LMS/ILMC 2011

[Tifoso]

Wait. Some cars get smaller fuel lines, and have to weigh more than others?

[Rob]

i know, it just them try to reduce the performance gaps between the fast cars and the, not so fast cars. So it isnt a total whitewash by Ferraris, Porsches and the diesels in the LMP1 class. Isnt go make much difference.

The 458s are looking to be in good shape come the race. At Spa for the 1000km, couple 458s only had 4 pitstops.

[Tifoso]

Does anyone know if this is on SPEED? (Yes, I will keep asking )

[Rob]

Does anyone know if this is on SPEED? (Yes, I will keep asking )

i will check, i would of thought it be on there Lou.

[Rob]

Flying Lizard reveals special livery for Le Mans
By Team Update ⋅ June 1, 2011 ⋅

Flying Lizard revealed today a commemorative livery for the No. 80 and No. 81 Flying Lizard Porsches for the 2011 24 Heures du Mans. Created by California-based artist Troy Lee, the livery celebrates the history of Porsche at Le Mans, featuring the 28 drivers who have won the 24 Heures du Mans overall in a Porsche. The No. 80 and No. 81 designs are identical, implemented in complementary colors: candy metallic orange for the No. 80 and candy metallic blue for the No. 81; both anchored by a deep ocean blue. Primary colors provide a backdrop for the driver names and flags which weave throughout the design on the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

The Flying Lizard Porsche livery will be officially unveiled at scrutineering on Monday, June 6 in Le Mans at approximately 13.30 CET (just prior to the scheduled scrutineering time for the No. 80). “2011 is a special year for Flying Lizard at Le Mans: our first time fielding two entries,” said Flying Lizard VP of Marketing, Jennifer Hart. “The livery commemorates the heritage of Porsche at Le Mans, starting with drivers Hans Hermann and Richard Attwood, who secured the first overall victory for Porsche in 1970*. The 911 is an ideal canvas for Troy Lee’s beautiful tribute to this iconic race.”

Troy Lee described the concept of the design, “I started with the vibrant colors of the drivers’ country flags: imagining how they could be put to life on a racecar, as if they were blowing by on the front straight. Once we had the theme, we focused on making it come to life in 3D. The challenge was to really show off the depth and movement of these amazing cars, while maintaining the integrity of the Porsche design.”

Lee continued, “A crucial part of this project was getting the right paint: We worked extensively with PPG Industries to develop these custom colors, both for their liveliness and for the depth of the metallic colors. Using the candy paint as a base, we then created the intricate backdrop of asymmetric shapes to balance the design and create the sense of speed.”

President of Porsche Motorsport North America Jens Walther added, “We are proud that Flying Lizard chose to honor the 28 drivers who have stood on the top step of the podium for Porsche at Le Mans. This design exemplifies the effort that Flying Lizard puts into every aspect of their race preparation, and shows why Lizard drivers have won the American Le Mans Series GT championship for the last three years.” Flying Lizard initiated the project with Troy Lee in late 2010. Hart added, “We worked with Troy’s team for several months to finalize the concept and design. The livery is a combination of candy paint overlaid with vinyl. The vinyl was custom-tailored to each Porsche and applied at our shop in Sonoma by Iconography Studios. Each car has a clear coat to protect the graphics. We are thrilled with the end result; the Porsches are uniquely beautiful and seem to be almost humming with energy.”

Flying Lizard Driver Lineup
Joerg Bergmeister (Germany), Patrick Long (USA) and Lucas Luhr (Germany) will team in the Flying Lizard No. 80 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the GTE Pro class. Darren Law (USA), Seth Neiman (USA) and Spencer Pumpelly (USA) will pilot the Flying Lizard No. 81 Porsche in the GTE Am class.

