JMW Motorsport @JMWmotorsport
Well that was a lovely, smooth pitstop by our boys. @jameswalker_ back in the car.
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JMW Motorsport @JMWmotorsport
Well that was a lovely, smooth pitstop by our boys. @jameswalker_ back in the car.
CAVALLINO RAMPANTE PER SEMPRE
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#1 Audi into pits #7 Toyota retakes lead on lap 82
#97 Aston takes lead in GTE Pro
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Zytek Motorsport @ZytekMotorsport
Martin Brundle putting in a good stint, in the Greaves Zytek-Nissan. Simon Dolan has taken over from Minassian in the Jota car.
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First three cars now have a 2 lap lead over 4th placed #12 Rebellion Lola on lap 88
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Krohn Racing @KrohnRacing
Nic Jonsson in the Garage and about to drive the Krohn Racing Ferrari at the 6 Hours of Silverstone.
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just over an hour left #51 AF Corse is still leading GTE Pro over the Aston by as timings say a lap.
In GTE AM its the #61 AF Corse-Waltrip Ferrari
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#51 leading Ferrari in GTE Pro into pits , Bruni back in car
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JMW Motorsport @JMWmotorsport
Time for the final pitstop of the day. Go @jameswalker_ Go!
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Toyota #7 must stop once more before end of race
#1 Audi into pits, Andre Lotterer into #1 Audi
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dscracelive @dscracelive
Audi win FIA WEC Manufacturers Championship
LMP1 1st Audi Sport Team Joest, 2nd Toyota Racing, 3rd Audi Sport Team Joest
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In GTE Pro #51 Ferrari wins from #66 Ferrari and #97 Aston
could of been, was so close to a Ferrari 1,2-3 but #71 was spun around on the last lap and beached in the gravel trap. Incident going to be investigated.
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our winner
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Silverstone WEC: #1 Audi e-tron wins hard-fought race
By Sam Tremayne Sunday, August 26th 2012, 17:13 GMT
Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler delivered Audi the 2012 Silverstone 6 Hours crown after a race-long fight with the sister R18 and Toyota's lone TS030 Hybrid.
Victory also earned Audi the constructors' title in the inaugural year of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Alexander Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima meanwhile secured a podium in only the TS030's second race. It was a constant threat, taking the fight to Audi from the start and leading for long spells.
The R18's ability to run far longer stints - coupled with a providential late safety car - ultimately decided the contest however, with both R18s able to make one less stop across the six hours.
The differing pit schedules only added to what was a fascinating contest, with the TS030 building upon its Le Mans promise and proving an equal for the Audis on single-lap and long-run pace.
That was apparent from the opening half hour when Alexander Wurz first jumped Tom Kristensen's Ultra and moved into second at the start, before closing down and then passing Lotterer's e-tron for the lead of the race as the pair fought their way through traffic.
Wurz began to stretch away but pitted after just 22 laps, compared to Audi's stops on laps 25 and 26.
That marked the start of a continued swapping of the lead by the #1 Audi and #7 Toyota whenever the pitstops cycled through, which would carry on until the final hour when a safety car helped Audi's bid to complete the race with seven stops, compared to Toyota's eight.
The extra stop finally allowed Lotterer some breathing space in the lead Audi, and also set up an excellent late battle between Wurz and Kristensen in the #2 R18.
The latter had lost ground with a rear puncture and then a stop and go penalty, but fought back and was just 13s down the road when Wurz rejoined for the final time with 30 minutes to run. The Austrian extended that by five seconds however to secure second.
As a result, Allan McNish and Kristensen surrender the lead in the WEC drivers' standings to sister #1 R18 trio.
The privateer LMP1 proved equally fierce, with all four entries often on the same lap - that despite a spin for the #22 JRM HPD on the opening lap.
In the end the fight was settled in favour of the #13 Rebellion Lola of Nicolas Prost and Neel Jani, which had to hang on in the face of severe late pressure from the #21 Strakka HPD. There was less than a second to choose between them at the flag.
It was a similar story in LMP2, where the lead changed hands constantly throughout the six hours – starting as early as the opening lap when polesitter Alex Brundle was forced off in order to avoid the stricken JRM HPD.
