2014 WEC/ELMS&TUSC news.

[Rob]

Olivier Pla re-signs with OAK prototype squad
By Gary Watkins Wednesday, January 1st 2014, 14:53 GMT

French sportscar star Olivier Pla will remain with the OAK Racing team for a third full season in 2014.

Pla, 32, has re-signed for the team that he joined for the final races of 2011, although his programme for the coming season has yet to be determined beyond taking part in this weekend's official Daytona 24 Hours test in its Morgan-Nissan LMP2.

Pla, who finished second in the LMP2 points in last year's World Endurance Championship, said: "OAK has a lot of ambition, Jacques [Nicolet, the team owner] is very motivated for the future and I have built up a very good relationship with the team."

Pla explained that he expected to contest a mixed programme of events in both the United SportsCar Championship in America, of which Daytona is the opening round, and the WEC in either LMP1 or P2 or both.

"I am waiting to see what kind of programme I will have and expect to have some news soon," he added.

OAK has yet to confirm its plans for 2014 beyond its one-car assault on the USC.

It is unclear if the Le Mans-based team will field a works LMP2 entry after Nicolet declared in September that he wanted to leave the secondary prototype division to its customers.

It has since been announced that Onroak Automotive, OAK's sister company that builds the cars, is working on an P2 coupe design that will carry the badges of the famous Ligier marque.

OAK's plans for its new LMP1 coupe also remain in a state of flux because it has yet to agree an engine deal for the car.

Roman Rusinov a four-time P2 class winner in last year's WEC with the G-Drive/Delta-ADR squad, will also drive the OAK Morgan at the three-day Daytona test, which begins on Friday.

New OAK team manager Philippe Dumas, the architect of Hexis Racing's GT successes, explained that this was more with an eye to a possible link-up in the WEC than a full USC campaign.

"Roman will do the test to find out a little bit more about the team and the engineers; we are looking towards the WEC," he said.

Colombian Gustavo Yacaman, who contested last year's Grand-Am series with Michael Shank Racing, will also take part in the Daytona test with OAK as a possible lead-in to a full USC programme.

Dumas explained that other possibles for the USC car were Martin Plowman, who was part of the OAK's title-winning WEC line-up in 2013, and IndyCar regular EJ Viso.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111994

[Rob]

BALZAN, WESTPHAL RETURN IN CHAMPIONSHIP-WINNING NO. 63 FERRARI

December 30, 2013 – Beverly Hills, CA. Giacomo Mattioli, team principal of the 2013 GRAND-AM Rolex GT champion Scuderia Corsa racing team today announced Toni Vilander will be joining Alessandro Balzan and Jeff Westphal in the No. 63 Ferrari 458 Italia. Lorenzo Case will round out the lineup for the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

John Farano and David Empringham will join Rod Randall and Ken Wilden in the No. 64 while Francisco Longo and his Via Italia team returns to Daytona in the No. 65.

"We are very excited to see such a strong representation for Ferrari at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the historic first event of the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship," said Marco Mattiacci, President and CEO of Ferrari North America. "After winning last season's GRAND-AM GT championship and the second manufacturer's championship for Ferrari, Scuderia Corsa has assembled three strong contenders for Daytona and we look forward to watching the Ferrari 458 Italias aim for victory."

Giacomo Mattioli added, “I also would like to announce that Scuderia Corsa is proud to be the first racing team in the Tudor United SportsCar Championship Series to have implemented a voluntary carbon offset program. Developed with our new sponsor AitherC02, the program invests in environmentally significant programs to help offset the carbon footprint of our racing activities. We are glad to support IMSA in their green efforts. Of course none of this would be possible without the continued support of our sponsors, Motorola Mobility, New Country Auto Group and Ultratech.”

For the 2014 season, the No. 63 car will have two familiar faces behind the wheel, 2013 GRAND-AM Rolex GT champion Alessandro Balzan returning along with Jeff Westphal who earned three podium finishes in five races with Balzan last season. Additionally, factory driver and 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Toni Vilander of Finland will join the lineup. Lorenzo Case’ will make his US debut after having finished second at the 24H of Le Mans this past June.

The No. 64 car will feature Dr. Rod Randall and long-time driving partner Ken Wilden for the 2014 season. Randall and Wilden piloted the No. 64 to 6th place at this year’s Brickyard Grand Prix.

Of his decision to return to Scuderia Corsa for the entire 2014 TUSCC season, Dr. Randall said, “Giacomo knows how to build a winning team and we are looking forward to a competitive year.” Rounding out the four-man driver roster for the #64 at Daytona will be GRAND-AM CTSCC GS driver co-champions, John Farano and David Empringham of Canada.

The No. 65 car, being run in association with the Brazil based Via Italia racing team for the second consecutive year at Daytona, will once again be led by Francisco Longo with Daniel Serra, Xandinho Negrao and Marcos Gomes rounding out the lineup.
Source:
Scuderia Corsa PR
- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/scuderi....8YBFnDcG.dpuf

[Rob]

HUFF JOINS STARWORKS PC ENTRY IN TUDOR CHAMPIONSHIP
2012 WTCC CHAMPION TO COMPETE IN SELECT EVENTS
Briton Rob Huff has signed to race for Starworks Motorsport in selected rounds of the 2014 International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Huff – the 2012 WTCC Champion – returned to the endurance racing scene in December, helping Rotek Racing to an emphatic win in the 2013 25 Hours of Thunderhill in California.

Fresh from victory lane, the Newmarket-domiciled racer is set to return to American shores to pilot a Starworks ORECA FML09 LMPC car in selected rounds of the inaugural season, as part of an all-star driver line-up featuring British GP2 Series runner-up Sam Bird.

The OCC LASIK-backed driver is set to join the squad for the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test (Jan. 3-5).

The three-day event will serve as a precursor to the legendary 24-hour enduro at Daytona International Speedway (Jan. 25-26), the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (March 15) and additional races at Watkins Glen and Petit Le Mans later in the year.

The campaign will add to a packed and wide-ranging 2014 programme for Huff that encompasses a full-time FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) campaign with LADA Sport LUKOIL.

The 2012 WTCC Champion has been eager to develop a career in sprint and endurance sportscars alongside his WTCC commitments, having been inspired by his recent success in the 2013 25 Hours of Thunderhill and additional outings at Bathurst in Australia.

And with wealth of talent from the Formula 1, Indy Car and Le Mans fraternities operating together at state-of-the-art facilities in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, competing under the Starworks banner is an enticing and invigorating prospect for Huff.

Peter Baron, team owner, Starworks Motorsport, said: “I’ve been following Rob’s racing, especially since he beat Ryan (Dalziel) to the prestigious BRDC Gold Star award in 2012! He is a proven winner, a World Champion no less, so to have him with us in 2014 is great news. I also love to bring new talent to USA sportscar racing and am eager to share our passion for it at Starworks. We’re excited to welcome Rob to the team at the ‘Roar’ this week – he joins at an exciting time; the start of the new united series and a new era of sportscar racing in America.”

Huff added: “It’s really exciting to be joining Starworks Motorsport for its 2014 TUDOR Championship campaign and I believe prototype sportscars will compliment my full-time efforts in the FIA WTCC perfectly.

“I’m looking forward to pitting myself against such a vast mix of world-renowned drivers from the highest echelons of single-seater and sportscar racing – it will provide me with a real benchmark for my own performances – and it will be particularly as part of the newly-unified GRAND-AM and American Le Mans championships which has massive potential.”

- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/huff-jo....U7mkMlZl.dpuf

[Rob]

** RAM RACING NEWS RELEASE

RAM RACING AIMING TO CONTINUE ITS WINNING WAYS IN 24H DUBAI


** MEDIA RELEASE: 2nd January 2014
------------------------------------------------------------


**
Twelve months ago newly launched British GT team, Ram Racing, took its first tentative steps into the world of international motor sport competition with an entry in the 2013 24 Hours of Dubai. Viewed at the time very much as a forum in which the team, car, drivers and systems could all be put to the test prior to its first full season of competition, it was nevertheless disappointing when it came to a premature end due to accident damage caused by another competitor.

Ram Racing's 2013 24H Dubai entry Now, returning to the Emirati event as European Le Mans Series GTE Champions, Ram Racing has proven itself at the highest levels and is approaching the 2014 race with only one aim in mind – to win. The year’s first major motor sport endurance event, the 9^th running of the Dunlop 24H Dubai, will begin at 1400h (local, 1000h GMT) on Friday, January 10 and end at the same hour on Saturday, January 11.

Driving the team’s gleaming, silver Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 (No.30) will be an all-star line-up of championship-winning drivers including Ram Racing’s ELMS GTE Driver Champions Johnny Mowlem and Matt Griffin. The English-Irish duo will be joined by Danish American Le Mans Series GT champion Jan Magnussen who not only brings a huge amount of endurance experience to the team from the past decade (including four class victories at Le Mans), but also a year’s worth of Ferrari 458 knowledge gained in the International GT Open series. Re-joining the team for a second consecutive year as part of this successful grouping is Cheerag Arya, a Dubai-based businessman and Ferrari enthusiast.