Follow the Race
The 24 Heures du Mans will get the green flag at 15.00h CET (6:00 am PT) on Saturday June 11. The race will be broadcast live in its entirety on Eurosport in Europe and partial coverage on SpeedTV in the United States. Radio Le Mans will broadcast live English language radio coverage. Flying Lizard will broadcast the team radio live throughout the race; read the team race blog for frequent team updates at www.lizardms.com



www.planetlemans.com

[Rob]

Well only next weekend. It going to be good race. Really really cannt wait for it.

[Rob]

FIA announces World Endurance Championship

JUNE 3, 2011
The FIA caught the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and SRO by surprise after announcing the launch of the FIA World Endurance Championship and changes to the FIA GT1 World Championship.

After the FIA World Motor Sport Council met in Barcelona today a press release was issued in which it was announced that the FIA in partnership with the ACO will creat the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012. Even though no calendar has been confirmed, there will be at least six events including the Le Mans 24 Hours.

There will be a title for Constructors and Drivers, like in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, while the GTE cars will be racing for the FIA GT Endurance World Cup.

The change to the FIA GT1 World Championship will be the creation of a new GT World Class. The new class will be open to 2011 specification GT1 and GT3 cars, as well as the 2009 GT2 cars. As a result the current spec GTE cars will not be allowed to race in the FIA GT World Championship, while current GT3 cars like the Audi R8 LMS, the Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 and the new McLaren MP4-12C GT3 could. The performance of the cars will be reviewed in order to create a level playing field and make it possible for more manufacturers to run their cars in the championship.

The FIA GT World Championship will remain a stand-alone championship with two one-hour sprint races.

[scuderiafan]

hope it persuades more manufacturers to join.

[Rob]

hope it persuades more manufacturers to join.

who would you like to see join?

All the big guns are there already. Just cannt wait for the Ferrari 458 GT wipe the floor with the Mclaren MP4-12 Skip

[scuderiafan]

oh in the LMP class. i remember Group C. i would like to see Mazda, Nissan, Sauber Merc (i know a little ambitious) or Merc on its own, and BMW, Toyota. would love to see what machines these companies can make when they normally make boxes.

[Rob]

oh in the LMP class. i remember Group C. i would like to see Mazda, Nissan, Sauber Merc (i know a little ambitious) or Merc on its own, and BMW, Toyota. would love to see what machines these companies can make when they normally make boxes.

the Sauber Merc was awesome!! Merc, i dont think would be to keen on returning to Le-Mans due to the big flips they had in 1999. Mazda and Nissan have said they would like to go back to Le-Mans, but nothing has never took off. I would love to see full Ferrari LMP1 factory attack on Le-Mans

BMW, are happy with the new M3 GT they have, i think they also going to make return to DTM next year, about time.

[scuderiafan]

How did the Ferrari P4/5 get on at the Nurb 24h? dont know if it is part of this series ( pardon me for my lack of knowledge), but it looked like a serious contender.

[epiclyaddicted]

How did the Ferrari P4/5 get on at the Nurb 24h? dont know if it is part of this series ( pardon me for my lack of knowledge), but it looked like a serious contender.

Not sure how the P4/5 did, but the Nurburgring 24hrs is not part of this series, it's an independent race.

[Rob]

Manthey Racing wins Nürburgring 24 Hours

Manthey Racing and its drivers Marc Lieb, Lucas Luhr, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas won the 39th ADAC ZURICH Nürburgring 24 Hours. The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR dominated the race and beat the BMW Motorsport BMW M3 GT by almost 4,5 minutes, taking the fifth ever overall win for Manthey Racing.

Marc Lieb, Lucas Luhr, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas managed to maintain their lead in the thirteenth hour but behind the #18 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR the battle for second place heated up with the Heico Motorsport Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 #32, the Audi Sport Team Phoenix Audi R8 LMS #15 and the #1 BMW M3 GT. The #36 Mamerow Mercedes crashed out of the race at the Niki Lauda-Kurve.

Due to the crash of the BMW Z4 GT3 #76 and the #24 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 the crash site was a construction area for several hours and it would take until 6 am before it the yellow flags were gone again at the scene of the incident.

