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Report: GRAND-AM, IMSA announce deal to bring DTM racing to US

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By Jonathon Ramsey

Audi A5 DTM racer - profile view

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It won’t be until 2015 at the earliest, but the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), Grand-Am and the Internationale Tourenwagen-Rennen have agreed to a licensing and cooperation deal that could bring a version of Germany‘s DTM series to the US.

When the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am are officially combined next year, the resulting body will be called United SportsCar Racing (USCR). IMSA will be the sanctioning body for that series, and DTM races could be run as support events. It was also suggested by an ALMS chief that DTM races could be standalone or join NASCAR and IndyCar weekends.

With the so-called DTM America finally agreed to, there is now a way for manufacturers to run the same DTM-type cars in Europe, the US and Japan – last year Japan‘s Super GT series agreed to adopt “the basic technical regulations” of DTM for the GT500 class, the top class in the series. That already puts six manufacturers in play: Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW that run in Germany‘s DTM and Honda, Nissan and Lexus that run in Super GT. The DTM oversight body has invited American brands to Germany for the opening round of the 2013 season, and will begin actively courting their participation in the US series. Check out the press release from Audi with comments on the deal below.

Continue reading GRAND-AM, IMSA announce deal to bring DTM racing to US

GRAND-AM, IMSA announce deal to bring DTM racing to US originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

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61st 12 Hours of Sebring Recap + Photo Gallery: Audi Dominates Again, GTs Duke It Out

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By John Lamm

2013 12 Hours of Sebring

We trust you didn’t wager against the Audi R18 e-tron Quattros in the 61st running of the 12 Hours of Sebring. It would have been a sucker’s bet that the German team would do anything but dominate—and it did just that. Since 2000, Audi has won Sebring every year but three, with five of those victories coming courtesy of diesel power. This year, its R18 hybrids qualified 1st (drivers: Marcel Fassler/Benoit Treluyer/Oliver Jarvis) and 2nd (Lucas di Grassi/Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish) and finished in the same order, with both cars five laps up on the next P1 machine.

But putting down a wager on any one of the GT teams was chancy—the battle pitched Ferrari 458 Italia against Corvette C6 ZR1 against BMW Z4 GTE against Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. And lurking in the background, suggesting a strong season to come, were the two SRT Viper GT-Rs, one of which had led the race before facing a mechanical problem during a pit stop. The GTs were hard at it from the start, and with six hours to go, there was a tight train of Ferrari, Corvette, BMW, and Porsche duking it out as if they were in a 10-lap sprint race. At the finish, it was Corvette (Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Richard Westbrook) and then Ferrari (Gianmaria Bruni/Olivier Beretta/Matteo Malucelli) on the same lap, followed by Porsche (Wolf Henzler/Bryan Sellers/Nick Tandy), BMW (Bill Auberlen/Maxime Martin/Jörg Müller), and Viper (Ryan Dalziel/Dominik Farnbacher/Marc Goossens).

The P2 class saw four Honda-powered prototypes taking on one with a Nissan engine, and Scott Tucker, new dad Marino Franchitti, and IndyCar’s Ryan Briscoe gave Honda the win. The PC class is all Oreca chassis/engine combos, and the class win went to David Cheng, Mike Guasch and David Ostella. It’s a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup-fest in GTC—Cooper MacNeil, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Dion von Moltke were this year’s winners.

We’d like to report that the updated DeltaWing was a factor, but it wasn’t. Just 12 minutes into the race, it was in the pits. The car eventually made its way back out on track, but it did only 10 laps before starting to pump engine smoke and ultimately retiring.

2013 12 Hours of Sebring

Forty-two cars started the race on the 17-turn circuit known for its rough surface, and the top 35 managed to turn more than 300 laps. But while the course itself will be as familiar as ever next year, the race could look even more different: 2014 will continue the evolution of the freshly merged Grand-Am and ALMS series. If you only make it to one endurance race in ’14, that might make the 62nd running one to shoot for—to say nothing of Sebring’s legendary trackside party …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

Automobiles

61st 12 Hours of Sebring Race Preview, Plus Stunning Photos from Night Practice! [Photo Gallery]

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By Alexander Stoklosa

2013 12 Hours of Sebring

This year’s 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race is shaping up to be a memorable one—if only because next year the class structure is being shaken up thanks to the merger of the American Le Mans series and Grand-Am. We’re going to be down in Florida this weekend photographing the action, and as an appetizer we’ve brought you some hot shots from Thursday night’s practice session. Racing in the dark is cool for several reasons, not the least of which is the red-hot brakes on full display.

