309 replies to this topic

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

IMSA organizuje trku van sampionata kao sansu za timove da testiraju nove Miselinke:
 

Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore initial entry list released

 
 
By: IMSA Wire Service | October 31, 2018 2:06 PM


The inaugural Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore at Sebring International Raceway will feature a variety of teams, drivers and manufacturers in IMSA’s Challenge series classes.

The Michelin Encore will highlight IMSA’s LMP3, GT4 and TCR class competitors for the four-hour race at Sebring.

Pre-event entry list

Michelin and IMSA have worked together to provide six “on-track opportunity” days throughout the 2018 season, which has allowed IMSA competitors the chance to sample and learn the Michelin tires at various circuits. IMSA will focus on the three Challenge series classes at the Encore, a special non-points race.

The Michelin Pilot Challenge and IMSA Prototype Challenge series will provide the core content of cars. The Michelin Pilot Challenge features a two-class structure with Grand Sport and TCR classes. The GS class runs to GT4 technical regulations. Prototype Challenge uses LMP3 cars exclusively beginning next season.

“The Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore is really the kickoff for Michelin as the official tire of IMSA,” said Chris Baker, director of motorsport, Michelin North America. “We look forward to welcoming and working with our new Challenge class teams and drivers at the Encore event.”

Among the 20 cars entered, the field is split with 12 LMP3, 5 GT4 and 3 TCR cars. This includes entries from Ford, Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen in the GT4 and TCR classes. There are three chassis constructors entered in the LMP3 class, Ligier, Norma and Adess.

Zacharie Robichon and Jon Brownson both won IMSA-sanctioned championships this year and are among those entered in the LMP3 class. Ten 2018 IMSA-sanctioned race winners have already entered. Included among them are Katherine Legge and Kyle Marcelli, who both won races in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona class this season.

The four-hour race starts at noon ET on Sunday, Nov. 11 and will be streamed live on IMSA.tv with commentary from the IMSA Radio team led by John Hindhaugh and Jeremy Shaw.

The official weekend schedule includes three practice sessions on Saturday, Nov. 10 as well as a 45-minute Global MX-5 Cup Challenge race on both Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets will be sold at the gate of Sebring International Raceway each day, and military veterans will be admitted free on Sunday (Veteran’s Day) with proper ID. Following Saturday’s on-track action, there will be a concert at 7 p.m. featuring one of country music’s top artists, Love and Theft, along with the Dairy Daughters.

Encore to Focus on IMSA Challenge Series Classes in 2018

The Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore was originally unveiled on the 2017 Motul Petit Le Mans weekend, with plans to include LMP3, GT3, GT4 and TCR race cars.

One of the primary goals of this end-of-year, non-points event is to offer competitors an exciting, free-standing opportunity to experience IMSA and Sebring.

Since the initial announcement more than a year ago, IMSA has continued to listen to its WeatherTech Championship GTD stakeholders – which field GT3 race cars – and have taken into account their concerns regarding increasing costs.

From this engagement and partnership, some 2019 GTD class regulation changes have been developed, including the reduction of one race from the WeatherTech Championship GTD schedule, the elimination of all sanctioned testing except the Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona – which has been reduced from three to two days for GTD competitors – and the introduction of the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup, a new, seven-race competition for GTD class competitors within most WeatherTech Championship sprint events two-hour, 40-minutes in length or shorter.

Based on stakeholder feedback, and with the full support of the GTD manufacturers and team partners, GT3 race cars will not participate in the 2018 Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

IMSA refines 2019 sporting regulations



By: IMSA | November 2, 2018 2:05 PM


The introduction of the LMP2 class and forthcoming changes to the GT Daytona (GTD) class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship were the impetus for refinements to the 2019 IMSA Sporting Regulations released today.

“Between the completion of a successful 2018 season last month and next week’s Michelin IMSA SportsCar Encore at Sebring, our team here at IMSA has hit another key target with the distribution of our 2019 Sporting and Technical Regulations,” said Simon Hodgson, IMSA vice president of competition. “This is a direct response to our stakeholders’ expectations, who now will be armed with all the information they need to make their plans to participate in 2019.”

Announced in August as part of IMSA’s annual “State of the Series” presentation at Road America, the WeatherTech Championship will expand to four classes in 2019 with Daytona Prototype international (DPi) cars racing exclusively in the top class and LMP2 moving to its own, Pro-Am class, alongside the longstanding GT Le Mans class designed for Pro racers and the Pro-Am GTD class.

That expansion, as well as the August announcement of the new IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup – which is exclusive to the GTD class in 2019 and encapsulates seven races that are two-hours, 40-minutes in length or shorter – created the need for new regulations.

