Monterey Reunion

Dayton Reunited With Formula 1 Motorsports History in Monterey
News from Duncan Dayton
MONTEREY, CA (August 12, 2010) -- Duncan Dayton's Patrón Highcroft Racing team is used to making history in the American Le Mans Series, but this weekend it will be Dayton's turn to climb aboard a piece of motor racing history.

Dayton will compete this weekend in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca aboard Mario Andretti's 1978 World Championship winning Lotus 79 Formula 1 machine.

While already in the middle of a championship battle with his Honda Performance Development factory-backed squad in the American Le Mans Series, Dayton will use this rare weekend off to climb back behind the wheel.

In fact, with the team currently in the middle of three races over four weekends, Dayton will actually make it five consecutive weekends at five different race tracks across North American - last weekend at Mid-Ohio for the sixth round of the ALMS; this weekend at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion; the following weekend at the Road America ALMS event; then the penultimate ALMS round at Canada's Mosport International Raceway. Not content with that, Dayton will then compete at the Lime Rock Vintage Festival the following week before enjoying a well-earned break.

Dayton's Lotus 79 is the car which Andretti took victory at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix and also contested the Italian Grand Prix.

Although first across the line at Monza, Andretti was penalized for jumping the start and was pushed back to sixth place - this, however, was still enough for the American to clinch the title.

The Lotus has continued to be successful in Dayton's hands and the man who clinched his 10th race victory at the annual Monaco Historics is looking forward to racing it this weekend.

"The Lotus 79 is very quick around Laguna. It depends on who we are racing against around there because the car is not quite as stiff as some of the other ground effects cars which came later," Dayton said.

"This is really my version of a weekend off. They really don't let me play with the big cars anymore so I have to take these opportunities when they arise to get behind the wheel.

"To be able to drive the Lotus 79 at a place like Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a great treat and we'll be there with lots of friends and it really is a mecca for car guys.

"It is definitely like a vacation for me to be able to do that and I certainly still enjoy driving."

Dayton will compete in the Formula One class for cars constructed between 1966 and 1983 this weekend

"The Lotus 79 was revolutionary in its design but there were still a few bugs in the system - however, it was certainly the best car of its day," Dayton said.

"It is always a great weekend in Monterey because I get to race against lots of friends including Michael Fitzgerald's Williams FW 08C who is a customer of Highcroft Racing plus, James King and Howard Cherry in their March 761s."

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has been a happy hunting ground for Dayton and Highcroft in recent times.

The team clinched its first American Le Mans Series championship when David Brabham and Scott Sharp clinched the 2009 LMP1 title at the end of last season.

In May this year, Brabham, Simon Pagenaud and Marino Franchitti took the six-hour enduro victory - the second win of an early season three-in-a-row streak for the team.

"I've got a lot of great memories from this place as a driver and of course Patrón Highcroft Racing clinched last year's championship at Laguna and we took the overall ALMS win there this year as well," Dayton said.

"To be able to head back there and hang out with friends and enjoy the beautiful weather, enjoy the scenery and go racing - it really is a great weekend."

With three races remaining in the 2010 American Le Man Series season, Patrón Highcroft Racing enjoy a 23-point buffer at the head of the championship standings.

"It has been a real fight for us this year in the American Le Mans Series and despite the fact we have a handy lead in the championship, it has not come easily," Dayton said.

"We have had to scrap for every win in every race and to finish second to Dyson Racing last weekend was frustrating in some respect, but rewarding to be only half a second behind when we are 20km/h slower in a straight line.

"The way the rules are structured this year, we have been at a significant disadvantage but it just goes to show how well the team is executing and how well the drivers are racing the car."

Dayton will hit the track today for the first time from 3:15pm to 3:30pm (Pacific) for the opening practice session for the Group 9B F1 machines.

Qualifying takes place on Friday from 3:50pm to 4:10pm. Race action for Dayton and the Lotus 79 will take place on Sunday with a qualifying race from 11:20am to 11:40am followed by the final race of the weekend - a 10-lap battle at 5:10pm.

Dayton's next historic outing will be closer to home in Highcroft Racing's home state of Connecticut at the historic Lime Rock Park circuit.

"The Vintage Festival at Lime Rock is always a great fun event and it is right in our back yard as our home track," Dayton said.

"That is an event that I always look forward to - doing battle on track and catching up with lots of great friends.

"Five races in five weeks - some people think I must have some kind of nasty addiction to this game."

GT Open

Two Wins at Spa for CRS Racing
News from CRS Racing
SPA FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (June 27, 2010) — Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen took their second International GT Open victory at Spa in Belgium today, in the second of the weekend’s two races. They weren’t the first CRS winners at Spa though as a last minute entry into Saturday’s Dutch Supercar race saw Andrew Kirkaldy and Klaas Hummel clinch victory.

Niarchos and Mullen already had a fourth place finish in the bag from yesterday’s GT Open race and they wanted a podium at the very least in race two. Niarchos got away well at the start of today’s race from 13th place on the grid, making up a few places at the start and racing well until lap five when a big accident for the two AF Corse Ferraris of Rui Aguas and Alvaro Barba brought out the safety car. When the pit window opened the team called Niarchos in and gave Tim Mullen the opportunity to rejoin the race in a position where he could start to pick off the remaining cars ahead of the No.91 CRS Ferrari. Mullen had a fight on his hands but got straight down to business and passed each car until he took the chequered flag in the lead, scoring a great second win for the long-time team-mates.

Today’s race produced a very different result for Andrew Kirkaldy and Klaas Hummel. Kirkaldy started the race from fourth on the grid, went down the outside into Turn One and emerged in second place. After reporting the car felt a little loose at the back he then lost a place to a Porsche on lap four. A lap later, as he made his way through Blanchimont, the fastest corner at Spa, he lost the back of the car and went off into the barrier. Race over.

The blow of crashing out of the GT Open race was softened for Kirkaldy and Hummel by their win in yesterday’s Dutch Supercar race. The pair raced together this weekend as Hummel’s regular team-mate, Chris Goodwin, had business commitments, and it turned out to be a successful partnership.

Klaas Hummel gets faster with each race so the extra track time available through entering the Dutch Supercar race was a real bonus for the Dutchman. It also produced his first win of the season. As they hadn’t qualified for the race they started at the back of the pack for their class, which was way back in 36th place. Never one to hang around, Kirkaldy was up to eighth on lap one and came all the way through to first place with a comfortable 12 second lead by the end of his run.

Hummel continued the run to the flag in first place until the penultimate lap when he was passed by sportscar veteran, Martin Short. Luckily for Hummel and Kirkaldy a crash further down the field soon brought out the red flags and the race result was declared on the count-back and CRS Racing had its first Dutch Supercar win.

“This has been an incredibly busy weekend for the team,” said Managing Director, Mark Busfield. “We were delighted to see Klaas take his first win with CRS, in his home championship too. He is improving fast at the moment so we just need to keep the momentum up for him. On the GT Open side it was unfortunate that Andrew had the crash in race two, which we suspect was caused by a slow puncture. It was great though to see Chris and Tim come through to take another win. “
 

The Italian Dream
News from CRS Racing
IMOLA, Italy (May 23, 2010) — Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen took CRS Racing’s first International GT Open victory at Imola in Italy this afternoon, securing the first GT Open win for a British team.

In race one on Saturday afternoon Tim Mullen got away well in the No.91 CRS Ferrari. He started from fourth on the grid and made his way right up to second place by lap four. He held this position until the pit stops when he came in to hand over to Chris Niarchos. Chris had a great run, taking the lead at one point and having a fantastic battle with the No.12 Aston Martin, before an uncharacteristic spin dropped him down to fourth. The duo finished the race in sixth position.

Klaas Hummel started race one in the No.90 Ferrari, moving up from 17th to 15th during his run. Once the race re-settled after the pit-stops, Chris Goodwin was behind the wheel and running in 18th place. Some great driving saw him move right up to 13th before another car turned in on him at turn eight, breaking his steering and forcing him to retire on lap 30.

Qualifying had been tough for the second of the weekend’s two races as the team struggled with the balance of the Ferraris on a greasy track. Chris Niarchos lined up in 16th place with Chris Goodwin just ahead of him in 13th. The start itself went well for CRS but then all hell broke loose on the start/finish straight, which resulted in four wrecked GT cars and a red-flagged race. Niarchos and Goodwin were well ahead of this so avoided the melee and lined up to wait for the restart.

When the restart came Goodwin came though in seventh place with Niarchos right on his tail in eighth. It wasn’t long before the pit window opened, as the clock hadn’t stopped ticking when the race was stopped, so Niarchos dived in to hand the Ferrari over to Tim Mullen.

“It was an inspired move by the team,” said Niarchos. “It meant that Tim went out on a clear track and was able to bang in some very quick laps before everyone else pitted. The net result was that we took the lead so it was definitely a good call. It’s very rewarding for us to take our first GT Open win and it’s also good to be the first British team to do so. Let’s hope we can continue the trend next time out.”

Klaas Hummel’s prowess as a racing driver is growing every day, helped in no small part by a productive test at Spa last week.

“Klaas is driving with a lot more confidence now,” commented Niarchos. “He did a great job in yesterday’s race, driving very well and steadily picking up places. He did a good job again today when he took over from Chris Goodwin. He had a bit of a spin at Rivazza towards the end of the race, which flat-spotted his tyres. He came in because he thought he had a puncture but it was all okay. It’s good to see him making improvements all the time.”
 

LMS

Two podiums in two races for OAK Racing Team Mazda France!

Car #35 finishes third ahead of car #24 in fourth.
News from OAK Racing
SPA FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (May 9, 2010) — OAK Racing Team Mazda France continued its superb start to the season, which began with the Paul Ricard 8 Hours at the beginning of April, at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend. The second round of the 2010 Le Mans Series, held at famous Belgian circuit in the country’s Ardennes region, saw the Nevers-based team again demonstrate the performance and reliability of its drivers and its two Pescarolo-Judds.

The #35 car, driven by Guillaume Moreau and Richard Hein, finished third in the LMP2 category, achieving its second consecutive podium of the season; the #24 car, raced by Matthieu Lahaye and Jacques Nicolet again finished in fourth position. The #35 also won the Michelin X Green Challenge.

The Spa event, a dress rehearsal for the forthcoming Le Mans 24 Hours, was a chaotic affair held in difficult and unpredictable weather conditions which caused several accidents and interventions by the Safety Car. Competitors also had to deal with a red flag, which saw the race stopped for 30 minutes during the second hour of the race following a power cut at the circuit!

Said François Sicard, Team Manager, “It has been an extremely difficult event with a lot of traps and difficult track conditions and a red flag period which lasted more than half an hour. In these circumstances, to finish third and fourth and win the Michelin Green X Challenge with the #35 car is a very good result. We have again scored some important points and we are now second and fourth in the championship. Unfortunately, the stoppage of the race did not play in our favour and without this interruption I am certain that we could have placed both cars on the podium. Nevertheless, the two Pescarolo-Judds finished in the top ten of the overall classification, and when you take into account that four LMP1 diesel Peugeots and three Audis started the race, this confirms that we are competitive and things are looking good one month before Le Mans.”

The next round of the Le Mans Series will take place in Portugal on the Algarve circuit on 17 July. Before then, the two Pescarolo-Judds of OAK Racing Team Mazda France will compete in the biggest endurance race in the world, the Le Mans 24 Hours, which will take place on 12 and 13 June and where the Nevers-based team will try to score a podium finish for the third consecutive year.
 

LMS
Pre-Season Boost for RML AD Group
Photos © Marcus Potts/CMC
SILVERSTONE (February 25, 2010) — RML AD Group completed a very successful first test of the team’s Lola HPD at Silverstone on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, braving blizzards and treacherous conditions on day one, but being rewarded by a drying track, occasional sunshine and some very encouraging running throughout the second day.

It was the first time that the installation of the Honda Performance Development HPD LM-V8 has been tested in the coupé chassis, and the initial reaction from drivers, mechanics, and data engineers alike has been universally favourable. “Considering the weather conditions, this has been an excellent shakedown and test,” said Phil Barker, Team Manager at RML. “I couldn’t have asked for a better start to our 2010 season. We’ve had very few of the usual new-build teething problems, and anything that has arisen has been very minor. That alone is enormously satisfying, and is largely attributable to the quality of the preparation, which is a credit to all the guys in the workshop and the excellent interaction we’ve had from HPD.”

Brazilian Thomas Erdos carried out all the first day’s “winter” testing, tackling gathering snowdrifts and icy puddles, but emerging with a broad grin across his face. Given first stint on Wednesday, he was then able to make the most of the much improved conditions. “My first impressions are extremely favourable,” he said. “Both the engine and the gearbox work so smoothly, and the gear changes are virtually seamless. The overall drivability is impressive as a result. I’m really very encouraged, and I just love that V8 sound!”

“The car instantly inspires confidence,” suggested Mike Newton, CEO of AD Group and co-driver of the Lola HPD. “The power delivery is so smooth, and the gearbox allows you to shift up or down at almost any time. It’s very accommodating. We also appear to have picked up much better chassis rigidity, which comes as an unexpected but very welcome bonus.”

Recently signed as the team’s third driver this season and fresh from the Sebring tests in America, Andy Wallace was on hand to witness the Lola HPD’s first test. “The car looks brilliant, and it sounds fantastic,” he grinned. “I just can’t wait to drive it at Paul Ricard.” Although he tested the cockpit for size Andy has yet to carry out a full seat-fitting for the Lola coupé, so was unable to drive at Silverstone.

Both his co-drivers are delighted to have him back in the squad. “I am absolutely thrilled,” admitted Tommy. “He is, in my view, one of the best sportscar drivers on the planet, and for me it is simply a huge honour to share a car with such a legend . . . again! It’s also an affirmation for me that the team is constantly seeking the best solutions, and the choice of Andy Wallace is further proof of that.”

The Dunlop tyres – new to the team for 2010 - also came in for praise. “The conditions have been quite appalling,” stated Erdos, “but the Dunlop tyres have given us great stability, even in the snow. The wet weather tyre is especially encouraging. Combined with our experiences of the new engine, we can only leave here feeling very optimistic and highly positive.”

“These two days have gone exceptionally well,” admitted Phil Barker. “Just seeing the expression on the drivers’ faces when they climb out of the car has been reward in itself. Now we can look forward to realising our true potential this season, not only in the Le Mans Series, but also at Le Mans in June.” Confirmation of the team’s entry for the 24 Hours was published by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest a fortnight ago, while the team now prepares for the official test at Paul Ricard on March 7th/8th.
 

Star Mazda Partners With Performance Friction to Expand 'Road to Indy' Program with Indy Lights Test for Series Champion
News from Star Mazda
PACOIMA, CA (Feb. 11, 2010) – The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and Performance Friction Company today announced an expansion of the Indy Racing League's 'Road to Indy' program with the Series champion guaranteed a test with a top Firestone Indy Lights team.

2009 Star Mazda champion Adam Christodoulou will test with Andersen Racing's Indy Lights team later this month, and the champion of the upcoming 2010 season will also get a test as part of his or her prize package. Those prizes now include, in addition to the Indy Lights test, $100,000 in cash and a scholarship from the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder. Drivers will also be competing for the VISIT FLORIDA Cup, a 7-race championship-within-a-championship; the grand prize for the top-finishing driver in those events is a custom-designed dream vacation in Florida courtesy of VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation and sponsor of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship television package. In total, drivers in the 2010 Star Mazda Championship will be competing for prizes valued in excess of $1.5 million.

"Our goal has always been to provide our drivers with the most competitive, cost-effective and comprehensive opportunity to advance their career," says Star Mazda Championship founder and CEO Gary Rodrigues. "This is another step forward in creating a clearly-defined path for Road to Indy drivers whose goal is the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indy 500. We'd like to thank Performance Friction Company and Andersen Racing for their support in making this possible."

Performance Friction is the exclusive brake pad and disc supplier to both the Star Mazda Championship and the newly-announced Cooper Tires Presents USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda, and is the overwhelming brake component choice for teams competing in the Firestone Indy Lights. All three series are part of the Indy Racing League's 'Road to Indy' program. PFC also supplies a variety of open-wheel series in Europe, Japan, Australia as well as NASCAR, IZOD IndyCar Series, ALMS, FIA, ACO, JGTC, V8 Supercar and Grand-Am just to name a few.

"The Star Mazda Championship is a terrific series that produces some of the top racing talent in the sport today," says Don Burgoon, President of Performance Friction. "Open-wheel racing is in our company DNA and we're doing all we can to support these rising stars as they climb the motorsports ladder. It is our goal to support the Road to Indy program at every level and provide these drivers with the very best equipment on the way up."

The Indy Racing League 'Road to Indy' program is designed to bridge the gap between the premier open-wheel racing divisions and the entry level open-wheel series by creating a clear career path for aspiring racing drivers; it includes Firestone Indy Lights, The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda.

“With Andersen Racing’s involvement in all steps on the Road to Indy ladder, we are delighted to work with PFC and Star Mazda in making this exciting test program a reality," says Andersen Racing co-owner Dan Andersen. "My long term relationship with the folks at PFC, coupled with our involvement in and support of the Star Mazda Championship for the past six years, makes this an easy decision. So many Star Mazda drivers in recent years have successfully transitioned into Indy Lights, and now with the support of PFC, more drivers can sample the next step properly. We look forward to testing Adam in the next few weeks.”

