Tequila Patron ESM Track Tests New HPD ARX-04b Prototype Sports Car

The Tequila Patron ESM (Extreme Speed Motorsports) team opened one of their Christmas gifts early this week. Waiting for their newest speed machine since May, the drivers for Tequila Patron ESM turned their first laps in an all-new Honda prototype race car in preparation for the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship.

Received by the race team operated by Scott Sharp (a long-time American sports car racing driver as well as a co-champion for the 1996 Indy Racing League drivers’ title), the first of two all-new Honda Performance Development (HPD) ARX-04b prototype coupes was acquainted with an unidentified race track. Team Principal and Tequila Patron ESM squad’s co-driver Sharp was first to take the new vehicle out on track. “This HPS Coupe is very exciting for us, there has been so much anticipation building up to our first laps”, said Scott Sharp as he ran some initial shakedown laps. An early test of the ARX-04b, HPD prototype project leader Allen Miller slated, " Our goal today was simply to check all the systems to ensure the ARX-04b is where it needs to be, as we start our pre-season test program."

A vehicle fully compliant with ACO LMP2 rules, HPD’s new ARX-04b is powered by a twin-turbocharged version of a production-based V-6 engine. The drive-by-wire powerplant is similar to the one used on the Honda Accord as well as Acura products such as the MDX and the new TLX. The new Honda Performance Development vehicle is quickly identified for its closed cockpit setup. All the previous versions of the ARX line were open cockpit vehicles. In the 1990s, an Acura NSX-engined prototype race car ran in the GTP Lights category with an enclosed-cockpit setup. Under the Comptech Racing banner, the Honda powered prototype used a Spice chassis.

Running full-time as part of the FIA WEC tour in 2015 in the LMP2 category, the first active field-test of the HPD ARX-04b in competition will take place in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Additionally, Tequila Patron ESM was pledged to battle for the 2015 Tudor United SportsCar Championship’s Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup. The four-race competition for the North American Endurance Cup is shaped by the 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Tequila Patron ESM have been rapidly acquainting themselves to the FIA WEC after years involved in the American Le Mans Series Participating in three races in the LMP2 category this past season, the team posted a runner-up spot running the Shanghai FIA WEC round. The 2015 season will be Tequila Patron ESM’s sixth year of sports car racing competition.

600-Horsepower Cadillac ATS-V Coupe to Go Sports Car Racing in 2015

For much of its 111-year history, American luxury car brand Cadillac has been focused on the road-going character of the premium brand. While other automakers like Bentley, BMW, Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz used motorsports to highlight their latest engineering know-how documented with storied wins at tracks like Le Mans and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Cadillac's past has seen the General Motors' brand more accustomed to cruising boulevards or parked at country clubs. Several seasons of Pirelli World Challenge has resulted in four drivers' championships over a decade-long timeframe including Cadillac pilot Johnny O'Connell's 2014 title. With the completion of the recent season, Cadillac also locked up its three-straight manufacturers' title thanks to its V-8 powered, race-prepped CTS-V Coupes. Fending off exotic vehicle like the Bentley Continental GT3, Lamborghini GT3, McLaren 12C GT3 and the Audi R8 Ultra through 2014, Cadillac will attempt to continue its reign in sports car competition with an brand-new car in 2015.

Designated at the Cadillac ATS-V.R, the future track terror is delivering a number of advances over the previous championship winner. The first notable change is the adaptation of the ATS-V Coupe rather than the CTS model. Originally fielding the CTS sedan in 2004, Team Cadillac has been fielding a CTS-V Coupe from 2012 up to this season. Set to be revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the yet-to-be shown stock 2016 ATS-V Coupe will be the brand's first compact performance model.

Another aspect affecting the look of the appearance of the 2015 ATS-V.R is that the race car conforms for FIA GT3 rules. The FIA GT3 specifications were approved for the 2013 Pirelli World Challenge season and is widely-applied in global motorsports. An aggressive aero kit consisting of a carbon fiber front splitter and a full undertray give the Cadillac ATS-V.R a firm sports car look. Fenders have also been shaped to allow FIA-mandated tire sizes that will be mounted to the Cadillac race car's 18-inch BBS racing wheels. Brembo brakes and three-way Penske adjustable shocks are fitted to ATS-V.R in order to handle fast, tight cornering.

