2012 WEC, ALMS&ELMS News

[Rob]

Good news for ALMS LMP1s, they really need bolstering up. And Rebellion, i thin can and maybe will go on too win the ALMS next year.

[Rob]

BMW Moves to Z4 for 2013 ALMS Championship
New model follows on extensive success of BMW M3

For the first time in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón, BMW’s racing efforts in GT will center around a car other than its M3. BMW Motorsport officials announced Saturday that BMW Team RLL is turning to the BMW Z4 for the 2013 ALMS season.

“This change in model shows that we are focussing fully on the BMW Z4 as an all-encompassing GT car,” said Jens Marquardt, BMW Motorsport Director. “The BMW Z4 GT3 has been very successful on the GT3 scene in recent years, and has proven its ability to win races. I am confident this car will also play a major role as a GT car in the ALMS.”

The BMW Z4 was a successful car in Europe during the 2012 season. It won four races in the FIA GT1 World Championship as well as the Italian GT championship. Meanwhile, the BMW M3 GT finished its competitive career in the ALMS with a stellar record.

Versions of the M3 won 16 GT races in the Series, and BMW ranks third among ALMS GT manufacturers in terms of victories. The M3 helped BMW to win the class manufacturer championship in 2001, 2010 and 2011. The latter was part of a BMW and BMW Team RLL hat-trick of sorts – driver, team and manufacturer titles in GT.

BMW also announced that American Joey Hand, who shared the GT drivers title in 2011, is part of the manufacturer’s roster in the 2013 DTM championship. Details on BMW’s ALMS driver lineup are forthcoming.

The 2013 ALMS season starts with the 61st Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 16 from Sebring International Raceway. BMW Team RLL is the defending GT winner.

[Rob]

A MORGAN 2012 LMP2 FOR MORAND RACING IN ELMS.
2012-12-12 12:18:00

In 2013, Morand Racing will enter an LM P2 Morgan in the ELMS (European Le Mans Series), and will race in the Le Mans 24 Hours if the team receives an invitation.

For more than 12 years Benoît Morand has managed various programmes with considerable success. From F.BMW/F.Lista, V8STAR, Champ Car in the USA, Formula Le Mans to the first LM P1 hybrid to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2011, the colours of the Swiss team have shone in countries throughout the world. It has also racked up many victories and has enabled drivers like Mathias Beche, Olivier Lombard, Patrick Zacchia and Melville Mckee (selected at the 2012 McLaren Awards) to confirm their talent on the international motor racing scene.

Morand Racing has joined forces with the former motorbike racing champion, ex- deputy mayor and current president of the ACS Fribourg, Joe Genoud, and its aim is to continue to develop the talent of Swiss or foreign drivers, engineers and mechanics.

Morand Racing thought long and hard before choosing a Morgan LMP2. During the whole of the 2012 season this car developed by Onroak Automotive Company, manufactory of OAK Racing proved its competiveness in the WEC, the ALMS and the ELMS as Benoît Morand underlines: "What really helped us to make up our minds was the collaboration with Jacques Nicolet's team. This is what decided us to take the plunge in the 2013 ELMS Championship, and I feel very confident that this is the right choice in terms of our future."

In the near future, Morand Racing will unveil the names of its partners and drivers.

[Rob]

RAM RACING : A NEW NAME IN GT RACING.
2012-12-12 11:20:00

There will be a new name in international GT racing for 2013: RAM Racing. But, while the name is new, there will be plenty of familiar and proven names associated with the start-up team which aims to showcase itself and the best that the GT world has to offer on its way to championship success.

Based at a new, purpose-equipped facility on the edge of the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire, RAM Racing plans to contest the European Le Mans Series with two entries in the GTE category as well as selected races such as the 24 Hours of Dubai in January. The super-successful, championship-winning Ferrari 458 Italia GT is the car of choice for the team, which has already received the approval and support of Ferrari's Corse Clienti department.

The European Le Mans Series has been targeted as an achievable goal for the first year of operation from the point of view of the calendar, the length of races and the competition. Seen as a gateway to the FIA World Endurance Championship, the ELMS is the first step on the GT pathway for RAM Racing who consider the championship to be an ideal proving ground for the team, particularly as the series is due to receive management expertise and promotion from Gérard Neveu and his team at Le Mans Endurance Management.

