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2011 Porsche Rennsport Reunion at Laguna Seca

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011
2011 Porsche Rennsport Reunion

2011 Porsche Rennsport Reunion

Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca have announced the Porsche Rennsport Reunion IV will take place at the famed California racetrack the weekend of October 14–16, 2011.

Sponsored by PCNA, Rennsport Reunion IV brings together an unprecedented gathering of significant Porsche vintage and current race cars, as well those who have driven them to victory in the world’s most famous sports car races. The three-day program of on-track competition is complemented by a concours d’elegance, which is open to invited race participants, and special activities celebrating the decades-long history of the legendary 911 race cars.

After the highly successful staging of three venues in the East, held every three years, with the first one held in Lime Rock in 2001, Rennsport Reunion IV will now be moving west, tapping a vast array of car aficionados and Porsche enthusiasts.

“While the Rennsport name has become a staple fixture for international collectors and racers over the past ten years, choosing the Monterey Peninsula will open up this one-of-a-kind gathering to the many Porsche fans in California and beyond who were previously unable to attend,” said Detlev von Platen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Porsche Cars North America. “Now they’ll have the opportunity to see, feel and hear from up close hundreds of famous Porsche race cars and dozens of their drivers from past and present during a truly memorable weekend dedicated to Porsche’s motorsport heritage.”

Porsche Rennsport Reunion IV will assemble the wide variety of Porsche’s most historic racing models from the nimble 550 Spyder of the mid-Fifties through the mighty 917 and 956/962 of the Seventies and Eighties to the highly successful GT3 RSR of the last decade. Special tribute will be paid to the numerous racing versions of the Porsche 911 and their countless victories on the dawn of what will become another milestone of this iconic sports car from Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.

“This will truly be a rare gathering of significant Porsche race cars on the West Coast,” commented Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. “Porsche has a long racing tradition in Monterey and we look forward to celebrating its heritage in a befitting manner for everyone to enjoy.”

Complementing the Rennsport Reunion IV venue is the Porsche Race Car Classic, an exclusive concours held at nearby Quail Lodge in Carmel on Sunday, October 16. Steve Heinrichs, producer of the Porsche Race Car Classic, explained, “this once-in-a-lifetime gathering of vintage Porsche race cars solely from Porsche’s break-out era of 1950-1965 will raise critical funding to directly support lung cancer research. We’ll have Gmünds, Glöcklers, 550s, 718s, 804s, 904s, 356s, Abarths and more – in numbers and provenance never before seen.”

Introducing the Aston Martin Racing AMR-One

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
AMR-One

AMR-One

AMR-One

AMR-One

AMR-One

AMR-One

AMR-One

AMR-One

Aston Martin Racing announces today its plans for the new season including the unveiling of a new ground-up developed LMP1 race car, the AMR-One, as well as confirming the driver line-up and planned race programme.

The Gulf Liveried Aston Martin AMR-One is a new open-top LMP1 race car featuring a 2.0 litre turbocharged six cylinder direct injection petrol engine which has been developed for a new bespoke carbon fibre chassis designed and manufactured by Aston Martin Racing.

Based on the new regulations for 2011 instigated by the Le Mans governing body; the ACO, Aston Martin Racing has chosen to change tack this year in designing an open cockpit car. In line with the new 2011 rules, the AMR-One features the new blade-fin and has a significantly down-sized engine in keeping with the championship’s efficiency focused regulations. Power is fed to the rear wheels via a six-speed transverse semi automatic pneumatic shift, Xtrac racing gearbox.

A total of six AMR-Ones will be built, with the factory team running one car in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) which includes the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans and two cars at selected events. The AMR-One is linked to Aston Martin’s ultimate design and engineering showcase; the road going One-77; both of which share similar philosophies featuring carbon fibre monocoques. Aston Martin’s in-house design team worked closely with the engineers at Aston Martin Racing to find the optimum balance between aesthetics and aerodynamics.

Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr. Ulrich Bez said: “Aston Martin’s heritage is deeply rooted in endurance sports car racing, so in 2011, we take the next step demonstrating that a small team using advanced design and engineering intelligence will be agile and competitive.”

The driver line up for 2011 will consist of Darren Turner (GB) Stefan Mücke (D) and another driver yet to be announced, who will join the team piloting the 007 car. Adrian Fernandez (MX), Andy Meyrick (GB) and Harold Primat (CH) will be teaming up to drive the 009 car. We’re pleased for Darren Turner as the 007 car looks to be the strongest line-up so far – depending on who fills that third seat.

Aston Martin Racing Chairman, David Richards said: “George and the team have been extremely busy over the winter months and they have been working day and night to produce what is not only a stunningly beautiful race car but one which will use the new ACO regulations to best effect.

“Just like the road cars, the AMR-One has been elegantly engineered where simplicity runs throughout to produce what we expect to be a competitive and reliable endurance racer.”

Team Principal George Howard-Chappell said: “We have chosen to run with a six cylinder turbocharged engine because we believe this offers the best potential within the petrol engine regulations. With the ACO’s commitment to effectively balance the performance of petrol and diesel Le Mans entrants – our hopes are high that we’ll see the closest racing yet in the premiere LMP1 category.”

It is expected that Aston Martin Racing will contend selected races in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup with rounds in the United States (Petit Le Mans), Belgium (Spa), France (Le Mans), Italy (Imola), England (Silverstone) and China (TBC) and make its debut at Paul Ricard on the 1-3 April 2011.

The AMR-One is expected to test for the first time in early March.

Audi confirms driver line-up for new Audi R18

Monday, January 24th, 2011
Last years Le Mans winners

Last years Le Mans winners

“Over the last few years we’ve had a very strong and harmonious driver line-up at Le Mans,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Any one of our three cars could have won, which explains why it was our aim to compete with an unchanged driver squad at Le Mans in 2011. I’m delighted that we achieved this. Now we can concentrate solely on the development of the Audi R18 and need not integrate any new drivers into the team, which would have been associated with additional work and risks. The schedule to Le Mans is tight enough as it is.”

The three new Audi R18, competing in the 79th running of the endurance classic on 11/12 June 2011, will be occupied exactly as the three R15 TDI that broke the old distance record on the way to claiming the first three finishing positions.

The R18 with start number “1″ is driven by last year’s winners:

  • Timo Bernhard (Germany)
  • Romain Dumas (France)
  • Mike Rockenfeller (Germany)

The car wearing the number 2 will have:

  • Tom Kristensen (Denmark)
  • Dindo Capello (Italy)
  • Allan McNish (Scotland)

Last year’s second placed finishers will have the number 3 and their line-up has:

  • Marcel Fässler (Switzerland)
  • André Lotterer (Germany)
  • Benoît Treluyer (France)

For the opening round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) at Sebring (US state Florida) on March 19, Audi Sport Team Joest will compete with two Audi R15 TDI cars modified to comply with the new technical regulations. At the wheel sit current Le Mans winners Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller as well as 2009 Sebring winners Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish.

Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish and Timo Bernhard/Marcel Fässler are regular race drivers for the four remaining Intercontinental Le Mans Cup races held after the 24 Hours of Le Mans. If required, Audi can fall back on Porsche “factory” driver Romain Dumas to reinforce its squad at Road Atlanta.