2014 WEC/ELMS&TUSC news.

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

GOOD MORNING AND WELCOME FROM A SUNNY SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

NEWS ALERT
Spa-Francorchamps - 03 May 2014
Hello Mr Robert Allum,


After a wet qualifying session yesterday, race day has dawned with clear blue skies and glorious sunshine in the Ardennes for the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Round 2 of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Today’s WEC race begins at 14h30 this afternoon but, before then, there is a host of things for fans to do and see.

On track there are races from the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Benelux and the Trofeo Maserati, beginnning at 09h05 and which are always full of action, and off track there is fun for all. The FIA WEC teams, cars and drivers will be available to all fans to see or meet from 10:45 to 12:15, and an autograph session will be held in the pit lane between 11:15 and 11:45. This is your chance to come and meet your heroes in person!

[Rob]

ASTON MARTIN QUALIFIES SECOND IN SIX HOURS OF SPA

Spa-Francorchamps, 2 May 2014 - Aston Martin Racing will start the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, from second and fifth place in GTE Pro class and seventh and eighth place in GTE Am.

The #97 V8 Vantage GTE Pro, piloted by Aston Martin Racing factory drivers Darren Turner (GB) and Stefan Mücke (DE) improved throughout the session as the track evolved lap-by-lap.

Stefan Mücke completed the first half of qualifying and after completing his two mandatory laps, with an average lap time of 2:33.856, the car was positioned third in the standings. After handing over to teammate Turner, improving conditions assisted the British driver in lowering the car’s average to 2:32.505 and improving their position to second.

Bruno Senna, who did not participate in the qualifying session, will join the experienced pairing for tomorrow’s race.

Following the qualifying session, Turner commented: “When the track is drying and you are on wets you need to cool the tyres down to get the most out of them. I therefore did a slow lap before attempting to record each of my qualifying laps. It worked and I managed to use the dry line to our advantage and leave the car in second place for the start of the race.”

Meanwhile, the #99 Craft-Bamboo Engineering car of Fernando Rees (BR), Alex Macdowall (GB) and Darryl O’Young (CH), who are participating in their second WEC race this weekend, enjoyed a promising qualifying session. They will start fifth on the grid tomorrow with a four lap average of 2:35.253.

Rees, who completed the first set of mandatory laps ahead of MacDowall, said: “We started the session under similar conditions to free practice one but the car felt much better, so we have made great progress. I managed two very good laps before handing over to Alex who did a really solid job. We are looking forward to starting the race.”

In the GTE Am class, cars #98 and #95 completed the qualifying session in seventh and eighth respectively.

John Gaw, Team Principal of Aston Martin Racing comments: “It was tricky conditions in qualifying today and smart choices on tyres by the engineers on the Pro cars helped us to achieve encouraging results in the changeable conditions.

"In the Am Vantage GTEs these choices were not available to the teams so we struggled to match our competitors. It's a long race tomorrow and we have had little time to find the balance in the cars in dry conditions so there is work to do for the engineers overnight to decide the best set up for race day."

The Six Hours of Spa commences at 14:00 CET on Saturday 3 May, with further information and live timings available at www.fiawec.com. Follow the team’s progress at www.astonmartin.com/racing, on Facebook www.facebook.com/astonmartinracing and on Twitter @amr_official.

- ENDS -

[Rob]

[Rob]

Big thankyou to Rebecca at AMR for the team press releases and team pictures.

[Rob]

PORSCHE TEAM MANTHEY NEWS RELEASE: 911 RSR LOCK OUT SECOND ROW

03/05/2014 - 08h59

The two Porsche 911 RSR campaigned by the Porsche Manthey squad tackle Saturday’s six-hour race on the demanding Spa-Francorchamps circuit from the second grid row. In the gripping qualifying for round two of the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC), commonly regarded as the dress rehearsal for the Le Mans 24 Hours on 14/15 June, Porsche works drivers Marco Holzer (Germany) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) posted the third quickest time in the GTE-Pro class under changeable weather conditions in the Ardennes. A fortnight ago, these two won the season-opener in Silverstone. Their factory pilot colleagues Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Pilet (France) set the fourth fastest time in the sister 911 RSR.

The WEC calls for real teamwork in both the qualifying and the race. Two drivers must qualify one car for the race. The grid positions are determined by the average of the two fastest timed qualifying laps of each of these drivers.

Hartmut Kristen, Porsche Head of Motorsport: “When you consider that we have to compete with 25 kilograms more than at Silverstone and in difficult weather conditions I think we’ve done very well today. Our drivers made no mistakes, the team worked well together. I’m completely satisfied.“

Patrick Pilet (#91): “That was really hard. I think our timing wasn’t really ideal this time. Perhaps towards the end we should have tried to go out on slicks, which might have worked better. The circuit slowly dried up, but I couldn’t really make the most out of it because my wet tyres were getting too hot. Still, I’m feeling confident for the race.”

