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Comparing GT3, GT4 and TCR
Tuesday, 03 April 2018
Richard James (words and images)




With the advent of the new TCR class, there are now three homologated platforms racing in Pirelli World Challenge – GT3 in the GT category, GT4 in GTS and now TCR. They are three different ways to go racing in production-based cars that are homologated, specified and – at least in theory and averaged out over a variety of tracks – equal. Three different ways to purchase a ready-built racecar straight from the factory (or the factory's designated builder).

Ryan Eversley is one of the few to have raced all three, and perhaps the only person on the planet to race all three in the course of a week. He raced an Acura NSX GT3 for Honda America Racing Team at the Mobil 1Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 17. The following weekend he was at Circuit of The Americas, where he did double duty in World Challenge, racing the Case-It Racing by Flying Lizard Audi R8LMS GT4 with Adam Merzon in GTS SprintX and the RealTime Racing Honda Civic Type-R TCR, in which he scored a pair of third-place finishes. He also raced RealTime's NSX GT3 last September at COTA, so he has experience in all three at the same track.

The striking difference between the three is lap times. The gulf between GT3 and GT4 is wide; for Race 1 at COTA, Mike Skeen put the Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 on the GT pole with a time of 2m05.664s, while Harry Gottsacker scored the GTS pole with a 2m17.527s in his Racers Edge Motorsports SIN R1. That 12-second margin is striking, especially when one considers that GT3 and GT4 cars, depending on the manufacturer, are sometimes based on the same road car platform. The TCR pole time, set by Mark Wilkins in the Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian Hyundai i30 N, was a 2m18.914s, less than 1.5s off GTS. Eversely's best race times in the Audi GT4 and the Honda TCR was less than half a second off.

"The way they do the laps is a little bit different," Eversley explains. "The rolling corner speed for a TCR car is actually pretty high. They are pretty similar in speed but they do the laps completely differently. For every TCR session [at COTA], I was almost completely flat through Turns 17-18-19 around that triple carousel; in the GT4 car you can't even come close to doing that. So it's pretty neat how [the TCR cars] make the speed up, but they are probably more fun to drive because they have that kind of aero and you can really push the limits of what is allowed."



It's the aero that plays a big difference between GT3 and GT4. In the case of both the Audi and Mercedes-AMG GT3 and GT4 platforms, they are based on the same road car using the same engine. In GT4, that engine is detuned to make less power. (In these cars, the GT3 racing versions make about the same power as their road-going counterparts; GT4 is 50 or so fewer horsepower.) Where the speed differential – and price, with GT3 cars being 65-100 percent more than a GT4 car – largely comes from is more lightweight carbon fiber body pieces in the GT3, and much more sophisticated aerodynamics.

"The big thing is the aero," Eversley says. The first time I drove the GT3, and realized you couldn't run nose-to-tail with somebody, I thought, 'Wow, these things are super aero-dependent.' If you look at the speeds we were able to carry through some corners – I remember in the NSX last year we were doing something like 143mph through the Kink at Road America. It wasn't flat, but it was damn close. If you tried to run close to somebody in that corner, it was something like 130mph because you were losing the front end and you wouldn't make the exit. So it was a 13mph swing – but you think about that, 143mph at the slowest part of the Kink at Road America in a GT car? That's cranking. They are very aero-dependent, and I think that's where the difference is. Obviously that means a lot more carbon fiber bits and a lot bigger body kits on them, so I think that's where the price also starts to come from."



Eversley adds that there is little aero wash in GT4, and none that he could feel in TCR. One key difference between GT4 and TCR, though, is the lack of ABS, as well as TCR cars being front-wheel drive.

"You can't be as brave on the brakes because you can get lock-ups and you don't want to slam into the back of somebody out of control or flat-spot a tire; that would cause you to lose quite a bit of pace and potentially have to go to the pits for a new one. The GT4 car has ABS so you don't have to worry about it, so you can be a little bit more aggressive on the braking. [COTA] has some big brake zones, but if you get creative with your braking lines, you can make it really hard for somebody to get by.

"In the GT4, I noticed that it was pretty much like sedan racing. A lot of people were outbraking each other and going side by side; whereas in the TCR, because the brake zones are a little harder to be aggressive, it was more straight-line racing into those corners. But then it was the race to the next one. You were getting a better run off the corner, and with the class being all front-wheel drive, it really comes down to who can get the wheel straight and get off the corner without destroying the tire as bad. In the GT4, we just kind of push the entire time and the tires didn't really go anywhere."

Eversley's heroes growing up were racers like A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti, who would drive anything, anytime, anywhere. So he relishes the opportunities he has to drive a variety of cars, and says he doesn't see TCR as a step down from GT3. In fact, he's really enjoying racing the Civic Type-R TCR.

"They are so fun to drive," he summarizes. "It resembles so much of the street car version and that's where we all got into this as kids. When I was in high school the Civic Si had come out and I wanted one of those so bad. If you saw something like a TCR at that time, you would have been excited as hell."

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Vilander sets Long Beach track record for PWC GT pole
Saturday, 14 April 2018
By RACER Staff / Image by Dole/LAT




Toni Vilander blew past the track record on the streets of Long Beach Saturday morning, driving the No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsports Ferrari 488 GT3 to his second pole of the year for the Pirelli World Challenge Round 3 GT Sprint event as part of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Vilander – who has started the season off with poles on both street circuits, a podium at St. Pete and two SprintX wins at Circuit of The Americas with Miguel Molina – posted a lap of 1m18.436s as five GT entries bested the track record of 1m18.883s (89.84mph) set last year by Alvaro Parente in his K-PAX Racing McLaren. Vilander will be joined on the front row by CRP Racing's Daniel Morad, who finished 0.206s behind in his Mercedes-AMG GT3.

