2014 WEC/ELMS&TUSC news.

**fratelliferrari** · 15th September 2014, 21:02

Another victory, great

**Nova** · 16th September 2014, 03:31

Bravo in LM GTE but GTC had to be a heck of a battle.

**Rob** · 16th September 2014, 18:11

News Release September 16, 2014

Lone Star Le Mans. Porsche Motorsports Event Notes.
Dateline. Austin, Texas
Circuit. Circuit of the Americas (COTA)
Track Length/Turns. 3.4-mile, 20-turn Road Course
Round. TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Round 11 of 12
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. Round 14 and 15 of 17
FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Round 4 of 8

TUDOR Championship. Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, October 1-4
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama. Petit Le Mans, Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, October 1-3
FIA World Endurance Championship. 6 Hours of Fuji, Mt. Fuji, Japan, November 11-12

Porsche Events.
TUDOR United SportsCar Championship
Date. Saturday, September 20, 11:35 a.m. CT/ 12:35 p.m. ET/ 9:35 a.m. PT
Race Duration. Two-Hours, 45-minutes
Classes. GT Le Mans (Porsche 911 RSR), GT Daytona class (Porsche 911 GT America)
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama
Date. Race #1: Friday, September 19, 8:00 a.m. CT/ 9:00 a.m. ET/ 6:00 a.m. PT, Race #2: Friday, September 19, 7:25 p.m. CT/ 8:25 p.m. ET/ 5:25 p.m. PT
Race Duration. 45-minutes
Classes. Platinum (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, M.Y. 2014), Gold (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, M.Y. 2013 and earlier)
FIA World Endurance Championship
Date. Saturday, September 20, 4:56 p.m. CT/ 5:56 p.m. ET/ 2:56 p.m. PT
Race Duration. Six-Hours
Classes. LMP1 (Porsche 919 Hybrid), GTE-Pro (Porsche 911 RSR)

Porsche Profile. Event Story Lines
Thank You Hartmut Kristen. Vice President of Motorsport for Ten Years
Thos weekend’s TUDOR United Sportscar Championship and World Endurance Championship doubleheader will mark the end of ten-years of leadership for outgoing worldwide head of Porsche Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen. Mr. Kristen, who will retire on October 1, joined the company in 1983, and since 1994 has been responsible for customer racing activities and GT vehicles. In 2004, he took over as Vice President of Porsche Motorsport. In this role he made his mark at the highest levels of sports car racing, from the Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 prototype in the American Le Mans Series to the innovative 911 GT3 R Hybrid. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, which won races from 2004 to 2013, was one of the most successful racecars in history, with customer teams all over the world winning championships and scoring many class victories – most notably at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition to expanding Porsche’s customer racing activities worldwide, which Kristen regarded as the “backbone of Porsche motorsport“, the promotion of talented young race drivers has also been very close to his heart. Under his direction, arguably the most comprehensive youth development program in motor racing emerged. Today, five former Porsche juniors bolster the current works driver line-up. In 2013, he led the new Porsche 911 RSR works campaign to a victory and second-place at Le Mans. For Kristen and his team at Weissach, Germany, the 2014 season began with the successfully modified 911 RSR clinching wins in the TUDOR Championship’s Rolex 24 at Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Mr. Kristen will retain a relationship with Porsche, working with the Research and Development Board in an advisory role.

Taking over the Vice President of Motorsports position is Dr. Frank Walliser. A former manager for Kristen, Walliser went on to become project manager for the Porsche 918 project. With a doctor’s degree in mechanical engineering specializing in combustion engines and technology management, Walliser held the position of General Manager of Motorsport Strategies reporting to Kristen from 2003 to 2008, and played a major role in developing and implementing the Porsche RS Spyder program. As the Vice President of Porsche Motorsport, he is responsible for the worldwide motorsport activities in the GT field as well as for GT production sports cars. He will retain his position as project manager for the Porsche 918 as well.

One of Dr. Walliser’s first duties – even before he takes the post officially – will be to take part in a Green Racing technology transfer panel at Circuit of the Americas. The event, open to the public, will begin at 5 p.m. local, Thursday, September, 18. The one-hour panel discussion starts at 6 p.m. at the Velocity Lounge at Circuit of The Americas.

What’s In a Number? Why the Third Factory Porsche 911 RSR is Number 910.
Porsche North America has chosen its car numbers for specific reasons. The No. 911 is to recognize the core of the Porsche brand, the Porsche 911 which is the baseline for all the premier Porsche GT road and racecars past and current in Porsche history. The No. 912 represents the road-going Porsche 912, which was produced alongside the 911 from 1965 through 1976. With the introduction of a third works racer in the GTLM class for this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas, Porsche again draws from its history highlighting the Porsche 910.

The Porsche 910 racecar is based on the Porsche 906. The 910 was produced and entered in 1966 and 1967 by the Porsche factory in world championship and hill climb events. Overall, the 910 were lighter and shorter than the 906 and used 13-inch wheels and a single central retaining wheel nut. The Porsche 910 was first raced in 1966 at a hillclimb from Sierre to Crans-Montana in Switzerland. Powering the 910 was either a 2000cc 6-cylinder with 200 hp or the 2200cc 8-cylinder with up to 270 hp depending on application. Six Porsche 910 factory cars were raced at the 1000 km Nürburgring in 1967, sweeping the podium.

Perfect Pairing. Co-driving the Porsche 911 RSR.
Driver pairings are not decided easily. When you have access to the best sportscar drivers in the world, determining who drives with whom can make the difference between a championship season and a dud. Balancing the different styles, experience and temperaments of drivers is a daring high-wire act. A small group of Porsche Motorsport managers make the decision as to which of the 18 factory drivers compete in which series, with which team and which combination. The ultimate decision has rested with Harmut Kristen, Vice President of Motorsport at Porsche AG, for the past ten years. While it may seem black magic that has created legendary driver pairings like “Bergmeister-Long” or “Bernhard-Dumas”, it all comes down to the “fit”. Driving style, on- and off-track personality and relative experience levels all play a role in matching drivers. Respective physical size, perhaps surprisingly, does not.

For Porsche North America, the driver pairing of Nick Tandy (Great Britain) and Richard Lietz (Austria) in the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR were combined with their complementary driving styles being a leading reason. In the No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR, veteran Patrick Long (Playa del Rey, California) was paired with first-year works driver Michael Christensen (Denmark) in part for Long’s ability to mentor the new driver. For endurance events, the third driver is brought in from the smaller pool of unassigned drivers but the process is the same. This weekend, Bergmeister was brought in as support to Lietz who is nursing a fractured arm. The German is considered the perfect supplement because he has already raced, and won, in the TUDOR Championship in 2014 and his success and experience in North American sports car racing is unmatched.

Pro-Am, the Model of GTD. The Porsche 911 GT America is the Backbone of the Class.
The GT Daytona (GTD) class is the traditional model for professional sports car racing mandating the combination of professional and amateur drivers. The Porsche 911 GT America is the backbone of the class and the teams which campaign the bespoke TUDOR United SportsCar Championship derivative of the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car is an example of why. While the driver lineups may have an amateur element, the teams are all professional. Alex Job Racing, which has been in business since 1988 under the stewardship of Alex and Holly Job, enters two Porsche 911 GT Americas owned by outside individuals: the No. 22 of WeatherTech Racing and the No. 23 of Team Seattle. Bernhard Muehlner, a veteran team owner in Germany, has formed Muehlner Motorsports America and is preparing two Porsche – the No. 18 and No. 19 911 GT America – with the intent to accommodate gentleman drivers as well as one-off professional rides. NGT Motorsports, which took a mid-summer hiatus from the class, is back for Austin with the No. 30 MOMO Porsche 911 GT America. This entry supplements NGT's main business of preparing multiple Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars for the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup USA by Yokohama series. Patrick Dempsey's team - Dempsey Racing - includes veteran team manager Joe Foster and has taken in Snow Racing's owner Martin Snow and crew chief John Wright in an alliance helping all parties of the No. 27 and No. 58 Porsche. John Potter's Magnus Racing had been a steady force in Rolex GT since 2010, and its management and driver lineup has been steady going into GTD this season with championship aspirations for the No. 44 FLEX-BOX Porsche entering the last two events of the year. For the GB Autosport brain trust, experienced partners Michael Avenetti and Bob Faieta have been joined by team manager Cole Scrogham to campaign the season with the No. 81 Tully’s Coffee Porsche 911 GT America. In a sport where teamwork and job coordination is key to success, putting together the right professional approach to run for the championship is as critical as the right driver lineup.