Joerg Bergmeister (#91): “During practice I only turned three laps in the wet. These were of course not the best conditions for qualifying on a predominantly damp track. Nevertheless, it went quite well, our car was well balanced. The track continued to dry up which caused a slight oversteer towards the end. Still, it was enough to set a decent time.”

Marco Holzer (#92): “The conditions were difficult. The light was fading so it became hard to see where water was lying on the track. We opted for a rain set-up after practice, but during my stint the circuit was virtually dry in the end. I’m pleased that Fred was able to make up one position.”

Frédéric Makowiecki (#92): “A difficult qualifying. We tried everything to get a good starting position but we didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. We were fast this morning in the wet and again on the almost dry track. This shows that we have a great car for all conditions.”

Porsche Motorsport

[Rob]

PORSCHE TEAM NEWS RELEASE: POLE POSITION AT 6H SPA!

03/05/2014 - 08h43


Wet, dry, humid – pole position: Porsche starts first on the grid for what is only the second race after returning to the top category of the Sports Car World Championship WEC. The thrilling qualifying for the six hours of Spa took place on a drying track. It was Marc Lieb who achieved the overall fastest lap of 2:00,334 minutes in the last minutes of the session. He shares the Porsche 919 Hybrid no. 14 with Romain Dumas and Neel Jani. The sister car of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber will start fifth at 14:30 hrs on Saturday.

The second of the eight WEC rounds is a two day event and has got an accordingly tight programme. Today, Friday, there were two free practice sessions of two hours each on the schedule as well as the qualifying session. In the first free practice session in the wet the Porsche 919 Hybrid cars no. 14 and 20 finished fifth and sixth respectively. In the second session car no. 14 was the fastest overall in dry conditions with the sister car coming sixth again. In total the two innovative prototypes completed 160 laps in the two free practice sessions.

In the WEC qualifying is split into classes. The LMP1 and LMP2 classes share 30 minutes on track. Two drivers from each car have to do at least two timed laps each. The average times from the four best lap times determine the grid positions. Neel Jani and Marc Lieb took over qualifying duties in car no. 14 while Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley shared the Porsche 919 Hybrid for the qualifying session.

Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development of Porsche AG: „Tonight this is a moment of great joy. After Silverstone we have made a big step forward. Having achieved our first pole position under tricky circumstances is almost unbelievable. The entire team did an outstanding job. The result is well deserved because our strategy was right and it is more than we could expect. The car has got huge potential. Tonight we will enjoy the moment and tomorrow we will be focussing on finishing the race. Then we really could call the Spa weekend a successful one.“

Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1: “Unbelievable – this feels almost as though it has come too soon. We could not have expected this and we are very happy. After the podium in Silverstone this is another milestone. But our most important target for Spa remains to finish the six hour race with both our Porsche 919 Hybrids.“

Andreas Seidl, Team Principal LMP1: “What the team did today is just amazing. We have made all the right calls in difficult conditions. It was clear that the track would improve and that is why we decided to get those drivers back in the cars who were running on intermediate slick tyres in the beginning. Their lap times had the biggest potential for improvement. Marc Lieb did a picture-book job on this. Brendon Hartley did improve his lap time as well but had no time left for a second lap. This result is a great reward for the tough job of the entire team.”

Drivers Porsche 919 Hybrid #14
Romain Dumas: “We were quick in the morning, in the afternoon and in qualifying again. The first practice session in the wet was a good lesson for qualifying. In Spa-Francorchamps a lot of things are unpredictable, the more of them you practice, the better it is. Even if we have things to improve: The balance is good, driving was great fun, our speed is okay and it looks promising.“

Neel Jani: “It is just great to be on pole. The conditions were tricky, especially on my first lap on slicks. Then it got better and my second lap was quicker. But at the same time it became dark and I was just hoping that there were no wet patches left. I thought I could improve further but then I received the call to pit and handover to Marc again. Initially it came as a surprise but it was a great strategic call from the team. Today in free practice we have got a lot of experience in the wet. Spa is famous for wet races and as long as it isn’t monsoon style that is fine for me. The temporarily four wheel drive of our hybrid car is exciting and I want to keep working on my driving style to exploit the system’s full potential.”

Marc Lieb: “This pole position means a lot to me. It has been hard work for a long time for many people. Taking pole position today came as a total surprise. On my first run the track wasn’t dry enough for slicks and then Neel got into the car. I was having a coffee in the back of the garage and watching him. Then I was suddenly told get your helmet back on and improve your earlier lap time. It was tough time management to get these two laps and I’m a very happy man. Now I hope for a good race.”

Drivers Porsche 919 Hybrid #20
Timo Bernhard: “The first free practice session went smoothly and we could gather a lot of information. In qualifying I stayed out for a bit too long so afterwards there wasn’t enough time left for Brendon to do two flying laps and improve further. But nevertheless it was a great qualifying. Congrats to the guys of car number 14 – this pole position is another great moment for us. Now we will keep working to improve our car for tomorrow’s race.