They include:

• LMP2 and GTD teams both will be required to have a Silver- or Bronze-rated driver in the lineup for each car.
• Any Silver-rated driver that is new to the WeatherTech Championship will be subject to approval by the IMSA Driver Evaluation Committee before a team’s entry will be accepted.
• On each event weekend, there will be an exclusive practice session prior to qualifying for Bronze- and Silver-rated drivers in the GTD class.
• Bronze- or Silver-rated drivers will be required to qualify and start the race in the LMP2 and GTD classes.
• The season-ending Jim Trueman and Bob Akin Awards for the top Pro-Am driver in the LMP2 (Trueman) and GTD (Akin) classes will be awarded to the highest-placed eligible driver in the season-ending point standings. In previous years, Trueman and Akin award winners were determined by a formula that included laps and miles driven in addition to overall finishing positions.
• IMSA will specify the number of drivers required in each LMP2 and GTD entry in 2019. For all sprint races, each entry will be required to have two drivers with a maximum of one Platinum- or Gold-rated driver. For the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and Motul Petit Le Mans, each LMP2 and GTD car will be required to use a three-driver combination with a maximum of one Platinum- or Gold-rated driver. For the Rolex 24 At Daytona, LMP2 and GTD teams may use four-or five-driver combinations, with a maximum of one Platinum- and one Gold-rated driver or a maximum of two Gold-rated drivers.
• LMP2 and GTD entries will be limited to four days of private testing per entry in 2019.
• The GTD class will only participate in the first two days of the Roar Before The Rolex 24 At Daytona test on Jan. 4-5, 2019. The Roar will be the only IMSA-sanctioned test in 2019.

Outside of the LMP2- and GTD-focused regulations, the DPi and GTLM class will see a reduction in private testing to eight days per entry in 2019. In addition, the Michelin tires used by all WeatherTech Championship cars will be equipped with RFID chips to track tire usage and allocation per entry at all events.

Key modifications in 2019 for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge include the shift to Michelin tires for all Grand Sport and Touring Car race cars and the discontinuation of the Street Tuner class. The series will introduce leader lights similar to what has been used in the WeatherTech Championship since the series’ inception in 2014. Additional changes include a new requirement for all cars to start the race on the same marked tires it uses in qualifying and the introduction of tire allocations for each entry.

The IMSA Prototype Challenge, which moves to Michelin tires and LMP3 cars exclusively in 2019, will feature two, three-hour races in 2019 at Daytona International Speedway and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Teams will be required to have two drivers for endurance races and have the option of using a third driver. Any three-driver combinations will be required to have at least one Bronze-rated driver.

The minimum pit stop time in IMSA Prototype Challenge will be reduced to two minutes, 30 seconds from the four-minute minimum used in 2018. All fueling will be required to be done by autonomous tanks (no dump cans). Drivers may stay in the car and teams will be allowed to work on the cars while fueling.

With a single-class format, there will be no “wave-bys” during full-course caution periods. The IMSA Prototype Challenge also will introduce a new “Bronze Cup” championship in 2019 for cars using Bronze-rated drivers exclusively.

No material changes were made to the sporting regulations for the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama, but the Canadian series will see the introduction of a Silver class in 2019. The new class will use Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport race cars and will compete at every event except for Montreal in June.

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Glikenhaus je prvi proizvodjac koji je potvrdio ucesce u novoj WEC klasi hiperautomobila. Ovo je buduce lice 24h Lemana:

 

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Bogotac:
 

Zanardi completes first BMW M8 test in Rolex 24 prep

 

By: Alison Sneag | 7 hours ago


Alex Zanardi has completed his first test in the BMW M8 GTE as he prepares for the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Zanardi has been racing BMW cars since 2003, but earlier this year – and essentially by accident – he began driving without his prosthetic legs. BMW M Motorsport has made extensive modifications to Zanardi’s cockpit, including a hand-operated braking system for the first time. Using the same modified in-car system, the 52-year-drove a BMW M4 to an emotional fifth-place finish in a August DTM race in Misano.



Zanardi drove over 400 miles this week over three days at Miramas in southern France. Despite some rain, Zanardi was able to familiarize himself with the M8 GTE while BMW M Motorsport evaluated how the specially modified car was functioning.

“I think I made huge progress during this test,” Zanardi said. “Particularly when you consider that the conditions were very tough. Miramas is not an easy circuit anyway, and then we had the rain to deal with too. It was a challenge getting to know the car in these conditions, and at the same time finding out what I need to do when whilst driving.

“However, it was a very productive test. My feel for the car improved all the time and I soon found out what I need to be doing with my hands and how I can control the car’s various electronic functions. We are now very well prepared for the next test at Daytona. I have to say, the BMW M8 GTE is a real beauty. It was a privilege for me to take it out onto the track and drive it for so many laps.”

Braking is performed using a lever, which he operates with his right arm. The special steering wheel allows Zanardi to accelerate using a gas ring and to change gear using shift paddles. The gas mechanism at the steering wheel, proven in DTM, has been adapted to the much more complex steering wheel in the BMW M8 GTE. The brake lever also has a button, with which Zanardi can shift down through the gears when braking into corners. Based on the knowledge gained at Misano, the system has been optimized for the BMW M8 GTE.

Another part of the test included practicing a driver change, as Zanardi will share the M8 with other drivers at Daytona. Zanardi practiced the procedures with BMW works driver and Rahal Letterman Lanigan IMSA driver Jesse Krohn (below).



“It is impressive what we achieved,” he said. “You have to bear in mind that, as well as the usual driver changeover, we must also swap the steering wheel. We consistently achieved that in under 20 seconds, and a few times we even managed the changeover in about 15 seconds.


Zanardi with Nathalie McGloin, president of the FIA Disability and Accessibility Commission

“When you observe how quickly a ‘normal’ driver like Jesse jumps out of the car, it is a bit different when you then see somebody like me getting out. Undo the harness, remove the steering wheel, pass it to somebody and jump out of the car – all in less than three seconds. Then turn around, wait until Jesse is in, climb back into the car, hook my leg into the frame, help Jesse with the radio and harness, pass him the other steering wheel, close the net and get away from the car…It is really impressive and looks a bit like a dance. We will now continue to work on perfecting the driver changeover.”

The 24-hour endurance race will mark Zanardi’s first competitive race in the U.S. since the CART race on August 19, 2001 at Road America, a month before he lost both his legs at the Lausitzring.

BMW M Motorsport is working with the FIA, ACO and IMSA to gain approval for a car adapted to Zanardi’s needs for GTE races.

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Almost 100 Cars on Provisional 24H Dubai Entry List

by Daniel Lloyd November 2, 2018

2-3 минута

Photo: Creventic

An early entry list for the 2019 Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai has been released, with a total of 96 cars provisionally confirmed for the new year enduro on Jan. 11-12.

Twenty-four GT3 cars are listed in the leading A6 category, which features several top European teams including WRT, HTP Motorsport and Grasser Racing Team.

Black Falcon, which holds a record of four victories at Dubai, is set to return with a pair of Mercedes-AMG GT3s including one for defending winners Yelmer Buurman, Abdulaziz Al Faisal and Hubert Haupt.

They will be joined this time by Saud Al Faisal, while the sister Black Falcon machine has Luca Stolz, Khaled Al Qubaisi and Bret Curtis named.

Most entries on the provisional list, including the majority of the A6 field, do not have any drivers confirmed.

ADAC GT Masters champion and 2017 Dubai winner Herberth Motorsport will run a single Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Attempto Racing and Car Collection Motorsport will each enter a pair of Audi R8 LMS GT3s.

WRT, Sainteloc Racing and BWT Muecke Motorsport are also part of the Audi contingent with single-car efforts. 

2017 Blancpain GT Series champion Grasser has a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 entered and there is also a BMW M6 GT3 listed for French team 3Y Technology.

Asian team interest is provided by KCMG, which is set to field two Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s, and Thai squad Orchid Racing with its pair of old-spec Mercedes SLS GT3s. 

The entry list also includes 18 GT4 cars and a 16-strong TCR field, along with grids for the 991, SPX, SP2, SP3, A3 and CUP1 classes.

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Toyota perseveres in heavy rain to win Shanghai 6H

 

By: RACER staff | 6 hours ago


The 6 Hours of Shanghai was anything but a straightforward World Endurance Championship race. Heavy rain throughout the day made the conditions undrivable at times, forcing the organizers to stop the race twice in the first half.

In the end, Toyota Gazoo Racing scored a comfortable 1-2 finish, though the Japanese team had to work for the win more so than in previous races this season. The stoppages and safety cars resulting in both its TS050 HYBRIDs to drive through the field to take the lead twice when the conditions were at their worst.

The No. 7 TS050 HYBRID of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez led home the No. 8 for another 1-2 finish though, both cars finishing a lap ahead of the rest of the field, despite less than half the race running in green flag conditions.

Results

The weather front moved in early in the morning before the race began, and worsened in the build-up with the rain shower getting heavier. The race started under safety car conditions, and with such low visibility was quickly red-flagged after the No. 3 Rebellion R-13 of Thomas Laurent had an off into the barriers due to the standing water.



The race did get going later for a handful of laps, but a second red flag came out as the rain continued. Eventually, it went green for a second time with just over three hours to go, and from there, the track began to dry as the level of rain decreased.

There was another safety car during the fourth hour, due to the ByKolles CLM catching fire on the pit straight and DragonSpeed’s BR1 getting beached in the gravel, but after that, the race really got underway, and ran mainly green until the end, though a late shower and safety car added to the drama in the closing laps.