RAM Racing is led by Dan Shufflebottom whose apparent youth belies a great deal of technical and team experience gained in the World Rally Championship and Formula One. He heads a core team which has the vital combination of youth, enthusiasm and experience. The 16 full time personnel between them bring over a century of GT experience, and include Head of Operations, Kevin Poole, who has been involved in GT and touring car racing in both the USA and Britain. A key appointment in RAM Racing's plans for 2013 is Technical Director and Race Engineer Mark Schomann, formerly of Risi Competizione and Luxury Racing, who will be supported by another ex F1 name, Gary Holland, as Chief Mechanic.

Solid backing for the team comes from the Middle East and RAM Racing's patron wishes to remain firmly in the background to the point of anonymity, giving Shufflebottom complete autonomy in the running of the squad.

While the full driver line up has yet to be confirmed, integral to it will be veteran British sportscar and GT star, Johnny Mowlem. With success in virtually all of the world's major sportscar races to his name, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Daytona 24, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 1000km of Nürburgring, there is little that Mowlem - also a Sky TV presenter - doesn't know about the business.

Shufflebottom recognises that bringing together such established names can lead to high expectations in some quarters but he promises to offer realistic, rather than idealistic, aims and ambitions. "Our goal is to under-promise and over-deliver because otherwise you're just going to disappoint people from the outset. We may be relatively new at running our own team, but we know what it takes and, more importantly, what's not necessary to run a tight, efficient and successful operation. We'll have what it takes, but we won't be wasting resources.

"We're massively looking forward to the challenge ahead - every single one of us. We've done our homework carefully, have put together what we consider to be a cracking team of people, and taken delivery of one of the most beautiful GT racing cars in competition, the Ferrari 458. As we like tackling things head on (RAM Racing), we're going to be using the Dubai 24 Hours as our debut in international racing so that we'll be completely ‘run in' by the time by the ELMS begins in April."

More news about the team's full driver line up, together with its plans for the 24-hour race will be released shortly.

[Rob]

PORSCHE ANNOUNCES LMP1 SPORTS PROTOTYPE TO BE RUN BY WEISSACH-BASED WORKS TEAM

At the weekend, during their 'Night of Champions' celebration, Porsche announced the next phase of their LMP1 project which will see the new car take to the track in 2013.

At the Weissach Motorsport Centre, preparations for the running of the new LMP1 sports prototype at the Le Mans 24 Hours and in the sports car World Endurance Championship are progressing at high revs. For this feat the infrastructure was considerably expanded. A new workshop building and an office complex have been completed.

“The first rollout of our new LMP1 car is planned for mid-2013,” announced Wolfgang Hatz, Porsche AG Board of Management Member for Research and Development, on Saturday on the occasion of the end of season “Night of Champions” celebration. “The car will be run by our own works team based here at Weissach.”

Following a re-structuring, the LMP1 project is realised by a new department headed by Fritz Enzinger. With his well established organisational structure, Porsche’s Head of Motorsport Hartmut Kristen continues to be responsibility for all other motorsport programmes worldwide.

[Rob]

AMATO FERRARI UNVEILS PROGRAM AF CORSE 2013.
2012-12-13 6:03:00 p.m.

Go to AF Corse structure is always a pleasure. Also an excellent Italian coffee (even across the world), the welcome is always warm and Amato Ferrari still available. In Abu Dhabi, the Italian team aligns whopping six Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, completed a history 2012 season well stocked with no less than 13 championships and rods in various series. This is not what prevented the transalpine win World Championship Endurance (GTE-Pro), but also in the International GT Open. Like what amount can rhyme with quality ... The best story of the year will no doubt the 24 Hours of Le Mans where AF Corse has once again demonstrated its expertise in rebuilding a Ferrari F458 Italia after trials before winning the Le Mans classic expert hands Bruni / Fisichella / Vilander. If 2012 was very busy for Amato Ferrari and his men, 2013 promises to be of the same ilk.