Firestone Indy Lights is the premier ladder series for drivers and teams striving to compete in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. Run in conjunction with the IZOD IndyCar Series, the Firestone Indy Lights’ 13-race schedule features eight races on road courses/street circuits and five races on ovals, including the famed 2.5-mile circuit at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Teams compete for nearly $4 million in prize money in cars that are second only in speed to the IZOD IndyCar Series at most tracks they visits.

"The Star Mazda race car is just the right vehicle, with the right horsepower and driving characteristics, to produce drivers ready to hit the ground running in Firestone Indy Lights," says Roger Bailey, Executive Director of Firestone Indy Lights. "And this test for the Star Mazda Champion is just the sort of opportunity that the Road to Indy was designed to create, both for the driver in the car and the company sponsoring the test. This is the first of many more such things to come for the Road to Indy program."

The first Star Mazda Championship winner to take advantage of the Road to Indy/Performance Friction/Andersen Racing Indy Lights test will be 2009 champion Adam Christodoulou, the English racer who also won the 2008 Formula Renault U.K. championship. He has already tested in the Team Stargate Worlds Atlantic Championship car and is looking forward to experiencing the additional power and speed of the Indy Lights car.

"I've already had a taste of testing the Indy lights car towards the end of last year, but it’s a great car to drive and I'm eager to get behind the wheel again," says Christodoulou. "I've been in quite a variety of cars recently and each car I get in adds to my racing knowledge… and to the level of experience I can bring to my next team. The opportunities that arise from being part of the Star Mazda Championship, the Road to Indy and the MAZDASPEED Ladder are much greater than anything that exists in Europe. These programs have provided a huge boost to my career and I would recommend them to any driver who is serious about advancing their ambitions in open-wheel racing.

Star Mazda

Daly Tops Time Sheets at First Official Series Test with Juncos Racing
Vernon and Calderon Consistently Shave Off Seconds
News from Juncos Racing
SEBRING, Fla. (January 25, 2010) — Conor Daly drove the #22 Juncos Racing machine to the top of the time sheets in three of the six sessions that took place during the first official series test at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida this weekend. With a best lap time of 2:00.588, the 18-year-old not only set the pace for the rest of the field, but he also set the bar for Juncos Racing as the team approaches its second season in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear.

"It was a really good weekend overall," said Daly. "We were quickest in most of the test sessions, and the Juncos Racing team was fantastic. Anything that needed to be done got done very quickly which was great. I'm extremely happy with the organization and operation aspects of the team and genuinely enjoyed the weekend with them. It's definitely a sign of more good things to come."

Daly, son of racing legend Derek Daly, is hoping to return to the Star Mazda Championship to compete in the 2010 season. After finishing third in the Championship last season with one win, six podiums and nine top-five finishes, there is no doubt that Daly's return to the series could see him winning the 2010 Championship title.

Court Vernon, 17, demonstrated that he too has what it takes to win by making a significant improvement from an initial best lap time of 2:05.107 on the first day to a fifth place worthy time of 2:01.722 in the final session. With the faster time, Vernon placed two Juncos Racing drivers in the top-five quickest times while simultaneously achieving his personal goal of clocking in a lap time that would have him competing at the top of the field.

"Coming into the weekend, I was hoping I would be competing at the top of the time sheets," said Vernon. "I came out of the weekend with consistent top-ten times, so I'm happy to say that my goal was completed. I really learned a lot from Juncos Racing this weekend, and I'm thankful I had the opportunity to do this test with them."

The MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver made a strong name for himself last year when he clinched second place in the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National presented by Mazda Championship at Road America in Wisconsin. The series then awarded Vernon the 2009 Rookie of the Year title thus further highlighting his skills and capabilities.

Tatiana Calderon, 16, showed what a determined and dedicated young individual she is this weekend by consistently cutting down her lap times each test day. On Saturday, Calderon shaved two seconds off her fastest time on Friday, and by Sunday, the young Colombian had knocked another two seconds off her fastest lap time from Saturday giving her a best overall lap time of 2:03.240.

"I didn't start the weekend as well as I wanted," said Calderon. "At first, I was having some problems with the way I was braking, but then the team explained me how to improve on what I was doing so that by the end I was doing much better. Sebring International Raceway is a very long, fast and difficult track, so I'm happy with how the weekend went overall. I know there is room for me to improve even more for next time, though. Juncos Racing is a very good team to be with, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season with them."

Calderon was a member of Juncos Racing once before when she competed on its karting team in 2005 and 2006. Now, after winning several international karting titles over the past few years, she is ready to take her partnership with the team to the next level by trying her hand at racing a Pro Formula Mazda.

Team Owner Ricardo Juncos was extremely impressed over the weekend with the talent of these three young drivers as well as the overall chemistry within the team. "I was really happy with the whole team this weekend," said Juncos. "They did a great job like they've never done before. It was our first time working with Conor and Court in a Star Mazda car and only our second time working with Tatiana.

"Conor is a really nice kid and very easy to work with. He also gave us some very precise and valuable feedback which was amazing. We didn't use new tires the first day, but we still were able to place in the top five. Once we put new tires on Saturday, we were quickest in both sessions that day, and by the last session on Sunday, we were half of a second faster than the second place driver.

"Court really impressed me this weekend. I worked with him back in 2003 when he raced his first year in go-karts. It's been a long time since then, but I was so happy to work with him again and see him place in the top five fastest times this weekend.
"Tatiana knew this weekend was going to be tough at first, but she really did a great job. She kept improving in every session and clocked in her fastest time on the last lap of the last test session. It's great to be working with her again. It was a truly great weekend overall. Now we are looking forward to testing again in February to get ready for the first race in March."

After a successful testing weekend with the series, Juncos Racing is looking forward to conducting more testing of its own in the upcoming weeks in preparation for the start of the season. The first race of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship is scheduled to take place at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida on March 19.

GARRA

Marino Franchitti Joins Chip Ganassi Racing to contest Daytona 24 Hours
By Kaye Wilson
Photos © eeProductions/CraigElliott 2009
DAYTONA, Florida (January 11, 2010) — The three-time Rolex 24 at Daytona winning team, Chip Ganassi Racing Felix Sabates, are again contesting the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona and Marino Franchitti has been selected to join the driver line-up.

CGRFS have entered two BMW Riley Daytona Prototype cars for the 49th running of the event. Marino will share the #01 car with three top line co-drivers, Scott Pruett, who holds a record eight Rolex 24 wins (1987/88, 1992/93/94, 2002/07/08), Memo Rojas, the first Mexican to win a major championship when partnering Pruett he took the 2008 Grand-Am title and Justin Wilson, the current IZOD IndyCar driver.

The second car, #02 CGRFS BMW Riley, will be driven by the two Team Target IndyCar pilots, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, and the two Team Target NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, Juan Pablo Montoya and James McMurray.

Chip Ganassi, team owner, commented “We have been fortunate to have experienced a lot of success in the Grand-Am series over the last six years. That success stems from a number of factors – like having great drivers behind the wheel, taking great equipment to the track, having great people in the shop and finding great partners. I am pleased to say that once again we will have all of that”.

This year, with the departure of Lexus from the Grand-Am Series, the team switched to BMW power. The V8 powerplants are built by California based engine tuner Dinan which has won Grand-Am events in the past.

The Rolex 24 Hours will be run at the end of this month, 30/31st January, but the last three days have been dedicated to testing for the teams entered for the 24 Hour event.

Eight timed sessions were run during official testing at the Daytona International Speedway in the “Roar before the Rolex 24”. However, very cold conditions prevailed for all three days with snow actually falling yesterday resulting in several small snowmen springing up around the circuit!

Despite the bad weather, both #01 and #02 CGRFS BMW Rileys were able to take to the track and complete some valuable running time with both cars finishing in the top 8 in all but one session. The #01 car finishing at the top of the times in the third session bodes well for the race.

After the three days Marino commented: “It was a very successful test for the
Telmex/Target Chip Ganassi racing team and having not driven since October, it was fun to get back behind the wheel. Even though we had very un-Florida like weather we made the best of the track time we had to get through our programme and that should stand us in good stead come the race. After working closely with the team and my team mates, it’s easy to see why this team has won so many Rolex 24hrs and hopefully the 01 or 02 car can add to the tally in a couple of weeks.”

GARRA

Flying Lizard Teams with The Racer's Group on No. 66 Porsche Entry at Daytona
Driver Lineup: Bergmeister, Long, van Overbeek and Neiman
News from Flying Lizard Motorsport
SONOMA, California (December 24, 2009) -- Flying Lizard Motorsports announced today that The Racer's Group (TRG) will enter a TRG/Flying Lizard Porsche in GT at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the season-opener for the Grand-Am Road Racing Series. In the ShoreTel-sponsored No. 66 Porsche GT3 Cup Car, Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Long will join Johannes van Overbeek and Seth Neiman for the 24-hour endurance race to be held on January 30-31, 2010.

Bergmeister has won three times at the Rolex 24: in GT in 2009 (with Patrick Long), in GT and overall in 2003, and in GT in 2002, all with TRG. He was also the Grand-Am Daytona Prototype champion in 2006 (with Krohn Racing). Bergmeister and Long are Porsche factory drivers and will be co-drivers in the Flying Lizard No. 45 Porsche for the 2010 ALMS season. With Flying Lizard, the duo won the 2009 ALMS GT2 drivers' championship. van Overbeek, who drove with the Lizards from 2004-2009 in the ALMS, has competed seven times at the Rolex 24. Notably, in 2007 he finished third with TRG, in 2004 took the pole and second in GT (and third overall) with Seth Neiman and Mike Rockenfeller in the Flying Lizard No. 74 Porsche and finished third in GT and overall in 2003.

All four drivers will participate in the test January 8-10 at Daytona. The No. 66 will be managed by TRG, with some Lizards at the helm including Thomas Blam (chief strategist in the ALMS), Craig Watkins (chief engineer) and Tommy Sadler (crew chief and co-technical director).

Seth Neiman commented, "I've always loved the 24 Hours of Daytona, but given our other commitments, it just hasn't been practical to run here. Working with our Porsche cousins at TRG we have an opportunity to field a very strong entry. TRG has had consistent success in Grand-Am and I'm confident that they will deliver a solid program. Jörg, Patrick and Johannes have a lot of combined experience here and of course, have shown that they excel in long races. And having Thomas, Craig and Tommy there will bring the familiarity of the Lizard team to the effort."

Asian Le Mans

Lights Go Out on Strong Drayson Racing Asian Performance
No. 87 Lola-Judd to Start Again from LMP1 Pole Position in Race 2
Photos © Regis Lefebure.
OKAYAMA, JAPAN (31 October 2009)- The No. 87 Drayson Racing Lola with Judd Power controlled the field early in today's first of two, three hour Asian Le Mans Series events here at the Okayama (Japan) International Circuit. Jonny Cocker (Guisborough, Yorks, UK) and Paul Drayson (London/  Gloucestershire, UK) looked destined to continue their strong effort from the start of Race 1 when, just short of 30 minutes into the race, the headlights on the No. 87 flickered off, first one and then both sides. Automobile Club De L'Ouest (ACO) regulations dictate that all lights must be operative. The resulting pit stop to change the nose cost a total of three laps. Despite the bitter disappointment of having such a dominating run ripped from their grasp, the team, making just its third Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) class start, was able to battle back to finish sixth. Drayson Racing will have an opportunity to "redo" today's event on Sunday, 1 November as the Dale White (Bozeman, MT., USA)-managed organisation will again start from pole position in Race 2.

Showing its surprise pole-winning performance in qualifications yesterday was no accident, starting driver Cocker broke from the pack as soon as the green flag fell over today's inaugural Asian Le Mans Series event. The two-time British GT Champion quickly put nearly five seconds on the following entries establishing the closed-cockpit prototype as the prime contender for victory. The way in which the race played-out only showed the newest team in the LMP1 category was meant for a podium finish if not its first international sportscar victory today. "The start went exactly to plan,” said driver Jonny Cocker. “We managed to pull a good lead early on which took the pressure off and allowed me to concentrate on looking after the Michelin tyres. Then I had a radio call from Dale [White, team manager] saying that we needed to pit. He didn't say why but when the nose was taken off the car I knew it was something serious. Just a shame to lose the time. But, we backed up our qualifying time with fastest lap in the race and pulling away from the other cars. Which is exactly what we intended to do. I look forward to having another go at it tomorrow."

To repair the headlights on the car, the team was forced to replace the entire nose section of the Lola B09/60. Whilst quickly done, the sub 1:30 second laps on track cost the team three laps to the leaders. The stop was the first of three performed. The second stop was for fuel, Michelin Pilot racing slicks and a driver change with Drayson taking over from Cocker. The third stop, with less than 20 minutes remaining in the race, kept Drayson behind the wheel

In the process of his opening stint, Cocker was able to set the fastest race lap of the day with a time of 1:21.735. This was nearly a full second quicker than any car would run during the course of the 126 lap race. For his part, Drayson stood toe-to-toe with the best sportscar pilots in the world today. During his stint, Drayson ran on pace with the class never relinquishing the sixth-place position. All told, Drayson raced the car for half the three hour event.

"That was really disappointing,” admitted team manager Dale White. “I don't have words to explain what it felt like to call Jonny in from the lead. We tried everything we could to repair the lights while the car was on-track but the electrical problem was too deep in the system. We had to replace the nose and that cost us the race. Fortunately, we will just hit the 'reset' button and go after it again tomorrow. We know we have the right package for this track. We know we have what it takes to win here."

"Great drives by both Jonny and Paul achieving sixth place despite the disappointment of the electrical fault,” said Lady Elspeth Drayson. “However, we showed we have a very competitive car and team which augurs well for next year, not to mention the race tomorrow when we start again from pole."

Race 2 will start at 09:00 (BMT+9) and last three hours Sunday, 1 November. Eurosport will broadcast both events live from Okayama with live timing and scoring available at www.asian-lemans-series.com

SCCA

SCCA Board Approves All National Classes for Runoffs
Photos © SCCA/Mark Weber 2009
TOPEKA, Kan. (Oct. 19, 2009) – Sports Car Club of America’s Board of Directors voted on rule changes to eliminate set participation levels and regulations that, in the past, have prohibited certain National-level classes from competing at the National Championship Runoffs. The vote gives younger “incubator” classes an opportunity to be included in the Runoffs.

A total of 29 classes, up from 25 in 2009, will now be eligible for participation at the National Championship Runoffs, held Oct. 20-26 at Road America in 2010. As in 2009, the eligible classes will be scheduled into 24 separate race groups, with lower-subscribed classes being combined with a split start.

The new regulations also specify that a class must have a minimum of 10 Runoffs entries and qualified drivers in order to recognize its winner as a National Champion. In the event any class does not meet the minimum requirement at the Runoffs, it will compete at the event as a supplemental class, without National Championship recognition.

New classes eligible for Runoffs participation for the first time include Formula 1000 (FB), Super Touring Over (STO), Super Touring Under (STU) and ST. These classes were created in the last five years and have struggled to grow season participation numbers without the opportunity to attend the Runoffs.

“Throughout the last several years, the Board of Directors has toiled with the notion of a minimum level of participation for inclusion at the Runoffs,” Chairman R.J. Gordy said. “This is a progressive move forward, giving four classes the opportunity that had been missing to determine their long-term viability. It also removes the restraint on several classes that have been participating in the Runoffs, but struggling to stay above the participation level that had been set—most recently 2.5 cars per race throughout the season.”

For the first time in many years, the SCCA National Championship Runoffs held a combined-class race in 2009 for Showroom Stock B and Touring 3.

“The combined class race this year confirmed that Road America, as a venue, has the ability to successfully operate two classes together with a split start,” Gordy said. “This gives us an opportunity to include more racers without adversely affecting the event schedule.”

Classes eligible for the Runoffs are now: American Sedan, C Sports Racing, D Sports Racing, Sports 2000, Spec Racer Ford, E Production, F Production, H Production, Formula 1000, Formula 500, Formula Atlantic, Formula Continental, Formula Enterprises, Formula F, Formula Mazda, Formula Vee, GT-1, GT-2, GT-3, GT-Lite, Showroom Stock B, Showroom Stock C, Spec Miata, Super Touring O, Super Touring U, ST, Touring 1, Touring 2 and Touring 3.

Star Mazda

Three Andersen Racing Cars Are in the Top Four After Star Mazda Qualifying Thursday At Road Atlanta
News from Anderson Racing
Photos © Jamie Longmuir 2009
BRASELTON, Ga., (September 24, 2009) - Oil, not water, complicated qualifications for the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear Thursday afternoon at Road Atlanta, but Andersen Racing drivers still nabbed three of the top four spots in the starting line-up for tomorrow's 45-minute race that is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time.

The session was held under sunny skies instead of the heavy rains that have plagued Atlanta recently, but oil dropped by one of the competitors' cars shortened the top half of the field's qualifying session from 23 minutes to only 10. That put an end to the usual qualifying strategies, as the drivers and teams had to go as fast as possible as quickly as possible.

