81 replies to this topic

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

RACER’s Petit Le Mans Resource Guide
Wednesday, 04 October 2017
By Marshall Pruett / Images by Galstad & Levitt/LAT




The final race of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season starts Thursday at Road Atlanta as 39 cars will start preparing to earn overall and class honors at the 20th annual Petit Le Mans. RACER will be on the ground starting Thursday morning, and be sure to follow @RACERmag and @MarshallPruett for regular updates on Twitter, and RACER.com for photos, videos, session reports and feature stories.

IMSA RADIO: Click here
ENTRY LIST: Click here
TICKETS: Click here
WEATHER: Click here
SPOTTERS GUIDE: Click here
IMSA LIVE TIMING & SCORING: Click here



Related Stories

• IMSA championships take backseat to race at Petit
• Castroneves moves to Penske's IMSA program; will race Indy 500
• New golden era for Prototypes?
• Pagenaud's Petit P2 time warp
• Penske confirms Petit entry
• Rebellion returns with revised lineup
• Stars out in full force for Petit
• Bomarito joins Visit Florida team for Petit Le Mans
• WeatherTech Racing adds Long for Petit Le Mans

WEATHERTECH CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT SCHEDULE:

Thursday, Oct. 5 (all times Eastern)
11:10 a.m. – 12:10 p.m., Free Practice 1
3:15 pm – 4:15 p.m., Free Practice 2
7:30 pm – 9:00 p.m., Free Practice 3

Friday, October 6
11:40 a.m. – 12:40 p.m., Free Practice 4
4:20 – 5:50 p.m., Qualifying

Saturday, October 7
11:05 a.m. – 9:05 p.m., 20th Petit Le Mans, 10 hours

 

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Button considering IMSA for 2018

Jenson Button is contemplating a full-time return to racing in 2018 after feeling he stayed a year too long in Formula 1, and has named the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as a possible destination.
The 2009 Formula 1 world champion retired from F1 at the end of last season and this year only made a one-off appearance for McLaren at the Monaco Grand Prix to replace Fernando Alonso. However, a recent drive in the Suzuka 1000km (below) has led Button to focus on securing a full-time racing program next year, and he sees the U.S. as a potential destination.
"Do I miss F1? No. I don't, I miss racing," Button said. "I had fallen out of love a little bit with motorsport – I think I left it maybe a year too long racing in Formula 1. I spoke to Honda at the end of last year and I said would you mind if I had a bit of fun in your SuperGT car, and I did at the Honda Thanks Day at the end of last year. I loved it, and that was just me on my own.
"So after that I asked them if I could do the Suzuka 1000km, and they said they thought that they could work something out. So I came here completely green in the formula – it is completely different to anything I have ever done, racing around with another category. We didn't get a very good result – I think we had every issue you could possibly have – but I came away and felt that I had the love back for racing. I absolutely loved it – as soon as we were finished I wanted to get back in the car and do it all again. It has been a while since I had that feeling, I've been itching to drive anything, to be fair.

"Next year I will be racing something; I don't know what yet, whether it will be in America, Europe or Japan. There are few options and I want to take it properly seriously."
Asked by RACER what the categories in the U.S. and Europe are that he is interested in, Button replied: "I think IMSA – where the DPi cars race.
"I love the fact that they all get the same... well, there's a selection of tubs that they can race with and they can make it their own with their aerodynamic package and power unit, and there's a few manufacturers racing there and that's great and it's definitely a growing motorsport in America.
"The GT category is great but I'm not sure I could be in a car being overtaken by the DPi cars. That's something I can't get my head around.
"I'd love to do Le Mans at some point but I'm not sure it's the right time to jump in and do it. Again, I think the LMP2 category is awesome, I think it's great there's so many teams, there's a lot of talented drivers – but you have P1. So I don't know, I just can't get my head around racing a car that is 20 seconds slower than something else."

http://www.racer.com...g-imsa-for-2018

 

Ultimativni "mokri san"- Baton, Montoja i Alonso u Tojoti LMP1 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Penski ima jedno mesto upraznjeno za sledecu sezonu u IMSA prototipovima...

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Penskijevci Montoja, Kastroneves i Pazeno uzeli pol za mali Leman na Roud Atlanti:

 

 

Kompletni rezultati kvalifikacija ovde: http://www.racer.com...ual_Results.pdf

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Još 3 sata do kraja malog Lemana, strim ▼

 

[zoran59]

Pomalo pratim, pa se prebacim na nesto drugo (kuvam), ali uzbudljivo jeste!

