Services Limited prototype race car with co-drivers Chapman Ducote and Nicolas Marroc, this race win for Kyle Marcelli came in his European debut in sports car competition.

Able to contend for class victories in only his second year of sports car racing, Kyle Marcelli currently stands 5^th in the overall American Le Mans Series driver points for the LMPC class along with teammate Tomy Drissi.



　

Audi R18 Takes 24 Hour of Le Mans Prototype Class Pole

Photo Credit: Audi AG

The 79th running of the oldest running 24-hour endurance race, the classic Le Mans event on the Circuit de la Sarthe brings some new look prototypes and a the recipe for a fierce LME category (better known last year as GT) fight. A prelude to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, qualifying for the race gives a sample to the sounds and speed expected for the race's 2011 edition.

For the first time since 2006, Audi Team Joest will lead the field of 56 sports cars to the start of the full day race. Taking the glory of the pole position, the #2 Audi R18 TDI prototype car piloted by Andre Lotterer flew around the Circuit de la Sarthe's 13.629 kilometer distance in 3 minutes and 29.939 seconds. Just one-hundredth of a second behind, the #1 Audi R18 TDI prototype sealed a strong front row for the German automaker. The third Team Joest Audi R18 TDI qualified 5th for the start of the 24 Hour of Le Mans.

Expected to want vengance for the defeat in the 2010 Le Mans race and now 2011 qualifying, Peugeot has the resources to reclaim their home endurance racing event. Three factory Peugeot 908 Le Mans prototype sports cars and an Oreca-fielded effort are planning to better endure the 24 hour distance for a second Le Mans victory in three years. In qualifying, the highest flying member of the Peugeot camp was the #9 car wheeled by Simon Pagenaud. Pagenaud is taking a departure from his regular ride competing in the American Le Mans Series for Highcroft Racing in a Honda Racing Development prototype. For Saturday, Simon Pagenaud is paired with Pedro Lamy and Sebastien Bourdais.

Factory Aston Martin vehicles in the LMP1 class were far from a figure in qualifying at Le Mans with their AMR-ONE cars failing to find speed. In fact, most of the LMP2 cars were faster than the Aston Martin racing team vehicles. The british-based race is still seeking a return to the podium since rejoining the sports car racing arena in the Le Mans prototype class. Aston Martin has two victories in the GT1 production car class in 2007 and 2008.

Prevailing in the production-based vehicle LME category in 2011, the BMW M3 GT took first and third in class qualifying sandwiching a Ferrari 458 Italia. Lapping the track at 3 minutes and 57.592 seconds, the BMW Motorsports cars is in a class where the top-9 vehicles are separated by 3.5 seconds in qualifying.   

A very pivotal part to setting up the 24 Hours of Le Mans, qualifying will quickly become less meaningful when the green flag to the 2011 endurance race drops.


Classes

LMP1            
LMP2            
LME Pro       
LME Am        



2011 Le Mans 24 Hour Starting Grid

1)(1) 2 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST AUDI R18 TDI
Marcel Fassler/ Switzerland
André Lotterer Germany
Benoit Treluyer France

2)(2) 1 AUDI SPORT TEAM JOEST AUDI R18 TDI
Timo Berhard/ Germany
Romain Dumas/ France
Mike Rockenfeller/ Germany

3)(3) 9 TEAM PEUGEOT TOTAL PEUGEOT 908
Sébastien Bourdais/ France
Simon Pagenaud/ France
Pedro Lamy/ Portugal

4) (4) 8 PEUGEOT SPORT TOTAL PEUGEOT 908
Stéphane Sarrazin/ France
Franck Montagny/ Switzerland
Nicolas Minassian/ Great Britain

5) (5) 3 AUDI SPORT NORTH AMERICA AUDI R18 TDI
Tom Kristenesn/ Denmark
Rinaldo Capello/ Italy
Allan McNish/ Monaco

6) (6) 7 PEUGEOT SPORT TOTAL PEUGEOT 908
Anthony Davidson/ Great Britain
Marc Gene/ Spain
Alex Wurz/ Austria

7) (7) 10 TEAM ORECA MATMUT PEUGEOT 908 HDI-FAP
Nicolas Lapierre/ France
Loic Duval/ France
Olivier Panis/ France