Laurent Mercier: Amato, the winter break will be short-lived?
Amato Ferrari: "A break? What break? (Laughs). We ended the year 2012 here in Abu Dhabi next month engage with two 24-hour races (Daytona and Dubai). For the 12 Hours of Abu Dhabi, we align six cars under three different banners, three of which are qualified in the Top 5. 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi is a very nice event with a warm welcome and tea quality. '

Crews for the 24 Hours of Dubai is curly?
"If for the moment two cars are on the entry list, one is confirmed as of today. The crew will consist of the Brazilian Carvalho and Lorenzo Lorenzo Case. Other drivers should be from the Ferrari Corse Clienti. '

Back to 2012. The past season has given satisfaction?
"We have excelled in all championships where we drove. For us, the season was fantastic, both in Endurance World Championship, Blancpain Endurance Series and International GT Open, to mention only the main programs. There is little that GT1 World Championship where we suffered. We are excited about the season Pecom Racing FIA WEC. This was only our second season in the prototype, which is more in the category spicier. "`

What will the planned programs in AF Corse in 2013?
"We will continue our commitment to the World Endurance Championship with Pecom Racing and crew Perez-Companc/Kaffer/Minassian. We will also have two Ferrari F458 Italia GTE-Pro and GTE-Am or two. Regarding the European Le Mans Series, is expected to bring a Ferrari F458 Italia GTE since there will be only one class. The car will be shared by Jean-Marc Bachelier and Yannick Mallegol Howard Blank, a crew rolls together long enough. We do not exclude more to a car in GTC. The British GT is also confirmed with a car, knowing a second could also be part of. Of course, the Blancpain Endurance Series will be part of the program, but only Pro-Am Cup with three or four cars. However, we will not be present in Sprint Series. '

What about the International GT Open?
"We try to get a program to run several cars knowing that they must also have a crew as competitive as possible. '

The GT class is currently at the center of all discussions with a group of work for the future. This is a good thing?
"The problem of the GT3 is that the Balance of Performance is very fluctuating. You never know if the car will be competitive. It's a bit depending on the type of circuits. I'm not at the center of debates and what I learn is by the press. It is rather that Ferrari is in contact for future. '

GTE-Pro, Ferrari F458 Italia has a consuming less than the competition and is penalized while the goal is to consume as little as possible. It is not a little contradictory?
"(He thinks). Say that it is strange! '

You can see AF ​​Corse at the 12 Hours of Sebring?
"It is not on the agenda. We will, however, one or two cars at the 24 Hours of Daytona in the entity AF Waltrip. It is possible that we present in six meetings, including Rob Kaufman. '

[Massimo]

12 hours of Sebring not on the agenda?
They won in 2011, ok Bruni got a little to friendly with the BMW M3 in 2012, can't imagine that's the reason it's not on the agenda.
Malicious man that Amato ha,ha

[Rob]

As i was reading that i had to read it again. Shame not going to Sebring. Amazing fight this year at the end.

[Rob]

12 hours of Sebring not on the agenda?
They won in 2011, ok Bruni got a little to friendly with the BMW M3 in 2012, can't imagine that's the reason it's not on the agenda.
Malicious man that Amato ha,ha

[Massimo]

Beretta and Joey Hand, what a fight, amazing!

[Rob]

THE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS

Today (15 December 2012) in Paris the Champions from the inaugural season of the FIA World Endurance Championship were honoured in a glittering ceremony at the Pavillon Champs-Elysees.

The guests were reminded of the eight round championship with a short three minute video that relived some of the highlights of the year before the trophies were presented to the top teams and drivers in the five categories – LMP1, LMP1 Privateer, LMP2, LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am.

Rebellion Racing and their drivers Nicolas Prost and Neel Jani won the top honours in the LMP1 Privateers class, Starworks Motorsports and driver Enzo Potolicchio won LMP2, AF Corse and Giancarlo Fisichella were top in the LMGTE Pro class while Larbre Competition won the Team trophy in LMGTE Am but Team Felbermayr Proton drivers Christian Ried, Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti lifted the drivers trophy in the GTE Am class.

