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2016 Rolex 24 – A Classic!

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2016 Rolex 24

2016 Rolex 24

After 24 hours of racing at the 2016 Rolex 24 at Daytona, the two Corvettes of Oliver Gavin and Antonio Garcia were separated by just 0.034 seconds!  This was the closest finish in the history of the greatest endurance race in America – a race that has quite a storied history.

With left just over 30 minutes left in the 2016 Rolex 24, Oliver Gavin in the #4 Corvette nudged Earl Bamber in the #912 Porsche in the West Horseshoe to take the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class lead.  Bamber was unable to hold of Antonio Garcia in the #3 Corvette and ultimately finished third on the podium.  Garcia furiously charged ahead after his teammate Gavin climaxing with just under 3 minutes to go in the race as Garcia in the #3 Corvette passed Gavin in the #4 into the Turn 1 breaking zone.  But alas, Garcia went in just a bit too hot and Gavin repassed him on the exit.  Garcia came back to make it so close at the finish, but Gavin held on for the GTLM win.

2016 Rolex 24

2016 Rolex 24

While the Corvettes were battling head-to-head, setting fast laps, in GT Daytona (GTD), the Magnus Racing #44 Audi R8 and the Konrad Motorsport #28 Lamborghini Huracan were having a fuel saving competition.  At the same moment that Garcia was setting up to pass Gavin into Turn 1, Fabio Babini in the #28 Lamborghini ran out of fuel at the infield kink allowing Rene Rast in the #44 Audi to pass and coast – literally – to the GTD class victory.

2016 Rolex 24

2016 Rolex 24

Nicky Catsburg in the beautiful #540 Black Swan Racing Porsche 911 made a nice run and was closing on the #44 at the checker to finish second in GTD.

2016 Rolex 24

Meanwhile, at the top of the field, Luis Felipe Derani, in his first sportscar race in the US, brought the #2 Tequila Patron ESM Honda-powered Ligier home for the overall 2016 Rolex 24 victory.  This was both Extreme Speed Motorsports’s and Honda’s first win at Daytona.  The Ligier P2 car also managed to break the grip of the DP cars, in particular the Corvette Daytona Prototypes, who have seemed to dominate the top Prototype class in recent years.  The #2 Ligier had just amazing pace from the drop of the green flag to start the race.  Despite and early spin caused by contact, penalties, and plenty of pit time, the Extreme Speed team put in a great performance for a well-deserved win.

2016 Rolex 24

In the Prototype Challenge (PC) class, Kenton Koch brought the #85  JDC-Miller Motorsport car home to victory.

I’ll admit I was sad to see the demise of ALMS and skeptical about the merger with Grand-AM to form a single top-level sportscar series, but with the 2016 Rolex 24 kicking-off season 3 of the IMSA series, it’s clear that sportscar racing in the US is in great shape.  In addition to really competitive racing, IMSA has managed to attract new manufacturers – Lamborghini and Ford – with fabulous looking and sounding cars.

Here you can see many more pictures of the cars from the 2016 Rolex 24.

2016 Rolex 24 Podium Positions By Class

Pic Class Driver Team Car Gap
1 P S.Sharp, E.Brown, J.van Overbeek, L.Derani Tequila Patron ESM Ligier/HPD –
2 P R.Taylor, J.Taylor, M.Angelelli, R.Barrichello Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette/Chevrolet 26.166s
3 P R.Dalziel, M.Goossens, R.H.-Reay Visit Florida Racing Corvette/Chevrolet 1m27.276s
1 GTLM O.Gavin, T.Milner, M.Fassler Corvette Racing Chevrolet 14 Laps
2 GTLM A.Garcia, J.Magnussen, M.Rockenfeller Corvette Racing Chevrolet 14 Laps
3 GTLM E.Bamber, F.Makowiecki, M.Christensen Porsche North America Porsche 14 Laps
1 GTD J.Potter, A.Lally, M.Seefried, R.Rast Magnus Racing Audi 33 Laps
2 GTD T.Pappas, N.Catsburg, P.Long, A.Pilgrim Black Swan Racing Porsche 33 Laps
3 GTD B.Keating, G.Robinson, J.Mosing, E.Foss, D.Faulkner Riley Motorsports Dodge 33 Laps
1 PC C.Miller, M.Goikhberg, S.Simpson, K.Koch JDC-Miller Motorsports ORECA/Chevrolet 34 Laps
2 PC R.Alon, T.K.-Smith, J.Gutierrez, N.Boulle PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA/Chevrolet 38 Laps
3 PC T.Drissi, M.Drumwright, J.Mowlem, R.Vera, B.Gaughan BAR1 Motorsports ORECA/Chevrolet 43 Laps

