JUNE 3, 2015

(Photo by Bret Kelley/IndyCar)
Sebastien Bourdais (No. 11 KVSH Racing Team Mistic E-Cigs Chevrolet) celebrates his big victory in Race 2 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit at Belle Isle Park on Sunday. Despite a weekend of rainy - and at times torrential - weather, the racing was excellent and the track provided plenty of action, though the highly unforgiving circuit took its usual toll on the competitors. “It was just about as nerve wracking as it gets," Bourdais said. "When we elected to stay out, I was like ‘Oh man, it is all or nothing’ from there. All I could hope for was just the same scenario as NOLA. Complicated conditions and one yellow after another and it was the right call today again. The difference is that we obviously deserved it I think because the boys worked really hard. We were on pace; we passed a bunch of cars and made the moves when it mattered. We made it stick all the way to the end.  When we got on the Firestone red tires, I was like ‘Boy, that is way too early’. There was half-way of a groove. Just felt like it was such a risky move. But, I knew it was the right one, just like yesterday. I just couldn’t be any happier that we made it stick.” Takuma Sato (No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing ABC Supply Honda) finished second after a race-long tussle with Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Steak 'n Shake Honda), who came in third.

(Photo by Bret Kelley/IndyCar)
Takuma Sato and Team Principal Larry Foyt celebrate their 2nd place finish in Race 2 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit at Belle Isle Park.

(Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar)
Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Steak 'n Shake Honda) got knocked out of Race 1 early on Saturday, but came back strong on Sunday to finish third in Race 2.

(Photo by Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Twenty-three-year-old Carlos Munoz (No. 26 Andretti Autosport AndrettiTV Cinsay Honda) from Colombia apexes Turn 8 during Race 1 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit at Belle Isle Park. Munoz earned his first career Verizon IndyCar Series victory on Saturday as severe weather prompted a red flag with 47 of 70 scheduled laps in Race 1 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans on the 2.35-mile, 14-turn Raceway at Belle Isle Park. Munoz joins Josef Newgarden as a first-time winner in the Verizon IndyCar Series this season. There have been six different winners in the seven races this season. Munoz started 20th and then picked up the lead on Lap 40 when Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti pitted for fuel and Firestone rain tires in anticipation of rain returning to the area. Munoz remained on track for an additional two laps, building a 26-second lead on Andretti, before also pitting for rain tires. "I wanted to win 100 percent and with all the laps," said Munoz, who joined Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud as drivers who claimed their first Indy car victory at Belle Isle. "Racing is racing, which is what happened with the weather. It was a great call with the strategy and a great result for the team with a 1-2 (finish). I had the fuel to go laps longer. I wanted to get my first win by doing all the laps, but I'm really happy for my team."

(Photo by Bret Kelley /IndyCar)
Marco Andretti (No. 27 Andretti Autosport Merchant First/Snapple Honda) had a good run on Saturday, leading a field-high 23 laps and finishing second, his first top-three finish since the Indianapolis 500 last May. "(Strategy) started very early in the race. We were running eighth and we had a bunch of strong guys in the front so it seemed like a no-brainer (to pit for Firestone primary tires on Lap 9) as long as I could keep it off the fence, which we were able to do," Andretti said. "At the end I really didn't want to come in, but we needed to get some fuel, and I knew whoever stayed out would beat me. It was good for an Andretti Autosport 1-2." Honda power also enjoyed a good moment with its second victory of the season and its first 1-2 finish of the year.

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Dane Cameron (No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP, started by Eric Curran) passed Jordan Taylor during the final 30 minutes and held on to win Saturday’s Chevrolet Sports Car Classic presented by the Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers, giving the team its first TUDOR United SportsCar Championship victory. They became the fifth different TUDOR Championship Prototype winner in five races in 2015. Ozz Negri (No. 60 Michael Shank Racing Ligier JS P2/Honda started by John Pew) took second on the final lap. Joao Barbosa (No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP started from the pole by Christian Fittipaldi) spun but recovered to finish third. Jordan Taylor (No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Konica Minolta Corvette DP) was issued a drive-through penalty in the final 10 minutes for contact with Townsend Bell (No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia). Taylor, co-driving with his brother Ricky, came back to finish seventh. The 100-minute race started under sunny skies but finished under heavy rain which began falling during the final hour. Check out a gallery of John Thawley's spectacular images from Belle isle here.

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Mirco Schultis and Renger van der Zande (No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Martini ORECA FLM09) delivered their first victory of the season in the the Prototype Challenge (PC) class at Belle Isle. Starworks spoiled a strong showing by Performance Tech Motorsports, with James French winning his first TOTAL Pole Award in the No. 38 Ric-Man Detroit ORECA FLM09, and new co-driver James Vance leading the opening 55 laps before van der Zande took the lead. Five laps later, Stephen Simpson (No. 85 JDC/Miller Motorsports UndergroundCellar.com/Young Marines ORECA) took second. Vance held on for third.

(John Thawley  ~  Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com  ~ 248.227.0110)
Ian James and co-driver Mario Farnbacher (No. 23 Alex Job Racing Heart of Racing Porsche 911 GT America) won the GTD class at Belle Isle. Christina Nielsen and James Davison (No. 007 TRG Royal Purple/Orion Energy/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA Aston Martin Vantage, above) finished second. Dion von Moltke (No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Castrol EDGE Audi LMS) started on the pole, and co-driver Christopher Haase brought the Audi home third. The next event for the TUDOR Championship will be the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday, June 28. All four classes will be in action in the race, which serves as the third round of the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.

(Photo by Alan Marler/HHP for GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet SS) takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks on Sunday at Dover International Speedway. It was Johnson's fourth win of the 2015 season, his record tenth win at Dover and his 74th career win in NASCAR's premier series. Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ditech Chevrolet SS) was second and Kyle Larson (No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chevrolet SS) finished third. Get more NASCAR info here.

(Image courtesy of MotoGP)
Jorge Lorenzo (No. 99 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) dominated the ItalianGP at Mugello, winning by over 5.5s to take his third MotoGP victory in a row. Lorenzo simply evaporated from the field during the race, taking the lead on the first lap and at times lapping over a second quicker than his rivals to take a commanding victory. The battle for second place was another story. Andrea Iannone (No. 20 Ducati Team) finished 5.563s behind Lorenzo in second position, just one second clear of a hard-charging Valentino Rossi (No. 46 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), who finished third. Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda) crashed out with six laps to go while battling with Iannone for second. Rossi now leads Lorenzo by six points in the MotoGP world championship standings, 118-112.

(World Challenge)
Kevin Estre (No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3), of Lochau, Austria (above) won the top GT class in the Cadillac V-Series Challenge presented by the Metro Detroit Cadillac dealers last Saturday on Belle Isle, Round 10 of the Pirelli World Challenge Series. Olivier Beretta (No. 61 Ferrari of Ontario/Toronto/Alberta R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia), of Monte Carlo, Monaco, finished second and Chris Dyson (No. 16 Bentley/Breitling/Mobil 1 Team Bentley Dyson Racing Bentley Continental GT3), of Pleasant Valley, N.Y. came in third. Henrique Cisneros (No. 30 MOMO NGT Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia), of Miami, FL won in the GTA class. It was the third GT win of the 2015 season for Estre, and the first career Pirelli World Challenge GTA win for Cisneros. Round 11, which was scheduled for Sunday, was cancelled due to the weather and poor track conditions. It has been rescheduled for Friday, June 26 at Road America. 

(Aston Martin/newspress)
Aston Martin Racing and the Hotel de France reunited after more than 50 years on June 1st to relive some of the most iconic memories from the luxury sportscar manufacturer’s history at the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the 1950s and 1960s, Aston Martin’s racing team used the Hotel de France as its base for the 24-hour race. This year, it returned with three of its 2015 V8 Vantage GTEs and works drivers Darren Turner (GB), Richie Stanaway (NZ) and Mathias Lauda (AT) to recreate the photos and footage that captured some of the greatest moments in the brand’s 102-year history. David Richards, Chairman of Aston Martin Racing, said: “The Hotel de France is an important part of Aston Martin’s motorsport heritage, having been the team’s Le Mans base for many years in the late 1950s, including 1959 when the team won the 24-hour race. This year, we wanted to recreate the nostalgia of those days, when the racing cars had their final preparations alongside the hotel before being driven some 40km to the circuit along public roads.” The Hotel de France’s association with motorsport and the Le Mans 24-hour race started when John Wyer, Aston Martin’s then team manager, discovered it in 1952 and then based his teams there.

(Porsche)
Porsche Cars North America has unveiled the official Rennsport Reunion V artwork for its gathering of historic and contemporary Porsche race cars, and their drivers, September 25 to 27, 2015. This year’s event will feature the decades-long success story of Porsche at Le Mans. The poster depicts the 356 of 1951, first Porsche entrant and first class winner at the famed 24 hour race; the 917, which garnered the first overall victory with Hans Herrmann and Dick Attwood in 1970; and the 919 hybrid prototype with which Porsche returned to the top category of sports car racing in 2014 after a 16-year absence. The painting is by automotive artist Dennis Simon, who created the posters for three of the previous four venues. Additional details about the Porsche Rennsport Reunion V along with images from the first four Rennsport Reunions will be published on the official Porsche Rennsport Reunion V website, www.porscherennsportreunion.com, and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s website (www.mazdaraceway.com), as they become available. Ticket information is available by contacting 831-242-8200 or www.mazdaraceway.com.

The first Rennsport Reunion poster.