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Posts tagged american le mans series
Video: Viper GTS-R will have first full season chronicled in web series
May 7th
Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, SRT
SRT will be documenting its second season – and first full season – of Viper GTS-R racing in the American Le Mans Series with a new web series called Beyond the Checkered Flag. We don’t know much yet, but the team has released a teaser video (below) and promises the series will run at least four episodes, if not more. The videos will feature all six drivers who are responsible for piloting the No. 93 and 91 Viper GTS-R cars that compete in each race, and each episode will be told from a different perspective of the action (drivers, the pits, the fans, etc.).
As we’ve mentioned before, the return of the Viper to motorsports is a big deal, and we’re excited that SRT Motorsports has decided to document it. The car’s first go around in racing began in the late ’90s and peaked during the fledgling seasons of the then-new American Le Mans Series when the Viper GTS-R won 16 of 18 races during 1999 and 2000. The new Viper GTS-R hasn’t been nearly as dominant as the original since returning to ALMS racing last August, the team having only just achieved its first podium finish a few weeks ago in Long Beach with one of its cars finishing third.
The first episode of Beyond the Checkered Flag, which should air in mid-May, will focus on preparations for the 2013 season, specifically the time leading up to the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring in March. Spoiler alert: the team didn’t win its class, though the No. 91 car did lead for much of the race and finished fifth, scoring valuable championship points to kick off the team’s first competitive season back.
Scroll down to watch the trailer for Beyond the Checkered Flag.
Continue reading Viper GTS-R will have first full season chronicled in web series
Viper GTS-R will have first full season chronicled in web series originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Video: Viper GTS-R will have first full season chronicled in web series
May 7th
Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, SRT
SRT will be documenting its second season – and first full season – of Viper GTS-R racing in the American Le Mans Series with a new web series called Beyond the Checkered Flag. We don’t know much yet, but the team has released a teaser video (below) and promises the series will run at least four episodes, if not more. The videos will feature all six drivers who are responsible for piloting the No. 93 and 91 Viper GTS-R cars that compete in each race, and each episode will be told from a different perspective of the action (drivers, the pits, the fans, etc.).
As we’ve mentioned before, the return of the Viper to motorsports is a big deal, and we’re excited that SRT Motorsports has decided to document it. The car’s first go around in racing began in the late ’90s and peaked during the fledgling seasons of the then-new American Le Mans Series when the Viper GTS-R won 16 of 18 races during 1999 and 2000. The new Viper GTS-R hasn’t been nearly as dominant as the original since returning to ALMS racing last August, the team having only just achieved its first podium finish a few weeks ago in Long Beach with one of its cars finishing third.
The first episode of Beyond the Checkered Flag, which should air in mid-May, will focus on preparations for the 2013 season, specifically the time leading up to the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring in March. Spoiler alert: the team didn’t win its class, though the No. 91 car did lead for much of the race and finished fifth, scoring valuable championship points to kick off the team’s first competitive season back.
Scroll down to watch the trailer for Beyond the Checkered Flag.
Continue reading Viper GTS-R will have first full season chronicled in web series
Viper GTS-R will have first full season chronicled in web series originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Official: Grand-Am, ALMS merger results in new United SportsCar Racing series
Mar 15th
Filed under: Motorsports, Racing
After the merger between Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series was announced last year, a contest was held to name the new combined series, and that new name is now officially the United SportCar Racing series. This new branding will take place at the start of the 2014 season beginning with the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Fans of the American Le Mans Series are probably losing the most in this new series. Not only is the ALMS name (along with the connection to the 24 Hours of Le Mans) going away, but the more exciting P1 prototype class is also being dropped. In the new United SportCar Racing series, the new Prototype class will consist of Daytona Prototypes, ALMS P2 cars and the DeltaWing (including a new closed-cockpit version). The ALMS GT class will be renamed GT Le Mans (GTLM), while GT Daytona (GTD) will combine the current Grand-Am GT class and the ALMS’ GTC cars. The Prototype Challenge (PC) and GX classes will both carry over unchanged from Grand-Am and ALMS, respectively.