“We expected it would be a hard one, and obviously during the safety cars there was so much rain,” Kobayashi said. “I had no visibility and couldn’t take risks. I tried to catch up but we lost time to the eight during my stint, but we had a safety car which helped us manage the gap. The car felt good, and I handed over to Mike to finish it off. The team did a great job.”

Behind Toyota, there was some decent racing for the final podium spot, SMP and Rebellion racing hard for the first time this year, on track. For the first time this year the Russian outfit came out on top, the BR1 proving itself as the better package in the dismal en route to its first podium.

The No. 11 BR1 of Jenson Button, Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin was the better of the two, the trio scoring silverware for their performances. Unfortunately, the sister car’s day wasn’t as positive though, as Matevos Issakyan had a big off in the final 20 minutes with the rain coming down, bringing out a late safety car which set up a dash to the flag.

“It was a tough old day for everyone, I think the red flags and safety cars were necessary as these cars don’t run in those conditions,” Button said. “It was a really good call — the first green flag I was surprised at, but we got racing.

“It was good fun and we were fighting with the Rebellions, but we could do nothing about the Toyotas with their four-wheel-drive systems. But we pushed as hard as we could and only finished a lap down. For us it wasn’t too bad a day at all, no major issues aside from a drive-through and a spin.”

The No. 1 Rebellion R-13 finished fourth, ahead of the No. 3 chassis which recovered well from its off at the start. Andre Lotterer had a chance to catch and pass Petrov to take third after the final restart, but he couldn’t keep up with Petrov as the conditions deteriorated in the final 10 minutes.



GTE Pro saw a historic result for the Aston Martin Racing team. The No. 95 prevailed in the conditions and as the new Vantage AMR scored its first victory.

Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen were masterful in the tricky conditions, aided by strategy calls from the team. Thiim stormed through the field from fourth in the fifth hour after the safety car for the ByKolles fire to take control of the race, before Sorensen kept his cool at the end.

“In the end it was just surviving after the safety car, everything you knew about driving couldn’t help you as you were sliding around the whole time,” Sorensen said. “The whole stint at the end I just kept asking: ‘When is the last lap? When is the last lap?’

“We just did a good job tactically, we made good strategy calls under safety cars and split the strategy on both cars,” Thiim added.

Behind, Richard Lietz steered the No. 91 Porsche to second, after getting past a struggling Tom Blomqvist in the No. 82 BMW, Davide Rigon’s No. 71 Ferrari and Alex Lynn’s No. 97 Aston Martin (which faded to fourth) during his stint.

The championship-leading No. 92 Porsche demoted the No. 97 to fourth at the very end, when Michael Christensen muscled his way past Maxime Martin in the dash to the flag after the final safety car period. The best of the AF Corse Ferraris — the No. 51 — came home fifth.

BMW, Ford and Corvette meanwhile, all had races to forget.

BMW was in the fight when the race got going, but faded away as the final hours approached, the No. 82 falling from the podium places outside the top 10, while the No. 81 crossed the line sixth and fell to ninth in the classification after a post-race penalty.

Ford fared no better. The No. 66 which started from pole was unable to recover from contact with the No. 92 Porsche during the first green flag sequence of the race. Kevin Estre tagged Olivier Pla going through Turn 1, sending the Ford into a spin. In this instance, no blame was placed on either driver though, and there was no penalty handed out for the incident.

The sister car, meanwhile, had an off into the gravel during Andy Priaulx’s time in the car, which set himself and Harry Tincknell back considerably. The car was classified seventh, but dropped to 10th after a post-race penalty for a safety car pit stop violation

And then there was Corvette Racing’s outing, which despite making bold strategy calls during the race in an attempt to gain any sort of advantage, failed to feature and finished eighth. Tommy Milner nor Oliver Gavin could extract enough pace out of the C7.R to keep up in the mixed conditions.

In LMP2, the No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA won its third race of the season. Stephane Richelmi, Gabriel Aubrey and Ho Pin Tung enjoyed with a strong run while the other runners in the class hit trouble or struggled in the conditions.

They had to overcome adversity though during the race. The team put the car on intermediate tires too early, causing Aubrey to drive cautiously, recover from contact and spins, and nurse intermittent issues. The car and drivers were quick and consistent when it mattered though, and that proved to be the difference.

“I think everyone did an outstanding job,” said Tung. “Five years ago David (Cheng) and I started this journey together, since then we’ve won Le Mans, and finally we managed to crack winning the home race in very difficult circumstances and conditions.

“We’ve always had such a fast car and excellent strategy, and that stood out today. We suffered with poor visibility minor car issues, like the gear shifts, but we nursed the car home and took the win.”

Aubrey added: “There were so many scares. It was an emotional rollercoaster. We had a trip to the gravel, contact with an LMP1 and I was on inters in the full rain, so I was so happy to see the checkered flag at the end!”

DragonSpeed looked in with a chance at points with its No. 31 ORECA, leading the class for a good portion of the second half of the race before finishing second.