Matt Griffin Matt Griffin, 31, recognises that the Ram Racing returning to Dubai in 2014 will have a completely different approach to the team which was there in January 2013. “Well last year I was actually racing against Ram at the race but I remember being very impressed with how professional the team was – especially for one which was at its first event. After spending all of 2013 with then, I’m sure that we will be fighting for the win.

“This will be my sixth 24H Dubai so I know the event very well now. As 24-hour races go it's a very tough one as there are up to 95 cars with some huge speed differences. It's also tough as the track is very dark and the night is long, around 12 hours of full darkness compared with six hours at Le Mans.”

Johnny Mowlem is another with plentiful experience of the UAE-based race and the Briton recognises that, no matter how well a team or its drivers prepare, an element of luck is also required at endurance events. “The 24H Dubai has turned into a very competitive race with many different manufacturers involved, and we will need some luck in order to start 2014 with a top result. However, I believe our line-up is a great bonus, with Jan Magnussen joining Cheerag, myself and Matt and he will make an excellent addition to the team. We have known each other since competing in single-seaters, and we both raced on Jackie Stewart's "staircase of talent". In my opinion he is the most naturally talented driver I have ever raced against, so it will be nice to have him in the same car! Three of us are current champions so it should make for a decent line up.”

Although still a relatively new event, the 24 Hours of Dubai has grown considerably in stature over the past few years and the ultra-modern 5.39km Dubai Autodrome track has become a favourite of drivers. It offers a combination of high-speed straights and technical corners which, combined with the size of the entry-list, makes it a challenging prospect for all competitors.

With an entry of around 90 cars and teams and drivers coming from 39 countries, the race will feature renowned sports car brands such as Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus and McLaren as well as touring cars and silhouettes – the latter two categories filling a large part of the grid and adding to the excitement.

Fans worldwide will be able to benefit from live coverage on Motors TV and live commentary throughout the event from the expert team at Radio Show Ltd, the people behind Radio Le Mans. For the first international endurance race of the year for touring cars, GTs and 24H Specials, there will also be live streaming on the website www.24HDubai.com (http://ramracing.us5.list-manage.com...e&e=09ce18781d) and on Youtube.

About The Team
------------------------------------------------------------


** RAM Racing is a small international racing team with big ambitions. Founded by Dan Shufflebottom, a former Formula One technician, the team comprises the perfect mix of youth and experience, brought together from all disciplines within the world of international motorsport.

Formed midway through 2012 and based at a new, purpose-equipped, 1200 square metre facility on the edge of the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire, the team has contested - and won - the 2013 European Le Mans Series with the super-successful, championship-winning Ferrari 458 Italia, clinching the LMGTE Drivers and Teams Championship titles. As well as its stated aim of competing successfully at the highest levels of GT racing, RAM Racing also brings with it a determination to do all things well…including having some fun along the way!

[Rob]

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing joins global Nissan Nismo official partner program

- Nissan driver Alex Brundle to co-drive at Rolex 24 -
ORECA Nissan on track at Daytona Daytona Beach, FL (January 3, 2014) - Muscle Milk Pickett Racing has joined forces with Nissan, becoming its official partner team in the United States, as Nissan aims to return to its glory days of sportscar success from the late 80s/early 90s.

The partnership will see the two-time Championship winning team not only be powered by Nissan throughout the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship season, but also take part in the Japanese manufacturer's Nismo Global Driver Exchange.

As part of the program, which was launched last year to provide drivers in the Nissan 'family' to contest major events across the globe, racers from Nissan's squad of international talent will compete alongside Muscle Milk's Lucas Luhr and Klaus Graf at Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta.

The first driver to join the German duo is Nissan P2 World Endurance Championship regular Alex Brundle who will take part in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

It will be the young Brit's first opportunity to compete in a major US championship event as he looks to follow in the footsteps of his father Martin Brundle who won the famed 24-hour event 26 years ago in 1988.

Muscle Milk ORECA Nissan on track Brundle previously drove for Oak Racing in 2013 in the FIA World Endurance Championship where he finished second in both the Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LM P2 class.

Graf and Luhr's co-drivers for the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans will be announced at a later time.

Nissan's return to top-level US sportscar racing comes with an impressive background. The manufacturer contested 121 IMSA events from 1985 to 1992, winning 33 races, taking 36 poles and earning four drivers' and three manufacturer's championships. Geoff Brabham won four consecutive IMSA driver's championships 1988, 89, 90, 91.

In more recent statistics, Nissan-powered LM P2 cars took pole position and race victory at every round of the 2013 European Le Mans Series and the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing will be on track January 3 - 5 at Daytona International Raceway with its Nissan-powered ORECA 03 for the annual Roar before the 24 test.

The season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona takes place January 25-26, 2014.

For more information on Pickett Racing please visit www.pickettracingteam.com.


Muscle Milk Pickett Racing Quotes:

Greg Pickett, Team Owner, Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
"We're extremely pleased to become Nissan's official partner team and to have them as part of the Muscle Milk Pickett Racing family.
"Nissan are proven race winners throughout the world and together we want to build a strong relationship that will help us continue the success that we've both come to enjoy. We're excited to not only have our prototype be powered by Nissan but to also be involved with them at a deeper level.
"Nissan has developed a great initiative with their Nismo Global Driver Exchange program and have a lot of young talent that we look forward to having join us throughout the season, starting with Alex Brundle at Daytona.
"I'm anxious to see Alex behind the wheel of our Muscle Milk ORECA/Nissan and I'm confident he will fit right in just fine with Klaus (Graf) and Lucas (Luhr)."


Darren Cox, Nissan Global Motorsport Director
"We're glad to welcome Muscle Milk Pickett Racing to the Nissan family and look forward to having our official drivers learn from such a successful team.
"Greg Pickett and his team has achieved incredible results in recent years and having them as part of the Nismo Global Driver Exchange program will be an outstanding opportunity for our drivers.
"It is also great to again work with Lucas Luhr who won the GT1 World Championship with Nissan with Michael Krumm back in 2011. Lucas and Klaus Graf have enjoyed amazing success in the US in recent years and I'm looking forward to seeing them continue that run with Nissan power in 2014.
"We are also very proud to have brought Nissan back to the forefront of US sportscar racing. Our company has an incredible pedigree dating back to the old IMSA championship and I'm certain Nissan and Nismo will add to that history in the coming years."


Alex Brundle, driver, Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
"I am excited to go over to Daytona and race in the Rolex 24. The chance to fight for overall victory with Muscle Milk Pickett Racing and Nissan is a fantastic next step in my career.
"I am delighted to be finally getting the chance to compete at an event I have aspired to contest. I would like to say thanks to Darren Cox of Nissan and Pickett Racing for giving me that opportunity"
"Muscle Milk have a tremendous record in American sportscar racing so to have the chance to join such a prestigious American team is excellent. I'm looking forward to making the most of it.
"Klaus and Lucas have driven in the American series for a quite a while now so I can learn quickly from them. I am looking forward to the challenge.
"The Nissan engine was so strong in the WEC last year that in reality there was no other power plant to have, which brings confidence heading into the testing process. The engine produces a lot of torque with impressive reliability evidenced by the performance we enjoyed at Oak Racing in last year where we had two cars running strongly at the finish of the Le Mans 24 hours."

Karina Redmond
Muscle Milk Pickett Racing

[Rob]

WELCOME TO THE 2014 SEASON


Are you ready for the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship? (yes yes iam )

Eight races on four continents (Europe, South America, North America and Asia) bringing you, the fans, the best in motorsport entertainment. The new rules for LMP1, the arrival of Porsche to rival Toyota and reigning champions Audi and the new privateer LMP1 entries will inject further drama into an already exciting championship.

However it is not just about LMP1 with LMP2 providing classic endurance entertainment while the GTE classes, with works teams from Aston Martin and Porsche looking to stop Ferrari taking their third world title in a row in 2014, look set to continue to provide some great racing all the way to the chequered flag.

Remember to keep up to date by following us on Twitter and Facebook. You will also be able to follow all the races live via the official website and receive the latest results and news.

We hope you will join us for the third exciting season of the FIA WEC, which starts at Silverstone this Easter.

[Tobes]

HUFF JOINS STARWORKS PC ENTRY IN TUDOR CHAMPIONSHIP
2012 WTCC CHAMPION TO COMPETE IN SELECT EVENTS
Briton Rob Huff has signed to race for Starworks Motorsport in selected rounds of the 2014 International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Good for Huffy, remember watching him win the first ever Seat Cupra Cup, there was an ITV show that followed the series and drivers, was mostly him and Stefan Hodgetts, Huffy won the Championship and got the Seat drive alongside Plato in Seat's maiden BTCC year, was a few years ago now, he's done very well for himself...