In the meantime the BMW M3 GT #1 of Jörg Müller, Augusto Farfus, Uwe Alzen and Pedro Lamy was pushing and managed to get back into second position overall in the fifteenth hour. The gap to the leading Manthey Racing Porsche had grown though with the Heico Motorsport Mercedes now third at almost a minute from the leaders – having been hit by a car earlier in the race casing some damage.

Need for Speed Team Schubert lost another car when the #77 BMW Z4 GT3 tangled with the #141 Seat Leon. The maneuver launched the BMW onto the barrier and into the catch fence. The car landed upside down and was an immediate retirement. With the barriers and catchfence damaged the scene of the accident was turned into a construction zone again and the race continued with both drivers uninjured. An unharmful spin for the #32 Mercedes meant a short delay, but gave the BMW the chance to pull further away from it.

At 9 o’clock, after completing 109 laps, the gap between the Porsche and the Mercedes-Benz was 4 minutes and 10 seconds, the BMW a further minute behind.

The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid was the next car to hit trouble after an apparent accident with a Renault Clio RS at Schwedenkreuz, the car returned to the pit and lost more valuable time in the pit box while being fixed. Unfortunately for Schubert Motorsport their day was over just before 10:30, when Marko Hartung parked the #4 BMW Z4 GT3 with a driveshaft failure.

After 19 hours of racing the top three was unchanged, with Manthey Racing leading the BMW Motorsport BMW M3 GT by just under 5,5 minutes and the Heico Motorsport Mercedes following some three minutes behind.

The top three remained the same over the following laps – with just the cars further down the field going off or spinning. With some three and a half hours left the #32 cars spun again, allowing the Audi’s behind to closin rapidly. The #8 Haribo Manthey Porsche – expected to race in the Spa 24 Hours as well – suffered a small fire after damaging the exhaust and damage to the rear. It returned to the track later on.

With just over two hours left the gap between the two leaders was still some 4,5 minutes, but behind them the Mercedes-Benz #32 and the #14 Audi Sport Team Phoenix Audi R8 LMS had found each other and fought for third overall. At the end of the lap(the 142nd) the Audi seemed to make it, but then came into the pit.

After 143 laps the #18 Porsche was 4:20.483 ahead of the #1 BMW M3 GT and another 3:02.007 over the #32 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. Behind it were three Audi R8 LMS, although the #16 had yet to come in for a one-minute stop & go.

Unfortunately for the Heico Motorsport team their hopes for a podium finish vanished when the #32 Mercedes-Benz came in and was pushed into the box. Work immediately started on the rear of the car, but as the car was stuck in the pit lane Audi’s #14 and #15 passed it. With just over 22 minutes left it returned to the track, but it had already dropped to seventh overall. Two cars remained on the lead lap – the gap between the Porsche and BMW still over four minutes.

In the remaining minutes the Manthey Racing Porsches got into formation and after completing 156 laps – a new distance record – the #18 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR crossed the line to secure another victory for Manthey Racing and Porsche Motorsport. Due to the slow formation lap the #1 BMW Motorsport BMW M3 managed to close the gap from 4 minutes and 50 seconds to 4 minutes and 23 seconds. Audi Sport Team Phoenix secured the final podium place in the last hour.

put full results up as soon as got them. Day delayed. sorry

[scuderiafan]

EDIT: Confirmed now. Woohoo!

Porsche will return to the Le Mans 24 Hours with a full factory LMP1 prototype in 2014, the Stuttgart-based sportscar manufacturer has announced.


As the event's most successful manufacturer, the company has not been represented in a works capacity in the top class at Le Mans since 1998 when Porsche claimed the last of its 16 outright victories with Allan McNish, Stephane Ortelli and Laurent Aiello in the 911 GT1.

It has retained a strong presence in the GT class since then, however.

President of the Executive Board at Porsche AG, Matthias Muller, said the company had always intended to return to Le Mans as a factory team and had been waiting for the right time to announce its intentions.

