Tags: Cayman GT4 Clubsport / Nurburgring / Porsche / Porsche Motorsport / Porsche racing

TRACK ATTACK: PORSCHE CAYMAN GT4 CLUBSPORT!

- Kamis, 19 November 2015 No Comments

Porsche has added a new sports car for amateur and club racing to its Motorsports fleet: The Cayman GT4 Clubsport debuted today at the Los Angeles Auto Show. 

 The 385 horsepower mid-engine entry level racer, which is not legal for road use, is based on the successful street-legal Cayman GT4 sports car. Sales of the racecar by Porsche Motorsport North America started when it was unveiled in LA.

Just like its well-developed production sibling, the Cayman GT4 Clubsport is powered by a 3.8-liter flat-six engine, positioned directly behind the driver's seat. The racing version features a modified six-speed Porsche double clutch PDK transmission with shift paddles on the steering wheel and a mechanical rear-axle locking differential specifically for racing.

Its lightweight strut front axle is taken from its big 911 GT3 Cup brother, which is campaigned in 20 one-make Porsche championships around the world. An enhanced lightweight strut suspension with transverse arms adopted from the 911 GT3 Cup, is at the rear. The racing brake system features large 15-inch steel brake discs all round. One-piece, six-piston aluminum fixed calipers are located at the front, with a four-piston equivalent at the rear. The anti-lock brake system features twelve settings. The Electronic Stability Program has been recalibrated for slick racing tires. Power steering is operated electro-mechanically.

Tipping the scales at just 2,866 pounds, the Cayman GT4 Clubsport, is a virtually turnkey racecar, delivered from the factory with a welded-in safety cage, a racing bucket seat as well as a six-point harness. The North American version comes with an 18.5-gallon (70-liter) or an optional 26.5 gallon (100-liter) FIA FT3 safety fuel tank. The car also comes with a central fire extinguisher system. Mounted on the front axle are 18-inch five-bolt forged wheels with 25/64-18 tires while the 18-inch five-lug forged wheels at the rear have 27/68-18 tires. Michelin® supplies the racing slicks.

In the USA, the new Cayman GT4 Clubsport racecar is available directly from Porsche Motorsport North America for $165,000. For 2016, homologation is anticipated for race series such as the VLN Long Distance Championship Nürburgring, the Ultra 94 GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and PCA Club Racing Cayman GT4 Clubsport Trophy East, as well as for other club-level competition events around the world.

Tags: Audi of America / Audi R8 / Audi Sport / Audi TT / Australian GT Championship / FIA / IMSA / Le Mans / Martyn Schorr / Nurburgring / Scott Keogh / Sydney Motorsport Park / Tom Kristensen / WEC

AUDI RACING: MOTORSPORTS NEWSLETTER!

- Minggu, 23 Agustus 2015 No Comments

Motorsports news from around the world.

  

Tom Kristensen with Danish crown prince at golf tournament.

Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen was delighted about receiving an invitation to the European Tour with royal participation. The former professional racing driver competed in the Pro-Am class in the golf event ‘made in Denmark’ with two celebrity competitors – the Danish Crown Prince Frederik and the most successful Danish golfer Thomas Bjørn. Jacob Brunsborg, the son of Himmerland Golf Resort owner Lars Larsen, completed the team. Around 6,000 spectators attended the competition in Farsø in northern Denmark.

   

Victory and podiums finishes in Sydney.



Audi customer teams successful in Australia: at the Australian GT Championship race weekend in Sydney, Audi drivers celebrated two victories and podium positions.



At the fourth round of the Australian GT Championship, Christopher Mies and Ryan Millier produced the best performance in an Audi R8 LMS ultra. At the Sydney Motorsport Park, the duo fielded by Audi customer team Jamec PEM Racing headed an Audi one-two finish. Second was Audi driver Nathan Antunes (Skwirk/Beechwood), who was third in race two ahead of Mies/Millier. There was also an Audi victory in the Trophy classification to celebrate: in race two, Mark Griffith won from his stablemates Greg Taylor/Barton Mawer. In the first race, Taylor/Mawer made the podium in third place.



Expert training with the Audi Sport legends.



No less than six of Audi’s former Le Mans winners passed on their motorsport knowledge during expert training for sales assistants. Frank Biela, Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish, Emanuele Pirro and Marco Werner supported the Audi Training seminars in Munich on 30 training days. Sales assistants are trained here for their job as Audi Sport experts in the retail trade. “It was fun showing just what is possible with the R8 V10, the new TT cup and the R8 LMS,” said Allan McNish on behalf of his colleagues. “With us, the employees discovered that Audi Sport ignites a burning passion and sporty models like the R8 V10 have their roots in motorsport.”



André Lotterer at product presentation in Japan.



Audi driver André Lotterer attended the press preview for the new Audi TT Roadster and TTS in Tokyo on Thursday. Audi Japan launched the two models on its domestic market and invited the guests to an event in the ‘Studio Earth’ on Tokyo Tower, an architectural landmark in Shiba Park in the Japanese capital. 110 media representatives from Japan and around 50 other guests visited the presentation of the models, which are very popular within the Japanese sportscar market. André Lotterer, currently FIA WEC championship leader with Audi, talked about his expectations for the 6 Hours of Fuji, which is set to be held on 11 October.



Racers visit Audi of America.



The racing drivers representing Audi customer teams visited the Audi of America headquarters in Herndon on the way to their next events. Racing drivers Christopher Haase and Dion von Moltke, currently second in the GTD classification standings of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship, travelled with Paul Miller Racing to Virginia. In addition to their Audi R8 LMS machines, there was also an R8 LMS from team C360R at the headquarters. The Audi of America employees could also admire exhibits from Audi’s motorsport history, including the Audi R8 and Audi R10 TDI LMP racecars. Moderator John Hindhaugh hosted proceedings in the presence of IMSA President Scott Atherton, President of Audi of America Scott Keogh, as well as key personnel responsible for the motorsport program Tristan Herbert, Andy Sattler and Brad Kettler.



A word from Marcel Fässler.



The Swiss travels as championship leader to the Nürburgring with his team mates.The summer break in the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC is over. Now, five races are on the agenda in twelve weekends. What are looking forward to the most?



It’s great that Le Mans sportscars are at the Nürburgring again for the first time in many years. Audi’s home race will definitely be a classic. By the way, it is also my home race, because no other track is closer to my home in Switzerland. I’m also really looking forward to the following race in Austin. And in Asia, the title battle then enters its crucial stage in Asia – they will be five fantastic races.



Your currently lead the standings together with your team mates André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer. There must surely be only one goal. How difficult will the title fight be this year, who are the strongest challengers?



We are highly motivated. The season so far shows how challenging the job is. Porsche is our strongest rival, has two excellent driver line-ups and continuously develops its technology. Our own team mates Lucas di Grassi, Loïc Duval and Oliver Jarvis should not be taken lightly. I also don’t want to write off Toyota.



A different classification for the racecar is valid from the Nürburgring, which appears to favor Audi slightly. Is this a help or are the remaining races about other qualities?



I’m pleased that the Audi R18 e-tron quattro is slightly better categorized again. However, we’ll only see the real performance level at the Nürburgring. For us it’s a question of approaching every race totally focused, to make no mistakes and to score as many points as possible. These are the strengths that will count.



Your team mates and you were World Champions in 2012 in the FIA WEC, in 2013 and 2014 championship runner-up, and now you are leading the standings again. You’ve won Le Mans three times. What has distinguished the Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer trio for so many years?



We form a close knit and harmonious team together with Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi Sport and our engineer Leena Gade. Every one of us knows how the other ticks and how we can exploit our respective strengths, even of the circumstances seem to be against us. Benoît, André and I have been driving together since 2010. Our success together strengthens the entire team.



Coming up next week.