[Nova]

Ho ho, Rob, you finally started the 2014 thread..Great!! Im really looking forward to seeing the 458's again.

[Rob]

Successful shakedown test complete

Klaus Graf on track at Daytona Daytona Beach, FL (January 5, 2014) - There was a whole lot of 'new' for Muscle Milk Pickett Racing as the team celebrated the start of the New Year at Daytona International Speedway this past weekend at the annual Roar before the 24 test session.

New car, new engine, new tires, new series, new track, new challenges, a couple of new drivers - to accompany the familiar faces of back to back American Le Mans Series Champions Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr - and, most importantly, new competition.

However, even if being competitive is the nature of racing, the Muscle Milk squad and its drivers Graf and Luhr as well as Alex Brundle and Tom Dyer who joined the team for the test, were well aware that they wouldn't be atop the time sheets at their initial test in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship for different reasons.

One of which is the straight-line speed difference with the Daytona Prototypes (DP) around the trioval part of the track they use at Daytona International Speedway. Another is the fact that the team was using this three-day test as a shakedown for their brand new ORECA/Nissan, which they only took possession of just over two weeks ago.

Alex Brundle hopping aboard the ORECA Nissan The team's main focus over the three days was to learn and gain as much data as possible and they came out very satisfied with what was deemed a productive test in which the #6 Muscle Milk car ran flawlessly in the 12 plus hours of testing available to them.

The ORECA/Nissan's reliability in its on track debut is a testament to all of the hard work done by the Pickett Racing crew in the last few weeks to get the car ready for its initial outing.

With this first test now behind them, the Muscle Milk Pickett Racing team still has quite a bit of work to do in the next couple of weeks to close the gap to the faster DP cars.

The team will only have about four hours of practice time between now and the moment the green flag falls on the season opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, but their 'never give up' and fighting attitude is more present than ever.

The team thrives on challenges and this one only fuels the fire even more.

The opening round of the TUDOR Championship - the Rolex 24 at Daytona - takes place January 23 - 26, 2014 at Daytona International Speedway.

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing Quotes:

Klaus Graf, driver Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
"This was a shakedown test for our new Muscle Milk ORECA/Nissan package and I think we can be very pleased with what we achieved. The Pickett Racing car ran without any problems, very reliable, which can always be a big question mark in the beginning with a new car and a track like this. We did a lot of laps, gathered a lot of data and learned a lot about the Continental tires.
"All in all, we're going away from here with a good spirit for the 24 hour race."

Lucas Luhr, driver Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
"Doing a shakedown test is never easy, especially when you're doing it at a big test like the Roar where there are a lot of teams and media present. But we made good progress with our Muscle Milk ORECA/Nissan and learned a lot. Most importantly, we ran without mechanical failures and we didn't have any gremlins to fix, which can be rare with a brand new car and that is a sign of the great work done by the Pickett Racing boys.
"There's still some work to do, which is normal, but we've also collected a lot of data and completed a lot of miles that will help us improve for when we come back for the race in a couple of weeks."

Alex Brundle, driver Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
"Overall, I think we had a decent test, especially in terms of building a body of data about what we can change on the Muscle Milk ORECA/Nissan and what affect it can have. In terms of ultimate performance, we didn't move that far forward but that wasn't really the goal this week.
"The team has been very welcoming, a great team. Greg (Pickett) has made me feel like I've been here a whole lot longer than I have, so that's been really nice and I've enjoyed being here a lot.
"We need to improve for the race, but we know the areas where we can do that and I'm looking forward to coming back in a couple of weeks."

Tom Dyer, driver Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
"Testing was really good. It's a pleasure to be here with such a great team and effort. This is a historic event that the team is getting ready for and I thought testing went pretty well. The new ORECA/Nissan came out of the box really good and we just have to come to grips as we are with the new configurations that we have to run under, like tires.
"The team is doing a great job of getting a handle on it and figuring it out. The Muscle Milk ORECA/Nissan will only be better for the race in a couple of weeks."


ABOUT CytoSport®
CytoSport®, Inc. is one of the largest sports nutrition companies in the United States and provides high quality nutritional products to help athletes and active lifestyle individuals achieve their peak performance potential. The company was founded in 1998 by father and son duo Greg and Mike Pickett, and operates its NSF International GMP for Sport™ registered facility at its headquarters in Benicia, Calif. The CytoSport team is dedicated to working with sports scientists, coaches and trainers to redefine protein-enhanced products to promote workout recovery, lean muscle growth and sustained energy. CytoSport helps in building athletes from the inside out™ with a complete line of powders, shakes and bars and is the parent company to Muscle Milk®, an award-winning protein line used by professional athletes, collegiate athletic departments and fitness enthusiasts everywhere. CytoSport was named 2009 Small Company of the Year at the annual Beverage Forum presented by Beverage Magazine and Beverage Marketing Corporation and was named one of CircleUp25's 2013 most innovative companies according to Forbes.

Further Information
Karina Redmond

[Rob]

Good for Huffy, remember watching him win the first ever Seat Cupra Cup, there was an ITV show that followed the series and drivers, was mostly him and Stefan Hodgetts, Huffy won the Championship and got the Seat drive alongside Plato in Seat's maiden BTCC year, was a few years ago now, he's done very well for himself...

Good for him. I met him couple years back at Snetterton, BTCC. He was strolling around the paddock. Nice bloke, i too been following his career aswell mate. Look forwad to Daytona.

[Rob]

Nissan fully committed to LMP1 WEC entry from 2015
By Gary Watkins Friday, January 10th 2014, 13:51 GMT

Nissan is fully committed to entering the LMP1 class at the start of the 2015 World Endurance Championship, the Japanese manufacturer has revealed.

It had previously stated that it was working on concepts for an LMP1 programme, which is a condition of its 2014 'Garage 56' Le Mans 24 Hours entry with the ZEOD RC experimental racer, and that funding had yet to be signed off.

Now it has revealed that key decisions about the project are being made and that Nissan's first outright challenger for Le Mans honours since 1999 is on course to be on the grid for the opening round of the WEC in 2015.

Nissan global motorsport director Darren Cox told AUTOSPORT: "Any motorsport programme is dependent on the decisions of a company's board of directors, but we are pushing ahead as though it is all happening.

"We are making decisions, entering discussions with suppliers and on target to be at Silverstone [the opening round of the WEC this year and last] in April 2015."

Cox would not discuss details of Nissan's plans, although he did admit that the hybrid powerplant's internal combustion element would be petrol-powered.

"We are not doing this in a conventional way: it will be a global project, so NISMO [Nissan's motorsport arm in Japan] and Ben [Bowlby, designer of the ZEOD], will be involved," he explained.

The next wave of announcements concerning the ZEOD, including confirmation of the configuration of its internal combustion engine, are due at the end of this month.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112085

[Rob]

Fantastic result


RAM RACING NEWS RELEASE

RAM RACING FIGHT BACK TO TAKE ITS FIRST 24 HOUR RACE FINISH


MEDIA RELEASE: 11th January 2014
The 2014 edition of the Dunlop 24 Hours of Dubai was most definitely a race of two halves for the Ram Racing team and its #30 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3. After leading at the end of the first 12 hours, unfortunately the second turn around the clock proved to be full of challenges for the British GT team and it finished the year’s first major endurance race in 17th place overall and 11th in the A6 Pro class.

Finding themselves in the lead of the 75+ strong field at the half way mark, the Dan-Shufflebottom led team and its driver line up of Cheerag Arya, Matt Griffin, Jan Magnussen and Johnny Mowlem had every reason to be positive about the result. The car was running flawlessly and the drivers were each performing admirably, but endurance races have a habit of biting back at any given moment.

The European Le Mans Series GTE champions suffered a major set-back in its bid for success just 40 minutes into the second half of the race when Johnny Mowlem fell victim to a racing incident involving two other cars. The subsequent contact damaged the left front radiator of the Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 as well as associated front bodywork, bracketing and framework and – despite slick and efficient repair work carried out at high speed by the Ram Racing crew – substantial time was lost.

The drivers set about making up time in order to try and obtain as high a finish as possible, including Magnussen setting the car’s fastest lap of the race, but a further delay was thrown in their path. In the 21st hour repairs had to be made to the left rear hub assembly and a replacement driveshaft fitted and a further 30 minutes was lost in the pits.

Dan Shufflebottom summed up the events of the last 24 hours: “It’s been a real roller-coaster of emotions, from the highs of running so strongly and leading a 24-hour event for the first time, to the lows of losing so much time in the pits for repairs. One thing didn't change though and that’s the fighting spirit of every single member of Ram Racing who faced every challenge thrown in our path with the most amazing spirit. I couldn’t be more proud of all the guys on the team.