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

TEQUILA PATRÓN ESM SCORES ANOTHER CROWN JEWEL WITH MOTUL PETIT LE MANS VICTORY BY NO. 22 NISSAN DPI TEAM



Throughout most of Saturday’s 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, the pair of Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi cars were the class of the field.

The team’s No. 22 machine shared by Pipo Derani, Johannes van Overbeek and Bruno Senna, and the No. 2 Nissan DPi of Ryan Dalziel, Scott Sharp and Brendon Hartley were fixtures inside the top five for most of the race and ran either first or second for several hours. There were other challengers, to be sure, but it was readily apparent throughout the race that the Patrón cars would figure in the outcome of the race.

In the end, it all came down to the race’s final restart with 28 minutes remaining. Derani held the lead, with Filipe Albuquerque second in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R, Hartley third in the No. 22 and Dane Cameron fourth in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi.

By the end of the first lap following the restart, Derani was leading Albuquerque, while Cameron relegated Hartley to fourth in the running order. But incidents and costly penalties wreaked havoc on the top three.

Teammates Albuquerque and Cameron tangled, resulting in an unjustifiable risk penalty for Albuquerque. Derani had a dustup with the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT of Ryan Briscoe, bringing the No. 22 Nissan onto pit road to serve a penalty for incident responsibility.

In the end, Hartley had the cleanest closing stint. He and co-drivers Sharp and Dalziel were rewarded with a victory in one of the crown jewels of sports car racing, by 7.633 seconds over Cameron. It was Hartley’s first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory and second IMSA win, taking a GRAND-AM Rolex Series victory at Road America in 2013.

“We had a really strong middle of the race,” Hartley said. “We had a comfortable lead, actually. We had a little problem halfway through, which put us P4 or P5, so we had to fight back. I got past Filipe Albuquerque just before the last safety car. He got me back in the pits.

“Then, with the last restart, that was nuts. I mean, the three or four race contenders were at the back of the GTs and it was mayhem. In the end, I kept it clean, and the other two didn’t and that’s how I ended up in the lead. I was looking forward to a good scrap at the end with Filipe. It was a shame he got a penalty. It would have been a nice finish of the race, but I’m so proud of everyone involved, Ryan, Scott, the whole team. Not a scratch on the car after 10 hours of hard racing, and around here that says a lot. Awesome race.”

For Sharp, Dalziel and the Patrón ESM team, it was the third major North American endurance race victory in the past two years, after taking both the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida last year. It was the Patrón ESM team’s second win this season, as Derani and van Overbeek won in the No. 22 Nissan DPi at Road America in August. It was Sharp’s 15th IMSA win and Dalziel’s 10th IMSA.

“We came back fighting, a great effort from Patrón ESM, both cars,” said Dalziel. “I think either car could have won it. Its a shame we had the penalty. Super, super stoked for Scott and for the 2-car guys, they did an amazing job as always.”

Despite the late-race incident, 2016 WeatherTech Championship Prototype champions Cameron and Curran – who were joined for this race by Conway – came home second in Cameron’s final race with the team before going to the new Team Penske Acura DPi program next year. That was one spot better than his future teammates, Juan Pablo Montoya, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud, who finished third in the No. 6 Team Penske ORECA LM P2 car.



Taylor Brothers Wrap Up WeatherTech Championship Prototype Title

Brothers Jordan and Ricky Taylor brought home the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title for their father’s Wayne Taylor Racing team, ending a dominant campaign in their No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R.

The brothers swept the first five races of the season, opening with their first Rolex 24 At Daytona victory in January alongside co-drivers Max Angelelli, in his final start as a driver, and four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon. In the next race, they teamed with British racer Alex Lynn to win the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida, accomplishing the 36 Hours of Florida sweep 21 years after their father accomplished the same feat.

Then it was the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach, which they won for the third consecutive year, followed by a dominating performance in the Advance Auto Parts Sportscar Showdown at Circuit of The Americas. Their fifth and final victory in the Chevrolet Sports Car Classic at Detroit’s Belle Isle Park was somewhat surprising, as Ricky Taylor crashed in qualifying and started at the rear of the field.

The five victories proved to be insurmountable for the rest of the competition, and two more podium results over the final five races was more than enough to bring home the title. For Ricky Taylor, the championship was his first.

“Jordan and I did the best we could, but I think it really comes down to the team,” Ricky Taylor said. “Cadillac and Dallara worked together to get the car ready on track in September last year and then (we were) the first team with the car testing, learning.

“All of our guys were really open to learning how this new style of the cars work and what makes them fast. Then down to the mechanics, they’re like specialists in each of their areas and they’ve really shown this year how good people can all step up and do their job and really create a separation from the rest of the field.”

