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Thread: LMS/ILMC 2011

  1. #91
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nova View Post
    Look at that Audi..its no wonder its fastest..it looks ahead of the game...its amazing..

    GO 458's!!
    the R18 does look the amazing. Only got wait till next weekend before see it race in anger, Spa 1000km!!! The 458s are doing good, got some great testing mileage, fingers crossed for the class win in June
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  2. #92
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    Aston Martin Racing to sit out Spa
    BY TEAM UPDATE ⋅ APRIL 28, 2011
    Aston Martin Racing has made the decision not to contest the 1000km of Spa Francorchamps on 7th May, but instead to focus on the ongoing AMR-One testing and development programme.

    The ground up developed AMR-One, Aston Martin’s new LMP1 prototype racer which features a new turbo-charged direct injection 2.0 litre straight six petrol engine experienced difficulties at the Le Mans test with the engine plasma cylinder lining. The ambitious project which is still in its early stages of a three year plan began in September last year.

    David Richards, Aston Martin Racing Chairman said: “We could go to the Spa 1000km race in May, but this race meeting will set an agenda for us that doesn’t allow us to achieve what we need to accomplish. We need to complete our testing at our own pace including engine, aero and long distance tests.”
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  3. #93
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    From AS..The new Mac will debut in Spain, GT2 I think. The car looks very 458ish.
    Probably because a lot of the work done on it was done by ex Ferrari people.
    Im not sure how much, I think the whole carbon tub was designed by an ex Ferrari guy.
    Pix on AS, really looks good.

  4. #94
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    CRS Racing who are helping Mclaren develope the GT version do run Ferrari 430s in the LMS and are waiting delivery of 2 new 458 GTs to race in the Brit GT, they still using also the trusty 430 GT.
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  5. #95
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    YEEEESSSSSS 1000 km of Spa

    The 2nd meeting of the season is underway! In the beautiful spring sunshine the competitors settle down in the paddock of the famous Ardennes circuit.

    The race looks set to be a great spectacle and from tomorrow the drivers can size up the competition or the first time in the free practice sessions. Follow it live on the website.



    1st free practices at 12:20 am, the 2nd at 4:55 pm, to end the 3rd session at 11:50 am (Friday 6th May).

    1000 km of SPA – TOTAL Live COVERAGE on Eurosport, Saturday 7th May from 14:00 to 17:30 on Eurosport 2 and from 17:30 to 20:00 on Eurosport
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  6. #96
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    1000 KM of Spa: Audi on the pace in first practice
    MAY 5, 2011

    The Audi Sport North America Audi R18 TDI was fastest in the first practice session of the second round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the Le Mans Series at Spa-Francorchamps.

    After the Peugeots had taken the top three positions in the opening stages of the session the Audis got into the rhythm and started to lap quicker. Shortly after Romain Dumas had moved into second place, behind Sebastien Bourdais, it was Dindo Capello who went even quicker. The Italian lapped the Spa circuit in 2:03.844. Dumas improved his time once more and moved into second position behind Capella.

    Audi was unable to make it a 1-2-3 as Benoit Treluyer went off at Rivage and damaged the front of his Audi R18 TDI. Whilst passing a GTE car Treluyer experienced a moment of snap oversteer and the Audi went through the gravel and into the tire wall. The incident brought out the red flag for several minutes.

    After the restart the lap times were not improved at the front and as a result Audi finished the session in first and second position.

    In LMP2 it was the HPD ARX-01d of Strakka Racing that set the fastest lap time, Jonny Kane putting in a 2:11.332. Shortly after setting the fastest lap time the Strakka car stopped, but rejoined quickly. Signatech Nissan was second fastest in LMP2, 0.786 seconds behind the number 42 car. Pecom Racing was third fastest.

    In the GTE Pro category the Ferrari 458 Italias dominated the session with the AF Corse cars almost a second clear of the first non-Ferrari. Fisichella/Bruni in the number 51 Ferrari were quickest in 2:20.911, their teammates Melo and Vilander were second quickest. JMW Motorsports’ Bell and Walker were third.

    CRS Racing was quickest in GTE Am, Adam Christodoulou’s time of 2:23.612 the fastest in the category. Hope Racing was quickest in FLM.
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  7. #97
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    1000 KM of Spa: Crashes halt second practice
    BY MARCEL TEN CAAT ⋅ MAY 5, 2011

    The second free practice session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit was cut short this afternoon by two red flags. The first red flag was shown after Jean-Christophe Boullion crashed his Lola B10/60 Coupé Toyota in the Raidillon and shortly after the green flag had been shown the nº9 Peugeot 908 of Pedro Lamy and the nº36 HPD ARX-01d of Mike Newton crashed heavily in the ‘Pif Paf’.