Porsche Point of View.
Jens Walther, President/CEO, Porsche Motorsport North America
“At no time in recent Porsche history have we assembled, in one place, such a significant representation of our current factory and customer efforts. A year ago, when we announced the Porsche North America works Porsche 911 RSR program for competition in the Tudor Championship, it was hard to picture this moment. But, now we have seven Porsche factory cars – five Porsche 911 RSR and the pair of 919 Hybrid – racing for wins. On the customer side, I would be challenged to find a higher quality, or quantity, of private Porsche programs than the group racing here this weekend. It is a proud moment for Porsche to be at this place in our history. This has to do entirely with the effort of the teams, both works and customer, and with Porsche’s commitment to motorsport as a real asset to our road cars. Additionally, the strengths of IMSA here in North America and the WEC worldwide have provided us with the platform we need to display these efforts in the very best way.”

Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR – Tudor United SportsCar Championship, GTLM Class
“It will be my first time at COTA but it looks like a great circuit. We're likely to struggle a little compared to our competitors in the fast sweeps of the first sector, but we should be strong in the high, top-speed and heavy braking areas later in the lap. If Richard [Lietz] isn’t able to race in Austin, I will be doing double-duty with the Tudor Championship and WEC. If it happens, actually doing the two races on the Saturday will probably not be too stressful. It's likely to be more in the practice days when a lot of time will be spent in briefings, track time and other commitments between the two teams that will be more challenging. Jörg [Bergmeister] is scheduled to start with me in the Tudor race, again if Richie is unable to compete. I have no worries either way. I shared a car with Jörg at Le Mans and Silverstone this year already and, of course, he knows how to race in an American sports car championship. The cars we drive are very similar so there will be no problem switching between the two series for any of us.”

Patrick Lindsey, Driver, No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America – Tudor United SportsCar Championship, GTD Class
“The Austin race is really important for the Park Place Motorsports team as it is within driving distance for the dealership’s customers from Dallas. We will be hosting customers, especially our Porsche 918 buyers, in the Porsche Cars North America hospitality suite, and the team really wants to put on a good show for them. We have been competitive all year; we were within a couple of minutes of winning one race [Canadian Tire Motorsports Park]. It would be a great time for that to combine with good luck for a top finish. We are also motivated to do well to pump up all the kids we have met over the last two years with the Children’s Tumor Foundation. We don’t just meet and greet them at the track; we keep in touch with everyone during the year on social media, and they are all pulling for us to win.”

Porsche History. Texas Events
Texas World Speedway
1971 – Peter Gregg/Hurley Haywood – Porsche 911S – IMSA/Camel GT – GTU winner
1996 - Larry Schumacher/Andy Pilgrim – Porsche 911 Carrera RSR – IMSA – GTS-2 winner
San Antonio Street Circuit
1987 – Derek Bell/Chip Robinson/Al Holbert – Porsche 962 – IMSA/Camel GT – GTP and overall winner
1988 - Price Cobb/James Weaver – Porsche 962 – IMSA/Camel GT – GTP and overall winner
Texas Motor Speedway
2000 – Bruno Lambert/Randy Pobst – Porsche 911 GT3 R – American Le Mans Series – GT winner
2001 - Sacha Maassen/Lucas Luhr – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – American Le Mans Series – GT winner
Houston Street Circuit
2006 – Mike Rockenfeller/Klaus Graf – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – American Le Mans Series – GT2 winner
2007 – Romain Dumas/Timo Bernhard – Porsche RS Spyder – American Le Mans Series – LMP2 and overall winner

Where to Watch.
TUDOR United SportsCar Championship
Television Race Broadcast:
Saturday, September 20
1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT on FOX Sports 2
Re-Air of Race Highlights Package
Sunday, September 21
FOX Network
Check Local Listings for Times in Your Area
Also Available at IMSA.com
Live Race Streaming:
IMSA.com
FOX Sports GO mobile app
Live Radio Broadcast
Motor Racing Network on IMSA.com, MRN.com, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Live Timing and Scoring:
http://scoring.imsa.com/
Live Qualifying Streaming:
IMSA.com
FIA WEC Championship
Television Race Broadcast:
Saturday, September 20
6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT on FOX Sports 2
Live Timing and Scoring:
http://www.FIAWEC.com

**Rob** · 16th September 2014, 18:16

6 HRS COTA PORSCHE LMP1 PREVIEW: DRIVING INTO THE NIGHT IN AUSTIN

16/09/2014 - 15h18

The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, will be the venue for the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) on 20th September. The six-hour race will start at 5pm with the sun setting at 7.43pm. This schedule makes it the maiden night race for COTA, while the six Porsche 919 Hybrid works drivers have all the experience from Le Mans in how to deal with twilight and darkness. The circuit in the US poses quite a variety of challenges: The start-finish-straight leads steeply up the hill and into a left-hand hairpin. Other exciting sections of the circuit are borrowed from famous racetracks of all over the world. They are reminiscent, for example, of the Esses at Suzuka, Maggots-Beckets at Silverstone and the Hockenheim Motodrom. The back straight is an impressive 1.2 kilometre stretch.

With its hybrid powered Le Mans Prototype (LMP1), the Porsche Team enters the most innovative race car in the entire field and has set itself high targets for the remaining five rounds of the World Championship. To recall what has happened so far: At the Porsche 919 Hybrid’s race debut in Silverstone (Great Britain), the team was instantly rewarded with a podium finish. It was the trio in car number 20 who came third – Timo Bernhard (Germany), Brendon Hartley (New Zealand) and Mark Webber (Australia). At the second WEC round in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), again a six-hour race, the crew of the sister number 14 car got into the limelight by taking the first pole position. Number 14 is driven by Romain Dumas (France), Neel Jani (Switzerland) and Marc Lieb (Germany).

At the third and most famous WEC race, the Le Mans 24-Hours, the team put in a strong performance, but only car number 14 finished the race – in 11th place overall after time consuming gearbox repairs in the final hours. For Bernhard/Hartley/Webber it was even harder: car number 20 had been leading for 37 laps and was well on track for a second place finish when Mark Webber had to retire the car two hours before the end, because of an engine failure.

Since that day, 15th of June, the Porsche Team has used the break well for development work at the headquarters in Weissach and for testing in Paul Ricard (France), at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany and, again in France, at Magny-Cours. A new aero package has been introduced to provide a higher downforce level for the remaining rounds in Austin, Fuji, Shanghai, Sakhir and Sao Paulo. Furthermore a lot of details have been improved, which wasn’t possible before Le Mans as the team had to focus on reliability and had to freeze the car’s specification.

Quotes before the race:

Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1: “We are highly motivated going into Austin and want to benefit from everything we have learnt so far. It is almost like the kick off of a second season, but under new conditions. Testing in summer went extremely well – very analytic, systematic and in a great atmosphere. For a long time the Le Mans preparations dominated everything. Then we had a strong performance there and emerged together from what was the harsh end of it. It was very emotional and very good for team building. In Weissach we have been targeting reliability issues and ticked off a long job list for the coming five races. The Porsche 919 Hybrid’s new aero package was working straight out of the box. Now we have to transfer everything to racing. If we get that right, I have no doubts we will be competitive and achieve the appropriate results.”

Drivers car no. 14:
Romain Dumas – 36, France.
“So far I only know COTA from our simulator and I always enjoy discovering new circuits. When I was racing the Porsche RS Spyder I really liked motorsport in the US. So I’m very pleased to be heading to Austin and I also believe our car will be very good there, in particular on the high speed parts of the Circuit of the Americas.”

Neel Jani – 30, Switzerland.
“I haven’t been to Austin yet, but did some simulator training. The first part of the lap is really fast, so you’ll need a lot of downforce there, which our new aero package should provide. I think the kerbs are less brutal than in Le Mans. We don’t have much experience in the heat yet and will have to watch tyre wear and system temperatures very carefully, especially for the first two hours. Then we will be driving in the night for the longer part of the race. I always liked racing in the States and had a great time in ChampCar in 2007. In any case I can’t wait to race the 919 again. When the power of the electric machine picks up on the front axle, the car turns into an extremely powerful four-wheel beast – I feel like a jet pilot. This is future technology to maximise the pure fun of sports cars.”

Marc Lieb – 34, Germany.
“Last year when I raced the 911 RSR in Austin I found the circuit very interesting and technically demanding. I’m very much looking forward to taking the 919 Hybrid out on the track there. Especially in the fast corners, the downforce provided by the LMP1 car will make it a new driving experience. Having said that, for the long back straight you would rather want the car’s low drag Le Mans specification back. Sector three is another entirely different thing. There isn’t necessarily a harmonic flow between these corners, as you can actually choose between driving lines. But the lap time will tell you immediately what was the better and what was the worse solution. In 2013 the heat was extreme. Now the race starts later but, because of the high humidity, it doesn’t get cooler quickly in the night.”

Drivers car no. 20:
Timo Bernhard – 33, Germany.
“Well, I’m the only driver of car number 20 who hasn’t raced in Austin yet. But I know the track from the simulator in Weissach and, of course, I spoke with Mark and Brendon. It is a varied and demanding circuit. I can’t wait to take the car with a decent downforce level through the fast corners. Driving at night puts extra excitement into the race. I love racing in the dark and I hope to get the opportunity to do so again in Austin. The tricky time is before sunset when the sun is really low. You have got to be extra careful in the twilight before darkness, and your windscreen should be clean. Since Le Mans we are even more of a team than before, we are very close now – and highly motivated.”