Peter Dempsey, who has been the driver to beat in practice, wound up on the pole, but Andersen Racing's Conor Daly, Joel Miller and Richard Kent were second, third and fourth, respectively. A fourth Andersen Racing driver, Denis Navarro, who had never even seen the track before Tuesday's test sessions, will start 14th in the 20-car field.

Daly, of Noblesville, Ind., was just 0.048 of a second off Dempsey's qualifying time to earn a spot on the front row for his No. 22, which is sponsored by MAZDASPEED Motorsports, Indeck, Cytomax, College Network and Merchant Services.

Miller, of Hesperia, Calif., will be right behind Dempsey for the standing start with his No. 2, which advertises Fader Higher Productions, eSoles Custom Footbeds, Doug Mockett & Co., Burns Truck & Trailer and Brazos Bend Energy Services.

Kent, of Clifton Reynes, England, will be on the outside of the all-Andersen Row 2 in his No. 33, which is sponsored by Traka and Allied Interior Products.

Navarro, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, will be on the outside of Row 7 in his No. 21, which promotes Navarro Medicines Distribution and Allied Interior Products, for the standing start.

Kent and Daly finished first and second in the series' most recent race. Daly is third and Miller is fourth in the point standings going into this event, the next-to-last race of the 2009 season. Kent is sixth and Navarro is 11th. Daly, Miller and Kent are all still in the running for the driver championship.

Conor Daly: "It was weird how short it was. I was hoping for more time, but once we went out I just focused on going as fast as possible as quickly as possible. Our car is really comfortable. It's really good down the straightaways. I think we can get Peter tomorrow."

Joel Miller: "We've gone faster in terms of position every session. I had a good qualifying session; I just got nipped at the end. Two things happened on the last lap that made me lift. But I'll start third and go from there. I'm confident we have a good car for the race."

Richard Kent: "We made some changes in qualifying that weren't the right way to go, but we're in the right area. I'm confident that we have a fast car for tomorrow's race. It's sunny now, but there is a chance of thunderstorms for tomorrow."

Denis Navarro: "This is my first time here; I didn't get to test here. The first time I was on the track was Tuesday. But I like the track; it is very nice.

"We had a little problem with the fuel pump. We are working on it, and we should be fine tomorrow.
 

Juncos Racing Advances to Atlanta with Two Championship Leads
News from Juncos Racing
Photos © Jamie Longmuir 2009
VERO BEACH, Fla. (September 18, 2009) - With only two races remaining in the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, the Florida-based debut team of Juncos Racing will continue on to Round 12 at Atlanta next week with not only one, but two Championship leads to its name. In the Team Championship Points Standings, Juncos Racing is now tied with AIM Autosport for third place with 195 points, sitting just behind the veteran teams of JDC Motorsports and Andersen Racing.

Irishman Peter Dempsey, 23, has won an astonishing four out of the 11 races that have taken place in the 2009 Star Mazda Championship season thus far, earning him the well-suited nickname, "The Irish Steamroller". With 399 points, he is currently leading the overall Championship by seven points to Adam Christodoulou of JDC Motorsports. Last year at Road Atlanta, Dempsey was leading the Championship when he set a record lap time of 1:18.328 in qualifying and put his car on pole, but contact at the end of the race left him with a disappointing result of 19th position, damaging his chances for winning the 2008 Star Mazda Championship. This year, Dempsey is determined to prove what he can do on this track by rewriting last year's bad luck with a win.

"I am really looking forward to getting back to Road Atlanta", says Dempsey. "This is the track I like the most in the U.S.A. I qualified on pole here last year and should have had a better race. We had a successful test here a few weeks ago after Mosport and gathered a lot of setup data. I really feel like we are going to this race 100% ready for it. I expect a strong showing for us and hopefully we can consolidate our points lead."

Juncos Racing's newest team member is Japanese driver Toshihiro Deki who joined the team at Mosport in August where he immediately rewarded them with a win in the Expert Series Class (for drivers ages 30-44). In his premiere Star Mazda Championship season, Deki has consistently finished in the top-two in his class for the past ten races, and Juncos Racing is thrilled to add him to the team for the remainder of the 2009 season. With 172 points, Deki now has an impressive 24 point advantage over fellow Expert Series driver, Chris Cumming of World Speed Motorsports, placing him first in his class and 15th overall.

Juncos Racing will take on the 2.54 mile, 12-turn road course of Road Atlanta at the Petit Le Mans event next week in Braselton, Georgia from September 23-25.

 

Drayson Racing Faces Bittersweet Silverstone Homecoming Result
News from Drayson Racing
Photos © Regis Lefebure
TOWCESTER, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, ENGLAND (September 13, 2009) - Drayson Racing had a truly bittersweet weekend culminating with today's running of the Autosport 1000km of Silverstone. The event brought the highest practice, qualifying and race-running results ever enjoyed by the British team whilst running the Aston Martin Vantage GT2. However, with two hours remaining in the six hour event, a call from driver Paul Drayson (London/ Gloucestershire, UK) would cause the British team to leave in frustration. The declaration of "I've lost drive" crackled over the radio. After a diligent effort to resolve the issue in the car's drivetrain, Team Manager Dale White (Bozeman, MT, USA) called an end to the day for Drayson and co-driver Jonny Cocker (Guisborough, Yorks, UK). "It's the end of an era,” said White. “I was there for our first race with the Vantage GT2 and I was here for our last. I only wish we had ended on a happier note. We are proud of the development we've done with this programme and would like to help a team continue it. I believe the car has a lot of potential, as we showed again today."

The chequered flag brought not only unfinished business in the 1,000km race but also ended the team's first Le Mans Series season and its two-year development effort of the No. 87 Drayson Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT2 as well.

The drivetrain failure would foil another strong run by the UK-based operation. Cocker made a remarkable start moving from sixth on the grid, the team's best-ever starting position with the Vantage GT2, to as high as second in class. The young Brit was running comfortably in the top-three of the class when a puncture to the left-rear tyre forced an early pit stop for replacement. The stop dropped the two-time British GT Champion back to 12th. It was then that the gearbox became increasingly difficult to shift. The sequential-shift transmission necessitated more and more force to engage each gear. Though the drivers were able to adapt, the shifting issue was a potential harbinger of the failure to come. Adding insult to injury, Paul Drayson was struck twice by prototypes during the race, one of which pushed him off course causing damage to the left rear of the car. Cocker was also hit during the race. None of the contact is believed to have caused the drivetrain malfunction. Despite the trials, the team worked itself back into sixth position when the final failure occurred.

Drayson and Cocker each had their best results in the free practices leading-up to race day. The No. 87 set the third and fourth best time in the first two practice sessions, respectively. Cocker's flying lap in qualifying set the high-water mark for the programme in time trials with the Vantage. His second-place running position early in today's event was an all-time high for the Vantage in GT2 configuration.

"I am disappointed we had another technical failure on the car but,” said Drayson, “on the other hand, we have shown today the true pace of the Vantage and the team. So, to end the Le Mans Series having run as high as P2 is a good feeling. After all the on track incidents during the race the car was tough to drive. We fought back to sixth-place and were heading for a good result when I felt the drive go as I exited Priory corner during my second stint. I managed to coast the car back to the pits but that was the end of the race for us. I will miss the Vantage. It's a beautiful car and great fun to race. However, from here on we focus 100% on the LMP1 Lola-Judd. Petit Le Mans here we come!"
The team will premiere the new No. 88 Drayson Racing Lola with Judd Power at the 12th Annual Petit Le Mans on 26 September. The team will do an extensive, two-day test of the Lola B09/60 Coupé-Judd V10 at Road Atlanta in advance of official practice on Wednesday, 23 September.

Superleague

Bourdais shows his class to net €100,000 Super Final Prize for Sevilla
ESTORIL, Portugal (September 6, 2009) — Sebastien Bourdais netted Spanish club Sevilla a €100,000 prize by sensationally winning the Superleague Formula by Sonangol ‘Super Final’ on his championship debut at Estoril.

The Frenchman, who recently lost his place on the Formula One grid, bounced back in the best possible fashion by producing a stunning drive, taking second in race 2 to qualify for the weekend-ending six-car sprint, before going on to win.

Starting from fourth in the five-lap Super Final, he dived past Anderlecht into turn 1 to take third and was into second when Corinthians driver Antonio Pizzonia slid wide and out of the lead in turn 4.

With just Liverpool standing beaten him and a memorable debut victory, Bourdais sliced up the inside of Adrian Valles’ car before the end of the lap and never looked like losing his lead from thereon.

Olympiacos’ Esteban Guerreri, who earlier took a superb win in race 1, followed Bourdais past Liverpool for second, having started from fifth, with Valles holding off Anderlecht driver Yelmer Buurman for the final podium spot.

Spaniard Valles may have missed the top prize in the Super Final, but he boosted Liverpool’s championship hopes massively during the weekend with a strong points haul from the two main 45 minute races. He extended the English club’s lead at the top of the Superleague Formula by Sonangol League Table to 58 points as both his major rivals hit trouble.

FC Basel, whose young driver Max Wissel starred in the last round at Donington, were lying in second going into the weekend but didn’t even start the first race due to gearbox problems before finishing 11th in a troubled race 2. Tottenham Hotspur’s Craig Dolby, third heading to Portugal, managed a solid eighth in race 1, but retired on the first lap of the second race. Although Spurs moved to second in the table, the London-based club has lost significant ground in the title race to their FA Premier League rivals.

Earlier, the 45 minute-long race 2 saw a popular ‘home win’, despite Estoril very much being Sporting Lisbon territory, for FC Porto whose fans celebrated Alvaro Parente’s victory, the Portuguese club’s second triumph in as many weekends after Tristan Gommendy took the race 2 honours at Donington.

From the front row of the grid following his race 1 retirement, lifelong Porto fan Parente beat pole sitter Galatasaray off the line but was still in second at the first corner as Flamengo’s Enrique Bernoldi made a stunning start from row 3 to lead.

Sevilla’s debutant Bourdais was also a fast starter as he went from seventh to third on the opening lap ahead of AS Roma’s Franck Perera who made similar gains going from 12th to fourth!

Bernoldi was three seconds clear at the pit stop, but Flamengo’s decision to bring its car in after all their rivals didn’t pay off as he lost his lead to Parente.

Bourdais then demoted Flamengo to third and began the pursuit of the Porto car five seconds up the road. The Frenchman showed stunning speed as he closed the gap to under a second, but Parente responded in the last five minutes to ensure victory for the reigning Portuguese League champions.

Bourdais was second for Sevilla, with Bernoldi holding onto third for Flamengo. Yelmer Buurman produced a star performance to finish fourth for Anderlecht, despite being forced off the track at turn 2 at the start. He stormed back through the field, passing AC Milan and Corinthians in the final stages to just miss out on a podium.

Antonio Pizzonia was fifth for Corinthians after charging through from 16th on the grid whilst Giorgio Pantano was sixth for Milan. Ho-Pin Tung, who started from pole on the fully reversed grid, was seventh for Galatasaray, holding off John Martin for Rangers and the table-topping Liverpool car of Valles who settled for strong points after main challengers Tottenham and FC Basel suffered problems. PSV Eindhoven’s series debutant Carlo Van Dam completed the top ten.

Perera’s fine drive in the AS Roma machine didn’t earn its due rewards as a problem at his pit stop put him out of fourth place and left him outside the top ten at the chequered flag. Race 1 winner Olympiacos, starting from the back of reversed grid, suffered some contact on the opening lap which forced Esteban Guerrieri to pit for a new nose. He rejoined two laps down and showed prodigious pace on his way to 14th.

 Star Mazda

Rising Canadian Stars Heat Up The Star Mazda Championship At Mosport
Six drivers on the win list and a dozen still in the championship battle
Source: Peter Frey (Bstorm2000@aol.com )
Photos © Star Mazda Championship and Jamie Longmuir 2009
BOWMANVILLE, Ontario (August 25, 2009) -- With three races remaining on the schedule and twelve of the series' 25 regular drivers still mathematically in contention for the championship, the battle for supremacy in this weekend's Mobil 1 Present the Grand Prix of Mosport - Round 11 of the 13-race 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear – is sure to be a wheel-to-wheel crowd-pleaser. -->MORE

LMS

Strakka Out but not Down
Photographic credits:
Photo 1, David Lord / Dailysportscar. Photo 2, John Brooks. Photo 3, Peter May / Dailysportscar.
August 24, 2009 — There was an upbeat and positive mood in the Strakka Racing garage after the end of the Nürburgring 1000 Kilometres, even after the team’s Ginetta-Zytek had come to a spectacular and untimely end following four and a half hours of very competitive running.

Qualifying fourth had placed first-stint driver Danny Watts in the perfect position to pace his first hour, watching and waiting, but never out of touch with the battle for the lead. After two hours he was still there, one of only four cars still on the lead lap. The former British Formula Renault champion and Great Britain A1GP racer then handed over to Nick Leventis for the middle portion of the race.

On his first visit to the Nürburgring, Nick was swiftly into his stride and lapping at a very competitive race pace, holding his own amid far more experienced professional LMP1 drivers. Throughout a solid double-stint he maintained his position, and shortly after the start of the fourth hour Nick handed the car back from fifth overall. Danny responded by promptly setting a new fastest lap for the car of 1:44.272 that included an outright quickest third sector. It would miss being the fastest lap of the race by a fraction over one-tenth of a second.

Danny Watts then began a demonstration drive that rapidly ate into the gap between fifth place and fourth; closing at between four and six seconds with each lap. Then, thirty-five minutes into that impressive stint, he came up to pass one of the slower GT2 cars. Evidently the other driver hadn’t seen the fast-approaching prototype and started to “close the door” as the pair descended on the Ford Kurve. Fighting to avoid contact, Danny clipped the edge of the track, and the Ginetta-Zytek was instantly tipped into an uncontrollable slide that only ended when the car hit the barrier, spinning back across the track and hammering into the Armco on the other side. It was a heavy impact, and it was immediately obvious that the team’s race was over.

“Of course it’s enormously disappointing,” said Piers Phillips, Team Manager, “but we must take the positives from the weekend. The car was fast and reliable, and Danny’s pace was phenomenal, but what really impressed me was Nick. His race pace was exemplary – I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Once he’d settled down, his lap times just got steadily quicker, until he was consistently setting times that was just two or three seconds off those of the leading cars. For a young driver who’s never been here before, that was highly commendable.”

For his own part, Nick was keen to emphasize that Danny had been the innocent victim of circumstances. “Danny did a great job all weekend,” he stressed. “He helped to put together a car that was a dream to drive, and he was consistently one of the quickest out there. Danny’s an incredible driver. He knows exactly what he’s doing and his performance today simply demonstrates what a talented racing driver he is.”

This had been Strakka’s fourth prototype race in the Le Mans Series. “It’s still only our first year in LMP1,” explains Nick. “We’re at the beginning of what will be a lengthy programme for Strakka Racing in sportscars, and we’re delighted to be at the stage where we can already be in contention for a podium. Fourth was within our grasp, and thanks to Danny, third had become a possibility. All credit to the guys in the garage, they did a tremendous job in preparing the car. The sad thing is, without the results on paper, we can’t reward them with the credit they deserve.”

The next and final round is at Silverstone in three weeks’ time. “There’s still one more race to go, and it’s at our home circuit,” added Nick. “It’s the track I know better than any other, and we’ll give it everything we’ve got.”

Star Mazda
The Grand Prix of Trois-Rivières – You Should Be Here!
By Kate Shaw

Photos © Jamie Longmuir 2009
TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Quebec (August 15, 2009) — Recession? Doom and Gloom? Where? Not here in Trois-Rivières!

In a year when the atmosphere in most racing venues and series has been Doom and Gloom, or anyway, sternly repressed anxiety uber alles, hotel and motel rooms for the 40th running of the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (GP3R) have been sold out since November 2008, and both popular grandstands and certain general admission areas were well filled all day Friday and even more so today.  -->MORE

Star Mazda

It Was All Mitchell, Then Everyone Else At Trois Rivieres

Leads every lap but the last one as results are under review
News from Sunday Management Group

Photos © Star Mazda Championship
TROIS RIVIERES, Que (16 Aug, 2009) —Rusty Mitchell posted a command performance behind the wheel of the No. 66 Motorola Mazda in the Grand Prix du Trois Rivieres on Sunday, leading every lap but the final one as he made a debut podium appearance in Star Mazda presented by Goodyear competition as he was provisionally classified as second at the finish.

Starting from the pole after breaking the track record in qualifying, Mitchell moved to the front as the lights went out to kick off the race. But the event was soon slowed for the first caution of the day. The Motorola machine was on point for the restart as Rusty and the race got into a rhythm, with the young Texan moving out to a comfortable lead. The field was slowed for caution 25 laps later, but Mitchell was once again stout on the restart as he fended off the advances of the twenty-car field to hold onto the point.

But with just minutes remaining in the race, a final caution period set the stage for a green-white checkered flag showdown. As Mitchell once again sped to the green flag, a yellow flag stood in turn one as he gave pause and was passed for the lead. The race was shown on local television and series officials will have the opportunity to review video evidence of the incident before posting the official results.

Mitchell was pleased with his performance, and is hoping that the results reflect his standing as the fastest car all weekend long.

“I hope they get it sorted out the way the results should be, but no matter what, I’m really happy with the race this weekend,” said Mitchell following the podium ceremonies and media activities. “This whole weekend is down to the team’s performance and the work they did on this Motorola Mazda. They had to change two engines and put in so much work. My engineer Steve had this car perfect for me all weekend long.”