• Starting lineup

Daniel Mancinelli, who was fastest in Friday's sole practice session, will start third after a lap of 1m18.694s in his TR3 Racing Ferrari 488 GT3. GMG Racing's Alec Udell (1m18.173s) and Alegra Motorsports' Michael Christensen (1m18.741s) all fell under last year's track record.

Rocky Moran Jr. will start 11th overall in the No. 71 Audi R8 LMS, a feat given that the Irvine native couldn't practice on Friday and turned his first laps in the car on Saturday. His TruSpeed Autosport team worked into the late hours to put in a new engine.

Yuki Harata of Dream Racing Motorsport took his first GTA pole with a best lap of 1m19.157s, shattering the 1m19.842s (88.735mph) track record set by Martin Fuentes in 2016. Harata and Fuentes, who will start seventh and eighth overall, outqualified the K-PAX Bentley Continental GT3s of Parente and Rodrigo Baptista, who will roll off ninth and 10th.

Compass Racing's Paul Holton led the GT4 Invitational category with a 1m25.930s lap in his McLaren 570S GT4.

The 50-minute PWC GT/GTA/GT4 feature race is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET. It will be streamed live on world-challenge.com and on the new PWC app beginning at 12:50 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on CBS Sports on Sunday, April 22 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Mancinelli's late move earns PWC GT win at Long Beach; Harata wins in GTA
Sunday, 15 April 2018
By RACER Staff / Images by Richard James




Italy's Daniel Mancinelli made a bold move on Toni Vilander with just over seven minutes to go in the Pirelli World Challenge Round 3 GT Sprint event, nudging the pole-sitter's R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3 out of the way to take the lead and hold on for the win in his first race of the season in the No. 31 TR3 Racing/Ferrari of Vancouver Ferrari 488 GT3.

Vilander led from the drop of the green flag, but Mancinelli outbraked him heading into Turn 1 on lap 27, and while the two made door-to-door contact both were able to keep control, Mancinelli pulling away in the final five laps.

"I knew that Toni would have a good race pace today with his Ferrari,” said Mancinelli. “I was able to close in on him after the yellow flag period. I felt I was quicker than Toni in several spots, but I had to work hard to get close enough to make the pass. I made the move for the lead after I got some good momentum into Turn 1. Toni left a little opening for me and I had to take it. From there, I managed the car to the finish. It is a great win for Ferrari and TR3 Racing.”

Vilander admitted Mancinelli was stronger in the Turn 1 braking zone.

"I like this track a lot and we had good pace today,” said Vilander. “In qualifying, I was able to push very hard for the pole on Saturday. Today, Daniel was stronger today in the braking zones in Turn 1 and Turn 11. After the safety car period, I struggled a bit with the tires and the grip in general. Daniel was willing to take more risks today.

"This was a great day for Ferrari and Ferrari has invested a lot in racing in America. Finishing 1-2 for Ferrari at Long Beach is important for Ferrari."

Daniel Morad, who held second for most of the race in the No. 2 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, lost several positions with 20 minutes to go when he slowed with an electrical issue. That left the door open for Alvaro Parente, who started ninth overall in the No. 9 K-PAX Racing Bentley Continental GT3, to finish third.

• Provisional results

GT championship leader Scott Hargrove, who was spun out of the hairpin by the No. 24 Alegra Motorsports Porsche of Michael Christensen with just over 10 minutes to go, finished fourth; Christensen was issued a drive-through penalty.

Alec Udell was issued a one-minute penalty for contact with Mike Sullivan's Competition Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR on lap 8, which sent Sullivan hard into the concrete retaining wall and led to a 15-minute caution. Sullivan exited the car after several minutes under his own power.

The GTA class saw last-lap drama as Martin Fuentes – who arrived back in Long Beach in the pre-dawn Sunday hours after an overnight trip to Mexico City – battled class leader Yuki Harata in the Japanese driver’s first Long Beach race. 



Harata, the 2017 GT Cup series champion, held on in his No. 55 Dream Racing Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 for his first career GTA class win. Harata defeated Fuentes by just 0.163 seconds at the finish line, while Parker Chase, also in his Long Beach debut, rounded out the GTA podium.

"I lost both mirrors and I had no information,” said Harata. "I didn't know where I was. The team kept telling me to go because I had a good pace. My last race was kind of a mess, so I'm happy for this one. I finished off my tires and I was all over the place. This is my first GTA win, and my first race in Long Beach. The weekend was incredible for me and the team.”



Compass Racing's Paul Holton was the winner of the GT4 Invitational class ahead of Racers Edge Motorsports' Harry Gottsacker, while Bob Michaelian took honors in GT4 AM.

The next Pirelli World Challenge race weekend takes place at VIRginia International Raceway on April 27-29 with GT SprintX, GTS SprintX and Touring Car classes.

The Round 3 GT/GTA/GT4 Invitational event from the streets of Long Beach will be televised on CBS Sports Network next Sunday (April 22) at 3:00 p.m. ET.