8) (8) 12 REBELLION RACING LOLA B 10/60 COUPE-TOYOTA
Nicolas Prost/ France
Neel Jani/ Switzerland
Jeroen Bleekemolen/ Netherlands

9) (9) 16 PESCAROLO TEAM PESCAROLO JUDD
Emmanuel Collard/ France
Christophe Tinseau/ France
Julien Jousse/ France

10) (10) 13 REBELLION RACING LOLA B 10/60 COUPE-TOYOTA
Andrea Belicchi/ Italy
J.Christophe Boullion/ France
Guy Smith/ Great Britain

11) (11) 15 OAK RACING OAK PESCAROLO - JUDD
Guillaume Moreau/ France
Pierre Ragues/ France
Tiago Monteiro/ Portugal

12) (12) 22 KRONOS RACING LOLA ASTON MARTIN
Vanina Ickx/ Belgium
Maxime MARTIN/ Belgium
Bas LEINDERS/ Belgium

13) (13) 20 QUIFEL - ASM TEAM ZYTEK 09 SC
Miguel Amaral/ Portugal
Olivier Pla/ France
Warren Hughes/ Great Britain

14) (1) 26 SIGNATECH NISSAN ORECA 03-NISSAN
Soheil Ayari/ France
Franck Mailleux/ France
Lucas Ordonez/ Spain

15) (14) 24 OAK RACING OAK PESCAROLO - JUDD
Richard Hein/ Monoco
Jacques Nicolet/ France
Jean-François Yvon/ France

16) (2) 42 STRAKKA RACING HONDA PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT ARX 01 D
Nick Leventis/ Great Britain
Danny Watts/ Great Britain
Jonny Kane/ Great Britain

17) (3) 48 TEAM ORECA MATMUT ORECA 03-NISSAN
Alexandre Premat/ France
David Hallyday/ France
Dominick Kraihamer/ Austria

18) (4) 39 PECOM Racing LOLA B11/40-JUDD BMW
Luis Perez-Companc/ Argentina
Matias Russo/ Argentina
Pierre Kaffer/ Germany

19) (5) 49 OAK RACING OAK PESCAROLO - BMW
Shinji Nakano/ Japan
Nicolas De Crem/ Belgium
Jan Charouz/ Czech Republic

20) (6) 41 GREAVES MOTORSPORT ZYTEK NISSAN
Karim Ojjeh/ Saudi Arabia
Thomas Kimber-Smith/ Great Britain
Olivier Lombard/ France

21) (7) 40 RACE PERFORMANCE ORECA 03-JUDD BMW
Michel Frey/ Switzerland
Ralph Meichtry/ Switzerland
Marc Rostan/ France

22) (15) 007 ASTON MARTIN RACING ASTON MARTIN AMR-ONE
Stefan Mucke/ Germany
Darren Turner/ Great Britain
Christian Klien/ Austria

23) (8) 36 RML HONDA PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT ARX 01 D
Mike Newton/ Great Britain
Tommy Erdos/ Great Britain
Ben Collins/ Great Britain

24) (16) 5 HOPE RACING ORECA SWISS HY TECH-HYBRID
Steve Zacchia/ Switzerland
Jan Lammers/ Netherlands
Casper Elgaard/ Denmark

25) (17) 009 ASTON MARTIN RACING ASTON MARTIN AMR-ONE
Harold Primat/ Switzerland
Adrian Fernandez/ Mexico
Andy Meyrick/ Great Britian

26) (9) 44 EXTREME LIMITE AM PARIS NORMA M200P - JUDD BMW
Fabien Rosier/ France
Philippe Haezbrouck/ France
Jean-René de Fournoux/ France

27) (10) 35 OAK RACING OAK PESCAROLO - JUDD BMW
Andrea Barlesi/ Belgium
Frédéric Da Rocha/ France
Patrice Lafargue/ France

28) (11) 33 LEVEL 5 MOTORSPORTS LOLA COUPE-HONDA PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT
Scott Tucker/ USA
Christophe Bouchut/ France
Joao Barbosa/ Portugal


29) (1) 55 BMW MOTORSPORT BMW M3 GT
Augusto Farfus/ Brazil
Jörg Muller/ Germany
Dirk Werner/ Germany