Despite the disappointment of the apparent results, the Texan showed his cool and maturity in the post-race ceremonies, accepting the second place hardware with grace despite feeling as though he was getting the wrong trophy.

“I was just cruising there in the middle stages of the race, so I really didn’t want that last restart of course! On that restart, there was a yellow flag up in the corner, so he shouldn’t have passed me but we will just see what the series decides. But no matter what, this was a great weekend for me and for Mitchell Motorsports. It’s great to get up on the podium at a race that is cool as this one is. These fans are awesome and of course as a driver this track is a big challenge so this is really satisfying. A big thanks again to my folks and to Mitchell Motorsports and to Motorola for the support to get to this point. Almost a perfect weekend!”

Mosport International Raceway will be the site of round 11 as the series joins the American Lemans Series for a second consecutive Canadian race date.

Star Mazda

Andersen Racing's Miller and Grenier End Up Third and Fourth When Frenzy Is Over at Trois-Rivieres
News From Restart Communications
Photos © Jamie Longmuir 2009

TROIS-RIVIERES, Quebec, Canada, (Aug. 16, 2009) - Andersen Racing's Joel Miller rebuked all comers to score a podium finish while one of his teammates, local favorite Mikaël Grenier, came from next-to-last to finish fourth in a street fight more properly called Round 10 of the Star Mazda championship presented by Goodyear on Sunday at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres.

The Palmetto, Fla.-based super team fielded a quarter of the field.

Miller, of Hesperia, Calif., started fifth in the Andersen Racing No. 2 sponsored by Fader Higher Productions, eSoles Custom Footbeds, Doug Mockett & Co., Burns Truck & Trailer and Brazos Bend Energy Services. He moved up to fourth right away, but then had to battle another one of his teammates, Denis Navarro, as well as Adam Christodoulou for the rest of the distance in the 36-lap race on the tight, 1.521-mile, 10-turn street course.

Miller first moved into third on lap seven by passing Christodoulou. He even held second for two laps after he passed the eventual winner, Alex Ardoin, on lap 12. Ardoin passed him back on lap 13 to push him back to third, however.

Miller stayed in that spot until lap 33, when both Christodoulou and Navarro got by him to put him back where he started, in fifth. He got fourth back when Navarro and Conor Daly, another one of his teammates, had contact on lap 33.

That set up a green-white-checkered restart that changed almost everything.
Although polesitter Rusty Mitchell had led every previous lap, Ardoin got around him at the end to win the race. Mitchell finished second. Both Miller and Grenier got around Christodoulou on the last lap too to finish fourth and fifth, respectively, while Christodoulou rounded out the top five.

If Miller's podium finish was hard fought, so was Grenier's fourth-place finish. He couldn't even see the front of the field at the standing start because his No. 17, which is sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts, CAA Québec, Hs Télécome, Desharnais Pneus et Mécanique, 66graphx and Vsm Racing, gridded 19th after problems in qualifying.

The high school student from Stoneham, Quebec was pointed in the right direction, however, and he blasted off when the green dropped, improving seven positions by the end of lap one to rise to 12th. He got pushed back to 14th under an initial yellow, and after the restart he didn't move up again until he passed Michael Guasch for 13th on lap eight.

On Lap 11 he passed Sean Burstyn for 12th. He got by Kevin Toledo for 11th on lap 14, right after setting the second-fastest lap of the race at that point. He burst into the top 10 on lap 15 when David Ostella dropped from sixth to 13th. Two laps later Grenier passed point leader Peter Dempsey for ninth. He got by Michael Furfari for eighth with 23 laps down, which put him right behind Anders Krohn.

Krohn proved to be difficult to pass. Displaying more patience than most 16-year-olds have, Grenier bided his time until he could safely make his move by Krohn on lap 33, which gave him seventh place. With Miller's drop from fifth to third on that lap, three Andersen Racing drivers were fifth (Miller), sixth (Daly) and seventh (Grenier) at that point, but that only lasted for a second because Navarro and Daly tangled on the next circuit to revert to 11th and 12th in the standings.

That gave Grenier fifth for the restart on lap 35, but he got one more spot on the last lap by slipping by Christodoulou at the end.

Navarro, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, started sixth. His No. 21, which is sponsored by Navarro Medicines Distribution and Allied Interior Products, was as high as fourth too, but he ended up tenth after the incident with Daly.

At least he finished the race. Daly had the fastest car in the 20-car field, proving that without a shadow of a doubt when he set the fastest race lap on lap 23 with a 1:02.138 with his No. 22, which is sponsored by Indeck, Cytomax, College Network and Merchant Services.

The MAZDASPEED Motorsports driver development driver from Noblesville, Ind., started seventh and was in the thick of things until the incident with Navarro. He ended up 14th in the final rundown, right behind Dempsey.

A fifth driver for the Palmetto, Fla.-based team in this race, Richard Kent of Clifton Reynes, England, had even worse luck. He was involved in an incident at the start, and his No. 33, which is sponsored by Traka and Allied Interior Products, didn't finish even a lap. Kent was scored in 19th place in the rundown.

Two Andersen Racing drivers were third and fourth behind Dempsey and Christodoulou in the point standings going into Trois-Rivieres. That is still the case after today's race, although their positions have switched and Miller is now third with 312 points to Daly's 302. Kent, who missed the race at VIRginia International Raceway due to a non-racing injury, dropped from seventh to eighth, while Navarro remains 11th. Grenier, who has only run six of the 10 races held so far this year, is 15th.

Andersen Racing is still second in the team standings, and now has 247 points to JDC Motorsports' 282.

The next race is Aug. 29 at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario. The season then concludes with races at Road Atlanta Sept. 25 and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. on Oct. 10.

Allied Building Products Corp. and Lafarge North America sponsor Andersen Racing, the development team of Rahal Letterman Racing. The team's Web site is located at andersenracingteam.com. Information on the team's 1-mile road course test track at its headquarters in Palmetto, Fla. can be found online at andersenracepark.com. Information on its karting program can be found at andersenkarting.com.

The series' Web site is at starmazda.com.
 

Rusty Mitchell takes Star Mazda Pole at Trois Rivières

By Kate Shaw

Photos © Jamie Longmuir 2009

TROIS-Rivières, Quebec (August 15, 2009) — They call it “Tempest in Trois-Rivières” and anyone who has followed the Star Mazda Championship over the years knows that this is where the action is in open wheel racings ladder. It’s a high-speed training ground for future open wheel stars, who are absolutely fearless in their attack of the piste regardless of conditions or competitors. In 2009, with five winners in nine races and fifteen of the 25 competitors still mathematically in the fight for the championship, nobody was holding back in qualifying today. After all, this is the 40th anniversary of a race track on which legendary Canadian superstar Gilles Villeneuve was spotted by Formula One and launched (so to speak) into history.

Today’s qualifying session was split into two sections, graded by the speed of the competitors in yesterdays practice sessions. Fastest in the opening session was Toronto native David Ostella in the #71 AIM Autosport/Global Precast Mazda, who was running in his first-ever street course this weekend. If you are a GTA local, you can meet Ostella on Sunday, August 23, 2009 at the Mazda Performance Celebration to benefit the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children at Scarborough Mazda, 2124 Lawrence Avenue East, or see him scale his next mountain: the natural road course at Mosport International Raceway on August 29.

Pole position today was captured by Rusty Mitchell (No. 66 Mitchell Motorsports) out of Midland, Texas. He outdueled defending race winner Peter Dempsey (No. 3 Juncos Racing/HOOTERS/Irish Sports Council/  Queyside.ie), otherwise known as The Irish Steamroller, who has already won four races this year including the last three in a row. The margin between the drivers was 158/1000 second, despite the fact that Dempsey suffered a big crash near the end of the session. In other words, it was virtually a photo finish. Alex Ardoin (No. 51 JDC Motorsports/Oral & Facial Surgery Centre/Twister Trailer), Adam Christodoulou (No. 11 JDC Motorsports /Molecule /Alpine Stars) and Joel Miller (No. 2 Andersen Racing/NAPA Auto Parts/CAA-Quebec/HS Telecom/Allied) round out the Fast Five. Richard Kent of Anderson Racing suffered an electrical glitch and qualified ninth. (See our interview with Kent for further details).

The Star Mazda Series races tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. rain or shine (either should be exciting). This is a difficult track for passing; however, Star Mazda drivers historically do not let such things – or their competitors – stand in their way. Meet us back here to see how it all turns out!
 

Andersen Racing's Kent Finishes Third at Autobahn Chicago

Miller and Daly Nab Top-Five Finishes  
News From Restart Communications
JOLIET, Ill., (July 27) - Andersen Racing's Richard Kent followed up his fourth-place finish on Saturday with a third-place finish on Sunday in the second half of a Star Mazda doubleheader that was part of the Harrah's Grand Prix presented by Mazda at the Autobahn Country Club.

Two of his teammates took the checkered flag right behind him after 40 minutes of competition on the bumpy, 3.56-mile, 21-turn road course.

Joel Miller recorded his best finish as a member of the Palmetto, Fla.-based team by finishing fourth, while Conor Daly held off all comers to nail down fifth place in the non-stop, 18-lap race that was carried live on HDnet.

A fourth Andersen Racing driver, Denis Navarro of Sao Paulo, Brazil, passed the most cars of the quartet to come from 14th to 11th.

Kent, of Clifton Reynes, England, dramatically earned the third starting spot at the last possible moment during qualifying Saturday night, and then followed polesitter Peter Dempsey and second-place starter Adam Christodoulou throughout Sunday afternoon's race in his No. 33, which is sponsored by Traka and Allied Interior Products.

Miller, of Hesperia, Calif., followed Kent the whole way, as he started and finished fourth with his No. 2, which advertises Fader Higher Productions, eSoles Custom Footbeds, Doug Mockett & Co., Burns Truck & Trailer and Brazos Bend Energy Services.

Daly, a MAZDASPEED Motorsports driver development driver from Noblesville, Ind., started sixth on Sunday in his No. 22, which is sponsored by Indeck, Cytomax, College Network and Merchant Services. He passed the fifth-place starter, Michael Furfari, on lap one and then followed Dempsey, Christodoulou, Kent and Miller for 17 more laps. The best battle of the race was the one Daly won for fifth place, as he held off repeated challenges from Furfari, Alex Ardoin and David Ostella even though his car's handling was seriously compromised due to a tire issue.

After the race the team discovered that an employee for the firm mounting tires at the track for all the teams had made an unintentional human error and provided a mislabeled tire for Daly's car's right-front wheel. Instead of the road-course compound, it was a very hard, experimental oval-track tire.

The error was definitely not the team's fault, and it made for a frustrating race for everyone involved with the No. 22, and especially Daly. He did a great job to not spin out while driving with the incorrect tire, let alone hold off all challengers and place in the top five.

Navarro had a busy race too. He got a good start with his No. 21 sponsored by Navarro Medicines Distribution and Allied Interior Products. He had already advanced two spots to 12th by lap two, but then he dropped to 16th while taking evasive action when another driver spun in front of him.

He quickly regrouped. He passed Kevin Toledo for 15th on lap four, Michael Guasch for 14th on lap five, Ashley Freiberg for 13th on lap six, and then got 12th when Rusty Mitchell spun ahead of him working lap nine. He passed Anders Krohn for 11th on lap 14, and safely brought his car home in that spot at the end.

Team co-owner Dan Andersen noted that Navarro had the third-quickest race lap until the very end of the race, when Miller nabbed that distinction.

The series now travels to the Trois-Rivieres street course in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec for a race on Aug. 16, the first of four remaining races for 2009. The rest of the schedule can be found at starmazda.com

Going into Trois-Rivieres, Dempsey leads the driver point standings with 342 points. Christodoulou is second with 323. Andersen Racing drivers are third and fourth, as Daly has 280 points and Miller has 275. Kent is currently seventh and Navarro is 11th. Andersen Racing is currently second in the team point standings with 221 points to JDC Motorsports' 251.

FIA GT

Fireworks, Fog & Safety Cars
News and photos from CRS Racing
SPA FRANCORHAMPS (Jul 26th, 2009) — It has been a good night at Spa. Both CRS Ferraris have made steady progress since yesterday and now lie in second and sixth positions. The No.56 car has had a fantastic run with Kirkaldy, Bell, Garcia and now Kox making steady but rapid progress through the ranks, all the way up to second place. The No.55 car is also on the rise after being delayed last night with a broken starter motor, but Niarchos, Mullen, Quaife and Goodwin are also in the fight for points at Spa.

Phil Quaife took to the track just as the traditional firework display lit up the sky at Spa at 11pm last night. The conditions were difficult during the night and the CRS GT3 driver did a good job in the No.55 Ferrari.

“I really enjoyed my stint,” said Phil. “There was only a thin dry line and it is hard to pick it out in the dark. You have to slow down more on your approach to the corners to make sure you get the line absolutely right. I would rather do that though than take unnecessary risks in a race like this. The car is feeling strong so all we need to do is keep on going, for quite a few more hours yet.”

When midnight came Andrew Kirkaldy had taken over the wheel of No.56 from Antonio Garcia and was running in fifth place. Tim Mullen was back in No.55 in eighth at this time, just as the conditions degenerated even more. Fog was starting to form, mainly at Blanchimont, but with it getting progressively thicker, the safety car was dispatched.

Shortly after this both cars came in for a driver change. Chris Niarchos in No.55 and Rob Bell in No.56. It was a long safety car session but there were no dramas for CRS at this time.

At the halfway mark Antonio was back in No.56 and had moved up to fourth place and Chris Goodwin was eighth in No.55.

It is now 7.30am and fully light at Spa and it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day. There is still a lot of hard work to do here with over eight hours of racing to go.

Mullen Shines in the Dark
News and photos from CRS Racing
SPA FRANCORCHAMPS (July 24, 2009) — The No.55 CRS Ferrari 430 will start the 2009 Spa 24 Hours from the front row of the GT2 grid after a top performance from Tim Mullen in last night’s qualifying session. The No.56 Ferrari will start from ninth as a sudden change in the weather mixed up the grid for tomorrow’s big race.

Spa has seen some huge storms over the last few days and right on cue the rain began again just as the first cars took to the track for the first of the three qualifying sessions. As the cars completed their first flying laps Rob Bell appeared in second place, with Tim in fourth. Then Tim popped up on pole before dropping again as other cars beat his time. On his next flying lap though Tim nailed second place just as the heavens opened and what can only be described as ‘biblical’ rain began to fall.

While Tim took a front row grid slot, Rob missed out, as the track was just too wet on his lap so he had to settle for ninth.

With two and a half hours of track time available for qualifying, the times were all set in the first 15 minutes of the first session. After rain like that it was clear that no-one was going to have a chance to improve on their times.

“It’s always a good feeling to qualify well,” said Mullen. “We were pretty quick right through the practice sessions so we knew there was a good time in the car, with or without the rain. Tomorrow we need to just keep going, stay out of the pits as much as possible and when Sunday comes we should be right up there.”

New Oschersleben Results

There was more good news for CRS yesterday when a steward’s decision excluded the No.61 Porsche from the results of the Oschersleben race. This is the car that finished in second place so the exclusion moves Chris and Tim up to third place for that event, while Andrew and Rob move up to sixth. The extra points also mean that CRS moves up to second place in the all-important team’s championship standings. The Prospeed team has lodged its intent to appeal the decision.

Formula Masters Championship

Kenney Claims European Podium at Germany’s EuroSpeedway
 News and photo from Liam Kenney Motorsports
STERLING, Virginia (July 5, 2009) – Liam Kenney’s rookie European season in the ADAC Formula Masters Championship has been a rollercoaster ride but this weekend he added his maiden podium finish in Sunday’s race at Lausitzring EuroSpeedway, Sunday 5th July.

After Saturday’s self-described chaotic race a podium finish eluded the young American racing standout courtesy of an overly optimistic braking move by a rival competitor. Liam qualified third for the race and got a good launch that kept him in the fight for the lead. However, the skies opened up and the race was red flagged. After a 30-minute break to install rain tires and change set ups the race was restarted.

After another good start Liam was at the front of the field fighting for a win. With two laps to go in the extremely wet conditions one of Liam’s competitors made a move that was overly optimistic and hit the right rear corner of Liam’s car, flatting the tire, bending the suspension and ending what was likely a podium finish.

After the race Kenney tried to look at the positives; “I’ve continued to qualify well, I’ve got my starts working great and I’m running at the front of a very quick group of competitors. However, I need a little luck to go my way. I’ve been collected in more than my share of these optimistic moves that my competitors seem to want to make and it’s frustrating to be honest. As always, we will go back, look at where we can improve our performance and be back to fight again tomorrow.”

In Sunday’s round the Ma-Con Motorsports driver continued to demonstrate his outstanding racing ability, claiming his first podium of the season. Starting fifth for the race Liam got another good launch to put him in the lead fight. He was part of the freight train at the front of the field but had to drive a tactically smart race when the two cars in front of him started to battle hard for position. Liam gave them a bit of space and as predicted they took each other out of the race and Liam steered clear to avoid the incident.