The merger of ALMS Grand-Am will bring about two big changes next year—the elimination of the ultra-powerful LMP1 cars like Audi’s R18 e-tron Quattro from competition, as well as a name change for the series to United SportsCar Racing. Next year’s top class will be named Prototype, and even though LMP1 cars won’t be allowed in, the oddly cool DeltaWing will be. This weekend, our focus will be on how DeltaWing performs against more-established players like Audi, which is looking to end its run in ALMS on a high note. Recall that the DeltaWing took an early exit from last year’s Le Mans contest after being taken out by a Toyota hybrid—a TS030, not a Prius. GT fans will get to watch Corvettes—still of the C6 variety, since C7-based racing Vettes have yet to arrive—Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs, and Ferrari 458 Italias duke it out. For a full rundown of the field competing in this weekend’s race, head over to ALMS’s Spotter’s Guide.

Interestingly, Nissan has dropped its sponsorship of the DeltaWing. (The Japanese automaker had provided the project’s engine.) As a result, the car has fancy new chromed-out livery and a larger, 2.0-liter turbocharged engine designed by Elan Motorsports Technologies. The DeltaWing crew also will show off a new closed-roof iteration of the race car, though it won’t race. If anything, the canopy and shiny finish further enhance the DeltaWing’s finned-sex-toy-on-wheels look.

Qualifying takes place today, and the race kicks off Saturday at 10:30 in the morning. This weekend also plays host to the F1 season opener in Australia and the first 2013 LeMons race. If you’re planning to get tanked for St. Patrick’s Day, we don’t suggest sidelining any beer drinking—but we do suggest tuning in to the Sebring and F1 races while you kick a few back.

2013 12 Hours of Sebring

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

Automobiles

Official: Grand-Am, ALMS merger results in new United SportsCar Racing series

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By Jeffrey N. Ross

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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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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

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Merger Of Grand Am And ALMS Creates United SportsCar Racing

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By Kurt Ernst

United SportsCar Racing Logo

Last September, one of the worst-kept secrets in the North American racing world was revealed: the American Le Mans Series (ALSM) would join forces with Grand-Am to form a single new series for the 2014 season. The announcement created far more questions than it answered, including the primary question of what the new series would be called.

The answer to that particular question was revealed in a news conference yesterday afternoon: the future of sports car racing in North America will soon be in the hands of United SportsCar Racing, which will be sanctioned by the International Motor Sport Association (IMSA).

And here’s where things get a bit convoluted. From what we can tell, the Grand-Am series (backed by NASCAR) is essentially taking over the assets of the ALMS. IMSA was the sanctioning body for the ALMS, which also has ties to the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), which governs competition at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite Grand Am being the “owner” of the new series, sticking with the ALMS’ sanctioning body should make it easier for United SportsCar Racing teams to compete at Le Mans, since the ACO and IMSA (via the ALMS) have worked together since 1999.

The new series will run five classes, including Prototype (consisting of Grand-Am Daytona Prototype, ALMS P2 and DeltaWing cars), Prototype Challenge (ALMS LMPC cars), GT Le Mans (ALMS GTE cars), GT Daytona (Grand-Am GT and ALMS GTC cars) and GX (Grand-Am GX cars).

Will the rest of the integration go as smoothly as the early steps have? We’ll know for sure when the green flag drops on the next 24 Hours of Daytona in January 2014.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Automotive Addicts

Automobiles

Motorsports: DeltaWing shines up nice for 2013 ALMS season

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By Jeffrey N. Ross

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Returning for its sophomore season, numerous changes have been made to the DeltaWing racecar – not the least of which is the fact that it is no longer associated with Nissan – but the most significant update could be a remedy to one of the car’s biggest criticisms, its color. In the car’s inaugural season, it was reported that other drivers on the track simply couldn’t see the racecar, which, due to a combination of its narrow, low-slung stance and its matte black paint scheme, resulted in an early departure from the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a spectacular crash at Petite Le Mans. Rather than redesigning the entire car, though, the DeltaWing team is hoping that a new livery, consisting of a flashy chrome body with red decals, will alleviate some of the visibility problems.

The bright, reflective surface is the polar opposite of the previous livery, and the red accents include the mirrors, trio of rear fins and the DeltaWing name along the side of the car, which replaces the Nissan logo. This chrome, Nissan-less DeltaWing will make it racing debut in less than two weeks at the 12 Hours of Sebring, and Speed TV is also reporting that the closed-cockpit version of the racecar will debut for the ALMS race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May.

DeltaWing shines up nice for 2013 ALMS season originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

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BMW Shows Off Its ALMS-Ready Z4 GTE: Video

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By Kurt Ernst

BMW Z4 GTE

For the past four years, BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has campaigned a specially-prepared BMW M3 in American Le Mans Series (ALMS) competition. During that time, Team RLL has won two manufacturer’s championships, two team championships, one driver’s championship and the Michelin Green-X championship. With success like that, you’d think that Team RLL would stick with a proven platform for the final year of ALMS racing.

