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[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Major changes ahead for Mazda Team Joest



By: Marshall Pruett | 58 minutes ago


Mazda Team Joest enters the new IMSA season with significant changes to the structure of its factory Daytona Prototype international program.

At the top of the list, Joest Racing technical director Ralf Juttner is no longer affiliated with the MTJ program. In his place, Juttner’s No. 2, Jan Lange, has been promoted to managing director for Mazda’s RT24-P effort in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship while Juttner looks after an unspecified project for Joest at team’s base in Germany.

An overhaul has also taken place on the engineering front. MTJ partner Multimatic — manufacturer of the RT24-P — will supply Aston Martin and Ford veteran Dave Wilcock as race engineer for the No. 55 Mazda, and in another high-profile personnel shift, Multimatic’s Leena Gade, a Le Mans winner with Audi Sport Team Joest, has been assigned to engineer the No. 77 Mazda.

A late addition to the squad on the Joest Racing side is former Audi Sport engineer Brad Kettler, who recently ended a 20-year association with the German manufacturer. Brought in by Joest to support the MTJ effort as a consultant at Daytona, Kettler could return for the remainder of the season if all goes well.

Behind the scenes, MTJ has also brought on longtime open-wheel and sports car team manager Chris Mower to serve as team coordinator.

Altogether, with the changes made by Mazda, Joest, and Multimatic, the Georgia-based entrant has made the most aggressive year-to-year transformation within its class in an effort to earn its first win and the DPi championship.

“We sat around a table at Joest Racing Headquarters in Germany with Multimatic — Larry Holt and his team, Mike Lancaster and his team from [engine builder] AER, myself and Mr. Joest and Ralf, and said, ‘What do we need to do to have success together?’” Mazda Motorsports director John Doonan told RACER.

“Again, we haven’t achieved the ultimate success, but the progress we’ve made is due in part to everybody bringing all their resources to the table, including people. Jan has been someone that’s been in that sort of role before and, given everything that’s on the plate at Joest, Mr. Joest and myself and Larry made some adjustments in there to give Jan the opportunity to really spend more time in the States managing the project.

“Ralf again continues to be part of the Joest racing family and his experience certainly won’t be put by the wayside but Jan has played a similar role with Audi, and it’s perfect opportunity to put more attention on the program here in the States. In addition, Chris Mower has been brought on — massive experience, so he and Jan, they’re getting on very well. Chris is now positioned in the Atlanta headquarters. I haven’t been this confident — cautious confidence — going into a season in many years because of the personnel that are leading. It’s all about people and process.”


Mazda Team Joest at work. (Image by Michael Levitt/LAT)

Complementing the management changes, a strengthened union between Mazda and Multimatic has resulted in an expansion with engineering infrastructure supplied by the Canadian firm.

“Once again I can’t give it up enough for the Multimatic staff, Raj Nair, now leading that entire organization, Larry Holt, Steven Charsley, the whole vehicle dynamics team,” Doonan continued. “To add Leena to their line-up is massive. To have her have some of her time dedicated to engineering the 77 car is fantastic. We’re thrilled to have her. I had never met her; lovely human being, obviously massive talent, massive experience. She’s taken the reins, she is very impressive. I know that we have all the ingredients being mixed in the pot now for success and I can’t wait again to see what happens at Daytona.

“Again, grateful to everybody on the Multimatic side for allowing Dave Wilcock to join on the 55 car. He obviously has worked with Harry Tincknell and Oliver Jarvis on their Ford GT project and hit it off right away. No weak links, no weak links and I can tell you we’ve sat down and talked about every one of these additions and updates and I’m very, very pleased with where we’re at, at the moment.”

Having stockpiled an impressive array of team-based talent during the offseason, Doonan can’t wait to see how MTJ will fare once the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season gets under way.

“No overly optimistic attitude going into Daytona, just because I know how tough it is with everybody else in the paddock, so we’re gonna focus on our deal, we’re gonna focus on attention to details of everything that we can control, and then we’ll see what God has planned the rest of the way,” he said.

“But really I’m pleased with Dave joining as well as Leena and again thankful to Larry and Raj and everybody on the Multimatic side for being willing to invest so much to see this program have success.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Bernhard, Pla join Mazda Team Joest for enduros

 

By: Marshall Pruett | 57 minutes ago


Mazda Team Joest’s full-time driver rotation will look familiar to IMSA fans, but its endurance line-up has undergone a significant reboot as Timo Bernhard, the three-time overall Le Mans winner, American Le Mans Series, and World Endurance Championship title winner, and top-tier ace Olivier Pla anchor the DPi program.

Jonathan Bomarito and Harry Tincknell will build on the experience gained in 2018 as they lead the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P effort with Pla added in for the four long races at Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Petit Le Mans.

With the sister No. 77, Oliver Jarvis and Tristan Nunez will do the same as they enter their second season as teammates. Bernhard will join the duo at the endurance events, and Rene Rast, who filled Bernhard’s role last year, is set to compete in the No. 77 at Daytona as its fourth driver. Ongoing commitments with Audi in the DTM series could limit Rast’s involvement beyond the Rolex 24 At Daytona, but the MTJ team has kept the door open if he’s available to do more races in America.

“There is no question that that the level of competition in IMSA continues to rise every year,” said John Doonan, Mazda’s director of motorsports. “Class rule separation between DPi and LMP2 mean some adjustments heading into 2019, so everyone at AER, Multimatic, and Mazda Team Joest have been working extremely hard to be prepared with our two Mazda RT24-Ps. The cars have performed incredibly well throughout our winter testing program and we are very much looking forward to kicking things off at Daytona.