Special Awards were also given to Toyota Racing as the Team Rookie of the Year, Enzo Potolicchio as the Driver Rookie of the Year, AF Corse for the Team Mechanics of the Year and Audi Race Engineer Leena Gade won the Man of the Year award.

Gerard Neveu, CEO of the FIA WEC, said: “Last week we travelled to Istanbul to celebrate the world champions at the FIA Gala and tonight is the end of season party to celebrate all the teams and drivers who took part in the first year of the FIA WEC. I would like to congratulate each and every team and driver for the contribution they made in making the World Endurance Championship a huge success in 2012 and look forward to seeing them in 2013 for an even better year. I would like to take this opportunity to wish our partners, sponsors, officials, teams, drivers, members of the media and the fans a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

[Rob]

LEENA GADE - THE FIRST LADY OF ENDURANCE RACING

There are, today, far more women working in motor sport than in the past, but there are still few working at the highest level in engineering. An exception to this rule is Audi Sport's Leena Gade, the double Le Mans-winning race engineer for André Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer.

The unassuming Briton has recently been recognised with two awards, the first being the ‘C&R Racing Woman in Technology Award’ which acknowledges successful women who excel in the technical area of motorsport. It is presented by the Women in the Winner’s Circle Foundation in the USA, a foundation established by former racing driver Lyn St. James. The Audi engineer collected another prize on Saturday in Paris when presented with the FIA WEC’s ‘Man of the Year’ award…an irony lost on no one. Here’s Leena’s thoughts on this season, and the future, thanks to Audi Sport.

You won the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC as engineer with Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer. You have now received awards for this. Were you surprised?
To be perfectly honest I didn’t expect any of this whatsoever. It was a wonderful surprise and reward for a long and hard season, which we experienced together. However, the World Championship victory was a genuine team effort from every Audi Sport employee and Audi Sport Team Joest. Many thanks to them all.

You have filled another role at Audi Sport since the beginning of 2012. What has changed?
Over the last few years I was race engineer working at home in Great Britain. This year I moved over to Germany and work for Audi Sport in Ingolstadt. I’m now integrated more closely in the early development stage of new race cars. On top of my original workload, I also have a lot of organization and development work now. This is interesting, but also a challenge because the there is much more work now. I always wanted more responsibility at some point in my career. This materialized a little earlier than expected.

In 2012 you not only won the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) as engineer with your drivers, but also the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second time. What was the biggest difference to the win in 2011?
I’ll remember the win at Le Mans in 2012 for completely different reasons than victory the year before. In 2011 I had a very good feeling throughout the course of the week leading up to the race. This year we didn’t know just how strong our new opponent Toyota would be. There was healthy competition within our team between start number ‘1’ and the car number ‘2’. I was relieved when the race was finally over. Immediately after the checkered flag fell I was glad to be completely alone of the pit wall for a few moments. For the first time my guys and I had taken victory ourselves, the year before we have received a great deal of support from the teams of the two cars that had retired.

(Audi Sport)

[Rob]

AUDI NO.1: A WINNING CHEMISTRY

While the Manufacturers’ FIA World Endurance Championship title always had a good chance of ending up in Audi’s hands for the 2012 season, with the Toyota project being in its infancy, the drivers' title was much more open; regulations decreed, however, that it was never going to anyone other than an LMP1 driver. And we had to wait until the very last race of the season in Shanghai to learn who the winners were. Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer will forever be known as the first three World Endurance Champions in the new FIA era.

The outcome appeared altogether logical when one takes stock of their year, but it wasn’t without risk for band of three. Named as one of the driving teams to represent the Ingolstadt manufacturer in the Championship, the 2011 winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans had the difficult task of debuting the new Audi R18 e-tron quattro diesel hybrid.

The size of the challenge made a second consecutive victory at the Sarthe more unlikely, but it takes more than that to destabilize the three friends who seem to let nothing stand in their way. The season, however, started badly in Sebring with technical problems quickly ending the hopes of the No.1 car crew. At Spa, the first race for the hybrid-engined car, the trio mounted the second step of the podium after leading part of the race. While the track remained wet, the prototype did wonderfully, with the hybrid system transforming it into a four-wheel drive vehicle, but it was Marc Gené’s ingenuity and experience in tyre choice which allowed the conventionally-engined sister car to grab first place.

