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FRL Fridays On Saturday: Issue Six
Pole Position
After the latest update to Gran Turismo 6 PD has well and truly, once again, made a mess of it. Lucky, not all racing was halted, so we will have reports from the opening rounds of the ToCA12 Championship in next weeks issue, but big news in the world of WSC! – Editor, Rob Adams
The Big Picture
Not sure if a caption is needed for this. The 10th Le Mans Classic will get underway this Sunday!
In The Paddock
Reports from the inside as we bring you the news announced this week, interviews with drivers and the reports from the weekends racing!
WSC IX News Confirmed Ahead Of The Le Mans Classic
The WSC are in Le Mans this weekend for the 10th running of the Le Mans Classic, at Circuit De La Sarthe. The ACO have been tipped to make a press release about the championships' future and here on FRL FRIDAYS we have it, and it is big...
OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY THE AUTOMOBILE CLUB DE L'QUEST
This weekend marks the 10th running of the flagship race of the WORLD SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP, The LE MANS CLASSIC. We would like to wish all of our drivers, teams, sponsors and everyone associated with the championship luck in the Test Day on Saturday and the Grand Race itself on the Sunday.
There has been a lot of speculation recently with regards to the future of the championship. We can confirm we will be supporting at least 2 more WSC seasons, WSC IX and WSC X. We can also confirm that the series will remain a multiclass in structure, but with some tweaks ahead of next season and beyond.
The "GT-P" Category will be modified. Ferrari, Ford, and Jaguar have all agreed to support a new turbocharged engine formula being developed from current cars. These new specification machines are expected to have an output in the region of 600hp (A significant increase on current generation cars) and will be the expected contenders for overall honours in the newly badged "GT-P1" class.
We appreciate that this may come as a small shock to some who had other GT-P homologated machines. As a result, the Ford GT40 Mirage run by Gulf Racing, Shelby Americans' Shelby Daytona Coupe, and also the newly homologated Chevrolet Camaro Z28 racing car will eligible under the "GT-P2" class, with minimal modifications to current spec required. Cars will still score GT-P points but it will be similar in championship structure to that of GT-O with the "Pro" and "Am" subsidiaries.
The "GT-O" class continues to be one of the WSC success stories for modified production vehicles made for the track. We are happy to announce that Ferrari will continue to support the class, with official factory support for the 250GTO continuing. The 250GTB will not be factory supported but eligible to race this season. Shelby American will be running the Cobra 289 road car (based on the 427 chassis platform) with full works backing, whilst the Mustang GT350 will remain eligible for one more season.
Corvette Racing have built a new C3 chassis for the GT-O class. Toyota will make a historic entry to the WSC with the 2000GT sports car, developed solely in house by the Japanese manufacturer. And finally, the Ferrari offshoot of Dino will enter with the GT model. "Pro" and "Am" classifications shall remain unaltered. The full listing of homologated cars will be attached to the bottom of this article.
Schedule wise we have a number of changes. Monza is being renovated to a new chicaned layout that will be ready for after this season. The Nürburgring will not be raced on this season, but there are plans in the offing for it. Brands GP will also leave the calendar.
Spa, Le Mans, Daytona all remain on the calendar. The rest will run to time. Silverstone makes a 3rd appearance in the WSC, whilst Bathurst will yet again run to a 12hr race. Making debuts in the WSC are the Circuito Sierra - a 27 kilometres Spanish road track that opened for competition use earlier this month. The Red Bull Ring makes a debut in the season ahead, with a historic first ever visit to Japan at Motegi for a totally floodlit event.
Plans are still ongoing for a new European regional series for GT-O cars, revolving around the ADAC Sportscar Masters as the main feature race. The ACO have also passed two new categories in the last month - "GT-S" for performance Supercars and "GT-T" for national level touring car events. These are very much a work in progress.
Ultimately we hope these changes will prolong the championships length and thrill drivers and fans alike. We wish everyone involved luck in the continued running of the WSC.
OFFICIAL CAR LISTINGS:
(GT-P1) Ferrari 330 P4
(GT-P1) Ford Mk IV
(GT-P1) Jaguar XJ13
(GT-P2) Chevrolet Camaro Z28 RM
(GT-P2) Ford GT40 Mk1 Racing
(GT-P2) Shelby Daytona Coupe
(GT-O) Corvette Racing C3
(GT-O) Dino 246GT
(GT-O) Ferrari 250GTB
(GT-O) Ferrari 250GTO
(GT-O) Shelby Cobra ‘Chromeline’
(GT-O) Shelby Mustang GT350
(GT-O) Toyota 2000GT
OFFICIAL SCHEDULE:
R1) TOTAL SPA 24 HOURS (Spa-Francorchamps) - 60 Laps / 24 Hour Cycle
R2) JAPANESE SPORTSCAR GRAND PRIX (Twin Ring Motegi) - 2 Hours Laps / 6 Hour Cycle
R3) THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA (Daytona Road Course) - 80 Laps / 24 Hour Cycle
R4) LIQUI MOLY BATHURST 12 HOURS (Bathurst) - 2 Hours / 12 Hour Cycle
R5) GRAND PRIX OF ANDALUCIA (Circuito Sierra) - 19 Laps / 10 Hour Cycle
R6) AUTOSPORT 6 HOURS (Silverstone GP/Historic) - 2 Hours / 6 Hour Cycle
R7) ZELTWEG 2 HOURS (Red Bull Ring) - 2 Hours Laps / 6 Hour Cycle
R8) 11th LE MANS CLASSIC (Circuit de la Sarthe '13) - 45 Laps / 24 Hour Cycle
Sadly, Editor Rob Adams cannot make the test day this Saturday, however, we will have a full race report after the goings on in France this weekend.
ENTRY LIST FOR THE 10th WSC LE MANS CLASSIC
GT-P (5 entries)
#043 Ferrari 330 P4 @LancerEvo7(GT-P)
#21 Ford GT40 Grp.4 @jammy21(GT-P)
#38 Ford Mk IV @gtpanoz(GT-P)
#54 Ford Mk IV @Furinkazen(GT-P)
#85 Shelby Daytona @FlyingFox(GT-P)
GT-O (11 entries - PRO 5, AM 6)
#12 Ferrari 250GTO @Yeratel84(PRO)
#16 Mercedes 300SL @Roflwaffle (AM)
#19 Shelby Mustang @Siggers (AM)
#23 Ferrari 250GTO @Downhill Dino (AM)
#31 BMW 507 @MatheusBond(AM)
#35 Shelby Mustang @R0ssingt0n(PRO)
#43 Ferrari 250GTB @raceorama123432(PRO)
#72 Ferrari 250GTO @snowgt(PRO)
#77 Mercedes 300SL @Andil(PRO)
#93 Jaguar E Type @chrisjohnson93(AM)
#94 Ferrari 250GTB @DK(AM)
RESERVE ENTRIES (ALL CLASSES)
#24 BMW 507 @1996mikey2412(GT-O, AM)
#99 Mercedes 300SL @smuffyatfcp (GT-O, PRO)
What’s to come this week?
Well, all circumstance to PD fixing their broken game (or unfinished as @Carbonox calls it) then ToCA should have a break this week as it should be the Le Mans test day on Saturday!
Of course, any Le Mans test day will be followed be an actual Le Mans! The jewel in the crown of the WSC calendar. 3 hours of intense fighting around the Circuit de la Sarthe and with double points it will be the most important laps of the season. The championship could be decided this Sunday. Tune in next week for a full report.
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