The #42 Greaves Zytek-Nissan fought back up to third only for a stop and go penalty to effectively end its podium challenge, dropping it to fifth.
Victory instead came down to a three-way fight between ADR-Delta, Starworks and Signatech, with the respective #25, #44 and #26 cars covered by less than 20s heading into the final two laps.
Stephane Sarrazin was the quickest of the trio in the Starworks HPD, but ran out of time to deny ADR-Delta's John Martin, Tor Graves and Jan Charouz the class win.
As was the case in LMP1, fuel conservation proved critical in GTE Pro as the profligacy of the Ferraris allowed the #51 AF Corse and #66 JMW 458s to cruise home first and second.
Aston Martin had been able to mix it with both cars on pure pace, but found itself outside the top three after making an extra stop.
Stefan Mucke put in a fantastic late shift however, and on the final lap seized third in controversial manner from the second #71 AF Corse entry.
The pair headed into Vale for the final time side by side and brushing panels. Mucke appeared to have the advantage on the outside, but the fight was settled as Andrea Bertolini spun across his bows and dropped out of the final podium spot.
Ferrari also proved the car to beat in GTE Am, with the lone AF Corse entry leading for much of the way and eventually claiming the win in the hands of Piergiuseppe Perazzini, Marco Cioci and Matt Griffin.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102003
Full Member
Ferrari wins!!! Great news, thks Rob!!!
I loves them 458's!
The most amazing pix!!! Look at that start pic.
Fantastico.
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Fantastic race. Loved every minute of it. Toyotas, so close to winning. They did put up one great fight. But as above article says Audi could run longer for fuel stops. Thats the 1 big key to enduros, staying out of the pits. Well as for the GTE race, that was edge of seat all 6 hours. So clear to Ferrari lock out of the podium. Big congrats to AF Corse team, Bruni and Fisi on yet anther win. And WEC debut for JMW squad getting 2nd.
Still odd that other, the 458s are the class of the GT field, while other the "pond" they struggle to take the fight to BMW and the Vettes. One thing that maybe holding them back other there in ALMS is the tracks are shorter with tighter corners. While in Europe the tracks are longer with fast sweeping corners where the 458s aero really helps and get the most out of the performance.
Forza Ferrari
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Nessun problema mio amico.Originally Posted by Nova
1 of the best starts, altogether and clean start. So ingrossed in this race, forgot about the BTCC and Moto GP. Well worth it, vale la pena credo
Full Member
Restrictions in ALMS also...I think the Ferrari there had some weight restrictions put on it.
But they still lead the championship with 2 races to go. They Q'd something like 7th last race, but
were able to fight all the way to 2nd. A BMW held up the 458 for 4 seconds last few laps, or the 458 may have pulled it off.
And it is America..the domestic teams are going to get away with a lot more. At least it looks that way at times.
AND I may add, I really wouldve loved to see this race..not over here. I do get to watch the alms, but your races look so much
better, and to me the Euro races are the real champioship.
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thats very true. Just cannt wait till the point the 458s are winning everything in U.S and Europe, well hope that will not be long at all.
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FIA WEC, Silverstone victory in the GTE Pro Ferrari 458 GT2 Italy Fisichella-Bruni. Perazzini-Cioci-Griffin ranked first in the GTE Am with the 458 AF Corse-Michael Waltrip Racing.
Sunday, August 26, 2012 · WEC
SILVERSTONE, Aug. 26 - The Ferrari 458 GT2 AF Corse Italy, led by Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni, won the "6 Hours of Silverstone" (category GTE Pro), the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The Red tricolor livery, number 51, was reconfirmed at the top of the championship after the extraordinary dedication to the "24 Hours of Le Mans 2012" (third event of the WEC), here is the new success at Silverstone.
Thanks to quick stint of both drivers, the reliability of the Ferrari and the perfect strategy to the wall, the 458 Italy # 51 AF Corse ran a perfect race from start to finish.
The feast of the podium is double. In GTE Am class, great performance of the Ferrari 458 GT2 Italy, number 61, brought to the track by Piergiuseppe Perazzini, Marco Cioci and Matt Griffin. The trio Italian-English, running with the colors of the team AF Corse-Michael Waltrip Racing won after a hard-fought race and pulled up at the end.