Brendon Hartley – 24, New Zealand.
“I love this circuit. Last year I drove there in a Daytona prototype. In terms of the new style circuits with a lot of huge run off areas, COTA is the best I have ever driven on. It throws up a lot of challenges – quick flowing corners, very technical tight and twisty corners and long straights for passing. It is a good layout. Turn one stands out I would say as it is the first impression you get and is quite unique. I also like Austin as a city with all its live music, and I hope I get to see a bit more of it this year.”

Mark Webber – 38, Australia.
“It is good to go back racing again, as it was quite a bit of a break. I know Austin from Formula One and I like it – COTA is an interesting track with good facilities and Austin is a lively city. The fans have been great there. It will be our first real sprint race in terms of endurance racing dimensions, because earlier in the season we always had Le Mans in mind. But now we are focusing on doing a good job for the last five races. Driving into the night will be interesting as well. COTA has everything in the lap. It has quite high top speed, the straights are quite long, it has a lot of elevation changes and a lot of quick and very slow corners too. It will also be very hot and, therefore, challenging for the engines, the cars and the drivers. That’s a new component for us as well, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Facts and Figures:
• The length of the Circuit of the Americas is 5.513 kilometres. One lap features nine right-handers and 11 left-handers. The circuit, designed by German architect Hermann Tilke, has 40 metres difference in altitude and is run anti-clockwise. The longest straight is 1.2 kilometres.

• The ambient temperatures are expected to be around 30 degrees Celsius.

• In 2013, the race winner completed 187 laps (1,030.93 kilometres) in six hours. Over this distance each of the two Porsche 919 Hybrid cars would generate and utilise 195 kilowatt hours (kWh) – an amount of electrical power that would light a 60-Watt incandescent light bulb for almost 20 weeks.

• In normal racing mode (without any safety car periods), the Porsche 919 Hybrid must refuel every 31 laps. This would mean five pit stops for refuelling per car.

• Two fuel tank fills (62 laps) with one set of the Michelin race tyres is the Porsche Team’s target for COTA.

• The population of the fast growing city of Austin is around 800,000 people. The town was founded in 1835 and later named after colonist Stephen F. Austin.

• Nearly 50,000 students enjoy the city life. Austin is also home for great rock bands, a popular headquarters for computer companies and the sets of famous movies have been there. Remarkably, Austin is also home for a population of 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats.

• Twenty nine cars in total are on the entry list for the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Nine of them compete in the LMP1 category alongside the Porsche 919 Hybrid cars. Their car numbers, 20 and 14, stand for the year of Porsche’s return to top-level motorsport.

• During the short qualifying – 25 minutes shared by LMP1 and LMP2 cars – two drivers per car must drive. The official qualifying time is the average of the two fastest laps of both drivers (i.e. the average time of four laps).

• The Porsche Team has sent 35 tons of airfreight on the world tour. The majority of the freight travels from Austin straight to Fuji, to Shanghai, to Sakhir and then to the final race in Sao Paulo. The equipment includes the two race cars, one spare chassis, four engines, four gearboxes, three suspension sets, 100 rims, 120 radios and headsets, about 400 metres of electric and IT cables, four tool cabinets as well as 30 fireproof overalls and helmets for the team.

• In the WEC standings after three out of eight races, the Porsche Team with 60 points is currently third behind Toyota (115) and Audi (114). In Le Mans double points were awarded.

• With these two LMP1 cars, the Porsche 911 RSRs from the GT categories of the WEC and the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (USCC), there are a total of seven works race cars from Porsche running in Austin.

Porsche Team

**Rob** · 17th September 2014, 18:30

Unfinished Business for Scuderia Corsa in Austin.

Team looking for first victory at Circuit of the Americas after penalty took away win in last year's GRAND-AM race.

Two events for the team this weekend as Ferrari Challenge visits Watkins Glen

September 17, 2014 (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Last season's GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas saw the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia cross the checkered flag first to take the team's maiden professional sports car victory. However, a penalty for avoidable contact imposed after the race meant that the team had their victory taken away. Already twice a winner in this year's TUDOR United Sportscar Championship, drivers Alessandro Balzan and Jeff Westphal would like to put the Ferrari in Austin's victory lane for the first time.

The team enters the weekend in Austin coming off of its third podium result of the year, with a second place at Virginia International Raceway. Balzan and Westphal had previously won at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan as well as Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. The team is focused on winning the final two races and helping Ferrari to secure the GT-Daytona manufacturer championship.

And after last year's race in Austin, Balzan is anxious to have another shot at a victory at Circuit of the Americas.

"It was a very strange feeling last year, to cross the finish line first but not be awarded the victory," said Balzan. "Now we want to win again and celebrate like we did in Detroit and Indianapolis. Jeff, myself and everyone at Scuderia Corsa will be pushing for another win and another championship for Ferrari. We want to see our no. 63 Ferrari in victory lane at Circuit of the Americas."

Joe La Joie, the engineer for the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia, offered his analysis of the challenges that the Circuit of the Americas will present to Balzan and Westphal.

"Circuit of the Americas is a world class track built to F-1 safety standards," said La Joie. "The track is challenging to drive because of all the different types of corners. The setup requires good compromises between grip and high speed corners. For us there are two other challenges considering it could be in the high 90's and we will have over 50 cars of four classes on track again.

"The first section, which the no. 63 Ferrari dominated in 2013, starts with braking uphill, a flat hairpin, and then it is flat out, back down the hill and through six high speed corners. The brake zone is a possible passing zone except the wide track makes it difficult to make it stick. Then you could get left behind accelerating down the hill and loose time in the next six corners. These corners are single file due to the narrow width of the track.The second section starts after turn eight which leads into a short straight. Turn 11 is another slow, tight hairpin and provides a better place to attempt a pass than turn one. The car must accelerate well to get down the longest straight of the track to turn 12, the best braking zone to pass.

"The third section is a group of technical, slow-to-medium speed corners. The first couple corners are just far enough apart to get to full throttle between them. The last few curves create one long triple apex corner that gets faster and faster. These turns are always difficult to setup for since it is difficult to maintain the front grip with all the power that must go to the rear wheels."

This weekend also marks the penultimate round of the 2014 Ferrari Challenge season. Scuderia Corsa drivers John Horeisji and Chris Ruud will compete for the team at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Ruud is the points leader in the Coppa Shell category.

The Lone Star LeMans will be shown live on Saturday, September 20 at 12:30 ET on FOX Sports 2. Qualifying will be streamed live on Friday, September 19 at 5:30 PM ET on IMSA.com. A rebroadcast will be shown on Sunday on FOX, with time subject to local listings.

**Rob** · 17th September 2014, 18:57

At the start in the “6 Hour of Americas” to keep the leaderships

Following the first three races in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), a fact is proved: Ferrari, AF Corse and their drivers are always among the reference points for the top positions. From this premise the World Championship resume Saturday, September 20 in Austin (Usa) with the “6 Hours of Circuit of Americas”.

GTE PRO CATEGORY – In the AF Corse Ferrari #51 will race the leaders of the GTE Pro Drivers standing, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander. The tight-knight duo is winner of the last edition of the “24 Hour of Le Mans”, in the GTE Pro category (together with Giancarlo Fisichella) and now has 90 points in the standing (27 ahead Makowiecki and Holzer). The other car lined up by the Italian team in the GTE Pro is the #71 with Davide Rigon and James Calado.

GTE AM CATEGORY - After the podium in the “24 Hour of Le Mans” 2014, Luis Perez Companc, Marco Cioci and Mirko Venturi will try to gain new points to further improve their position in the GTE Am Drivers’ standings (currently third with 64 points); they will be at the wheel of the AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia #61 and have the potential to aim at the title.

Steve Wyatt, Andrea Bertolini and Michele Rugolo, other real protagonists of the 2014 FIA WEC, will run in the AF Corse Ferrari #81. To stay on the topic, in the hard-fought GTE Am category, to highlight the partecipation of the 8 Star Motorsport 458 Italia #90 driven By Gianluca Roda, Paolo Ruberti and Jeff Segal. AF Corse will technically manage the 458 #90.

On the eve of Austin, Ferrari is first in the GT Manufactures standing with 153 points (Porsche is second with 141). AF Corse is leading the GTE Pro Team standing with 90 points (+21) and is second in the GTE Am with 64 points (Aston Martin Racing is first with 93).

AF Corse Press Office

**Rob** · 17th September 2014, 19:26

6 HRS COTA KCMG LMP2 PREVIEW: BACK IN ACTION AT COTA

KC Motorgroup Ltd. (KCMG) is set for their return to one of motorsport’s most competitive grids as the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) enters the second half of the 2014 season. Following a three-month interval from Le Mans prototype racing, the Hong Kong-based squad is primed for its maiden outing at the Circuit of The Americas (CoTA) on September 20. Tsugio Matsuda will join British duo Richard Bradley and Matt Howson in the World Championship’s six-hour round in Austin, Texas.