    It was clear that an accident was bound to happen as there were at least four yellow flag situations in the first fifteen minutes of the messy session. Allan McNish was quickest after fifteen minutes with his team mate Andre Lotterer just behind him. Shortly afterwards Lotterer improved and posted a 2:03.124 to take first, while teammate Timo Bernhard put his Audi R18 TDI into third place.

    But then the Rebellion Racing Lola went off at the Raidillon, causing a red flag. Boullion was unharmed and after the damaged car was removed from the track the session was restarted at 17:32. Minutes after it was restarted the Peugeot and RML HPD came together and slammed into the wall at high speed. The red flag was shown again and it was decided that the session would not be restarted.

    Rescue teams scrambled to the accident and started to work on the drivers and the cars. Pedro Lamy was uninjured and returned to his team quickly afterwards. Mike Newton was removed from the car and brought to the medical centre at the circuit for checks. He was then transferred to hospital in Verviers, but there were no worries for his health either.

    Rebellion Racing and Peugeot Sport Total will now work on their cars to get them ready in time for practice tomorrow morning. RML will not return to the track this weekend, their car beyond immediate repair.

    http://www.planetlemans.com/2011/05/...cond-practice/
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  8. #98
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    RML

    Rebellion Racing

    Pug 908HDi
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  9. #99
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    Heres the number 2 Audis little shunt

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  10. #100
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    011/05/05 17:13
    Panis : “We’ve got the reliability”
    Olivier Panis, a member of the ORECA Peugeot 908 HDi FAP driver line-up, thinks that the works Peugeot and Audi squads have a certain advantage in the Spa-Francorchamps 1000-km race. But the former F1 driver reckons that the French trio in the no.10 908, which won the Sebring 12 Hours, have a few tricks up their sleeve!

    “It's clear that Peugeot and Audi have an advantage over us,” explains Panis. “But we've got our own strong points; we've got reliability and we can count on two young and talented drivers. I bring my experience. We did a good job at Sebring and reaped the rewards of our efforts.”

    Panis, though, feels it will be difficult to repeat their Sebring feat. “There the track was narrow and twisty, so it was fairly slow. Here it'll be very difficult to compete on equal terms with the works Peugeots. But we'll do our best to give them a run for their money!”
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  11. #101
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    Melo warns of Porsche threat

    By Jamie O'Leary Friday, May 6th 2011, 17:16 GMT

    Jaime Melo has warned of the threat posed by the Porsche teams in the Spa 1000km, despite the Brazilian putting his AF Corse Ferrari on pole position in the GTE Pro category.

    Melo took pole in the car he shares with Toni Vilander by more less than two tenths of a second, and headed an all-Ferrari top three with Rob Bell (JMW) and Giancarlo Fisichella (AF Corse) next up.

    The best of the Porsches was the Felbermayr car of Marc Lieb/Richard Lietz in fourth, while the next-best 997 RSR was the Patrick Pilet/Wolf Henzler car in eighth.

    However, the former Le Mans class winner believes that the German cars will give away nothing in race pace to its Ferrari rivals.

    "They're always there, especially in the race. They always have a good strategy," said Melo.

    "We just need to try to enjoy our speed in the corners, especially in sectors two and three and try to make the gap, to be consistent."

    Further evidence of the Porsche's pace was proven as Nicolas Armindo took pole for the GTE Am class in the second IMSA car.

    http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91182
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  12. #102
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    yes that is really good. Ferrari front 3 wow!!! cannt wait for the race tomorrow. Melo is the best Ferrari GT driver. But those Porsches are quick. Be long race, and anything can happen. GT racing is really close nowadays, nervous already
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  13. #103
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    000 KM of Spa: Audi makes it 3 out of 3
    MAY 6, 2011

    Timo Bernhard put an Audi R18 TDI on top again in the third free practice season for the second round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and Le Mans Series at Spa-Francorchamps.

    Andre Lotterer was the quickest driver in the first part of the session, but his teammate in the nº1 Audi R18 TDI went 0.309s quicker in the second part of the session and clocked a 2:02.697, the fastest lap time of the weekend so far. Third quickest was the nº9 Peugeot, repaired after its crash.

    In LMP2 it was the Pecom Racing Lola of Pierre Kaffer that beat the Nissan powered cars. AF Corse’s Gianmaria Bruni and Giancarlo Fisichella were quickest in GTE Pro, just a tenth of a second ahead of the nº77 Team Felbermayr Proton Porsche of Lieb and Lietz.
    IMSA Performance Matmut was quickest in LM GTE Am and Hope Racing was quickest in FLM.

    Robert Kauffman brought out the red flags halfway through the session when he crashed the AF Corse Ferrari F430 GT2 into the wall at the Raidillon. After the car had been removed and the tyre walls were back in place the session was restarted, only to be halted four minutes before the end of the session when a part of the curbstones at Fagnes came loose and ended up on the track. The session was not restarted.
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  14. #104
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    Peugeot wins Spa 1000km

    By Jamie O'Leary Saturday, May 7th 2011, 18:11 GMT

    Peugeot warmed up for the Le Mans 24 Hours in the best way possible by winning the Spa 1000km for a fifth successive year.