That was just a minor set-back though as Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoit Treluyer made their mark at the next race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was the first twice-round-the-clock race and the first victory for the new car from the brand with the four rings and, above all, the first triumph for a hybrid car in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The spiral of success was once again moving upwards for the No.1 crew, who would go on to reach the top step of the podium at Silverstone and Bahrain.

The trio’s title fight was effectively handicapped all year with the Sebring failure, which could have cost them the prize in the face of the challenge from Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish, their Audi team mates and also their main rivals. The duo was remarkably consistent and could have claimed the title right up until the end, even though they only had a single win at… Sebring! They were finally defeated by the Spanish Armada, which appeared to be on another plane.

If we had to sum up in a word the atmosphere between the winning trio, it would be 'laid-back', in the best sense of the word. Pressure doesn’t seem to trouble them, as if they were in a bubble. Marcel Fässler and Benoît Tréluyer have known each other for many years, having come through the ranks together. The Frenchman then self-exiled himself in Japan where he became a star, meeting André Lotterer with whom he became very close. The chemistry comes perhaps from the fact that the three partners have chosen to work together, a choice that Benoit Tréluyer has no regrets about. "If I had to pick one word to sum up this title it would be 'friendship'. Though this is a drivers’ championship, it was acquired as a team and is the result of a fabulous car, fantastic engineers and mechanics as well as three good friends behind the wheel. We’ve enjoyed some incredible moments together, both at Le Mans and elsewhere."

[Massimo]

Ferrari 458 GT3 RAM Racing

[Rob]

The RAMs 458 look nice, good too see another team running the 458. Great car.

[Rob]

AUDI: FULL SPEED AHEAD IN MOTORSPORT TOO

19/12/2012 - 22h36

2012 FIA World Endurance Champions Audi made several announcments at the end of season celebrations at their headquarters in Ingolstadt, including two R18 e-tron quattros for the defence of the world crown and a third car at 90th anniversary running of the 24 Heures du Mans in June. They also announced one car would possibly compete at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, which has been replaced on the 2013 FIA WEC calendar in favour of the 6 Hours of Austin in September.

"Successful motorsport is part of our brand DNA," stated Wolfgang Dürheimer, Member of the Management Board for Technical Development at AUDI AG, on Wednesday night at the "Audi Sport Finale" held at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt. "The victories on the world’s race tracks underscore our technical expertise in a particularly authentic way - and they strengthen our position on the most important world markets."


Three hybrid race cars at Le Mans

In the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Audi is competing as the title defender in 2013. Audi Sport Team Joest will be fielding two updated Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars, a third R18 e-tron quattro will be running at the Le Mans 24 Hours and the WEC race at Spa.

At Le Mans and in the WEC, Audi is thus exclusively banking on hybrid technology that was successfully introduced in 2012. The flywheel energy storage system is becoming even more powerful without any substantial increase in weight and size. Strictly in terms of its exterior, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro will hardly differ from this year’s winning car although numerous technical innovations are again assembled under the vehicle’s ultra-light carbon fiber skin. In a parallel project, Audi Sport is already intensively working on the successor car for the new LMP1 regulations that will come into effect as of 2014.

The Audi driver lineup for the WEC and Le Mans in 2013 consists of the current World Champions Marcel Fässler (Switzerland), André Lotterer (Germany) and Benoît Tréluyer (France) plus new signing Lucas di Grassi (Brazil), Loïc Duval (France), Marc Gené (Spain), Oliver Jarvis (Great Britain), Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Allan McNish (Scotland).


Strong line-up at Daytona 24 Hours

Factory drivers from the WEC and the DTM are playing a role in AUDI AG’s customer sport program as well. In the 24-hour race at Daytona (Florida) on January 26/27, Filipe Albuquerque, Oliver Jarvis and Edoardo Mortara will be driving an Audi R8 GRAND-AM of the Alex Job Racing team. The cockpits of two other R8 cars will be occupied by high-caliber racers as well. Marc Basseng, René Rast and Frank Stippler will be driving for APR Motorsport, Frank Biela, Christopher Haase and GT1 World Champion Markus Winkelhock for Rum Bum Racing. In addition, each squad will be joined by an American driver.