Brendon Hartley: “Already in the morning the 919 felt very good in the wet, I had a lot of confidence in the car. The temporarily four wheel drive delivered a lot more traction than I experienced before which is very nice. In FP2 I had bad luck with the red flags and therefore only managed three laps. The changing conditions in qualifying obviously were difficult. But the team performed really well. We are competitive and it looks like we will see an exciting race tomorrow.”

Mark Webber: “I very much enjoy taking our new Porsche 919 Hybrid around here at Spa. It is a great track and today the weather was typical Spa and provided us with some challenges, but we have got as much information as possible and I remain confident. Considering the weather forecast for Saturday I expect a less dramatic race than we had at Silverstone. Our main goal is to finish the six hours of Spa with both cars.”

Porsche Motorsport

[Rob]

here we go. Stunning start. Porsche #14 with Neel Jani pulling out good gap already. Audi? seems slow in straight line.

#51 AF Corse, still leading GTE Pro. Pulled just about a second out over the Aston.(Riccardo, i have my lucky team top on)

[Rob]

#20 Porsche going into the garage.

[Rob]

#51 still leading GTE Pro.

[Rob]

Si si si si #51 wins GTE Pro, #71 takes 3rd and in GTE AM, #61 takes class win. Ferrari wins both GT classes.

[Rob]

TOYOTA RACING VICTORIOUS AT SPA
Saturday 3 May 2014

TOYOTA Racing continued its winning start to the FIA World Endurance Championship season with victory in a tense second race of 2014, the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi won the race to extend their lead in the Drivers’ World Championship and record a third consecutive win for the #8.

TOYOTA Racing also extended its advantage in the Manufacturers’ World Championship with the #7 TS040 HYBRID of Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima finishing third after an exciting race.

Nicolas took the start in the #8 from second place and held position while Stéphane in the #7 had an eventful opening, switching positions several times before establishing himself in fourth, his starting spot.

The pair stayed behind the wheel for just one stint, with Kazuki taking the wheel of the #7 as Sébastien took over the #8 and both taking new tyres.

Sébastien began to hunt down first place and at the next pit stops took the lead and set about building an advantage. Meanwhile Kazuki fought his way into the podium places and began to put pressure on second.

Tyre strategy evolved with both cars attempting to double-stint the tyres, using one set for two stints to minimise time lost in the pits, but ultimately reverting to new tyres at each stop.

Soon after half distance, Kazuki swapped with Alex while Sébastien gave way to Anthony, who soon improved the fastest lap of the race and established a clear lead.

Alex was in the middle of a scrap for second but his cause was handicapped by poor visibility, caused by oil from another car on his windscreen. That was solved at the next pit stop, when Stéphane also took over and continued the chase, with Nicolas then at the wheel of the leading #8.

A final short stop for fuel on both cars set up an intriguing finish and Nicolas took the victory by 1min 13.926secs, with Stéphane third after falling just 6.935secs short of second.

The third round of the season is the Le Mans 24 Hours, which begins with the official test day on 1 June, with the race itself coming two weeks later.

Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Team President: “I am proud of the whole team for our effort today. To see TOYOTA Racing leading the Manufacturers’ World Championship is very satisfying and it gives us big motivation for the challenge ahead at Le Mans. It was nice to see such a big crowd today and I think we gave them an entertaining race. It’s hard for the team and drivers because we have to give absolutely everything to get the best result; so well done to everyone for that performance. Now we have a demanding period ahead as we prepare for Le Mans. As we have seen many times, Le Mans is a unique race and many things can happen. We will be working flat out to get ready and give ourselves the best possible chance.”

TS040 HYBRID #7 (Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin, Kazuki Nakajima)
Race: 3rd, 171 laps, 7 pit stops. Fastest lap: 2min 02.089secs

Alex Wurz: “It was an interesting race. I wish we could have done another one-two; it was very close but a few little details stopped that happening. For me personally the race was quite eventful. It was not easy, not straightforward. Occasionally we had the pace but generally our car was very nervous so we couldn’t push as hard as the sister car. But nevertheless we scored points so as a team we extended our lead in the World Championship and that is cool.”

Stéphane Sarrazin: “Finishing first and third is very good for the team and it continues our strong start to the season. The #8 guys were really quick; they did a brilliant job. But we struggled to find the right balance and suffered a bit from oversteer. It was difficult to get the most out of the car. I tried to push and I got close at times but the priority was to get the points and we couldn’t quite get second. Now we have to prepare for Le Mans, where anything can happen.”

Kazuki Nakajima: “The team did a good job and to have two cars on the podium is a nice reward. So I am happy for the team who worked really hard to give us a competitive car. Maybe we could have got second but we didn’t quite have enough performance today. We tried to go for a double stint on the tyres during my stint, which was the same as the cars around us. It was a bit of a risk and I lost some grip; it was quite tricky. Now we concentrate on the next race, which is the big one for us.”