30) (2) 51 AF CORSE FERRARI 458 ITALIA
Giancarlo Fisichella/ Italy
Gianmaria Bruni/ Italy
Toni Vilander/ Finland

31) (3) 56 BMW MOTORSPORT BMW M3 GT
Andy Priaulx/ Great Britain
Dirk Muller/ Germany
Joey Hand/ USA

32) (4) 73 CORVETTE RACING CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6 ZR1
Olivier Beretta/ Monoco
Tommy Milner/ USA
Antonio Garcia/ Spain

33) (5) 89 HANKOOK - TEAM FARNBACHER FERRARI 458 ITALIA
Dominik Farnbacher/ Germany
Allan Simonsen/ Denmark
Leh Keen/ USA

34) (6) 74 CORVETTE RACING CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6 ZR1
Oliver Gavin/ Great Britain
Jan Magnussen/ Denmark
Richard Westbrook/ Great Britain

35) (7) 77 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON PORSCHE 911 RSR (997)
Marc Lieb/ Germany
Richard Lietz/ Austria
Wolf Henzler/ Germany

36) (8) 59 LUXURY RACING FERRARI 458 ITALIA
Stéphane Ortelli/ Monoco
Frédéric Makowiecki/ France
Jaime Melo/ Brazil

37) (9) 75 PROSPEED COMPETITION PORSCHE 911 RSR (997)
Marc Goossens/ Belgium
Marco Holzer/ Germany
Jaap Van Lagen/ Netherlands

38) (10) 79 JOTA ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE
Sam Hancock/ Great Britain
Simon Dolan/ Great Britain
Chris Buncombe/ Great Britain

39) (11) 66 JMW MOTORSPORT FERRARI 458 ITALIA
Rob Bell/ Great Britain
Tim Sugden/ Great Britain
Xavier Maasen/ Belgium

40) (12) 80 FLYING LIZARD MOTORSPORTS PORSCHE 911 RSR (997)
Jörg Bergmeister/ Germany
Patrick Long USA
Lucas Luhr/ Germany

41) (13) 58 LUXURY RACING FERRARI 458 ITALIA
Anthony Beltoise/ France
Pierre Thiriet/ Belgium
François Jakubowski/ France

42) (1) 61 AF CORSE FERRARI F430
Pierguiseppe Perazzini/ Italy
Marco Cioci/ Italy
Sean Paul Breslin/ Germany

43) (14) 88 TEAM FELBERMAYR-PROTON PORSCHE 911 RSR (997)
Nick Tandy/ Great Britain
Abdulaziz Al Faisal/ Saudi Arabia
Bryce Miller/ USA

44) (15) 71 AF CORSE FERRARI 458 ITALIA
Robert Kauffman/ Italy
Michael Waltrip/ USA
Rui Aguas/ Portugal

45) (16) 76 IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT PORSCHE 911 RSR (997)
Raymond Narac/ France
Patrick Pilet/ France
Nicolas Armindo/ France

46) (2) 63 PROTON COMPETITION PORSCHE 911 RSR (997)
Horst Felbermayr Jr/ Austria
Horst Felbermayr Sr/ Austria
Christian Ried/ Germany

47) (3) 81 FLYING LIZARD MOTORSPORTS PORSCHE 911 RSR (997)
Seth Neiman USA Darren LAW/ USA
Spencer Pumpelly/ USA

48) (4) 70 LARBRE COMPETITION PORSCHE 911 RSR (997)
Christophe Bourret/ France
Pascal Gibon/ France
Jean-Philippe Belloc/ France

49) (5) 83 JMB RACING FERRARI F430
Manuel Rodrigues/ France
Jean-Marc Menahem/ France
Nicolas Marroc/ France

50) (6) 60 GULF AMR MIDDLE EAST ASTON MARTIN VANTAGE
Fabien Giroix/ Argentina
Michael Wainwright/ France
Roald Goethe/ France

51) (7) 57 KROHN RACING FERRARI F430
Tracy Krohn/ USA
Niclas Jonsson/ Sweden
Michele Rugolo/ Italy

52) (8) 50 LARBRE COMPETITION CHEVROLET CORVETTE C6 ZR1
Patrick Bornhauser/ France
Julien Canal/ France
Gabriele Gardel/ Switzerland

53) (9) 62 CRS RACING FERRARI F430
Pierre Ehret/ Germany
Roger Wills/ Great Britain
Shaun Lynn/ Great Britain

54) (17) 65 LOTUS JETALLIANCE LOTUS EVORA
Jonathan Hirschi/ Switzerland
James Rossiter/ Great Britain
Johnny Mowlen/ Great Britain

55) (10) 68 ROBERTSON RACING FORD GT-DORAN
David Robertson/ USA
Andrea Robertson/ USA
David Murry/ USA

56) (18) 64 LOTUS JETALLIANCE LOTUS EVORA
Oskar Slingerland/ Germany
Martin Rich/ Great Britain
John Hartshorne/ Great Britain

Pruett and Rajos Take Grand Am DP Win at Barber; Mazda Wins GT Class

Photo Credit: Grand Am

With the IZOD IndyCar Series set for their inaugural race on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, the 2.38 mile race track saw the familiar face of the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series Saturday for the 2.5 hour Porsche 250. The first major series to open Barber Motorsports Park in 2003, the Rolex Sports Car Series brings the wide array of cars from Daytona Prototypes and the GT Class.

On the drop of the green flag, the pole-sitting #10 SunTrust-sponsored Ford Dallara leaped to an early lead in the hands of Ricky Taylor. Stretching out a 4.796 second interval over the 2nd place runner, the SunTrust Racing team showed dominance through the early pace. In the GT category, a quartet of Mazda RX-8s were fighting for the top spot in the production-based class. On lap 2, the lead in GT changed as the #30 RX-8 of Jordon Taylor passed the #70 SpeedSource RX-8.


Photo Credit: Grand Am

The first full-caution of the Porsche 250 was thrown on lap 14 as Tracy Krohn overshot turn 10 where after the #75 Ford Dallara was slowed by a sand trap and a large foam barrier along the wall. Following the yellow flag, a new leader emerged for DP class as the #8 Corsa Car Care BMW Riley benefiting from not pitting under the caution period.

On lap 21, the caution flew again at Barber Motorsports Park for a DP race car. This time, it was a blown engine on the #99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing Chevrolet Riley. Team owner Bob Stallings looked on as two of the first three races of the 2010 Grand Am Rolex Series saw his #99 GAINSCO car parked prematurely. "Jon came on line and said he thought we lost the motor. There was a big vibration and then a big pop, and he said it sounded like something actually went through the side (of the engine)." Stallings said.



Photo Credit: Grand Am

The Corsa Car Care BMW Riley headed to pit lane relinquishing the DP lead to the #61 Michael Shank Racing Ford Riley being driven by Mark Wilkins. With the Michael Shank vehicle comfortable in the top position for 17 laps, the Ford-powered Riley fall to the #01 Target Chip Ganassi Racing-owned BMW Riley. Piloted by Memo Rojas, the TELMEX-supported ride took control of the middle course of the Porsche 250 from lap 39 to lap 64. Within the time that the #01 BMW Riley took the lead, a battle in GT ignited as a challenger emerged against the Mazda brigade. One of the my new for 2010 cars to the Grand Am Rolex Series, the #07 Corvette piloted by Paul Edwards consistently lapped faster than the #70 SpeedSource team RX-8. On lap 54, Edwards completed the pass to take the Corvette to the front of GT. Unfortunately, this lead would be short-lived as the #07 Corvette would lose control on track spinning out. While Paul Edwards was able to regather the race car, the Corvette lost the class lead to the #69 SpeedSource Mazda now driven by Jeff Segal.

Driver changes took place beyond the halfway mark of the Porsche 250. Lap 62 saw than 2nd place Ricky Taylor come to the attention of pit road exiting the #10 to allow co-driver Max Angelelli to take the Ford Dallara through the anchor stage of the Barber Motorsports Park sports car event. "It was all going very good. I got held up in traffic and struggled a little. Hopefully we have good track position - I know Max can do it. At the start, the car was very good in clean air." Ricky Taylor commented after leaving the #10 SunTrust car.

Two laps later, Memo Rojas surrendered his race-leading #01 TELMEX BMW Riley to American teammate Scott Pruett. The #59 Brumos Porsche Riley in the hands of David Donohue briefly held first but would pit on lap 67 providing the lead back to the #01 BMW Riley.