After their successful team-up at Silverstone in May, Bradley, Howson and Matsuda will once again share driving duties in the #47 Oreca 03 – Nissan. The 6 Hours of CoTA, which is the highlight of the much-celebrated Lone Star Le Mans weekend, will witness KCMG challenge for LMP2 victory under the stars. This weekend’s event marks the debut of night racing at Austin’s 5.515km circuit.

The festivities at CoTA will begin on Thursday (September 18) with WEC’s two 150-minute practice sessions taking place in the afternoon. The 25-minute qualifying run for the LMP2 category will get underway on Friday (September 19) at 6:35pm local, while the much anticipated battle of endurance and speed at the Circuit of The Americas will start at 5:00pm local the following day (September 20).

Richard Bradley:“I’m really looking forward to the next round of WEC in Austin and we can be confident of a strong showing. After our progress in the first three races of the season, we should be aiming for victory. Coming to a circuit like Texas is a very exciting and new experience for me. With its layout featuring high speed sections and a long back straight, the potential of our Oreca Nissan package is very promising.”

Matt Howson:“It’s been a long break since Le Mans, but after playing catch up this season we head to Austin better prepared than ever. The circuit is new to us but we’re quick learners, and we’ve some new improvements to the car which we’ll make full use of. I love the USA and look forward to racing in Austin for the first time!”

Tsugio Matsuda:“The long wait is over and I’m happy to be back racing with KCMG in the World Championship. The Austin track is new to us, but I’m confident that we’ll be able to get the hang of it quickly and set the pace early. It’s an honour to once again represent Asia with Richard and Matt, and we’ll do our best this weekend to be on the top step of the podium.”

Paul Ip, KCMG Managing Director:“The 6 Hours of CoTA is one of the highlights of our Motorsport Division’s calendar and we’re delighted to be back in WEC after that long break following Le Mans. The team is looking forward to a strong showing in Austin with Richard, Matt and Tsugio. Our objective is to finally put Asia on the top step of the podium after the chequered flag falls on Saturday night.”

KCMG heads to FIA WEC’s fourth round with 37 points in the LMP2 Team Classification.

**Rob** · 18th September 2014, 17:37

ASTON MARTIN ENTERS SECOND HALF OF WEC SEASON

Gaydon, 18 September 2014 - After a long summer break, the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) resumes at the Circuit of the Americas this weekend (20 September) and Aston Martin Racing is hoping to repeat last year’s success when it won both the GTE PRO and GTE AM classes, but Team Principal John Gaw believes the competition is tougher than ever.

In last year’s six-hour race at the newly-built track near Austin in Texas, Aston Martin Racing qualified on pole in both GT classes and, after six hours of racing in high-temperatures, took both class-wins.

This year, in a race named the 'Lone Star Le Mans', it returns with its four V8 Vantage GTEs and, after a competitive start to the season, John Gaw has prepared his team for a tough race in Austin.

“Last year the championship was extremely competitive but I think that this year will be even tougher for us,” he commented. “We saw at Le Mans that the Corvettes are very quick and we had to push incredibly hard and use clever strategy to compete with both them and the Ferraris.”

Leading the team’s GTE PRO campaign is the #97 Gulf-liveried V8 Vantage GTE driven by Darren Turner (GB) and Stefan Mücke (DE). Turner, who celebrated 10 years of racing with Aston Martin this year, commented: “The last five races of the year are all at circuits that are good fun to drive and I enjoy the amount of jet-setting we have until the end of November.

“It would be great to think we could still be in with a shot at the championship but after our result at Le Mans it is looking very difficult. We will be trying as hard as ever and we will do everything we can to grab a win.”

Also in the GTE PRO class, the #99 Craft-Bamboo Racing V8 Vantage GTE, piloted by Alex MacDowall (GB), Fernando Rees (FR) and Darryl O’Young (HK) will make its Circuit of the Americas debut in the car’s Valero livery.

“Le Mans seems such a long time ago so we’re all really keen to get back into the Vantage GTE,” commented MacDowall. “Aston Martin Racing have been keeping me busy, though, by placing me in a V12 Vantage GT3 in the British GT Championship.”

In the GTE AM class, the championship leaders and Le Mans class-winners, Young Driver AMR, will look to extend the #95 Vantage GTE’s lead over the pack with drivers Kristian Poulsen (DN), David Heinemeier Hansson (DN) and Richie Stanaway (NZ).

“Last year I took my first WEC race win at Austin, so I’m really looking forward to going back,” commented Stanaway. “I’m also looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the Vantage GTE – I’ve really missed it.”

Also challenging in the AM class is the #98 NorthWest-liveried Vantage GTE driven by Pedro Lamy (PT), Paul Dalla Lana (CA) and Christoffer Nygaard (DN).

“Circuit of the Americas is a fantastic track and facility,” commented Lamy. “Even though it is an evening race, it will still be hot and the competition will be tough, but we have a strong driver line-up and I think we can do a good job.”

The partially-dark FIA WEC Six Hours of Austin will start at 1700hrs on Saturday 20 September.

Download the Aston Martin Racing FIA WEC App on iTunes and Google Play.

- ENDS -

**budaman** · 19th September 2014, 15:03

Was able to make it out to the track last evening & catch the shortened second practice for the WEC cars. Was delayed for quite a while due to lightning. Weather could play a part in qualifying today as we've had frequent thunderstorms and are expected to continue today. Seems like they move in every 3 - 4 hours, so timing will be everything. Not expecting much rain tomorrow, but there could be a thunderstorm in the waning stages of the race around 10PM. All the P1 cars have distinctly individual sounds. Ferrari's sound awesome as usual! Hope to make it out to the track by 2pm today....just depends on when the bosses all disappear, so I can sneak away from work.

**Nova** · 19th September 2014, 19:44

^My friend is in Roundrock, loves cota..u guys r having a lots of rain.
Go Ferrari's. Now its coming across the gulf, so tomorrow we be in the rain in Fl.
Mabey u guys will have good weather for the race.

**Rob** · 19th September 2014, 20:34

NEWS ALERT
Austin, Texas - 19 September 2014
Hello Mr Robert Allum,

6 HRS COTA FREE PRACTICE 3: AUDI AND G-DRIVE ON TOP

Loïc Duval in the No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro set the fastest time in a fully dry 60-minute practice session, the final running before the critical qualifying session later on this evening, which will set the grid for the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas. The conditions in today’s session were slightly cooler than yesterday’s sticky conditions, with track temperatures peaking at 28.3°C

The Frenchman, who is making his FIA WEC return after his Le Mans practice accident in June, stopped the clocks at 1m49.480s - the fastest lap of the Lone Star Le Mans weekend so far. This time, which was set in the first twenty minutes of the session, beat the sister No.2 Audi of Marcel Fässler, Benoît Tréluyerand André Lotterer by 0.680s.

Porsche Team claimed third position with the No.14 entry of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, while the highest placed Toyota TS 040 Hybrid was in fourth place, with the No.8 car of Nicolas Lapierre, Anthony Davidson and SébastienBuemi just a tenth of a second behind the Porsche 919 Hybrid.

With teams electing to concentrate on longer fuel runs in the second half of the session, most of the action came in the first half of it this morning.

This evening’s qualifying session will begin at 18h00 local time with a 25-minute LMGTE-PRO and LMGTE-AM session, followed by the LMP1, LMP1-L and LMP2 cars, scheduled to hit the track at 18h35 local.

LMP –L

In the LMP1 –L category, Rebellion Racing continued a comfortable 1-2 with the No.12 Rebellion Racing R-One-Toyota of Nicolas Prost, Nick Heidfeld and Mathias Beche clear of their team mates - Andrea Belicchi, Fabio Leimer and Dominik Kraihamer - in the No.13 Toyota-powered racer by 1.7s.

Rebellion’s opposition for the rest of the season – Lotus – only completed three laps in the session as the team were confined to the pit garage for most of it. Christophe Bouchut, Lucas Auer and James Rossiter were left frustrated by losing valuable track time in the new CLM P1/01-AER.

LMP2

As they did in the first (dry) free practice session yesterday afternoon, G-Drive Racing again headed the LMP2 field this morning. Olivier Pla set a 1m56.601s lap in the No.26 Ligier JS P2 but reckoned a quicker one was possible as he hit GT traffic on the following lap.

Second place in LMP2 was the No.47 KCMG ORECA-Nissan driven by Matthew Howson, Richard Bradley and Tsugio Matsuda. Japanese based Briton Bradley registered the best lap of 1m57.438s.

Florida based team – Extreme Speed Motorsports continued to build a good basis for their FIA World Endurance Championship debut tomorrow with third fastest time in their HPD ARX 03B-Honda. Ryan Dalziel set the time of 1m58.004s.