TS040 HYBRID #8 (Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre, Sébastien Buemi)
Race: 1st, 171 laps, 7 pit stops. Fastest lap: 2min 01.327secs

Anthony Davidson: “This season is the first time I have ever led a World Championship. To win again here for one of the team’s home races, with a lot of support from the guys from Cologne, was fantastic. Sébastien did a lot of the hard work in the difficult middle part of the race so when I got in it was pretty much job done. It’s great we got two cars on to the podium again. Now our attention has to turn to the big one in June. I am so confident in the package we have and the team around us; it really feels like we are flourishing at the right time.”

Nicolas Lapierre: “It was a great result for the whole team. Since the beginning of the weekend we did everything well; in qualifying we extracted everything we could and during the race we stayed calm. It was a very tough race with Porsche. We took the lead on the pit stop so I want to say thank you to the mechanics. Sébastien and Anthony drove very well so we could extend the gap. At the end it was more under control so we just had to get to the flag safely. We have seen here that our Le Mans package is working well and the hybrid system was wonderful. We are very happy with this result; it is the best way to get ready for Le Mans.”

Sébastien Buemi: “I am really happy with today’s race. It is our third win on the trot after our victory at the end of 2013 in Bahrain and then earlier this season at Silverstone. The race was hard. When I jumped in the car I could start to close the gap to the leader and when we took the lead we had to push hard to make a gap. But when the #14 Porsche had some trouble we knew we were in control; we just had to make sure we didn’t make any mistakes. When you win the first two races of the season, it is perfect preparation for Le Mans. But we have to focus on getting the basics right. We have better preparation than last year so we’ll see what we that brings.”

[Rob]

DOUBLE PODIUM FOR ASTON MARTIN RACING AT SPA-FRANCORHAMPS

Spa-Francorchamps, 3 May 2014 - Aston Martin Racing has finished in second and third in the GTE Am class at the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) – the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – with its #98 NorthWest Vantage GTE and #95 Young Driver Vantage GTE, respectively.

Despite a difficult qualifying session, the #95 with Richie Stanaway (NZ) behind the wheel climbed from eighth to first within the first hour of the race. Hot on his heels, Pedro Lamy in the #98, climbed to second place and the pair extended their lead over the rest of the pack.

“The plan was to get to the front and extend the lead before handing over to David and then Kristian for double stints,” explains Stanaway, who drove alongside David Heinemeier Hansson (DN) and Kristian Poulsen (DN). “It worked well and both of my team-mates did a fantastic job to stay within the top three for the entire race; leading for much of it.”

As the chequered flag waved, the #95 crossed the GTE Am finish line in second place, leaving the team leading the WEC GTE Am teams and drivers championships. The #98 of Lamy, Christoffer Nygaard (DN) and Paul Dalla Lana (CA) finished close behind in third.

In the GTE Pro class, the #97 Gulf-liveried Vantage GTE of Darren Turner (GB), Stefan Mücke (DE) and Bruno Senna (BR) started the race from second on the grid and planned a double-stint strategy.

“We double-stinted drivers and tyres in order to save time in the pit stops,” explains Mücke. “Of course, you then run the gamble of the tyres dropping off and the competition making gains on fresh rubber.”

The gamble paid off and, after the first stint, #97 was leading the race. However, despite good strategy and impressive driving, the fuel restrictions applied to the Vantage GTE meant the team was forced to complete an extra pit at the end of the race, costing them a podium position.

“It’s been a very tough race,” comments Senna. “We were pushing hard to make an aggressive strategy work - Porsche and Ferrari had the upper-hand and we therefore needed to try and beat them through tactics.”

In the #99 sister-car, Fernando Rees (BR) started the race in fifth but, by the end of the first hour, was up into third, after two impressive overtaking maneuvers. After adopting the same pit strategy as the #97, it emerged in second, a position Rees held until handing over to Darryl O’Young (CN).

Despite a great opening stint from O’Young, the aggressive strategy took its toll on the car’s tyres and he was left unable to fend off the competition. He handed over to MacDowall in fifth place, the position the car held until the end.

“It was clear from practice that we didn’t have the pace to take the fight to our competitors in terms of outright lap time,” comments Team Principal John Gaw. “We continue to adapt to the additional ride height that we have to run this year, so we planned aggressive strategies on tyres and fuel to compensate. However each of the cars had to make one additional stop versus the competition and this ruled us out from the class wins this weekend.

“But, it’s a long year and collecting points in the championship is always critical. Of course, we now go back to base and continue to focus on developing solutions to improve our competitiveness ahead of Le Mans.”

The 24 Hours of Le Mans starts on 1 June with the official test day. The 24-hour race starts a fortnight later on the 14 June.

- ENDS -

[Rob]

[Rob]

Onroak Automotive Release – 03.05.2014

FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Round 2/8 - Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours


Second victory for the G-Drive Racing Morgan-Nissan LM P2!