"Motorsport was always an essential part of the Porsche brand," said Müller. "So for us it was only a matter of time before we returned as a factory to the top league of racing.

"Porsche's successes in Le Mans are unrivalled. We want to follow up on this with the 17th outright victory."

Porsche's last factory involvement in the prototype class was its successful American Le Mans Series-winning LMP2 RS Spyder - which was run and developed by Penske.

The company has not released details on the new project, or whether it will be a coupe or an open roof car, but indicated that it wanted to make the most of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's inticing approach to green technologies.

Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport, said: "We're looking forward to the task of developing new technologies and to continue on with the success of the Porsche RS Spyder. After the conclusion of our works-supported sports prototype programme in the American Le Mans Series we have kept up with the latest technological advances.

"Now we will begin with detailed research in order to evaluate the various concept alternatives for our new car.

"These obviously depend on how the regulations for the year 2014 look in detail. In principle, these regulations are interesting for us because the integration of our hybrid technology in the vehicle concept is one possible option."

Porsche indicated that it could use the new project to highlight new technologies as it did recently with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, which raced in the recent Nurburgring 24 Hours with the flywheel KERS system developed by Williams.

"With the RS Spyder we proved that our motorsport engineers in Weissach are at the forefront," said Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG. "For instance, we were the first to run a high-revving race engine with direct fuel injection, DFI, setting new standards in performance and efficiency.

"Recently, with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, we adopted a completely new drive technology for racing purposes and achieved a considerable reduction in consumption."

Porsche's run of victories at Le Mans began in 1970 with Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann in the fabled 917. The French track then witnessed the marque dominate through the 1980s, with a consecutive wins from '81 - '87, the last six of those with the 956/962 derivatives.


http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92733

[epiclyaddicted]

Yeah, I read it online earlier today, I'm so excited! Porsche vs Audi vs Peugeot, that's (potentially) 9 cars fighting it out for the outright win!

If only we could have Ferrari in their as well!

[scuderiafan]

Yeah, I read it online earlier today, I'm so excited! Porsche vs Audi vs Peugeot, that's (potentially) 9 cars fighting it out for the outright win!

If only we could have Ferrari in their as well!

Audi vs Porsche vs Toyota vs Peugeot vs Aston Martin (if they put more money in the car)

might just be titanic, like the good old days.
youre right, Ferrari should come in, or have the Fiat/Chrysler group do an entry. would love that.

[Rob]

The only way Porsche and Astons could beat the Audis and Pugs is to join them with diesels, or the ACO or even the FIA now, claw the diesels back alot more than we ahve seen in past 2 years.

But, all in all, this is good news for Le-Mans and endurance racing. Just wish Ferrari would make the move for full on factory LMP1 attack.

[Rob]

THANKS TO THE DOUBLE WIN OF IMOLA RACE, AF CORSE DOMINATES ILMC AND LMS CLASSIFICATIONS

The double victory of the "Six hours of Imola" – Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 of Jaime Melo and Toni Vilander in position 1 and Giancarlo Fisichella-Gianmaria Bruni in the second place - projects the AF Corse team at the top of Le Mans Series championships (LMS) and of Le Mans Intercontinental Cup (ILMC), GTE Pro category.

AF Corse have led both leagues before the race at home, but now the gaps become very important.

In the Le Mans Series, AF Corse is the first team with 46 points, against 25 of the second team of the GTE Pro (Hankook Team).

In the drivers classification, AF Corse is in position 1 and 2. Giancarlo Fisichella-Gianmaria Bruni are dominating the competition (45 points), ahead the box-mates Toni Vilander and Jaime Melo who are in second position with 26 points.

In the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the Italian team is in first position ahead of BMW (68 to 62 points). Thanks to positive results of AF Corse cars, Ferrari is in the first position of ILMC constructors championship. The ILMC championship have not drivers classification.

During the “Six hours of Imola”, the two 458 GT2 AF Corse are not the only car which shone. In GTE Am category, Ferrari 430 GT2 driven by Piergiuseppe Perazzini, Marco Cioci and Stephane Lemeret finished the race in third place.


The crew remains in the top places of the drivers standings (they are second with 39 points, just two fewer crew head). Among the team of the GTE Am, AF Corse is in position 2, three lengths by the command (38 to 41).

[Rob]

Peugeot Sport Total dominates at Imola

Peugeot Sport Total took a one-two victory in the 6 Hours of Imola this afternoon. The French manufacturer dominated the fourth round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and the third round of the Le Mans Series on the Italian circuit and anything other than a win would have been a defeat.

After a mistake on the grid, which saw the entire field mirrored on the start grid, Sebastien Bourdais started the race from pole position and he was still leading when the cars went into Tamburello for the first time. Marcel Fässler managed to stay close to Bourdais for most of the opening hour, but just before the end of the first hour Montagny passed the Audi R18 TDI at the Variante Villeneuve and Peugeot was first and second. In LMP2 Jody Firth had a cracking first stint and at 1 pm the TDS Racing Oreca 03 Nissan was already half a minute clear of its rivals. BMW was leading the GTE Pro category with its nr 55 M3 GT2.

Into the second hour the the Peugeots stayed on the pace with the Audi’s clearly not able to follow them around the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari. The gap between the French and German teams increased after every lap. In GTE Pro the BMW Motorsport cars seemed to have an easy day as well and had created a 30 second lead over the AF Corse Ferrari that was chasing them, but that was until problems arose in the #56, described by the team as a ‘small technical issue’. After two hours the AF Corse car was beginning to close in, just like Davidson closed in on his team mate in the leading Peugeot 908.

Davidson kept lapping quicker than Sarrazin and by lap 82 the two Peugeots were close to each other, with Timo Bernhard in the Audi now half a minute behind. Lamy’s BMW saw the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella closing in rapidly. After the pit stops from the leaders Davidson emerged one second ahead of Sarrazin and soon after Davidson managed to put a lap on Kristensen. Kristensen would have none of it though and put his Audi next to the Peugeot and there was contact going through Tamburello. Halfway the race the Peugeots were still dominating.

The gap between the two Peugeots was 20 seconds onto lap 11 and into the fourth hour. Ferrari took the lead in GTE Pro when the nr 55 pitted for full service, a couple of minutes later the nr 56 BMW got out of Rivazza very slow and pulled into the pit immediately. Rob Bell (JMW Ferrari) and Nicolas Prost (Rebellion Lola) made detours via the gravel trap at different parts of the track.
There were some other minor spins and teams catching each other and just before the end of the fourth hour the nr 51 Ferrari pitted, which allowed the sister car to move up into second and the nr 56 BMW back into the top three for the moment.

In LMP2 the TDS Racing Oreca 03 Nissan that had been in a commanding lead pitted with Pierre Thiriet pitted from the lead, but a starter motor problem prevented the car from firing up again and it went back into the box. Valuable time was lost and as a result a big lead went to waste and the Level 5 Motorsports Lola inherited the class lead. With the car stuck in the box it soon dropped further down the order. Down the field the LM GTE Am battle heated up with Nicolas Armindo chasing down Gianluca Roda and taking seconds off the IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche’s lead each lap. As the BMW nr 56 came in again it was pushed back into the box, allowing the Felbermayr-Proton Porsche to move up into fourth in class. The sister car made its stop not much later, which allowed the two AF Corse Ferrari’s to move into first and second again. Melo now leading ahead of Bruni. An early pit stop for the nr 7 Peugeot due to a puncture allowed the nr 8 to take the lead again. After five hours it was still a Peugeot 1-2.