“Our drivers have all played their part to the full – from Cheerag who ran his fastest laps of the whole weekend through the pressure of his stint, to our guest driver Jan Magnussen who has been a real pleasure to work with. As much as he’s apparently loved being among our British humour and atmosphere, we’ve also really enjoyed having him with us and hope we might be able to do it again some time with a better result for him to take away.”

The Danish ALMS GT Champion brought the Ferrari across the finish line at 2pm this afternoon to the cheers of the team and said of the weekend: “This race is physically a bit tougher than Le Mans because there are no long straights where you can relax. It’s such a shame we had the contact which put us so far behind because we had a really great car and had a shot at least of a podium if not the win. These things have happened to me before, and almost everyone I know; it’s the name of the game. The crew never gave up, and the drivers pushed to the end to see where we got to. We’re a race team and that’s what we are here to do. The car was just the same after it was fixed, and it was a big fix – the guys did a fantastic job putting the car back together as fast as possible. “

After competing in a number of 24-hour races now, Matt Griffin appreciated how much of an achievement it was for Ram Racing to get to the finish of its first endurance event: “Twenty-four hour races are tough anyway but I think Dubai is one of the toughest and more complicated than, say, Le Mans. Ram gave us a fantastic car and we were able to get it up in the lead and we were really competitive all week. When it comes to the spirit of 24-hour racing, I think we encapsulated that when we had our issues. The guys never gave up, knuckled down and did an amazing job to fix the car which drove as good afterwards as it did before. That’s down to the team and their preparation and shows how good they are. It’s not the result we wanted but I think we can take a lot of pluses away from this weekend. The team are experienced anyway, but it shows that not only can they handle a 24-hour race but I think that, after seeing them in action this weekend, they are the best in the business.”

Johnny Mowlem took the start of the race, and used his superior experience to handle the exceptionally busy period on track. However, he admits that his memories of the weekend will be tainted by the incident which caused the set-back experienced by the team. “The Ram Racing team showed once again why they are one of the best sportscar teams out there. You really see what people are made of when they are up against adversity and, unfortunately, my contact with the Lamborghini while trying to lap him caused some of that adversity. The team rose to meet it brilliantly. As I said before I’m disappointed but at the same time was very proud of the guys to see how hard they worked. They did a superb job, just as Matt, Jan and Cheerag did as well driving. I’m not going to lie, it hasn’t been my finest weekend and I’m very disappointed, but I don’t make a habit of this – and hopefully won’t start in the future.”

A further announcement will be made about the team’s plans for the 2014 season within the next few weeks.

About The Team
RAM Racing is a small international racing team with big ambitions. Founded by Dan Shufflebottom, a former Formula One technician, the team comprises the perfect mix of youth and experience, brought together from all disciplines within the world of international motorsport.

Formed midway through 2012 and based at a new, purpose-equipped, 1200 square metre facility on the edge of the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire, the team has contested - and won - the 2013 European Le Mans Series with the super-successful, championship-winning Ferrari 458 Italia, clinching the LMGTE Drivers and Teams Championship titles. As well as its stated aim of competing successfully at the highest levels of GT racing, RAM Racing also brings with it a determination to do all things well…including having some fun along the way!

[Rob]

Audi Le Mans star Allan McNish says retirement decision easy
By Glenn Freeman

Saturday, January 11th 2014, 11:19 GMT

Allan McNish says making the call to retire from racing at the end of the 2013 season was "not a big decision".

The Scot called time on his career following his World Endurance Championship success with Tom Kristensen and Loic Duval for Audi.

While the news came as a shock to many, McNish said the decision-making process was a straightforward one.

"It was not actually a big decision from my point of view," McNish said on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International.

"It was quite easy. It was only difficult in so far as when you have done something for such a long time, you ask yourself why would you want to do something else.

"But with the success we had in 2013, the situation that arose was exactly the right time for me to say this was going to be the last season."

FIRST THOUGHTS AFTER LE MANS

McNish said that he started considering retirement after winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

"I mulled around after Le Mans, that's when it started to pick up a bit," he said.

"Then later in the season it looked like the championship would come and things started to build in my mind.

"In my opinion as soon as it starts to build up, that's the time to stop.

"If you don't commit to everything like you have before, then you're not doing it instinctively. So I was pretty sure Bahrain was going to be my last race."

McNish: Audi better prepared than everKristensen, who has shared a car with McNish since 2006, said not pairing with the ex-Toyota Formula 1 racer will take some getting used to.

"What Allan has achieved over his career is remarkable and the way we worked together - we knew all the little things about each other," he said.

"There's no doubt that I would have liked us to continue together, but you have to respect the decision he made.

"It will be strange the next time I come in for a fast pitstop to not have him picking me out of the car and driving off."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112093

[Rob]

Tom Kristensen wants 'respect' for Le Mans in safety push
By Sam Tremayne

Saturday, January 11th 2014, 14:41 GMT

Tom Kristensen believes efforts to improve safety at Le Mans must always be balanced by 'respect' for the circuit and its traditions.

Allan Simonsen died following a high-speed crash in last year's 24-hour endurance race, re-opening debates about how safe the track is.

The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, which runs the Le Mans circuit and organises the 24 Hours, announced last year that changes would be made - including increased run-off areas in the Porsche Curves - although it insisted they were not directly influenced by Simonsen's tragic accident.

Nine-time Le Mans winner Kristensen, a Danish compatriot of Simonsen, said improving safety was a constant concern but stressed future decisions should also take into account the history and prestige of Le Mans.

"Allan was a great guy and was just about to break into a manufacturer career," he said on the main stage at AUTOSPORT International.

"There's no doubt this year would have been very good for him. All that potential is sadly wasted with such a tragic record.

"Safety is a constant factor, and it is always moving in terms of regulations, cars and circuits. It is constantly evolving.

"But when you have a race like Le Mans there is a little bit of a different approach. There are things you can't change too much.

"You need safety but you need respect for the circuit - it's a cocktail of wise decisions, commitment and respect."

Kristensen said some safety measures have removed intrinsic elements of motorsport as a spectacle, adding: "Events can happen too far from spectators now, or you have areas where you know you can make mistakes and get away with them.

"You always have to look at improving safety but you have to take wise decisions on how to improve it without going too far."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112098

[Rob]

McLaren Formula 1 tester Oliver Turvey set for Delta-ADR WEC LMP2
By Gary Watkins

Saturday, January 11th 2014, 07:25 GMT

Rising sportscar star Oliver Turvey is set to join the Delta-ADR LMP2 squad for the 2014 World Endurance Championship.

The McLaren Formula 1 development driver contested his first full season of sportscars with the Jota Zytek team in the 2013 European Le Mans Series.

He tested one of Delta-ADR's ORECA-Nissan 03s in Bahrain this week and is expected to conclude a deal to join the team in the near future.

Delta-ADR team manager Simon Dowson told AUTOSPORT: "There is an interest to try to do something together and the test was to see how he fitted in with the team and vice versa.

"Oliver did exactly what we expected: he was on the pace and very professional."

Jota is not expecting to retain Turvey's services for 2014, team manager Sam Hignett revealed.

It would be possible for Turvey to race in both the WEC and the ELMS, but Jota wants to retain its European series line-up for its attack on the WEC-counting Le Mans 24 Hours.

TINCKNELL LINED UP FOR JOTA

Hignett said that a "young Formula 3 driver" - known to be Harry Tincknell, who tested for the team at the Spanish Aragon circuit last October - and one other driver would join team regular Simon Dolan in its Zytek-Nissan Z11SN this season.

Delta-ADR has already confirmed plans to run one car in the 2014 WEC with backing from Dubai-based Millennium Development and is expected to file two entries for the series.

French veteran Fabien Giroix, who joined Delta-ADR for last year's WEC finale in Bahrain as part of the link-up with Millennium, tested this week along with team regular John Martin and former Le Mans 24 Hours winner Stefan Johansson.

Giroix will drive alongside Martin and, should his deal be cemented, Turvey, while Johansson is set to be announced as one of the drivers of the second car once it is confirmed.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112092

[kurski]

Interesting quote from McNish at Autosport International today. This is taken from Autosport's live text commentary:

We already know that Porsche is joining Audi and Toyota in LMP1 in 2014, that Nissan is doing the same in '15, and that Ferrari is poised too.

McNish reckons there are "two more manufacturers beyond the ones we already know about" planning to come in as well.

He predicts that 2014-6 will be "very bright" for top level sportscar racing.

"Le Mans brings iconic names back because it's an iconic place."

[Rob]

Interesting quote from McNish at Autosport International today. This is taken from Autosport's live text commentary:

If, we go back, and i mean IF. As a LMP1 factory backed team. There goes the F1 team. Luca has always said, cannt do both. As 1 programe will take resources from the other.