BMW, however, has other plans for its racing future. Now that the current M3 is essentially end-of-life, BMW wants to replace it with a current product from its catalog. Enter the BMW Z4 GTE, which will replace the Me at Team RLL for the 2013 season. Neither BMW nor Team RLL will be starting from scratch, however, as the Z4 GTE is based on the race-proven, championship-winning BMW Z4 GT3.

Still, any new race car (new to a series, anyway) needs time to shake out the bugs, and Team RLL is hoping to do so in 2013, ahead of the 2014 ALMS – Grand-Am Series merger. They’ll have plenty of help on-track, as one Z4 GTE will be driven by Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand (or John Edwards, if Hand is fulfilling his obligations to BMW in DTM) and Dirk Muller. A second car will be run by Maxime Martin, with Uwe Alzen and Joerg Mueller stepping in to drive during endurance events.

The 2013 season of the American Le Mans Series kicks off on March 16, with the 12 Hours of Sebring from Sebring, Florida.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Automotive Addicts

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Motorsports: This is the BMW Z4 GTE that will wear the Roundel in ALMS

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By Jonathon Ramsey

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The Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway are a month of racing and reveals, with the season’s metal going for the flag at races like the Rolex 24 at Daytona and other cars being introduced to the public. In the latter category is the BMW Z4 GTE (click the image above to enlarge) joining the American Le Mans Series GT class this year with BMW Team RLL (Rahal, Letterman and Lanigan). This machine replaces the M3 GT that completed four years of service and won the class title in 2010 and 2011. Naturally, the team is tempering expectations for the Z4 GTE by repeating the fact that it sees this season as a development year.

BMW Team RLL drivers for its two cars will be Bill Auberlen and series rookie Maxime Martin in the No. 55, aided by Jörg Müller for the endurance races at Sebring and Road Atlanta. The No. 56 car gets Dirk Müller on a full-time basis, Joey Hand when he’s not competing in the DTM series, and John Edwards when Hand isn’t available. Uwe Alzen will help out with driving duties in the No. 56 at endurance races.

Want to know more? Scroll down below for the complete press release.

Continue reading This is the BMW Z4 GTE that will wear the Roundel in ALMS

This is the BMW Z4 GTE that will wear the Roundel in ALMS originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Feb 2013 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

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BMW’s New Z4 GTE ALMS Racer Makes M3 GTs Museum Pieces

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By John Lamm

BMW Z4 GTE race car

BMW’s championship-winning M3 GTs are now museum pieces after the Bavarian automaker replaced them with the Z4 GTE for the 2013 American Le Mans Series season. The Rahal Letterman Lanigan team—who’s run M3 GTs under the BMW umbrella since the 2009 season—has been involved with the development of the Z4 GTE, which is based on the successful Z4 GT3 race car, from the beginning and first tested the new racer in mid-January. The result is a 2745-pound (rules-mandated) car powered by a 32-valve, 4.4-liter V-8 restricted via intake to 480 horsepower, down from the GT3′s 508, with maximum torque of 354 lb-ft and mated to a paddle-shifted six-speed automated manual. While the GT3 race cars are allowed to use such electronic aids as ABS and stability controll, they are banned on the GTE machines. The Z4 GTE will give BMW a race car to bridge the transition from ALMS in 2013 to the ALMS/Grand Am combined series in 2014.

Given the M3‘s cult status, you might be asking yourself, “Why the Z4?” For one thing, with last year’s launch of the new F30-generation 3-series, the current M3′s days were numbered. However, the next M3 isn’t scheduled to be revealed until late 2013 or early 2014, and if BMW wants to continue using a coupe, as it has, the wait will be even longer with the new M4 expected to follow six months or a year later. Given this confluence of bad timing, it made sense to convert the established Z4 GT3 to GTE specification. Not only does the logic check out, but it also provides BMW with a platform to further market the Z4, of which 2751 were sold in 2012—nearly two-thirds being coupes—and making it the basis for a race car can only help sales.

BMW’s efforts will be in the hands of venerable U.S. driver Bill Auberlen, teamed with an ALMS rookie, Belgium’s Maxime Martin. German Dirk Müller will be in the second car, his co-driver being one of two American drivers, Joey Hand when his BMW DTM commitments allow, or John Edwards. That lineup applies to eight of the ALMS races for 2013, while at the Sebring and Road Atlanta enduros, German drivers Jörg Müller and Uwe Alzen will join the team.

Those M3 GTs will prove to be a tough act to follow. They took the ALMS team and manufacturer GT crowns in 2010 and did the same in 2011, adding driver titles with Hand and Müller. Chevrolet won the title in 2012 with its Corvette thanks to Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner, and BMW is hedging its bets for 2013 by calling it a “development year.” The Z4 GTE will get its first race action in March at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

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Official: SRT Viper officially accepts invitation for 24 Hours of Le Mans return

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By Jeffrey N. Ross

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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

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By John Neff

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Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro racecar - front three-quarter view

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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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog