2015 WEC/ELMS&TUSC news.

[Rob]

POLE POSITION FOR ASTON MARTIN AT COTA

18 September 2015, Austin: Aston Martin Racing will start tomorrow’s FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Six Hours of The Circuit of the Americas from pole position in the GTE Pro class following today’s exciting 20-minute qualifying session.

The #99 Vantage GTE, driven by Fernando Rees (BR) and Richie Stanaway (NZ), will start the six-hour race from the front of the grid, with the #97 Vantage GTE of Darren Turner (GB) and Jonny Adam (GB) a row behind in third place.

The #95 Young Driver Vantage GTE will start from fourth.

In the GTE Am class, the #96 Vantage GTE of Stuart Hall (GB) and Benny Simonsen (DN) sat on provisional pole until the final seconds of the session but will start the race from second place in class.

The #98 Vantage GTE of Pedro Lamy (PT) and Paul Dalla Lana (CA) will start from third in class.

“That was a better qualifying session than we had expected, due to a smart tyre choice from the engineers,” commented Team Principal John Gaw. “It’s still going to be a tough race for us, especially with the expected hot temperatures, so we need to make the most of these strong starting positions.”

The ‘Six Hours of the Circuit of the Americas’ takes place on Saturday 19 September at 1700hrs local time.

Join in with the team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #teamAMR.

Driver line-ups:

GTE PRO
95: Marco Sørensen, Christoffer Nygaard, Nicki Thiim
97: Darren Turner, Jonny Adam
99: Alex MacDowall, Fernando Rees, Richie Stanaway

GTE AM
96: Stuart Hall, Benny Simonsen, Francesco Castellacci,
98: Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda

- ENDS -

[Rob]

NEWS ALERT
Circuit of The Americas - 18 September 2015
Hello Mr Robert Allum,
PORSCHE MAINTAIN PERFECT 2015 POLE RECORD

Porsche maintained its 100% success rate in taking pole position in the 2015 WEC as Marc Lieb and Neel Jani topped the average times in the 20-minuite session at COTA this evening. It was also Porsche’s eighth consecutive WEC pole position, a run that stretches back to the 6 Hours of Shanghai last November.
The LMP2 class pole provisionally went to the title-leading KCMG ORECA 05-Nissan. There had been initial disappointment for the LMP2 points' leaders when Matt Howson was stranded at the pit exit at the very start of the session, causing it to be red flagged. The team was then able to get the car out for the remainder of the session after curing the problem. Matt Howson and Richard Bradley then turned in some stunning times. However the team was placed under investigation and after some deliberation the Stewards decided to remove all the times for the no47 Oreca for driving the car in the oppositte direction of the track (Decision no13) and it will start at the back of the P2 grid. The no26 G Drive Racing Ligier was promoted to pole position, with the no28 sister car in second.

The LMGTE Pro class saw a fine pole position for the No.99 Aston Martin Vantage of Fernando Rees and Richie Stanaway. They will start tomorrow’s six Hour race in Texas at the front of the LMGTE field with an average lap of 2m05.872. It was the third time in as many years that Stanaway had set the fastest overall lap time in the class.

In the LMGTE Am class the roles were reversed with Patrick Dempsey and Patrick Long taking the top spot in the Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 to secure the pole position, with Long taking the pole right at the end of the session to move ahead of the No.96 Aston Martin Vantage of Stuart Hall and COTA rookie Benny Simonsen by just 0.179s.

[Rob]

Tequila Patrón ESM Qualifies Third at COTA

Austin, Texas, – Sept. 18, 2015 – Tequila Patrón ESM earned its best starting position of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) during qualifying for the 6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Despite a red flag impacting the opening minutes of qualifying, the team made the most of the 15-minute session. The No. 30 and No. 31 Tequila Patrón-sponsored Ligier JS2 Hondas will start third and sixth in the race on Saturday.

Per FIA WEC rules, the quickest lap time from each team’s two qualifying drivers are averaged in order to determine the starting position.