After multiple podiums at the Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, Onroak Automotive is very happy to have made it to the top of the podium. With G-Drive Racing, the winning trio of drivers Julien Canal, Olivier Pla and Roman Rusinov, and running on Dunlop tyres, the #26 Morgan-Nissan LM P2 coasted to a wonderful victory at Spa, the second victory in a row in the FIA World Endurance Championship LM P2 category.


Friday’s qualifying session, made complicated by the typical changeable Spa weather, placed the #26 G-Drive Racing Morgan-Nissan LM P2 3rd in its class, and 10th on the grid, although Olivier Pla managed to set the fastest LM P2 lap in the session.
Olivier Pla took the wheel for the first double stint of the race. Thanks to a fluid overtaking manoeuvre to pass the #47 KCMG Oreca-Nissan, the French driver managed to bring the #26 G-Drive Racing Morgan-Nissan to the head of the pack of LM P2 cars by the 36th minute of the race, and kept it there, widening the gap to the rest of the competition.

Handing over to Roman Rusinov for his double stint, a smooth and faultless pitstop let them rejoin the track with a 35 second lead over the nearest competition. Rusinov did an excellent job, keeping the pace, and maintaining a 30 second gap to the #38 Jota Sport Zytek-Nissan LM P2. Delivering lap after consistent lap, he managed to extend his lead to over a minute by the end of his stint.

Just after the halfway mark, Rusinov handed over to silver driver Julien Canal, who rejoined the race with a 30 second lead over the #47 KCMG Oreca-Nissan. Canal, like Rusinov and Pla, gave a steady performance, and managed to bring the lead back up to a minute once more.
Olivier Pla took control of the #26 G-Drive Racing Morgan-Nissan LM P2 once more for the last hour and a half of the race, keeping a comfortable gap ahead of the #38 Jota Sport Zytek-Nissan and the #47 KCMG Oreca-Nissan, and setting the fastest lap time of the race for the LM P2 category (2:10.112).

After the changeable conditions from Silverstone and yesterday’s qualifying, today’s dry weather has shown that the #26 Morgan-Nissan LM P2 is as effective in the dry as in the wet.

After two consecutive wins, G-Drive Racing is at the head of the LM P2 classification, ahead of the next race: the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Roman Rusinov - It was a great race from start to finish. Yesterday, we ended up third in the timing, which was a bit worrisome. The start of the race was very hard, as we were pushed, but stayed third. Olivier did a very good job. Afterwards, I got in and I managed to widen the gap up to one minute ten seconds, I think. All the team did a great job. I think it’s wonderful for everyone. It’s great for G-Drive Racing, and I’m very happy to see the Russian flag again on the top step of the podium, and the G-Drive flag too.

Julien Canal – I’m very happy with this second victory at Spa. It’s been a challenge for me to get used to this track that’s at the same time very technical and very fast. I’ve managed to approach Olivier’s pace a bit more, so I’m quite happy with that. We worked hard on the car, and improved a bit, which envisions a very successful 24 Hours of Le Mans for us.

Olivier Pla – This victory was won in a beautiful fashion, with the right kind of gap we wanted at the end of the race. The car was perfect, the strategy too. Everyone did a great job. The car was just amazing, and the Dunlop tyres too; the tyres we used this weekend allowed us to keep the same tyres for two stints, all the while keeping up a very consistent pace. Thanks to the whole Dunlop team and to my teammates as well, they did a great job! It’s great to get a 2nd victory just before Le Mans, and it allows us to arrive there feeling calm and collected; we need to carry on this way.

Philippe Dumas, Team Principal – I think we’ve really progressed. We had a very good, solid race, which was the goal. Everybody worked very seriously, and I’m very happy and proud of our team, and also of our three drivers. Stay tuned for the next chapter.


FIA WEC – Spa 6 Hours Classification :
1 - #08 Toyota Racing, Toyota TS 040 – Hybrid LM P1
2 - #01 Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R18 e-tron quattro LM P1
3 - #07 Toyota Racing, Toyota TS 040 – Hybrid LM P1
4 - #14 Porsche Team Porsche, Porsche 919 Hybrid LM P1
5 - #02 Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R18 e-tron quattro LM P1
6 - #03 Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R18 e-tron quattro LM P1
7 - #12 Rebellion Racing, Rebellion R-One Toyota LM P1
8 - #26 G-Drive Racing, Morgan-Nissan LM P2
9 - #38 Jota Sport, Zytek Z11SN-Nissan LM P2
10 - #47 KCMG, Oreca 03 – Nissan LM P2
11 - #37 SMP Racing, Oreca 03 – Nissan LM P2
12 - #27 SMP Racing, Oreca 03 – Nissan LM P2

FIA ENDURANCE TROPHY FOR LM P2 TEAMS – Classification after round 2
1 - #26 G-Drive Racing, 51 pts
2 - # 47 KCMG, 37 pts
3 - #27 SMP Racing, 27 pts
4 - #37 SMP Racing, 15 pts

[Rob]

FIA Wec, Spa: double victory for Ferrari and AF Corse.