[Nova]

Yea^^^ its def a smokescreen..I mean they have to say something as to why theres a LaFerrari w/slight
endurance mods pumping around Fiorano...dont they?
Would like to see Ferrari pump about 50 more ponies into the 458 endurance GT's though.

By the way, the Bahrain 24 was just run..is that the name of it? Anywho, a 458 fighting for the lead had a problem, but another 458 won its class.
I'll find the writeup.

[Rob]

[Rob]

TUNE IN: ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA
FOX NETWORK TO AIR FIRST TWO HOURS OUT OF 15 TOTAL HOURS OF FOX SPORTS COVERAGE.


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 13, 2014) – The 52nd Rolex 24 At Daytona will make history on Jan. 25-26 as the inaugural race of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, and race fans can see the event in its entirety across multiple platforms including the FOX Network.

Leading the way will be a two-hour live telecast on FOX beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 25. FOX’s over-the-air coverage will feature 10 minutes of pre-race action before the green flag drops at 2:10 p.m. ET. The start of the race has been moved up 20 minutes to accommodate the network telecast.

“There is no better way to introduce the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship than to televise the first moments of the new series’ existence to a national audience through FOX Network television,” said David Pettit, International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) vice president of marketing. “The Rolex 24 At Daytona will serve as the official launch of our five-year partnership with FOX Sports, and will provide fans with unprecedented access. This year’s Rolex 24 is perhaps the most anticipated North American sports car race in history, and FOX Sports will anchor our live coverage options.”

Just as every one of the 68 teams entered for the twice-around-the clock event will utilize multiple drivers, this year’s Rolex 24 broadcast will feature multiple platforms with a wide variety of ways to watch and listen. The full TV coverage plan is as follows:

Saturday, Jan. 25
2-4 p.m. ET on FOX
4-9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2

Overnight (Jan. 25-26)
9 p.m. – 7 a.m. ET on IMSA.com (includes live images, in-car cameras and announcers)

Sunday, Jan. 26
7 a.m. – 3 p.m. on FOX Sports 1

Live streaming of the Rolex 24 At Daytona also will be available on the FOX Sports GO mobile application for iOS devices.

Bob Varsha once again leads a broadcast booth that includes Calvin Fish, Dorsey Schroeder, Brian Till, Tommy Kendall and Justin Bell. Calling the action on pit lane will be Chris Neville, Jamie Howe, Andrew Marriott and Matt Yocum.

International television coverage of the Rolex 24 At Daytona will be available in more than 335 million households across 144 countries and territories. Networks carrying Rolex 24 coverage include SPEED (Canada), Fox Sports Latin America, Motors TV (Europe) and Network Ten (Australia), among others.

In addition to the live telecasts, Motor Racing Network, kicking off its 45th year of broadcasting, will air live flag-to-flag radio coverage of the Rolex 24 At Daytona along with 12 races in the inaugural TUDOR Championship. All Motor Racing Network races also are streamed live at www.MRN.com. Live coverage of the Rolex 24 At Daytona also can be heard on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90) starting at 2 pm ET. The entire TUDOR Championship season can be heard on Sirius channel 117.

IMSA.com will offer streaming of all MRN broadcasts as part of its impressive arsenal of live online coverage. IMSA.com and the brand-new IMSA mobile app also provide live timing and scoring data from every on-track session, social media integration and up-to-the minute news coverage. IMSA.com will have a full-race replay of the Rolex 24 available on demand 24 hours after the FOX Sports telecast.

In addition to streaming on-board coverage, SPEED: The Motors on FOX Blog covers the event all week with hourly race blog updates, photo galleries, fast-turn video and active social media participation.

The 52nd Rolex 24 At Daytona kicks off the inaugural, 12-race TUDOR Championship season. The race is also the first of the four-race Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.

The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge also launches its 2014 campaign at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, Jan. 24. FOX Sports 2 will have same-day television coverage of the season opener at 6 p.m. ET.
- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/tune-ro....GjEnX7mQ.dpuf

[Rob]

NEW CORVETTE C7.R LIVERY UNVEILED
MAKES COMPETITION DEBUT JAN. 25 AT THE 52ND ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA

DETROIT – Chevrolet today unveiled the Corvette C7.R race car, which was co-developed with the all-new 2015 Corvette Z06. They represent the closest link in modern times between Corvettes built for racing and the road, sharing unprecedented levels of engineering and components including chassis architecture, engine technologies and aerodynamic strategies.

“When it comes to endurance racing, Corvette has been the benchmark of success for nearly 15 years,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “A great deal of the team’s success can be attributed to the symbiotic relationship between Corvette Racing and the production vehicles. The 2015 Corvette Z06 and new C7.R will be more competitive on the street and track due to successful design of the Corvette Stingray – which itself is heavily based on the C6.R race car.”

Corvette Racing will field two C7.R race cars in 2014, starting later this month at the 52nd Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 25-26. The race kicks off the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship – a new series debuting this year after the merger of the American Le Mans Series and GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. The C7.R will compete in the GT Le Mans class in 11 races around North America.

The team is also is expected to compete in June at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – a race Chevrolet and Corvette Racing have won seven times – in the GTE Pro class.

Since the team’s competitive debut in 1999 with the Corvette C5-R, Corvette Racing has earned unmatched success. The C5-R and C6.R led Chevrolet to 90 victories around the world and 10 manufacturer championships in the American Le Mans Series. In 2013, Corvette Racing won five races and swept the manufacturer, team and driver championships in the GT class for a second consecutive season.

A key part of the team’s success is the technology transfer between Corvette production cars and race cars.

“Corvette Racing sets the gold standard for technology transfer between the track and street,” said Tadge Juechter, Corvette chief engineer. “We are continually taking what we learn in competition, and applying it to improve production Corvettes – which then make better race cars. As a result, the new Corvette Z06 is the most track-capable production Corvette ever while the new C7.R is poised to be even more competitive on the race circuit.”

Many of the architectural and aerodynamic features of the C7.R are based on equivalent components and technologies from the 2015 Corvette Z06, including:

New, aluminum frame
As before, the race car and the Z06 will share the same, production-based aluminum frame. However, for the first time, the frames for the race car and production Z06 will be built in-house at the Corvette’s Bowling Green, Ky., assembly plant.

By leveraging advanced manufacturing materials – such as laser welding, Flowdrill-machined fasteners and a GM-patented aluminum spot-welding process – the production structure is significantly stronger than its predecessor. For Corvette Racing, this equates to a race chassis for the C7.R that is 40 percent stronger than the outgoing C6.R.

“In the first lap in the C7.R, the drivers felt the increase in chassis stiffness,” said Mark Kent, director of Racing for Chevrolet. “The drivers instantly noticed that the C7.R handling was better over changing surface features and rough track segments. This is important as our drivers don’t always stay on the smooth pavement, and are constantly driving over curbing at corner apexes.”

Direct-injected engine
The addition of direct fuel injection to the Corvette Z06 will enable the technology to return to a Corvette race car for the first time since the end of the GT1 era in 2009. It promises greater efficiency, which can make a significant difference in long-distance endurance racing such as Daytona and Le Mans through fewer time-consuming pit stops.

“Direct injection offers two advantages for the race team,” said Kent. “First, it offers drivers more precise throttle control, so that even the smallest changes in the driver’s throttle position delivers a proportional response from the engine. Second, direct injection typically improves fuel economy about 3 percent. That could be enough to bypass one fuel stop during a 24-hour race. Given that races are often won and lost in the pits, a 3 percent gain in fuel economy could translate to a significant advantage in track position.”

Aerodynamics
The aerodynamic strategies of the Corvette Stingray came directly from the Corvette C6.R – including the forward-tilted radiator, functional hood and front-quarter panel vents, and rear transmission and differential cooling intakes.

The Z06 and C7.R take that aerodynamic foundation to the next level, sharing aggressive strategies for increased cooling and aerodynamic downforce, including similar front splitters, rocker panels, and front- and rear-brake cooling ducts.

“We worked concurrently with the race team developing the aerodynamic packages for the Z06 and the C7.R,” said Juechter. “We even used the same modeling software to test both cars, enabling us to share data and wind-tunnel test results. As a result, the aerodynamics of the production Z06 produce the most downforce of any production car GM has ever tested, and we are closing in on the aero performance of a dedicated race car.”

There are, of course, differences between the race car and production Corvette Z06. For example, the C7.R carries over the powertrain for the C6.R, as the GT rules limit the maximum displacement to 5.5L, and prohibit forced induction. By comparison, the new Z06 boasts a supercharged 6.2L engine estimated at 625 horsepower. Both engines, however, are based on the historic small block architecture.

The suspension on the C7.R is modified to accommodate wider racing tires and larger brakes, again part of the GT regulations.

On the aerodynamic side, one major difference is the shift away from U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, ducts on the C7.R. The C6.R used two NACA ducts, on top of the rear bodywork and near the position of the rear wheels, for cooling. For the new C7.R, there are now openings on each of the rear quarter panels, above the brake ducts, which will draw air to help cool the race car’s transaxle and differential.

Additionally, one of the primary results of the C7.R’s aero detail is making the rear wing a more-significant part of the car’s aero package. A larger radiator inlet has the added benefit of generating smoother airflow over the rear wing and making its use more efficient to the handling and stability of the race car at high speed.

Source:
Corvette Racing
- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/new-cor....CMjE7MS3.dpuf

[Rob]

NEW CORVETTE C7.R LIVERY UNVEILED
MAKES COMPETITION DEBUT JAN. 25 AT THE 52ND ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA

DETROIT – Chevrolet today unveiled the Corvette C7.R race car, which was co-developed with the all-new 2015 Corvette Z06. They represent the closest link in modern times between Corvettes built for racing and the road, sharing unprecedented levels of engineering and components including chassis architecture, engine technologies and aerodynamic strategies.

“When it comes to endurance racing, Corvette has been the benchmark of success for nearly 15 years,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “A great deal of the team’s success can be attributed to the symbiotic relationship between Corvette Racing and the production vehicles. The 2015 Corvette Z06 and new C7.R will be more competitive on the street and track due to successful design of the Corvette Stingray – which itself is heavily based on the C6.R race car.”

Corvette Racing will field two C7.R race cars in 2014, starting later this month at the 52nd Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 25-26. The race kicks off the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship – a new series debuting this year after the merger of the American Le Mans Series and GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. The C7.R will compete in the GT Le Mans class in 11 races around North America.

The team is also is expected to compete in June at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – a race Chevrolet and Corvette Racing have won seven times – in the GTE Pro class.

Since the team’s competitive debut in 1999 with the Corvette C5-R, Corvette Racing has earned unmatched success. The C5-R and C6.R led Chevrolet to 90 victories around the world and 10 manufacturer championships in the American Le Mans Series. In 2013, Corvette Racing won five races and swept the manufacturer, team and driver championships in the GT class for a second consecutive season.

A key part of the team’s success is the technology transfer between Corvette production cars and race cars.

“Corvette Racing sets the gold standard for technology transfer between the track and street,” said Tadge Juechter, Corvette chief engineer. “We are continually taking what we learn in competition, and applying it to improve production Corvettes – which then make better race cars. As a result, the new Corvette Z06 is the most track-capable production Corvette ever while the new C7.R is poised to be even more competitive on the race circuit.”

Many of the architectural and aerodynamic features of the C7.R are based on equivalent components and technologies from the 2015 Corvette Z06, including:

New, aluminum frame
As before, the race car and the Z06 will share the same, production-based aluminum frame. However, for the first time, the frames for the race car and production Z06 will be built in-house at the Corvette’s Bowling Green, Ky., assembly plant.

By leveraging advanced manufacturing materials – such as laser welding, Flowdrill-machined fasteners and a GM-patented aluminum spot-welding process – the production structure is significantly stronger than its predecessor. For Corvette Racing, this equates to a race chassis for the C7.R that is 40 percent stronger than the outgoing C6.R.

“In the first lap in the C7.R, the drivers felt the increase in chassis stiffness,” said Mark Kent, director of Racing for Chevrolet. “The drivers instantly noticed that the C7.R handling was better over changing surface features and rough track segments. This is important as our drivers don’t always stay on the smooth pavement, and are constantly driving over curbing at corner apexes.”

Direct-injected engine
The addition of direct fuel injection to the Corvette Z06 will enable the technology to return to a Corvette race car for the first time since the end of the GT1 era in 2009. It promises greater efficiency, which can make a significant difference in long-distance endurance racing such as Daytona and Le Mans through fewer time-consuming pit stops.

“Direct injection offers two advantages for the race team,” said Kent. “First, it offers drivers more precise throttle control, so that even the smallest changes in the driver’s throttle position delivers a proportional response from the engine. Second, direct injection typically improves fuel economy about 3 percent. That could be enough to bypass one fuel stop during a 24-hour race. Given that races are often won and lost in the pits, a 3 percent gain in fuel economy could translate to a significant advantage in track position.”

Aerodynamics
The aerodynamic strategies of the Corvette Stingray came directly from the Corvette C6.R – including the forward-tilted radiator, functional hood and front-quarter panel vents, and rear transmission and differential cooling intakes.

The Z06 and C7.R take that aerodynamic foundation to the next level, sharing aggressive strategies for increased cooling and aerodynamic downforce, including similar front splitters, rocker panels, and front- and rear-brake cooling ducts.

“We worked concurrently with the race team developing the aerodynamic packages for the Z06 and the C7.R,” said Juechter. “We even used the same modeling software to test both cars, enabling us to share data and wind-tunnel test results. As a result, the aerodynamics of the production Z06 produce the most downforce of any production car GM has ever tested, and we are closing in on the aero performance of a dedicated race car.”

There are, of course, differences between the race car and production Corvette Z06. For example, the C7.R carries over the powertrain for the C6.R, as the GT rules limit the maximum displacement to 5.5L, and prohibit forced induction. By comparison, the new Z06 boasts a supercharged 6.2L engine estimated at 625 horsepower. Both engines, however, are based on the historic small block architecture.

The suspension on the C7.R is modified to accommodate wider racing tires and larger brakes, again part of the GT regulations.

On the aerodynamic side, one major difference is the shift away from U.S. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA, ducts on the C7.R. The C6.R used two NACA ducts, on top of the rear bodywork and near the position of the rear wheels, for cooling. For the new C7.R, there are now openings on each of the rear quarter panels, above the brake ducts, which will draw air to help cool the race car’s transaxle and differential.

Additionally, one of the primary results of the C7.R’s aero detail is making the rear wing a more-significant part of the car’s aero package. A larger radiator inlet has the added benefit of generating smoother airflow over the rear wing and making its use more efficient to the handling and stability of the race car at high speed.

Source:
Corvette Racing
- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/new-cor....CMjE7MS3.dpuf

[Rob]

Exceptional talent roster for Rolex 24 at Daytona

Risi Competizione will be representing the iconic Ferrari brand in the manufacturer-led GT LM category of the new Tudor United Sportscar Championship. The Houston-based, North American GT stalwart will be entering the Italian marque’s only full-season entry in the class of 12, and the team’s red F458 Italia will carry its long-time race number 62. Risi will also be working closely alongside its friend and ally Krohn Racing in the North American Endurance Championship rounds.

With the opening round of the championship, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, between January 23 and 26 Risi Competizione is pleased to announce an all-star roster of driving talent. Scuderia Ferrari F1 test driver Giancarlo Fisichella and ALMS 2013 race-winner Matteo Malucelli will anchor the line-up for the year, and will be joined for the twice-round-the-clock endurance classic by FIA World GT Champion Gianmaria Bruni and 2013 Risi driver Olivier Beretta, a former winner of the Daytona 24.

All four drivers have driven with Risi Competizione previously, and all have extensive race-winning experience with the F458 Italia. Italians Fisichella and Bruni have for the last two years successfully competed for Ferrari in the FIA World Endurance Championship, while both have raced in the USA with Risi many times over the last few years – Bruni winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the team and finishing 2nd in the 2010 ALMS GT Drivers championship.

Malucelli, also from Italy, made his debut in North American racing last year and together with Beretta claimed victory at VIR with strong performances contributing to further podiums at Sebring and Petit Le Mans.

[Rob]

Bit more on the switch. Sad, but he did go "off" towards the end of last year. Toni is top driver, so the #51 will be even stronger, just as we saw in Bahrain. Hope Davide will get call up to the #71 car.

Giancarlo Fisichella switches into 2014 USC with Ferrari
By Gary Watkins Tuesday, January 14th 2014, 10:03 GMT

Giancarlo Fisichella

Three-time Formula 1 grand prix winner Giancarlo Fisichella will race for the Risi Competizione team in the full United SportsCar Championship this year.

The Ferrari-contracted driver will share the works-supported team's solo GT Le Mans class 458 Italia with Matteo Malucelli, who contested last year's American Le Mans Series in the Risi entry.

They will be joined at the season-opening Daytona 24 Hours on January 25/26 by Olivier Beretta, who partnered Malucelli last year, and Gianmaria Bruni, who took the GT title in last year's World Endurance Championship for Ferrari.

The announcement that Fisichella has been placed by Ferrari at the US team is effective confirmation that he will not be part of the factory AF Corse team's line-up for the WEC in 2014.

The Italian driver's switch to the US follows a reshuffle of the AF Corse line-up ahead of the WEC finale in Bahrain last November.

Fisichella was demoted to the second car after a poor performance in the previous round in Shanghai and Toni Vilander moved up to share with Gianmaria Bruni, who went on to seal the World Endurance Cup for GT drivers.

No comment on the USC reshuffle was available from Ferrari or AF.