The other Ferrari 458 Italy GT2 AF Corse in the race in the GTE Pro - the number 71, driven by Olivier Beretta and Andrea Bertolini - ended the race in fifth position of English life. In this case, there is a little 'sorry for going off the track three corners from the checkered flag due to misconduct committed by car in battle with the Ferrari # 71 for third place among the GTE Pro
Ferrari is firmly in the Constructors' classification GT with 198 lengths (compared to the 102 Porsche). In the ranking Team GTE Pro, AF Corse maintains the lead with 118 points, increasing the gap to the chasing (Aston Martin Racing is second with 63 points)
http://www.afcorse.it/italian/B197_F...ng.html?page=1
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LMGTE PRO
nr51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia
Gianmaria Bruni: “In the race we were able to follow the Porsche as close as possible until we got into LMP traffic. The Aston was coming up on us very fast and managed to overtake me and the Porsche. Our strategy was to try and be at the same speed as them but at the same time use less fuel. That was our plan and I think we achieved it 100%. We did more laps on a stint than the other Ferraris, between me and Giancarlo.
“I think at the moment the Porsches and Astons are very fast on performance and very consistent on their tyres, but the safety cars didn’t affect us as they were for a short time. They would have had to be 15-20 laps for our competitors to have been able to gain on us.”
Giancarlo Fisichella: “It was a great race and it’s a fantastic feeling following on from Le Mans 24 Hours. We won here last year and the championship so we’re good on this type of circuit. As usual it was a tough race but it was one we could control from the beginning, keeping close to the Porsche and Aston Martin. Because our fuel consumption is good we knew at the end of the race they needed to do an extra pit stop compared to us so it was a perfect race for us. The AF Corse guys did a fantastic job – they were very quick. I had just one contact from the back, don’t know from who, and lost the car in turn one but was able to keep in on the track and it was good to go to the end of the race for the win.”
LMGTE AM
nr61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE-Am
Marco Cioci: “It was a good battle and we had the same strategy as the No.51 car. We tried to save fuel but it was hard at the beginning as the Aston Martin and Porsche were very quick. Our strategy was to be as quick as possible and save one pit stop. Piergiuseppe Perrazini was great and saved more fuel than anybody – Matt did an incredible double stint and saved fuel. The car was perfect. Some prototypes made it a very exciting race – I heard often about Pro-Am accidents but today I saw some incredible risky driving from an LMP1 in the last 8 laps but we finished in the best position so I am happy about this.”
Piergiuseppe Perrazini: “It was good to get the victory here - my second race in the world championship. It was a very important victory for me because, after the big crash at the 24 hours, there was a lot of discussion about me. Now this is the greatest satisfaction for me and the team because I had a bad period after that crash.”
Matt Griffin: “We were confident after Friday because we had good pace in the car and we realised we were very good on fuel like the other AF Corse Ferraris. We still had to push which is difficult for a driver when you are on a fuel saving map and are still on the limit, pushing as hard as you can go. It started to become clear during my double stint that things were getting better and my pit board was making me happier every lap I came round. We had a slight issue with air jacks at the last pit stop but then Marco got in and was able to control the race for the last stint. The WEC races are hard and the drivers are good so to win them you need every piece of the puzzle to fit into place – the team and the drivers to do the maximum job and today we did that. I’m chuffed to win at Silverstone – I’m not British but it’s still my home race so I’m really happy.”
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Newly-crowned FIA World Endurance Manufacturers Champions Audi have every reason to be pleased with the result at the 6 Hours of Silverstone, the fourth round and mid-way point of the WEC season. The win by Fassler-Lotterer-Treluyer in the No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro was further confirmation, following its win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, of the marque’s highly successful hybrid technology.
But the battle for supremacy in the drivers’ classification is by no means over. Following the Silverstone round there is a change of leaders, as the drivers of the No.1 Audi have for the first time overtaken veterans Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish, who experienced a number of set-backs in their race to third place.