Jordan Taylor already knew what it felt like to win a title for his father’s team, having done so in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype class with Angelelli in 2013. But this one was different.

“I think the first one was obviously special because it was my first one,” said Jordan Taylor. “But I think being with Ricky the past four years now, we’ve been close a lot of times and it means a lot more to do it with family. Max is like family but I think it means a lot more having Ricky in the car.”

The Taylors will celebrate their accomplishments Monday night in the WeatherTech Night of Champions at Chateau Elan Winery and Resort in Braselton, Georgia.

No. 26 BAR1 Motorsports Team of Grist, Drissi, Falb Wins Motul Petit Le Mans

The final race in the history of the Prototype Challenge (PC) class featured a trio of first-time winners in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition.

John Falb, Garett Grist and Tomy Drissi co-drove the No. 26 BAR1 Motorsports ORECA FLM09 to victory in the 20th Anniversary Motul Petit Le Mans on Saturday at Road Atlanta, as a seven-race PC win streak by the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA FLM09 team.

The complexion of the PC race changed just past the halfway point in the 10-hour race. Leader Kyle Masson in the No. 38 machine was involved in an incident with the No. 13 Rebellion Racing ORECA LM P2 car of Nick Heidfeld, removing both cars from contention. Two laps later, Drissi took the lead from his BAR1 teammate, Buddy Rice in the No. 20 entry.

The teammates traded the class lead a couple of times in the sixth hour, but the No. 26 pulled away over the last three-and-a-half hours to win by eight laps. While it was the first WeatherTech Championship win for all three drivers, it was Drissi’s fourth career IMSA win, with three previous victories in the American Le Mans Series. Falb and Grist had not won previously at the top levels of IMSA.

“The PC class, you know, it really did its job since 2010,” Drissi said. “They were great battles, I know they weren’t the P1 or P2 cars, or the big factory teams, but some of the greatest racing in those cars will be talked about by drivers and teams and fans. I’m just so happy to be here. It was so hard to fight today. Everybody was on it ten tenths. I think before my next race I need to do some pushups.”

Performance Tech Motorsports Goes Seven-For-Eight In The 2017 WeatherTech Championship

One race after clinching the WeatherTech Championship Prototype Challenge (PC) class title, the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA FLM09 team of James French, Patricio O’Ward and Kyle Masson came within five hours of completing a historic sweep of all eight PC races in the class’ final season due to an incident.

The trio still came away with a third-place trophy, and will add more hardware to their trophy case in Monday night’s WeatherTech Night of Champions when they pick up the WeatherTech Championship PC season championship, as well as the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.

It was an outstanding season for the No. 38 team, which hadn’t won a WeatherTech Championship race prior to 2017. But they changed that in a big way right from the get-go this year with dominating victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida setting the tone for their championship run.

“We’re definitely super, super happy,” O’Ward said. “I mean, it was a bummer that we couldn’t get the last one. We were one race off of a perfect season, but it was great. The bad luck had to come sometime and a bunch of bad things happened this race. We’ve just got to own it. It’s part of racing and you have to learn how to win or lose. We’d won every single race, we got every fastest lap, almost every pole.

“I’m actually happy with how it went. I’m looking forward to next season. I’m want to be in a P car, so hopefully that becomes true.”

It wasn’t just race victories for the team, either. French built up quite a collection of TOTAL Pole Award hats, taking seven of eight this season, with only the Sebring pole going to another competitor, Gustavo Yacaman.

“In general, it’s a good way to go out,” French said. “We couldn’t ask for more than a championship. We really were hoping for the perfect season, though. We were so close. We just got caught up in that little incident. Through all the races, they were just a blast. We had great camaraderie between the three of us, Kyle and Pato, and with everybody on the team. We had really good results and a great time doing it.”

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Šteta što nisam ovo gledao, Tojote uzele 1-2 u Fudžiju
 

Toyota scores bizarre Fuji 1-2 victory



Toyota have scored one of the most bizarre 1-2 victories at the 6 Hours of Fuji despite challenging Porsche on merit amidst a backdrop of race stops and restarts due to poor race visibility. The win closing the championship to 39 points.

With light rain falling, the 6 Hours of Fuji started with numerous laps under the safety car – much like it did two years ago – but with many drivers complaining of zero visibility down the straight. At 60km/h this might be a challenge, but at 250km/h you’d want some pretty decent insurance.
When the safety car did eventually come in, as low zone was enforced from turn 15 to turn 1 to start the race in a controlled manner. When the field was allowed to get on with business, Buemi dove inside Lotterer for 2nd, removing the Porsches dive-plane and exposing Lotter to Kobayashi in the process.