Ryan Dalziel and David Heinemeier Hansson qualified the No. 30 Tequila Patrón ESM Ligier JS Honda third, with an average lap time of 1:57.621. Dalziel and Heinemeier Hansson are co-driving with Tequila Patrón ESM driver/owner Scott Sharp during the six-hour endurance challenge on Saturday.

Ed Brown and Johannes van Overbeek qualified the No. 31 Tequila Patrón ESM Ligier JS Honda sixth, with an average lap time of 2:01.480. Brown and van Overbeek are co-driving with Jon Fogarty for Saturday’s race.

Green flag for the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas takes place at 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Where to Watch
The 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas will be televised live on FOX Sports 2 on Saturday, September 19, from 6 p.m. ET – midnight.

The race can be viewed via the FIA WEC second screen app or online at www.fiawec.com.

To listen to the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, tune into Radio Le Mans at www.radiolemans.com.


####

ED BROWN

“We’ve seen an improvement in the car and our pace this weekend. It was hot and slick out there during qualifying. We have a few adjustments we need to make before the race tomorrow.

“It will be survival of the fittest tomorrow since it is so hot. We expect to see the race change as we approach the evening and hopefully the track cools down. I’ve had two podiums here and I’m looking to continue that streak.”

RYAN DALZIEL

“It was a mixed session. We opted to switch David’s tires and give him my tires just because we didn’t want him to go out on cold tires. I ended up on one-lap, semi-hot scrubs, which I don’t think I got the maximum out of them. That being said, I couldn’t be happier with the team this weekend. We’ve made changes and I think it is a completely different car to what I’ve driven the past couple of races. If someone asked me right now what would I have done different to go faster, it would have been driver. It was my first time with stickers this weekend and it is such a different car in the past that I left a little bit on the table. I’m a little disappointed with myself in that, but I’m happy for the team to start fourth. This is our best starting position in this car and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

JOHANNES VAN OVERBEEK

“I went first and got caught out there with the red flag. I did one flyer lap, and on my next lap, which was looking like a great lap, there was an issue with the fuel pick-up, so I came in. I only had one lap. The car felt pretty good from what I could tell, but I didn’t get the qualifying time to show it.

“Ed did a great job. We’re starting further back than we would have liked or should, but should make for an interesting race tomorrow.

“Both cars have been towards the top of the time sheets. I think that will translate into tomorrow’s race. It is going to be a long, hot day. As long as we’re supposed to do and do it well, we’ll be in a good position at the end.”

DAVID HEINEMEIER HANSSON

“I was in the car first and was also held up some by that red flag, but I think I made a mistake on my lap, which hurt our effort. I should have known about it because I had a heads-up about it earlier and that the car was a little twitchy in a certain area. It is frustrating to know the car had a bunch more pace and I could have done better had I not made a mistake.

“The good news is that the car is on pace and Ryan was right there. I don’t think we’ve been this close in qualifying since Silverstone and that’s promising. Whether we start P2 or P4, it won’t matter in a six-hour race. Let’s see what happens after six hours and running in the dark where we will be at the finish of the race. I feel like we have a real shot at the podium this weekend.

“Endurance has a new meeting at COTA because the temperature is a factor. I think it is going to be a challenge to double-stint in the beating sun. It will be interesting to see how people deal with that. Strategy is a factor this weekend; that will be what wins the race, along with the speed.”

[Rob]

REBELLION Racing Media Team
Austin, Texas - September 18, 2015

REBELLION Racing



REBELLION RACING SECURES FOURTH ROW START FOR 6 HOURS OF COTA


After Friday afternoon’s qualifying session for the 2015 Lone Star Le Mans FIA WEC 6 Hours of COTA race, Nick Heidfeld and Mathias Beche secured their third Pole position of the season in the LMP1 Privateers for the #12 Rebellion R-One AER.

They achieved an average lap time of 1:53.950 and a fastest lap of 1:53.773. The sister Rebellion R-One AER car #13 driven by Alexandre Imperatori and Daniel Abt secured second fastest time in the LMP1 Privateers.

In so doing, the two Rebellion R-One AER cars will start tomorrow's race from the fourth row.

Nick Heidfeld topped the whole field with the best top speed of the qualifying session with a 300.8 km/h recorded in his fastest lap. Daniel Abt was ranked third in top speed, following the #7 Audi, with 299.2 km/h.

Nick Heidfeld – Rebellion R-One AER #12 : « The quali session was quite difficult even though we finished in front. I had an engine control issue during my flying lap, the engine went into the safety mode on the straight and I had to abort my lap. In my second lap the peak of the new tyres had gone, so I know that we could have achieved more lap time, but at least we are in front ! »

Mathias Beche – Rebellion R-One AER #12 : « I had the time for just one flying lap so I couldn’t get the front tyres to exactly the right pressure, so I am not fully happy with the lap. We have some work to do to analyse the data and work on the balance for tomorrow’s race. »

Bart Hayden, REBELLION Racing Team Manager : « The high ambient temperatures during qualifying at COTA cause a couple of technical problems which slightly hindered our performance, but the drivers did well to achieve the lap times that they posted, especially as the session was interrupted by a red flag, so we are reasonably happy. Tomorrow’s race will be tough in the heat and we know that we have a challenge ahead. Ahead of the race, we have a few changes to make with the set ups of the cars. The race starts in the evening, so we have plenty of time to get ready. »

[fratelliferrari]

Awesome photos again mate! Really much appreciated Difficult Q for us but let's push hard during race! Forza AF Corse

[fratelliferrari]

Please can anyone provide me with a livestream link for this race! I have to see it

[Rob]

Please can anyone provide me with a livestream link for this race! I have to see it

try this mate..
http://www.vipboxtv.co/motorsports/4...am-online.html

not sure if any good, i just googled motors tv live stream.

[Rob]

Please can anyone provide me with a livestream link for this race! I have to see it

just been told radiolemans will be live streaming it.

EDIT

will is commentry with no video stream.

go keep looking for you mate.

[Rob]

here we go forza AF Corse forza Gimmi forza Toni forza James forza Davide

[Rob]

what a move by Webber to take the lead

[458 Italia]

Evening Rob how are Audi looking? Can they fight Porsche?

[fratelliferrari]

here we go forza AF Corse forza Gimmi forza Toni forza James forza Davide

Let's get those bloody Porsches now! Forza AF Corse!

[Rob]

Evening Rob how are Audi looking? Can they fight Porsche?

evening, it will be hard, but think they could.

[Rob]

Let's get those bloody Porsches now! Forza AF Corse!

slowly reeling them in

[Rob]

tyre change for Audi.

[458 Italia]

Watching now. It does look like a forgone conclusion l. Those Porsche's are just too strong! Same goes for GTE Pro by the looks of it.

[Rob]

Watching now. It does look like a forgone conclusion l. Those Porsche's are just too strong! Same goes for GTE Pro by the looks of it.

through that stint Toni was pretty much holding the gap of about 6-7 seconds to 2nd place Porsche #91.

[Rob]

Ed Brown may of got caught out by the low sun.

[Rob]

got go bed. Been up since 05.30am.

[458 Italia]

Yeah very nasty crash for the #31.

Night Rob!

[Rob]

Yeah very nasty crash for the #31.

Night Rob!

kids be up at 6. got get bit sleep. Hate to do it, but recording rest.

Buona notte

[Rob]

NEWS ALERT
Circuit of The Americas - 19 September 2015
Hello Mr Robert Allum,
2016 WORLD ENDURANCE CALENDAR REVEALED


Addition of Mexican race takes WEC schedule to nine rounds

The 2016 World Endurance Championship calendar has today been revealed at Circuit of The Americas by Pierre Fillon, President of l’Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), and Gérard Neveu, CEO of the World Endurance Championship (FIA). Alongside the existing eight rounds that have become familiar to endurance racing fans around the world, an additional race will take place in Mexico, to be confirmed as the contract is still being finalised.
The 2016 schedule for the increasingly prestigious endurance series, a joint partnership between the FIA and the ACO, echoes that of 2015 plus the addition of the Mexican round, and will feature nine races in four continents. The 24 Hours of Le Mans continues to be the cornerstone of the championship, and all eight of the other rounds will be six-hour races. Two further significant points within the calendar are the reduction of the gap between races following the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, and the return to Latin America of the WEC.