28–30/8 Sonoma (USA), Pirelli World Challenge, race 18 and 19

29–30/8 Moscow (RUS), DTM, race 11 and 12

29–30/8 Sachsenring (D), ADAC GT Masters, race 11 and 12

29–30/8 Sachsenring (D), Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy, race 7 and 8

29–30/8 Magny-Cours (F), French GT Championship, race 9 and 10

30/08 Nürburgring (D), WEC, round 4

30/08 Le Castellet (F), V de V Endurance Series, round 5

30/08 Suzuka (J), Super GT, round 5



For more information about Audi racing events, please visit http://www.audi-motorsport.com/content/audisport/motorsport/de/en/home.html

Tags: 24 Hours of Daytona / Laguna Seca / Le Mans / Monte Carlo / Monza / Nurburgring / Porsche 917 / Porsche racing / Rennsport Reunion / Targa Florio / Twelve Hours of Sebring / Vic Elford

QUICK VIC: VIC ELFORD CELEBRATES 80th BIRTHDAY!

- Rabu, 10 Juni 2015 No Comments

Iconic racer was one of the fastest drivers in the highly competitive Sixties and Seventies racing scene.

Vic Elford’s lap records include Targa Florio, Nurburgring, Daytona, Sebring, Norisring, Monza, Road Atlanta, Laguna Seca, Riverside and Le Mans. He was the first driver to lap Le Mans at over a 150 mph average in the Porsche long-tail 917 in 1970.

Known as “Quick Vic” to friends and competitors, Elford is one of the few drivers to excel in sports cars, rally cars, and Formula 1 at a championship level.

His 1968 season began by winning the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally in a Porsche 911, followed by an overall win the next weekend in Daytona at the Rolex 24 Hour race – Porsche’s first 24-Hour race victory. He finished second at the 12 Hours of Sebring a month later, then in May scored an epic victory at the Targa Florio, considered the greatest win in Targa history. Two weeks later Vic won the Nürburgring 1000 Kilometers. Then in his first F1 race in July, Vic took an out-classed Cooper to a stunning fourth-place finish in the soaking-wet French Grand Prix.

Despite beginning the second lap of the ten-lap, 450 mile race more than 18 minutes behind, Vic and co-driver Umberto Maglioli came back to win the 1968 Targa Florio with their Porsche 907 by over a minute. In recognition of his efforts, Porsche dedicated their traditional victory poster not to the car, but to the driver for the first and only time.



Although he raced for Porsche for five years and was the only driver to race every version of the Porsche 917, Elford was one of the most versatile drivers of his or any era. Elford raced in Sports Cars, Rally Cars, Formula 1, CanAm, and the Daytona 500 of NASCAR.



During the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans, when a Ferrari crashed in front of him, Vic stopped mid-race to try to extricate the driver from his burning car. Television cameras caught the action and Vic was named “Knight of the National Order of Merit” or Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite by French President Georges Pompidou for his act of courage and heroism.



Vic has been a featured guest at all four previous Porsche Rennsport Reunions, and will attend the upcoming Rennsport Reunion V this September 25-27, 2015 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Elford was elected to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001 and currently lives in South Florida, with his wife Anita.

Tags: Allard / D-Type / Endurance Racing / Ford GT40 / Jaguar Lightweight E-Type / Le Mans / Le Mans Legend / Maserati / Nurburgring / Porsche racing / Shelby Cobra / Twelve Hours of Sebring

FORD GT40s: LEGENDS OF LE MANS!

- Jumat, 22 Mei 2015 No Comments

Seven GT40s are amongst legendary racecars lining up for this year’s 

Le Mans Legend event.

The extended age range for this year’s Le Mans Legend race on Saturday June 13th has allowed seven Ford GT40s to join the spectacular historic grid that will race on the full Le Mans circuit. It all happens just a few hours before the start of the modern 24-Hour endurance race. 61 iconic cars, dating from 1949 to 1968 and representing 26 different marques, will take to the track in an outstanding live-action showcase covering two decades of motor racing history. 14 of the cars entered actually raced at Le Mans in period, and the remainder of the grid boasts their own impressive competition histories.