    After starting 13th on the grid after problems in qualifying, Alex Wurz carved his way into the lead before the end of the first stint to give his co-drivers Anthony Davidson and Marc Gene a comfortable afternoon's work.

    Both the winning car and the second-placed machine of Stephane Sarrazin/Franck Montagny/Nicolas Minassian, ran faultlessly throughout the race and finished 42 seconds apart.

    Peugeot was on course for a podium lock-out when Pedro Lamy got his car beached in the gravel at Rivage and then co-driver Simon Pagenaud suffered a front suspension collapse with 45 minutes remaining. He made it back to the pits, but the repairs dropped him to eighth by the flag.

    Allan McNish/Rinaldo Capello/Tom Kristensen were the best of the Audi crews in third, but the German manufacturer's problems continued into the second half of the race.

    Kristensen had closed to around 20s behind Minassian in the battle for second, only to make contact with the LMP2 TDS ORECA at the start of the final hour, inflicting a puncture and bodywork damage to the Dane's R18 TDI.

    The remaining works Audis rounded out the top five; Marcel Fassler stopping the car he shared with early leader Andre Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer at the entrance to the pits ahead of the penultimate stop.

    Sixth went to the best of the petrol-powered cars, the Pescarolo of Christophe Tinseau/Emmauel Collard/Julien Jousse, which edged out the Rebellion Lola of Neel Jani/Nicolas Prost.

    Victory in LMP2 went to the TDS ORECA of Mathias Beche/Pierre Thiriet/Jody Firth by under a minute from the similar Boutsen Energy car of Dominik Kraihamer/Nicolas de Crem.

    After losing a lap in the pits when the safety car came out during the second hour, Strakka HPD driver Jonny Kane closed to under 10s behind the Boutsen car with a lap to go, but slowed to a crawl out of the Bus Stop chicane on the final lap. He did, however, hold onto third in class.

    Giancarlo Fisichella recovered from a penalty for exceeding the track limits to take victory in the GT2 Pro class with his AF Corse Ferrari co-driver Gimmi Bruni.

    Dominik Farnbacher/Allan Simonsen made it a one-two for Ferrari in their Farnbacher-run car, both Italian machines making it to the end on only four fuel stops each.

    Andy Priaulx/Uwe Alzen were third for BMW while the second AF car of Toni Vilander/Jaime Melo lost its hopes of victory with a drive-through penalty for passing under yellow flags, and then a collision with the Larbre Corvette.

    JMW was not a factor either as Rob Bell's innocuous-looking nudge of the Les Combes tyres caused damage to the front bodywork and radiator and necessitated lengthy repairs in the pits.

    IMSA Porsche duo Nicolas Armindo/Raymond Narac recovered from an early spin into the gravel to pass the CRS Ferrari of Adam Christodoulou/Klaas Hummel/Phil Quaife at the start of the final hour. Hummel later lost a podium finish after making contact with an LMP2 car with five minutes remaining.

    Victory in the Formula Le Mans class went to Hope Racing trio Luca Moro/Zhang Shan-Qi/Nicolas Marroc that led virtually the whole race.

    http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91242
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  15. #105
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    really good race, especially for Ferrari!!! Only having to have 4!!! pitstops in 6 hours Very impressive. Yet again, Audi been beat, hard. Mcnish said after that they learnt few things for Le-Mans next month. Lets hope they can beat the Pugs round there.
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  16. #106
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    Audi R18 TDI in third place on its debut
    BY TEAM UPDATE ⋅ MAY 8, 2011

    Audi Sport Team Joest experienced a roller-coaster ride of emotions on the new Audi R18 TDI’s race debut atSpa-Francorchamps (Belgium): After a perfect qualifying session and a great showing in the early phases of the race the three Audi R18 TDI cars occupied positions three, four and five.

    At the beginning of the race the 34,600 spectators saw a strong performance of the new LMP1 sports car of AUDI AG. André Lotterer took the lead at the start and defended it almost up to his first pit stop. Timo Bernhard, who had started from pole, and Allan McNish (despite a spin on the first lap) were part of the action at the front of the field during the first hour as well and fought some thrilling duels with their rivals in heavy traffic.

    However, a number of minor incidents, which in total had major effects, caused all three Audi R18 TDI cars to lose ground. André Lotterer, who had a clear lead in the early phase, had to be pushed backward at his first pit stop and lost valuable time in the process. His team-mate Benoît Tréluyer had to make an unscheduled stop after picking up an unsually large piece of rubber on his front left-hand tire. Shortly afterward the same phenomenon occurred again, causing the Frenchman to slide into the gravel trap and losing two laps. Marcel Fässler subsequently complained about a car that was too demanding to drive – he, too, was struggling with pick-up. In the end, the Audi R18 TDI designated as car number “2″ finished fifth.