Unfortunately, while this was playing out the two drivers in front opened a gap too large to close in the remaining minutes of the race to fight for a win. Kenney focused on an error-free run to the flag in the closing minutes to bring home a maiden podium finish in P3.

After the race a very jubilant Kenney commented on the drive: “I am absolutely overjoyed at my first podium in Europe. I had a great start and stayed in the lead group and finally had a bit of luck go my way as I was able to avoid the incident in front of me. It was very special today, on 4th of July weekend, because I could look into the stands and in the crowd at the podium ceremony and see people waving American flags. It was special.

“I’m also very happy for my team. We’ve worked very hard and they have given me great cars but we haven’t had the results that show how good we are. My engineer, Henry Shulze, and my coach, Gord Bentley and I have worked hard so I am hoping to build on this podium finish as we get ready for Nürburgring again. There is unfinished business there and I love the track and fans.”

Liam returns to the ADAC Formula Masters Championship competing at Germany’s famous Nürburgring Circuit, 21-23 August.

MazdaSpeed

The United Nations of Mazdaspeed
18 Countries Represented At Mazda Formula X Weekend
IRVINE, California (June 19, 2009) --  Over the past decade Mazda has become the dominant force in grassroots road racing. Expanding upon that core base of club racers, Mazda developed the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Driver Development Ladder. The ladder allows talented young racers to advance to the next level based upon skills and results, not their ability to write a big check.

The ladder includes four Mazda exclusive series:

• The Cooper Tires Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda
• The Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear
• SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup
• BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda.

For the first time in 2009, all four series shared a race weekend – Formula X presented by Cooper Tires at the New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP). Each of the four series held a pair of races in the Garden State this past weekend. On Friday evening, prior to the races, all 84 competing drivers, representing 18 different nationalities, gathering for a class photo.

In addition to strong attendance at the track, the Atlantic, Star, and MX-5 Cup races were broadcast live on HDNet in unique three-hour flag-to-flag shows on both Saturday and Sunday.

On the previous weekend the new Mazda Coupes raced at La Sarthe in the most prestigious sports car race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition to the enthusiastic comments by the drivers, notable among them Chris Dyson whose Dyson Racing team runs identical cars in the American Le Mans Series, there was much comment by SPEED Channel announcers and Radio Le Mans about the commitment Mazda and Mazdaspeed has made to racing, not only all over America but overseas.

If you drive a Mazda, check the internet for a car club and watch for a Mazda Corral at a track near you. At the track we say “Mazda: the car that comes with built-in friends!”

FIA-GT

24 Hour Nürburgring Race Exhilarating for Andreas Wirth
By Gail Shankland
Photo © Autosport Inc.
HEIDELBERG, Germany (May 26, 2009) – On the heels of BMW ALPINA’s announcement last week that Andreas Wirth would join their line up, the team packed their tools and whisked their racing machines away to the Nürburgring where the team would field two BMW ALPINA B6 GT3’s in the 37th running of the ADAC Zurich 24h race at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Nicknamed “The Green Hell” by Jackie Stewart, the Nürburgring Nordschleife is widely considered the toughest, most dangerous and most demanding race track in the world – what better place for an eager young driver like Wirth to get his feet wet in his very first 24 hour race!

With a starting line up that included 173 sports cars from twelve renowned automakers, Wirth and the ALPINA team proudly made their presence known - a small team among giants. The #26 BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 crew of Franz Engstler, Patrick Bernhardt, Andreas Wirth and ALPINA Team Boss Andreas Bovensiepen qualified their brand new race car with a time of 8minutes 47seconds on the 25.4km long Nordschleife, earning them a well-deserved starting position of 11th place.

Commenting on the weekend, Wirth began, “It was a very exciting weekend! The 24h of the Nürburgring is a huge event – it’s like nothing you’ll ever see. The fans are having a lot of fun, and every grandstand is full-full, the straights and fields and corners around the track – they’re all full, and as a driver, that makes the atmosphere even more amazing – very impressive.”

“The Nordschleife is a very challenging track, and I hadn’t driven there a lot before this. There are a lot of blind corners, so during my first stint on the first couple of laps I was being really cautious, but then it got fun as I got into a rhythm and flow, and I learned a lot!

Remarking on the 24 hour aspect of the event Wirth said, “It’s a totally different experience, but very cool. I knew it was going to be a challenge, but it’s really hard. Just knowing when to eat and rest and sleep ... or try to sleep. All these things add a completely different dimension – it’s very different. But most challenging is racing in the dark! Going into those blind corners at night at 200km/hr or more in complete darkness, plus all of the smoke from the race fans camping in the woods around the track with huge campfires, barbecues and fireworks – you couldn’t see a thing! There were a lot of different things to worry about, but it was really cool!”

“Overall my stints went well,” concluded Wirth, “We had some bad luck with blown rear tires and a problem with a wheel bearing, but we fought our way back and were doing pretty well again near the end. I managed to make up four positions in my last stint and we were overall 13th and running right behind the favourites. Unfortunately we had problems with the differential and had to pit to change it which took over an hour, leaving us to finish 27th. That’s just one of those things though – it’s nobody’s fault. For us it wasn’t a very lucky race, but we’ve gained a lot of experience in a lot of things and on the car. I feel bad for our guys because they worked really hard just to have the car ready for the race. The first time the 26 saw a race track was when they rolled it out for practice this weekend – I think that says a lot for this team and what ALPINA can do. We were pretty disappointed because we came so close to a much better finish – but this was a huge accomplishment and I’m pretty proud of it.
After an exciting 24 hours of challenging racing the #26 BMW ALPINA B6 GT3 and her sister car crossed the finish line together with feelings of deep emotion and great accomplishment. With 135 laps - 3,429kms behind them, this little team with huge potential was greatly rewarded knowing they endured 24h of the Nürburgring – no small feat for the #26 on her maiden journey or for Andreas Wirth in his first 24 hour race.

In less than two weeks time, on June 7th, 2009 Andreas will compete in the GT Masters Series at Hockenheim-Ring in Germany. For complete details visit www.GTMasters.org
 

Drayson Racing Earns Best Le Mans Series Finish with 7th at Spa
News from Drayson Racing

Photos © Regis Lefebre
FRANCORCHAMPS, BELGIUM (May 11, 2009) - The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps seldom disappoints and Sunday's 1000Km de Spa was no exception. Drayson Racing came to the legendary track for the final Le Mans Series race prior to the 24 Heures du Mans with the focus to perform well at the Belgium facility and learn for Le Mans. They did both! Drivers Paul Drayson (London/Gloucestershire, UK) and Jonny Cocker (Guisborough, Yorks, UK) earned the team its best career Le Mans Series finish. The result bettered their first Le Mans Series outing, held at the Circuit de Cataluña in Barcelona, by one position taking seventh in GT2 class, 29th overall.

The race, scheduled for 1000Km/621.3 mile or six hours, never saw the clock expire. Unlike the first event of the season in Spain, the Belgium round finished just under the six hour time limit as the overall leaders took the chequered flag on lap 143, nearly ten minutes ahead of the maximum time allowed.

The finish was not without its trials. Cocker got off to a dramatic start jumping from the team's seventh-place grid position to fifth before the conclusion of lap one. The Official Partner Team of Aston Martin Racing (AMR) held the position through its first of seven pit stops. They would drop a lap to the class leaders on the second stop. While they made ground up impressively, they were not able to overcome the lap deficit but never gave a position away to those near them either.

As challenging as the 7.003 Km/4.35 mile Spa course is, the weather is often more so. The rain, forecasted to come as soon as hour two, never materialized. Instead, warm and sunny conditions prevailed which proved another obstacle. The air conditioning unit in the car - used to lower the cockpit temperatures generated by the front-engine V8 - weakened towards the end of the race. Drayson, who had driven a long, two hours and 19 minutes during his first stint, had to race for nearly an hour in the growing temperatures of the cockpit of the closed sports car. All combined, Drayson's performance at the end of the nearly six hours of racing impressed and showed the programmes readiness for the grueling 24 hours around the longer and faster French circuit. Marino Franchitti (Edinburgh/London UK) will join Drayson and Cocker at Le Mans for the team's first visit to Le Mans, 13-14 June.

The team will now return to its Banbury, UK headquarters to make final preparations for France. The race will mark not only the team's 24 Hour but also the first Le Mans visit for Drayson and Cocker. Franchitti has one LM GT2 class start, coming in 2005, in the greatest sports car race in the world.

Formula Renault

Josh Scott Moves up to Third in Championship Fight
News from CRS Racing
THRUXTON, Great Britain (April 27, 2009) — Two solid race results for Josh Scott at Thruxton this weekend have elevated the CRS Racing driver to third place in the battle for the 2009 Formula Renault UK Championship.

The first qualifying session was hard for all the drivers as it took place on a dying track. The Australian racer was disappointed to only qualify in eighth place for race one but when the race began he took off like a rocket and was up four places by the end of lap one. With fourth place finishes in both the races Josh is now in a healthy position on the leader board.

“Josh drove very well this weekend,” said Team Director Andrew Kirkaldy. “He is a very good racer so we need to make him a very good qualifier too so he can take the top results.”

After finishing seventh in race one (from 10th on the grid) Harry Tincknell got it all together in the second race. Starting from third place he led for 16 laps of the 19-lap race and looked like he was heading for his first Formula Renault victory. On lap 17 he had a tussle with Jesse Krohn, the Finn coming off better, and Harry slipped to second. Momentary confusion with the timing system meant that Harry thought he was then on the last lap of the race so that when he crossed the line he backed off. Unfortunately there was still a lap to go so Dean Stoneman sailed past, taking second place. Harry quickly got going again and came home in third.

“Timing issues aside, Harry is having an incredible start to his season,” said Kirkaldy. “Out of four races he has led two, had fastest lap, pole position and two podiums. It’s actually a better start than Adam Christodoulou had in his rookie season.”

Formula Renault is where drivers really learn their craft. Lewis Williamson learnt about timing when he came in a minute before the end of first qualifying and ended up 13th. He drove will in race one though and made his way up to 10th for the finish. Race two was better. He started 10th and got all the way through the field until he found himself battling for fourth place with Josh (Scott) and Oli Webb. Going into the complex the young Scot got a wheel on the grass and that was all it took to send him into the wall. Lewis drove well this weekend; his troubles were all down to inexperience so he will improve quickly as he learns.

Andrew Kirkaldy had a novel solution to the drivers ‘timing issues’ this weekend. He went shopping and bought them all a Casio watch, which he then fixed to their steering wheels so they knew exactly when a session would end!

Mick Lyons had much better time in qualifying than he had at Brands Hatch. He started race one from 12th and was running well until he was taken out by another driver, under yellows! He had struggled again in qualifying for race two but made his way from 25th to 15th. It was a good drive from Mick but it shows how important it is to get qualifying right.

Matias Laine was the best of the CRS drivers in the first qualifying session, taking seventh on the grid. In race one he was lying fifth until he had a fuel pump problem that dropped him a place. Still, a good result for the Finn. For race two he had only qualified 16th so had to fight his way through and finished 11th.

All in all it was a positive weekend for CRS Racing. The rookie drivers still have a lot to learn but the more they learn the quicker they’ll go!

LMS

Audi “legends” to compete at the Nürburgring

Innovation

Michigan-made Deronda Type G racecar rates big with The Tonight Show's Jay Leno
News from Crystal Bay Communications
TRENTON, MI (February 26, 2009) -- Fielding phone calls from celebrities isn’t how David Moxlow, president of Trenton Forging and Deronda USA, typically spends his workdays. A recent Thursday was an exception, however, when Jay Leno phoned him to talk cars.

The popular host of The Tonight Show, a well-known auto aficionado, wanted information on the Deronda Type G, a street-legal, track-day racecar that Moxlow manufactures at his Trenton, Michigan facility in conjunction with Illinois-based Sirius Motorsports.

“We talked about the car, its performance, how our company got started, etc.,” said Moxlow.

Moxlow mentioned to Leno that he had tried to contact him last New Year’s Eve when the comedian had a scheduled appearance in nearby Windsor, Ontario. Moxlow wanted to invite Leno over to test-drive the car.

Although they didn’t connect then, Leno expressed interest in driving the Deronda during the phone call so Moxlow arranged for his shop foreman to transport the car from Michigan to Burbank, California. Burbank is home to Leno’s famous “Big Dog Garage,” a 17,000 square foot facility that houses his vast collection of cars spanning a 100 years of automotive history.

An experienced auto mechanic and driver, Leno got behind the wheel of the Deronda and tested the racecar’s performance on the streets of Burbank. He took full advantage of the car’s swift zero to 60 in under four seconds’ acceleration and demonstrated its agility and strength on turns.

He liked the car said Chris Trapp, Deronda USA shop foreman, who rode shotgun with Leno.

“He said the car handled well, had plenty of power and the ride was really smooth.”

For Trapp, it was a memorable experience to drive around southern California with an icon like Leno. While Trapp remains mum about details concerning speed, he shared a few anecdotes that further exemplify Jay Leno’s renowned reputation as an “ordinary guy.”

“We drove to a local gas station and everyone that worked there knew him.”
While Leno fueled up the car and showed it off to the staff, Trapp noticed the other people at the pumps “drooling” over the car.

Moxlow and the entire Deronda USA crew are excited by the opportunity to bring a little Hollywood to Trenton, Michigan and talk shop with Jay Leno. They welcome the high-profile exposure his interest brings to their car.

“He is a great "car guy" and really down to earth,” said Moxlow. “I’ll be going to Burbank to meet Jay myself and pick the car up in the next few weeks.”

“Incredibly fast. A lot of fun. Raw power," are just a few of the positive attributes Leno used to describe the Deronda in a just released video posted on his website: www.jaylenosgarage.com

LMS

RML AD Group Braves Chilly Snetterton
News from RML
SNETTERTON, Great Britain (February 7, 2009) — Sub-zero temperatures and overnight snow were not enough to deter RML AD Group from carrying out a first shakedown of the team’s new Mazda-powered Lola B08/80 LMP2 Coupé. The two-day test at Snetterton was also an opportunity to finalise the car’s revised livery for the 2009 season, with Mazda’s distinctive corporate blue now a significant element of the familiar colour scheme.

The long-range forecast had threatened heavy snow for both days, but the team’s faith was rewarded with at least one perfect day. Wednesday was dry and bright, although bitterly cold, and Brazilian Thomas Erdos managed sessions in both the morning and afternoon. “Under the circumstances, we achieved some very good running, and the car looks gorgeous!” he said. “It was too cold to get any real warmth into the tyres, and they never felt as if they were biting the road, but we learned a great deal about the car. Now I’m just looking forward to being allowed to run at full throttle,” he grinned.

In addition to the new Mazda 2-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged engine, the car is also running the new-for-2009 aerodynamic package, revealed last week by Lola. “My experience with the engine has been very reassuring indeed,” observed Erdos. “It feels very responsive, picks up power earlier than the old engine, and then kicks out more torque. Bearing in mind we run a smaller restrictor this year, that’s very encouraging and a very positive first impression.”

Overnight snow and early-morning fog reduced Thursday to a half-day, with no running possible until half-one. “The conditions were very difficult, and we were forced to curtail the second day, but over the two days we’ve learned a lot about the new car, the engine and the modifications we’ve introduced over the winter, explained Team Manager Phil Barker. “It’s been very productive, and good to have this shakedown opportunity ahead of our next full test in a few weeks’ time, when we’ll hopefully have the benefit of warmer conditions.”

Recovering from a viral infection, AD Group CEO Mike Newton was unable to drive, but attended the test. “We have had a very encouraging first run with what is effectively a new car,” he said. “Due to the conditions, we were unable to complete all our planned running, but what we did accomplish was enough to resolve several preliminary installation issues, and make it a very worthwhile test.”

The team was particularly grateful to the circuit staff. “The guys at Snetterton were fantastic,” said Thomas Erdos. “They had the tractor out and brushed the entire circuit, and over the last two days they’ve worked so hard to make the track user-friendly. They tackled snow and ice and they made every effort to ensure the track was safe to drive. I’ve only got the highest praise for them. Fantastic.”
 

GARRA

Spirit of Daytona Racing Ready for Rolex 24 at Daytona
News from Guy Cosmo Racing

Photos © John Thawley
DAYTONA, Florida (January 24, 2009) — The Spirit of Daytona Racing No. 09 Porsche V8-powered Coyote will start the 47th Rolex 24 At Daytona from the eighth row after Guy Cosmo set a fast lap time of 1:42.475-seconds around the 3.65-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway. Cosmo will be sharing the driving duties with a triumvirate of motorcycle champions as Jeff Ward, Scott Russell, and Jason Pridmore will take on the Rolex 24 starting on Saturday afternoon in the AMA Motorcycle Team-liveried Coyote.

The fifteen-minute qualifying session set the top 20 positions for both the Daytona Prototype and GT Class grids, with the final qualifying spots up for grabs on Friday. The Rolex weekend is a home event for Spirit of Daytona Racing, and the team is looking to improve on their performance in the 2008 race event, which saw the team score the highest Porsche-powered finish in the Daytona Prototype class. With new faces in the car, and a new look outside of it, Spirit of Daytona is focused on doing well in the big battle over 24 hours starting on Saturday.