“We’ve stated from the beginning that our goal is to achieve success for Mazda, Mazda’s dealers and employees, and ultimately the Mazda fans around the world. With this car, and this line-up of drivers, we are poised to make that happen in this 50th year of IMSA competition. As a partner with IMSA for nearly all of those 50 years, Mazda is excited to write some new history in the 2019 championship.”

For Bernhard, the opportunity came when he approached Doonan about driving for the team in October at Road Atlanta, where MTJ challenged for victory at Petit Le Mans.


Timo Bernhard (Image by Nikolaz Godet/LAT)

“I have a great memory with Team Joest as we won the 24 Hours of Le Mans together back in 2010,” he said. “I have known John Doonan from Mazda for almost 10 years, from the ALMS days, and I have always recognized the passion for motorsport that Mazda has shown. The Mazda RT24-P showed great progress over 2018 and was a strong contender at the end of the season. Sharing the car with super teammates like Olly and Rene who I know well, as well as my new teammate Tristan, made the package very interesting and I was very enthusiastic to join Mazda Team Joest.”


Olivier Pla (Image by Michael Levitt/LAT)

In Pla, MTJ receives one of prototype racing’s standout performers whose reputation as a chassis development and setup expert will bring added value to the squad.

“I’m really delighted for the opportunity to join Mazda Team Joest for the endurance races at this very exciting time for the DPi category and the IMSA championship,” he said. “The level of competition is extremely high but looking at the very strong end of the season Mazda had in 2018, I just can’t wait to race and fight at the front in 2019. I’ve known Harry for a long time, we have wanted to share a car for a long time, and now I’m really happy to be in the Mazda RT24-P with him.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Corvette Racing stays the course with C7.R


By: Marshall Pruett | 3 hours ago


Corvette Racing is banking on its proven C7.R line-up to retain the drivers’ and teams’ titles won last season in IMSA’s GT Le Mans category.

The familiar factory entries are unchanged entering the new WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season as defending GTLM champions Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen return to the No. 3 Corvette, and Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner helm the No. 4 C7.R.

Corvette Racing endurance event veterans Mike Rockenfeller (No. 3) and Marcel Fassler (No. 4) are also inbound for Daytona to help the team start the year in style.

“It’s hard to believe this will be my 11th season with Corvette Racing and eighth as a full-time driver,” Garcia said. “We have been able to win a lot of races and championships during that time. Obviously, Jan and I work very well together with our crew and engineers. That’s a large reason why we have won consecutive driver championships. The work begins again next week at Daytona. As a team, there have been important updates and progress to our Corvettes ahead of 2019. I think we can all feel confident in our ability to challenge for more race wins and championships.”

Gavin shared similar sentiments about the No. 4 program.

“Being back with Corvette Racing and with Tommy is the best way to start 2019,” he said. “It’s an amazing feat that we remain at the forefront of the GTLM championship each season. The people, the tools and resources we have within our program make all this possible.

“This may be the toughest season we will face with our Corvette C7.R. All of our competitors have had another year to fully develop their cars. But we know that this is only a single element in what makes a championship-winning team. We’ve displayed that many times and the Roar and the Rolex give us another chance to do so again.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Alonso's expectations high for WTR's Rolex line-up

 

By: J.J. O'Malley | 7 hours ago


A year ago, two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso made his first visit to Daytona International Speedway for media day festivities that kick off the Roar Before the Rolex 24.

Alonso went on to finish 13th in the Prototype class in his sports car debut, driving a Ligier-Gibson LMP2 for United Autosports in the 2018 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Thursday, Alonso returned to Daytona for media day leading up to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opener, wearing a brand-new black with blue trim uniform for Wayne Taylor Racing. On Friday, Alonso and co-drivers Kamui Kobayashi, Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande will get behind the wheel of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, joining a 47-car entry list for three days of testing on the 3.56-mile circuit.

“This year, I’m coming to Daytona with a lot more experience,” Alonso said. “It’s not my first time in an endurance race [like a year ago]. Now, I know the traffic, I know the night, I know the circuit as well. This year, I’m in a very competitive environment with a very competitive team that’s had a lot of success here at Daytona. I’m hoping to be more competitive, and enjoy the race more this year.”

Team owner Wayne Taylor began negotiations to land Alonso shortly after the checkered flag on the 2018 event. The announcement didn’t come until mid-December.

“I met Fernando at last year’s race, and shortly after the event [United Autosports team owner] Zak Brown and I started talking about it,” Taylor said. “Fernando seemed really interested, but there was some stalling, so we started talking to other drivers. Then all of a sudden, Zak asked if we still had a seat for Fernando, and we said sure.”

While negotiations for Alonso dragged on for many months, the deal for Kobayashi quickly fell into place.

“We were studying available drivers, and comparing average lap times, and I came upon Kamui Kobayashi,” Taylor said. “So I called him at home one night — it was around 3 a.m. his time. So I put the phone down and he called me straight back. I asked if he would like to drive for us at Daytona, and he said, “Yes, very much.” So we did the deal on the telephone.”

Kobayashi visited the WTR shop in Indianapolis for a seat fitting.

“He’s a superstar, and he’s down to earth,” Taylor said. “After this test, he’s going to the Konica Minolta headquarters in Japan, which is a big deal.”

After racing for five seasons in Formula 1, Kobayashi went to endurance racing, finishing second overall in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in two of the last three years.


