Race News: Grand Am and ALMS

[dougiemeats]

No problem. in fact, I do need help with the ALMS news. could you do that?

Of course:tup:

 

[RACECAR]

Of course:tup:

alright, cool then:tup:

 

[dougiemeats]

ALMS

Acura in 2007
Rumors were rampant last year about Honda's interest in the American Le Mans Series. Today, an announcement from Acura confirms that they are planning to enter the American Le Mans series as a factory P2 effort starting with the opening round in 2007 at Sebring.

Acura will compete in the twelve-hour event with a 3.4L V8 developed by Honda Performance Development. Drivers and teams have yet to be announced, but the engines will use chassis from Lola and Courage (picture).

Competition Adjustments
As done in past, IMSA has recently announced various competition adjustments across the ALMS classes. In P1 the Lola B06/10-AERs (Dyson Racing) may now run with a minimum of 900 kg. This is 25 kg lighter than what teams had to run with in the opening round at Sebring. The Lola EX257-AERs such as those of Highcroft Racing and Autocon Motorsports will be allowed a larger air restrictor.

In P2, cars with 2.0L turbocharged engines will see the maximum absolute boost pressure raise by 200 millibars. Also, the Mazda rotary engine (B-K Motorsports) will see a maximum restrictor size increase.

In GT1, the Aston Martins and Saleens have lower minimum weights as well as larger air restrictors.

In GT2, the Porsches will be allowed slightly larger air restrictors.

This should provide for some interesting racing. We can all remember the Saleen and Corvette battles last season. Unfortunately, these "competition adjustments" concern mainly speed. It's up to the teams to adapt to the reliability issues this brings as well as the possible increase in fuel consumption.

 

[dougiemeats]

ALMS

Andy Wallace, a winner of Le Mans, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 24 Hours of Daytona, will be co-driving with Duncan Dayton in his Highcroft Racing Lola for for the next 5 rounds after Houston in the American Le Mans Series.

Andy Wallace has a lot of experience with this car since it is essentially the same race car he drove last season. This should give Highcroft Racing a huge boost.👍

 

[RACECAR]

Grand American:
in a race where the front-runners ran nose-to-tail for the final 20 laps, No.23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Porsche Crawford driver Mike Rockenfeller saved his best move for last to take a thrilling last lap victory in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series Presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve VIR 400 at Virginia International Raceway. Rockenfeller took the white flag in third place, Just behind Leader Max Angelelli in the #10 SunTrust Pontiac Riley and Scott Pruett in the #01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley. with Angelelli fighting desperately to keep the lead and Pruett trying everything to find a way past, the race reached its crescendo entering Turn 14 on the 17-turn, 3.27 mile road course. as he reached the end of the long straightaway heading into the turn, Angelelli was forced to slow down slightly to avoid Robert Bell's No,17 SAMAX Porsche GT3. Pruett saw the oppertunity and took his best shot, pulling alongside Angelelli as both drivers negotiated the turn and banged doors a few times. That was Rockenfeller's cue to take his own shot at victory, and the German shot past Pruett and Angelelli. After his own door-banging session with Angelelli, Rockenfeller pulled away and beat Angelelli to the stripe by just 0.518 seconds.

 

[dougiemeats]

For you Corvette fans, you probably know that Team Corvette is using brand new chassis this season in their ALMS campaign. In case you were wondering what happened to last season's chassis, here's one of them being campaigned by GLPK Carsport in FIA-GT.



The Corvette, IMHO, is the benchmark for the GT1 class. I'd like to see what other teams can do with it. I'll be cheering for this one.

Edit: This car just claimed pole position in this weekend's opening round of the FIA-GT at Silverstone.

 

[RACECAR]

I am wondering, since it is a full factory effort this year, what kind of livery we'll see on the R8. As we bid farewell to the R8, will we see it clad in silver, just as the first time we saw it in its debut?

according to the Champion Racing site, they will be running the same colors as the R10, instead of "TDI power" it will be "FSI power" (what is that anyway?)