    Timo Bernhard, who had started from pole position, suffered misfortune as well. In the battle for the top the rear of his car was touched by another vehicle in the fast “Blanchimont” sector. The rear hood and the diffuser were damaged in the incident. Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller were subsequently struggling with handling differences in left- and right-hand turns. Like the other two Audi R18 TDI vehicles car number “1″ had to make a brief refueling stop shortly before the finish. With a two-lap gap Bernhard/Dumas/Rockenfeller came fourth.

    The first podium result for the new Audi R18 TDI was clinched by Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish, who ,like last year, took third place at the Le Mans “dress rehearsal” at Spa. But the cockpit crew of car number “3″ was also beaten below its potential. While a spin by Allan McNish on the starting lap had no consequences as the Scotsman quickly made up ground to the front of the field from 16th place, Dindo Capello on his stint accidentally activated the speed limiter for the pit lane and thus lost 20 seconds. After correcting the inflation pressure of the front tires Tom Kristensen was on the advance in the final phase: The Le Mans record winner was already setting his sights on the second-placed Peugeot when one hour before race end the left rear tire was suddenly losing air, which forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop. With a one-lap gap Capello/Kristensen/McNish ultimately finished in third place.

    Quotes after the race

    Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “Naturally, the result of the race at Spa is disappointing for us because the Audi R18 TDI was clearly beaten below its potential on its debut. We were on a par with Peugeot in terms of pure speed but there were simply too may small things that went wrong – and unfortunately with all three cars. That was certainly frustrating. We’ll take home the positive finding of having a fast car that we’ll have to make better use of though. We’ve learned a lot today in racing conditions. Now we’ve got to put these findings into action before Le Mans.”

    Dindo Capello (Audi R18 TDI #3): “It was a difficult race for me. On my first stint I was really struggling with the car. The front didn’t have any bite at all. I had the feeling that there was way too little downforce or a lot of pick-up on the front tires. It was strange that the car was suddenly feeling normal again toward the end of my second stint. That was a bit confusing.”

    Tom Kristensen (Audi R18 TDI #3): “That was an action-packed weekend. We had a few problems in the race at first. But the car kept getting better after we adjusted the tire pressure. I was on the advance when I started suffering a slow puncture. Unfortunately, I had to drive a whole lap with this handicap but managed to bring the car to the pits safely. That wasn’t easy but (our engineer) Howden (Haynes) did a fantastic job and kept telling me the pressure levels over the radio. Still, the slow puncture destroyed our race because toward the end we had to make an additional pit stop to refuel. That I was ‘kissed’ by a GT vehicle just about at the same time I had the flat tire almost made no difference any more.”

    Allan McNish (Audi R18 TDI #3): “A podium is always a good result, also with a view toward the championship. But to be honest: It’s a bit frustrating dropping to third place after starting from one, two and three on the grid due to minor problems. The Audi R18 TDI was competitive at its first race from the outset. It was a very close battle between us and Peugeot during some of the phases. Unfortunately, in the end it didn’t turn out in our favor.”

    Timo Bernhard (Audi R18 TDI #1): “That was a very tough race today. The positive thing about it is that we can take a lot of things with us with respect to Le Mans because it was a test in racing conditions. Our car was lacking a bit of racing luck today. That was a shame because in the beginning I was definitely in contention. I was running in second and third place the whole time, everything was right, actually. But then an LMP2 unfortunately touched the rear of my car, which damaged the rear hood. Things like this can happen in a field of 55 cars.”

    Romain Dumas (Audi R18 TDI #1): “That was a pretty crazy day. We were strong throughout the weekend. Qualifying was great and we were running really well for the first hour and a half of the race. We had a fantastic battle with our main rival. Unfortunately, we lost ground due a lot of small things which made the difference in the end. The race at Spa didn’t go well for us. Last year it was similar here – and instead Le Mans was all the better.”

    Mike Rockenfeller (Audi R18 TDI #1): “We had pretty high expectations before the race. Timo (Bernhard) fought a great battle at the beginning. Up to the incident with the LMP things were looking really good. We changed the rear lid but decided against replacing the whole rear body part although the damage was more extensive. That made the car extremely difficult to drive for Romain (Dumas) and me. Actually, we were just rolling around. I still tried to save diesel fuel but that didn’t really work out either. The positive thing is that we’ve learned a lot. And we were competitive. If we eliminate the mistakes for Le Mans our prospects should be pretty good.”

    Marcel Fässler (Audi R18 TDI #2): “My car had oversteer. The aerodynamic balance had shifted somehow. The second stint in particular was difficult. I had three hairy moments, one in Blanchimont and two in Eau Rouge. That forced me to realize that it didn’t make any sense to continue to attack. In the end, I reduced my pace. There was no danger from behind and there was nothing I could do to push forward. For me, it was simply important to bring the car home.”