The title-challenging Signatech Alpine came home third after the TDS Racing ORECA was forced to pit on the final lap, the French-flagged 07 Gibson not classified after its drama in the final seconds of the race.

With a third win, the No. 38 now has a clear lead in the championship over Signatech Alpine. Heading into the race, the two crews were tied.

Also notable was the where the winning crew finished in the overall classification — behind the GTE Pro-winning Aston Martin. The LMP2 runners were at times, no match for the GTE Pro cars when the conditions were at their worst.

In GTE Am, Dempsey Proton Racing emerged victorious, in the shadow of yesterday’s steward’s decision which cost the team all of its points up to this point.

The No. 77 of Christian Ried, Matt Campbell and Julien Andlauer (which led the championship until yesterday) won the race, leading home the Project 1 Porsche, which now holds the lead in the Am class championship standings. The No. 88 Dempsey Proton Porsche completed the podium, losing second at the very end, but still securing a double podium for the team.

“I’m really happy to win this race after a difficult weekend. I’m really happy for everyone — they did a great job,” said Ried. “It was so hard, I did the start, we chose the wrong tires so I struggled. But Julien and Matt did so well to recover.”

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Zanardi, RLL partnership in the works for Rolex 24

 

By: Marshall Pruett | 2 hours ago


BMW’s service provider for IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will learn the names of its full-time and endurance event drivers next week during the brand’s traditional revealing of its plans for the following season, and if it includes Alex Zanardi for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, BMW Team RLL co-owner Bobby Rahal won’t be surprised.

“Obviously we’re going to be there, but we don’t know who’ll be driving the cars; those decisions are made by BMW, not us,” he told RACER. “It would be really cool to have Alex with us – he’s a good friend – but at this stage, we’re waiting to hear who we’ll have in the M8 GTEs.”
 
In December of 2017, BMW announced Zanardi as a driver for its 2019 Rolex 24 effort, and during a recent test at the Miramas circuit in France, the Italian driver learned to use some of the new steering wheel-based controls in a FIA WEC BMW M8 GTE fielded by the MTEK outfit. With RLL having long been viewed as the logical entrant for Zanardi’s Daytona program, it is not anticipated that an additional  entry would be required to accommodate him within the team.

Although unconfirmed, a dedicated test in the U.S. for Zanardi using an RLL M8 GTE with the new steering wheel controls could also be in the works prior to official Rolex 24 testing in January.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

CORE autosport switches to Nissan DPi



By: Marshall Pruett | 7 hours ago


CORE autosport’s change of direction to park its race-winning ORECA 07 LMP2 chassis in favor of taking over the former ESM Nissan Onroak DPis has come at a critical time for IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

With the loss of ESM from the grid following the departure of longtime sponsor Tequila Patron, IMSA was preparing to start the 2019 season without Nissan, its fourth DPi manufacturer. Despite a recent announcement confirming its intention to race in IMSA’s new LMP2 class, rapid developments made the ex-ESM cars available for CORE to make the leap to DPi while preventing the loss of a DPi manufacturer from the series.

“IMSA made the announcement they were splitting categories into DPi and LMP2, we wanted to stay in the top category — DPi — and we pursued all options at that time,” CORE COO Morgan Brady told RACER. “At which point, when we didn’t feel there was a DPi program that fit for us, we committed to P2.

“We knew DPi was still a goal for 2020, so we continued to pursue it longer term, but then some key pieces lined up, we flipped the switch for 2019 and will race a Nissan.”

CORE purchased all of the cars and spares that were used during ESM’s two-car effort from 2017-2018, and will field a single entry for the returning full-time squad of CORE owner/driver Jon Bennett, Colin Braun, and endurance co-drivers Romain Dumas and Loic Duval.

Although Brady declined to offer specifics, he did confirm the sizable financial commitment required to register Nissan as an official IMSA manufacturer for 2019, which served as the biggest hurdle other teams faced while considering the Nissan DPi package, has been satisfied.

“Watch this space,” he said. “There are more details to come, and it has been fulfilled.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

IMSA remains committed to LMP2 class

 

By: Marshall Pruett | 2 hours ago


It’s too early to say how many full-season entries will populate IMSA’s new LMP2 category, but the new loss of CORE autosport’s ORECA 07-Gibson from the grid has only added to the concerns for P2’s car counts.

With only a handful of the Pro-Am prototype entries expected in 2019, questions as to whether IMSA would go forward with the split DPi and P2 classes have arisen. According to IMSA president Scott Atherton, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s plans have not changed.

“Our commitment to LMP2 is unwavering,” he told RACER. “It’s a fair topic of speculation in referencing the limited number of LMP2 cars for the class, and now that CORE has opted to go to DPi with the Nissan — which we’re thrilled about — we know there will be one less entry in LMP2, but our commitment to the LMP2 class is unaffected by today’s news.”