With a 3rd race caution flying on lap 68 for a parked #19 Corvette driven by Andy Lally, the green restarted the race action on lap 73. Within the vehicle grouping, the #9 Action Express Racing Porsche Riley was sent off course. Joao Barbosa wheeled the #9 car would finish the Porsche 250 10th in class indicating that the honeymoon for winning the 24-hour of Daytona is apparently over.

At lap 75, Scott Pruett in the #01 BMW Riley was holding first position over the #60 Crown Royal XR Ford Riley being wheeled by Ozz Negri. Ryan Dalziel and Max Angelelli followed to complete the top-4. In GT, with the efforts of the #07 Corvette going south, the Mazda Rx-8s were seated in the first four in class standings. The #94 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 being steered by Bill Auberlen running 5th was the highest running non-Mazda.

With the last 33 laps saw the Chip Ganassi-owned BMW Riley run away to their second overall victory of the year crossing the finish line first at Barber Motorsports Park. Negri and Dalziel brought their respective cars to podium in the Daytona Prototype class.


Photo Credit: Grand Am

In GT Class, Jeff Segal held off the fellow Mazda RX-8s driven by Jordan Taylor and his SpeedSource car owner Sylvain Tremblay to win the Grand Am category. The #57 Stevenson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro GT.R would rally to the 4th place in class.

New World Stage for Sports Car Racing Debuts

This week in Abu Dhabi, sports car racing will officially undergo another metamorphosis on the global motorsports community as the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) relaunches the GT Championship as the GT1 World Championship.

Committed in becoming a true world tour, the FIA GT1 World Championship will start in 2010 with 10 races on 4 different continents. Consisting of historic venues such as Silverstone and the Spa-Francochamps race circuits, the tour is also visiting tracks including the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi which had just played host to their first Formula 1 race in October of 2009. With two stops in South America through Brazil and Portugal, plans to expand into North American market appears to be likely even as soon as the 2011 season.

The 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship will continue a practice where only a single class competes in one race. In 2009, the FIA GT Championship changed from the multiple category structure used on most sports car endurance and sprint races. Providing a qualifying and race atmosphere similar to Formula 1, the GT1 World Championship race weekends will incorporate a 60 minute qualifying race on Saturday and a 60 minute feature or championship race on Sunday.

Devoted to production-based sports cars and supercars, auto manufacturer involvement is limited to fewer than 6 makes. Each manufacturer is also limited to supplying vehicles for two, two-car teams in order to insure equal exposure and prevent one car maker from consuming the 24 car grid. Competing in the inaugural 2010 schedule will be vehicles such as the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Aston Martin DB9, Ford GT, Nissan GT-R, Lamborghini Murcielago R-SV and the Maserati MC12.



Photo Credit: Christopher Nagy


With top sports cars racing on some of the planet's finest circuits formulating the FIA GT1 World Championship, the only ingredient needed is some reputable world class drivers. As the season approached, this final component to the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship came to fruition with international drivers with backgrounds as high as Formula 1. Among names include long-time F1 competitor Mika Salo who will be driving a Chevrolet Corvette C6R for Mad-Croc Racing. Other past Formula 1 drivers Ricardo Zonta and Enrique Bernoldi are also connected to teams. Besides grand prix names, the 2010 FIA GT1 World Championship will feature prominent road race drivers like Karl Wendlinger who will be piloting a Swiss Racing Team Nissan GT-R.

While sports car racing has been enjoyed on massive scales since the end of World War Two, the sanctioning of such motorsport races has fallen under multitude of organizations over the 60 year time span. The inclusiveness of the sport to club racers excluded, sports car racing's juggling act has left the professional entity looking wayward. While titles in major national and international series remains valued, those records have become confusing to compare as series structures come and go. The FIA GT1 World Championship is one of two major attempts to consolidate major sports car racing into an internationally-recognized sanctioning body. Late last year, the ACO (the organization that regulates the Le Mans Series and the 24-hour of Le Mans race) announced the formation of the Le Mans International Cup initially for LMP1 teams competing in selected international events through 2010. Since expanded to GT classes and the smaller-engine LMP2 cars, strong indications hint that the Le Mans International Cup could be a forerunner to single global Le Mans Series.