    André Lotterer (Audi R18 TDI #2): “The start was great. I had a good lead. Things were beginning to get more difficult when the tires started becoming more slippery. That allowed the others to come closer again. The fight with the Peugeot was pretty nice. At the pit stop we lost some time because we had to push the car back. I was able to attack again afterward and make up some ground to the Peugeot. But ‘Ben’ subsequently suffered a huge amount of misfortune with some really strange things. Twice he had an enormous amount of pick-up on his tires. We’ve still got to get a handle on a large number of minor issues before Le Mans to be well set there.”

    Benoît Tréluyer (Audi R18 TDI #2): “The car was really good before we started having the pick-up problem. I had to make an unscheduled pit stop and shortly afterward it happened again. The pick-up was probably due to the fact that we had to overtake the GT cars alongside the racing line. I really don’t know though. We’ll find out and come up with a solution. The good thing is that the car is fast. I was almost always able to close the gap to the Peugeots when things were going normal. Naturally, it would have been nice to win thin this race. But our goal is Le Mans – we’ve got to continue to concentrate on that.”

    Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest): “We had higher expectations of this race but encountered a lot of strange problems: incidents of body contact, pick-up on the tires and things like that. Mechanically, the cars held up. Still, we collected a long list for Le Mans today which we’ve got to check off. That was a championship round that we would have liked to have won. The Peugeots were quick and had no unusual issues. We’ still got quite a few things to do.”
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    Krohn Racing Survives Grueling Spa 1000 Km Race
    BY TEAM UPDATE ⋅ MAY 8, 2011
    Krohn Racing competed at Spa-Francorchamps for the second round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Series at the 100km of Spa race this week.

    Team owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn and co-driver Nic Jönsson had to learn the 7KM circuit as quickly as they could with minimal track time prior to race start. They continued to improve on their track times well into the race and were improving before an on-track incident hindered a podium finish in the GTE-Am class.

    TRACY W. KROHN, Krohn Racing Team Owner/Driver, No. 57 Krohn Racing/NXG Ferrari 430 GT:
    Regarding his stint and on-track incident:
    “The car was quite good. In fact, I thought it was the best it had been the whole weekend. We got the right tire combination on the car. It was really quite fun. The car was doing what I asked it to do. There was a lot of traffic. It seemed like every lap at the critical point where you need to increase speed you’ve got to cut back so you’re not in anybody’s way. Truth is the car was quite good after the incident.

    Concerning the incident, I’m not sure who it was. I couldn’t tell. I was coming into Turn 1. I had already turned in and the guy just hit me straight-on in the left front tire. I had nowhere to go. It cut the tire. I never saw him coming and had already committed. He just used me for a brake. It’s probably the worst place to get hit.

    Regarding his experience of coming to race at Spa for the first time:
    ”This is a great part of the world. The weather was ideal, perfect! Everybody lied about it and said it was going to be raining and cold and actually it was sunny and warm and perfect. The Belgians were delightful. The track was everything that everybody said about it. It was fast; it had a rhythm to it; it’s very technical. It’s quite a wild ride out there because everyone is going so fast. Any mistake you make is amplified. I have to say that the car was good, the team was good. We just had an unfortunate incident with a DP car who used me as a brake. Other than that, it was a great week.

    Regarding competing at Nurburgring the week before:
    “Nurburgring was a great week before that. We had a great time. We learned the track somewhat. We got a total of about 20-something laps before the race and I’m not sure how many during the race. It was not many, not enough. We’ll do a couple of more races there and that will be a lot more fun. They were two very different parts of the world for racing and very different extremes.

    Nurburgring has 170 turns versus 19 turns at Spa. There are lots of high speed turns at Spa and great crowds. The Belgians certainly like motorsports, have a lot of enthusiasm and this was for a six hour race. Hopefully one day we’ll come back and do the 24 Hour race of Spa.

    NIC JONSSON, No. 57 Krohn Racing/NXG Ferrari 430 GT:
    Regarding his first stint during the race:
    “The first stint was a real struggle. The car was really loose on me as soon I turned in so I couldn’t attack the corner at all. We ran 28’s (2:28 laps). It was a real struggle. At the next pit stop we made an adjustment that made a huge difference. We picked up a couple of seconds and were able to run 26’s and were more competitive. After the struggle the first stint I think we got back to where we needed to be in the Top 4 and now running consistently. Hopefully Tracy can do the same as he did in the first stint here for the next hour and a half. Then I can get in and finish this off and hopefully we can contend for a podium today.

    Regarding the entire experience of competing at Spa:
    “It was pretty difficult coming to Spa without having any proper testing other than a few laps on Monday in a street car. But then we had two practice sessions that were red flagged nearly half the session so we didn’t get even 10 laps before the race. Therefore we had to get up to speed during the race, which I think we did pretty well, both Tracy and I. We got up to speed about halfway through our first stint and drove competitively and up to fourth place. Unfortunately Tracy got “T-boned” by a prototype. They are so aggressive. It really ended our race. We fell six laps behind before we came into the pits. What do you do? Unfortunately it’s not what we deserve and hoped for but I think we’re still in second place. We have to go into Le Mans and really focus on that and try to win and get more points.”