The WEC is committed to paying special attention to guarantee that budgetary controls remain for the benefit of the constructors and other partners within the paddock.

“We believe that the time is right to expand the WEC, and the nine-race calendar for 2016 allows us to continue to build the tradition of 6-hour events in the countries we visit – some of which were not so familiar with endurance racing when we began in 2012,” said Pierre Fillon, President of the ACO. “Each year we return, the Spirit of Le Mans is more and more obvious, with increasing entertainment and sporting action for larger numbers of spectators and TV audiences to enjoy. Of course, the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans is the race that everyone knows about and wants to compete in, but the legend is now being extended to the 6-hour races as well and moving into countries with strong historic links to endurance, such as Mexico City. We are very proud to have maintained the level of stability in the four years of the WEC, and we look forward to seeing you all in 2016.”

“The opportunity offered by Mexico City to take endurance racing back to Latin America was the right one at the right time,,” said Gérard Neveu, CEO of the WEC. “In consultation with our partners and competitors, we believe that the countries in which we race have all fully embraced endurance racing and that was one of the considerations for any further rounds. The WEC Promoter will be responsible for the full freight costs for competitors from Europe to Mexico so that there will not be any significant impact on their logistic budgets. Using the stability and consistency already in place with our other rounds, we will continue to ensure that the WEC continues to offer fans access to the most technologically relevant, competitive, and open championship possible. We are looking forward to welcoming Ford back to top level GTE racing in 2016, and we are confident that Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche are equally excited about their entry. We have worked with the teams and circuits to reduce the long summer gap following Le Mans, and this new calendar will keep the action going through the summer.”

As has become tradition, the 2016 season will start on the 25/26 March with The Prologue at Circuit Paul Ricard in France for the official pre-season test. It is the first opportunity for media and fans, and indeed competitors, to see all the new season’s cars in one place including the top manufacturer hybrid entries from Audi, Porsche and Toyota, and all the other LMP1 privateer, LMP2 and GTE teams.

The opening race of the year will be the 6 Hours of Silverstone at the home of British motorsport, where entrants will compete for the celebrated Royal Automobile Club Tourist Trophy. The 2016 WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will be the fifth time that the Belgian round has taken place in early May. The race has become the traditional ‘dress rehearsal’ for teams and drivers in the lead up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

The 6 Hours of Nürburgring, which enjoyed a very successful introduction to the calendar this year, will once again be the fourth round of the WEC but in 2016 will take place on 24 July to reduce the length of time between races over the summer period.

As the championship moves into its second half of the season, the new, Mexican round on 04 September will be the first of five races overseas at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Lone Star Le Mans will once again be a joint race weekend with IMSA’s United Sports Car Championship. It will be followed by races in Fuji, Shanghai and the finale in Bahrain at the end of November.

2016 FIA World Endurance Championship Provisional Calendar**
25/26 March: The Prologue, Circuit Paul Ricard, France
17 April: 6 Hours of Silverstone, GBR
07 May: WEC 6 Hours of Spa, BEL
05 June: 24 Hours of Le Mans Test Day
18/19 June:24 Hours of Le Mans, FRA
24 July: 6 Hours of Nürburgring, DEU
04 September: 6 Hours of Mexico City, MEX (To Be Confirmed)
17 September: 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas (Lone Star Le Mans), USA
16 October: 6 Hours of Fuji, JAP
06 November: 6 Hours of Shanghai, PRC
19 November: 6 Hours of Bahrain, UAE

** Subject to validation by the FIA World Motor Sport Council

[Rob]

FIA WEC: double podium at Austin for the AF Corse Ferrari 458’s.

AUSTIN, September 20th – Two podium finishes in both GT categories for the AF Corse Ferrari 458’s Italia under the chequered flag of the “6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas” (Austin, US), fifth round in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). Davide Rigon and James Calado, in the Ferrari 458 Italia #71, took the third step on podium in the GTE Pro category at the end of a race in recovery (they started from position 7 on grid). Positive race and third position in GTE Am category for François Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Agus in the Ferrari 458 Italia #83. Starting from third position, the trio in the #83 fought for the top positions, closing with a new podium.

Disappointment, however, for the race of the Ferrari 458 Italia #51 driven by the GT World Champions, Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander. Between the fourth and fifth hour of the race, a problem with a door forced an unscheduled stop in the pits when Bruni and Vilander were fighting for the top positions. The mechanics quickly fixed the technical problem. But, when the car came back on the track, it was seventh. The duo held this spot until the end.

The championship, however, has not yet issued the verdicts. With three rounds to race, Rigon and Calado are second with 87points (Lietz first with 98) in the GT Drivers Cup. Bruni and Vilander are currently fourth (68.5).

In GTE Am Trophy, Perrodo, Collard and Aguas are second with 96 points.

In the Manufactures GT, Ferrari is first with 187 lengths.

AF Corse is in second place in the Team GTE Pro standing with 101 points (Porsche Team Manthey is first with 107) and second among Team GTE Am with 96 (Smp Racing is first with 131).

The next round of the FIA WEC will be at Fuji (Japan), October 11th.

AF Corse Press Office - Riccardo Delfanti

[Nova]

Good to see we r still getting podiums with my beloved 458's..but..sad to say, if we want to regain top spot, we may have to move on...Any news on the 488 development?

I would love to see development continue on the 458 and get it back up there, but w/the 488, I dont think thats going to happen.

[Rob]

Good to see we r still getting podiums with my beloved 458's..but..sad to say, if we want to regain top spot, we may have to move on...Any news on the 488 development?

I would love to see development continue on the 458 and get it back up there, but w/the 488, I dont think thats going to happen.

With new GTE regs coming in next year, and the new GT40 and Aston being built to those new rules, it would be very hard if not impossible to carry the 458 over to next year and be a front running car.

488, is coming along nicely. At the BoP test earlier this month, had to stop test early due to aero problems. But remember it has not done alot of running, the car is only couple months old.

[Rob]

From Toni Vilander.
The heat was really on us at Circuit of The Americas, in more ways than one.

It was another disappointing result for our No.51 AF Corse Ferrari after losing time to fix a non-illuminating light panel on the door of our 458 Italia, but at least our sister car got a podium finish and Ferrari has maintained its lead in the GT Manufacturers’ championship.

It’s getting a bit close for comfort now, with only a few points in it, and we really need some strong, clean races for the last three rounds of the WEC to help retain that title for Ferrari.

It wasn’t really a great weekend for us at all – from start to finish – which is a shame because we all love racing in the U.S. and the COTA facilities and Austin are fantastic.

The fact is that at the previous round at the Nürburgring we did the last five hours of the race without an issue, put the race car into a container, shipped it over to the USA and then in FP1 on Thursday morning, after 10 laps the car shut down like in Germany.

The guys worked really hard on Thursday, but we missed an hour of practice which, at such a level as we have in the WEC, is quite a lot especially in terms of set up preparation for the race and evaluating tire wear.

Qualifying was also tough on us as we struggled for grip and we took 6th in GTE Pro which is not where we are used to being.

Even if we were not able to match the Porsches, it was tough to find ourselves in the last two in class, a second and a half slower than we were in the morning’s FP3 session.

Jumping ahead to the race result, it has been four completely different issues which have affected us this year, none of which are things we have had before.

I said last time that I don’t believe in good or bad luck, but maybe we’ve upset someone somewhere…perhaps we need to go to Tibet or something to see the Dalai Lama and find some peace for our souls!

It’s an unfortunate thing and there is obviously some heat, or pressure, building up now because, as drivers, we want to have good results. James [Calado] and Davide [Rigon] did well, and I think Gimmi and I could have challenged the Porsche and been on the podium if we hadn’t had the problem – maybe not the win, but a strong points-scoring finish.

During the race itself, there was an issue with the first full course yellow with a bit of a misunderstanding on our side and Porsche played it really on the limit, meaning that when the yellow came they must have stopped at the very last second possible. We lost precious seconds there.

Our first laps in a stint weren’t so good, but two thirds of Gimmi’s stint were awesome although we struggled a bit with tyre pressures.

From the midpoint to the end of a stint we were always able to gain on Porsche, but after the full course yellow the gap got a bit too big.