Grand-Am, ALMS merger results in new United SportsCar Racing series originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Official: SRT Viper officially accepts invitation for 24 Hours of Le Mans return
Feb 3rd
Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Racing, SRT
We were on hand last year when the 2013 SRT Viper made its racing debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the American Le Mans Series, but now Chrysler has accepted the invitation to run two Vipers at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The Viper has a brief but successful history at Le Mans, finishing in the top two spots of its class for three consecutive years (1998-2000), and it will look for more of the same success when it returns to action in the LM GTE Pro class.
Chrysler said that the two cars entered into the 24-hour race would be driven by Marc Goossens, Tommy Kendall, Kuno Wittmer, Dominik Farnbacher and Jonathan Bomarito, but it also promised “additional team announcements” at a later date. In addition to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Viper GTS-R will also be running a full season of ALMS, which kicks off next month at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Chrysler released a press release for the Viper’s return to Le Mans, which we’ve posted below.
Continue reading SRT Viper officially accepts invitation for 24 Hours of Le Mans return
SRT Viper officially accepts invitation for 24 Hours of Le Mans return originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Feb 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Confirmed: Audi commits two R18 E-Tron Quattros to final Sebring race for LMP1 cars
Jan 23rd
Filed under: Motorsports, Audi
We were baffled a few weeks back when the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series announced new classes that will make up their combined racing program in 2014. Gone from the list is the Le Mans Prototype class, otherwise known as LMP1. The LMP1 class has long been the top dog of endurance racing, both in Europe and the US, so we couldn’t figure out why this newly minted racing series was jettisoning it like yesterday’s donuts.
It appears as if Audi is confused by the move as well. The German brand has announced it will participate in this year’s ALMS opening round, the famed 12 Hours of Sebring, as it does every year, and bringing two Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro hybrid race cars with which to compete. Unlike every other year, Audi is treating this year’s race as its potential swan song in this famous Florida race.
There’s a good reason that Audi is so fond of the 12 Hours of Sebring, as it debuted the gas-powered R8R there in 1999 that kicked off its participation in the upper echelon of endurance racing. The R8R preceded the R8, which debuted at Sebring in 2000 and won that race, starting an amazing career for that car that included five more wins at Sebring. The R8 was followed by the R10, then the R15 and R18, and finally we wind up at today’s R18 E-Tron Quattro – all winners, all dominant, all exciting to watch.
Along with the two R18 E-Tron Quattros doing the actual racing, one of which will be a new updated version, Audi is bringing an R8 from the 2000-2005 era, an R10 TDI from the 2006-2008 era, an R15 TDI from 2009 and the R18 TDI that won there last year, all for the enjoyment of spectators who’ve watched Audi dominate this race, winning it outright in 10 of the last 12 years.
Though Audi has long since abandoned campaigning the whole ALMS season, it was still usually good for at least the season opener in Sebring, which provided a nicely timed testing opportunity ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, if not a couple of other races on the calendar. Unfortunately, with the demise of LMP1 in American endurance racing, March 16 in Sebring, Florida may be the last time for a while that we see Audi dominate an endurance race on American soil. Let’s hope ALMS and Grand-Am find a solution.
Continue reading Audi commits two R18 E-Tron Quattros to final Sebring race for LMP1 cars
Audi commits two R18 E-Tron Quattros to final Sebring race for LMP1 cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Confirmed: Audi commits two R18 E-Tron Quattros to final Sebring race for LMP1 cars
Jan 23rd
Filed under: Motorsports, Audi
We were baffled a few weeks back when the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series announced new classes that will make up their combined racing program in 2014. Gone from the list is the Le Mans Prototype class, otherwise known as LMP1. The LMP1 class has long been the top dog of endurance racing, both in Europe and the US, so we couldn’t figure out why this newly minted racing series was jettisoning it like yesterday’s donuts.