Into the last hour and it was Montagny who had to come in as well with a puncture. The nr 55 BMW M3 GT2 was also called in again for a stop and go penalty for a pitlane infringement, which meant the nr 71 AF Corse Ferrari lost some of the pressure. Melo pitted as the BMW took its penalty. Collard had a scary moment when one of the brakes overheated and gave in, the repairs meaning the Pescarolo had to be wheeled into the box. Christophe Bouchut meanwhile ended up in a battle with the Strakka Racing HPD ARX-01d – not for position – and briefly made contact. After stretching out his lead over the Greaves Motorsport to over 16 seconds the Frenchman came in to the pit unexpectedly and the engine cover went off, the team investigating a gearbox selector problem. Meanwhile in GTE Am Pat Long, who took over from Gianluca Roda, started chasing down Nicolas Armindo, who had taken the lead in the class. Twenty minutes before the end of the race Bourdais put in the fastest lap of the race and returned 18 seconds ahead of his team mate. Behind him several battles were still to be fought. Pat Long closed the gap to Raymond Narac, who had by then taken over from Armindo, but just before the end of the race he had to pit and that was game over for the GTE Am battle.

After 220 laps Bourdais crossed the line to win the 6 Hours of Imola for Peugeot Sport Total, Montagny taking second and Timo Bernhard taking third for Audi Sport Team Joest.

Greaves Motorsport won LMP2, AF Corse took a one-two in GTE Pro, IMSA Performance Matmut won GTE Am. In FLM it was the nr 99 JMB Racing FLM of Kyle Marcelli, Chapman Ducote and Nicolas Marroc that won, in a car that was initially not on the entry list (only as a conditional entry) and with drivers that were set to race the Guess Racing Europ Lola.

The next round of the Le Mans Series and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup will take place at Silverstone in September.

[scuderiafan]

Jaguar planning Le Mans return with LMP1 car

Jaguar is beginning to plan for its first bid for outright honours at the Le Mans 24 Hours since 1991, this week's AUTOSPORT magazine reveals.

The British manufacturer's Indian owner, Ratan Tata, and bosses at Jaguar parent company Tata Motors are known to be evaluating a return to the prototype ranks with an all-new LMP1 car.

AUTOSPORT understands that a decision has already been made in principle to mount an attack on the race in the future, although it is unclear what timeframe Jaguar and Tata are working to.

A Jaguar spokesperson said: "We are monitoring developments in motorsport around the world."

Jaguar has seven Le Mans victories to its name, its most recent success coming in 1990 with the XJR-12.


For more on this story, please see this week's issue of AUTOSPORT magazine.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93066

Audi vs Peugeot vs Aston Martin vs Toyota vs Nissan (possibly) vs PORSCHE vs JAGUAR.

all that is left is for the horse to return, but omg, what news!

[Rob]

be good, think that the news of the new FIA World Endurance Championship has helped. Reckon by time Jag make the full return, Aston may be up to speed by then.

[scuderiafan]

be good, think that the news of the new FIA World Endurance Championship has helped. Reckon by time Jag make the full return, Aston may be up to speed by then.

i think Aston spent nowhere near enough to be competitive. if they understand this, i think they should do good. LeMans is getting very good in twerms of Manufacturers, as before Pug, there was barely any competition for Audi.

now, i hope we get there, and show whos boss

[Rob]

Astons problem, they are doing all their testing and running in the public eye. They should of kept the lola aston coupes for this season and developed the AMR1 behind closed doors. Then unleashed it next year.

Audi will always be the king of Le-Mans. Pugs, i think had their moment. Liked them until last year they rocked up all smug smug after winning '09 with their all speedy low drag car. Then reliablity bite them in the ****

Hope Toyota comes along and really gives Audi a running. We will not go back with full factory LMP1 effort. As long as the Scuderia in F1. That is the main bread in the Gestione Sportiva. Would love see us back there going and challenging for an overall win. But, as long as we in F1, aint go happen.

[scuderiafan]

Astons problem, they are doing all their testing and running in the public eye. They should of kept the lola aston coupes for this season and developed the AMR1 behind closed doors. Then unleashed it next year.