The line-up for the WEC, of which Fisichella was a part in 2012-13, has yet to be announced, but speculation suggests that Vilander will contest the full season alongside Bruni.

Davide Rigon, who is part of Ferrari's unofficial roster of GT drivers, is tipped to be one of the drivers in the second car.

Risi, which returned to the race tracks last year after a year's sabbatical, is also providing technical support for the Krohn Racing team, which is now based at its Houston workshops.

Ferrari factory driver Andrea Bertolini and Peter Dumbreck will join team boss Tracy Krohn and Niclas Jonsson in the car for Daytona.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112119

[Rob]

Barwell Motorsport’s 2014 plans take shape for ELMS.

Having secured third place in both the 2013 European Le Mans Series (GTC) and British GT championships during last season's race-winning campaigns, Barwell Motorsport has been hard at work putting together the ingredients for its 2014 challenges in both of these arenas, as well as in other major series.
The UK based outfit has one BMW Z4 GT3 confirmed for the ELMS GTC class, which will feature a very exciting driver line-up including a previous ELMS Champion on board – full details of this and the car's stunning livery will be released very soon.

Barwell will also be working with Ecurie Ecosse again in 2014, with the squad currently deciding which major GT3 series it will contest and also evaluating some different car options. These decisions are imminent.

Barwell will also be continuing with Danish driver, Jan Andersen, who contested the Dubai 24 Hours and Aston Martin GT4 Challenge events last year alongside the team principal, Mark Lemmer. Jan is currently evaluating different 2014 programme options with the team, as are Barwell's 2013 British GT and GT Cup racers, Piers and Ron Johnson.

The team currently has opportunities for drives available in either a BMW Z4 GT3 or Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for British GT, ELMS and the Blancpain Endurance Series. Interested parties should contact Chris Needell on 01372 457788 / 07860 633971 / chris@barwellmotorsport.co.uk.

[Rob]

Honda Performance Development to build new LMP2 car for 2015
By Gary Watkins Wednesday, January 15th 2014, 12:30 GMT

Extreme Speed HPD, USC Daytona testing 2014
Honda Performance Development is set to build an all-new LMP2 coupe for the 2015 season.

The motorsport arm of American Honda has revealed that it is working on a design for a car to replace its existing open-top ARX-03b in time for next year.

HPD technical director Roger Griffths told AUTOSPORT: "It is our desire to produce a coupe and the design is well advanced, and from everything we are seeing, it should be a step forward."

Griffiths stated that HPD felt it needed to react to key P2 competitors ORECA and OAK/Onroak, which announced coupe projects in October and November respectively.

"ORECA made the statement that it is building a new car and OAK has done the same, so it is going to become harder to sell a three or four-year-old design with new cars out there," he explained.

"Many gentleman drivers who fund programmes have restrictions on them about not driving an open car, so we don't want to limit the market."

Griffiths said that the interest shown in a coupe by HPD's existing customers suggested that the project would get the go-ahead.

"We would need genuine interest and our existing customers are very enthusiastic, but whether we would need purchase orders before committing to building the car is not yet decided," he continued.

Andretti-Green Acura, Sebring 2007
HPD's new coupe, which is being designed like its previous cars by Wirth Research in the UK, will be constructed around a monocoque built to the 2014 LMP1 regulations.

New rules are due to come into force in LMP2 in 2017, but indications are that changes will be minimal apart mandating the same safety upgrades being introduced in P1 for this season.

DID YOU KNOW...
... the ARX nomenclature of HPD's Le Mans Prototypes stands for 'Acura Racing Experimental'? The cars were branded after Honda's prestige brand from the start of the programme in 2007 (pictured at Sebring) until the end of '09.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112132

[Rob]

Challenge accepted
Lucas at Daytona INDIANAPOLIS (January 16, 2014) - It's been a short off-season for Muscle Milk Pickett Racing and despite having only taken possession of their Nissan-powered ORECA 03 LMP2 car less than a month ago, the team is ready to face their first, and most likely biggest challenge of the season, the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Not every sporting series starts their season with their main event, but such is the case for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and unlike some of their competitors in the new combined Series, Pickett Racing has not had the opportunity to put in many miles of testing prior to the start of the season.

The Greg Pickett-led team took part in the Roar before the Rolex 24 pre-season test session at the beginning of the month and used it as a shakedown test with their new car turning its first laps.

It's with only a little over 800 miles of running under their belt that the Muscle Milk squad will be making their Rolex 24 debut next week. However, that isn't stopping the team from being up for the challenge.

The crew has been hard at work preparing the #6 Muscle Milk ORECA/Nissan the last couple of weeks and the team will make the most of the four hours of practice time available to them ahead of the green flag on Saturday, January 25.

Once again, Nissan driver Alex Brundle will be joining Muscle Milk Pickett Racing's regular, full-season drivers, Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr for this season-opening event. The Brit co-drove with the German pair at the Roar test earlier this month.

While all three drivers have experience with 24-hour races at places such as Le Mans, Spa and the Nurburgring, this will be both Graf and Brundle's first Rolex 24 at Daytona. Luhr, however, has a class win and a couple of second place overall finishes at Daytona on his resume.

With a new car, new tires, new track, new race length and new competitors, Pickett Racing will be facing many 'new' challenges next week in Daytona Beach, but if there's one thing the team has proven over the past few years it's that they are ready and willing to face whatever is put in front of them.

The opening round of the TUDOR Championship - the Rolex 24 at Daytona - takes place January 23 - 26, 2014 at Daytona International Speedway with the green flag scheduled for 2:10 pm ET on January 25, 2014.

The race will be broadcast live starting January 25 on FOX from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm ET, FOX Sports 2 from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm ET, IMSA.com from 9:00 pm to 7:00 am ET and FOX Sports 1 from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm ET on January 26, 2014.


VIDEO PREVIEW: Getting to the Rolex 24 at Daytona


Muscle Milk Pickett Racing Quotes:

Klaus Graf Klaus Graf, driver Muscle Milk Pickett Racing.
"Going into the Rolex 24 at Daytona, we have to set our mind on the distance of the race, since the car is still pretty new we're still working a lot on speed and getting the optimum set up on our Muscle Milk ORECA/Nissan, but at the race you very early on have to think about what you need to do going into it to make the full distance, that's going to be very critical. "With this many cars (67 entries), success will come by staying trouble free and making no mistakes and that's what we have to wrap our head around very early on in the race week."

Lucas Luhr Lucas Luhr, driver Muscle Milk Pickett Racing.
"I've been to the Rolex 24 at Daytona many times in the past but I'm very much looking forward to my first one with Muscle Milk Pickett Racing.
"We had a good test a couple of weeks ago and the car was reliable. It's a long race and the key will be to stay out of trouble.
"It's going to be a challenge. The car is still relatively new to us and while we learned a lot about our Muscle Milk ORECA/Nissan at the test, there are still things to learn and work on, which is a normal part of the process of having a new car. "And there's no better place to keep learning than during a race!"

Alex Brundle Alex Brundle, driver Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
"It's going to be a challenge. With the amount of red flags we saw during the test days, we can see that staying out of trouble is going to be at the forefront of everybody's mind. "Taking that first and foremost, I think the reliability of the Muscle Milk ORECA/Nissan has been good throughout the test and the performance of our guys has been good in terms of mechanically dealing with the car so I think we're in good shape for the race."

Race Facts:

52nd Annual Rolex 24 at Daytona
Daytona International Speedway, 3.56-mile road course, Daytona Beach, FL
January 23 - 26, 2013

TUDOR United SportsCar Championship: Round #1 of 11
Race Duration: 24 hours
Where to watch:
Race
January 25, 2014
FOX: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
FOX Sports 2: 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
IMSA.com: 9:00 PM - 7:00 AM
January 26, 2014
FOX Sports 1: 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM


Schedule (All times Eastern):

Thursday, January 23, 2014:
Practice 1: 9:30 am - 10:30 am (All Classes)
Practice 2: 1:15 pm - 1:45 pm (All Classes)
Qualifying: 3:45 pm - 4:00 pm (GTD)
Qualifying: 4:05 pm - 4:20 pm (GTLM)
Qualifying: 4:30 pm - 4:45 pm (PC)
Qualifying: 4:50 pm - 5:05 pm (P)
Practice 3 (night practice): 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm (All Classes)

Friday, January 24, 2014:
Practice 4: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm (All Classes)

Saturday, January 25, 2014:
Autograph Session: 11:30 am - 12:15 pm
Race: 2:10 pm (24 hours)

Karina Redmond
Muscle Milk Pickett Racing
Public Relations Manager

[Rob]

Ferrari's 60th Anniversary Celebration Starts

Ferrari is synonymous with competition. In fact, the legendary Italian auto manufacturer exists because a young Enzo Ferrari needed to fund his beloved Scuderia Ferrari racing team. By offering production cars for sale – and rather reluctantly so – Enzo could pursue his passion. The rest of the story is, of course, history.