The battle behind allowed Bamber to pull out a three-second lead in the number 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid, but would settle down to half that once everyone had made their own arrangements. In LMP2, Bruno Senna had bolted in the number 31 Vaillante Rebellion to lead the two Jackie Chan DC Racing entries of Alex Brundle and Oliver Jarvis.

A spin from Nelson Piquet in the second Rebellion caused a mix-up in the GTE Pro field, allowing Keita Sawa to pull an extraordinary seven second lead in the GTE Am field while the factory Porsche’s of Richard Leitz and Michael Christensen were in the top three positions, split by the number 67 Ford GT of Harry Tincknell.



Sebastien Buemi was complaining of traction issues, with the Toyota crew asking what they could do to assist in the Swiss driver’s pursuit of Bamber. The predominant issue however was traffic, with visibility lower than John Carpenter’s cinematographer. Kobayashi wasn’t fairing any better in third, now fourteen second behind the leader.

Back in LMP2, Nicolas Lapierre won an intense arm wrestle with Alex Brundle to seize 2nd in class, however with visibility getting worse, Race Director Eduardo Freitas enforced a yellow flag zone on the main straight. This was communicated to drivers on the radio as seeing the flags was an issue in itself!

Lotterer was now enjoying more grip than Kobayashi, who was struggling to apply power in the TS050 Hybrid. Despite dome robust defence from the Japanese driver, Lotterer was able to slot the number 1 Porsche 919 Hybrid into third place.

With precipitation reaching overload and low cloud encroaching fast at the 1 hour mark, the safety car was brought out to bring a little sanity to proceedings. As such most took the opportunity to gain a free pit, stop for fresh wets while the LMP2 field would require extra fuel regardless. Lotterer would take the opportunity to change a front nose due to the damage sustained during his first-lap battle with Buemi.
Twenty minutes later and the race was red-flagged and the field would reassemble on the main straight to await further instruction – or the good grace of Mount Fuji-San.



The pit-stops allowed Matthia Lauda, who had not yet pitted, to gain an unexpected GTE Am lead in the number 98 Aston Martin and should the race not restart, a potential victory. After thirty minutes, the field was given the all clear to restart – primarily due to the better drainage from 2013 where only fifteen laps were completed.

As the safety car peeled off, leader Earl Bamber took the opportunity to pit whilst the slow zone was still enacted on the main straight, this left Stefan Mucke’ number 66 LM GTE Pro Ford effectively leading the queue. Mucke and the number 51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi would resume their battle for the lead in that class, with Guidi briefly scything down the inside of the Ford but having to hand back the place after going off track.

Up front, Nakajima and Lopez were doing the business for Toyota after the race stoppage with Porsche having been penalised heavily in the process. Neel Jani was now 40 seconds off the leader with the sister Porsche of Timo Bernhard struggling with rear grip and some three seconds off the ultimate pace. Within a few laps, Nakajima had lapped Bernhard to inflict some more psychological damage on the current World Championship leader.

The number 25 Manor of Simon Trummer was the first real victim of the race, spinning into the tyre wall at Turn 15 and sustaining frontal damage, however the team would get the car repaired and turned around in record time. At the same time the number 37 Jackie Chan DC Racing entry of Alex Brundle was in the garage for repairs for a potential battery issue.

Visibility would once again force a safety car and give Toyota a chance to change the steering wheel on the number 7, TS050, the wheel seemingly not to Jose Maria Lopez’s approval. At the restart, Nakajima wasted no time in getting the hammer down to maintain his nineteen second lead over Nick Tandy in the number 2 Porsche.

Poor visibility and a few on track incidents would plague the remainder of the race; the first being a huge off for Matthias Beche in the number 13 Rebellion entry which saw the Oreca clip the barriers end-to-end and bring out another safety car incident. Not long after, the number 76 Ford and number 92 Porsche would shake up the LM GTE Pro order after having a coming together.



The final nail would however come in the form of another red flag period due to poor visibility - Kazuki Nakajima one who doubted the race should be restarted. The race leader may have had a vested interest, but to be fair, conditions were the worst they’d been all day when drivers such as Sam Bird were already questioning continuing.

Most expected to be called at 75% distance with full race points awarded. However, with ten minutes left on the clock, race control called for a restart – startling those who’d already made their way to the car park for the trip back to Gotemba.

They needn’t have bothered, with fog once again rolling in and cancelling the restart. All being equal, the race was won by the number 7 TS050 Hybrid of Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi and the returning Anthony Davidson. It would be a 1-2 for Toyota, being backed up by Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez. Third was the number 1 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer and Nick Tandy.