Minus CORE, the PR1/Mathiasen team and Performance Tech Motorsports are the two main carryovers left from last year’s regular LMP2 entry base. The JDC-Miller Motorsports and GAINSCO/JDC-Miller LMP2 entries have shifted to the DPi class with Cadillac, and with CORE included, three of the five regular LMP2 competitors have left the class behind.

At the time of IMSA’s announcement for the Prototype class split, there were more than enough LMP2s to fill a podium of their own, but with the aforementioned moves to DPi, the series might have a justifiable reason to revisit the split for 2020 and beyond.

“Are we open to looking at how things develop into the future and how car counts become validated? Yes, but it’s no different than how we’ve always been open to listening to our entrants and considering changes if they need to be made,” Atherton added.

“We pride ourselves in going forward with what we announce, and this is no different with the LMP2 class, and we’ll just have to take a wait-and-see approach to see what comes to fruition.”


Image by Abbott/LAT

Looking at some of the options to backfill the P2 ranks, JDC’s ORECA 07s remain available for lease or sale, and PR1/Mathiasen has a second car — the Ligier JSP217 that was parked in favor of the 07 — available for use. As the final entry forms make their way to IMSA’s headquarters in Florida, the series is left to wait and learn how many cars will populate its P2 category next season.

“We’ve been speaking regularly with all of our LMP2 entrants, and those outside of our championship who are considering select events and some that are considering full-time programs, but we’re not ready to speculate on numbers right now,” Atherton said.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Kaiser joining Juncos for Rolex 24

 

By: RACER Staff | 9 hours ago


Juncos Racing has announced that Kyle Kaiser will join its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team for the upcoming Rolex 24 At Daytona. Kaiser, a veteran of Juncos’ efforts in open-wheelers, will share its new No. 50 Cadillac DPi-V.R Juncos Racing entry in its debut in the 24-hours enduro with Will Owen and two other drivers yet to be named.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to compete in the Rolex 24 with Juncos Racing. It’s very special to have my first experience in endurance racing at such a historic event with the organization I have been a part of for the last five years of my career,” Kaiser said. “I have been impressed with the incredible progress the team has made over the last month preparing for the race, and I have the utmost confidence our program will be extremely competitive with the Cadillac power behind us. I am anxious to get behind the wheel of the DPi and continue our preparation for the race.”

Kaiser made four IndyCar Series starts this year with Juncos Racing, having come up with the team through the Road to Indy ladder series, winning the  the 2017 Indy Lights championship along the way.

“We are looking forward to continuing our work with Kyle after many years together,” said team owner Ricardo Juncos. “We started our program with Kyle back in 2014 and have created great chemistry with him in our team over the past five seasons. Not many teams can say they have had the chance to work with the same driver in four different series during their career, which shows Kyle’s commitment and confidence with Juncos Racing. We are thrilled for the opportunity to continue our relationship with Kyle and would like to thank Kyle and sponsors for their dedication to our team.”

Kaiser will make his official debut with Juncos’ new IMSA team at the Roar Before the 24 test in early January. At this time, the Rolex 24 is expected to be Kaiser’s only IMSA start in 2019.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Paul Miller Racing splits with Snow

 

By: Marshall Pruett | 9 hours ago


Madison Snow will not defend the new IMSA GT Daytona championship he earned with co-driver Bryan Sellers at Paul Miller Racing. The young Utah native, who formed a powerful pairing with Sellers in the No. 48 Lamborghini Huracan GT3, has chosen to step away from the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series after being upgraded to professional status by IMSA in the Pro-Am GTD class.

With Sellers already serving as the long-established Pro in the program, it left Snow (pictured at right, above, with Sellers) and PMR in an untenable situation with a Pro-Pro pairing which, per its rules, is not allowed in GTD.

An appeal to maintain Snow’s amateur status was denied by IMSA, thereby forcing PMR to either part ways with Sellers or Snow, or move the team to a different series where the title winners could remain intact.

Although a decision on where PMR will race — or whether it will continue racing altogether — has not been announced, Snow chose to halt his participation in the WeatherTech Championship as a result of the driver ranking change.

“I had a great three years racing with Paul Miller Racing and Bryan Sellers, especially now that we all share a championship together,” said Snow. “Racing has become as much about politics as the team and drivers getting the car to the finish line every weekend.

“After a lot of broken promises and false hopes on the path to next year, when it became final that Bryan and I wouldn’t be able to defend our championship together due to my upgrade in IMSA driver rankings, I finalized my decision that I didn’t want to continue in IMSA. I want to thank Paul and the team for everything they’ve done, and I wish them the best for 2019 and beyond.”


Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers. (Image by Richard Dole/LAT)

Further complicating matters, Snow is known to bring a decent portion of the budget to PMR, making any search for his replacement — with so few amateur drivers possessing equal measures of speed and corporate backing — among Pro-Am racing’s most difficult pursuits.

“It’s a shame Madison won’t be with us to defend his and Bryan’s championship,” said Miller, whose team earned top 5s in 61 percent of the races Snow and Sellers drove together. “Madison is a major talent, and it has been amazing to watch him develop these last few seasons. He’s a great team member and we will miss him, but we understand and respect his decision.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Compass Racing brings McLaren 720S to GTD


 
By: Marshall Pruett | 4 minutes ago


Compass Racing will break new ground as the first entrant to bring the McLaren marque to IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. The Canadian outfit has secured the services of renowned sports car racer Matt Plumb and McLaren factory driver Paul Holton as part of a seven-race IMSA GT Daytona Sprint Cup campaign.

“We’re really excited to extend our partnership with McLaren by launching the new 720S GT3 in North America,” said Compass managing director Jill Beck. “Paul has been one of the test drivers on the car through its development over the past year, and we all have high hopes for the first race car developed entirely in-house by McLaren Automotive.”
 
Having forged strong ties with McLaren Automotive though its efforts in the former Continental Tire Series, Beck expects the relationship to grow as the two firms tackle IMSA’s top championship for Pro-Am GT3-based cars.

“We’ve enjoyed working closely with McLaren in developing the GT4 car over the past two years, and look forward to continuing that strong relationship over the next few seasons, in both GT3 and GT4,” she added. “The new Sprint Cup is something we’d hoped IMSA would implement, as it provides a perfect ladder for our McLaren program, with steps from GS to Sprint to a full WeatherTech effort.”

The Compass 720S GT3 will make its debut in May as IMSA launches the Sprint Cup championship for GTD cars to host a secondary title opportunity using its non-endurance events. Plumb and Holton will look to earn the inaugural title starting at Mid-Ohio and continue through Detroit, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Lime rock, Road America, VIR, and Monterey, where the winner will be crowned.

Continuing with Plumb and Holton is an important part of the expansion, according to team principal Karl Thomson. The team also plans to continue its efforts in the renamed Michelin Pilot Challenge series, and with past experience in GTD to draw from, Compass will have a busy season ahead as it vies for titles in multiple IMSA categories.

“In developing a new car, driver continuity counts for a lot, and we are pleased to have Matt and Paul working with us on our GT3 program,” he said. “We know the competition in WeatherTech is fierce, but we believe that fifteen straight years of battling in the Michelin Pilot Challenge has prepared us for the fight.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Dragonspeed expands to two-car Rolex 24 effort

 

By: Stephen Kilbey | 1 hour ago


American-flagged WEC and ELMS team DragonSpeed has revealed to RACER that it will enter two cars in the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The second car marks an expansion for team boss Elton Julian, as the team originally planned to enter a single ORECA 07 Gibson. DragonSpeed debuted the current ORECA in the 2017 Rolex 24.

The team’s first entry, which was previously confirmed for the Florida endurance classic, will be driven by Nicolas Lapierre, Ben Hanley and Henrik Hedman.

The second car currently  has two confirmed drivers, Roberto Gonzalez and Pastor Maldonado, who are competing together full-time in the FIA WEC ‘Super Season’ in the LMP2 class.

The news means that a trio of European-based ORECAs look set to join the Daytona race for what will be the first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race with the DPi and LMP2 teams racing in different classes. The third European LMP2 comes from RLR MSport; the team told RACER earlier this year that they intend to run in 2019 with its newly acquired ORECA Gibson.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Zanardi on choosing IMSA over Le Mans

 

By: Marshall Pruett | 5 hours ago


Above: Alex Zanardi with Nathalie McGloin, president of the FIA Disability and Accessibility Commission

BMW presented Alex Zanardi with the chance to race an M8 GTE at one of the world’s two biggest 24-hour events. As he tells it, the Italian’s response caught BMW Motorsport boss Jens Marquardt by surprise.

“In this situation I kept hearing about some of my colleagues taking part to the Daytona 24,” he said. “And that got me curious about this event and I kept a promise to myself down the road if ever I would have the opportunity, that’s the place where I would want to be.

“So last year at the beginning of the season actually, Jens Marquardt came to me and said, ‘Alex, you know we’re developing this new car, the new M8. We may have the possibility to get you into one of our team for a 24-hour [race], okay? It’s probably now too early to say this but if ever you have the opportunity would you prefer to compete in Daytona or Le Mans?

“He probably thought, with me being European, that I would answer with no doubt answer with Le Mans. And I answer instead, with no doubt, Daytona. All the way. All the way.”

His wish was granted last December.