Jordan Taylor, Renger van der Zande, Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi are (almost) ready for their close-up. (Image by J.J. O’Malley)

“This is a good opportunity for me, to come to race a sports car in America,” Kobayashi said. “I think the United States has a different type of sports car racing, and it’s going to be quite interesting. I know Wayne Taylor Racing is one of the best teams in the States, so I’m quite happy to join. I knew Fernando from Formula 1, along with being teammates in the sports cars in Europe. He’s fast; he’s good; he’s a world champion. It’s a good package for the 24-hour race. Cadillac has been quite strong here, but obviously I think the driver lineup is probably the strongest part for us.”

Jordan Taylor won the Rolex 24 in 2017 for his father, joining a lineup that included NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon in the debut of the Cadillac DPi-V.R.

“Today was the first time I met Fernando,” Jordan Taylor said. “Kamui came up to Indianapolis for a seat fitting, so I got to spend time with him there. Having Fernando as a teammate is exciting, and having both of them is super exciting. They bring all the experience to our team from Formula 1, Super GT, Super Formula. They also have tons of tire testing behind them, so they can really expedite our learning process for our first time with the Michelin tires.”

The car owner expects to have good chemistry among his regular drivers and the visiting veterans.

“I think this is going to be a great experience for Jordan and Renger, because both of these guys are superstars,” Wayne Taylor said. “I’ll think they’ll learn some things. I don’t see anyone being miles faster than anyone else. I think everyone will settle in and be comfortable, and we’ll find out during the race who’s the quick one, and then we’ll decide how to go.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Insight: Zanardi redefines endurance en route to Daytona



By: Marshall Pruett | 3 hours ago


Alex Zanardi grew accustomed to pain while racing with prosthetic legs. Applying heavy pressure on the brake pedal hundreds, maybe thousands of times during an endurance event meant the Italian’s leg and its contact points in the prosthesis were being battered.

Like a boxer whose hands are numb and raw after a prize fight, Zanardi’s sacrifice with his lower limbs — made in the name of performance — had become an accepted part of driving after returning to the sport following his stomach-turning IndyCar crash in 2001.

Through his ongoing relationship with BMW, the German manufacturer’s Motorsport division sought to solve the problem by moving the braking function to a tall vertical lever within easy reach of his right hand. Further improvements were also made to the custom steering wheel that uses an acceleration ring in lieu of a throttle pedal.



With turning, shifting, and control of the twin-turbo V8 engine covered by his left hand, plus braking and the ability to shift as well from an electronic trigger atop the lever, Zanardi’s legs have been freed in the BMW Team RLL M8 GTE he’ll share this month at Daytona with John Edwards, Jesse Krohn and Chaz Mostert.

“Those controls were really thought and realized for endurance racing, because in 2015 I took part to the 24 Hours of Spa, with Bruno Spengler and Timo Glock in the BMW Z4,” Zanardi said. “That was a magnificent experience for me. I think I was fast through the course of the race. I was not the weak, let’s say, link in the chain in my team, but I have to admit I was not in the position to put up the same quantity of driving in comparison to my teammates because of some physical issues.

“At the end of that race, I had an opportunity to take a trip to Munich, sat down with the engineers, and the question was, ‘Alex, how can we make you a better endurance driver? Because if there is something we can do, we want to develop it, and maybe when we have another opportunity we can be better prepared.’

“My answer was immediately, ‘Well, guys, we should really study a set of controls which would allow me to keep my prosthetic legs in the motor home, and jump into the car without them.’”

Rather than rely on Zanardi for the initial tests, BMW went in a different route.

“They developed this set of controls, which was first tested by able-bodied drivers early last year. The reason was that if anything could go wrong, they would still have the control of using the normal pedals … where that of course would have not been an option for me,” he continued. “Of course, the feedback they received from the driver was, ‘I don’t know whether I’m going to be able to drive the entire distance of a race, because it’s pretty hard physically to work this lever with your arm.’ But all the drivers who had the opportunity to test the car, they basically said, ‘Yeah, it’s better than we thought it would be.’

“When I finally had a go in it, I was very, very pleased from the very beginning. The job was very well executed. Prior to that point, I only had the possibility to have a feel of it in a sort of a mock-up in the shop, in order to give the engineers the last input — feedback to do the fine tuning, let’s say, as far as positioning the levers at the controls on the wheel and so on.”

BMW was presented with a unique requirement to consider while preparing its M8 GTE for Zanardi and his teammates at this weekend’s Roar Before The 24, and later this month for the big Rolex 24 At Daytona. With his previous pedal-based setup, Zanardi could take part in endurance races while using the same controls as his co-drivers, barring the acceleration ring mounted behind the bespoke steering wheel.


 
But with the shift to the new brake lever, his tools for making speed, slowing the car, and balancing it through the corners with nothing more than his hands left the engineers at BMW Motorsport and BMW Team RLL with two distinct sets of needs to appease their drivers. Adding an additional step to the process, Edwards, Krohn, and Mostert will drive the car using a standard steering wheel and all of the pedals; when Zanardi is strapped in, he’ll have his custom steering wheel installed.

As three of the drivers work on throttle response characteristics and tuning of the BMW’s braking performance through the use of their feet, the BMW factory effort has Zanardi’s steering wheel and brake lever to tune and suit his needs in the cockpit.

It’s two chassis engineering streams to manage, all with the goal of giving the quartet the ability to turn lap times that are identical, despite the different controls in action.

“It was cool, for sure, because to test those instruments in a car where the job is to squeeze every ounce of performance out of the car, you want to be competitive in that field,” Zanardi says of refining the systems that would go into the M8 GTE.

Establishing a comfort zone with the hand controls in moments of panic is another area where Zanardi has a distinct challenge.