SPA, May 4th – Double victory for Ferrari and AF Corse at Spa, the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (Wec) 2014. Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander took the first place in the LMGTE Pro category in their 458 Italia #51. There was also cause for celebration in the LMGTE Am class thanks to the great perfomance of Luis Perez Companc, Marco Cioci and Mirko Venturi in the Ferrari 458 Italia #61.

LMGTE Pro – Ferrari and AF Corse ruled from start to finish. Gimmi Bruni and Toni Vilander – starting from the pole position – in their 458 Italia #51 left their rivals in no doubt in the battle for LMGTE Pro honours. Bruni-Vilander had no problem keeping his pursuers at bay, led for a long time by the other AF Corse 458 Italia GT2 (#71), in the hands of the young crew of James Calado and Davide Rigon. Until the final 25 minutes of the race it looked as though AF Corse would be able to celebrate a 1-2 finish, but a hard-charging Patrick Pilet in the No.91 Porsche Team Manthey 911 RSR passed the No.71 AF Corse Ferrari for second place.

LMGTE Am – Great victory for Luis Perez Companc, Marco Cioci and Mirko Venturi in the Ferrari 458 Italia #61. The trio was always a strong contender for victory and started the race from the class pole position and led for nearly the entire race. In fifth place of category, Steve Wyatt, Andrea Bertolini and Michele Rugolo in their Ferrari 458 Italia #81. Peter Mann, Lorenzo Casè and Raffaele Giammaria were seventh (Ferrari 458 Italia #60). Eight position for the 8 Star Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia #90 driven by Enzo Potolicchio, Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti. The race of this car was affected by misfortune with two technical problems had to waste time at the squad. The trio has great potential but so far has not collected as it deserves.

In the GT Manufactures’ World Cup, Ferrari is first (64 points). AF Corse is leading the LMGTE Pro Team Trophy (39 points) and is second in the LMGTE Am Team Trophy (34).
Bruni and Vilander are first in the Cup for GT Drivers (39 points), Rigon-Calado sixth (25).

In the GTE Am Drivers Trophy, Perez Companc-Cioci-Venturi are second (34 points) and Rugolo-Wyatt fourth (26).
The next round of the WEC is the Le Mans 24 Hours, on 15th June .

[Rob]

Amato Ferrari

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Nova]

Yazaa..great races for the 458's.

[fratelliferrari]

Si si si si #51 wins GTE Pro, #71 takes 3rd and in GTE AM, #61 takes class win. Ferrari wins both GT classes.

Wish I was there this weekend

[Rob]

2014 TUDOR UNITED SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 4, MONTEREY GRAND PRIX, MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA

Risi Competizione Ferrari 458 Italia GT no. 62: Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA)
Pierre Kaffer (GER)

RISI CLAIMS POINTS AND 3RD AFTER STRONG PERFORMANCE IN MONTEREY GP
Monterey, California, 04 May 2014.

Qualifying: Risi to start from 7th on the GTLM grid

After a very disjointed two hours of practice for this weekend’s Monterey Grand Prix, with a disproportionate amount of time available on track compared to the number of cars all practicing together (55) and a number of red flags, Giancarlo Fisichella took to the track on Friday afternoon for the 15-minute qualifying session for GTLM cars. The Italian recorded a fastest time for the No.62 Ferrari 458 Italia of 1:23.142 to secure 7th place on the class grid in a typically tight qualifying session.

A newcomer to the technically challenging Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Fisichella likes the track but was frustrated with how the session unfurled: “It wasn’t a very good session for us to be honest. I think we had the potential to be in the top four but I didn’t have one clear lap because of traffic and, on what would have been my best lap, I lost maybe six or seven tenths of a second. It’s a shame as it would have been a good lap.”

Race: Strategic tire gamble almost pays big for Risi

Risi Competizione took its first solid points-scoring finish of the season today at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca after a strong performance by Giancarlo Fisichella and Pierre Kaffer in the No.62 Ferrari 458 Italia. After taking the checkered flag in 4th place, Risi was promoted to the final step of the podium following a post-race penalty for the No.911 Porsche.

A strategic gamble to change all four Michelin tires after qualifying and start from the back of the grid looked, for much of the two hour race, as though it was going to pay much bigger dividends to the Houston-based team. The Ferrari was leading the GTLM race with 20 minutes to go, and looked to have lost out on a podium place only 10 minutes before the checkered flag.

The fast and furious pace throughout, and the affect that it had on rear tire degradation, meant that Fisichella – in for the second hour – was powerless to hold off hard-charging competitors with fresher tires as the TUDOR United Sportscar Championship’s fourth round was drawing to a close.

Pierre Kaffer was behind the decision to put new sticker tires on and start from the rear of the 23-strong Prototype and GTLM field, and it proved to be inspired. The German cleanly and methodically picked off competitors ahead of him to rise to third place in class by the time he came into the pits for the #62’s only stop at the 58 minutes mark. Fisichella continued the good work of his team mate for two thirds of his stint, losing the lead to the eventual race-winning No.3 Corvette while being passed by a Prototype.

The Italian, said afterwards: “I think the whole team did a fantastic job – Pierre in the first hour, the mechanics at the pit stop, and the strategy – to get us from last to first. In the first part of my stint the car was really good and I was leading easily, but then we had a big drop off from the tires and the grip was getting worse and worse. It was hard to keep it on track, but I did my best and I was so sorry for the team that it didn’t look as though we would finish on the podium. This is a good reward even though I’m still a bit disappointed as I think we had a good chance to win.”

Kaffer was full of praise for the whole Risi team and delighted to be racing in the USA with them again: “It was a big pleasure for me to drive with Risi again and thank you to our engineer Rick Mayer for giving us a perfect car. Thank you as well to Giuseppe Risi for trusting me with the decision to change the tires and start from the back; it was really satisfying to be able to hand over the car to Giancarlo in 3rd. It’s been a perfect day for me and I really enjoyed it. We had some great fights with our competitors at the start of the race and also at the end and I think I used the traffic in a sensible way. By the time I handed it over at the end of my stint, we had a real weapon!”

Ends

[Rob]

Wish I was there this weekend

been great race to of gone too. Im rewatching now.

[Rob]

TUDOR UNITED SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP
Manche 4 – Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda – 3 et 4 mai 2014
05.05.2014 - Communiqué OAK Racing - Course


OAK Racing victim of a collision at Laguna Seca

Following a strong start to the weekend, the No. 42 OAK Racing Morgan-Nissan LM P2, finished 19th in today’s Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway. Behind the wheel were Brit Alex Brundle and Gustavo Yacaman of Colombia. Just 45 minutes into the race, the team was involved in on-track contact and had to take the car behind-the-wall for wishbone repairs.

The team was able to fix the car and it returned to the track seven laps down. The two-hour timed race, part of a double-header weekend, was reserved for the Prototype and GTLM cars. This was the first time the No. 42 car, which qualified fourth, had competed at the legendary course


“Gustavo made a fantastic start coming from P4 and ending up P2 after the first braking,” said Pierre-Alain Bouhet, Team Manager. “He was obviously faster than the No. 90 Corvette. He tried to pass him several times in the first 15 laps, but the No. 90 car toughly defended his position. After that, we asked Gustavo to stay back because we could see it would have ended up badly and he had to save the tires. At that point, we moved back to P3. We decided to pit early, put Alex in the car on new rubber tires, to try to overtake everyone in the pit. It was actually a good call, as we exited virtually second and fought for P1 with No. 90 again.
Alex made a great move on Turn 5, but got pushed away, which caused him to lose two positions. Following our crash, we had damage to the front end of the car and also the suspension. The crew did a fantastic job to repair it quickly and go back on track, losing only seven laps. The main goal at that point was to last until the end of the race and score as many points as possible for the championship.”

“We are, as you could imagine, really disappointed by the result,” added Bouhet. “However, if we look at the bright side, we could have done very well considering we were battling strongly at times with the winning car. Our engineer and crew did a great job to prepare a good car and our strategy would have paid off. We will look forward to the next race.”

Yacaman took to the Morgan-Nissan first and created quite the show from the beginning. He was able to pass along the outside of the track to move from fourth to second on the very first lap.

“I had a great start to the race gaining those positions,” said Yacaman. “I think it would have been even better had I gotten a good jump on the start, but I was able to make up a lot of time on braking. I felt good about the way my stint went, but it was just impossible to get around the DP cars. I had to stay behind the leader or else it felt like we would both wreck out of the race. The race was long, but I know we have a good team and could have passed someone in the pits. What happened to Alex (Brundle), could have happened to me also. It is frustrating when you’re racing someone and they’re blocking you and running you off the road. It’s a shame the race ended the way it did. We had a really strong car and definitely could have been contenders for the win. Life goes on and we will keep on racing.”

Despite having little track time, Brundle was able to adapt to the 2.238-mile circuit. Throughout the weekend, he set the quickest time in both practice sessions, as well as during the race. He got in the car for his stint 35 minutes into the Monterey GP. Only ten minutes later, he encountered contact with another car.

“Gustavo (Yacaman) put in a good start during the race,” said Brundle. “We were racing all the way through with some DPs at the front. When I got in the car, I made a move on the inside of one of the DP competitors, who put me in the dirt in the braking zone. There was absolutely no chance that I would be able to stop on the dirt after being pushed off the track. I went straight into some competitors in front of me, which was a real shame. We managed to fix the car and continue to pick up some points, which was a good salvage from a very bad situation. Hopefully we can pick ourselves up and move onto the next race.”