Moving the brand-new Cadillac is handled by a dramatically different type of engine. The ATS-V.R will be the first recent competition Cadillac to be powered by a V-6 engine. Modified for racing, the 3.6-liter Twin Turbo V-6 powerplant is based on a production Cadillac engine like the one found under the hood of the CTS Vsport. This engine should also be similar to the one equipped on the stock ATS-V. Larger BorgWarner turbochargers and high-capacity intercoolers as well as a side-exiting racing exhaust system will allow an available output of 600 horsepower to flow through a rear-mounted Xtrac sequential six-speed transmission to the drive wheels.

Cadillac's racing history may not be as rich as other premium car companies but it does contain some notable accomplishments. During an 1909 event in Portland, Oregon for what was the first race to be sanctioned by the AAA (the United States automotive club held many major auto races prior to the formation of the USAC series), A Cadillac won a three-lap event on a 14.6-mile road course. After World War Two, competitive sports car builder Briggs Cunningham competed with Cadillac products. At the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans, he ran a largely stock Cadillac Series 62 as well as a custom-bodied Cadillac chassis called "Le Monstre". In the same year, a Cadillac-engine Allard race car won 99-mile race in Watkins Glen. Aside from sports car racing in the 1950s, Cadillac's ran in the NASCAR Grand National Series (now called the Sprint Cup Series) though never won a race. Cadillac's arrival to the Pirelli World Challenge Series in 2004 came after a three-year prototype sports car run that yielded limited success.   

Along with its expected run as part of the Pirelli World Challenge in 2015, the Cadillac ATS-V.R's compliance to FIA GT3 regulations could allow the luxury brand to spread its sport car racing profile in the future.


Information and photo source: General Motors

NASCAR Sprint Cup Car to Lose Horsepower, Gains On-board Track Bar Adjuster for 2015

Photo Credit: 301763 Sarah Glenn/NASCAR via Getty Images

Right now, the immediate focus related to the NASCAR Sprint Cup series surrounds the 2014 Chase. However, with eight races remaining in the 2014 season, NASCAR announced a series of rules changes affecting the way the 2015 race cars will be prepared for competition.

For the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota race cars will most notably feature less rear downforce as well as less engine power. Trimming the rear spoiler on this year's car by two inches, the 2015 height for the aerodynamic accessory will be a maximum of six inches. Power for the V-8 engines propelling Sprint Cup cars is being reduced for the upcoming year with the use of a so-called tapered spacer (the same device used on NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series vehicles). Adding the tapered spacer, performance output available from the powerplants of 2015 cars is predicted to circulate around 725 horsepower. Other technical revisions for 2015 includes brake calipers, an altered radiator pan width and the reduction of the overall weight of the NASCAR Sprint Cup to 3,250 pounds without the driver (down by 50 pounds more than 2014 rules).

Another major addition for 2015 places more handling control in the hands of the driver. For the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, drivers and teams can choose to install optional onboard adjustment tool for the track bar. Teams have long exploited the track bar for dialing in the on-track performance of the stock cars on the tour but it had existed only an adjustment that could be made during pit stops. The driver-controlled track bar adjustment tool will be available as an active tool that could take work off the hands of pit crew members and provide competitors with quicker tailoring of the vehicle's track performance. At this time, one of the only other adjustments available to a driver inside the race car is brake bias.

Changes for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series will not be limited to the cars for 2015 There will also be a number of changes made to the sporting and operations of Sprint Cup series. Destined to affect teams the most is the ban of all private track testing. This measure is seen as a measure to reduce costs and to prevent advantages gained by the higher-funded organizations on the Sprint Cup tour. Teams will be invited to take part in NASCAR-sanctioned tests or Goodyear tire tests only. NASCAR also noted that there will be no test at Daytona International Speedway ahead of the 2015 Daytona 500.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series will also introduce the group qualifying format that debuted this season at all tracks for 2015 including its implementation at the Daytona 500. At the road course of Sonoma and Watkins Glen, series tire supplier Goodyear is providing fans the chance to watch a race even in wet conditions. The Akron, Ohio tire company has pledged to create rain tires for Sprint Cup road races. Used more often in the NASCAR Nationwide series in past seasons (including the last race at Road America), Goodyear's rain tires have never been used in a Sprint Cup main event. Additionally, NASCAR Sprint Cup cars will be required to run windshield wipers, window defogger system and a red rear marker light in preparation for wet weather racing.

These changes are the highlight of a total of 60 enhancements made to the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup car rules for 2015.