“It’s not (just) like endurance racing, where it’s more the rhythm which will pay the dividend, but you’re also competing among a very competitive group of drivers, (and) with many cars that are driven by gentlemen who are… I wouldn’t call them amateurs, because it sounds pretty not nice … but it is what it is.”



Zanardi’s become a physical specimen after years of training for — and winning — events at the Paralympics. Having achieved exceptional strength and muscle endurance, the shift from using at least one leg while racing to doing everything with both hands has led to more rigorous training of his upper body. Strapped into the seat, he’s become a conductor of sorts, with arms and hands twisting, pushing, pulling, and directing his one-man orchestra.

“Well, I can’t say it’s been terribly easy, but it’s not that difficult either,” he said. “I was warned by all the personnel at BMW when I was offered to drive the car, that they had probably to think of a different training procedure towards that commitment — to the point where they got me a little concerned in fact…

“Then I had the opportunity to drive the car in Vallelunga in Italy, which is a very tough circuit from a physical point of view, with some medium- to high-speed turns where you really develop some Gs, as far as lateral forces and longitudinal forces, because the circuit has a lot of lateral grip. Basically, I was able to put together like 140 laps the first day, and 160-plus on the second one. Basically, I wore the car out.

“They thought they would wear me out, but I wore the engine out!”



Consider all of the fascinating technical aspects associated with Zanardi’s control systems in his BMW racing machine, and then contemplate how the man who will pilot the car for hours on end at IMSA’s season opener might be the most incredible piece of technology inside the vehicle.

“These days, as far as my upper body, as far as my arms, it’s not that I’m stronger — I am probably stronger than I’ve ever been, but the reality these days is that I am built now in a different way,” he said. “All the muscles of our upper body are basically white fiber. It means, that you have very little blood reaching those muscles, because this isn’t the way Mother Nature designed us. We need a lot of blood in our legs because we use the legs to do everything, to move around.

“That’s why, not only we need strength in our legs, but we need the resistance in our legs. It’s like blood is what feeds our engines, with oxygen and glycogen. If you do not have enough blood reaching the muscles, the engine will stop. Not because it’s not sufficiently powerful, not because it doesn’t have the capability to stay on and to keep delivering that amount of power, but because the oxygen and glycogen that is reaching that muscle is completely insufficient to keep the muscle working, and so you stop. This is the problem normally for people.



“Everything I do through the course of my life, every day I do it with my arms, and it means that by using this muscle so much I have changed gradually the state of my muscle, turning my muscle into red fibers. Because I probably have developed a vascular system that is completely different and is now similar to what every human being has in his legs. This is why, these days I’m capable of enduring a movement that anybody could do, but for a short amount of time, where I can do it for like hours.

“Which is the reason why these days I can survive when I do an Iron Man [marathon], for instance. I stay engaged into things like eight, nine hours, and all I have is my arms. Yeah, this is the reason why — not because I am superman, not because I am incredibly strong, because you don’t need to be incredibly strong, but you need to be incredibly resistant, and this is what I am today. In comparison to an able-bodied person, it’s incredible, the amount of extra resistance I have, in comparison to an able body. It’s what I have to do — I have to do it with my arms.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Poceli prvi testovi u IMSA sampionatu pred 24h Dejtone:
 

Mazda leads opening Roar practice

 

By: J.J. O'Malley | 50 minutes ago


Mazda came out of the blocks strongly in the opening session at the Roar Before the Rolex 24, leading the 10 DPis to participate in Friday’s first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice.

Oliver Jarvis posted a best lap of 1m35.989s in the No. 77 Mazda DPi, while Olivier Pla was third best in the No. 55 Mazda, with a 1m36.449s.

Results

Renger van der Zande holds the Prototype class record with a lap of 1m36.083s in qualifying for the 2018 Rolex 24, although Felipe Nasr was unofficially quicker in last year’s special Roar qualifying session, at 1m35.806 in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi.V-R.

Cadillacs took five of the top seven places, led by Jordan Taylor’s 1m36.407s in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R. Felipe Nasr was fourth in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering entry, at 1m36.781s, followed by Action Express teammate Filipe Albuquerque, with a 1m36.872s in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac.

Ricky Taylor was the faster of the two Team Penske Acura DPis with a 1m37.825s in the No. 7 entry. The No. 54 CORE autosport Nissan did not participate in the session.

Gabriel Aubry led the two competitors to practice in the LMP2 class, with a lap of 1m40.694s in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiesen Motorsports Oreca Gibson.

Porsches ran 1-2 in the nine-car GTLM class. Patrick Pilet was fastest in the No. 911 Porsche 911RSR, at 1m44.866, followed by teammate Earl Bamber, at 1m45.028s in the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR.

In GT Daytona, Jeroen Bleekemolen was quickest of the 20 cars in the No. 33 Wynn’s Mercedes-AMG GT3, with a lap of 1m47.188s.

The lone incident saw Andrew Davis spinning in the Chicane and impacting the tire barrier on his second lap in the No. 19 Audi, with the Moorespeed team spending the remainder of the session repairing right-rear damage.

 

Alonso, Kobayashi pleased after first Roar laps

 

By: J.J. O'Malley | 18 minutes ago


Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi took their first laps in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi during Friday’s opening session of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Alonso, who made his sports car debut here last year with United Autosports in an LMP2 car, was happy with the car.

“Obviously, I have a lot more to learn, but it was nice to do my first couple of laps, and everything was OK,” he said. “Obviously, the team has a lot of experience around here, and setup-wise etc, the car is quite ready, near the optimum. So there’s more time for ourselves to get acclimated to the car. So far, so good.”