 

Francis Jr. goes the distance in Trans Am at Homestead
Sunday, 15 April 2018
Trans Am




Ernie Francis Jr., secured his second win of the 2018 Trans Am Championship with a flag-to-flag victory in the South Florida Sports Car Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 2017 champion has now won the past two Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli competitions at Homestead and set a new track record en route to the winner's circle. Shane Lewis shared in the celebrations with a TA3 class victory, outlasting Sebastian Carazo after a battle that spanned much of the multi-class competition.

The victory, the 12th of Francis' career in the TA class, came in dominant fashion on his home track. The No. 98 Frameless Shower Doors Ford Mustang often led the remainder of the TA class field by a gap that extended beyond 10 seconds, despite being reeled in by a full-course yellow in the middle of the competition.

"This is our home track," said Francis. "We knew we needed to put on a good show for our friends and family, but the car was absolutely hooked up today. We knew we had the pace from the very beginning of the weekend, right off the trailer. We have a great setup for Homestead-Miami, I have plenty of track time here, and we run old tires during all the testing and practice sessions – it gives you a good feel for what the car will be like here towards the end of the race. While everyone else was slipping and sliding, our car still was hooked up."

Despite the win only coming three races into the 11-round championship, Francis hopes the hometown win will help him go the distances in his TA class title defense, particularly as his multi-series schedule begins to heat up.

"It's great to have the points lead and grow it a bit more," said Francis. "It's unfortunate what happened to Chris Dyson out there, but it helps our lead and gives us a bit of a gap. We're going to need it come Indianapolis; I'll be missing practice and qualifying due to a NASCAR K&N obligation. I'll be flying in just in time for the green flag and starting from the back of the pack. It should make for a great show!"

The aforementioned Dyson, in the No. 20 Plaid/CD Racing Ford Mustang, had worked his way up to second position on the 28th lap of the 45-lap contest but was contacted from behind by the No. 06 Tina Bazuca/ Republica Brewing Chevrolet Corvette of RJ Lopez, causing the No. 20 to spin. Officials black flagged the No. 06 for avoidable contact and ordered a drive-through penalty, which was served.

Lawrence Loshak, in the No. 2 Pennzoil/ ETE/ GoShare Chevrolet Camaro, was able to capitalize on Dyson's misfortune, retaking his second place starting position while holding off a resurgent Amy Ruman, in the No. 23 McNichols Company Chevrolet Corvette, for the remainder of the competition. In doing so, Loshak secured his first podium of the 2018 season, rebounding in full from a challenging Road Atlanta outing marred by mechanical issues.

The third-place finish also marked a return to form for Amy Ruman, securing her first podium finish since Round 9 of 2017, also bidding adieu to her own streak of mechanical frustrations.

The hard-charging David Pintaric, who worked up through the TA class field from 12th starting position in the No. 57 Kryderacing Cadillac CTS-V, would just outlast Dyson for fourth place, but only just. One hundredth of a second separated the two competitors as they passed the checkered flag, side-by-side.



In the TA3 class, Shane Lewis emerged victorious in the No. 28 MGM Porsche 997.2, bringing home a win for the MGM team in its Trans Am debut. Lewis would take the lead from polesitter Randy Kinsland, in the No. 11 RF Engines Chevrolet Corvette, on the second lap of the contest but was pushed hard following the restart by Trans Am debutant Sebastian Carazo, in the No. 61 Allied Car & Truck Rental Porsche 991.1.

Lewis and Carazo would navigate both oncoming TA class traffic and their own back-and-forth battle for the remainder of the race, with Lewis only truly gaining separation with three laps remaining.

"It was an amazing battle with Sebastian," said Francis. "It was just back and forth; he's an awesome driver – the guys prepped an awesome car. After the restart, I really wasn't sure what was going to happen. We obviously didn't want to get involved in the TA class' race, but we had a battle of our own too. It just shows the professionalism of all the drivers involved that we could race that hard and keep it clean amongst classes."

Lewis will return to the Homestead-Miami track this afternoon in the TA2 class' Muscle Car Challenge, where he will start from pole in pursuit of his second Trans Am win of the day.

Carazo would secure second place in the TA3 class, while Dave Ricci, in the No. 71 Florida Roadway Signs Chevrolet Camaro, completed the production class' podium.

For his hard charge to the front of the field, David Pintaric was awarded the CoolShirt Systems Cool Move of the Race. RJ Lopez finished sixth to secure a Southern Cup best finish in the TA class, while Alline Cipriani received the distinction in the TA3 class. Kerry Hitt, in the No. 19 ACP Cadillac CTS-V, led the masters division.

The race would undergo a single full-course caution spanning from the middle of lap 19 to the start of lap 23, to retrieve the No. 57 of Simon Gregg stopped on-course in an unsafe position. The competition spanned 45 laps, 102.15-miles, around the 2.27-mile, 10-turn modified road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli will hold another 45-lap competition at Homestead-Miami later this afternoon, the TA2 class exclusive Muscle Car Challenge powered by AEM, with an anticipated start time of 2:00 PM EDT.

The Trans Am Series will return to action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on June 15-17.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Matos leads Coleman team 1-2 in Trans Am TA2
Sunday, 15 April 2018
Trans Am




Rafa Matos captured his second consecutive Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli win today in the TA2 Muscle Car Challenge powered by AEM at Homestead-Miami. Joining Matos on the podium was his teammate, and TA2 class debutant, Jan Heylen, who finished second to give the Coleman Motorsports team and 3-Dimensional Services Group a one-two finish atop the 21-car TA2 field. The duo were joined in the TA2 class top three by resident Jordan Bupp, who secured a career best TA2 finish of third.

