THE LINE

February 10, 2010

 Corvette Racing. We already knew that Corvette racing was invited to compete in GT2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. What we didn't know is who would be replacing Marcel Fassler (who will drive a factory Audi R-15 in LMP) as the third driver in the car driven by Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta for the three long-distance races (Sebring, Le Mans, and Petit Le Mans). Emmanuel Collard is the new guy, while Antonio Garcia will return as the third driver in the team car with Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen in the endurance events. Collard, 38, of Champs sur Marne, France, has scored multiple victories in the Sebring 12-hour, Daytona 24-hour, Le Mans 24-hour, and Spa 24-hour races. He is a two-time Le Mans Series champion, and drove for the Cadillac LMP team in 2000-02.

(Sebring International Raceway)
Sebring International Raceway has unveiled the poster for the 58th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. America’s greatest sports car race runs on Saturday, March 20th, kicking off the 2010 American Le Mans Series season. Painted by motorsports artist Roger Warrick, the poster features two of the leading teams competing in this year’s American Le Mans Series entering Cunningham Corner (Turn 10): The Drayson Racing Lola and Patrón Highcroft Racing Honda Performance Development ARX-01c, as well as the new JaguarRSR Jaguar XKR GT. Sebring posters have been produced since the first Sebring 12-hour classic in 1952, and many have become valuable collectibles. Tickets to the 58th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida are available by calling 800-626-7223 or visiting Sebringraceway.com. Gates open at 6 am on Wednesday, March 17, and remain open 24 hours a day through Saturday. The green flag will fall at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 20 with live coverage on SPEED. The annual American Le Mans Series Winter Test is scheduled for February 22-23, also at Sebring International Raceway. Tickets are $10 per day with no overnight camping or public paddock access allowed. BTW, why the Jaguar XKR GT on the poster? It was just announced that Jaguar is the "official vehicle" of Sebring, that's why. It clearly has no business being there otherwise.

Publisher's Note: John Thawley attended "Cars On Fifth" last Sunday morning - an annual event that takes place on 5th Avenue in downtown Naples, FL - and captured the spirit of the occasion through his excellent images. See a slide show of the event here. - PMD

WE'RE OPENING THE VAULT!

The AE wearables are back - and only in extremely limited quantities and sizes, we might add - and once they're gone, they're gone! We're starting with our most popular items, the classic AE Sweatshirt and AE Hat. Click on a PayPal button below to order yours now! (If you prefer to pay by check, please send us an email with AE STORE in the subject line, and we'll reserve your item.)

AE Sweatshirt - Crewneck, sturdy 80/20 cotton/poly, in black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. Size XL only. 40 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.

AE Hat - Black with throwback lettering - the original AE logo in our Chiller typeface shown above. 25 bucks, including shipping. US orders only.

See another live episode of "Autoline After Hours" hosted by Autoline Detroit's John McElroy, with Peter De Lorenzo and friends this Thursday evening, at 7:00PM EDT at www.autolinedetroit.tv.

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