LMP2 was won by the number 31 Vaillante Rebellion of Nicolas Prost and Bruno Senna, followed by the number 36 Signatech Alpine of Nicolas Lapierre and Andrea Nagrao. Third was Mighty 38 Jackie Chan DC entry of Ho Pin Tung and Oliver Jarvis.

In LM GTE Pro, AF Corse struck back to seal victory in the hands of James Calado Alessandro Pier Guidi ahead of the number 91 and 92 Porsches of Fred Mackoweicki/Richard Leitz and Kevin Estre/Michael Christensen.

Miguel Molina, Thomas Flohr and Franceco Castellacci took LM TE Am honours in the Spirit of Race Ferrari ahead of Matt Griffin/Keita Sawa/Weng Sun Mok and the Dempsey Proton entry of Marvin Dienst and Christian Ried.



Results



http://www.e-racingm...izarre-Fuji-1-2

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Alonso to contest Rolex 24 with United Autosports
Monday, 23 October 2017

Fernando Alonso will return to take part in another iconic American race in 2018 when he drives for United Autosports in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, RACER can confirm.
Less than a year after his impressive Indy 500 outing in a McLaren-backed Andretti entry, Alonso will make his sportscar debut as United Autosports returns to Daytona for the first time since 2011. The Spaniard – who recently signed a McLaren contract extension – will share a car with fellow McLaren driver Lando Norris in Zak Brown's team.
Alonso's first run in the car will take place in Europe in the week ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, following on from a seperate test for European F3 champion Norris at Paul Ricard on November 7.
While Daytona does not clash with any of the F1 schedule – the Roar Before the 24 test is being held on January 5-7 ahead of the Rolex 24 on January 27-28 – Alonso sees the race as an opportunity to develop his endurance racing skills ahead of a potential Le Mans attempt in future as he goes in search of the Triple Crown.
"As I said many times, the Triple Crown is the main thing," Alonso said in Austin. "I know that the Indy 500 was a nice thing and I felt very competitive, but it was a big challenge that I took from zero, with no testing and no similar racing experience before the Indy 500 at any other oval, it was a big challenge.
"I was competitive and it felt good but if I want to prepare for Le Mans maybe there are other possibilities to prepare Le Mans a little bit better [than I did for] the Indy 500."
At present Alonso does not have a deal to race at Le Mans, but RACER understands McLaren would allow him to take part in the 2018 event should Toyota approach the double world champion.
Paul di Resta will also drive for United Autosports at Daytona and is set to lead the sister car to spread out the F1 experience across both entries. Alonso and Norris will be joined by Phil Hanson, while di Resta is to share a car with Will Owen. The rest of the line-up has yet to be finalized following the end of the ELMS season – where the team finished second in LMP2 and won the LMP3 championship – but RACER understands Jenson Button turned down one of the United Autosports seats and remains undecided over whether to race at Daytona.

 

http://www.racer.com...ited-autosports

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Dejtona 24 mi je uvek zanimljiva zbog ucesca Indikarovaca, ovo ce dodati jos jednu ekstra dimenziju!

 

Braun se inace uortacio sa Andretijem i u australijskom superkar sampionatu (Bathurst 1000 i tako to), pa je moguce da ce Alonso jedared overiti i tu seriju.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

INSIGHT: Why Alonso is doing Daytona
Tuesday, 24 October 2017
Chris Medland / Images by Tee/LAT; JEP/LAT & IMS



 
Something tells me Fernando Alonso is quite enjoying this...

Admittedly, the Spaniard's Indy 500 attempt came completely out of the blue, but a crack at the Rolex 24 is still going to generate plenty of excitement in its own right.

Alonso will drive for McLaren executive director Zak Brown's United Autosports team (below) at Daytona in January, in what will be his first foray into sportscar racing. The timing is ideal for a Formula 1 driver, and Brown and Alonso clearly share a similar outlook on racing, but this isn't just a case of a bit of fun in Florida during F1's off-season.

In fact, it's an appearance that can trace its roots back to Indianapolis.

When Alonso took on the challenge of competing in the 500, he only had one objective in mind, and that was to win. It was always going to be a massive task and would require total dedication, but that is exactly what he applied. As soon as the drive was confirmed, Alonso was watching previous races in full. On the flight to Indianapolis from the Spanish Grand Prix, he was going over endless race restarts to understand the nuances of each situation he may face.

That's because Alonso's eyes had been opened to the possibility of winning the Triple Crown. With the Monaco Grand Prix under his belt, he was heading to another part of the triumvirate with a car capable of winning, and he was determined to give himself every chance of taking that opportunity.