• Results

Matos began the race in second position in the No. 88 3-Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro but passed polesitter Shane Lewis, in the No. 92 Turnkey Industries/ Surphis Chevrolet Camaro, going into Turn 1. On the fourth lap Matos was overtaken for the lead by Kyle Marcelli, who had started third in the No. 96 AARD/ FerPal/ MRBP Chevrolet Camaro. However, on the 18th lap restart Matos would return the favor, overtaking Marcelli for the lead – one he would hold through an additional restart, eventually gapping the rest of the field by multiple seconds.

Matos' win followed a victory last round at Road Atlanta, his first career TA2 victory in his seventh start. Now with the proverbial monkey off his back, a second win came much easier to Matos than the first.

"I think Road Atlanta gave our team great momentum," said Matos. "We have a fantastic atmosphere all around, and I have to say, it was all about the energy. I came into this weekend so confident, so comfortable, so relaxed. I was quickest in every practice session and then qualified second, and that didn't bother me at all. I knew I had a very strong car, and to come out here in front of my friends and family and win one – it's very rewarding to me and certainly a big boost to the championship."

Having teammate Jan Heylen alongside on podium gave Matos additional reason to praise his Coleman Motorsports team.

"It's huge," said Matos. "Hats off to the team, hats off to Doug Peterson for trusting Coleman Motorsports to field this team, for trusting my driving, for trusting Jan's driving. He's given us an incredible opportunity; we all really appreciate it. We have a goal, just one, it's to win the championship. If we finish first, second, third, that's just a plus for us."

Heylen, in the No. 87 3-Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro, began the race in fifth position, taking fourth on the first lap and moving up to third on the restart and second on lap 23. Heylen would fend of both Marcelli and Shane Lewis for the remainder of the 45-lap competition to bring home the No. 87 in second.

"It was great to be here," said Heylen. "I've known Doug Peterson for almost 10 years now and have done a lot of work with him in the past – it's really nice of Doug Peterson to invite me to come and race here. Also, thank you to the guys on the team and Rafa, whom I've known since back in the Champ Car days. It's a really pleasant series and made for a great weekend to finish it off with a podium – it would be hard to do much better, I think."

While the appearance marked his first experience in a TA2 car, Heylen was quick to adapt to the platform despite qualifying difficulties.

"It took a few sessions to get used to," said Heylen. "Unfortunately we had a gearbox issue in qualifying, but I was comfortable in the car. These TA2 cars are a lot of fun to drive and very different from what I'm used to; but I really enjoyed the race – looking after the tires – there's an interesting strategy behind it which I really enjoyed."

Lewis finished the race in third position, however, the No. 92 was assessed a penalty by officials for avoidable contact over the final laps on the No. 96 of Marcelli and was moved back to sixth position, behind Marcelli.

The vacated third-place finish fell to Jordan Bupp, driver of the No. 80 Donatelife.net/ Bupp Motorsports Ford Mustang, a career best in his 17th career Trans Am start. Bupp began the race in eleventh position but constantly climbed, taking four positions over the first six laps and fourth on the final lap.

Louis-Philippe Montour, in the No. 13 Montour Ltd Chevrolet Camaro, would finish fourth while Kyle Marcelli would complete the TA2 top five. Finishing positions six through ten were occupied by, in order: Lewis, Henri Tuomaala, Tony Buffomante, Ethan Wilson and Tom Sheehan.

For moving up from 11th starting position to a top-three finish Jordan Bupp was awarded the CoolShirt Systems Cool Move of the Race.

All of the top three finishers were Florida residents with Matos hailing from Boca Raton, Heylen Tampa and Bupp Fort Lauderdale.

The race underwent two full-course cautions. The first of which, to retrieve the No. 57 of Maurice Hull stopped off course in Turn 7, lasting from Lap 11 to 18, the second, to retrieve the No. 05 of Steven Lustig stopped off course in Turn 1, running from Lap 36 to 38. In total the competition spanned 45 laps, 102.15 miles around the 2.27-mile, 10-turn modified road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Paffett wins Hockenheim DTM opener



By: RACER Staff | 4 hours ago


The DTM got its new season underway Saturday at the Hockenheimring. Eventually, the most experienced driver in the field emerged as the winner: after 36 laps, Gary Paffett was first across the finish line. The Mercedes-AMG driver, who took pole position earlier in the day, won the first of this season’s 20 DTM races by a margin of 1.449 seconds from his fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Lucas Auer, who came second. Third place went to BMW driver Timo Glock. Classified ninth, defending champion René Rast was the best-placed Audi driver.

Gary Paffett had to wait long for his 21st DTM race win. No fewer than 1,784 days have passed by since June 13, 2013, when he scored his last victory at the Lausitzring. “After this long drought, this victory is a really special one,” Paffet said. “I am really delighted both for myself and for the team. Today, the early pit stop was the key to success. The car was really great.”



In the opening stages of the race, Auer temporarily took the lead from Paffett, but eventually had to admit defeat. “Of course, that is a pity, because I was in front of Gary before the pit stop and I was behind him after it. But tomorrow is another day,” Auer said.

Third-placed Glock admitted to having had no chance to put the two Mercedes-AMG drivers up front under pressure. “That did annoy me a little bit,” Glock commented.

Defending champion Rene Rast ended up ninth as the best-placed Audi driver. “That wasn’t an easy race; we got the maximum out of it,” he said. “At the start, I almost stalled. After the pit stops, I managed to overtake a few cars, but it wasn’t like we had planned. We still have some work to do there.”

The second race of the weekend follows tomorrow at 1 p.m. local time.

    Driver 		Nation  Car 		 Time 	   Gap 	   Interval  Laps
1   Gary Paffett 	(GB) 	Mercedes-AMG C63 58:03.639 		     36
2   Lucas Auer 		(AT) 	Mercedes-AMG C63 58:05.088 +01.449 +01.449   36
3   Timo Glock 		(D) 	BMW M4 	 	 58:10.153 +06.514 +05.065   36
4   Edoardo Mortara 	(I) 	Mercedes-AMG C63 58:11.837 +08.198 +01.684   36
5   Pascal Wehrlein 	(D) 	Mercedes-AMG C63 58:15.030 +11.391 +03.193   36
6   Bruno Spengler 	(CA) 	BMW M4	 	 58:19.397 +15.758 +04.367   36
7   Paul Di Resta 	(GB) 	Mercedes-AMG C63 58:20.239 +16.600 +00.842   36
8   Daniel Juncadella 	(E) 	Mercedes-AMG C63 58:20.608 +16.969 +00.369   36
9   René Rast 		(D) 	Audi RS5 	 58:21.907 +18.268 +01.299   36
10  Loic Duval 		(F) 	Audi RS5	 58:23.285 +19.646 +01.378   36
11  Marco Wittmann 	(D) 	BMW M4 	 	 58:24.379 +20.740 +01.094   36
12  Joel Eriksson 	(S) 	BMW M4 	 	 58:24.933 +21.294 +00.554   36
13  Nico Müller 	(CH) 	Audi RS5 	 58:26.060 +22.421 +01.127   36
14  Mike Rockenfeller 	(D) 	Audi RS5 	 58:27.626 +23.987 +01.566   36
15  Augusto Farfus 	(BR) 	BMW M4	 	 58:32.363 +28.724 +04.737   36
16  Philipp Eng 	(AT) 	BMW M4 	 	 58:33.125 +29.486 +00.762   36
17  Mattias Ekström 	(S) 	Audi RS5 	 58:34.288 +30.649 +01.163   36
18  Robin Frijns 	(NL) 	Audi RS5 	 58:35.299 +31.660 +01.011   36
19  Jamie Green 	(GB) 	Audi RS5 	 58:48.612 +44.973 +13.313   36

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Glock outduels Paffett to win DTM Race 2


 
By: DTM | 3 hours ago


In the Sunday race at the Hockenheimring, winner Timo Glock (BMW) and the eventual third-placed Gary Paffett (Mercedes-AMG) battled for the lead for many laps and staged a fierce and extremely thrilling door-to-door duel with countless position changes until the end. After the finish, the two hugged each other, exhausted, but happy. Glock celebrated his fifth DTM career win, Paffett still had to concede defeat to Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) on the final lap and finished third.

Glock in particular had reason to celebrate after a demanding and a nerve-wracking race. “This was the coolest race of my life,” the BMW driver yelled into his radio after crossing the finish line. “This was pure racing. I really had to squeeze everything out of the car and I didn’t have time to relax. That is what is typical for the DTM. This was the best race ever, and I have done many races in my career,” Glock said later on.

Rockenfeller also only had positive comments for the on-track competition. “This was a crazy race and an incredible battle at the limit. I fought until the very last lap and everything was totally fair. It was an unbelievable joy,” the 2013 DTM champion said.

Paffett could also feel satisfaction. “That really was an incredible race. I never gave up and even though it is only third place in the end, it was still worth it,” the Briton said.

Behind the top trio, DTM rookie Joel Eriksson just missed out on his first podium finish in fourth place. Having started from third on the grid, the Swede appeared to be on course for a podium finish in his second DTM race, but didn’t find a way past stalwart Paffett on the final lap.

Another Swede caused plenty of action for the final time at Hockenheim. As a guest driver, Mattias Ekstrom participated in his final DTM race, in which he even briefly led the field as he was the last driver to head into the pits for a tire change. Only 19th at the finish, his main focus was on bidding farewell to his fans in a suitable way. After 197 DTM races, he showed donuts in front of the south grandstand and then, with tears of emotion, climbed onto the roof of his Audi RS 5 DTM.

After the first double-header race weekend of the season’s 20 races, Glock is leading the DTM drivers’ standings with 44 points, just ahead of Paffett (43). Rockenfeller, Lucas Auer and Pascal Wehrlein are in the following positions, each tied at 18 points.

In two weeks, the DTM will have its third and fourth races of the season at the Lausitzring.
 

   Driver 		Nation  Car 		  Time 	     Gap      Interval 	Laps
1  Timo Glock 		(D) 	BMW M4 	 	  58:04.067              	36
2  Mike Rockenfeller 	(D) 	Audi RS5 	  58:06.145  +02.078  +02.078 	36
3  Gary Paffett 	(GB) 	Mercedes-AMG C63  58:07.166  +03.099  +01.021 	36
4  Joel Eriksson 	(S) 	BMW M4 	 	  58:07.548  +03.481  +00.382 	36
5  Loic Duval 		(F) 	Audi RS5 	  58:07.921  +03.854  +00.373 	36
6  Pascal Wehrlein 	(D) 	Mercedes-AMG C63  58:08.196  +04.129  +00.275 	36
7  René Rast 		(D) 	Audi RS5 	  58:08.916  +04.849  +00.720	36
8  Bruno Spengler 	(CA) 	BMW M4 	 	  58:12.929  +08.862  +04.013	36
9  Paul Di Resta 	(GB) 	Mercedes-AMG C63  58:15.149  +11.082  +02.220	36
10 Augusto Farfus 	(BR) 	BMW M4 	 	  58:15.332  +11.265  +00.183	36
11 Marco Wittmann 	(D) 	BMW M4	 	  58:18.657  +14.590  +03.325	36
12 Robin Frijns 	(NL) 	Audi RS5 	  58:19.160  +15.093  +00.503	36
13 Nico Müller 		(CH) 	Audi RS5 	  58:21.925  +17.858  +02.765	36
14 Philipp Eng 		(AT) 	BMW M4 	 	  58:22.370  +18.303  +00.445	36
15 Lucas Auer 		(AT) 	Mercedes-AMG C63  58:26.170  +22.103  +03.800	36
16 Mattias Ekstrom 	(S) 	Audi RS5 	  58:27.215  +23.148  +01.045	36
17 Jamie Green 		(GB) 	Audi RS5 	  58:27.920  +23.853  +00.705	36
18 Daniel Juncadella 	(E) 	Mercedes-AMG C63  58:37.060  +32.993  +09.140	36

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

24h Nirburgringa, uzivo:

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Manthey-Porsche earns record sixth Nurburgring 24 Hour win



By: RACER Staff | May 13, 2018 7:20 AM


The Manthey-Porsche No. 912 defeated the Black Falcon-Mercedes No. 4 in a spectacular sprint battle and gave the team their record-breaking sixth overall win at the ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race. The race was red-flagged for about two hours due to rain and then restarted for a 90-minute final spurt. After the restart, these two cars were the only ones in the same lap and thrilled the 210,000 spectators on site with a fierce fight that was won at the end of the day by Frenchman Fred Makowiecki for Manthey.

For the team that is based in Meuspath, right at the Nordschleife, it was the first triumph since 2011. At the same time it was the 12th win for Porsche. The 47th edition of the legendary event will be held from June 20-23, 2019.

“What a race! Very emotional, great for Porsche and the entire motorsport,” said the Briton Nick Tandy, 2015 Le Mans winner, who won the race together with Richard Lietz (Austria), Patrick Pilet (France) and Makowiecki.

“A win for the entire team. This is one of the toughest races in the world, virtually everything can happen and there are so many potential winner cars on the grid. In your life you possibly have two or three chances of winning such a race. It’s fantastic.”

For all the four victorious drivers it was their debut win in the ADAC Zurich 24h Race.

“It couldn’t have come any better regarding the 70th birthday. We credit this win to Dr. Porsche on the occasion of the next decade in his life. We established a new lap record and wouldn’t mind to continue like this,” said Porsche Sport Director Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser.

The crucial overtaking maneuver was made by ‘Mako’ on the No. 4 with 1:11 hours to go at the entrance of the Mercedes-Arena. The two rivals touched and the Mercedes-AMG spun, with the Porsche taking the lead. But Adam Christodoulou wasn’t ready to give in and pressured his rival to the max. Even a slight crash-barrier contact didn’t stop the Briton. In the end, however, Makowiecki crossed the line 26.413 seconds before Christodoulou, thus making for the second-closest finish in the history of the race. The closest was the Black Falcon win in 2015 with a 5.697 lead.

“I tried absolutely anything but there was nothing I could do. We’ll be back next year,” said Christodoulou, who failed – just as Maro Engel (Germany), Manuel Metzger (Germany) and Dirk Müller (Germany), to win the race a second time. Third place was secured in a just as thrilling battle by Dutchman Yelmer Buurman in the Black-Falcon-Mercedes No. 5, followed by the Aston Martin No. 007 and the Black-Falcon-Mercedes No. 6. Last year’s winners, the Audi Sport Team Land Audi R LMS No. 1, finished sixth, thus being the fourth manufacturer among the top six.

Even before the race was temporarily red-flagged – incidentally the first time since the Black Falcon win and only the seventh since the race’s debut edition in 1970 – the famous Eifel weather displayed even its most notorious facets – from brilliant sunshine to thunderstorm-like heavy rain.

“This was one of the most thrilling 24h races of all times and one of the most nerve-wrecking for all those involved,” said race director Walter Hornung.

“It featured everything that’s making motor racing so fascinating. Sensational drivers, great racing cars, weather gods that provided the most different conditions and a circuit that takes the drivers to their limits in every single second.”

The race was started on Saturday afternoon in brilliant sunshine with a spectacular show of Kevin Estre in the Manthey-Porsche No. 911. The Frenchman took the lead from the pole and was virtually flying, broke the lap record – that had been established by Augusto Farfus in 2015 – two times and quickly opened a gap on the rest of the field, thus laying the basis for the comfortable lead of his team in the following hours. The No. 911 controlled the field until late in the night but then, Romain Dumas lost in on a trail of oil, crashed – and the race of No. 911 was over.

Afterwards, the sister car, No. 912, stepped into the breach. Due to different pit-stop rhythms, No. 912 and the Black Falcon Mercedes AMG GT3 No. 4 alternated in the lead but then, Patrick Pilet in the Porsche accelerated to early out of a Code-60 zone. As it was about the lead, the offense was investigated by the race control extensively by dint of GPS data, vehicle data and video footage – but in the end, all these data confirmed the offense and the team received a 3m32s time penalty. The battle for the win seemed to be over, but then, the red flags due to the dense fog 20.5 hours into the race nullified the gap between the two cars that still were racing on the same lap.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

PWC preview: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

 

By: PWC | 15 hours ago


Many of North America’s top GT Production sports car drivers and teams head to the “Great White North” this weekend (May 18-20) when the Pirelli World Challenge GT and GTS series participates in the always-popular Castrol presents Victoria Day Speedfest at the historic Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Now in its 29th season, the Pirelli World Challenge brings some of the most exotic machinery from around the world with the likes of Audi, Bentley, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Ginetta, Lamborghini, Maserati, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Panoz, Porsche and SIN Cars in a doubleheader Sprint races (50 minutes) weekend over the fast and demanding 2.459-mile, 10-turn permanent road circuit northeast of Toronto.

Great driving talent comes to CTMP as well with world-class drivers set to battle on Saturday and Sunday contests that include Canadian racing stars Scott Hargrove and Daniel Morad, as well as international competitors like Alvaro Parente, Toni Vilander, Michael Christensen and Daniel Mancinelli. Plus, future sports car contenders such as Rodrigo Baptista, Parker Chase and Yuki Harata will be on hand this weekend.



GT/GTA – Canadian Hargrove Leads GT stars with his Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R

Hargrove, from Tsawwassen, British Columbia, Canada, currently holds the GT Overall and GT Sprint point lead with his Toronto-based No. 96 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R after two street wins at St. Petersburg and podium finishes at COTA and VIR. The 23-year-old holds a GT Overall 155-145 point lead over two-time 24 Hours of LeMans champion Vilander of Finland in the Toronto-based R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3. In addition, Scott paces the GT Sprint points over Vilander, 70-58, entering CTMP.

Another Canadian by way of Toronto, Morad holds down the third position in both GT Overall and Sprint championships currently in the No. 2 CRP Racing/DeVilbiss Mercedes-AMG GT3 and figures to be a fan favorite at CTMP. Morad, like Hargrove, is a former Canadian Porsche Cup champion.

Leading the strong list of challengers for the top-three in the GT division this weekend will include 2016 GT champion Alvaro Parente of Portugal, a 10-race winner in PWC the past two seasons. Parente will drive the potent No. 9 K-PAX Racing Bentley Continental GT3 for K-PAX Racing. After driving rear-engine cars for six years, Parente has moved to the front-engined Bentley and scored a podium finish on the streets of Long Beach.



Recent Long Beach GT winner Daniel Mancinelli of Italy returns this weekend in the No. 31 TR3 Racing Ferrari 488 GT3; the personable Italian was outstanding in 2017 in his PWC “rookie” season with three GT SprintX victories.

Denmark’s Michael Christensen comes to CTMP with another stellar machine, the No. 24 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.

After a year-long absence from the Pirelli World Challenge, the 2016 GTA champion returns to the class as Mexico City’s popular Martin Fuentes drives the No. 07 Squadra Corse Garage Italia Ferrari 488 GT3. Fuentes has already recorded five wins this year in the GTA category and looks for more on Saturday and Sunday in the two 50-minute contests.

Battling Fuentes will be Rodrigo Baptista of Brazil in the No. 3 K-PAX Racing Bentley Continental GT3 and 17-year-old high schooler Parker Chase of New Braunfels, Texas, in the No. 19 TruSpeed Autosport Audi R8 LMS. Baptista, Parente’s K-PAX Racing teammate, recently captured the overall GT race win at VIR last month. Chase, a series GTS contender last year at age 16, has been a regular on the podium already this year. Parker has been busy this week with high school exams and preparing for the CTMP doubleheader weekend.

Last year’s GT Cup champion Yuki Harata of Japan moved up to GTA this year with the No. 55 Dream Racing Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 and won his class at Long Beach last month.



GTS/GTSA – Solid 24-car GTS field is led by Aschenbach, Sofronas, James and Buford

Leading the GTS division at CTMP is defending series champion Lawson Aschenbach for the Blackdog Speed Shop team with the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R. Aschenbach was impressive earlier this year at St. Petersburg and holds the qualifying track record at CTMP.

Aschenbach, a five-time PWC series champion, will be challenged by last year’s GTA and GT SprintX Pro-Am champion James Sofronas as the veteran racer brings his No. 14 GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS GT4 to CTMP after GTS wins at COTA and VIR.

Other top contenders at CTMP will be six-time 2017 GTS race winner Ian James in the No. 50 Team Panoz Racing Panoz Avezzano GT as well as two-time 2017 CTMP race winner Jake Buford in the No. 55 PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4.

Eighteen-year-old star Harry Gottsacker has moved into the potent No. 69 Racer’s Edge Motorsports SIN R1 GT4, and the recently-awarded Eagle Scout has shown speed in 2018 with a pole position and one second-place finish. Gottsacker’s SIN R1 won two GTS races last year at CTMP.

One team to watch in GTS at CTMP is the Michigan-based Robinson Racing with former Trans-Am stars Gar Robinson of San Antonio and Shane Lewis in the No. 72 and No. 74 Robinson Racing 74 Ranch Mercedes AMG GT4s. Both are expected to be in the mix for victory at CTMP.