    DAVID BROWN, Krohn Racing Team Manager/Race Engineer:
    “Spa was a new venue for us and we really enjoyed the competition and the track particularly. We would have appreciated more practice time with such a long lap and so many interruptions. The race was going pretty well to plan up until the point there was contact between Tracy and what we assume was probably a P1 car in La Source Hairpin that resulted in a right front puncture. Unfortunately because the puncture came only 5% into the lap, Tracy had to do the remainder of the lap very slowly to avoid doing a lot of further damage to the car. It cost us about six laps doing the repair and Tracy coming back to the pits. From then on we were stuck because we were two laps behind the car in front of us and at least two laps ahead of the car behind us. We drove around and took the opportunity to do some tire testing. We look forward very much to going to Le Mans.”

    Krohn Racing now sits second in the GTE-Am points classification with 21 points to leader Proton Competition’s 24 points. AF Corse is third with 14 points.

    http://www.planetlemans.com/2011/05/...-1000-km-race/
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  18. #108
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    lying Lizard Announces Le Mans Driver Trios
    BY TEAM UPDATE ⋅ MAY 10, 2011


    Flying Lizard announced today the driver lineup for the 2011 24 Heures du Mans, June 11-12 at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Long (USA) and Lucas Luhr (Germany) will team in the Flying Lizard No. 80 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the GTE Pro class*. Darren Law (USA), Seth Neiman (USA) and Spencer Pumpelly (USA) will pilot the Flying Lizard No. 81 Porsche in the GTE Am class.

    All six drivers have significant endurance racing experience. Bergmeister and Long are both Porsche factory drivers and drive the Flying Lizard No. 45 Porsche in the ALMS. Bergmeister has won the last three consecutive ALMS GT driver championships with Flying Lizard (2009-2011); two of those with Patrick Long (2010-2011). Bergmeister is five-time ALMS GT driver champion and Long has won the title three times.

    Bergmeister has competed at Le Mans nine times; four years with Flying Lizard (2007- 2010). He won Le Mans in GT2 in 2004 (with Long) and has finished on the podium three times. Bergmeister has won the Rolex 24 at Daytona three times: GT in 2009, both GT and overall in 2003 and GT in 2002.

    Long has competed at Le Mans seven times and has won the race twice in GT (2004 and 2007). Among other notable results, Long has won Daytona in 2009, Petit Le Mans three times (2005-2007) and Sebring in 2005.

    This will be Luhr’s first time driving with Flying Lizard. He has driven with Bergmeister and Long before: the trio won at Sebring in 2005 with Petersen White Lightning. Luhr has competed in six Le Mans races and has won in class twice: 2002 with The Racer’s Group and 2003 with Alex Job Racing. Luhr has won in class at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring (2006), the Spa 24 Hours (2005), Petit Le Mans (2002), Daytona (2001) and five times at Sebring. Luhr has five ALMS championship titles: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2008.

    In the No. 81 Porsche, Law and Neiman will team up again for their third Le Mans together. The duo drives the No. 44 Flying Lizard Porsche in the ALMS. 2011 will be Neiman’s seventh Le Mans entry; in 2005 he finished third in class in the Flying Lizard No. 80 (with Johannes van Overbeek and Lonnie Pechnik). Among his distance race results, Neiman has finished second in class twice at Daytona (2010 and 2004) and second at Sebring in 2008.

    Law has competed twice at Le Mans, both years with Flying Lizard. In 2009, Law won overall at the 2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona; notable ALMS finishes include second at Sebring (with Neiman and Alex Davison) in 2008 in the No.44 and second in GT2 at Long Beach and Detroit (with Long) in 2007.

    Pumpelly joins the No. 81 in his first race with Flying Lizard and his first 24 Heures du Mans. For the last five years he has competed in the Grand-Am Series with The Racer’s Group. He has won twice in GT at the Rolex 24 at Daytona (2011 and 2006) and finished second and third in 2009 and 2008, respectively.

    *Beginning in 2011, the newly named GT Endurance category comprises two classes: GTE Pro and GTE Am. For details, see www.lemans.org.

    Follow the Race
    The 24 Heures du Mans will get the green flag at 15.00h CET (6:00 am PT) on Saturday June 11. The race will be broadcast live in its entirety on Eurosport in Europe and partial coverage on SpeedTV in the United States. Radio Le Mans will broadcast live English language radio coverage. Flying Lizard will broadcast the team radio live throughout the race; read the team race blog for frequent team updates at www.lizardms.com.

    http://www.planetlemans.com/2011/05/...-driver-trios/
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    Xavier Maassen joins JMW Motorsport for Le Mans
    BY MARCEL TEN CAAT ⋅ MAY 10, 2011

    Xavier Maassen will join Rob Bell and Tim Sugden in the JMW Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 11-12. Having raced at Le Mans in a Corvette C6.R in GT1 before the 30-year-old Dutchman will make his debut in the new LM GTE Pro category next month.