Edit-Grand American:After struggling in the early rounds of the 2006 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve season, defending Daytona Prototype co-champion Max Angelelli and the No. 10 Suntrust Pontiac Riley team returned to their winning ways in Sunday's Road & Track 250 at Mazda Raceway Leguna Seca. Co-driving with Jan Magnussen--who led 18 laps during his stint in the cockpit, Angelelli claimed the lead from David Donohue in the No.58 Red Bull Brumos Racing Porsche Fabcar with 21 laps remaining. The italian then held off several late charges from Alex Gurney in the No. 99 GAINSCO/Blackhawk Racing Pontiac Riley to win by 2.798 seconds. it was Angelelli's first Victory since the Crown Royal 250 at the Glen last September, and was Magnussen's first overall triumph in Rolex Series Competition since a 200 mile race at Watkins Glen in 2004. it was also the first overall victory for Pontiac, which has won the last two Daytona Prototype engine manufacturer championships.

 

[RACECAR]

ALMS:Allen Mcnish and Dindo Capello won for the second time this season. the R8 survived attrition that claimed its closest competitors to send allen Mcnish and Dindo Capello to their second straight victory. After winning in the debut race of the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI at Sebring, Mcnish and Capello competed 143 laps on the 1.69-mile, nine-turn street course at reliant Park.

 

[RACECAR]

Grand American:No.01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing co-drivers Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz climbed back atop the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series Presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve Daytona Prototype Championship Standings with a victory under the lights at Phoenix International raceway in the GAINSCO Grand Prix. Pruett claimed the lead on lap 95, as Max Angelelli--who had won the race off pit road as all the leaders pitted on the previous lap--was forced to return to pit lane after the right front wheel was not Properly attached. The No.01 machine was not seriously challenged from that point onward, and Pruett went on to record a 9.026-second victory over Ryan Dalziel in the No.89 Playboy/Vonage/Palms Casino Pontiac Riley. It was Rolex Series-record 10th career Daytona Prototype Victory for Pruett.

 

[dougiemeats]

ALMS: The excitement for Le Mans builds as we get closer and closer to the race. Here is a list of American Le Mans Series teams making the trip to France this year:

Audi Sport
Intersport Racing
Aston Martin Racing
Corvette Racing
Multimatic Motorsports (Team Panoz)
Flying Lizard Motorsports
White Lightning Racing

Miracle Motorsports*
ACEMCO Motorsports*

*Traditional ALMS teams but running a limited (or no) races this season.

 

[RACECAR]

Grand American:in a race featuring 20 lead changes among nine cars and 12 drivers, Jorg Bergmeister reclaimed the lead in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve Daytona Prototype driver championship with a victory alongside co-driver Boris Said in the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen.


When then-race leader Alex Gurney made his final pit stop of the race with 21 laps remaining in the No.99 GAINSCO/Blackhawk Racing Pontiac Riley, Bergmeister took the lead in the No.76 Krohn Racing Ford Riley. The German maintained the lead through two full-course caution period times for a total of 33 laps. Bergmeister parlayed the victory intop a four-point lead in the Daytona Prototype driver standings, 291-287, over No. 01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley co-drivers Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz. it was Bergmeister's first Rolex Series overall victory since last September at Phoenix International Raceway, and he has now finished inside the top eight positions in all nine of his 2006 Rolex Series starts.

 

[dougiemeats]

ALMS

Here are the results from the Le Mans test day for the ALMS teams:

...
2. #7 Audi Sport R10 - 3:32.090
...
4. #8 Audi Sport R10 - 3:32.305
...
13. Intersport Racing Lola AER - 3:43.408
...
17. 007 Aston Martin Racing - 3:51.408 (Fastest in GT1)
...
19. 009 Aston Martin Racing - 3:52.664
20. #64 Corvette Racing - 3:53.029
21. Miracle Motorsports Courage AER - 3:53.164
22. #63 Corvette Racing - 3:53.174
...
29. ACEMCO Motorsports Saleen S7R - 3:56.659
...
38. Flying Lizard Porsche - 4:05.600
39. Multimatic Panoz - 4:06.844
...
41. White Lightning Porsche - 4:07.778

 

[RACECAR]

Grand American:here's Last weekend's Results from the EMCO Gears Classic:

After starting last on the Daytona Prototype grid, No 12 Lowe's Fernandez Racing Pontiac Riley co-drivers Adrian Fernandez and Mario Haberfeld drove all the way through the field to earn their first carreer Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve victory in Saturday's EMCO Gears Classic Presented by KeyBank at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The finish of the race was Marred by a frightening crash involving No.21 Connolly Motorsports BMW M3 driver Joey Hand and the No. 64 TRG Pontiac GTO.R of Paul Edwards. While battling for the lead on lap 97, Edwards made contact with the rear of Hand's car along the back straightaway, forcing the No. 21 machine off-course and into a series of end-over-end flips. the No. 12 machine--in which haberfeld originally turned the third-fastest time in friday's qualifiying session--was moved to the rear of the grid when post-qualifying inspection revealed that the car was too wide. adding futher insult to injury, the car did not take its position on the starting grid, as the team battled an electrical problem with the cool suit mechanism in the car. As a result, Haberfeld Joined the field at the end of the second pace lap.from there, however, Haberfeld carefully worked his way up in the running order before turning the car over to Fernandez in a pit stop under caution on lap 41. As teams adopted significantly differant pit strategies, the one used by the Lowe's Fernandez team proved to make a difference in the race. Fernandez claimed the lead from Jon Fogarty, when Fogarty brought the No. 99 GAINSCO/Blackhawk Racing Pontiac Riley onto pit road for its final stop of the evening under another full-course caution on lap 72. From that point on, Fernandez would not be challenged and the owner/driver went on to record the victory for his first-year team.

Now here's yesterday's results from the Brumos Porsche 250:

Playing the fuel strategy to Perfection, 17-year-old Colin Braun became the youngest winner in Gand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve history and his No.76 Krohn Racing co-driver Jorg Bergmeister extended his Daytona Prototype points lead with their victory in the Brumos Porsche 250 under the lights of Daytona International Speedway. After staring second, Braun drove the race's opening stint and took the lead from polesitter Luis Diaz in the No.01 CompUSA Chip Ganassi Racing Lexus Riley when Luis Diaz pitted on Lap 34 of the 70-lap event to turn over to co-driver Scott Pruett. One lap later--at the Halfway point of the race--Braun came onto pit lane to turn the No.76 machine over to Bergmeister.The extra lap coupled with excellent fuel mileage from the ford powerplant would enable Bergmeister to drive the rest of the race without making another pit stop. the other front-runners would not have the same luxury, and on Lap 66 race Patrick Long in the No.23 Ruby Tuesday Championship Racing Team Porsche Crawford and second-place Pruett pulled onto pit lane for "splash and go" stops. That opened the door for Bergmeister to take the lead and the German would not be challenged over the remaining five laps en route to a 16.498-second victory over Long in the No.23 machine. It was Bergmeister's second victory in the past three races--he co-drove with road racing star Boris Said--and was his third-consecutive top-two result.With four races remaining in the 2006 Rolex Series season, Bergmeister Leads Pruett and Diaz by 31 points, 358-327.

 

[RACECAR]

ALMS:

P1:Audi's Grand Old Girl is going out just like she came in- a winner in the American Le Mans Series. Allan McNish drove past Romain Dumas with 30 minutes left as the Scot and Rionaldo Capello won the New England Grand Prix on Saturday at Lime Rock Park.
McNish and Capello were winners by 11.812 seconds over the Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder of Timo Bernhard and omain Dumas. it marked the 50th class win for the most successful race car in Series history. The R8 will be replaced starting in two weeks at Salt Lake City's Miller Motorsports Park by two diesel-powered Audi R10 TDIs, which won at Both Sebring and Le Mans earlier this year. But for one more day, the R8 took center stage.

P2: Dumas and Berhard, the pole-sitting duo, finished second overall and first in LMP2 for their second straight class win. The sister car of Sascha Maassen and Lucas Luhr, which pitted early to replace the front nose, finished second in class. The Porsches never trailed in LMP2 and led overall for 68 laps.Third was the class championship-leading duo of clint field and Liz Halliday in the intersport Racing Lola. Their advantage over Maassen and Luhr has decreased slightly which Bernhard and Dumas continue ti gain ground in the critical July stretch.