"The car is still not where we want it to be yet, but we made some solid strides again today," said Cosmo. "We're focused on having a car that is not only good over a long tire run, but also one that's good for all four drivers. So we might compromise a little on one-lap speeds, but at the end of the day that doesn't really matter for this race. We just need to be able to run lap after lap at a sustainable pace, so where we start really won't factor into that."

The lap time was over two and a half seconds faster than the team went in qualifying last year as the development program for the Coyote-Porsche V8 continues to increase pace.

"This is the first time we're racing with this new bodywork, so we are learning what the car likes and just trying to find a balance that's good for all four guys," said team owner Troy Flis. "We were hoping to be a little bit closer to the front with some of the times we did in practice, but we're happy to have made the progress that we have so far. The car has run like a train so we've been able to make good use of the track time we've had available and that's vital for us to be ready for Saturday. This race is a huge challenge, and we're just looking to get going, set a pace, and learn as much as we can."
 

FIA GT

Red, White & Blue...And Green!
News from CRS Racing
LEICESTERSHIRE, Great Britain (January 23, 2009) — The red, white and blue livery remains the same but CRS Racing is now a ‘green’ team after being awarded CarbonNeutral® status. Since the formation of CRS just over a year ago the team has been aware that it has a responsibility to be environmentally-efficient so, now that the pace has eased off a bit, CRS has taken the necessary steps to become a carbon neutral race team.

In addition to the obvious areas such as recycling waste, making sure power is used efficiently at the CRS Technical Centre and minimising emissions across the company’s operations, CRS is working with The CarbonNeutral Company to measure and reduce the team’s carbon emissions. This has been achieved through carbon offsetting which takes place via investment in climate friendly projects which include hydro and wind power initiatives across the globe. Every tonne of CO2 is ‘neutralised’ by a tonne saved somewhere else.

“We’re not doing this to be trendy and we’re certainly not about to start preaching to everyone about being eco-friendly,” said Team Principal Chris Niarchos. “This is about CRS, as a group of people, wanting to do the right thing. We all have a responsibility not to waste resources and we are pleased to be in a position to help others develop new ways of harnessing the power of nature.”

Sue Welland, Founder & Creative Director, The CarbonNeutral Company said, “Companies such as CRS are leading the way in their field by taking full responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint to ‘net zero’. Communicating what they have done will hopefully encourage others individually or collectively within companies to follow suit.”

All the CRS race cars will now display the CarbonNeutral® logo to demonstrate the team’s commitment to the environment.

LMS

Audi Sport is honoured for best teamwork
News from Audi Motorsport
Photos © Audi
 

INGOLSTADT (January 17, 2009) – In the 2008 season Audi won everything the brand had set its sights on: The Four Rings stood for the four victories in the DTM, the American Le Mans Series, the Le Mans Series in Europe and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in what has so far been its most successful racing season. Audi now received special recognition for its string of successes with the R10 TDI and the A4 DTM by the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA), an important organisation of the British motorsport industry.

At the "3rd European Cleaner Racing Conference" held at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham Audi received the "MIA Teamwork Award" for the best team performance in motorsport. Ulrich Baretzky, Head of Engine Development at Audi Sport at the Neckarsulm location, received the accolade on behalf of Audi Sport.

Some 500 guests attended the awards dinner at the British trade fair at which Baretzky as a member of an expert panel explained the technology transfer between motorsport and production vehicles at Audi. In the laudatory remarks read in the presence of the British Minister of Science and Innovation, Lord Paul Drayson, the jury emphasised that Audi successfully completed all motorsport programmes of the 2008 season, thus having shown the strongest team performance in motorsport as well. Audi won the award, competing against nominated teams of renown, including – among others – teams from Formula 1.

"It fills us with particular pride to have received this international recognition by such a prestigious association," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich. "On the circuits as well as at the MIA awards presentation we prevailed against the strongest of rivals. This is a special honour for all who have had a part in Audi’s exploits."

In the past season the Audi A4 DTM and the Audi R10 TDI were fielded in a total of 28 races as part of the factory involvement. Timo Schneider with Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline celebrated the title in the DTM. Alexandre Prémat, Mike Rockenfeller and Audi Sport Team Joest won the Le Mans Series in Europe, Lucas Luhr, Marco Werner and the Champion team the American Le Mans Series. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Audi Sport Team Joest achieved the third consecutive Le Mans victory of the Audi R10 TDI.

In the 2009 season AUDI AG’s motorsport commitment again encompasses three pillars: With the new R15 the brand with the Four Rings will return to the starting grid at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the DTM with the A4 DTM. In addition, Audi – with the R8 LMS – for the first time offers a racing sports car that has been specially developed for use in customer sport.

Star Mazda

Andersen Racing Signs Kent
For 2009 Star Mazda Campaign
News from Restart Communications
PALMETTO, Fla., (Jan. 7, 2009) - Defending team champion Andersen Racing is pleased to announce that it will field a car for 20-year-old Richard Kent of Clifton Reynes, England in the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear.

Kent hopes he can begin the 2009 season just as he finished 2008. He stunned the series regulars last October at the 2008 season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., when he posted his first victory in the series in his initial start. Driving an Andersen Racing entry sponsored by Traka and Allied Interior Products, he led every lap of that race from the pole, which he'd won a few hours earlier by setting a new track record.

Kent had never driven at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca prior to that event. He's already tested with the Palmetto, Fla.-based team at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Fla., site of the 2009 Star Mazda season opener on March 20, the first day of spring.

"It's fantastic to be returning to Andersen Racing for 2009, following the success we had at Laguna Seca at the end of last season," Kent said. "I hope we can continue the form we showed at Laguna throughout the year in the Andersen Racing/Allied/Traka car."

"After his stellar performance at Laguna Seca, Richard was definitely a 'must-have' driver for Andersen Racing's 2009 squad," said team co-owner Dan Andersen. "We knew how good he was prior to Laguna, but if anyone had any doubts, he erased them in brilliant fashion. I'm very happy to have him on board for a full season. We believe he will be a front-runner for the driver championship from the first race."

Star Mazda
Tristan Vautier Claims His Second Victory of the Season in Round 3 Of The Star Mazda Championship VisitFlorida Cup at New Jersey Motorsports Park
News from Star Mazda
NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK (June 27, 2010) – Frenchman Tristan Vautier claimed his second victory of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear driving the #38 Andersen Racing / Moulin TP / Cecibon / Circuit du Laquais Mazda in Round 3 of the VISITFLORIDA Cup at New Jersey Raceway Park. Starting from the outside of the second row, he took the lead from pole-sitter Conor Daly's #22 Juncos Racing / INDECK / The College Network / Merchant Services Ltd. Mazda on the opening lap and led all the way to the checkered. Finishing 2nd - his third podium of the season -- after starting 8th in the #18 Team Apex / Wabash Capital Investments Mazda was Brazilian Joao Victory Horto. Rounding out the top-3 was Norwegian racer Anders 'The Viking' Krohn, scoring his third podium of the season in the #47 Andersen Racing / Norse Cutting & Abandonment / Trallfa / Colosseum Mazda. Krohn was holding tight to second place until the final lap when his gearbox stuck in 6th and Horto was able to pass.  --->MORE
 

 Star Mzda

Conor Daly Dominant with Flag-To-Flag Win From the Pole at Iowa Speedway
News from Star Mazda
NEWTON, Iowa (June 19, 1010) – Before a large and enthusiastic crowd of fans, Indianapolis native Conor Daly, riding the momentum of three straight wins joined an elite group of drivers with his fourth win in a row, leading flag-to-flag from the pole to dominate the second annual Star Mazda Pizza Ranch 100 at the 7/8ths-mile Iowa Speedway. He extends his lead in the championship battle to 216 points. -->MORE

Perfect Preparation for Le Mans
News from RML Ad Group
Photos © Peter May/Dailysportscar
SPA FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (May 9, 2010) — The 2010 Spa 1000 Kilometres may earn its place in the history books for its unique and very unusual half-time break, caused by a regional power failure, but RML AD Group will look back on the event as having been the perfect dress rehearsal for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. Finishing second in LMP2 under particularly difficult circumstances could prove to be the ideal tonic for the team’s morale, and sets Mike Newton, Thomas Erdos and Andy Wallace on course for a shot at this season’s Le Mans Series LMP2 title. -->MORE

LMS
Chaos Reigns at Spa
News from CRS Racing
SPA FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (May 9, 2010) — CRS Racing finished a chaotic Spa 1000kms in sixth and 15th positions respectively for Kirkaldy/Mullen and Ehret/Quaife/Kaffer. The No.91 Ferrari of Kirkaldy and Mullen was leading the race when a power cut hit Spa after just one and a half hours of racing. In an event peppered with safety cars, confusion reigned supreme and the final result will be debated for a long time to come.

Tim Mullen and Pierre Kaffer both had good starts when the race got underway at 1130hrs. They ran steadily in third and fourth places while all the early race drama was reserved for the LMP cars that seemed to be going off all over the place. The tricky conditions were down to light rain falling during the opening phase of the race and another LMP car going off just ten minutes shy of the one-hour mark brought the safety car out for a second time. CRS took the opportunity to pit both cars so when the race went green again Andrew Kirkaldy was at the wheel of the No.91 Ferrari and Kaffer was still in No.90 to complete a double stint.

“It wasn’t raining too much,” said Mullen. “The unfortunate thing though was that it was wettest at Eau Rouge. Pierre and I were closely matched throughout the stint, with him quicker than me in some parts and me faster than him in others.”

One and a half hours into the race the trouble began for the No.90 Ferrari. Contact with a BMW left Kaffer with a damaged radiator so he had to pit for repairs. Kirkaldy meanwhile was going great guns in No.91 and was leading the race.

At the two-hour mark Kirkaldy was still in the GT2 lead and Pierre Ehret was strapped into the repaired No.90 Ferrari, ready to rejoin the race. Just as he headed out onto the track the race was red-flagged.

A local power cut had disabled the timing systems at Spa a few minutes earlier and it was decided that the race would have to stop until the problem was fixed. Ehret had only just joined so he was okay but Kirkaldy was due for a pit stop as he was almost out of fuel. When the race eventually re-started over 30 minutes later everyone crossed their fingers, hoping that Kirkaldy would have enough fuel to make it around to the pit lane.

“At the restart I could barely get up the hill at Eau Rouge,” he said. “Once I made it to the top I stuck it in sixth gear and cruised around the lap so I used as little fuel as possible.”

Tim Mullen jumped into the No.91 car whilst Pierre Ehret continued his run in No.9o after having to stop briefly again to finish off the repair job.

With three hours of the race left to run, Tim Mullen was running in fourth place, after losing a little time when he got a stop-go penalty for crossing the line at Eau Rouge. At the end of his stint he handed back over to Kirkaldy, who had a good run up to third place before Mullen jumped in again for the final hour.

Phil Quaife meanwhile had a good run on the No.90 Ferrari, although the car was well down the order after its trip to the pits earlier in the race.

“It seems that we also suffered damage to the front splitter so our aero was affected,” explained Quaife. “I was getting more and more understeer as I went on which in turn hurts the tyres so it was quite hard work. I had a few good battles out there but there was no point taking any risks in the position we were in. It was all about getting miles under our belt and bringing it home for the team.”

There will be a lot written about Spa in the days to come and it will be remembered as the race where the lights went out.

“There is still a lot to be debated about this race,” said CRS Managing Director Mark Busfield. “It might be a late night though as every time we go to Race Control there is a very long queue!”

After completing six race weekends on the trot, from Formula Renault to Open GT and the Le Mans Series, the CRS Racing team is heading home for a well-earned weekend off.

LMS

Strakka Blitz Ricard
Photos © Strakka Racing
LE CASTELLET (April 11, 2010) — The Strakka Racing trio of Jonny Kane, Nick Leventis and Danny Watts scored an emphatic win in the opening round of the 2010 Le Mans Series, taking the team’s Honda Performance Development (HPD) ARX-01c from pole to chequered flag victory in the inaugural Paul Ricard 8 Hours.

It was a dominant performance that clinched all the accolades. “To turn up for Round 1, our first race in LMP2 after the move from LMP1, and secure pole, fastest lap, a race win, the championship lead - and the Michelin Green X Challenge – is simply beyond all our expectations,” said a delighted Danny Watts. “It’s absolutely brilliant!” --->MORE

LMS
CRS Racing at Ricard: What A Way to Start!
Photos © CRS Racing
LE CASTELLET (April 11, 2010) — The first event of the 2010 Le Mans Series provided enough excitement for a whole season of GT racing. CRS came away with a fourth place finish for the No.90 Ferrari, driven by Pierre Ehret, Phil Quaife and Pierre Kaffer. The No.91 car of Andrew Kirkaldy and Tim was in contention for a top result. It ultimately retired with a driveshaft failure but not before providing a lot of entertainment.

At the halfway mark Tim Mullen was running in second place and had just set his fastest time of the race. He was due in for a pit stop where he would be given fuel only as the plan was to double-stint his tyres in order to take a bite out of the race-leading Porsche’s advantage. The trouble is, he never made it to the pits. The team had lost radio contact with Tim so when the driveshaft problem struck he was unable to tell the pit crew what had happened.

“It happened as I was coming onto the back straight,” explained Mullen. “I managed to crawl around to turn ten but then there is a slight incline so I couldn’t go any further. It's a real shame as the car has been mega this weekend.”

In the meantime Phil Quaife was having a very competitive second stint. He caught and passed Ragginger’s Porsche, getting right into the groove this time around.

“I felt at home in the car right away this time,” said Quaife. “I’ve got my head around racing with prototypes now. I know what to expect and it all felt better from the moment I left the pit lane. The car ran faultlessly so I was very happy.”

Quaife came in and handed over to Pierre Kaffer who during his stint moved the No.90 Ferrari all the way up to third place.

Pierre Ehret was the next man in and he too put on a great show, holding his nerve when he was hit by a prototype, which punctured his front right tyre, forcing him to pit early.

“That hit lost us a lot of time,” said Ehret. “The fourth place finish is a fantastic result for us though. Phil and Pierre did a fabulous job, as did the entire team. It’s a great way to start the season!”

It was Kaffer’s stunning final stint that secured fourth place for the team. He was steadily catching Russo’s Ferrari and then with just 15 minutes remaining it started to rain. As the team watched with baited breath he took a massive chunk out of Russo’s lead and quickly passed him for fourth, bagging a good haul of championship points for CRS.

“It has been a great start to the season as CRS begins its inaugural LMS participation,” said CRS Managing Director Mark Busfield. “The team worked very well this weekend to get the cars on the pace and secure a good result for the first race. I think our performance showed a lot of promise. We’ve enjoyed our weekend and we have made some great new friends within the Le Mans Series so roll on Spa for the next installment of LMS action!”

AND ONTO THE NEXT ONE…

The CRS Racing team heads straight to Spain now for the first rounds of the International GT Open in Valencia. Tim Mullen is racing for CRS in both the Le Mans Series and the GT Open so this is a busy period for him.

“I’m off home now for a night then back on the road again as we have a test in Valencia on Wednesday,” said Tim. “The GT Open car is great fun to drive; it has a slightly different specification to the Le Mans series car but you get used to it very quickly and it has more power which is always good. There are some really good drivers in this championship and I hope Chris and I can do well and fight for championship.”

Tim’s team-mate is of course CRS Team Principal, Chris Niarchos, making his return to racing after winning the 2009 Citation Cup. In the sister CRS Ferrari, Klaas Hummel is making the move up to GT2 (or Super GT as it is called in GT Open) and he will race as normal with Chris Goodwin.
 

The Hungaroring track has been much in the news recently as it is where Ferrari F1 driver, Felipe Massa, was injured. The circuit has been described as ‘Monaco without the armco’ as it is very tight and twisty, but it also has a habit of producing some epic races.  A repeat performance of 2006 would be just the ticket for the CRS drivers.

“Up until Spa we hadn’t had a race weekend where everything came together well,” commented CRS Team Director, Andrew Kirkaldy. “It was great to be on the pace at Spa and come away with some good points and a podium.  We’re at the halfway point of the season now and no-ne has a particularly big lead so we have everything to play for. It will be interesting to see how quick the Porsches are with the new penalty but from our point of view if we can leave Budapest with another good haul of points we’ll be a very happy team.”

TELEVISION COVERAGE: The Budapest round of the FIA GT Championship will be shown on Motors TV on Sunday 30 August. It’s a delayed transmission, starting at 1600hrs BST. Please check listings on the day.

  Star Mazda
Alex Ardoin takes Top Step in Star Mazda Blast at Trois-Rivières
Daring Pass on Rusty Mitchell on Final Restart Rules
By Kate Shaw

Photos © Jamie Longmuir 2009

TROIS-RIVIÈRES, Quebec (August 16, 2009) — The smart money, as they call it, might have been evenly split between Irishman Peter Dempsey, who has won three of his last four races, and Rusty Mitchell (No. 66 Mitchell Motorsports/Motorola), who turned in his best qualifying effort ever this weekend. But smart money is no match for smart, determined drivers, and this weekend it was Alex Ardoin (No. 51 JDC Motorsports/Oral & Facial Surgery Center/Twister Trailer) who, with a daring pass on the final restart, took the top step at the fortieth running of the Grand Prix du Trois-Rivières on Sunday morning. Mitchell followed in P2 and Joel Miller (No. 2 Anderson Racing/Fader Higher Productions/eSoles/Doug Mockett & Co.) took P3. Local phenomenon Mikaël Grenier (No. 17 Anderson Racing/NAPA Auto Parts/CAA-Quebec/HS Telecom) overcame persistent electrical problems and catapulted from 19th place to finish fourth. Adam Christodoulou (No. 11 JDC Motorsports/Molecule/Alpinestars) rounds out the Fast Five.