Series points leaders #27 SMP Racing Oreca-Nissan got back on track after its technical issues in last night’s free practice session to claim fourth fastest time for Sergey Zlobin, Nicolas Minsassian and Maurizio Mediani.

**Rob** · 19th September 2014, 20:36

TOYOTA RACING BACK ON TRACK IN TEXAS
Thursday 18 September 2014

FIA World Endurance Championship leaders TOYOTA Racing got back on track with the first practice sessions for the Six Hours of Circuit of the Americas, the fourth of eight rounds this season.

After a three-month break following the previous round at Le Mans, the two TS040 HYBRIDs were finally allowed to unleash their 1,000PS four-wheel drive powertrain on the track again with the first of two 90-minute sessions in Austin.

Mike Conway took part in an official session for TOYOTA Racing for the first time, joining the #7 driver line-up alongside Alex Wurz and Stéphane Sarrazin. He registered his first laps in the closing minutes of first practice.

The #8 line-up of Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi began the defence of their 20-point lead in the drivers’ championship, while the team started its bid to extend its one-point lead over Audi in the manufacturers’ standings.

The remaining five races of the season are on tighter, twistier tracks than the high-speed Le Mans circuit, so the TS040 HYBRID has reverted to a high-downforce specification, which was validated during a two-day test at Magny-Cours last month.

Therefore the team’s first priority on Thursday was to fine-tune that package to the demands of the 5.516km Circuit of the Americas and both cars completed a busy session, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

Last year saw TOYOTA Racing’s single-car entry, the #8, finish second after a race-long battle for the victory in intense heat. This time around, the race will take place in the evening but today’s first practice again saw very high temperatures.

Air temperatures of 32°C test not only the drivers but also the car. However, the second session was challenging for very different reasons; a heavy thunder storm soaked the circuit and delayed the evening start by one hour.

As a night race, every driver must complete three timed laps in the dark, so with second practice the only possibility to achieve this, all six drivers braved the treacherous conditions as soon as possible and fulfilled the requirement.

Both cars continued running to gather potentially useful experience on how track conditions evolve in wet weather, with Anthony setting the fastest time of the session on his very last lap.

Tomorrow the teams have a final one-hour practice session at 10.20 before qualifying at 18.35. Saturday’s race starts at 17.00 local time.

TS040 HYBRID #7 (Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway)
Free practice 1: 4th (1min 52.405secs), 36 laps
Free practice 2: 3rd (2min 4.419secs), 28 laps

Alex Wurz: “That was my first time on this circuit. I did help develop it on the simulator but that was a few years ago. So it was nice to drive it for the first time. It is an impressive track but one which requires a lot of compromises on the car set-up. We have to analyse the data. I think we can still do more, I can see the direction we have to go and I am looking forward to sitting with the engineers and working out the right set-up.”

Stéphane Sarrazin: “In first practice we felt competitive in dry conditions; the car seemed good. Then this evening we had massive rain just before the second session. It was really interesting to drive the car in these conditions. The car balance felt even better than in the dry and this gave us a lot of confidence. We could push without being at the maximum limit or taking risks. It was an interesting session. Now let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”

Mike Conway: “It was a good day and it was nice to be out there in the TS040 HYBRID for my first practice sessions. I’m just getting back into the rhythm of driving this car. I didn’t get a lot of laps but towards the end of second practice I felt pretty comfortable and the lap times were competitive. I feel okay but I’m looking forward to getting more running; that will come tomorrow. I’m still learning through every corner and I’m continuing to push to make sure we are up there in qualifying and the race.”

TS040 HYBRID #8 (Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre, Sébastien Buemi)
Free practice 1: 5th (1min 52.657secs), 31 laps
Free practice 2: 1st (2min 1.333secs), 29 laps

Anthony Davidson: “I think we had a positive day generally. They were mixed conditions so we had a taste of all the weather we could face. We felt happy with the car in both conditions, perhaps more so in the rain than the dry. I think there is still some improvement to come in the dry with the speed and balance of the car but I didn’t get much running in first practice so it’s hard to judge. We know the direction we want to go and we’ll see where we are this time tomorrow.”

Nicolas Lapierre: “It was a good day. The conditions are the same for everyone so it is not a problem. This was my first time here at this track and it is not an easy one to learn; there are a lot of undulations and a lot of fast corners. But before I came here I watched a lot of onboard cameras and tried to learn the lay-out so I was prepared for today. The car was reacting quite well in both the dry and the wet which is a good sign; so far so good.”

Sébastien Buemi: “We had very changeable conditions, like we have seen the past couple of days here. One thing is for sure, we are looking quite good in both wet and dry conditions, even if the timing sheet didn’t show it in first practice. We need to make sure everything is working well tomorrow and optimise the car set-up. If we do that I think we have a good shot. I am looking forward to the rest of the weekend; it could be a good one.”

French and German translations of this press release will be available shortly on www.toyotahybridracing.com, where copyright-free photos are also available for editorial use.

**Rob** · 19th September 2014, 20:37

20/20 VISION – STAT ATTACK AS THE FIA WEC HITS 20 RACES!

The FIA World Endurance Championship reaches its 20th race this weekend with the Lone Star Le Mans weekend, the fourth round of the 2014 series.

Since the series announced itself to the world in March 2012 at the first ever race in Sebring there have been some interesting statistics and superlatives on the FIA WEC journey so far.

In the competing nations (by drivers) France leads the way with 72 drivers having taken part since the inception of the championship. Next comes Great Britian with 56 and then German racers, of which, 21 have competed.

This year’s Le Mans winners Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer have taken the most race wins with seven victories, while in the LMP2 class it is John Martin with most success. He has stood on the top step of the podium seven times. The LMGTE leader is Gimmi Bruni, who leads the way with eight successes.

By class, Audi (14wins), Oreca (9wins), Aston-Martin (10wins) and Ferrari (8 wins) are the most successful marques so far in the series history.

14 drivers have competed in every FIA WEC race run so far and will complete their 20th appearance this weekend. They are Julien Canal, Marcel Fassler, Tom Kristensen, Marc Lieb, Andre Lotterer, Luis-Perez Companc, Stefan Mucke, Nicolas Prost, Garbiele Roda, Christian Ried, Paolo Ruberti, Stephane Sarrazin, Benoit Treluyer and Darren Turner

The drivers with the most pole positions are in LMP1 - Alexander Wurz with five pole starts and John Martin in LMP2 with four. Gimmi Bruni has started from top spot in LMGTE four times while Nicki Thiim is tops of the qualifiers in the GTE AM division with the four poles he set, all in 2013

Since 2013, at races other than Le Mans, the grid is set by the fastest average time of two drivers. The drivers listed in this table are those setting the better time in the pole-winning car and not necessarily the fastest overall time.

Some more vital statistics from the first 19 rounds of the FIA WEC:

Most starters: 56, 2012 and 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours
Most starters, including non-WEC: 62, 2012 Sebring 12 Hours
Most Finishers: 43, 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours
Most finishers, including non-WEC: 51, 2012 Sebring 12 Hours
Highest Finishing Percentage: 96.4%, 2014 Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours (Excluding Fuji 2013 event)
Fastest Race: 214.927 km/h, 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours
Fastest 6 Hour Race: 198.768, 2014 Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours
Slowest Complete Race: 162.955 km/h, 2012 Sebring 12 Hours
Fastest Qualifying Speed: 243.147 km/h, 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours (Toyota TS040)
Fastest Qualifying Speed, other than Le Mans: 210.186 km/h, 2013 Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours (Audi R18 e-tron quattro)
Fastest Race Lap: 242.21 km/h, 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours, (Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Lotterer)
Fastest Race Lap, other than Le Mans: 209.359, 2013 Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours, (Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Lotterer)
Narrowest Margin of Victory: 0:01.901, 2013 Fuji 6 Hours (race ended under caution)
Narrowest Competitive Margin of Victory: 0:03.462, 2013 Silverstone 6 Hours
Widest Margin of Victory: 4 laps. 2012 Sebring 12 Hours

**Rob** · 19th September 2014, 20:40

PRESS RELEASE
Debut Weekend for Advanced Engine Research’s New P60 at the World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas

BASILDON, ESSEX (September 18, 2014) – When the green flag drops this Saturday in Austin, Texas, Advanced Engine Research’s brand new P60 twin-turbo V-6 privateer LMP1 engine will power the #9 Lotus CLM P1/01 across the starting line for the 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas and the first engine built specifically for independent entries in the premier class in the world’s top sports car endurance racing series will make its competition debut.

Brilliant design, meticulous manufacture and hours of testing on the dyno and in the back of a race car on the test track mark the path to success for a race engine maker. But in the end the proof comes in the heat of competition and that step in what is already a three-year process begins this weekend with the running of the fourth round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship.

“We have an extensive and long history in international sportscar competition and we are excited about this new engine,” said Mike Lancaster, Managing Director of AER. “But we are also realistic in our expectations for the P60′s first competition outing. The World Endurance Championship is highly competitive and a tough proving ground, and while we look forward to the challenge over the long run, this weekend we’ll be more than pleased if the engine runs competitively over the full six-hour race distance. But in any case, this is another highlight in an exciting year for us that has also seen the successful introduction of AER’s new 2015 P63 Indy Lights engine alongside our ongoing collaboration with GP3.”

The P60 engine is AER’s response, the first from any engine maker, to the FIA’s creation of an engine formula specifically intended mainly to allow independent race teams that wish to participate in the top-tier LMP 1 sports car endurance racing class, and to compete with entries in the hybrid division LMP 1 category that over the past few years has become a playground for major automobile manufacturers with space program-sized budgets.

AER’s new gasoline direct-injection twin-turbo V6 was specifically designed for the 2014 ACO LMP1-L regulations. The first conceptual work on the P60 engine began in 2011 when the ACO announced that the 2014 technical regulations would be based on allocating a quantity of energy to each car with a fuel-flow allocation. AER modeled six different engine configurations before choosing the V-6 gasoline direct-injection twin-turbo. GDI brings increased power and drivability and works well with the regulations’ emphasis on brake-specific fuel consumption. AER has a unique edge in that its sister company Life Racing develops all related electronics in-house, allowing for constant and rapid development of GDI and other function.

The design remit of the P60 was to be the best engine for the new LMP1 privateer rules. All-aluminum construction makes the P60 light in weight while the clever architecture of the block allows the engine to serve as a fully-stressed member of the chassis, supporting the entire rear of the car. While the P60 benefits from technological contributions from other engines in the extensive AER inventory, it features a new block, sump, and cylinder heads.

Particular attention was paid during the design and development phases to combustion efficiency. The designs of the cylinder head and combustion chambers were a strong focus while turbocharging also contributes to the overall goal of efficiency. By its nature, turbocharging is a form of energy recovery from the exhaust gases and also allows for increased power for a given engine displacement. AER’s long-standing strength in electronic engine controls and lean-burn combustion technology permits optimization of the air-fuel ratio throughout the engine’s operating range which dovetails well with the particular performance requirements of LMP1-class racing.
“This is red-letter day for AER and all who have worked so hard to bring this engine to the race track,” added Lancaster. “Our company is built around people who have extensive experience working on top-level engines. We are very excited about the potential of this new engine.”

**Rob** · 19th September 2014, 20:43

Onroak Automotive Press Release

A Ligier JS P2 for Krohn Racing in the United States

Onroak Automotive is delighted to announce that Krohn Racing, which has racked up a significant set of results in GT, has chosen the Ligier JS P2 for its move up to the LM P2 category in 2015.

The debut of the Onroak Automotive LM P2 closed sports prototype in the Le Mans 24 Hours obviously made a big impression: pole position, three cars at the start, three cars at the finish, and second place in the category. Several teams in Europe and the United States have shown genuine interest in the new Ligier JS P2 as proven by the collaboration with Krohn Racing.

In addition, Krohn Racing’s decision to use the Judd engine in its Ligier JS P2 confirms the adaptability of the French chassis, which has already had the two other engines homologated in LM P2 - Nissan and HPD - installed. They will power the two Ligier JS P2s entered at Austin for this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship and Tudor United SportsCar Championship events respectively.
The French constructor is very pleased with this sale of a Ligier JS P2 chassis in North America and its collaboration with a team like Krohn Racing. Onroak Automotive is hoping to conclude discussions already under way, or to come, with other teams and to see the Ligier JS P2 in the different endurance series in 2015.

Jacques Nicolet, Onroak Automotive President: “I’m delighted that Krohn Racing has decided to run a Ligier JS P2 in 2015. Tracy Krohn and I share the same view of motor racing and the same passion, so I’m proud that he has chosen our new sports prototype. It’s the first Ligier JS P2 we’ve sold in the USA and I have high hopes for this collaboration. We’ll do everything in our power so that Krohn Racing will be fully satisfied with their Onroak Automotive sports prototype.”

Tracy W. Krohn, Krohn Racing team owner/driver: “I’m very much looking forward to the possibilities that have opened up for next season. We had been discussing the switch from our Ferrari to a LMP2 car for some time and the decision was very much dependent on how the car felt when we went for a test. Both Nic and I had a chance to get behind the wheel of the Ligier and really liked driving it. The ergonomics work me, which has historically been difficult due to my frame. We were able to partner with Judd as our engine supplier and believe the Ligier-Judd pairing will offer a formidable entry, so the decision was made to move forward with the package for competition in 2015.
Although competing in the P2 car will be a big step and transition for us, I’m confident that our team can get the new car up to speed. We will make a final decision about the series and races in which we chose to compete when all the schedules are announced later this year. We’re truly excited for the opportunities that we expect will come with being a prototype-contending team.”

Gary Holland, Krohn Racing, Team Manager: “We at Krohn are very pleased to be using the Ligier JSP2 – Judd HK package for 2015. The Ligier has already proven itself with a very strong debut at Le Mans with a variety of engine packages, as well as within ELMS races since. The LMP2 class is very strong and we feel that the Ligier offers Krohn Racing the best path with a proven chassis out of the box with many thousands of miles of testing under its belt. We are very much looking forward to getting the best from the pairing of the Ligier chassis and Judd engine and exploring an exciting new chapter for the team. Judd have had some excellent performances through 2014 and we firmly believe will offer us the best solution moving into the LMP2 field.
We look forward to a close relationship with both manufacturers and a successful 2015. The move from the Ferrari 458 has been talked about for some time and it was a question of the right package being available, both in terms of performance and chassis ergonomics.
We would like to thank everyone at Ferrari and Michelotto for their many years of support and hard work alongside Krohn Racing.”

**Rob** · 20th September 2014, 08:26

6 HRS COTA LMGTE QUALIFYING: FERRARI AND PORSCHE REIGN AT COTA

20/09/2014 - 01h27

LMGTE PRO

The No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia driven by Gimmi Bruni and Toni Vilander will start from pole position for the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which is the feature event for the Lone Star Le Mans weekend in Austin, Texas.

Bruni left it until the last lap to secure a thrilling third pole position of the season for the Italian/Finnish duo, who set an average lap time of 2m06.456 and who lead the class points table by 27-points going into tomorrow’s race.

The session had been officially declared wet by FIA WEC Race Director Eduardo Freitas as rain gently coated the Circuit of the Americas. The drivers faced extremely challenging conditions with some parts of the track much damper than others but, as the session wore on and the track dried, the times started to tumble and first Vilander and then Bruni maximised the extra grip to secure a hard-won pole position.

Sharing the front row of the LMGTE Pro grid will be the No.97 Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Darren Turner andStefan Mückewhich missed out on pole by six tenths of a second over the best average of four laps (two from each driver).

Porsche Team Manthey locked out the second row of the Pro grid with the No.92 Porsche 911 RSR heading the sister No.91 machine.

LMGTE AM

Securing the first LMGTE Am pole for Porsche this season, Emmanuel Collard, Matthieu Vaxivièreand Francois Perrodo will start tomorrow’s race from class pole position after registering an average lap time of 2m08.271.

The Prospeed Porsche 911 RSR fought off stern competition from the No.95 Aston Martin and a trio of Ferrari 458 Italias throughout the 25-minute session.

Richie Stanaway’s pacy laps in the Aston Martin Vantage V8 he shares with David Heinemeier Hansson and Kristian Poulsen looked to have secured pole but late, fast laps from Collard ensured they were beaten by just under one tenth of a second. Heinemeier Hansson and Poulsen currently head the points’ standings by 18-points.

Late laps from Mirko Venturi in the No.61 AF Corse Ferrari made it three marques in the top three starting positions in the LMGTE Am class. The Italian shares the F458 Italia with Luis Perez-Companc and Marco Cioci.

Full results can be found HERE

18:36:10 : In GTE Am #75 Porsche on pole from #95 Aston and #61 Ferrari

18:35:17 : In GTE Pro #51 Ferrari on pole from #97 Aston and #92 Porsche

18:35:17 : In GTE Pro #51 Ferrari on pole from #97 Aston and #92 Porsche

18:32:55 : Collard in #75 Porsche sets pole in Am

18:32:13 : Bruni sets pole time in #51 Ferrari

18:31:34 : Chequered Flag

18:31:07 : Aston #95 now fastest in Am

18:30:38 : Track now almost dry

18:30:15 : Porsche #75 fastest in Am

18:29:43 : Porsche #91 now second in Pro

18:29:12 : #92 Porsche now fastest in Pro

18:28:11 : Corvette #65 now second In Pro

18:27:00 : Aston #95 fastest in Am with 2:08.679

18:25:38 : Aston #97 fastest in Pro with 2:05.956

18:23:30 : #92 Porsche into pit lane Makowiecki into car

18:22:37 : Aston #95 fastest Am car

18:22:10 : Ferrari #61 into pitlane

18:18:06 : All cars now on track

18:17:44 : Pilet retakes top time in Porsche #92 with 2:08.243

18:16:21 : Aston Martin #97 now leads LMGTE Pro from #92 Porsche

18:06:00 : Porsche #92 first car out

18:05:00 : Green flag

18:04:56 : Declared a wet track

18:02:27 : Light rain at the circuit

17:59:18 : Green Flag at 18.05

**Rob** · 20th September 2014, 09:15

2014 TUDOR UNITED SPORTS CAR CHAMPIONSHIP
LONE STAR LE MANS, AUSTIN, TEXAS (GTLM 10th ROUND)

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

RISI FACING UPHILL TASK AT TRICKY HOME TRACK

Austin, TX, September 19, 2014. After several decades in the world of international motorsport, there is no team that better understands the ups and downs and ever-changing fortunes than Houston-based Risi Competizione. As quickly as you win, you can be at the other end of the grid and that’s what happened today to North America’s leading GTE Ferrari team at Circuit of The Americas in Austin Texas.

After winning the GTLM category at the last two rounds of the 2014 TUDOR United Sportscar Championship, Giancarlo Fisichella and Pierre Kaffer had reason to believe that they would come into the team’s home race in a strong position to challenge for pole position. Work carried out by the team between the first and second practice sessions paid dividends but the third and final free practice session before this afternoon’s 15-minute qualifying was perhaps an omen for what was to come.

German Pierre Kaffer qualified the No.62 F458 with a time of 2:05.348 – some two seconds behind the pole-winning No.910 Porsche of Patrick Pilet, an additional GTLM entry for this round. On a track where downforce seems to be vital, the Ferrari was struggling to match its competitors and the team was equally at a loss to explain why.

Pierre Kaffer said afterwards: “That was hard for us but it’s difficult to say why; we have to analyse what happened. We struggled a lot with understeer and I couldn’t turn or rotate the car. We don’t know what caused that right now but in such a tough field it’s hurt us a lot and definitely wasn’t the best we’ve had from the car so far the weekend.”

It should be noted that Risi Competizione has started many a race from a less than favorable position and won, most recently at Road America in August. Let the challenge begin!

The United Sportscar Championship is running alongside the FIA World Endurance Championship this weekend in what is due to be a festival of racing and entertainment for fans in Texas and beyond. The FIA WEC’s 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas takes place from 5pm and into the night, hence the early start for the TUDOR race.

The Lone Star Le Mans for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race takes place at Circuit of The Americas, Austin TX on Saturday, September 20 beginning at 11:35 am. The 2h45 minute race will be for all four classes.

**Rob** · 20th September 2014, 09:32

ANOTHER POLE FOR TOYOTA RACING
Friday 19 September 2014

TOYOTA Racing extended its lead in the FIA World Endurance Championship by taking pole position for the Six Hours of Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi, who share the #8 TS040 HYBRID with Nicolas Lapierre, claimed pole position by more than a second. That earned a bonus point which extends their lead in the drivers’ championship to 21 points.

The team celebrated its third pole position from four races this season, also earning a point which doubles its lead in the manufacturers’ standings to two points.

Mike Conway took part in qualifying on his TOYOTA Racing debut. He, and Stéphane Sarrazin, claimed fifth position in the #7 they share with Alex Wurz.

The WEC qualifying format requires two drivers from each car to set a minimum of two flying laps each. The grid is decided by the combined average of each driver’s fastest two laps.

Earlier rain left parts of the circuit damp for the start of qualifying, so the #8 crew waited for three minutes before heading on track. That decision proved significant as the drying track saw lap times improve throughout the 25-minute session.

Turn 11 was still damp though and Anthony ran wide on his first flying lap while Stéphane, who hit the track immediately after the start of the session set solid lap times.

Mike and Sébastien took over but suffered a frustrating wait when the red flag came out with four minutes remaining.

Both cars queued at the end of the pit lane for a final shoot-out for pole position, with Sébastien securing a four-lap average which was 1.190secs faster than the nearest challenger.

Mike took the chequered flag and fifth place, although the #7 was less than a 10th of a second away from second place.

TS040 HYBRID #7 (Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway)
Free practice 3: 5th (1min 51.506secs), 23 laps
Qualifying: 5th (1min 50.363secs average)

Stéphane Sarrazin: “It was a good qualifying session for the team; the #8 is on pole which is great and we were very close to second place. It will be a very long race so there is plenty to fight for. We started too early in qualifying and the track was still damp. Probably we should have waited a bit. The car was very good and we have nice balance for the race. We can be pretty confident because the car feels good. We will see what tomorrow brings.”

Mike Conway: “It was an okay session. I made a little mistake on the first lap so had to abort. My second flying lap would have been quicker but then the red flag came which was a shame. I thought I could have done a good lap time there but after that I couldn’t quite get that same speed. I’m a little bit disappointed but it’s a long race. Congratulations to the #8 car for getting an impressive pole position. It’s a good day for the team.”

TS040 HYBRID #8 (Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre, Sébastien Buemi)
Free practice 3: 3rd (1min 50.677secs), 26 laps
Qualifying: 1st (1min 49.093secs average)

Anthony Davidson: “It’s fantastic to claim our first pole position of the season, and it’s the first one with Sébastien and me sharing qualifying. It’s a great result as it really shows the true speed of the car. We had such a long break but to come back and realise we still have the speed, that’s really nice. Tomorrow is a different day but for now we will enjoy this moment. We had a plan and it all came together. The team did a really good job in difficult conditions so I am really proud of everyone.”

Sébastien Buemi: “I am really happy to be on pole position. The car was very impressive and we had very little tyre degradation. Honestly, I was not expecting to be on pole position by more than a second after the practice results. So I am very happy and looking forward to tomorrow. I am sure we have a car to fight at the front. We just have to make sure we prepare everything right.”

French and German translations of this press release will be available shortly on www.toyotahybridracing.com, where copyright-free photos are also available for editorial use.

**Rob** · 20th September 2014, 10:54

News Release September 19, 2014
Tudor United SportsCar Championship, Round 11 of 12, Austin, Texas

Factory Porsche 911 RSR to Start Second and Third in Austin

Austin, Texas. TeamPorsche North America will start two of its three factory entries in the top-three following today’s GT Le Mans (GTLM) qualifying for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). With the second fastest lap time, the Nick Tandy (Great Britain) driven derivative of the iconic Porsche 911 sports car, led a trio of Porsche works entries to set the grid for Saturday’s two-hour, 45-minute Lone Star Le Mans. The factory No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR followed the Brit’s No. 911 closely across the line in third. The No. 910 originally held the pole position in the intensely competitive class but the time was disallowed in post-qualifying technical inspection as a result of a missing in-car camera pod.

Across the four series assembled for Lone Star Le Mans weekend, 67 Porsche cars will race. 15 Porsche 911-based racecars are entered in the TUDOR Championship race alone.

Porsche 911 RSR
For the first time this season, Porsche North America entered three cars in the IMSA-sanctioned TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Added as a show of support to the inaugural season of the North American series, all three entries proved to be very quick. The No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR of Nick Tandy was second-quick in qualifying with a time of two-minutes, 3.649-seconds. With the injury to full-season teammate Richard Lietz (Austria) at Virginia International Raceway in the most recent race, Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) will join Tandy in the No. 911 Porsche North America car this weekend.

The No. 912, the winner at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in the second race of the season, qualified third for tomorrow’s race. Patrick Long (Playa del Rey, California) lapped the circuit in 2:03.900. The only American Porsche factory driver will share the No. 912 with Denmark’s Michael Christensen.

The No. 910 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR finished the 20-minute qualifying session with the fastest time. Patrick Pilet (France), who opened the 2014 season with a victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona racing for the Porsche North America, turned a lap of 2:03.302 on the 3.4-mile, 20-turn Austin, Texas-area facility. However, the time of the car he shares with fellow Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki was disallowed after post-qualifying technical inspection found the car missing the mandated roof camera pod. The pod is used to house the in-car camera or a “dummy” camera of the same weight. The No. 910, the newest of the Porsche North America entries, will now start 11th in Saturday’s race.

The privately owned Team Falken Tire qualified eighth. Wolf Henzler (Germany) drove the entry he co-drives with Bryan Sellers (Braselton, Georgia) to a time of 2:04.936.

Pilet, Makowiecki, Tandy and Bergmeister will do double-duty racing in factory entries in both the Tudor Championship race and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) round later in the day on September 20 at COTA.

Porsche 911 GT America
Ten Porsche 911 GT America racecars participated in GT Daytona (GTD) qualifying for the Lone Star Le Mans event, with six of the cars landing in the top ten positions on the grid for Saturday’s race. Leading the Porsche pack was Mike Skeen (Charlotte, North Carolina), who is co-driving with the No. 71 Park Place Porsche car owner Mike Vess (Wichita, Kansas), and qualified the car in fourth position. Right behind him, qualifying fifth, is the second-place Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup driver Kuba Giermaziak (Poland), who is driving the No. 30 NGT Porsche with Henrique Cisneros (Miami, Florida).