The Danish-Scottish duo will be joined in the No.2 Audi R18 ultra for the fifth round in Brazil by local hot-shot and former F1 driver, Lucas di Grassi. It will be a one-off appearance for the factory team, the first time a Brazilian has raced for Audi.
“The WEC race is a nice opportunity to attract attention at home together with Audi,” said di Grassi. “Endurance racing is a fascinating discipline of motorsport which I’ve only experienced in tests so far [for Peugeot Sport]. That’s why I’m particularly excited about my debut in the WEC for Audi alongside two big names like Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen.”
In 2009, Lucas tested an Audi R10 TDI for the Kolles team and in preparation for Interlagos he tested an Audi R18 ultra at the Lausitzring for three days in early August. “He left a good impression then, which motivated us to sign him,” says Head of Audi Motorsport, Dr Wolfgang Ullrich.
(from Audi press release)
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As stated in the official FIA World Endurance Championship report, the No.50 Corvette C6-ZR1 of Larbre Competition was excluded from the results of the 6 Hours of Silverstone following post-race scrutineering.
Crossing the finish line in second place in the LMGTE Am category, the Bornhauser-Canal-Rees car was found to have a non-conforming safety device, namely the validity date of the car’s fire extinguisher.
Jack Leconte, Team Manager, said of the outcome: “The problem arises from the team installing the wrong fire extinguisher during the car’s preparation prior to the race. Larbre Competition accepts the stewards’ decision and will work hard to modify its assembly procedures during the installation of safety equipment. I am convinced that strengthening these already stringent checks can only improve the team’s performance over the second half of this year’s World Endurance Championship.”
The result promoted Team Felbermayr Proton to second and Krohn Racing to third place in the race results. Despite the exclusion, Larbre Competition remains at the head of the LMGTE Am category in the FIA Endurance Trophies standings.
(Larbre Competition press release)
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The 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours will take place on 22-23 June. It is a very important running of the greatest endurance race in the world as it will celebrate its 90th anniversary! The test day will now be held on Sunday 9th June.
The dates of the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours, initially scheduled for 15-16 June, have been put back by a week at the request of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) in order to harmonize the world calendar of motor racing events.
Thus, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the FIA’s partner in the World Endurance Championship, has decided to put back the blue riband event on its own calendar by seven days.
The test day will again take place two weeks before the race on Sunday 9th June 2013.
Scrutineering (technical and administrative checks) will be on Sunday 16th and Monday 17th June.
The Automobile Club de l’Ouest will celebrate in the style it deserves the 90th anniversary of the Le Mans 24 Hours on 22-23 June 2013. It is worth recalling that this event was conceived at the 1922 Motor Show in the Grand Palais in Paris. The idea emerged from a meeting between Charles Faroux, a journalist from La Vie Automobile, Georges Durand, the ACO general secretary, some eminent members of the club, and Emille Coquille, the French representative of the Rudge-Whitworth detachable wheels company.
The first Le Mans 24 hours took place on 26-27 May 1923.
For info, it’s the fifteenth time in 81 events that the Le Mans 24 Hours will take place at the end of the 25th week on the calendar.
The full calendar of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, of which the Le Mans 24 Hours race is the blue riband event, will be announced in September 2012.
http://www.lemans.org/en/races/24h/u...medium=twitter
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BALTIMORE, MD – August 31, 2012 – The trials and tribulations of a street course were in full swing at the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT today for the Tequila Patrón-sponsored Extreme Speed Motorsports.
The Florida-based team took the bumps, track changes and shortened practice session in stride to qualify sixth and 11th for Saturday’s main event – a two-hour sprint around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the eighth round in the 2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón.
Driver/owner Scott Sharp wheeled the No. 01 Tequila Patrón Ferrari Italia 458 to the sixth place on the grid with a best lap of 1:31.262 (80.472 mph). On the Long Beach street course in April, the only other temporary street course of the 2012 ALMS season, Sharp and co-driver Johannes van Overbeek qualified ninth and finished on the podium.
The No. 01 drivers, both street course aces behind the wheel, are confident in their driving abilities as well as the performance of the Ferrari to bring home another podium finish.