“So I had to doubt in my mind. I said, ‘Oh yes. Absolutely Daytona,’” he added. “This is the place where it would really be cool for me to be. Sorry, Le Mans would be an interesting offer, but if you say which one you prefer, no doubt, I wanna go to Daytona. So that was that. Then at the end of the year we all went to the Christmas party and he announced that he would have organized a team for me in 2019. Which was nice, but it was also a surprise for me. A very nice one. Here we are.”



Zanardi will race for BMW Team RLL at Daytona in an M8 GTE fitted with new controls that allow the former CART IndyCar champion to use his hands to operate the twin-turbo V8-powered machine. It’s a welcome upgrade over the previous system that required the paraplegic to use his prosthetic legs to operate some controls.

Looking ahead to his Daytona debut, the 52-year-old cites a purity of competition around the 3.56-mile road course and oval as the greatest attraction to the event.

“In comparison … don’t get me wrong, Le Mans is a great race,” he continued. “They have a great tradition and whatever. But quite frankly there’s no appeal for me. It has no charisma on me. It’s a race where it’s more a technical exercise among the engineers to give to the drivers the best car because that’s what you take to compete.

“Daytona is a completely different ballgame. It’s a field where you need to manage your skill, your driving. Also, it very often into physical situations of traffic. Definitely very busy, turning the wheel many times. So, it’s much more racing, let’s say, than in my view than Le Mans would have been.”

Zanardi expects to enjoy having the likes of Fernando Alonso and other big stars in the Rolex 24 field, but the bigger attraction will come from reconnecting with American racing fans after building such a loyal following during his IndyCar years.

“This goes on top of everything but the main thing for me is to turn the engine on and take [to] the circuit,” he said. “This is what I care about. This is the most important thing and let me also add that for some reason, when I was competing in Indy cars and I considered United States my home up to the point where I felt a little bit American.

“I don’t wanna sound too arrogant in saying this, but I felt very welcome in your country. Not only by the fans, by the people surrounding me but also in the opportunity I was given.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

JDC announces Cadillac DPi drivers


 
By: Marshall Pruett
30 minutes ago


The JDC-Miller Motorsports team will return in 2019 with two new Cadillac DPi-V.Rs and a number of new drivers to wage its efforts to secure an IMSA championship.

The Minnesota-based team has also shuffled some of its existing drivers to fill the No. 84 Cadillac which will have 2018 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race-winner Stephen Simpson and Simon Trummer in the car for the full season. The duo will have Chris Miller on board for the endurance events, and Mazda Road To Indy veteran Juan Piedrahita will complete its Rolex 24 at Daytona lineup.

JDC’s use of the No. 84, rather than No. 99 as seen last season, comes in the wake of former sponsor GAINSCO opting to withdraw from all racing activities.

With Trummer slotting in alongside Simpson, JDC’s Misha Goikhberg has moved to the No. 85 where he’ll have former Spirit of Daytona Cadillac DPi driver Tristan Vautier as his new season-long teammate. For the Rolex 24, the two will have Formula 1 iron man Rubens Barrichello making his first appearance with JDC, and Devlin DeFrancesco, who contested two round with the team last year, taking the final roster position.

After Daytona, Piedrahita will move into the third-driver role at the remaining endurance rounds in the No. 85.

“We are very excited about our driver roster for the Rolex 24 and the whole season,” said JDC-Miller MotorSports team owner John Church. “We announced our purchase of the Cadillacs in September. We’ve been working steadily all fall to put together a stealth group of drivers to compete for race wins in 2019. Chris, Misha, Stephen and Simon were very competitive last year.

“Devlin had two great runs with us in 2018, and Juan and Tristan have raced with us in the past as they developed their driving careers. It’s great to welcome all of them back. Last, but certainly not least, we’re thrilled to welcome Rubens to the team. It’s an honor for us, it’s a great opportunity for our team and we look forward to providing him with a very competitive effort.”

Simpson, who emerged as one of IMSA’s breakout stars in recent years, welcomes the changes.

“I am very excited to have Simon as my team mate for the new season,” he said. “Simon had some very strong performances in his debut season in IMSA and showed his potential. We get along very well, we have good chemistry and I am looking forward to getting to work. It will be great to have Juan join us for the Rolex 24 in the No. 84. I have known Juan for a handful of years and was previously his coach when he raced in Indy Lights. I know he is going to be a strong addition. Additionally, I am very happy to be continuing to share the car with Chris for the long races. Chris is quick and a great teammate. This will be our sixth season driving together in the long races, we will both miss Misha but are excited for the whole team and driver pairings.”

JDC’s highest profile driver is looking forward to having a solid shot at winning his first Rolex 24.

“I am super excited to compete in the Rolex 24 again, I love this race,” Barrichello said. “In fact, I love the series and I almost won the Rolex 24 once with the Taylor brothers. I know JDC-Miller had a good event last year with sixth place, so I hope we can really enjoy our weekend and give our best for the best possible position. I am really excited, and I can’t wait for it!”