The red GT40 of U.S. drivers Philippe Mulacek and Alain Vinson took part in the 1967 Le Mans 24-Hour, Marc Doncieux’s GT40 raced there in 1966, and Claude Nahum/Bernard Thuner’s Mk 1 in 1968, with Eric Lidell replacing the car’s regular driver that season David Piper to share with Mike Salmon. Bernard is the son of Jean Jacques Thuner, a four-times competitor in the Le Mans 24-Hour.



The remarkable seven-GT40 entry also includes the ex-Scuderia Bear/Essex Wire Corporation ‘65 Mk1 which finished 3rd in the 1966 Sebring 12 Hours (Skip Scott/Peter Revson) and was put out of the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours when struck by a works-entry GT40 during qualifying.  Present-day renowned GT3 and historic racer Andrew Smith will share the car with James Cottingham.

Another newcomer that the extended age range admits to the Le Mans Legend grid is the Alpine-Renault A220 of French drivers Sylvain Stepak and Jean Luc Blanchemain. This car was standing 5th overall at Le Mans in 1968 driven by Mauro Bianchi and Patrick Depailler before brake failure caused it to crash with Bianchi at the wheel. This was the race at which Alpine and Michelin revolutionized racing with the first use of “slick” tires. Rainer Becker’s Porsche 910 joins the A220 and the seven GT40s in what promises to be a stunning class battle. Originally owned and raced by Bill Bradley, with Vic Elford and Tony Dean, this car finished 1st in class and 5th overall at Hockenheim in 1968 and 5th overall in the 1969 1000-km Nurburgring.



Sam Thomas/Andy Dee-Crowne’s Allard J2X was a 1952 Le Mans competitor, while Paul Griffin/Gillian Carr’s Connaught ALSR raced there in 1955.  Class competition for the Allard comes from another of the same marque – Touring Car driver Patrick Watts will be out in a J2. The Connaught faces sporting competition for class honors from a veteran of the 1956 Le Mans – the beautiful Panhard Monopole X86 of François Cointreau - and from former England Rugby, Captain David Cooke, in the yellow Lotus 11 Le Mans he shares with Neil Twyman.



The Austin-Healey 3000 that Karsten Le Blanc shares with Christiaen van Lanschot raced at Le Mans in 1960, 1961 and 1962. Known by most people simply by its registration number DD 300, it was a works entry in 1960, driven by Jack Sears and Peter Riley. It was a privateer entry in 1961 and 1962.  It’s in the same class as Canadian Barrie Baxter’s beautiful Maserati 151/154, originally seen out at Le Mans in 1962 and then again in 1963 and 1964. In 1962 the Healey would have fought against the ‘56 Morgan Plus 4 Supersports that Keith Ahlers and Billy Bellinger will drive this year and Till Bechtolscheimer’s Tojeiro EE Buick (having sported a Climax engine in period).



Competition promises to be fierce across all classes, with lively action expected in the GT Cars 1960-1965 under 2000 from the Lotus Elan of 12-times Le Mans racer and 1981 British Sports Car Champion John Sheldon. The bright yellow Mini Marcos GT driven by Josh Sadler and veteran racer Barrie Williams should give John a good run for his money and provide huge entertainment for spectators. And competition will also come from Afschin Fatemi’s very rare Porsche 904/8, one of two prototypes fitted by with an eight-cylinder engine by the factory for Le Mans in 1964, from another veteran of that 1964 race, the Alfa Romeo TZ1 driven this year by Holly Mason-Franchitti.

With other entries including Mercedes 300SL Gullwings, C and D-type Jaguars, Aston Martin DB2 Lightweight Le Mans, Shelby Cobras and Lightweight E-types, the Le Mans Legend is something of a beauty show as well – though very definitely a seriously hard-fought race rather than a parade. 



Duncan Wiltshire, Chairman of Le Mans Legend organizers Motor Racing Legends, said: “Extending the entry dates has allowed us to introduce a highly exciting new aspect to the race. I can’t wait to see seven GT40s lining up on the grid! Cars and drivers are traveling from all over the world to take part, and the result should be an astounding 45 minutes of historic motorsport that transports all who are lucky enough to witness or take part in it back through the decades.”



For further information on the 2015 Le Mans Legend race, please visit www.motorracinglegends.com

Tags: concept vehicles / front-wheel drive / Honda / Nurburgring / performance vehicles

The New Honda Civic Type R is Completely Insane!

- Kamis, 23 Oktober 2014 No Comments

All images courtesy of Honda

I'll admit that at one point I thought Civics were great cars. Since then I've moved on as my automotive tastes have shifted, but part of me still wishes consumers in the United States could have that one Honda unicorn, the Civic Type R. While you might see guys who slap a Type R badge on the back of their Civic, in reality you can't get them here, and that guy didn't tune his to be just like the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) Type R.

My desire to see a Type R offered on this continent has grown by quite a bit after seeing the new model. Honda has really flexed its muscles with this one, producing a front-wheel drive car that pumps out 280 horsepower. That kind of power is coming from a turbocharged i-VTEC 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, which isn't that much bigger than the one that was in my Civic back in the day. The redline is set at a screaming 7,000 rpm.

Honda is making quite a few tall claims about the car, which has not been fully revealed yet. While we don't know the torque output from the engine (and the horsepower figure is just a ballpark, apparently), it is supposed to be greater than what has been produced by every other Type R vehicle ever made. That includes the Integra and, even more unbelievable, the NSX. The throttle response is also supposed to be faster than on all other Hondas. And even better, it only comes with a six-speed manual transmission, the way performance cars were meant to be driven.

Among the little information that is known about the new car is the fact that there will be a +R button that will be located on the steering wheel. Drivers just push the button and the steering response, torque-mapping of the engine, and the dampers at all four corners of the vehicle change settings. This is to switch the car into track mode easily.

Essentially, the new Civic Type R is a real road-legal racer. Honda has said that the goal with the car is to make the fastest production front-wheel drive car at the Nurburgring, which seems to be a pretty realistic aspiration at this point.

Tags: April A to Z Challenge / Germany / Nurburgring / race tracks

Blogging From A to Z Day 14: N is for Nurburgring

- Selasa, 15 April 2014 No Comments

Images courtesy of General Motors

For the month of April I will be participating in the Blogging From A to Z Challenge. Learn more about the challenge by clicking here. Each day (except Sundays) I will be posting a theme based on each letter of the alphabet. This blog is covering automotive topics for the month. To read my other blog posts for the challenge, click here.

Few racetracks rise to the level of celebrity the Nurburgring has enjoyed. Despite all of the talk about the track, and its use as a benchmark tool for automakers trying to show off the performance capabilities of new models, most people understand little about the track.

The north loop or Nordschleife is the area that you always see on car commercials. It measures over 14 miles long. A GP-Strecke portion of the track was added in 1983 and is used for numerous motorsport competitions. It measures just over 3 miles long. In some rare cases, the entire track is used for competitions.

The Nurburgring has been referred to as the Green Hell. The track is extremely challenging and even treacherous as it takes drives through many hairpin turns and straightaways with gradual turns and sudden dips, to name a few of the difficult areas. According to Jeremy Clarkson of the BBC's Top Gear, the track has claimed over 200 lives and counting. Crashes are pretty common as drivers who aren't experienced push their cars too hard at the wrong spots and find themselves unable to negotiate different sections.

One of the most interesting aspects of the Nurburgring is that on some days, mostly the weekends, drivers can take their car to the track to race. It is technically considered a toll road that's open to the public, but there is no speed limit or oncoming traffic. Take that, Autobahn! This feature was in jeopardy when the track went into bankruptcy and some Americans were moving to purchase it, possibly to even demolish the track, but thankfully a group of German investors outbid them with the aim of keeping the track the automotive icon it should always be.

There are many, many videos of the 'Ring, but here are a couple to give you a taste for the track, if you haven't seen it before.