Ed Brown, co-driver of the No. 02 Tequila Patrón Ferrari Italia 458 qualified the black and green racing machine in the 11th position. Brown lapped the 13-turn circuit with a best time of 1:37.386 (75.411 mph). During tomorrow’s race, Brown will take the first stint before turning the wheel over to co-driver Guy Cosmo.
The ESM team attacked the two-mile course on Friday for two practice sessions and qualifying. All four drivers took the track to familiarize themselves with the 12-turn temporary street circuit in the opening hour-long practice session. During the break in the ALMS action, a tire chicane was installed at turn 12, making a 13th turn. The chicane was added to enable the race cars and drivers to successfully and safely race across the existing railroad tracks on the city streets of Baltimore.
In order to keep the day’s activities on schedule, the second ALMS practice session was condensed from one hour to a mere 30 minutes. During that 30 minute practice time, there were two red flags, which halted all activity on the track. As a result, the ESM team, along with the other ALMS series drivers, had less than two hours of on-track time in advance of tomorrow’s race.
Green flag for the Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT race is on Saturday, September 1, at 4:30 p.m. (ET). Full and live coverage starts at 4:15 p.m. ET on ESPN3, on Saturday afternoon. ABC’s television coverage of the event begins at noon (ET) on Sunday, September 2.
Scott Sharp
“We rolled off in the first session P6; we were P6 in the last session. Then we were P6 in qualifying, so it sort of seems where we are at the moment. We keep improving the car a little bit, but I think everybody else does too.
“We were two seconds faster than we were in practice, so I think that’s about everything the car has right now. We’re close to the next couple cars in front of us, but we need a good second to get to the lead. We have a little bit of work to do tonight, so we’ll just keep on it.
“I think adding the chicane is much better. Certainly hitting the [railroad] tracks is much better now at slower speeds. I like the tires as chicanes and hope they don’t put the curbs back in like last year’s race because having the tires is definitive. You’re not riding up on top of the curbs. It’s just really clear whether you’re going to make the chicane or not and the run off is just a couple of cones. Some drivers hit the cones, slowed down and then kept going. I like the tires as chicanes, but we’ll see what the track decides to do.
“It is very bumpy out there, but not so much from the drivers’ perspective, the bumps don’t affect you physically, the car dances all over the race track. You always feel like you’re trying to catch-up to the car and stay on top of the bumps. It is a handful.
“This is going to be a fun race. It is going to be a real bumper car-type race. Traffic is going to play role. We’re just going to have to be on our toes and try to use traffic to stay with leaders. We hope we can really improve our car overnight to be able to go and compete tomorrow.”
Ed Brown
“We had another long day in Baltimore. We thought we were going to get a lot of run time. The morning session was without a chicane. I think they were just going to deem it too dangerous to run as it was, so they put the chicane back in, the same as last year. It will be interesting. It is what it is, we all have to race and try to figure this out tomorrow with minimal track time.
“We need more front grip on our Ferrari. If we can get that, it will make it easier to drive. The car kind of has a four wheel skid at mid-corner, so it feels like the car is on coasters, but it is just the sensation that it is doing. Then it will grip just before you get to the wall. It is really hard to judge how much speed you can carry in there because you’re driving the corner different on almost every lap.
“The track is bumpy and there are so many abrupt turns that you’ve got to really just man handle the car. This morning I was trying to finesse it a little bit because Long Beach is more of a finesse street course. Here at Baltimore, you’ve just got to ahead and throw it around and see what happens.
“I’ll get in the Ferrari first to start the race, then turn it over to Guy Cosmo and see what he can do.
“We love to be in Baltimore. It is a great place to be, we just wish the cars and the track would get sorted out so we can put on a good show for everybody.”
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Baltimore ALMS: Lucas Luhr gives Pickett Racing fourth straight pole
Friday, August 31st 2012, 23:06 GMT
Lucas Luhr gave Pickett Racing its fourth straight American Le Mans Series pole position by dominating qualifying on the streets of Baltimore.
The German, who shares the team's LMP1 HPD with his countryman Klaus Graf, set three separate laps that would have been good enough for pole; his best coming in 1m25.174s.
Guy Smith put the best of the Dyson Racing Lola-Mazdas second, 0.8 seconds adrift of Luhr, but comfortably outqualified his team-mate Eric Lux's similar machine.