Audi will always be the king of Le-Mans. Pugs, i think had their moment. Liked them until last year they rocked up all smug smug after winning '09 with their all speedy low drag car. Then reliablity bite them in the ****

Hope Toyota comes along and really gives Audi a running. We will not go back with full factory LMP1 effort. As long as the Scuderia in F1. That is the main bread in the Gestione Sportiva. Would love see us back there going and challenging for an overall win. But, as long as we in F1, aint go happen.

Yeah. i think Porsche would give them a real go, and it seems that these companies may have some sort of diesel program going, because as you sdaid the Petrols are at a little bit of an disadvantage.

I agree with the Ferrari thing, and it is a shame. 2010 i actually felt bad for them. their car was miles faster than the R15, but yeah. Audi will be knocked off their perch soon, i think
Porsche will be the ones to do it.

[Rob]

Porsche beating Audi? dont know how that would sit. They both under the VW umbrella, so in away they are sister companies.

[scuderiafan]

Porsche beating Audi? dont know how that would sit. They both under the VW umbrella, so in away they are sister companies.

i dont think VW would mind, as it still is them to be honest. they could end up having a monopoly of lmp 1 aswell. that may sound good to them.

whatever the outcome though, the future of lemans looks good, and in terms of manufacturers better than F1.

[Rob]

it is looking good for sports car racing and especially LMP1s. Think it would make Audi sit up alot more with more rivals. I like the whole Audi ethos of racing and im fan of Mcnish, but be nice to see Porsche go for overall win, or even another Japanese manufacturer win it. Mazda being the only 1 so far

[Rob]

NOOOOOOO not again

Electronic woes curtail amazing Risi charge at Lime Rock

Date: 09 July 2011

Risi charging through the field before electronic woes cut short their race
Risi Competizione’s incredible performance in the first hour of this afternoon’s American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix was sadly brought to a premature end because of an untraceable electronic issue on the Ferrari 458 Italia. The car came behind the wall so the team could fully investigate the issue, but was retired from the race at 4:00 pm – some 50 minutes before the checkered flag. The GT class was won by the BMW of Joey Hand and Dirk Muller.

A practice accident yesterday meant that the Houston-based Risi Competizione team was faced with a steep challenge to repair the damaged car at Lime Rock Park. Despite carrying out extensive mechanical and bodywork repairs, which would under normal circumstances only be carried out at a workshop, and the team working until 2:30 am this morning, the No. 62 car took to the 1.47 mile long track for warm up this morning with the car running just as well as it had at the start of Friday’s practice. The skill of the team’s engineers and mechanics and their hard work was warmly praised by both drivers and the team management.

Forced to miss qualifying yesterday because of the on-going repair work, the Ferrari took its place at the back of the 31-car grid for the start of the race under blazing sunshine and 81oF temperatures. Toni Vilander of Finland made an amazing start and was 20th overall after two laps and up to ninth in the super-competitive, 15-strong, GT class by the end of lap five. He continued to carve his way through the field, benefiting from a multi-car accident 20 minutes into the race which affected several of the Ferrari’s competitors. At the handover to Jaime Melo – which took place after 56 minutes of running and under the first full course caution period – the Ferrari was in a commanding third place.

Melo resumed the on-track battle, reclaiming third place in class, until a continually worsening misfire brought him into the pits. Despite full and extensive investigations, the cause of the problem wasn’t traced and the Ferrari was eventually withdrawn.

Jaime Melo said afterwards, “Of course we’re hugely disappointed; that’s not a surprise. We were expecting to be racing hard against two BMWs, two Corvettes and two Porsches but in the end we were only up against one BMW and one Porsche so I’m completely confident we’d have finished on the podium and maybe done even better than third. Our Michelin tire strategy was working very well and we think we would have been really strong towards the end of the race. The most important thing for me though is that I have to say a big, big thank you to Toni who drove a FANTASTIC stint to get us to the front.”