It appears as if Audi is confused by the move as well. The German brand has announced it will participate in this year’s ALMS opening round, the famed 12 Hours of Sebring, as it does every year, and bringing two Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro hybrid race cars with which to compete. Unlike every other year, Audi is treating this year’s race as its potential swan song in this famous Florida race.
There’s a good reason that Audi is so fond of the 12 Hours of Sebring, as it debuted the gas-powered R8R there in 1999 that kicked off its participation in the upper echelon of endurance racing. The R8R preceded the R8, which debuted at Sebring in 2000 and won that race, starting an amazing career for that car that included five more wins at Sebring. The R8 was followed by the R10, then the R15 and R18, and finally we wind up at today’s R18 E-Tron Quattro – all winners, all dominant, all exciting to watch.
Along with the two R18 E-Tron Quattros doing the actual racing, one of which will be a new updated version, Audi is bringing an R8 from the 2000-2005 era, an R10 TDI from the 2006-2008 era, an R15 TDI from 2009 and the R18 TDI that won there last year, all for the enjoyment of spectators who’ve watched Audi dominate this race, winning it outright in 10 of the last 12 years.
Though Audi has long since abandoned campaigning the whole ALMS season, it was still usually good for at least the season opener in Sebring, which provided a nicely timed testing opportunity ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, if not a couple of other races on the calendar. Unfortunately, with the demise of LMP1 in American endurance racing, March 16 in Sebring, Florida may be the last time for a while that we see Audi dominate an endurance race on American soil. Let’s hope ALMS and Grand-Am find a solution.
Continue reading Audi commits two R18 E-Tron Quattros to final Sebring race for LMP1 cars
Audi commits two R18 E-Tron Quattros to final Sebring race for LMP1 cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Jan 2013 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Motorsports: ALMS, Grand-Am announce combined class structure, LMP1 is out
Jan 4th
Filed under: Motorsports, Racing
Other than the announcement back in September that the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series were merging, there have been precious few details as to how the newly combined series would shake out. Today, both entities helped clear things up a bit by announcing some of the new classification changes that will go into effect for the 2014 Rolex 24, changes that are confirmed through the 2015 season.
The names for the new classes (or the new series as a whole) have yet to be released, but the breakdown goes like this:
- The ALMS P1 prototype class (pictured above) has been eliminated
- Grand-Am Daytona Prototype and ALMS P2 classes will be merged
- ALMS Prototype Challenge will remain a separate class
- Nissan Deltawing will move from the ALMS PC class to the ALMS P2 class
- Grand-Am and ALMS GT classes will continue to run separate cars and classes
- The future of the Grand-Am’s new GX class sounds unsure after this year, with it either becoming part of the ALMS GT class or becoming its own separate class
Right off the bat, this suggests we will no longer see LMP1 cars like the Audi R18 TDI or Lola racecars in the US, though we still don’t know what sort of rule changes there will be for the Prototype and GT classes (and we wouldn’t be surprised to see these competitors end up in a different class). Despite losing the LMP1 cars (which currently runs hybrid and diesel racecars), both organizations look to include more “green technologies.” We already know the new ALMS GX class will feature 2014 Mazda6 with a Skyactiv-D diesel engine under the hood.
For more information about the newly combined road racing series, check out the press release by scrolling below.
Continue reading ALMS, Grand-Am announce combined class structure, LMP1 is out
ALMS, Grand-Am announce combined class structure, LMP1 is out originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Report: Petit Le Mans-winning team commits to full 2013 ALMS season
Dec 8th
Filed under: Motorsports, Racing
The LMP1 class in the American Le Mans Series has been a ‘two’s company’ affair for the past few years, with only the Dyson Racing Team in its Mazda-powered Lola chassis and the Muscle Milk Pickett Racing Team in its Honda chassis and engine running in 2011 and 2012. The class will officially become a crowd in 2013, though, when it’s joined by the Toyota-engined Lola chassis of Rebellion Racing. The Anglo-Swiss team only ran one race in the ALMS last year, the year’s finale at Petit Le Mans, that it won.