Class points leaders Leh Keen (Atlanta, Georgia) and Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Illinois) will start 16th on the GTD grid, one spot behind the Ferrari drivers Townsend Bell (San Luis Obispo, California) and Bill Sweedler (Westport, Connecticut) who are battling them for the championship.

Owen Hayes, Director of Operations, Porsche Motorsport North America: “We’ve been working really hard and it required a lot of communication and coordination to get three cars on track. We tested recently and concentrated on qualifying performance as we’ve had a deficit there. We certainly wanted to bring it this time and especially with the championship on the line. I’m really proud of what we achieved today as a whole team and what we can hopefully bring tomorrow. Tomorrow is the bigger day. I’m absolutely delighted with what we’ve accomplished today, but we have to keep tomorrow in sight.”

Nick Tandy, No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR: “The wet sessions didn’t help our preparations, but looking at tomorrow’s forecast, it might not be a bad thing that we’ve had this time with the wet weather. For qualifying in dry conditions, we tried something in Practice Three that was a backwards step and wasn’t the best going into qualifying, so actually, the lap time we did I’m extremely pleased with.”

Patrick Long, No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR: “We took a couple gambles because we expected it to rain on the second lap. The rain didn’t come. We would have been looking better if the rain had come, but it didn’t.”

Patrick Pilet, No. 910 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR: “We arrived here with a really good set up on the car. It’s a really new team, but they have done a great job. I’m also happy for my teammates, as they are P2 and P3 so it’s pretty close. It’s a good start. I’m really happy with the car after quali, but also for the race. I think we have a really good race set up during the full stint, so I’m really looking forward [to it]. It’s a really high downforce track, and with the spec we have on the car, I think it’s a really good track for the Porsche, especially in the last sector. We know the Porsche has good traction and we have a chance to have a good car in every condition: wet, dry or damp. We have a good car in every condition, so I am really optimistic for tomorrow.”

Mike Skeen, No. 71 Park Place Porsche 911 GT America: “With the aero improvements for this event, our Park Place Porsche 911 GT America is easier to drive, handles better under braking and is more comfortable through the high speed corners. Although the improvements won’t reflect in outright lap speeds, their effect should manifest themselves in better tire wear and drivability, especially for the amateur drivers for all the Porsche teams. With our race shop based at the Park Place Porsche in Dallas, we really want to perform well tomorrow.”

The Lone Star Le Mans will air live on FOX Sports 2 starting at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The FOX Network will rebroadcast a two-hour show on Sunday, September 21. Check local listings for times.

GT Le Mans Qualifying Results
1. No. 93 Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R, Jonathan Bomarito (USA) 2:03.539
2. No.911 Porsche 911 RSR, Nick Tandy (GB), 2:03.649
3. No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR, Patrick Long (USA), 2:03.900
4. No. 91 Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R, Marc Goossens (Belgium), 2:04.003
5. No. 56 BMW Z4 GTE, Jonathan Edwards (USA), 2:04.253
8. No. 17 Porsche 911 RSR, Wolf Henzler (Germany), 2:04.936
11. No. 910 Porsche 911 RSR, Patrick Pilet (France), No Time

GT Daytona Qualifying Results
1. No. 007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage, James Davison (Australia), 2:08.502
2. No. 33 Dodge Viper SRT, Jeroen Bleekemolen (Monaco), 2:08.814
3. No. 300 BMW Z4, Dane Cameron (USA), 2:08.826
4. No. 71 Porsche 911 GT America, Mike Skeen (USA), 2:08.984
5. No. 30 Porsche 911 GT America, Kuba Giermaziak (Poland), 2:09.007
6. No. 81 Porsche 911 GT America, Damien Faulkner (Ireland), 2:09.040 
7. No. 44 Porsche 911 GT America, Andy Lally (USA), 2:09.113
8. No. 58 Porsche 911 GT America, Jan Heylen (USA), 2:09.130
9. No. 27 Porsche 911 GT America, Andrew Davis (USA), 2:09.291
11. No. 73 Porsche 911 GT America, Norbert Siedler (Austria), 2:09.504
12. No. 23 Porsche 911 GT America, Mario Farnbacher (Germany), 2:09.537
16. No. 22 Porsche 911 GT America , Leh Keen (USA), 2:10.140
18. No. 18 Porsche 911 GT America, Khaled Al Qubaisi (United Arab Emerates), 2:13.725
20. No. 19 Porsche 911 GT America, Alec Udell (USA), no time
###

**Rob** · 20th September 2014, 10:56

ASTON MARTIN’S DOUBLE FRONT ROW START IN AUSTIN

Austin, 19 September 2014 - Aston Martin Racing’s four identical V8 Vantage GTEs have all qualified for the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Six Hours of Austin, and the team will start the race from the front row in both of the GTE classes.

The #97 V8 Vantage GTE driven by Stefan Mücke (DE) and Darren Turner (GB) will start the race from second in the GTE Pro class following a closely fought battle with Porsche, Ferrari and Corvette, which went right down to the final lap.

The changing weather conditions made for a difficult session and, because of the average lap format of qualifying in the WEC, Mücke was forced to complete his laps a second time once the track had dried out.

“Qualifying was quite tricky – some of the track was wet but we knew it would dry out. We had the right strategy but we ran out of time. If I’d had another lap, I'm confident I could have taken pole. We’re having a strong weekend so far and we're looking forward to the race”, commented Mücke,

The #99 Craft-Bamboo Racing car, piloted by Fernando Rees (BR) and Alex MacDowall (GB), took the car's top qualifying position of its inaugural WEC season and will start the race tomorrow from fifth.

Rees, who set the fastest GTE Pro time of free practice three earlier today, commented: “We know that the qualifying result today doesn’t reflect our true pace so we are looking forward to the race tomorrow. At Spa, we had the pace to be second in qualifying and then ran well in the race. It was the same here this evening so we know we can do it again tomorrow.”

In the GTE Am class, the championship-leading #95 Young Driver Vantage GTE will also start from the front row, narrowly missing out on pole position, despite holding the top spot for most of the session.

Richie Stanaway (NZ), who recorded the fastest lap of the Am class and quickest Aston Martin overall, teamed up with Kristian Poulsen (DN) in the 20-minute session, marking a successful return to the Championship for the 22-year old New Zealander.

“That was tricky," he commented. "It was quite a messy session because the track was half wet and half dry and was drying pretty quickly, so I just put two banker laps in and did the driver change to Kristian. To drop the average, I luckily got one quick lap in at the end when the track had dried out. I would have liked to have got another lap in to drop our average even more – I think it would have been an easy pole for us.”

The #98 NorthWest Vantage GTE qualified in seventh place in the GTE Am class with Pedro Lamy (PT) and Christoffer Nygaard (DN) behind the wheel.

“The rain just at the start of the session certainly spiced things up a bit,” commented Team Principal John Gaw. “The first driver in each car recorded their laps early on but towards the end of the session the track dried so we sent them all back out again to better their times – it meant that it was a race against the clock for all of the teams.

“It’s great to see the #97 on the front row, we’ve seen real progress from the #99 – to be inside the top five in only their fourth WEC race is impressive – and Richie did a great job in the #95 to take the fastest lap in the class. Let’s see what we can do in tomorrow’s race.”

The Six Hours of Austin, dubbed the Lone Star Le Mans by the organisers, starts at 1700hrs local time tomorrow (Saturday 20 September).

- ENDS -

**Nova** · 20th September 2014, 14:44

Tough Q for us at cota...hope we can pull off a good race..the weather keeps changing
the track so its going to b a tuff race. Cmon Ferrari guys!!

**Rob** · 20th September 2014, 15:47

Originally Posted by Nova

Tough Q for us at cota...hope we can pull off a good race..the weather keeps changing
the track so its going to b a tuff race. Cmon Ferrari guys!!

But we on pole. Lets hope we have good/clean and safe race. Just need to extend the points gap.

**Rob** · 20th September 2014, 21:45

15 minutes to go, cannt wait.

**AfterLife** · 20th September 2014, 21:55

Originally Posted by Rob

15 minutes to go, cannt wait.

my stream lagging badly because of so many people watching there, do you have other stream?

**Rob** · 20th September 2014, 21:58

Originally Posted by AfterLife

my stream lagging badly because of so many people watching there, do you have other stream?

what you using?

**AfterLife** · 20th September 2014, 22:00

Originally Posted by Rob

what you using?

http://www.vipleague.tv

**Rob** · 20th September 2014, 22:01

not sure what streams there is, as its live on Eurosport and Motors TV, i will ask some people what streams are about.

**AfterLife** · 20th September 2014, 22:03

Originally Posted by Rob

not sure what streams there is, as its live on Eurosport and Motors TV, i will ask some people what streams are about.

Thanks

**Rob** · 20th September 2014, 22:07

cannt find another link.

**AfterLife** · 20th September 2014, 22:08

I gave it up, anyway, Forza Ferrari

Thread: 2014 WEC/ELMS&TUSC news.

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