Not surprisingly, North American sports car enthusiasts were not to be denied the thrill of owning an exotic sports car. Luigi Chinetti, who famously drove a Ferrari 166M for 23 ½ hours to win the 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans, saw the opportunity. In 1964 he became the company's first sales agent in North America. Chinetti had already established his North American Racing Team (NART), which would put Ferrari on the domestic competition map by participating in the country's most important endurance races, including Daytona. A shared passion for and support of motorsports between the marque and its dealers has been part of Ferrari North America's racing foundation ever since.

Ferrari's official arrival in North America didn't arrive on the scene quietly: that same year, NART won the Daytona Continental 2000km with a Ferrari 250 GTO driven by Phil Hill and Pedro Rodriguez. This win came on the back of a class victory in 1962 in the Daytona Continental (Sir Stirling Moss in a Ferrari 250GT) and an overall victory for Rodriguez in 1963 in a 250 GTO.

1967 would bring Ferrari's most famous moment at Daytona. Against the might of the Ford factory at the height of the Ferrari and Ford battles at Le Mans, Ferrari scored a one-two-three overall finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Chris Amon and Lorenzo Bandini won the race with Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti finishing second in a pair of factory-entered Ferrari 330 P4s, with Pedro Rodriguez and Jean Gichet finishing third in a NART-entered 412P. The photo finish remains one of the most famous images of Ferrari motorsport. In fact, the result led Ferrari's new 365 GTB/4 to be nicknamed the "Daytona."

The beautiful Ferrari 512 scored three podium results at Daytona. Mario Andretti, Jacky Ickx and Arturo Merzario finished third in the 1970 race in a 512S, while a NART-entered 512S driven by Ronnie Bucknum, Tony Adamowicz and Alan De Cadenet finished second in 1971. The famous Penske Sunoco Ferrari 512M driven by Mark Donohue and David Hobbs finished in third place.

In 1972, two Ferrari 312PBs finished first and second in a one-time, six-hour race at Daytona. Mario Andretti and Jackie Ickx teamed in the winning car, with Tim Schenken and Ronnie Peterson finishing second.

The 365 GTB/4 "Daytona" achieved success at Daytona throughout the 1970s. A NART-entered 365 GTB/4 finished second overall – winning its class – in 1973, piloted by Milt Minter and Francois Migault. In 1979, five years after production of the 365 GTB/4 ended, John Morton and Tony Adamowicz drove their Otto Zipper-entered car to a fine second overall, winning the GTO class. The red Ferrari raced with a black stripe across its hood to commemorate Zipper, who sadly passed away the night before the race.

An interesting footnote in the history of the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 "Daytona" came in 1977, when actor and racer Paul Newman teamed with Milt Minter and Elliot Forbes-Robinson to drive a 365 GTB/4 to fifth overall and third in the GTO class at the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The rare and beautiful Ferrari 512 BB/LM also deserves a special Daytona historical note: three cars were entered in 1979, but after one suffered a high-speed tire failure on the banking, the other two cars were withdrawn. Nonetheless, the 512 BB/LM continued to appear at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in the coming years – leading the 1983 race against the mighty onset of the emerging IMSA GTP class.

It would be some time before Ferrari again battled at Daytona, but what a return it made in 1996 with Gianpiero Moretti's famous MOMO-liveried Ferrari 333SP. A late-race charge by 'Mad' Max Papis earned Papis his nickname as he drove the MOMO-liveried car to second place overall in what was then the closest finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Moretti would have to wait two more years to win - in 1998, his 15th attempt brought him his first victory at Daytona in his 333SP.

Another surprise finish for a production-based Ferrari came in the 2003 Rolex 24, when a 360 Modena entered by Risi Competizione and driven by Ralf Kelleners, Anthony Lazzaro, and Johnny Mowlem finished second overall.

Before the 2012 season, at the behest of Ferrari North America, the GT3 version of the Ferrari 458 Italia was modified to comply with GRAND-AM rules and returned Ferrari to competition at Daytona. That first year, Ferrari 458 Italia GRAND-AMs finished in fifth (Risi Competizione) and eighth (AIM Autosport Team FXDD). AIM Autosport, and drivers Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal, went on to win the GT-class championship and clinched Ferrari's first GRAND-AM manufacturer championship.

Last year's Rolex 24 At Daytona saw the no. 69 Ferrari 458 Italia entered by AIM Autosport claim third position on the final lap, securing Ferrari's first podium at Daytona in nine years. Just behind in fourth position was the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa 458 Italia. The race marked the beginning of a season-long streak of solid results for Scuderia Corsa. The team claimed their first Rolex Series team and driver championships, and Ferrari earned its second consecutive manufacturer championship.

Continuing in the tradition established by Chinetti, the Scuderia Corsa team has close ties to Ferrari dealerships. Team owners Giacomo Mattioli and Art Zafiropoulo are partners in the Ferrari Silicon Valley dealership, while Mattioli also owns the Ferrari Beverly Hills dealership. Risi Competizione, which will field a Ferrari 458 Italia in the GTLM category, is owned by Ferrari of Austin and Ferrari Maserati of Houston dealer Giuseppe Risi.

Will Ferrari cap off its 60th Anniversary year in North America with a championship three-peat? If history is a guide, Ferrari will again thrill TUDOR United SportsCar Championship audiences with memorable racing – and potentially all new chapters in its motorsports history book.

Tune in to the Rolex 24 At Daytona January 25-26.

Saturday, Jan. 25
2-4 p.m. ET on FOX
4-9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2

Overnight (Jan. 25-26)
9 p.m. – 7 a.m. ET on IMSA.com

Sunday, Jan. 26
7 a.m. – 3 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/ferrari....VrQgR2pV.dpuf

[Rob]

Daytona 24 Hours – Ferrari enters its first string

Maranello, 16 January –After a foretaste in the shape of the Dubai 24 Hours last weekend, the engines are being fired up for the first major round of the this year’s GT racing.
Off the back of last season’s successes, which culminated in a triple victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the 458 GT is back on duty for the new season with the aim of proving its dominance at the highest level as more and more of the major motor manufacturers are entering the field. Top notch drivers will be flying the Ferrari flag in the Daytona 24 Hours, which is the first of 13 rounds of the USC (United Sports Car) championship, that this year brings together the Grand-Am and ALMS series. It goes to show the level of commitment the Maranello marque puts into supporting customer teams that compete with its cars.

Two teams, Risi Competizione and Krohn Racing, will line up in the GTLM (Le Mans) class. In the first car which bears the number 62, will be the FIA WEC world champion, Gianmaria Bruni, along with a highly rated trio: Giancarlo Fisichella, who played such an important role in AF Corse’s and indeed in the aforementioned Gimmi’s wins last year, Olivier Beretta, who won this race outright in a GT car in 2000 and Matteo Malucelli, winner of an ALMS round last year teamed in fact with the Monegasque driver.
In the running for victory in the Pro-Am category is car number 57, entered by Krohn Racing. Joining the well-proven duo of Tracy Krohn and Nic Jonsson will be British driver Peter Dumbreck and Ferrari man, Andrea Bertolini.

There’s a full pack of Reds in the GTD (Daytona) class. No less than three 458s are entered by the reigning champions in the Grand Am championship. The winner of the Drivers’ title, Alessandro Balzan will drive car number 63 sharing it with Jeff Westphal, Lorenzo Case and Toni Vilander, while number 64 will have an all-North American crew made up of Canada’s John Farano, Ken Wilden and David Empringham and, from the USA, Rod Randall. There’s an all-Brazilian quartet in the number 65 458: Francisco Longo, Daniel Serra, Xandinho Negrao and Marcos Gomez.

There’s a multinational crew entered by the Russian SMP/ESM Racing team, with Finland’s Mika Salo and Italy’s Maurizion Mediani providing a strong backbone to the Russian trio of Boris Rotenberg, Sergei Zlobin and Mikhail Aleshin. The Spirit of Race team, whose cars are prepared by AF Corse, are relying almost entirely on Italian drivers: car 49 will feature Scuderia Ferrari test driver Davide Rigon, Gianluca Roda, Piergiuseppe Perazzini and Paolo Ruberti, while car 51 is in the hands of Italian duo Marco Cioci and Michele Rugolo and the Irishman Matt Griffin and South Africa’s Jack Gerber. Still to be finalised however is the driver line-up for two cars, with race numbers 555 and 556, entered by the Level 5 Motorsport team, which has gone from the prototype category to the GTD one showing the strength of the appeal of the Prancing Horse at Daytona.
The cars first take to the track on 23 January with the first free practice and qualifying sessions. The race starts at 14.10 local time on Saturday 25.

[Nova]

Great Daytona/Ferrari post Rob..great read. The 458's remind me a bit of the P4.
Tradition continues.
Thanks!!!