Toni Vilander adopted a no-risk strategy from the start of the race: “I tried to use the experiences I had in the past, when I might have been too aggressive, and come from the back of the grid and avoid all contact. I used all the overtaking opportunities there were, but in every manoeuvre I waited for the right moment and was sure that the other guy knew I was there. We could have been even faster but the level of risk would have been raised, there would have been a chance of contact.

“Everything was pretty smooth,” he continued. “A few cars in our category, like the Ford GT, are really quick in a straight line and we lost quite some time over several laps because when they are accelerating it’s like they’re in a different class! This is part of GT racing though so I just waited for my moment. After that I was going at a steady pace and I tried to be relaxed at the wheel. I thought the race was going to be harder, because of the heat and the competition, but tried hard not to over-drive the car and I thought a third place finish was in our pocket. It’s a shame for the guys we couldn’t deliver a good result because of all the work they put in yesterday.”

The team now moves on from Lime Rock to Mosport in Canada. Today’s race is the start of a 7-race schedule within a 13-week calendar, and many competitors including Risi Ferrari will today be looking forward to putting the disappointments of New England behind them and looking ahead to the challenges of the fast Ontario track.

[Rob]

Wow this was a race last, didnt watch Moto GP as this was on Motors TV, finally Motors showing ALMS again.

The Pennzoil-supported Risi Competizione Ferrari 458 Italia GTC of Jaime Melo and Toni Vilander took second place in an extremely hotly-contested GT battle in today’s Grand Prix of Mosport, round four of the 2011 American Le Mans Series. It is the Houston-based team’s best finish of the season and their second podium in 2011, and the entire event presented a great spectacle for the large number of Ferrari of Ontario guests watching. The GT race was won by the Nr.4 Corvette of Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen.

With Toni Vilander taking the green flag from fifth place, and the 31-strong field starting under hot and sunny conditions, the first 39 minutes of the 2 hour 45 minute race were run exactly as the manufacturer-led entries had started from the grid, with no changes for position within the top eight in class.

The event’s only full course yellow caution period shook up the order somewhat, not least because the red Ferrari had unwarranted contact from the leading BMW at pit exit. A penalty for avoidable contact for the BMW, plus slick work in the first of two great pit stops from the Risi crew, saw Vilander make good use of his new Michelin tires and start a climb through the field. At just after the hour mark, there was only 1.4 seconds separating the top four in class, with the Ferrari moving into third place after the No.45 Flying Lizard Porsche was knocked into a spin.

The Ferrari’s second stop saw lightning work from the Risi crew which allowed Jaime Melo, now at the wheel of the F458, to leapfrog the No. 4 Corvette into second place. The two-time Mosport winner then proceeded to carve his way into the deficit between himself and the leading BMW, reducing the gap to less than two seconds before his tires began to suffer. Slower traffic helped the Corvette find a way past Melo and it looked as though the team and drivers would have to be content with a third place finish.

The race Gods were smiling down on the Houston-based team though and, when the No. 55 BMW was given a penalty for avoidable contact with a GTC Porsche, Melo regained second place. He challenged Magnussen hard towards the closing stages of the race, but wasn’t able to make enough headway in the time available to secure victory.

Toni Vilander said after the race: “There’s always a little bit of tension when you start the race but I tried to take it easy and keep out of trouble. Our initial strategy with the tires wasn’t perfect but once we’d made a change for my second stint, things were better. From here on we will work hard – we still have new things to come for Mid Ohio, and we’re still chasing a perfect balance that suits both of us. It’s a positive result today and we’ll keep going in the same direction.”

Jaime Melo echoed his team mate’s sentiments: “It’s definitely a good result for the team and Ferrari and this is our second podium finish. We need to work a bit harder to make the car easier for both of us to drive. Toni did a great job once again and unfortunately I couldn’t challenge for a better result because of traffic but that’s the same for everybody. I’m a bit disappointed with second place, to be honest, but we’re now looking forward to Mid Ohio.

“Our right side tires were going off pretty quickly towards the end, but I think we’ve learned something from this race and we’ll take that forward for the future.”