The move appears to be about visibility. Rebellion invested most of its 2012 contesting the FIA’s World Endurance Championship series, where it won the Endurance Trophy for Private LMP1 Teams. Yet six wins in eight races and a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans didn’t result in the kind of attention or visibility that the team is after – it’s said that the manufacturer teams still fill the spotlights. Rebellion team manager Bart Hayden said of the ALMS, “The visibility generated by overall wins is more in line with what our partners require and desire.”
Rebellion wants to remain in the WEC and is looking for a way to run a parallel program alongside its ALMS entry next year. The team will bring two cars to next year’s opening round at the 12 Hours of Sebring to get things started in the US. The full driver line-up for its US series entry haven’t been announced, but Speed reports that 2012 European Le Mans Series champion Mathias Beche is already on the roster.
Petit Le Mans-winning team commits to full 2013 ALMS season originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 08 Dec 2012 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Official: ALMS, Grand-Am asking fans to help name new combined series
Nov 30th
Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Marketing/Advertising, Racing
Now that it is settled that the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex racing series are officially tying the knot, the next big thing needs to be settled: What are they going to call it? Organizers must be preoccupied with either determining race classes or figuring where they are going to put so many awesome GT-class racers and prototypes, because they are asking the fans to come up with a name for the combined entity.
Dubbed “Name the Future,” the contest started on November 20, but fear not, as it runs through the end of December. Simply head over to www.namethefuture.com and take a shot at naming the series. Anyone who submits a name is automatically entered in a chance to win a VIP trip for two to either the Rolex 24 at Daytona (Jan 24-27, 2013) or the Twelve Hours of Sebring (Mar 13-16, 2013). In just one week of the contest, there have already been over 2,800 submissions.
The VIP trip up for grabs will include airfare, hotel, and the full race-weekend VIP treatment. That likely means pit access, a ride in the pace car, a behind-the-scenes tour, and more. The news of this contest comes quickly after word that SME Branding has been hired on to help create the brand identity of this new race series. So if you love sportscar racing and would like to have a hand in creating the new series’ image, click the link here to enter.
ALMS, Grand-Am asking fans to help name new combined series originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Nov 2012 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Motorsports: 2012 ALMS champions crowned at Petit Le Mans
Oct 22nd
Filed under: Motorsports
The American Le Mans Series headed to Braselton, GA this past weekend for the 15th annual Petit Le Mans and the conclusion of its 2012 season. While some of the championships had already been decided earlier in the season – the Corvette team had already captured the manufacturer, team and driver championships for the GT class prior to the race, for example – there were still several titles up for grabs. The Muscle Milk Pickett Racing team, having dominated much of the ALMS season in the fastest P1 class, needed to finish just 70 percent of the race distance to take home the crown, as did the Level 5 Motorsports team in P2.
While Petit Le Mans remains one of the most important events on the North American motorsports calendar, there were some big names absent from the field at Road Atlanta. Peugeot, having dropped funding for its Le Mans program, wouldn’t be around to defend their overall wins from the past three years. Audi, with the World Endurance Championship dropping Petit Le Mans from their calendar and no Peugeot to battle, decided to forgo the trip across the Atlantic as well.
Even so, the field of cars for Petit Le Mans remained strong thanks to the European Le Mans series making the 1,000 mile endurance race their season finale as well. The Europeans proved to be quick, with the Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota taking the overall pole position and the Morgan-Nissan of Oak Racing took the top qualifying spot in P2.
Adding some extra flair to this year’s race was the addition of the Nissan DeltaWing, making its first competition appearance in North America. Despite having a scary crash on Wednesday and undergoing extensive repairs, the DeltaWing proved to have significant pace throughout practice and qualifying.
Scroll down for a full race report from the 2012 Petit Le Mans, and check out our exhaustive gallery of high-res images above.
Continue reading 2012 ALMS champions crowned at Petit Le Mans
2012 ALMS champions crowned at Petit Le Mans originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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