Of course, the race Alonso has yet to taste is Le Mans. He has been close on occasion – most notably in 2015, when Nico Hulkenberg won for Porsche – but it's a deal that has yet to come together. But that isn't stopping Alonso from starting his preparations.



Indy was a steep learning curve and one that Alonso navigated exceptionally, but that doesn't mean he should be doing the same with Le Mans. In a 24 hour race, even more challenges can be faced, and on that basis, Alonso has been thinking about a dry run: Daytona.

To be able to do an endurance race that has little to no impact on his Formula 1 schedule is ideal for Alonso, who is enjoying a growing affinity with the United States. He will get to experience one of the biggest 24 hour races in the world, but without the distractions of a grand prix for months either side.

Racing with United Autosports is a no-brainer given the crossover with Brown, and although it will be the team's first full-on attempt at the Rolex 24 since 2011 – and with two cars to boot – the fact that it finished second in this year's ELMS LMP2 championship means Alonso will expect to be fighting for wins again, something he admits he wanted to give himself a chance of in 2018.

"Even after Indianapolis (below) in July and June I was thinking what was the best option for me for next year," Alonso said after announcing a new McLaren contract last week. "I don't like being out of qualifying before Q3. I don't like being off the podium. So I said if that will be the case next year, maybe it's better to look outside Formula 1 and maybe to experience again the podium celebrations and those victory tastes."

Daytona will give him a chance at that, but the timeframe will also ensure Alonso is again ready to make an impact when he races Stateside. Testing next month will help prepare him for the Rolex 24, and then the race itself will be perfect practice for Le Mans, a race that he could still end up competing in next year for Toyota if called upon.



"There is not a Le Mans clause [in Alonso's contract] per se, but there is an understanding that if Fernando would like to do some additional racing that doesn't compromise our Formula 1 efforts, because that is McLaren's number one objective, as it is Fernando's, then that conversation can be flexible," Brown said in Austin. "I think as you saw with Indianapolis last year, we are an organization that likes to race and Fernando, is the biggest racer in this pit lane. So some other activities are possible."

Alonso has already confirmed those other activities will not include the Indy 500 next year, but they could even extend beyond Daytona, Le Mans and Indy one day, with Alonso admitting he would race almost every weekend if he could. It's a refreshing stance to see a driver nearing the end of his F1 career arguably having even more enthusiasm for racing than he had at the start of it.

"I think on my personal side there are no other priorities than Formula 1 at the moment, but with a door open for different series and different goals... I always believed that you need to win in other series if you want to be a more complete driver, a better driver, because motorsport is not only Formula 1," Alonso said last week. "Even if it's still the priority, we will see what the future brings."

We now know it will bring a tilt at Daytona that will be a test in a category Alonso has never competed in before. The Spaniard will become a more rounded driver and better prepared for Le Mans; Brown gets one of the best in the world in his United Autosports car as well as a direct comparison with his team-mate Lando Norris; the McLaren protege will be able to learn by racing in the same car as a double world champion; and Daytona gets a whole new boost in interest.

How many wins is that?

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Rolex 24 Q&A With Fernando Alonso
A look ahead to his IMSA debut
27 October 2017, 2:54 AM


 

With thanks to United Autosports, here’s a Q&A with Fernando Alonso following yesterday’s news that he will be racing with United in the 2018 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona in the prototype class with Lando Norris and Phil Hanson.

Have you ever been to Daytona before and what do you know about the track?

“I have never been in Daytona before, this will be the first time, I have been watching some of the videos of the past races. Happy to join this adventure, United Autosports has been recently champions in the European Le Mans Series. I know Zak very well and it will be a nice experience.”

How much of this Daytona adventure is about purely about enjoying Daytona and how much of it might be about getting yourself prepare for a future run at the 24 hours of Le Mans.

“Some is pure Daytona fun. I know that it could be useful for the future, first time in a Prototype car, some nice experience in traffic, in night racing and it will be maybe useful for the future if I enter difference races. But for right now my full concentration, my full motivation is to do well in Daytona. As I did at Indianapolis even if I don’t have experience, when I close the visor I will go for a win and that is what matters now.”

Is it going to be difficult for an open-wheel driver such as yourself to put up with compromises in the handling to suit your co-drivers?

“No, I don’t think so. I think the biggest thing for sure is going to be to adapt to this driving style which I’m sure is going to be different. Different ways of driving and I’m sure different times of day as well with sunset, the night and the day, and especially in traffic. Different tires as well with different characteristics, and that’s probably the biggest challenge. To give the car to my teammates I think is part of the fun as well and part of the teamwork that you have to learn. This going out again of my comfort zone and trying something really new for the first time, and learning something from the very first moment, is great for me as a driver and part of the excitement of the challenge.”

You’ve had some great experiences in the United States this year, can you see yourself running full time in the U.S., if not in 2019, sometime before the end of your career?

“It’s possible, yes. I think right now my priority is Formula One and that’s why I partnered together with McLaren next year together with Renault power unit. I think is going to be a great challenge for us and a nice opportunity to fight for the world championship in Formula 1 and that’s my first and only priority now. Long-term projects are not closed yet, they’re still open and my experience in the Indy 500 showed me how much fun I have in American racing, how much love I get from the fans, and it’s something I may consider in the future.”

You’ll have the chance to co-drive with Lando Norris, what is your relationship with him and how do you look forward to sharing the car with him?

“I have a great relationship from the very beginning of this year where Lando joined McLaren and helped us in the simulator. He already tested the Formula 1 car in Hungary. Yeah, we are in close contact. We have also some chats in the last week about some go-kart racing that we were exchanging some text messages all week long. Yeah, we are in close contact and I think it’s going to be great for both to share the car, to keep spending time together because obviously he’s not only helping us in present time as a teammate and all the testing he’s doing for McLaren it will help us also in the future because he’s a great talent and great drive for McLaren. He’s very important for us. Lando has the talent and has everything to succeed in the future.”

Can you give us some background on how this deal together?

“The decision to remain with McLaren was completely independent. It was the very first thing we did and it was my only priority in that moment. Once we completed the McLaren deal, I approached Zak. I was interested in this race. I have a very good friend of mine, Antonio Garcia, racing for Chevrolet for many years and I think he’s the champion this year of the GT category. I spoke with him as well and I asked how was Daytona and how was that race and you know exploring this possibility.



“I knew Zak had a seat still open and I approached Zak and I said, ‘Zak, what if we do something together for Daytona?’ I know Zak shares my vision also of motorsport, a much wider vision and exploring different opportunities that would be a win-win situation for McLaren as a team, as a name, as a brand, also for myself. I think that came together very quickly and the next two days, we agreed on everything.”

Will you get any seat time in the Ligier in Europe before the Roar test in January?

“I think it’s still ongoing, some of the preparations that we will do. I think I will have a chat this weekend with Zak and some of the United Autosports members. Yeah, the plan is to maybe have a seat fit and some preparations with the team, hopefully before the end of the year, and then maybe a test somewhere in Europe. After that we’ll head to the Roar test at the beginning of January in Daytona. That will be, probably, the real first test and the real first opportunity to run with other cars on track and discover the circuit of Daytona. The Roar should allow me to learn the circuit and about the traffic, pit-stop procedures, driver change. It’ll be the same for Lando [Norris] and Paul [Di Resta]. But we will try to help each other.”



Why compete in the Rolex?

“I love racing, I’m a racer, and I like to race every weekend. I’m happy to combine some iconic races with Formula 1. I want to be the best [race] driver in the world. To race at Indianapolis and Daytona within less than a year of each other is pretty amazing. It’s important for me personally to get these new challenges. To keep improving as a driver you need to challenge yourself and go out of your comfort zone. I’m very excited to be racing at Daytona and in the U.S. Hopefully we can do well but I will enjoy the experience whatever happens. It will be the first time I’ve driven a sports-prototype and it should be a nice experience but very much a learning experience. I will have to learn many things from zero. But I do not go there to participate. I go there, like any race, to win it. I will try to have simulator tests before in many different conditions, night and day, and different weather.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Vettel, Perez open to following Alonso's example
Friday, 27 October 2017
By Marshall Pruett & Chris Medland / Images by Pruett & LAT archive



 
Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel and perennial F1 over-achiever Sergio Perez are open to following Fernando Alonso's lead in the future by participating in major events like IMSA's Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Rocking up to the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's season opener, however, would only become a consideration for the Scuderia Ferrari and Sahara Force India drivers after their Formula 1 careers come to a close.

"I think it's good experience," said Perez, whose younger brother Antonio drove an Aston Martin V12 Vantage at Daytona in 2016 (pictured above). "Obviously, Fernando is wanting to experience that route a lot, with Indy, the 24 Hours and probably he might think of Le Mans. I think it's a great, you know. I think it's a great experience. It's one of those races that you would like to do at some point.

"I went there actually last year to see my brother. He did the 24 Hours in Daytona, and it's an amazing race and an amazing venue. It's one race that I definitely want to do at some point in my career."

For Vettel, who readily admits he isn't sure which cars and classes are found in IMSA's premier series, the idea of joining the sport's legends – many who raced in multiple championships each year – is where the appeal lies.