    Maassen is very happy to be racing at Le Mans again and excited to race the Dunlop sponsored Ferrari. ” Our car will have a look with a clear link to the legend of Le Mans, as our Ferrari 458 Italia will be Dunlop-colored and who doesn’t know the Dunlop bridge at Le Mans?” said Maassen.

    With his ride in the LM GTE Pro category Xavier Maassen knows that he will be in a very competitive class this season, with Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Corvette, Aston Martin and Lotus fighting each other and various top drivers already signed to do the race. “There will be 15 cars that will be able to achieve victory and the JMW Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia is one of them. Our goal is a podium finish at least. With the brand new Ferrari the team recently won the opening round of the Le Mans Series at Paul Ricard.”

    Planetlemans understands that James Walker will not race at Le Mans with JMW Motorsport as he still lacks experience in GT racing and as the JMW Motorsport team decided not to run at the Le Mans Test Day last month Walker was unable to complete the mandatory 10 laps.

    http://www.planetlemans.com/2011/05/...t-for-le-mans/
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  20. #110
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    that what i like seeing. i cant see the McLarens beating the Ferrari 458s this time, because of experienc, but i hope they stay long enough to become big competitiors.

    Those shark fins are ugly, and i wish the Astons were better


    In Stefano Domenicali, we have a team boss who has proved to be a leader. - Luca diMontezemelo

  21. #111
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    They ugly those fins. But in testing at Monza a Peugeot still got air borne and flipped.

    The Astons hate to say it but should of kept the Lola car from last year. Or stayed in GT2 and really backed the Vantage. Dont think that AMR1 will be up to speed come Le-Mans.
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  22. #112
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    yeah, i hope this will help for next year for the astons anyways, congrats to our test driver Marc Gene for the win.


    In Stefano Domenicali, we have a team boss who has proved to be a leader. - Luca diMontezemelo

  23. #113
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    Gene and co done well, Ant Davidson really found his feet in endurance racing. Should be F1, but. Im hoping the Audis will be bouncing back at Le-Mans next month and really challenge the Pugs on speed. Unlike last year were they had 1-2-3 once all Pugs retired.
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  24. #114
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    how is the privatley run Ferrari prototype going? or id that not going to le mans.


    In Stefano Domenicali, we have a team boss who has proved to be a leader. - Luca diMontezemelo

  25. #115
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    no it isnt going to Le-Mans. It doing, as far as i remember the Nurburgring 24hr. Ferrari should go to Le-Mans with a factory built and backed LMP1. Go for the overall win. Overdue.
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  26. #116
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob View Post
    no it isnt going to Le-Mans. It doing, as far as i remember the Nurburgring 24hr. Ferrari should go to Le-Mans with a factory built and backed LMP1. Go for the overall win. Overdue.
    nice, may wathc that. i would love that. but will only probably happen if we leave formula 1. but yeah, we need to make Audi keep their mitts off out record.


    In Stefano Domenicali, we have a team boss who has proved to be a leader. - Luca diMontezemelo

  27. #117
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob View Post
    no it isnt going to Le-Mans. It doing, as far as i remember the Nurburgring 24hr. Ferrari should go to Le-Mans with a factory built and backed LMP1. Go for the overall win. Overdue.
    Yeah, a works Ferrari LMP1 car challenging for the outright win would be great to see... but I think, the Gestione Sportiva - as it is at the moment - will be spreading itself too thin with simultaneous F1 and Le Mans programs.

    The future is RED

  28. #118
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    Quote Originally Posted by ek583 View Post
    Yeah, a works Ferrari LMP1 car challenging for the outright win would be great to see... but I think, the Gestione Sportiva - as it is at the moment - will be spreading itself too thin with simultaneous F1 and Le Mans programs.
    yeah it would be. Shame, real shame. But theres hope that 1 day, maybe Luca will get something off the ground. He did drop the chequared flag couple years ago, and said would love to see Ferrari here as full works team
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  29. #119
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    Oh no, this isnt good at all...

    Highcroft Racing: Thanks and Farewell to Honda
    BY TEAM UPDATE ⋅ MAY 16, 2011

    After a highly successful five seasons as partners, Highcroft Racing and Honda have concluded their relationship – the combination’s giant-killing performance at the 12 Hours of Sebring earlier this year was the final curtain for the partnership.

    Highcroft was selected as one of the initial factory Acura teams for the brand’s debut in the American Le Mans Series in 2007.

    Throughout the partnership, Highcroft established itself as not only the highest ALMS point-scoring team out of four factory outfits, but also collected back-to-back ALMS championships in 2009 and 2010.