“I have to thank JDC Motorsports,” said an emotional Ardois, “the best team out there. We have had lots of bad luck and it feels really good to bring them this win today. I have been looking forward to this race since the season began; the welcome we receive from the fans and everyone in attendance is overwhelming! We had a good car today and although passing is difficult here, I studied Rusty’s style and noticed he checked up a little before Turn 1, so when I got a good run out of 10 on the restart, I stuffed [my car] down the inside and hoped it would stick, and it worked.”

Mitchell, who set a new track record for the Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear (1.01.341), eclipsing the record set last year by Peter Dempsey, set a blistering pace all during the race; however, several yellow flags hampered his rush to the top step, and a small misfire earlier in the race occupied some of his attention too. “I thought there would be a yellow at Turn 1,” he admitted, which might have explained the check-up alluded to by the race winner. “I hope they get it sorted out the way the results should be, but no matter what, I’m really happy with the race this weekend. This whole weekend is down to the team’s performance and the work they did on this Motorola Mazda. They had to change two engines and put in so much work. My engineer Steve had this car perfect for me all weekend long.”

“What a race!” said Joel Miller, who finished third today. “I ran behind Alex [Ardoin] waiting for a chance when the yellows bunched us up, but he didn’t make any mistakes. This has been a turnaround year for me; I am super-grateful to be here. I especially thank Yancy my engineer and Claudia my chief mechanic – and most especially Anderson Racing, my team. They are the authors of my success today.”

This was the seventh race of the Star Mazda Championship, which moves on in two weeks time to their second Canadian stop, the fabled Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario, a track as different from Trois-Rivières tight and twisty street circuit as the drivers could imagine. A long, looping natural road course with its own weather system that frequently (make that usually) hosts rain, Mosport will be a challenge for the speedy guys in the Star Mazda Championship. But events today have shown that they are up to it and we look forward to bringing you coverage of their next race. Don’t miss a minute of it, because in the Star Mazda Championship a minute is a very long time.
 

Star Mazda Storms Over 40th Grand Prix De Trois-Rivières
Grenier to perform for local fans
Source: Peter Frey (Bstorm2000@aol.com )
TROIS-RIVIÈRES (August 11, 2009) -- With four races remaining on the schedule and fifteen of the series' 25 regular drivers still mathematically in contention for the championship, the battle for supremacy in this weekend's 40th annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières – Round 9 of the 13-race 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear – will be especially fierce.

Carrying the flag for the Quebec racing fans will be Mikaël Grenier, a 16-year old 'phenom' who started racing at age 5, won multiple karting championships and scored six podium finishes in last year's intensely competitive Formula BMW Americas series. Living in Stoneham, Quebec, this high school student has confirmed his talent with a pair of podium finishes and two top-10s so far in the 2009 Star Mazda Championship. Grenier will drive the #17 Andersen Racing / NAPA Auto Parts / CAA-Quebec / HS Telecom Mazda for one of the top teams in the series – and with a fellow countryman, Rémi Lanteigne (a native of Trois-Rivières) engineering his single seater.

Sunday's starting grid will feature the deepest and most diverse talent pool in years with drivers from ten countries. Leading the pack currently, with a convincing dominance, – the Irish Steamroller – is championship leader Peter Dempsey, winner of the GP3R event in 2008. In 2009, with four races to go, he has already won four events, including the most recent three in a row.

One other driver has won two races and showed dominant form early in the season, Englishman Adam Christodoulou, the 2008 European Formula Renault champion, won the season-opener at Sebring, won from the pole at Salt Lake City and has four podium finishes. He is 2nd in the championship, just 19 points behind Dempsey.

Also having scored wins this season are Englishman, Richard Kent, Scandinavian racer Anders Krohn and the American son of an Irish racing legend, Conor Daly. Kent drives the #33 Andersen Racing Mazda, he started from the pole and finished second at Sebring and won from the pole in New Jersey; Anders Krohn, the 2008 FF2000 champion, scored his first-ever Star Mazda victory on the Milwaukee Mile oval driving the Team Mundill #27. Conor Daly, son of racing legend Derek Daly, was the 2008 Skip Barber Pro Series champion and became a MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development scholar with Andersen Racing. Daly is 3rd in the championship with a win from the pole in New Jersey and three podium finishes.

On-track Star Mazda Championship action in the 40th Annual GP3R begins with two practice sessions of Friday, August 14 (12:30 pm to 1:10 pm and 5:35 pm to 6:15 pm). Qualifying will take place on Saturday, August 15 from 10:30 am to 11:15 am. The exciting, F1-style standing start that begins each 45-minute Star Mazda Championship race is scheduled to take place at 11:15am on Sunday, August 16.

Ten of the top drivers in the series are part of the Star Mazda / Racing for Kids program that arranges visits by racing drivers to children at local hospitals. Racing for Kids (www.racingforkids.org) and its professional race drivers have visited more than 20,000 children over the years and raised more than $5-Million for Children's Hospitals around the world. Star Mazda drivers will visit the Centre Hospitalier Regional de Trois Rivières on Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 13:00.

On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle. At the track, you’ll see MX-5 Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and other vintage Mazda models competing, because every Mazda has the Soul of a Sports Car. More information is available at www.starmazda.com

FIA GT

First 24-Hour Podium for CRS Racing
News and photos from CRS Racing
SPA FRANCORCHAMPS (July 26, 2009) — Andrew Kirkaldy, Rob Bell, Peter Kox and Antonio Garcia finished in third place in the 2009 Spa 24 Hours today, taking CRS Racing’s first ever 24-hour podium finish. With the sister Ferrari of Chris Niarchos, Tim Mullen, Phil Quaife and Chris Goodwin also finishing well in sixth place, the CRS team stands firm in second place in the 2009 FIA GT GT2 Team’s Championship.

Everything ran smoothly for CRS after a few teething troubles yesterday. In the early hours of this morning especially the team was running like clockwork. The only problem came at 1045hrs when Rob Bell had to bring the No.56 Ferrari into the garage to have its starter motor repaired, just as the No.55 car needed last night. The team turned the car around in just 11 minutes, even making other repairs to the tailgate at the same time. Considering their tiredness it was a fantastic achievement.

From that point the name of the game was to stay on the track and fight for points. The final hour of the race though was agonising for the team as the No.56 Ferrari developed a problem with its gearbox. With no time to change it the decision was taken to brim it with oil and hope it hung on until the chequered flag. It did but Peter Kox had a real handful, having to drive in just fifth gear!

“That was a difficult race for us but we got there in the end,” said Andrew Kirkaldy. “We had a very strong driver line-up and we were quick throughout the race. We had our problems at the beginning but that’s the way it goes with 24-hour races. The podium is great and it’s good for our championship. I want to say a big thank you to the crew who turned the car around very fast for us every time we came into the pits.”

“Andrew said we had a few small problems but I would say they were bigger than that as I drove the last two hours of the race in fifth gear!” explained Peter Kox. “It was a great pleasure for me to drive the Ferrari 430. Antonio (Garcia) and I were here as the third and fourth drivers, with a goal to help the team score points. We achieved that so I am very happy.”

Speaking on behalf of the No.55 crew, Chris Niarchos said: “We had a great run through the night and made back a lot of the places we lost when we changed our starter motor yesterday. After a fraught start we had a smooth race that all four of us thoroughly enjoyed. It’s fantastic that the other car got on the podium. Of course we would have loved to have joined them up there but as a team effort it was a great day.”
 

Night Falls at Spa
News and photos from CRS Racing
July 25th, 2009 (10:00 p.m.) — The 2009 Spa 24 Hours is well underway and the racing is as hard as ever. Tim Mullen and Andrew Kirkaldy took the start for CRS Racing, both getting away cleanly, but they both suffered with tyre issues in their opening stints which has lost a fair amount of time. Everything is running smoothly now though and there is still a very long way to go. Night is falling at Spa and the Ardennes is producing some of it’s best mist and rain so, with the constantly changing conditions, the teams are having to remain on full alert as the race goes into the night.

Chris Niarchos took over from Tim Mullen after just over two hours of racing and put in a fine drive before handing over to Chris Goodwin.

“We clearly had an issue with the tyres in the opening stint,” said Niarchos. “Once we changed them for a new set Tim’s times immediately went up by four seconds a lap. I jumped in once Tim had completed a double stint and I was able to maintain a good pace, just one and a half seconds off the leaders. Spa then did what it does best and it poured down!”

As he came around the next turn, Chris looked up and saw a wall of water coming down so he made a very early and very accurate call for wet tyres, coming straight into the pits at the first opportunity. As Chris came in the safety car went out as ex-F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve had a sizeable accident in the wet conditions. At the restart Chris had the leaders behind as the safety car had bunched everyone up again. He let them through then got on with the rest of his stint, putting in some good lap times.

“By this point the track was drying,” said Chris. “But I had to stay out until I needed fuel. My pace fell off a bit towards the end as the wets got destroyed by the drying track but we didn’t lose too much time.”

Chris Goodwin then jumped into the No.55 Ferrari but before he could leave the pits the car’s starter motor failed and he was pushed back into the garage. Rather than jump-start the car the team decided to take the time to change the starter motor so that the problem wouldn’t be repeated at every subsequent stop.

Ferrari No.56 has had a good run so far, albeit below where it should be after losing time in the opening stint. Andrew Kirkaldy had the same improvements as Tim Mullen once he changed his first set of tyres. He then handed over to Rob Bell.

“The car felt good during my run,” said Rob. “We still seem to be down a bit in terms of straight line speed but overall we are doing okay. The rain that came three hours into the race left us with no choice than to come in for wets but everyone did the same so that was alright.”

Peter Kox was up next in No.56. The Dutchman was one of the first to go back to slicks and he put in a storming drive before handing over to Antonio Garcia.

It's 10pm now and we are at the quarter distance mark. Antonio is on track in No.56. He’s bang on the pace and he’s currently running in seventh position. Phil Quaife is in No.55, running in ninth. The CRS Ferraris are going to continue the fight back up the order through the night…

CRS Reveals Two Strong Squads For Spa 24 Hours
News and photos from CRS Racing
Spa Francorchamps (July 10, 2009) — The longest, toughest race on the FIA GT calendar is fast approaching and CRS Racing has two top driver squads in place for the 2009 Total 24 Hours of Spa.

Nobody would bet against a good result for the driving team in the No.56 CRS Ferrari 430. Joining the winning partnership of Andrew Kirkaldy and Rob Bell are two of the world’s top sportscar drivers, Antonio Garcia and Peter Kox.

“There is no official test day at Spa this year so we need drivers who can jump straight into the car and be quick,” explained CRS Team Director, Andrew Kirkaldy. “Antonio has lots of experience of the Ferrari from Team Modena and he has won the GT1 class at Le Mans for the last two years, so he fits the bill perfectly. Peter is a fantastic driver; we have tried to work with him before but he was busy so we’re pleased he will be with us at Spa. I think between the four of us there is no reason not to expect a very good result.”

CRS Ferrari No.55 also has a team of four very strong drivers at Spa with Phil Quaife and Chris Goodwin joining Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen.

“Just like last year when we took James Sutton to Spa, we are pleased to give this opportunity to one of our GT3 drivers, Phil Quaife,” said Chris Niarchos, the CRS Team Principal. “Phil has done a great job for the team so far this year; I know he is looking forward to sampling Spa in a GT2 Ferrari and I know he will be quick. Chris Goodwin was an obvious choice for me. He is a vastly experienced driver who is already part of the team. Together we are a strong team and we have every chance of a top result at Spa this year.”

The 2009 Total 24 Hours of Spa is effectively a 24-hour sprint race as the traditional points at the six-hour and 12-hour mark have been scrapped. All the points will be scored at the end of the 24-hours. The race takes place in two weeks’ time on 25/26 July.

 Formula Renault

First Formula Renault Win for Josh Scott
News and photos from CRS Racing
SILVERSTONE, England (July 5, 2009) — CRS Racing’s Josh Scott delivered an emphatic lights-to-flag victory on Sunday morning at Silverstone. Unfazed by the capacity crowd around the Grand Prix Circuit, the Aussie driver cruised to the race win after taking pole position for the first of the weekend’s two races.

“I got a clean start and was able to build a clear gap,” said Josh. “At about the halfway mark the safety car came out and, although I lost the gap, I had the chance to cool the car down and give the tyres a rest. I got a good jump at the restart and other than going a bit wide into Priory on one lap I had a clear run to the flag. James (Calado) kept me honest but there’s no way he was coming past.”

Josh recently commented that the level of competition has increased in Formula Renault this year and as a second year driver he wanted to be higher up the rankings.

“It’s an amazing to get my first Formula Renault win,” he said. “The pressure has been on me as I’m not where I want to be in the championship. I really needed to turn my season around here and hopefully this is it...the turning point. It was great to do it at such a great track and in front of a fantastic crowd.”

In the second of today’s races, Josh started from sixth place on the grid and finished sixth. That doesn’t tell the full story though as he had some fantastic battles, swopping places for fourth, fifth and sixth throughout the race.

After a tough time in race one that saw him go from 11th on the grid to 12th at the finish, Harry Tincknell put it all right in race two, which he started from 15th place.

“I got a great start off the line and took a couple of places straight away,” said Harry. “There was a bit of carnage in front of me but I managed to avoid all of that. The car was fantastic through the quick corners at the start of the lap and I was able to push really hard. I got up to tenth behind Matias (Laine) and had a look a few times as we went into Stowe before I managed to get the slipstream down the Hangar Straight and lunged at him, taking ninth. I passed Blomstedt when he made a mistake and that was me in eighth place for the finish. I must say the first eight laps of that race were the best racing laps I have had this year; it was great!”

This was Lewis Williamson’s first race meeting at the Silverstone Grand Prix track so it was a learning experience for the young Scot.

“In the first race this morning I just couldn’t get to grips with the car through the fast corners at the start of the lap so we made a few changes for race two. This was going okay but then I got boxed in at Vale and had to take to the grass. I lost a few places but managed to pass quite a few cars to get back up to 13th.”

Matias Laine has had a very busy weekend as he was also running in the Formula Renault Eurocup races at Silverstone. He struggled to get the best out of the car but managed to salvage two finishes in 10th and 11th place. Mick Lyons had a very hard time in race one when he dropped from 21st to 27th but finished in 19th for race two.

The Formula Renault runners have a bit of down time now as there is a month-long gap in the calendar before racing resumes at Snetterton on 2 August.

 

CRS Formula Renault Silverstone Preview
SILVERSTONE (June 29, 2009) — The Formula Renault UK Championship rolls into Silverstone this weekend for the biggest race meeting of the season. The CRS Racing drivers are all excited about racing on the world-famous Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit, which is a firm favourite with all of them. This event forms part of the popular World Series by Renault which regularly sees capacity crowds so the drivers will have to maintain their focus throughout the weekend.

The team made good progress at last week’s Snetterton test so Silverstone will give them their first opportunity to make the most of developments. One other factor to take into account is the weather. Will the current heat wave run into the weekend? Or will it break and make for a very wet Silverstone?

Here are the thoughts of the CRS racers in the build-up to Silverstone:

“I was quite pleased with how the Snetterton test went,” said Harry Tincknell. “The weather was good and this allowed us to do a lot of testing over the two days. I think both my driving and car set up improved a lot and I ended up third fastest in the afternoon session on Thursday. It will be great to be back racing on the GP circuit at Silverstone because we don’t get a lot of running there. The track is another one of my favourites; taking corners like Copse, Maggots and Bridge at over a 100mph is a real buzz! At the official test there I was only a second off on old tyres and, with the track being so long, if I can reproduce that sort of form I hopefully should be right up there when we go out on new tyres for qualifying. The atmosphere this weekend should be really good with an expected crowd of over 150,000 people throughout the event but I will treat it as just another meeting. I led the race and came second in front of a sell-out crowd at Oulton Park a couple of rounds ago so I know I will be able to handle the extra pressure. Hopefully the sun will be shining and I will be able to put on a good show for the crowd and my sponsors who will be in attendance this weekend.”

“The test at Snetterton went really well for me,” said Josh Scott, “especially as I was P1 for most of the morning on the second day. We have taken a good step forward and this has put me in great spirits for the races at my favourite track on the calendar. I think we could do very well on the GP circuit. At this race last year I was running third until the second to last lap when I had a gearbox problem and slipped to fourth, so I am quietly confident of a good result here. The spectator numbers do make a difference, especially when you are in the pits as it really heightens the experience. Having dealt with this last year and also at home in Australia, supporting the V8 Supercars, it doesn’t faze me. It just makes it more exciting!”

“We had a very productive test at Snetterton where we found a really good set-up for the car,” added Matias Laine. “Silverstone is going to be tough as I am also taking part in the Eurocup race but, after seeing what we could do at Snetterton, I’m really looking forward to this weekend.”