The winners of today’s race were Brown/van Overbeek in the No. 2 HPD ARX-03B, followed by R. Taylor/J. Taylor in the No. 10 Corvette DP in second and Pruett/Rojas in the No. 01 Ford Ecoboost/Riley in third.

OAK Racing will move onto The Raceway at Belle Isle Park in Detroit next, which takes place May 30-31.

[Rob]

CAMERON BEATS AUDI R8 OF HAASE TO STRIPE BY MERE 0.168 SECONDS AT MAZDA RACEWAY

MONTEREY, Calif. (May 4, 2014) – A would-be race for second wound up being the battle for the win in the GT Daytona (GTD) class in the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda after the GT Daytona class-leading Audi R8 LMS of Spencer Pumpelly ran out of fuel coming out of the famed Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Corkscrew on the final lap of Sunday’s two-hour race.

Pumpelly’s misfortune played right into the hands of Dane Cameron in the No. 94 Turner Motorsport BMW Z4 started by Markus Palttala. Cameron held off a hard-charging Christopher Haase in the final corner to pick up the win. Meanwhile, Pumpelly stopped approximately 100 yards short of the start-finish line for a heartbreaking sixth-place finish.

“If they were going to finish or not was outside of our control,” Cameron said of trying to catch Pumpelly, who held an 11-second lead at the white flag. “He was too far ahead to catch him on pace so my only concern was to maintain the [second-place] position and make sure there was no way the Audi was going to get around us.

“Once I was clear of [Pumpelly] I was pretty sure I could get a good enough exit off the last corner. The Audi was quicker than us on top speed, but not until we came over the top of the hill [after the start-finish line]. I thought as long as he was beside us on the final corner we would be able to seal the deal.”

Cameron was able to do just that, beating Haase’s No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS started by Bryce Miller to the stripe by 0.168 seconds. Haase found himself battling Cameron for the win after Alex Job Racing’s pair of Porsche 911 GT Americas pitted for fuel from the second and third positions with less than seven minutes remaining.

Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida GTD winners Andy Lally and John Potter finished third in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT America.

An early-race spin forced Turner Motorsport to alter its pit strategy and top off its fuel with one hour remaining, giving them more than enough fuel to make it the distance. The same could not be said for Pumpelly who took the lead on the first round of pit stops and quickly went into fuel conversation mode, saving fuel for much of his one-hour, 17-minute stint.

“Everything said we should have been good, and now that we missed it by that little bit, I’m kicking myself for every [one minute] 31 [second] lap time that could have been a [one minute] 32 [second] lap,” said Pumpelly. “This is a new car for us, this our third race with it and there’s things we just don’t know yet. This is the first time we’ve been in this situation.”
- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/thrilli....pjSX2t1Y.dpuf

[Rob]

GARCIA, MAGNUSSEN SCORE SECOND CONSECUTIVE TUDOR CHAMPIONSHIP WIN

MONTEREY, Calif. (May 4, 2014) – Corvette Racing completed a California sweep Sunday, with Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R to its second consecutive TUDOR United SportsCar Championship victory, winning the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Garcia passed Giancarlo Fisichella’s No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia for the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class lead with 21 minutes remaining and drove to a 4.710-second victory ahead of Bill Auberlen in the No. 55 BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE. Garcia and co-driver Magnussen scored the first TUDOR Championship victory for the Corvette C7.R one race ago at the Long Beach street circuit.

“Traffic in this series is very [difficult] and as soon as I saw a Prototype going to pass [Fisichella], I really went for it and made a run as much as possible,” said Garcia. “He had no chance to block me and after that [I could use] all the tires I had saved.”

While Garcia cruised to victory, an intense battle ensued between the No. 55 BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE of Bill Auberlen and the No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR of Nick Tandy for second.

After both cars found their way past Fisichella, the battle led to contact between Tandy and Auberlen on the second-to-last lap, forcing Auberlen off course. Despite the incident on the prior lap, Auberlen caught back up to Tandy and got past in the final turn to take second place.

After a review by IMSA officials, the No. 911 team received a post-race “stop, plus 60-second” penalty for the contact, moving the car to ninth and the No. 62 Ferrari of Fisichella and Pierre Kaffer to third.

“We assessed a penalty similar to what we assessed throughout the entire race for an on-track incident which is a stop, plus 60-second penalty to the (No.) 911,” said Scot Elkins, IMSA vice president of competition and technical regulations.

The second-place finish for BMW Team RLL was its fourth consecutive podium finish to start the TUDOR Championship season. Auberlen and Andy Priaulx entered the event leading the GTLM points.

“Today was a balancing act, especially on strategy,” said Auberlen. “Everyone went one way, and we went one way. And then we all met up at the end.”

The next TUDOR Championship round for the GTLM class will be the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on June 29. The race – which also is the third round of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup – will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 at 11 a.m. ET.

- See more at: http://www.imsa.com/articles/corvett....2e4sxtU1.dpuf