Intensified commitment in the United States GRAND-AM Series

With the 24-hour race at Daytona and an intensified commitment in the GRAND-AM Series, Audi is ringing in its return to US racing. In the United States, the brand with the four rings is recording stronger growth than the US market as a whole, particularly in the prestigious large-premium-car segment. The racing activities in the United States are intended to support this trend over the long run.

Therefore, an entry of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro in the 12-hour race at Sebring (Florida), which Audi has won on ten occasions, on March 16 is in planning as well. "It looks like this may be the last opportunity to compete with an LMP1 car at Sebring," says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "We’d really like to use this chance and say goodbye to the fans with a nice showing after our fantastic success story in recent years."

This may not have to be a final farewell, though. In 2014, the GRAND-AM Series and the American Le Mans Series will merge to form a new North American Sports Car Championship that might be of interest to Audi. Furthermore, the US fans will have another opportunity in 2013 to watch the Audi R18 e-tron in action as the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) will visit Austin (Texas) on September 22.

Press Release Audi Press Office.

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Nova]

WOW!!!!Vids r killen :xmasbiggrin:

[Rob]

WOW!!!!Vids r killen :xmasbiggrin:

They are good ones. Go troll through and see what other little beautys can find. Feel some 70s Le-Mans later i think.:xmasbiggrin:

[Rob]

[Rob]

[Rob]

KROHN RACING'S DETERMINATION TO IMPROVE UPON 2012

When Tracy Krohn first formed his own racing team in late 2005, he could little have imagined that within seven years he would be competing on the world’s stage and ending the inaugural year of the FIA World Endurance Championship as second-best runner up to one of the world’s most experienced GT teams in the LMGTE-Am category.

The tall and charming Texan combines his racing with his ‘day’ job as Chairman and CEO of an oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Since starting his motor sport career, Krohn has benefited from the advice, friendship and driving partnership of US-domiciled Swede, Nic Jönsson, and this was no different in 2012. The addition of Italian driver Michele Rugolo to the cockpit of the distinctive Krohn-green Ferrari 458 Italia added another dimension to the team, one that paid dividends in terms of youth and speed as seen in their results.

Based in Georgia in the USA, it takes a big commitment for North American teams to enter the FIA WEC, but it was one that Krohn Racing embraced wholeheartedly. After a difficult start to the year, the team celebrated its first of five podium finishes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – a record of great consistency over the eight rounds of the season. That third place in France was one of four, but the highlight was second place at the 6 Hours of Fuji when they were beaten only by another very experienced team, Felbermayr-Proton. Despite these results, there was more than a hint of disappointment among the team in Shanghai at not clinching the runner-up spot, but that was tempered by a determination to do better.

Jeff Hazell, the team’s philosophical Motorsport Manager, said after the Chinese race: “Confucius said ‘When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.’ He was a pretty smart guy, two thousand five hundred years ago. He probably would have enjoyed motor racing.

“We are not quite achieving our goals but we have a lot of goals we want to achieve. We have to just work slightly differently and slightly smarter and harder over the winter with our testing. I’m disappointed that we didn’t manage to win a race this year so we have jolly well got to get that done next year.”

That determination and approach worked well for Krohn Racing in North America, and who would bet against them achieving their goals in 2013.

[Nova]

70's Lemans...ahhhh.

[Nova]

Its called the 458 GT3 for 2013. Testing at Adria..Sammy Wassem racing. Pix look great.

[Rob]

Just few more before the end of the year, to round up the 2012 thread....



I know its the Vettes, and they our rivals (enemy), but what a engine rumble....

[Rob]

i will be there next year, cannt wait..

[Rob]

Nice little video of the Dyson crew about set-up...