Alonso ran six laps, with his best a 1m36.984s. Co-driver Jordan Taylor was second-fastest overall, running a 1m36.407s.

A year ago, Alonso finished 13th in the class, with the LMP2 teams struggling to meet the pace of the DPis.

“Last year we didn’t have a chance, but it was the first race of the year, the first endurance race for me,” Alonso said. “I thought we could have been in the top five if we got lucky in the race but obviously we had too many issues. This year is very different. We are in a more competitive environment, so there is a real chance to be fast. We’ll try to execute the race OK, no mistakes, and let’s see what the result is at the end.”

Kobayashi will be making his American sports car debut at the Rolex 24. He ran three laps in the session, with his best a 1m39.197s.

“I was quite impressed with this banking,” Kobayashi said. “This is the first time I jumped into the car, so it’s very difficult to express the feeling of how this car feels to the other one’s I’ve raced. I’ve enjoyed it a lot, especially the track, and the car’s feeling pretty good as well. It’s just going to be a matter of getting used to it. It’s amazing to be here.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Westbrook admits last year's Rolex 24 glory tough to top

 

By: J.J. O'Malley | 3 hours ago


It’s going to be extremely difficult for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing to top last year’s performance in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

The two Ganassi Ford GTs led all but 10 laps en route to a 1-2 finish in the GT Le Mans category in the 2018 event, giving event Grand Marshal and team boss Chip Ganassi his 200th triumph as a car owner. The Fords ran 1-2 for the final 18 hours, 47 minutes, with the No. 67 of Richard Westbrook, Ryan Briscoe and Scott Dixon won by 11.18 seconds over teammates Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 66 entry.

Despite those statistics, Westbrook said it was a flat-out battle all the way.

“Last year, we had the pace,” Westbrook admitted. “But pace doesn’t mean anything if you can’t execute in a 24-hour race. We definitely had the reliability, and we executed really well. We had no issues on the track or in the pits for both cars.”



Dominance aside, Westbrook looks back at last year’s event as a solid two-car battle.

“It was a straight fight between two Fords,” Westbrook recalled. “We had no team orders. It was flat-out racing for 24 hours. Even though it was Ford-Ford, I thought the race was fascinating from my point of view. We were trying to outsmart our teammate in the pits. Chip’s a racer, and he wanted us to race. We could have taken each other out, but we didn’t. It seemed like ages that we were one second apart. It was fantastic to be part of it.”

Westbrook expects a different scenario for the 2019 edition of the Rolex 24.

“I don’t expect it to be the same this year,” he said. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a better race. The balance of performance is different. We had an advantage here last year. Maybe it was a grip thing; we seemed to be able to take off when the others couldn’t get that foot down coming out of the corners, which is so important here. It’s going to be closer this year. We’ve got a new tire this year, and it’s going to be important to see which manufacturer, which team is going to make that tire work.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Barrichello relishing Rolex 24 return



By: J.J. O'Malley | 23 minutes ago


He’s sharing the spotlight at this weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24 with a number of his fellow former Formula 1 drivers including Fernando Alonso, Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya and Sebastien Bourdais, but that’s just fine with Rubens Barrichello.

The 46-year-old Brazilian — an 11-time F1 winner — will be starting his fourth Rolex 24 At Daytona later this month, joining Misha Goikhberg, Tristan Vautier and Devins Defrances in JDC-Miller Motorsports’ new Cadillac DPi.


No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi of Rubens Barrichello, Devins Defrances, Misha Goikhberg and Tristan Vautier. (Image by Jake Galstad/LAT)

“I really like Daytona,” Barrichello said. “I’m over the moon to be here once again. Let’s keep on pushing — I really enjoy coming here.”

In his most recent Rolex 24, Barrichello finished second in 2016, co-driving Wayne Taylor Racing’s Corvette DP with Ricky and Jordan Taylor along with Max Angelelli.

“I love the States, and I am spending more time in Florida with my family,” Barrichello said. “For me, it’s like my second home, and I really want to put on a great show for the public and for the JDC team. It’s a quick car, and so far, so good. Hopefully, we can have a good run.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Kobayashi paces afternoon Roar session for WTR



By: J.J. O'Malley | 2 hours ago


Nearly three seconds slower than his teammates in Friday’s morning session, Kamui Kobayashi proved to be a quick learner in the Roar Before the Rolex 24 afternoon window.

Kobayashi turned a lap of 1m36.595s to lead the 90-minute afternoon round, driving the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R he shares with Fernando Alonso, Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande.

Results

While the session began in balmy 80-degree temperatures, conditions quickly deteriorated, with heavy rain falling throughout the last half-hour and finally halting the activity with two minutes remaining.

Prior to Kobayashi’s fast lap, Mazda Team Joest seemed poised to complete a sweep of the day. Jonathan Bomarito wound up second fastest in the No. 55 Mazda DPi with a 1m36.604s, followed by Timo Bernhard in the No. 77 Mazda at 1m36.838s. Earlier in the day, Bernhard posted the best lap of the day with a 1m35.989s.

“We’re sticking to our test plan,” said Bomarito. “We have a lot of points to run through, getting all of our drivers seat time. The car has been reliable so far, and we’re pretty quick. We’ve made changes in almost every aspect of the program, but it has been smooth. We’ve done a lot of testing in the off-season. We’ve shown up here pretty prepared, and already starting to jell really well.”

After missing the morning session, the No. 54 CORE autosport Nissan DPi ran 22 laps. Colin Braun was eighth quickest overall, with a best lap of 1m37.522s.