The GTSA division is a strong field led by George Kurtz, the nine-time 2017 GTSA race winner back with the No. 04 CrowdStrike/GMG Audi R8 LMS. Kurtz was impressive with seven consecutive class wins last year.

Jason Bell returns to GTSA action with the No. 2 M1GT Audi R8 LMS GT4 after scoring a victory at VIR last year in his rookie campaign in the Pirelli World Challenge.

Other 2016 GTSA class winners back for 2018 include veterans Tony Gaples in the No. 11 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro GT4.R and Mark Klenin in the No. 62 Premiere Copier/KPR McLaren 570S.

Two-time race winner Drew Staveley of Salt Lake City, Utah, is expected to in the mix for the GTSA victory this weekend in his No. 12 Ian Lacy Racing Ginetta G55. Staveley nearly won two other races this year.

Other GTSA contenders for the CTMP doubleheader races include veteran driver Adam Merzon in the No. 23 Case●It Racing by Flying Lizard Audi R8 LMS; JR Pesek in the No. 10 PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4; Orey Fidani of Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada in the No. 13 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR; Frank Gannett in the No. 24 Ian Lacy Racing Ginetta G55; James Pesek in the No. 40 PF Racing Ford Mustang GT4; Steve Burns in the No. 43 VP Fuels/Ian Lacy Racing Ginetta G55; veteran racer Mike Hedlund in the No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Audi R8 LMS; Former GT Cup and GT SprintX winner Preston Calvert in the No. 51 Team Panoz Racing Panoz Avezanno GT; Mark Pavan of Toronto, Ontario, in the No. 54 Racers Edge Motorsports SIN R1; Fred Roberts of Toronto, Ontario, in the No. 89 JCR Motorsports Maserati Grand Turismo GT4; multi-time pole winner Jeff Courtney in the No. 99 JCR Motorsports Maserati Grand Turismo GT4 and Andrew Danyliw of Toronto, Ontario, in the No. 138 Policaro Motorsport/SportsCar Boutique Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR.

Event/Circuit:

Victoria Day Speedfest, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, 2.459-mile, 10-turn permanent road circuit

Qualifying:

Saturday, May 19
9:20 AM – 9:40 AM, GT/GTA Qualifying
10:40 AM – 11:00 AM, GTS/GTSA Qualifying

Race lengths:
50 minutes (GT/GTA, GTS/GTSA)

Live Internet Telecast (on world-challenge.com) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio Broadcast:

Saturday, May 19

1:55 PM – 2:45 PM GT/GTA Race # 1
4:10 PM– 5:00 PM GTS/GTSA Race #1

Sunday, May 20
10:05 AM – 10:55 AM GTS/GTSA Race # 2
4:05 PM– 4:55 PM GT/GTA Race # 2

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

 

World of Outlaws is remembering Jason Johnson, who died Sunday morning after he was involved in a crash Saturday night in a sprint car race at Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin: “To our friend, husband, father, and racer….we simply say “Thank You, Jason”. #Forever41″

 

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Bizar danas u F2:
 

Ferrucci banned, F2 team to take action after deliberately hitting teammate

 

By: RACER Staff | 3 hours ago


Haas development driver Santino Ferrucci has been banned for two Formula 2 rounds and is set to have his contract terminated by his Trident team.

Ferrucci and teammate Arjun Maini have both been critical of F2 this year due to technical issues, with Maini delivering an outburst full of expletives after the French Grand Prix about a lack of support from both the series and the team. Ferrucci was critical of F2’s decision to adopt rolling starts from the last round in Austria after clutch issues, but the pair then came together during Sunday’s sprint race at Silverstone.

The contact came during the race, but when Ferrucci later ran into the rear of Maini’s car on the cool-down lap, and after being handed a four-race ban — two rounds of the championship — his Trident team then issued a remarkable statement via Twitter.

“Trident intends to show their solidarity and support to @ArjunMaini_ and his family, for the unsportsmanlike and above all uncivilized behavior that he was forced to endure not only during this last weekend by Santino Ferrucci and father, who accompanied him.

“The contractual implications of what has happened will be dealt with by our lawyers. Never in these 12 years of sporting activity has anything even close to this ever occurred. We apologize for the show that we have regretfully offered.”
 
FIA Formula 2 championship officials issued penalties after determining the contact was deliberate — breaching the Sporting Regulations. After the stewards heard testimony from the team that this was a premeditated incident, Ferrucci was summoned to the hearing but declined to attend. As a consequence, the American driver was suspended from the next two FIA Formula 2 Championship rounds — meaning he would not have been permitted to participate in both Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps. He has also been given a fine of €60,000 ($70,500).

In another incident with his teammate, Ferrucci was found to have deliberately forced Maini off of the road at Turn 4 after the Indian driver proceeded to make a pass for position. Once again, Ferrucci declined to attend the hearing.

Having also been observed transitioning from the support paddock to the race pit lane wearing just one glove and holding a phone in his hand by a technical delegate, Ferrucci was found in violation of both the Technical and Sporting Regulations for incorrect driver safety equipment and the prohibition of wireless transmission devices within the car. For these transgressions, he earned a further €6000 ($7,000) in fines.

Ferrucci, a 20-year-old Connecticut native, made his Verizon IndyCar Series debut in June replacing the injured Pietro Fittipaldi at Dale Coyne Racing, finishing 22nd and 20th in the two races at Belle Isle.
–Chris Medland