    The team also won the 2010 Michelin Green X Challenge Championship for optimizing overall on-track performance, while using the least amount of fuel.

    Highcroft scored 11 race wins for Honda, nine pole positions and 28 podium finishes from only 42 races, including its gallant second place finish at Sebring, where it defeated both factory Audi and Peugeot entries.

    It was the only ALMS team of any class to score a podium finish in every round of the championship in 2010. It’s championship victory last season came in the most competitive year in ALMS history where five different teams and manufacturers took overall victory.

    The team had intended to run the HPD ARX-01e at next month’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

    Unfortunately, given the situation in Japan and its impact on Honda, Highcroft has been obliged to withdraw its entry at Le Mans, due to lack of adequate financial support.

    “We have had an amazing relationship with all the associatesat Honda, Acura, Honda Performance Development and Wirth Research over the past five years and it is with deep regret that our amazing run has come to an end,” Highcroft Racing owner, Duncan Dayton said.

    “We are extremely proud of what we have achieved with our partners. When we were first selected as a factory team, nobody expected we would be able to run with some of the biggest names in racing, that came across from IndyCar racing.

    “Not only did we prove that we were competitive, but we became the team the beat. We are equally proud of the great working relationships we built with HPD and Wirth Research developing the cars and turning them into winning machines.”

    “We certainly appreciate the massive impact the earthquake and tsunami has had on the people of Japan and the huge challenges facing Japanese business.

    “It appears this may have contributed to Honda’s decision and we fully respect and understand their position.

    “Everyone was really looking forward to taking the ARX-01e to Le Mans – we really believed the car could have been extremely competitive.

    “Le Mans is one of the greatest races in the world, but it requires significant financial and physical resources to compete at the highest levels. Whatever we do, we want to be able to do it properly and it just isn’t viable at this time without proper backing.

    “I am deeply disappointed for our team at Highcroft Racing who were really looking forward to the race and for David (Brabham) and Marino (Franchitti) who are left without a ride at Le Mans at a very late stage.

    “Our drivers have been truly incredible in recent years and I know they are as disappointed as we are that the ARX-01e will not be at Le Mans.”

    Highcroft completed a number of firsts for Honda in the development of the sportscar program including the first overall race victory, first LMP1 victory, first championship and an amazing effort in 2010 where it took a LMP2 chassis to overall series victory in the combined LMP1/LMP2 class – taking the team’s title, the drivers championship for David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud as well as the manufacturer’s championship for HPD with a single car entry.

    Highcroft Racing is actively seeking new manufacturer relationships and is beginning discussions regarding future programs – both in sports cars and other championships.

    “For our future, we need to take the next step in the development of our team,” Dayton said.

    “The team is now in a position to start with a clean slate and work towards our next championship assault with new partners.

    “Our organization was established as a platform for manufacturers to showcase their technology on the world stage through motorsport.

    “We still have very big goals and ambitions – including additional victories in the ALMS as well as Le Mans and IndyCar.”
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    CO announces new performance adjustments

    At the end of the 1000 KM of Spa-Francorchamps the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) announced its intention to adjust the performances of the LM P1, LM P2 and GTE classes before the Le Mans 24 Hours. On Thursday the performance adjustments were confirmed by the ACO and media and teams were informed of the changes.

    The new performance adjustments were decided by looking at the race results of the first races of the 2011 season, confirmed Vincent Beaumesnil, ACO Sports Manager: “To evaluate the results on the track, the ACO bases its calculations on the performances of the cars in the race only: qualifying and free practice don’t come into the equation. Performance is an overall concept that takes into account all the factors that can influence the results of a car. Thus, not only lap times, but also everything that contributes to the final result, power, torque, aerodynamics, cornering speeds, pit stop times, fuel consumption tyres etc, are evaluated.”

    With Audi and Peugeot not taking part at Long Beach (ALMS) and Le Castellet (LMS) the ACO decided it would analyze the data that was collected after the second round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup at Spa.

    The following decisions were taken:

    LM P1:
    The adjustments in LMP1 were made in the refueling nozzle. For the petrol powered cars the diameter was increased from 28 mm to 38 mm, while the nozzle diameter for diesel cars will be reduced to 25 mm. In a further attempt to reduce the performance gap between diesel and petrol cars it was also decided to increase the air restrictor size on petrol cars and give most of the petrol powered cars a weight reduction.


    LM P2:
    In the LM P2 category the cars running to full 2011 specification will have an increased fuel nozzle (+3.5 mm). The Judd engine will be given a bit more power via bigger air restrictors.


    LM GTE:
    Finally LM GTE, where the Doran Ford GT and Lotus Evora were given larger restrictors and the Lotus Evora was given a 50 kg weight break ahead of Le Mans. The only other change is the reduction in size of the Gurney on the Aston Martin Vantage.
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