“I really can’t wait for this weekend,” said Lewis Wiliamson. “It will be great to race on the GP track in front of a full house and I think Formula Renault will really deliver for the spectators. I hope that I will be able to maintain a level of consistency this weekend and get two good race results as this will help me move up the points table. Time will tell!”

And Michael Lyons concluded, “I am looking forward to the opportunity to race at the World Series event on the GP circuit at Silverstone as it offers a rare opportunity to race on what is, in my opinion, one of the best circuits in the UK. In the weeks leading up to this event there was an official test at Snetterton where I was able to make some good improvements, showing some good speed, despite what the results may have showed. We had a few issues with the car, which have now been resolved so it’s all go for this weekend.”

In Memoriam

Services Set for SCCA Champion Tom Thrash
Photo © SCCA/Weber 2009
TOPEKA, Kan. (June 24, 2009) – Funeral services have been set for Championship-winning Sports Car Club of America driver Thomas B. Thrash Jr., of Houston, Texas, who died Saturday after a single-car incident during qualifying for the Chicago Region SCCA June Sprints at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

The cause of Thrash’s incident is still unconfirmed, although witness reports stated that he appeared to make no attempt to slow the car entering Turn Eight before leaving the track and impacting the tire wall. A member of Thrash’s team stated that the car had functioning brakes and steering after the incident.

A family representative said Monday that no further investigation would take place to determine the exact cause.

Thrash, 48, was the 2007 SCCA Club Racing National Champion in the E Production class and was believed by many to be the favorite for that title again this year in his Mazda RX-7.

Thrash is survived by his wife, Patty; daughters Haley Buck and Lesley Whitley; parents Thomas “Ben” Sr. and Joyce; and sisters Teresa Granhold and Michele Adams. A lifelong Texan, Thrash graduated from Houston’s Pearland High School and graduated from Texas A&M, class of 1983, where he was a member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. Thrash was a mechanical engineer and a partner at DTL Engineering.

Services for Thrash will be held at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77079. Visitation is scheduled for Friday, June 26 from 6-9 p.m., with the funeral Saturday, June 27 at 10 a.m.

The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the youth camp/ministry that Tom Thrash attended as a child and supported since. Donations can be made to R.B. Thieme Jr., Bible Ministries; PO Box 460829, Houston, TX 77056-8829 or visit http://www.rbthieme.org/
 

LMS

Déjà vu for RML AD Group in Spa
Photo credits: Images 1 & 3 - David Lord / Dailysportscar, Image 2- Peter May / Dailysportscar
FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (May 13, 2009) — A month after retiring from Round 1 of the 2009 Le Mans Series in Barcelona with engine problems, Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos in the RML AD Group Lola Mazda pulled out of Round 2 at Spa when a second engine failed to go the distance. Just as he had in Barcelona, Thomas Erdos drove a faultless first stint, and worked through to be running third in class from a pitlane start in under half an hour. There appeared to be every chance of challenging for a podium finish until, eight minutes into Mike Newton’s mid-race stint, the engine died.

The retirement came at the end of an arduous three days for Wellingborough-based RML. Fastest in class by the end of Friday free practice, the prospects had looked excellent, but a first-lap accident for Mike Newton on Saturday morning left the team with extensive repairs to complete and no chance of participating in qualifying.

This meant starting the race from the pitlane, but having been penalised ten positions on the grid for replacing the blown engine after Barcelona, starting the race from the back of the field hardly mattered. However, when thick fog forced the abandonment of official warm-up on Sunday morning, the drivers faced a six-hour race in a car that hadn’t turned a wheel since a ground-up rebuild. It was testament to the skill and meticulous work of the RML mechanics that the car was on the button from the moment the lights turned green.

One car spinning off on the warm-up lap, followed by a first-corner incident, brought out the safety car and allowed Tommy to catch up on the tail-enders before the restart. He then sliced through the 50-car field, taking half of them inside five laps and reaching third in LMP2 within half an hour. “The car was just such a delight to drive,” said Erdos. “It was handling perfectly, and even though I didn’t have the top-end speed of some of the others, it felt strong, and I could challenge. It’s just amazing what the team did, rebuilding the car completely in an afternoon, and then to have it perform so well without any time to test it was remarkable.”

Early in his second stint Tommy caught a patch of oil at Rivage and took to the gravel, but he and the team recovered well from that, and the Brazilian went on to set the car’s fastest lap just before handing over to Mike Newton. The CEO of AD Group would manage a mere four laps before the engine let go on the run up towards Les Combes. “We’re so disappointed for the guys that our race ended this way,” said a disconsolate Thomas Erdos. “After all their efforts, they deserved so much better than this.”

The depth of RML’s disappointment and frustration is emphasised by the undeniable potential of the team’s Lola Mazda Coupé. Setting fastest lap in free practice on Friday and battling through to third in class from the back of the field confirms that the car has the pace, but so far the engine reliability that brought two class wins at Le Mans in 2005 and 2006 eludes RML in 2009.

The team plans to introduce a series of additional track tests before heading for the Le Mans 24 Hours in June, and has little over four weeks to seek a way through the problem.

FIA-GT

First International Podium of the Year for CRS
News from CRS Racing
SILVERSTONE, England (May 3, 2009) — CRS Racing leaves Silverstone tonight with the first GT silverware of 2009 after Andrew Kirkaldy and Rob Bell finished today’s FIA GT race in third position. Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen finished in ninth place, which was no reflection of the great pace they showed in both the race and yesterday’s qualifying session.

Tim Mullen started the race in the No.55 Ferrari from third on the grid but the Ulsterman soon took second place, with Rob Bell not far behind in the No.56 CRS car, in fourth place. The positions remained unchanged for most of the first stint, until Tim radioed in just over half an hour into the race to say he had a problem with his power steering. He pitted soon after to hand over to Chris and the power-steering was reset before Niarchos took to the track.

Just before the halfway point of the race Bell pitted from third to hand over to Kirkaldy. Just as the Scot joined the race the safety car came out while a stricken car was cleared from the track. At this point Kirkaldy was fourth and Niarchos was 10th. With the safety car picking up the GT1 race leader, the GT2 field was split up and both CRS Ferraris lost out on time.

After the final pit-stops Bell was back out in No.56 and Mullen was running in No.55. An off for GT2 race leader Gianmaria Bruni boosted the positions of both CRS Ferraris with Bell taking the flag in third place and Mullen in ninth.

At the post-race press conference, Andrew Kirkaldy said: “This is going to be a tough year. Qualifying was incredibly close and a tiny amount of time made a big difference to grid positions. Having said that we made some good improvements to the car over the weekend. The guys did some great work for us and we’ve proved we are competitive. We definitely have a tough year ahead but it will be a great fight.”

Over in GT3, CRS finished the day as top Ferrari team when Phil Quaife and Robert Hissom brought their Ferrari 430 Scuderia home in 12th place. Chris Goodwin and Chris Niarchos also had a good run but their final result was scuppered by a seat-belt problem. The belts came loose at the end of Goodwin’s run so he pitted early and Niarchos headed out. Unfortunately Niarchos had to then pit again to fix the belts and too much time was lost to challenge for any results.

The CRS GT team will be back on track in two weeks’ time at Adria Raceway in Italy.

Let's Go Racing!
News from CRS Racing
SILVERSTONE (Apr 24th, 2009) — The long off-season is finally over as the FIA GT and FIA GT3 Championships race into action next weekend at Silverstone. It is going to be a busy weekend for CRS Racing, with many new challenges to face as the team adapts to running in two series in one race weekend.

In GT2 little has changed, apart from the level of ambition. Chris Niarchos and Tim Mullen team up again in GT2 Ferrari No.55, while Andrew Kirkaldy and Rob Bell are together in No.56. In terms of success, 2008 produced some top results for the fledgling CRS team, but in 2009 the team has its sights firmly set on the championship title.

“We want to win the FIA GT title this year,” said CRS Team Director, Andrew Kirkaldy. “We have as good a chance as anyone. The opposition are hard to read at the moment as we haven’t done much testing alongside them but judging by our performance towards the end of last season we are as quick as anybody!”

Kirkaldy also has a personal target at Silverstone: to get his fourth GT2 pole position in a row at this event. A stunning lap last year gave the Scot the hat trick but can he make it four-in-a-row next weekend?

The FIA GT3 Championship is new to CRS but the GT3 category isn’t. As the current British GT Team Champions, CRS knows a thing or two about GT3 racing. The team is thrilled to be running the brand new Ferrari 430 Scuderia, and with a top driver line-up has high expectations for some good results this year.

The pair of Scuderias will only arrive next week so the team will have to learn fast, but luckily Andrew Kirkaldy has some insider knowledge as he tested the car at Imola a few weeks ago.

CRS GT3 Ferrari No.56 will be raced by Robert Hissom and Phil Quaife; both drivers who know the GT3 Championship well. No.55’s line-up is Klaas Hummel and Chris Goodwin. Unfortunately Klaas has clashing commitments during the Silverstone weekend so the team has made a substitution: Chris Niarchos! Chris is pretty handy in a Ferrari so it made sense for him to step in, although this means the CRS Team Principal is going to have a very busy weekend.

“It was a great privilege when Klaas (Hummel) asked me to take his GT3 seat for this race,” said Chris. “GT3 is incredibly competitive but usually, the more I drive the better I get, so this could be really good. I think Chris (Goodwin) and I will make a strong pairing.”

As Team Principal at CRS, Chris has seen his team grow over the last 12 months, not in terms of size, but in level of performance, and he’s confident that 2009 will be a vintage year for the team.

“This year our expectations are higher but so is our confidence level,” he said. “We know where we made mistakes last year but we have made changes and are now stronger than ever. Now we are into year two, the team infrastructure is all fully set-up and running smoothly. It has certainly been good to go off and do our pre-season testing without having to worry about whether or not the walls are up in the workshop or the desks have arrived!”

The FIA GT race takes place on Sunday 3 May at 1415hrs. The GT3 racing season starts earlier though on Saturday with race one at 1430hrs. Race two is on Sunday at 1130hrs.
 

Scuderia Ecosse Turn Their Attention To 2010
News from CR Scuderia Ecosse
(April 6, 2009) — Scottish race team Scuderia Ecosse has today announced that they will not be racing in this season’s FIA GT Championship. Despite having been offered a number of exciting opportunities to participate in this year’s Championship the team will now focus their attention on preparing for a return to competitive international GT racing in the 2010 FIA GT World Championship.

Team Principal Stewart Roden explained the reasons behind the decisions:

“As well as managing the Scuderia Ecosse race team myself and my senior management team are also responsible for running a highly successful prestige Bodyshop Repair business. As such we have a moral and financial responsibility to the employees of that business to ensure that we are on hand to steer the company through what is, as everyone recognises, very difficult times for the economy.

“At the beginning of this year we secured a major new contract from one of the country’s most respected insurance groups. On the back of this contract we have committed a considerable amount of capital investment to expand our existing state of the art facilities, which will allow us to continue to grow and expand the business this year and beyond.

“Although we are disappointed not to be racing this year we felt that it was important in the short-term to focus 100% on our core business. We will however continue to support and attend our clients and friends at Ferrari Owners track days throughout the year at home and abroad.

“My commercial staff are already working flat out preparing for next season. We are currently in discussions with a number of potential sponsors and technical partners that are interested in supporting the team when we return in 2010 as a serious contender for both the FIA GT World Championship and Le Mans 24 Hrs.

“I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have worked with and supported the team in recent seasons and in particular our sponsors, technical partners, employees and to wish Stephane, the SRO and all participating teams a successful and enjoyable season in 2009.”

Mazda MX-5

Justin Piscitell Wins Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout, Signs with Alara Racing
Photo © Alara Racing
IRVINE, Calif. (March 19, 2009) – With only 16 career race starts, Justin Piscitell, of Patterson, N.Y., still had what it took to beat out eight other Mazda champions and win the Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout. As a result, Piscitell has won a full ride in the 2009 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup and has chosen California-based ALARA Racing as his team.

Eleven Mazda-powered champions from SCCA, Skip Barber and NASA were invited to Bunttonwillow Raceway in December to compete in the MX-5 Cup shootout, with eight drivers taking up Mazda’s offer to compete for one coveted race seat. In addition to being judged on their driving abilities and technical feedback, the candidates were asked to create a sponsor proposal and partake in a mock media interview. Judges for the shootout included previous winners Brad Rampelberg and Jason Saini, professional Mazda driver Charles Espenlaub, SpeedSource Engineering owner, driver and engineer Sylvain Tremblay and Dan Edmunds, editor for Edmunds.com.

After several hours tabulating scores and sharing subjective opinions, the judges selected 19-year-old Piscitell, the 2008 Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Challenge Series Champion, as the winner.

“Winning the shootout has opened up the world to me,” Piscitell said. “As a 19-year-old boy from Patterson, N.Y., who has only been racing for one year, I was elated to even have the opportunity to attend the Mazdaspeed shootout. Winning it is beyond comprehension.

“The greatest thing about the Mazda ladder is that it gives a novice racer like me something to strive for and the opportunity for advancement. It provides an organized sequence and opportunity to advance a racing career. If I win the Playboy MX-5 Cup I can automatically move up to the SPEED World Challenge Series with a factory-supported ride from Mazda. Mazda has given me the chance to pursue my dream in racing in a Pro series.”

“The feedback from the judges was great,” MAZDASPEED Competition Manager Steve Sanders said. “They noted that the overall quality of the contestants was excellent. Many of these drivers have the potential to make it on a professional level. The key word of the shootout was ‘potential’ and the judges saw a great deal of that in Justin. We look forward to working with him in 2009.”

Piscitell’s prize package is valued at more than $70,000 and includes $10,000 in parts support, a custom Sparco racing suit and helmet, 10 free sets of tires and 10 free race entries courtesy of SCCA Pro Racing. The newest member of the MAZDASPEED Driver Development Ladder will race for ALARA Racing in 2009.

“I selected ALARA as I see them as a team that is dedicated to winning the MX-5 Cup and also in advancing my skills as a driver,” Piscitell said. “It is a very competitive series, and is going to take a lot of hard work and commitment, but it is what I have always wanted and I am dedicated to the challenge and opportunity that I now have. I couldn't imagine doing it any other way.”

“We are very excited that Justin has selected ALARA Racing as his team for the Playboy MX-5 Cup series,” ALARA Team Principal Ara Malkhassian said. “Justin quickly impressed us with his natural speed and smoothness in his first test with us. Under Ken Murillo’s tutelage, he continues to strengthen and mature as he goes through ALARA Racing’s pre-season development program. We expect him to be a strong contender for the championship this year.”

Piscitell’s first MX-5 Cup race will take place at Road Atlanta on May 2, when the 2009 season kicks off at the Classic Motorsports Mitty.

SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup

Stepping up in place of the former MAZDASPEED Miata Cup, the Mazda MX-5 Cup made its debut in 2006. Featuring identical Mazda MX-5s on spec tires; MX-5 Cup gives drivers the opportunity to run on high-profile weekends in an economical, entry-level racing series. The 2009 MX-5 Cup schedule features 10 races at prestigious events across North America, and with grids composed of roughly 30 cars at each race, MX-5 Cup has become one of the best shows in motorsports today. For more information, visit www.mx-5cup.com

 
LMS

Lemeret signs as Full Speed Racing confirm FIA GT campaign
News from Full Speed Racing
February 23, 2009 -- Full Speed Racing has confirmed its intentions to contest a full FIA GT Championship campaign in 2009, with Belgian Stephane Lemeret (pictured) announced as part of its two-car driver line up.

Last month, the team revealed plans to compete in the Le Mans Series and, subject to an invitation from the ACO, at the Le Mans 24 Hours with American racer Emerson Newton-John and has now added the world’s premier GT racing series to an exciting sporting programme.

Full Speed will enter a pair of GT1 Saleen S7Rs in the SRO-run series, with the experienced Lemeret signed to drive one of the American-built muscle cars.

The 36-year-old has a wealth of experience in GT racing and has twice finished second overall in the FIA GT Championship’s blue riband event, the Spa 24 Hours, including last year when he drove for the all-conquering Vitafone Maserati squad. He has also won numerous domestic titles in his native Belgium, including the Renault Megane Trophy, Renault Clio Cup and Belgian Touring Car Championship.

Lemeret admitted he had several opportunities for the new season, but was swayed by the involvement of Full Speed Racing Team Principal Graham Nash and the chance to race the Saleen S7R.

“I’m delighted to finally get the chance to race full-time in the top category of the FIA GT Championship,” he said. “I have worked with Graham before and he is someone I have a lot of respect for. I got in touch as soon as I found out that he was back in international sportscar racing and I’m thrilled that everything is now signed. I raced the Saleen in 2005 and I loved driving the car, so I can’t wait for the season to start at Silverstone in May.”

Lemeret’s 2009 co-driver has yet to be decided and while the team is still looking for one driver for their second entry, they are close to announcing a deal for one seat with a respected German professional.

Team Principal Graham Nash said: “We’re thrilled to have Stephane on board and to be adding a full two-car FIA GT Championship programme to our Le Mans Series and, subject to invitation, Le Mans 24 Hours campaigns. We’re still interested in speaking to drivers to complete our line-up, but 2009 is already shaping up to be a very exciting season for the team.”

Full Speed Racing will reveal more details about their Le Mans Series and FIA GT Championship campaigns soon.