GT1:Aston Martin Racing captured its first GT1 win of the season as Pedro Lamy in the No.009 Aston Martin Racing beat Johnny o'Connell across the line by 0.033 seconds in one of the closest finishes in Series history. Sarrazin and Lamy Gave Aston Martin its first win the S since Sebring Last year and snapped Corvette's 12-race win streak dating back to last year's Grand Prix of Atlanta.Unlike Mid-Ohio and other races, the winning DBR9 benefitted from a caution period with an hour to go. Sarrazin, running second at the time, pitted just as the yellow flag came out and handed over the car to Lamy. A fierce battle ensued between the two Aston Martins and the No.3 Corvette with Lamy passing Darrin Turner in the sister DBR9, which finished third, for the lead with 15 minutes left. O'Connell followed closely and ran just out of time and track. Missing was the No.4 entry of Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin, winners of the previous eight Series races. The car was damaged in an early-race incident with the No. 20 Dyson Racing Lola that left the Corvette stick in the mud near the rear of the track.

In GT2, Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing completed a sensational week by winning its first race of the season. Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long drove the new No. 31 to victory over Johannes van Overbeek and Wolf Henzler in the No.45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche. The Petersen/White Lightning crew turned a Porsche Cup car it acquired on Monday into a Class-winning entry after team's first car was destroyed at Le Mans.as has been the case in GT2 all season, it wasn't easy. Bergmeister inherited the lead when the No. 61 Risi Competionzione Ferrari crashed in Turn 9 at the 36-minute mark. Shortly thereafter Bergmeister handed off tje car to Long, who drove much of hios stint with a Malfunctioning cooling suit. Fortunately for him, the caution flag came out at just the right time and the team benefited the same way as the Aston Martin.

 

[dougiemeats]

ALMS

Utah Grand Prix

This Saturday, the American Le Mans Series will visit the new Miller Motosports Park for the first time for the Utah Grand Prix. The track is 4.5 miles long with 24 turns and 12 places for overtaking.



There are two Audi R10s on the grid to take on the Lolas of Dyson Racing, Highcroft Racing, and Autocon Motorsports, as well as the two Porsche RS Spyders of Penske Racing.

Speculation and Rumors

We are just about halfway through the 2006 season and here is round-up of all the rumors going around in the ALMS. There has been much speculation as to when Lexus will appear in the GT2 class. Sources indicate that the car is done. However, during recent tests, the car is well off the pace delaying the debut of the car. Again, this is all speculation, since Lexus isn't talking.

There has also been speculation of a Zytek entering the series. It has been said that "funding is secured," but the question is, when will we see the car on the grid?

Other rumors:
*Panoz planning to enter a car in GT1
*Lister LMP coming to ALMS next season?
*"Significant change" for BMW Team PTG this season?
*ACEMCO done (maybe there for Petit Le Mans?)
*Return of Konrad at Petit Le Mans
*Oreca Saleen at Petit Le Mans

 

[m.piedgros]

I hope that the PTG boys get a Z4M GT2 car. That'd be sweet!

m.piedgros

*Panoz planning to enter a car in GT1
Well, the guys at Panoz Motorsports are in limbo. Haven't they been told to hold off on the construction of the ChampCar. Otherwise, no SMART IRL team is using their chassis and the GT2 cars are privateers... why the heck not?

*Lister LMP coming to ALMS next season?
It would be fantastic to see the Lister here. However, it's competitiveness is questionable. Would that just be a side-show, like the MC12 was last year?

*ACEMCO done (maybe there for Petit Le Mans?)
Unfortunate. Pole last year at Mosport showed great improvement. I don't understand why they would pull out now. That seems terrible for GT1 action.

*Return of Konrad at Petit Le Mans
Hopefully a little more competitive than they were at Sebring.

*Oreca Saleen at Petit Le Mans
That would be cool. You KNOW Oreca wouldn't be here just for being here. They're here to dominate.


As one of my own... Ron Fellows retiring. Will he, won't he? It would be a killer for not only Corvette Racing but GM Racing. This cat is so unbelievably marketable and knowledgable... it'd be a huge blow for GM.

 

[dougiemeats]

I hope that the PTG boys get a Z4M GT2 car. That'd be sweet!

That car is beautiful. I want one in the ALMS also.

Well, the guys at Panoz Motorsports are in limbo. Haven't they been told to hold off on the construction of the ChampCar. Otherwise, no SMART IRL team is using their chassis and the GT2 cars are privateers... why the heck not?

Right now, ANY new entry in the GT1 class is welcome. We need more than 2-4 cars (depending on Aston Martin Racing's plans for next season) in the GT1 class next season!

It would be fantastic to see the Lister here. However, it's competitiveness is questionable. Would that just be a side-show, like the MC12 was last year?

Since Lister is abandoning their LMP project for a GT1 project, I suppose the ALMS is an ideal series for the Lister LMP Hybrid to retire to since the rules here are a bit more relaxed than the Le Mans Series in Europe. I think it will either race here in the ALMS or in Japan for the JLMC. Competitiveness would be an issue, but maybe it can fight it out with the Autocon or Highcroft cars next year.

Unfortunate. Pole last year at Mosport showed great improvement. I don't understand why they would pull out now. That seems terrible for GT1 action.

Could it be money? Perhaps a new car? Who knows... (other than ACEMCO themselves)

Hopefully a little more competitive than they were at Sebring.

I'll take 'em, competitive or not, just fill that GT1 grid!

That would be cool. You KNOW Oreca wouldn't be here just for being here. They're here to dominate.

You're right about that. They want to take it to the factory squads and I think they just might have the car(s) to do it.

As one of my own... Ron Fellows retiring. Will he, won't he? It would be a killer for not only Corvette Racing but GM Racing. This cat is so unbelievably marketable and knowledgable... it'd be a huge blow for GM.

I think he will after this season I'm not a huge fan of Corvette (I'm an ACEMCO guy myself) but Ron Fellows and the #3 car is usually my favorite at Le Mans. Heck, I've been watching the NASCAR road races just to see him race. I hope for more wins from him, and good luck to him with whatever decision he makes after this season.

 

[m.piedgros]

That car is beautiful. I want one in the ALMS also.



Right now, ANY new entry in the GT1 class is welcome. We need more than 2-4 cars (depending on Aston Martin Racing's plans for next season) in the GT1 class next season!



Since Lister is abandoning their LMP project for a GT1 project, I suppose the ALMS is an ideal series for the Lister LMP Hybrid to retire to since the rules here are a bit more relaxed than the Le Mans Series in Europe. I think it will either race here in the ALMS or in Japan for the JLMC. Competitiveness would be an issue, but maybe it can fight it out with the Autocon or Highcroft cars next year.



I'll take 'em, competitive or not, just fill that GT1 grid!



I think he will after this season I'm not a huge fan of Corvette (I'm an ACEMCO guy myself) but Ron Fellows and the #3 car is usually my favorite at Le Mans. Heck, I've been watching the NASCAR road races just to see him race. I hope for more wins from him, and good luck to him with whatever decision he makes after this season.

I hope the Aston's are around for a long time. 2-4 cars won't cut it no matter how many .33 second finishes we have like at Lime Rock.

I'm excited to hear about the Lister GT1 car. Will it be a "Storm" like in the old days of FIA GT? As for the LMP I do hope it comes here. Hopefully the U.S. tracks will allow it to magically compete.

I agree to an extent... remember, quality over quantity.

I generally cheer for ACEMCO over anyone in GT1, expect last year when I was cheering for the MC12 because it was the Ferrari of Houston guys that payed for all that. However Ron Fellows is not just the GM racer for me. (Although he's achieved his biggest accomplishments with GM.) I remember him (vaguely) in a Ferrari 333SP at Daytona, Mosport, and Sebring. I remember watching some of my Dad's Trans-Am videos from the late '80's and early '90's and watching Ron (when he was starting his moustache faze) win some races in a Roush prepared Mustang against arguably the best modern(ish) Trans-Am field.

m.piedgros

 

[RACECAR]

that would just suck if Ron Retired. it just wouldn't be the same. and even if someone replaces him, there will be a huge void and I doubt that a possible replacement will ever be able to fill that void.

 

[m.piedgros]

I agree 100%. If you recall at Le Mans he was going around, with a couple hours to go, talking to his team and making sure he talked to each and every person. I think it was Bob Varsha who first mentioned his possible retirement mentioning the way he was acting etc. etc. etc. In terms of effect on the series, do you think we'd get 60 000+, or however many it is they get as Mosport without Ron? Will someone need to put another Canadian like Scott Maxwell in the seat of a competitive car to get those kinds of numbers? Speaking strictly to Canadians, do you think that the crowds are there to cheer Ron on or are you motorsports crazy up there?

m.piedgros

 

[dougiemeats]

ALMS

I posted this earlier:

There has also been speculation of a Zytek entering the series. It has been said that "funding is secured," but the question is, when will we see the car on the grid?

My question has been answered! American Le Mans Series fans will see the Zytek on the grid this season, starting at Mosport. The team will race Mosport, Petit Le Mans, and Laguna Seca this year.

Now hopefully the Dyson Lolas will be competitive and we will see a 5-car battle for the win with the Penske Porsches getting into the mix as well.

 

[RACECAR]

My question has been answered! American Le Mans Series fans will see the Zytek on the grid this season, starting at Mosport. The team will race Mosport, Petit Le Mans, and Laguna Seca this year.

Now hopefully the Dyson Lolas will be competitive and we will see a 5-car battle for the win with the Penske Porsches getting into the mix as well.

thats nice to know, but who's bringing it over here?

 

[dougiemeats]

I believe Zytek Engineering will be bringing the car to America. I'll get the names of the drivers when it is confirmed.

 

[dougiemeats]

ALMS

IMSA has decided not to wait for the ACO and have given diesel-powered cars their first restriction. The refueling restrictor of diesel cars will be decreased from 38mm to 33mm. This ruling is effective immediately.

The ACO has yet to decide on what competition adjustments will be made concerning diesel cars at Le Mans and Le Mans-based series.

 

[RACECAR]

ALMS:

Emanuele Pirro withstood a furious charge from Lucas Luhr in the final 20 Minutes as the Audi R10 TDI claimed its first victory its first American Le Mans Series since March by winning the Utah Grand Prix on Saturday at Miller Motorsports Park. Pirro and the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI crossed the finish 0.314 seconds ahead of of Luhr's Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder. The difference turned out to be a fuel-only change with just more then an hour left for the Audi. The Porsche took on fuel and tires and changed drivers one minute later, hoping fresher tires would allow Luhr to catch up to the Audi. in the end, it didn't.

Penske Racing earned its third straight victory as Luhr and Sascha Maassen cruised after the sister car of Timo Bernard and Romain Dumas stopped at the pit exit with throttle problems. The victory propelled the two Germans to within 1 point of the class championship lead, held by Intersport Racing's Clint Field and Liz Halliday, who finished second in class together in their Lola Bo5/40-AER.

Aston Martin racing won for the second straight race in GT1 as Thomas Enge and Darrin Turner won for the first time this year. Their Aston Martin DBR9 finished a lap ahead of the sister car, driven by Andrea Piccini and Stephane Sarrazin. The Aston Martins also finished 1-2 in class for the first time since their series debut at Sebring Last year. The British marque's third win in North America wasn't without a little late drama, though. The team had planned to pit wit habout 15 miunutes remaining while leading a full lap. Fortune smiled when Enge pitted under yellow for tires and fuel, only for the crew to find that the battery was losing voltage and that they had to replace the alternator belt. Quick work combined with the full course caution meant Enge retained his lead, which he held comfortly for the remainder.

Risi Competizione gave Ferrari its first victory in the series since 2004 with a GT2 class victory. Jamie Melo and Mika Salo came from the back of the grid after changing tires prior to the start for their first win in the Series and the first for the Ferrari F430GT. The yalso are the fifth pairing to win a series race in as many events. they finished 11 seconds ahead of the Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Porsche of Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister.

 

[dougiemeats]

ALMS

Acura Announcements This Week

The-Paddock.net reports that Acura will announce teams and drivers sometime this week. It is said that there will be anywhere from 3 to 6 Acura-powered LMPs at Sebring 2007. A quote from the article claims "at least one team comes from a major open-wheel series and another is an already established competitor in sportscar racing."

Another website (Mariantic) believes these will be the teams:

2x Fernadez Racing Lola Acura
2x Andretti Green Racing Courage Acura
1x Highcroft Racing Lola Acura

We must wait until the official announcement to confirm these entries.

What I think: Factory Acuras vs. Customer Porsches... I can't wait!

 

[dougiemeats]

ALMS

Official Announcements From Acura

http://www.americanlemans.com/News/Article.aspx?ID=2323

1x Fernandez Racing Lola Acura
1x Andretti Green Racing Courage Acura
1x Highcroft Racing Courage Acura

So it seems Mariantic.co.uk had some good inside information!

Edit: The number of cars per team is not specified, but the wording of the article seems to indicate that it is one car each. I'll put "1x" for now, and will edit if necessary.

 

[RACECAR]

ALMS:

Diesel Power is starting to take hold in the American Le Mans Series. The Audi R10 TDI remained unbeaten in three Series races Allen McNish Rinaldo Capello won the Portland Grand Prix on Saturday, their fourth overall victory of the season. McNish and Capello survived the heat, attrition and Portland International Raceway's Festival Curves to win in the Rose City for the first time since 2000. McNish and Capello, the LMP1 championship leaders, finished 42.051 seconds ahead of Audi teammates Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro in the other R10 TDI. Chris Dyson and Guy Smith in the No. 20 Dyson Racing Lola B06/10-AER finished third.

Liz Halliday became the winningest female in series history with her sixth career win as she and Clint Field gave Intersport Racing its third LMP2 victory of the season in LMP2. Halliday took the lead with seven minutes to go as Penske Racing's No.6 Porsche RS Spyder sat helplessly in pit lane with a blown engine. Entering the race with a 1-point lead in the class drivers championship, they leave with a 5-point advantage over Lucas Luhr and Sascha Maassen.

Corvette Racing returned to victory circle in GT1 as Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin won at Portland for the second year in a row. Beretta started from the class pole as he, Gavin and crew of the No.4 ran faultlessly. Gavin and Beretta, Defending class champions, won by nearly a minute over the Aston Martin Racing DBR9 of Thomas Enge and Darren Turner. The two Pairings sit 1-2 in the championship standings after six rounds, and Corvette Racing holds an 11-point edge over Aston Martin in the team championship.

The pole-sitting Risi Competizione Ferrari F430GT came from the rear of the field after a first lap collision sent Jamie Melo to the pits. But like they did last weekend at Miller Motorsports Park, Melo and Mika Salo returned from the back of the pack to record a hard earned GT2 victory.

 

[dougiemeats]

ALMS

Miracle Motorsports Sells Everything

Dennis Spencer has purchased all of the assets of Miracle Motorsports. This includes the Courage C65 chassis, AER engines, car haulers, and everything else involved in the race team operation. Spencer indicates that he will do some modifications to the Courage chassis and is currently selling two AER engines. He has not commented on what engines will replace the AER engines, but Mariantic.co.uk seems to think that a Mazda option is possible. It is also unknown what Spencer's ultimate plans for the racing team are. The question of when he will begin his sports car prototype campaign and where, have yet to be answered. More details later.

BMW and Lexus

Lexus has told IMSA and the American Le Mans Series that they will be at Road America. However, if you recall earlier this season, they have also said that they were going to be at Houston and the following races.

BMW has been talking about new aero for their M3, as well as a new car. If you listened to the coverage of the Portland race, you might remember this quote from Bill Auberlen: "...a new combination that will put us right to the front, no matter who is out there." It looks like BMW and their drivers are pretty confident about their chances.

Audi Sport to Take Over Lamborghini R-GT Program

Reiter Engineering is no longer responsible for developing and racing the Lamborghini R-GT. This may give the racing program new life since it has not been successful in America or Europe. The program is now in Audi Sport's hands and hopefully this stirs new interest in the car. I can't help but wonder, did Lamborghini's presence at Le Mans influence this decision in any way?

 

[kjb]

When is the next televised ALMS race?