Ganassi & Corvette Dominate TUSC Long Beach

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TUSC Long Beach

No. 1 Extreme Speed Motorsports Patron HPD ARX-03b

TUSC Long Beach AKA Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase At Long Beach

Wow, that’s a mouthful!  TUSC Long Beach was very different from any of the recent versions of ALMS races at Long Beach.  First of all, thanks to the inclusion of only two of the four TUSC classes, the field was much smaller than any race in recent memory.  In fact, it was the smallest sportscar field at Long Beach since 2009, the worst year there for ALMS thanks to the world financial crisis.  However, this year it was intentionally smaller – there is simply not enough paddock and pit space at Long Beach for the entire TUSC field.  On the positive side, the small field consisted of two classes rather than four, which should have meant for heightened competition…

… In The Race

So the other way this race was so different was the fact that it was run caution free.  That’s right, no Full Course Yellow!  At TUSC Long Beach!  Interestingly, at the green flag, Memo Rojas in the Ganassi No. 01 Telcel Ford EcoBoost/Riley and Antonio Garcia in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R – the respective class pole sitters – got off to an immediate lead and never looked back as the field gradually spread out.

TUSC Long Beach

No. 01 Telcel/Ford EcoBoost

Garcia just ran away with the race, and without a caution or trouble, there was nothing to close up the field. Joao Barbosa in the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP beat Scott Pruett out of the pits when the two cars pitted on the same lap. But Pruett had the No. 01 car back out in front within a couple of laps, and that’s where he finished. Further back in the field there were some interesting battles, especially for the Prototype podium spots, but since there not as many cars on the track and there was a smaller speed differential, there was simply less traffic to manage and fewer opportunities to pass. Although this is a timed race anyway, having it run without caution made it seem fast.

TUSC Long Beach

No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

TUSC Long Beach Results

Prototype

  1. Pruett/Rojas (01), Ford EcoBoost/Riley
  2. Taylor/Taylor (10), Corvette DP
  3. Barbosa/Fittipaldi (5), Corvette DP

GT Le Mans

  1. Magnussen/Garcia (3), Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
  2. Muller/Edwards (56), BMW Z4 GTE
  3. Gavin/Milner (4), Chevrolet Corvette C7.R

TUSC Long Beach

Impressions

Even though there was only one pass on track for the lead in either class, the TUSC Long Beach edition was exciting, fun to watch, and seemed to be well attended.  The TUSC Paddock was open, friendly, and the drivers seemed to be more accessible and engaging, which the fans clearly loved.  I’d call this one a success.

Many more pics of TUSC Long Beach 2014

Le Mans – Final

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With about 2:45 to go in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi #2 and #3 both crashed in separate incidents.  The #2, driven by Allan McNish was in the lead at the time, and it crashed into the barriers when McNish attempted a pretty aggressive maneuver in the Porsche Curves.  McNish’s crash promoted Audi #1 into the lead.  Astonishingly, the Audi team was able to get the #2 back on the track so fast, they only went  down one lap, so they were still in second place and still in the race – albeit with a long shot at this point.  The Audi team was able to get the #3 back on track in short order as well.  Simply amazing that the Audi teams could repair both of those cars simultaneously so quickly.

Final Le Mans Results:

LMP1:

  1. Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi #1 – Lotterer/Fassler/Treluyer
  2. Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi #2 – McNish/Capello/Kristensen
  3. Audi Sport North America, Audi #4 – Jarvis/Bonanomi/Rockenfeller

LMP2:

  1. Starworks Motorsport, HPD #44 – Potolicchio/Dalziel/K-Smith
  2. Thiriet By TDS Racing, Oreca #46 – Thiriet/Beche/Tinseau
  3. Pecom Racing, Oreca #49 – Perez Companc/Kaffer/Ayari

GTE-Pro:

  1. AF Corse, Ferrari #51 – Fisichella/Bruni/Vilander
  2. Luxury Racing, Ferrari #59 – Makowiecki/Melo/Farnbacher
  3. Aston Martin Racing, Aston Martin #97 – Mucke/Fernandez/Turner

GTE-Am:

  1. Larbre Competition, Corvette #50 – Bornhauser/Canal/Lamy
  2. IMSA Performance Matmut, Porsche #67 – Pons/Armindo/Narac
  3. Krohn Racing, Ferrari #57 – Krohn/Johnsson/Rugolo
For those who have a Speed2 subscription, you can view race highlights here.

Le Mans at 15 Hours

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Well, unfortunately, the battle between Audi and Toyota was short lived: the #8 Toyota was taken out by a Ferrari GTE-Am car – bringing out an extended safety car period for barrier repairs – and on the first lap of the ensuing green, the #7 Toyota tangled with the Delta Wing car.  The #7 sustained damage that seemed to bring on an endlessly cascading series of troubles until the team threw in the towel.  Audis are currently running 1-2-3 overall and in LMP1: the #1 and #2 R18 e-trons first and second and the #4 R18 ultra third.

In LMP2, the #44 Starworks Motorsport HPD ARX 03b has a one lap lead over the #49 Oreca 03 Nissan of Pecom Racing.

In GTE-Pro, the Ferrari, Corvette, Aston Martin, Porsche battle has become Ferrari v. Aston Martin, as both Flying Lizard and Team Felbermayr-Proton are gone and the Corvettes are down to a single car that’s seven laps back.  The #51 AF Corse Ferrari is currently in the lead, the #59 Luxury Racing Ferrari is second, and the #97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 is third.

In GTE-Am, there is a tight battle ongoing between the #50 Larbre Competition Corvette and the #67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche.

Le Mans: Pre-Race

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Several interesting stories will be played out in the 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning 5:30 AM PT tomorrow:

LMP1 – Audi v. Toyota.  The top three qualifying places are three different cars – two from Audi and one from Toyota.  First of all, Toyota managed to qualify their brand new LMP1 TS030 Hybrid third on the grid at Le Mans within a year of launching the program.  That alone is a fabulous achievement.  The Toyota TS030 is a 3.4L V8 normally-aspirated petrol-powered hybrid prototype.  The electric energy is stored in a massive capacitor which powers electric motors.  Audi put its new R-18 e-tron quattro on pole with a lap time of 3:23.787 (driven by the same team that won last year’s race: Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer.)  The R-18 e-tron quattro is a 3.7L V6 turbo diesel hybrid prototype.  The Audi stores its energy in an electric flywheel accumulator.  So it’s Toyota v. Audi, petrol v. diesel, capacitor v. flywheel, massive underdog v. overwhelming favorite.  A surprisingly nice story to replace the expected Audi v. Peugeot rematch that was dashed when Peugeot pulled out of the sport. Second on the grid is the Audi R-18 ultra, a car that is outwardly very similar to the 2011 Le Mans winner.  The R-18 ultra is the latest version of the Audi turbo diesel LMP1 car.  Spots four thru six on the grid are another Toyota TS030 Hybrid splitting another Audi R-18 e-tron and an R-18 ultra.  I really hope the Toyotas demonstrate some remarkable reliability in their very first 24 hour race to make it interesting to the end.

Delta Wing Nissan – The experimental Delta Wing Nissan qualified about 19 seconds slower than the pole sitting Audi at 3:42.612, putting it about 2/3 of the way thru the LMP2 cars.  The Delta Wing is being run by the experienced and successful Highcroft Racing outfit, and it will be very interesting to see how it fares.  Although I cannot say that I am excited by its looks in the least, opinions on the Delta Wing have been favorable for the most part.  I can understand how the Delta Wing could set a fast qualifying time, but I am eager to see how it does in real racing conditions.

GTE – once again, the GTE classes look to be outstanding, competitive battles.  In GTE-Pro, the top three qualifiers are the Luxury Racing Ferrari 458 Italia, the Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8, and the Corvette Racing Corvette C6 ZR1.  SoCal’s Patrick Long’s Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 RSR is seventh on the GTE-Pro grid.  The Flying Lizard’s other Porsche 911 RSR car was the fastest GTE-Am qualifier.  The Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 RSR is second, and the Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 is third on the GTE-Am grid.  So it’s Ferrari, Aston Martin, Corvette, and Porsche set to battle it out in the GTE classes.

Weather – Rain is forecast for Saturday, which adds another dimension to this grueling event.  Man v. Nature.

Le Mans!

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Just two days until one of my top ‘bucket list’ events – the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  It’s right up there with Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, and the Indy 500.  Unfortunately Peugeot pulled out of sports car racing months ago, so the awaited re-re-match of Audi v Peugeot won’t happen, but it will be interesting to see how Toyota fares.

The GTE battles should be awesome once again.  Corvette, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Porsche all have competitive cars and teams.

For those looking to get up to speed on the pre-race situation – including class and team previews – head on over to Radio Le Mans  and listen to some of their excellent podcasts.  Also, the differences in driver classifications and how this relates to the GTE-Am and GTE-Pre classes can be a bit confusing.  The folks at Radio Le Mans have posted a very clear and concise driver classification table here.

Grand Prix of Long Beach – ALMS

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ALMS

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The Tequila Patron ALMS at Long Beach was an exciting race on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in SoCal. Although the qualifying sessions were hampered by torrential rain on Friday, by race time on Saturday, the storm had long moved through giving … Continue reading →