I believe the actual Balance of Performance of the race cars now is not so bad and the difference between each of the manufacturers is down to how you get the tires working for you at each different circuit.

At the Nürburgring we were really strong and had both performance and good tyre wear in both qually and the race, but at COTA it was a bit the other way.

We were struggling, especially after the United Sportscar Championship cars had been on track with the different rubber they use but we think that should be a one-off situation.

In the coming races it’s about getting the optimum set up and getting the tires working right for us in both qually and the race.

We had a Ferrari 1-2 last year at Fuji and that’s the result we’ll be chasing again this year. Whether you believe in luck or not, keep your fingers crossed for us!

[Rob]

Aston Martin wants World Endurance Championship GTE BoP changes
By Gary Watkins

Aston Martin, Austin WEC 2015

Aston Martin Racing is calling for greater transparency in the GTE Balance of Performance process after its Vantages again proved off the pace in the Austin World Endurance Championship round.

AMR boss John Gaw believes changes to the BoP made ahead of the last month's Nurburgring event have unbalanced the field in GTE Pro and were unnecessary because the balance at the previous six-hour race at Spa in May was "the most equal in the history of the WEC".

He argued that transparent processes need to be put in place so that similar situations are avoided when the new GTE rulebook, which has been conceived to make the BoP process easier, comes into force for 2016.

"When a balanced formula is required at world championship level to control costs, all the manufacturers, the organisers and the suppliers should work better together to ensure what's happened to the competitive situation in WEC GTE post-Le Mans is corrected and not allowed to happen again," Gaw told AUTOSPORT.

"Those who sign off the budgets required for racing in that environment need confidence that as the flag drops to start a race that everyone has a fair chance to win, assuming the execution is at the highest level."

Gaw explained that the manufacturers were working with the FIA and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, who write the rules, to increase transparency, but insisted that "work will be required now and in the future to ensure key stakeholders that sign off those budgets are convinced that it can deliver".

The Vantage GTEs have raced at each of the past two WEC events with an air-restrictor reduced in diameter by 5mm in comparison with the Silverstone and Spa rounds, which Aston has stated is worth between 10 and 20bhp.

The Ferrari 458 Italia has had its minimum weight raised by 5kg, while the Porsche 911 RSR has been given a 10kg weight break.

There was a separate BoP at the Le Mans 24 Hours because of the unique demands of the 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe.

Porsche finished one-two at both the Nurburgring and Austin, while Aston notched up a best result of fourth each time.

Richie Stanaway and Fernando Rees put their Vantage on pole position at Austin after each used a set of soft compound Michelin tyres, while Ferrari is believed to have qualified on mediums and Porsche used only one set.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/120940

[Nova]

Transparency? Porsche won..Ferrari wasnt close..so how transparent can it get?
Rules like these kill a series, fiddling w/the cars doesnt make them even.
In this case, weight reductions for porsche resulted in wins...weight gain for
us cost us races and possible wins. If this continues, we wont win again this season.

[Rob]

JOTA SPORT AND ARDEN INTERNATIONAL MOTORSPORT PARTNER TO PROVIDE DRIVERS WITH MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES

By forming the partnership together the British sportscar and single-seater outfits aim to create new opportunities for drivers between both disciplines as well as strengthening both teams resources in the process

Two of Britain’s leading motor racing teams are to form a partnership designed to help continue to develop the careers of young talented drivers move forward in the sport. Highly successful sportscar team, JOTA Sport, and Arden International Motorsport, a leading player in various single-seater categories, will now work closely together to help tailor the specific requirements open to drivers in terms of opportunities in both sportscar and open-wheel racing gleaned from a huge wealth of knowledge from the highly-experienced individuals in both “camps”. The association is also designed to smooth out the transition for those drivers hoping to forge a professional career path for themselves in the sportscar world as well as still being able to continue to follow career opportunities in the single seater environment

Drivers historically move from one category to another during their careers and sometimes back full circle – as JOTA Sport has experienced with Mitch Evans, Harry Tincknell and Oliver Turvey who are all sportscar race winners. Evans remains in singles-seaters (GP2) after a two-race sportscar foray this year while Turvey has recently switched back to “open-wheel” racing with Formula E. Tincknell, a 2014 Le Mans 24 Hour race winner with JOTA, moved from Formula 3 to sportscars last year and is now a Nissan NISMO “factory” driver.