Gabriel Aubry set the fastest LMP2 time for the second straight session in the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA, running a 1m39.575s. Three of the four cars in the new WeatherTech Championship class participated.

Davide Rigon had the best lap of the day in GTLM in the afternoon, going 1m44.718s in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE. He was followed by Ryan Briscoe’s 1m44.849 in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing GT, and Antonio Garcia’s 1m44.882s in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R.

“We worked on the car after P1 and we found a good balance on the set-up, so we were pretty happy,” Rigon said. “We tried the new tires. We don’t have all the data yet to know if that’s what helped us be the fastest.

“We are doing our program and driving like IMSA asked to show our potential, so we can be fair. The guys are continuing to work on the car, so we can have the best car as possible for the race. We are happy about our work and improving step by step. Miguel [Molina] will drive more tomorrow since he didn’t do the afternoon session. He was here for the Michelin test here in December, so he’s had some time in the car and with the new tires.”

Jeroen Bleekemolen swept the day in GTD in the No. 33 Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3, bettering his morning time with a lap of 1m46.452s He was followed by Daniel Serra in the No. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 with a 1m46.786s, and Jens Klingmann in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3, 1m47.004s.

Although there were no incidents, the session was red-flagged several times for tow-ins, and was finally ended two minutes early due to the conditions.

Saturday’s WeatherTech Championship on-track activity begins with a one-hour session at 10 a.m. ET, followed at 11 a.m. by a 15-minute GTD-only session. The second WeatherTech practice will run from 3:35-4:20 p.m., followed by a 15-minute GTD qualifying round to set garage and pit positions for the Rolex 24. There will also be a three-hour Prototype Challenge race, starting at 12:15 p.m. Activity concludes with a 75-minute night practice at 6:45 p.m.

On Sunday, a pair of practices at 10:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. will sandwich qualifying for GTLM at 11:50 a.m. and the two Prototype classes at 12:15 p.m.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Ovogodisnja Dejtona 24 ce biti apsolutno ludilo, spisak do sada potvrdjenih ucesnika je da svrsis u gace:

 

 

Filipe Albuquerque

AJ Allmendinger

Fernando Alonso Diaz

Bill Auberlen

Gabriel Aubry

Fabio Babini

Klaus Bachler

Earl Bamber

Joao Barbosa

Dominik Baumann

Ana Beatriz

Townsend Bell

Jonathan Bennett

Timo Bernhard

Rene Binder

Jeroen Bleekemolen

Tom Blomqvist

Jonathan Bomarito

Mirko Bortolotti

Nicholas Boulle

Sebastien Bourdais

Colin Braun

Ryan Briscoe

Maximilian Buhk

Emanuele Busnelli

Matteo Cairoli

Andrea Caldarelli

Dane Cameron

Matt Campbell

Agustin Cana

Cameron Cassels

Nick Cassidy

Helio Castroneves

Parker Chase

Austin Cindric

Eric Curran

Ryan Dalziel

Andrew Davis

Roman DeAngelis

Pipo Derani

Scott Dixon

Romain Dumas,

Steve Dunn

Loic Duval

John Edwards

Philipp Eng

Christian Engelhart

Dominik Farnbacher

Mario Farnbacher

Marcel Fassler

Christian Fittipaldi

Robby Foley

Felipe Fraga,

Victor Franzoni

Antonio Garcia

Oliver Gavin

Brandon Gdovic

Misha Goikhberg,

Marcos Gomes

Chris Haase

Juergen Haering

Joey Hand

Will Hardeman

Ryan Hardwick

Scott Hargrove

Jack Hawksworth

Jackie Heinricher

Richard Heistand

Colton Herta

Trent Hindman

Ian James

Mathieu Jaminet

Oliver Jarvis

Kyle Kaiser

Ben Keating,

Lars Kern

Jens Klingmann

Kamui Kobayashi

Jesse Krohn

Andy Lally

Pedro Lamy

Paul Dalla Lana

Mathias Lauda

Katherine Legge,

Corey Lewis

Kelvin van der Linde

Patrick Lindsey

Kang Ling

Patrick Long

Chico Longo

Linus Lundqvist

Dillon Machavern

Cooper MacNeil,

Jan Magnussen,

Frederic Makowiecki

Justin Marks

Kyle Masson

Robert Masson

Matthew McMurry

Chris Miller

Tommy Milner

Miguel Molina

Frank Montecalvo

Juan Pablo Montoya

Daniel Morad

Mozzie Mostert

Dirk Mueller

Sven Muller

Felipe Nasr

Christina Nielsen

Tristan Nunez

Will Owen

Simon Pagenaud

Timothy Pappas

Ezequiel Perez Companc

JC Perez

Connor De Phillippi

Juan Piedrahita

Patrick Pilet

Olivier Pla

John Potter

Spencer Pumpelly

Rene Rast

Alex Riberas

Davide Rigon

Zacharie Robichon

Mike Rockenfeller

Alexander Rossi

Fabian Schiller

Jeff Segal

Bryan Sellers

Daniel Serra

Simona De Silvestro

Stephen Simpson,

Luca Stolz

Nick Tandy

Jordan Taylor

Ricky Taylor

Aaron Telitz,

Harry Tincknell

Simon Trummer

Tristan Vautier

Frederic Vervisch

Toni Vilander

Dirk Werner

Richard Westbrook

Jeff Westphal

Markus Winkelhock

Kris Wright

Don Yount

Alex Zanardi

Renger Van Der Zande.