[Rob]

Pickett: Fighting Adversity Fueled Muscle Milk P1 Title
As for 2013… ‘We’ll be better, stronger and more reliable’

BRASELTON, Ga. - After a couple of close calls, Pickett Racing claimed its first title in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón in 2012. It wasn’t an easy job despite six wins in 10 races for Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr in Muscle Milk Pickett Racing’s first year with an HPD ARX-03a prototype. For Pickett, 2012 marked his first championship season since his Trans-Am days as both an owner and driver. Want to know where did this year stack up and what’s in store for the 2013 ALMS? You’re in luck…

ALMS: You’ve won your fair share of titles over the years. Where does this one rank?
Pickett: It meant A LOT. I won the 1978 Trans-Am championship with my own car and my own team. But certainly nothing I’ve ever done can compare with this. Winning championships is never easy to do, especially at this high level of the sport. There are so many things you have to get right. The ALMS championship is a highly technical challenge and it’s tough to get it right. This championship should have been a little easier for us, to be honest. We had very good pace, and Nick Wirth and the HPD guys gave us a great package. Still we had a few little things that slowed us down from time to time. Frankly there were several races where we asked the guys to come back from multiple laps down. Asking the drivers to go back out at 11/10ths and seeing the team respond to that – and deliver the performance they did – was outstanding.

It was an up-and-down season – five wins in a row at one point but some minor issues that cropped up which ultimately cost the team at Road America and Baltimore. What was the biggest thing to come out of those two events?

Baltimore was a very disheartening event. I was almost embarrassed by what happened to us there. We bolted on a new piece that hadn’t been on the car before but was developed to enhance the components to work on that circuit. It was built wrong. That was an absolute crusher. If we could have finished there out front, it would have put us almost on cruise for the rest of the championship.

I took some of the quality control experience from our food company and built in a people-proof system with multiple redundancies. We put in place with a triangulation group – ourselves, the people at Wirth and HPD – to create a program of sign-offs, approvals of drawing and specs… that’s really starting to pay big benefits. It’s gotten to that point here. The more technical a car is, the more emphasis it puts on your procedures and structure and quality control. To get that stuff right is when you start clicking off seconds.

Even after winning at VIR, there was still the matter of scoring points at Petit Le Mans…
We had to do 70 percent of the laps at Road Atlanta. That’s never an easy task on a track like that and in such a large event. So what were we doing on Tuesday and Wednesday? We blew a whistle in the pitlane and told our guys, “Change the front corner.” They didn’t know what we were going to tell them ahead of time. We had all of our spares laid out like we would during the race. We hit the stopwatch and then went to work. They did it as fast they could on the front suspension, rear suspension, shock absorbers, batteries… really Audi-type stuff and repairs. I’m telling you, it paid off big-time. You have to look at those things in developing your strategies. It’s gotten to that point. That’s how close things are in the ALMS.

We really hurt the car at Petit Le Mans (in a crash at the one-hour mark). We bent everything on the front and rear suspension. We were very lucky that we didn’t hurt the transaxle. To be able to get the car repaired and complete 70 percent was very gratifying to see.

Tell us about testing at Austin. Was this a track test or a car test?
It was the first time we’ve run since Petit Le Mans. We came here Monday with the 2012-spec car. Overnight we changed to the 2013-spec car – new front suspension, bigger wheels and tires, new front aero, steering box… a lot of stuff. Within three laps we were faster than we were all day yesterday. So we’re very, very pleased. That’s what the simulation showed us at Wirth Research. It showed that it would be a quicker car. That’s exactly what it is turning out to be.

You said at the 2011 banquet you were coming back in ’12 to win it. Rob Dyson borrowed a page out of your book and said the same thing this year. That plus Rebellion Racing being here full-time is going to make things interesting, to say the least…
Defending is going to be even tougher than winning the first one. But that’s our goal and telling anyone who will listen. We have a very busy winter planned – actually we’re in the middle of it now. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the Dyson guys. We know they are going to be faster and we know they have the resources to come back and be a championship team. That’s why we’ve taken this step forward. Rebellion showed they have really good pace and they were quicker than us in qualifying at Road Atlanta. Our championship wasn’t a fluke. We will be better, faster and more reliable. Our competition can look forward to that because that’s what we’re bringing back.

[Rob]