Earlier this month, JOTA Sport announced that it will contest the FIA World Endurance Championship with an ORECA 05-Nissan while continuing to compete in the European Le Mans Series with its Gibson-Nissan next year. 2014 Le Mans 24 Hour race winning JOTA Sport, runners-up in this year’s annual twice-around-the-clock race, currently leads the ELMS championship with just one race remaining at Estoril in Portugal (18 Oct) having finished second in the 2014 ELMS standings by a mere four-points.

Banbury-based Arden International Motorsport was founded by Christian Horner, Team Principal of the Infiniti Red Bull Racing Formula One team, and his father, Garry, in 1997. The team has contested the FIA Formula 3000 Championship – winning the 2002, ‘03 & ‘04 Team titles – and since then have won the GP3 championship twice in 2012 and 2013 with Mitch Evans and Daniel Kvyat respectively, ending up as Vice Champions in GP2 in 2012. Arden has also competed in FR3.5 since 2012 and finished as Vice Champions in both the teams and drivers championships .Arden continued its growth this year by entering the new MSA Formula Championship in which it is currently lying 2nd in the drivers championship in its first year.

Former Arden drivers Sébastien Buemi, Robert Doornbos, Heikki Kovalainen, Daniil Kvyat, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Sergio Pérez, Charles Pic, Carlos Sainz, Jr. and Bruno Senna all graduated to Formula One while Neel Jani, Darren Manning and Björn Wirdheim went on to contest IndyCar/ChampCar. The majority of these drivers have also raced in sportscars.

Pictured above (left-right): Julian Rouse, David Clark, Garry Horner and Sam Hignett.


David Clark. Partner, JOTA Group:
“The association is beneficial to both companies as we both have similar ambitions and business principles. It’s another piece in the jigsaw of JOTA’s desire to see our continued evolution in the industry. We have further exciting plans for the JOTA Group which will become apparent in the coming months.”

Sam Hignett. Partner, JOTA Group:
“Entering into this partnership with Arden International Motorsport lays the foundations for a very exciting future for JOTA Sport. Arden is one of the best, if not the finest, single-seater team in the UK. As sportscar racing continues to grow, the void between single-seater and sportscar teams is shrinking. We view this is a natural progression for both JOTA and Arden.”

Julian Rouse. General Manager, Arden International Motorsport:
“We are delighted to be entering into a partnership with JOTA. This is a new chapter for Arden and something that has not been done before .Working together on projects in both single seaters and sportscars will be a real benefit for everyone involved and creates an exciting future for Arden and JOTA as a whole."

Garry Horner. Team Principle ,CEO, Arden International Motorsport:
“We are delighted to announce our partnership with JOTA Sport. Both teams share the same ethos, work ethic and level of professionalism and there is a natural synergy in our future ambitions, which makes this a perfect fit.”

[Rob]

Porsche Set To Reduce WEC GTE Pro Programme In 2016?

Porsche’s 2016 FIA WEC GTE programme was in some doubt until the late summer as the marque moved to make a long-term decision on motorsport strategy, with the iconic Porsche 911 looking set to be replaced as the weapon of choice for the company’s top-tier GT racing activities for 2017, likely by a future mid-engined car.

A clear signal came at the WEC race weekend at the Nurburgring though that any doubt over a return to the GTE Pro class had been removed, Porsche senior management clearly expressing that they would continue to support the class.

More recent conversations though have indicated clearly that, at present, the effort is likely to be with a single 911 RSR from the factory team.

In addition, Auto Hebdo in France is reporting that the 2017 effort may very well not be run by Team Manthey, but that Porsche support will still be forthcoming for the efforts of Proton Competition.

Whether or not that is an indication of an expanded factory-backed GT3 programme with the new 2016-spec 911 GT3 R, or whether Manthey is to be involved heavily with the development programme for the 2017 car, remains to be seen.