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In preparation for Saturday’s 12 hour race, featuring 58-year-old Hans-Joachim Stuck in the GT2 class in a Porsche, Audi has put their new cars on the track, decimating the opposing Peugeots.The #2 Audi R15 of Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello lapped the 3.7-mile track in 1:43.596, half a second quicker than their teammates Marco Werner, Lucas Luhr and Mike Rockenfeller in the #1 car, and a full 1.4 seconds clear of the Frenchies in their Peugeot 908’s.
Have no fear, Acura is here! They secured pole position for the Sebring 12 hours (Image removed from quote.)http://www.planetlemans.com/2009/03/19/sebring-12-hours-qualifying-report/And some other news: Panoz is considering a return to the LMP1 class their front-engined prototype cars were brilliant!They're thinking of using the Corvette V8 as an engine, possibly in front again I absolutely adore their earlier cars so for me it's great news!http://www.autoweek.com/article/20090319/ALMS/903199991(here's the Panoz LMP1 as it raced in 2002)(Image removed from quote.)(Image removed from quote.)
Have no fear, Acura is here! They secured pole position for the Sebring 12 hours
good news indeed, I just don't like the fact that Adrian Fernandez is running on an older chassis
What do you mean? They're using the brand new Acura LMP1 chassis...
With much of the attention on the factory diesel powers, the reigning IndyCar and Indianapolis 500 champion turned a fast lap 1:45.278 (126.522 mph) in de Ferran Motorsports’ new Acura ARX-02a.
As for my opinion... First of all, the cars will be interesting, although for purity's sake I'd much, much prefer them to have their own engine, instead of for instance an M6-engined BMW M3 or a Nissan with an engine based on a 4x4 V8 (like the GT-R's engine!!)Also, with max 6 manufacturers, and 2 already chosen, you need porsche and ferrari for credibility and stability, which will leave very little room for others, think Aston, Lambo, Corvette, BMW...But my main problem is, the manufacturers don't want it! They're all happy with the current GT2 class, they lobbied for GT2 to be the only GT class and it's turning out to be awesome, with Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, Corvette, Aston Martin, BMW, Panoz, Ford, Spyker and possibly Jaguar... WHY, WHY would you want to split that up, just when the word AWESOME is about to get a new definition??? Also, performance balancing in proper racing cars? No thanks... Really I hope this plan will end up in a dumpster and GT2 will become the only, badass, GT class in town...
-Reiter have announced they will build a GT1 version of the new Lamborghini LP670 SV! So that's 3 manufacturers in the class, leaves room for 3 more.
Ferrari's participation in Formula One is so firmly entrenched in the identities of both the world championship and the Italian automaker that its abandonment of the series is almost unthinkable. But thinking about just that, according to some commentators, is what Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo wants people to start doing, as a spate of heated correspondence flies back and forth between Maranello and Paris, seat of motorsport's governing body, the FIA.Montezemolo, who also serves as chairman of the Fiat group and head of the Formula One Teams Association, has been invited to ceremonially start this year's 24 hours of Le Mans by the ACO, where he will be joined by Scuderia Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicalli. And while to some it may seem entirely benign, others insist that it's a shot across the bow of the SS Max Mosley, the FIA chief who's been pushing new cost-cutting regulations to which Ferrari, among several other teams, is vehemently opposed. But could Ferrari really leave Formula One? This isn't the first time the idea's been floated, following a recent campaign to form a renegade spin-off series and Ferrari's Indy program in the 80's, to name just a couple of examples. The hard, cold truth that Mosley must be realizing is that Le Mans series endurance sports car racing has grown in profile to rival that of Formula One, and even if Ferrari's participation in the series is currently limited primarily to GT2, where it has taken numerous class victories, its heritage at the iconic French track is nearly as firmly entrenched as it is on the world's grand prix circuits.
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