"I don't even know which cars they really race there; I think it's GT3 mostly in Daytona [and] LMP2," he said. "If you look back a long way – not the last 20 years probably, but a long way – drivers used to race a lot more in different cars, which I generally find pretty cool. The fact that they had to adapt to different cars, work with different people, with different mechanics, setting up the cars differently but mostly drive and adapt.



"Obviously where the sport has gone has been very very professional – there's not that much time to do many other things, if you commit properly to Formula 1. But overall we are racing drivers and I quite like the idea to drive more in different cars. I don't know if that will ever change in the future but if they had different categories in the same weekend where Formula 1 drivers were... I don't know, with the Procar series many years ago, for example, with the BMW M1s, where they did a race before the Grand Prix (pictured above at the 1980 Austrian GP).

"Stuff like that I think would be cool but for sure you can see the difficulties these days in terms of the paperwork and all that. But for raw racing, it's very nice to race different cars – why not, every weekend?"

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Rezime predposlednje trke u Šangaju. Čestitke Hartliju, Bamberu i Bernhardu te Poršeu na titulama. Sledeća trka koja je ujedno i zadnja se održava u pustinjama Sakira a zakazana je 18 Novembra.
 

Shanghai WEC: Porsche seals both titles despite Toyota win



Porsche sealed both the FIA World Endurance Championship drivers' and manufacturers' crowns in Shanghai, despite rival Toyota taking victory in the penultimate round of the season.

Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber only needed a third-place finish to wrap up the drivers' title in the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid, and sealed the crown after finishing a lapped second behind the #8 Toyota of Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson.

Drama for the sister TS050 Hybrid of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez cost the Japanese manufacturer any chance of keeping the manufacturers' contest open.

The #7 machine had been leading the #8 car by less than two seconds going into the final half-hour, heading a 1-2 that would have prevented Porsche from taking both titles in China.

But, contact between Lopez and the #91 Porsche GTE entry of Richard Lietz at Turn 13 gave the race-leading car a puncture, as well as driveshaft and suspension damage, necessitating a trip to the pits.

Porsche only needed to get one its cars into second place to guarantee the manufacturers' crown, and the #7 car's incident allowed the #2 to take the position.

The #1 Porsche of Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer and Nick Tandy completed the podium in third in a race in which the Toyotas had a clear edge over the German manufacturer.

Both 919 Hybrids were a lap down after four hours of the race, and an engine sensor issue in the opening hour resulted in more than a minute lost for the #1 trio.

Lotterer, however, was only 20s behind Bernhard in the #2 at the finish.

Repairs to the #7 Toyota cost it seven laps and left it down in fourth at the chequered flag.

Rebellion takes LMP2 points lead

Rebellion took honours in LMP2 with the #13 Oreca of Bruno Senna, Julien Canal and Nicolas Prost, claiming the class championship lead with one round to go.

Senna had dominated the opening hour and a half of the race, but had to come from behind to take victory and the points lead from the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing entry.

The Brazilian passed Ho-Pin Tung for the lead with just under an hour to go at the end of an eventful race for the car the Chinese driver shared with Oliver Jarvis and Thomas Laurent.

Tung had two incidents not of his making that resulted in spins, being tagged by Ben Hanley in the #24 Manor entry and then Nico Muller in the #26 G-Drive car.

He dropped behind Nicolas Lapierre in the #36 Signatech Alpine and then Nelson Piquet Jr in the second Rebellion entry, fourth place leaving the #38 trio four points behind Senna and Canal.

Ford grabs GTE Pro honours

Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell claimed GTE Pro honours after a prolonged battle with the #91 Porsche 911 RSR that Lietz shared with Frederic Makowiecki.

Priaulx was able to pass Makowiecki for the lead in the fourth hour and then Tincknell fought a successful rearguard action against Lietz prior to his hit from Lopez.

The Porsche faded in the final laps after the contact, ending up nine seconds down at the finish.

Porsche's #92 entry looked on course for victory with the sister car driven by Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen, only for engine issues to put the car out early in the third hour.

Third place for the #51 Ferrari of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi was enough for the Italian manufacturer to take the GT manufacturers' crown with a round to spare.

Aston Martin drivers Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda and Paul Dalla Lana had an easy run to victory in GTE Am as its nearest rivals, the Spirit of Race and Clearwater Ferraris, were caught up in incidents.



https://www.motorspo...ota-win-974831/

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

 

Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso visited Toyota Motorsport Gmbh in Cologne yesterday for a "seat fitting," RACER has learned, as preparation for what looks like an increasingly likely Le Mans 24 Hours appearance with the Japanese brand in 2018 in a hybrid-powered LMP1.