A late flyer from Christophe Bouchut gave the Frenchman pole in LMP2; the Level 5 HPD driver just sneaking in ahead of Martin Plowman's Conquest Morgan by 0.08s.
Oliver Gaving took a brilliant pole in GT; the Corvette driver's lap 0.380s up on the BMW Team RLL driver Bill Auberlen.
Remarkably, Gavin's time came just hours after his car suffered significant damage to its bodywork and exhaust in a practice collision with the best of the Dyson machines.
Jan Magnussen put the second factory Corvette in third spot while Pat Long was the best of the Porsche drivers in fourth for the Flying Lizard team and Scott Sharp upheld Ferrari honours in sixth for Extreme Speed.
A heavy crash for Dominik Farnbacher in practice meant that his SRT Viper did not take part in qualifying. The sister car, driven by Marc Goossens qualified ninth in class.
Bruno Junqueira, who is also racing an IndyCar at Baltimore this weekend, survived clipping the Turn 12 tyre stack to take pole in the LMPC class; the RSR ORECA-Chevrolet driver traded the top spot several times with Ryan Dalziel's Core Autosport machine.
Irishman Damien Faulkner took the honours in GTC for the fourth time in 2012 in his Green Hornet Porsche.
Pos Cl Drivers Team/Car Time
1. P1 Luhr/Graf Pickett HPD 1m25.174s
2. P1 Dyson/Smith Dyson Lola-Mazda 1m25.914s
3. P1 Marsal/Lux Dyson Lola-Mazda 1m26.830s
4. P2 Tucker/Bouchut Level 5 HPD 1m27.119s
5. P2 Plowman/Heinemeier Hansson Conquest Morgan-Nissan 1m27.199s
6. P2 Tucker/Diaz/Gonzalez Level 5 HPD 1m28.453s
7. PC Junqueira/Drissi RSR FLM 1m27.464s
8. PC Popow/Dalziel Core FLM 1m27.541s
9. PC Bennett/Braun Core FLM 1m27.794s
10. PC Younessi/Matos Performance Tech FLM 1m28.107s
11. PC Marcelli/Burgess Merchant FLM 1m28.278s
12. PC Downs/Downs Merchant FLM 1m31.206s
13. PC Richard/Ende Dempsey FLM 1m31.811s
14. GT Gavin/Milner Corvette 1m29.945s
15. GT Muller/Auberlen RLL BMW 1m30.327s
16. GT Magnussen/Garcia Corvette 1m30.413s
17. GT Bergmeister/Long Flying Lizard Porsche 1m30.665s
18. GT Muller/Hand RLL BMW 1m30.838s
19. GT Sharp/van Overbeek Extreme Speed Ferrari 1m31.262s
20. GT Henzler/Sellers Falken Porsche 1m31.412s
21. GT Miller/Maassen Miller Porsche 1m32.108s
22. GT Goossens/Kendall SRT Viper 1m33.526s
23. GT Sweedler/Bell Alex Job Lotus 1m33.701s
24. GT Brown/Cosmo Extreme Speed Ferrari 1m37.386s
25. GT Neiman/Holzer Flying Lizard Porsche 1m40.561s
26. GT Wittmer/Farnbacher SRT Viper
27. GTC LeSaffre/Faulkner Green Hornet Porsche 1m35.493s
28. GTC MacNeil/Keen Alex Job Porsche 1m36.117s
29. GTC Cumming/Valiante JDX Porsche 1m36.412s
30. GTC Bunting/Pumpelly TRG Porsche 1m36.803s
31. GTC Carter/Pilet TRG Porsche
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102111
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BALTIMORE, MD – September 1, 2012 – Extreme Speed Motorsports (ESM) continued its successful season by scoring a third-place finish at today’s Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT. This result marks the fourth podium finish the season for drivers Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek.
Today’s finish is the second street course podium for the team this season and second podium finish in the last two races. Sharp and van Overbeek earned third place finishes at Long Beach, Road America and Baltimore, and its first victory during the July race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Sharp qualified the No. 01 Tequila Patrón Ferrari 458 Italia in the sixth position and took the first one-hour stint at today’s race. Despite some minor contact during a lap one, turn one incident, the stint was clean for the driver/owner, reaching a high of second position during his one-hour stint.
At the midpoint of the race, van Overbeek climbed into the Ferrari for his one-hour stint, emerging from the scheduled pit stop and driver change, in the third spot. The final hour of the race was clean for the No. 01 machine and van Overbeek remained in third in the GT class for the remainder of the race.
Starting from the 11th position, Ed Brown was the first driver aboard the No. 02 Tequila Patrón Ferrari 458 Italia. Brown was unaffected by the opening lap incident and spent the majority of his stint under yellow flag conditions, unable to advance his position before handing the car over to Guy Cosmo.
Shortly after the driver change in the No. 02 machine, Cosmo began working his way through the field. He started in the 12th position and reached as high as seventh. With three minutes remaining in the two-hour race, Cosmo was hit by a fellow GT competitor, causing a flat tire and damage to the right side of the Ferrari. Cosmo was forced to pit for tires and to assess the damage, and after returning to competition, was scored in the 11th position at the checkered flag.
The Baltimore Sports Car Challenge presented by SRT can be seen during the tape delay ABC television broadcast at noon (ET) on Sunday, September 2.
Next up for the Extreme Speed Motorsports team is the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón VIR 240 at Virginia International Raceway in Danville, VA on September 13-15.
Scott Sharp
“It was good run for the team, especially the way everyone worked really hard to get our Ferrari better. We had a real fast car during my stint. Now that we’re getting these podiums, we’re hungry for something better than third.
“I had a wild start, just like I knew it would be. We came hauling down three abreast and up ahead we all saw a couple of prototypes start spinning, everybody started short-braking and slowing way down. I tucked in behind the Corvette in front of me and I was nailed from behind.
“That hit unfortunately knocked out the rear view camera, but other than that, it didn’t hurt the car at all. I just followed everyone around the escape road. A couple guys got by me and I got by a couple guys, so it ended up being an okay move for us.”
Johannes van Overbeek
“My stint in the car was great. Scott got me in a great position to get the No. 01 ESM/Patrón Ferrari on the podium.
“It is just so narrow here and the competition doesn’t make many mistakes, so it was really hard to make up any ground. We had a really quick car and Scott did an awesome job. The team did a great job, the car held up and I’m happy with another podium but disappointed that it wasn’t better.
“This season we’ve been on the podium for both street races. On paper the Ferrari is not a great car for street courses, it is a better car for fast, flowing types of tracks, but we never gave up. Scott and I kept pushing the set-up and the Tequila Patrón Ferrari was the best it has been all weekend during the race, which is where you want it. I’m happy to get out of here in one piece. Another podium is great, but disappointed that it wasn’t better.”
Ed Brown
“This was definitely not the race we were hoping for in the No. 02 car. There was a caution almost immediately at the drop of the green flag and I think I drove only one lap under green flag conditions. I was looking forward to and hoping to get more track time during the race today because Baltimore is such a great place to be. There was an amazing amount of fans here and we really wanted to put on a good show – which came towards the end of the race.
“Guy did a great job during his stint but for some reason, we get always seem to find bad luck in the closing laps of the race. Guy was on his way to a solid finish for us and was hit by another car which ruined our good race and solid finish.
“Congratulations to the Scott, Johannes and the No. 01 team. Four podiums this year is a great accomplishment for the team and Tequila Patrón. We were just hoping to have both cars on the podium tonight. We’ll look to do that in two weeks when we race at Virginia International Raceway.”
Guy Cosmo
“The ESM Patrón Ferrari engineering team on the No. 02 car was improved since yesterday. The guys did a bunch of work to get us where we needed to be for today’s race. They made good changes. The Ferrari was certainly better that it had been yesterday and this morning. We were quick.
“I feel bad that Ed only drove a single lap under green. Then I got in 15 minutes into the race. With a two hour race, it was what we needed to do for the strategy.
“We were on the lead lap at the end and working our way towards a good finish. Unfortunately we were hit by another GT competitor and our day was affected, but that’s how it is on street courses, which are always tight.”
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