 

Skoro pola grida bivsi i sadasnji F1 i Indikar vozaci i nekoliko apsolutnih legendi trkanja u klasama GT i sportskih prototipova. Ovo je jaci vozacki sastav i od onih sa 24h Lemana zadnjih godina.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

 

Tincknell, Mazda edge toward lap record in third Roar practice



By: J.J. O'Malley | 4 hours ago


Harry Tincknell throw down the gauntlet early Saturday morning, running a lap of 1m34.925s in the No. 55 Team Joest Mazda DPi to lead the third practice session at the Roar Before the Rolex 24.

That not only unofficially shattered Joao Barbosa’s Prototype track record at Daytona International Speedway (1m36.903s), it was the first serious challenge to P.J. Jones’ official mark of 1m33.875s in 16 years.

That record was set back in qualifying for the 1993 Rolex 24, when Jones was driving Dan Gurney’s All American Racers Toyota Eagle Mk III. Jones and teammate Juan Fangio II demolished the competition that year — winning every race they entered — in the final year of Camel GTP competition.

No one has come close since. Until Saturday morning.

Results

“Obviously, to be running so close to the overall track record is amazing,” Tincknell said. “Maybe when the track rubbers in a bit more, when we’re in qualifying trim, and running with a tow, it’s definitely there to be had. It would be amazing if we could reach it, whether if it’s at the Roar or the race. Let’s see what happens.”

Tincknell wasn’t alone in challenging for the all-time mark. Fernando Alonso was second with a lap of 1m35.052s in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, as the top eight DPis eclipsed Barbosa’s track mark.

Will Owen was involved in an incident early in the session when he damaged the right-front corner of the No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R after contact with the No. 88 WRT Speedster Audi R8 LMS GT3 at the exit of chicane, when both cars were braking to avoid a spinning car.

“I don’t want to place blame anywhere, so the best thing to say is a racing incident,” Owen said. “The car in front of me was avoiding a spin; I did my very best to avoid him, but it didn’t work out that way.”

Matt McMurry paced LMP2 and was 10th overall, at 1m36.643s in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA Gibson.


No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR, GTLM: Mathieu Jaminet, Earl Bamber; No. 84 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac DPi, DPi: Simon Trummer, Stephen Simpson, Chris Miller, Juan Piedrahita. (Image byy Richard Dole/LAT)

New teams were atop the respective GT classes, both running Porsches.

Mathieu Jaminet led GTLM, with a 1m43.862s in the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR, while Black Swan Racing’s Marco Seefried paced GTD, running a 1m45.919 in the No. 540 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

With the GTD competitors not testing on Sunday, Saturday morning’s practice for that class was extended by 15 minutes. In addition, the GTD competitors will have a 15-minute qualifying session to assign pit and garage positions for the Rolex 24 following today’s second WeatherTech Championship practice, which runs from 3:35-4:20 p.m.

Saturday activities conclude with night practice from 6:45-8 p.m.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Legge aims for Rolex's top step with new Meyer Shank lineup



By: J.J. O'Malley | 54 minutes ago


After a second-place GTD finish in the 2018 Rolex 24 with Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian, Katherine Legge wants to move up one step this year with the team’s new driver lineup.

Legge will co-drive the team’s No. 57 Caterpillar Acura NSX GT3 with Ana Beatriz, Simona De Silvestro and Christiana Nielsen; Nielsen has been added following a back injury that will prevent Jackie Heinricher from driving in the season-opening race. While it’s the event’s first all-female lineup since 1994, Legge is focused on improving on last year’s result.

“Last year was heartbreaking, honestly,” she said. “We finished second, but we were one step away from the top step. Hopefully, we can right that this year.”

Although she missed that top step, Legge went on to win at Detroit Belle Isle (with Mario Farnbacher) and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (with Alvaro Parente). She went on to finish second four times – taking the GTD championship down to the final race of the year. Legge placed second in the finale, missing the title by only four points.


Image by Dole/LAT

Now, she’s looking for another strong start to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD campaign.

“Meyer Shank Racing has given us a car that’s capable of winning, and as a driver, that’s all you can ask for,” said Legge. “I’ve got fantastic teammates in a really cool effort in partnership with Heinricher Racing and Caterpillar, and I’m very excited to see how this progresses. I know there have been all-female teams before [at Daytona], so we’re not trying to do anything special. We’ve got some very good drivers who just happen to be female, and I’m happy to be part of it.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Alberico, Lamelas win four-hour PC opener



By: J.J. O'Malley | 19 minutes ago


Neil Alberico and Leo Lamelas cruised to victory in Saturday’s Scouts of America IMSA Prototype Challenge season opener, co-driving the No. 4 Ansa Motorsports Ligier JS P3 in the three-hour race at Daytona International Speedway.

Leading the final 23 laps, Alberico took the checkered flag 13.987 seconds ahead of Austin McCuster, who shared the No. 47 Forty 7 Motorsports Norma M30 with Rodrigo Pflucker. Tonis Kasemets, Bruce Hamilton and Scott Maxwell completed the podium in the No. 60 Wulver Racing Ligier.

Results
 
“We had the engine yesterday and missed qualifying,” said Alberico. “Leo had a great first stint, and I double-stinted to the end. To win in my first start — and to win at Daytona in IMSA’s 50th anniversary season — is spectacular. It’s great for me and the team. A perfect start to the season.”

The victory came in the first IMSA race for Alberico, who formerly raced in the Mazda Road to Indy. He won four races for Wayne Taylor’s Cape Motorsports in 2015, placing second in the Star Mazda championship, and also won four races for that team in taking second in the 2013 USF2000 Championship. He spent the last three years competing in Indy Lights.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

WTR fastest in fourth Roar session

 

By: J.J. O'Malley | 4 hours ago


Times continued to improve Saturday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway at the pre-season Roar Before the Rolex 24. Renger van der Zande ran a best lap of 1m34.534s in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R., pacing the 45-minute session and edging closer to P.J. Jones’ all-time record of 1m33.875s, set in 1993 in a Toyota Eagle GTP.

Van der Zande and teammates Fernando Alonso, Kamui Kobayashi and Jordan Taylor have each finished a Roar session near the top of the speed chart.

Session 4 results

Finishing second in Saturday afternoon’s fourth IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship session was Ricky Taylor, who set a 1m35.017s in the No. 7 Team Penske Acura DPi, followed by Mike Conway’s 1m35.304s lap in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R.

Defending WeatherTech Series champion Felipe Nasr of Action Express feels there is big reason for the increase in speeds.

“We get a second [per lap] from the new Michelin tires,” said Nasr, driver of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. “You can feel the difference all the way around – better braking, better traction and more grip. We’ve got a lot more speed. We really feel a lot more connected with the tire. Everyone is still learning the tire – to see how they can optimize the setup.”

Nicolas Lapierre put the No. 81 DragonSpeed ORECA Gibson on top of the LMP2 chart for the first time with a lap of 1m36.553s.

Scott Dixon was fastest in GTLM with a 1m43.148s lap in the defending race-winning No. 67 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT, while Trent Hindman put the No. 86 Turner Motorsport Liqui Moli BMW M6 GT3 atop the GTD chart for the first time with a 1m45.553s.

The 45-minute session was followed by a 15-minute qualifying session for the GTD competitors – with pit road and garage assignments for the Jan. 26-27 Rolex 24 At Daytona on the line. Dominik Baumann posted a Roar-best lap of 1m45.406s in the No. 71 P1 Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. However, with the session limited to Bronze- and Silver-rated drivers, the Gold-rated Baumann’s times were disallowed.

As a result, Bia Figueiredo (who raced in IndyCar as Ana Beatriz) set the fast time in the No. 57 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Caterpillar Acura NSX GT3 with a 1m45.537s. She was followed by Frankie Montecalvo’s 1m45.587s lap in the No. 12 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, and Hindman’s 1m45.657s.

GTD qualifying

“They told me to drive as fast as I could — so that’s what I tried to do,” said Figueiredo, racing at Daytona for the first time. “It shows we’ve got a very good car, and a really strong team. To be part of the show is really nice, and I’m very happy.”

Paul Dalla Lana – who hit the tire barrier in the West Horseshoe late in the fourth session – was able to have the No. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 repaired in time to get in one lap of qualifying. He managed to time in 20th of the 21 cars to participate.

Saturday’s activities will conclude with night practice from 6:45-8 p.m.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Bomarito leads Mazda 1-2 in fast Daytona night practice

 

By: J.J. O'Malley | 1 hour ago


Jonathan Bomarito set the fastest time in a one-hour, 15-minute Saturday night session on the penultimate day of the Roar Before the Rolex 24.

The No. 55 Team Joest Mazda DPi topped the charts with a lap of 1m34.533s, just a tick behind Renger van der Zande’s fast time of the weekend, 1m34.534s, set Saturday afternoon in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R. Mazdas ran 1-2 under the lights, with Oliver Jarvis second at 1m34.977s in the No. 77 Team Joest entry.

Results

Times continued to plummet throughout the day as teams came to grips with the new Michelin tires that will be used in 2019, with all 11 cars in the lead class bettering Joao Barbosa’s two-year-old track mark of 1m36.903s.

Pipo Derani, who joined the Action Express Racing fold for 2019, was third fastest with a 1m35.179s lap in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. He was followed by teammate Mike Conway in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling entry with a 1m35.215s, and Colin Braun’s 1m35.273s in the No. 54 CORE autosport Nissan DPi.

Gabriel Aubry led the four LMP2 competitors with a best lap of 1m36.990s in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA LMP2.

The Porsche GT Team ran 1-2 in GTLM. Nick Tandy was fastest at 1m43.402s in the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR, followed by Earl Bamber’s 1m43.524s in the sister No. 912.

Victor Franzoni led GTD with a best lap of 1m45.842s in the No. 13 Via Italia Racing Ferrari 488 GT3, followed by Daniel Serra’s 1m45.954s in the No. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3.

The session ran green from start to finish.

Corvette Racing suffered a bit of bad luck early in the session, when a piece of debris came through the floor of the engine compartment. The damage was bad enough to force the team to switch engines.

On Sunday, the Roar concludes with a pair of practices for the Prototype and GTLM classes, which will be held at 10:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. ET. GTLM qualifying to determine pit and garage selection for the Rolex 24 begins at 11:50 a.m., with the DPi and LMP2 classes holding combined qualifying at 12:15 p.m. The GTD class held their qualifying for pit/garage selection on Saturday, with Bia Figueiredo leading qualifying in the No. 57 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Caterpillar Acura NSX-GT3.

Pale i prve diskvalifikacije:

 

 

LA Honda World Racing’s two entries in the Michelin Pilot Challenge were removed from the remainder of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 At Daytona after they were found to be below the published minimum weight.
 

IMSA officials found the Nos. 37 and 73 Honda Civic TCRs were in violation of IMPC SSR Attachment 2.7, which states in part: “Any Competitor, Constructor or Manufacturer who deliberately gives false information, attempts to influence the BoP process, manipulates the performance, or displays a level of performance above or below the expected result in any session may be penalized.”