Sunday
Sep242017
SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
Sunday, September 24, 2017 at 10:11AM 
(Photo by T. M. Hill)
Renger van der Zande (No. 90 Ligier LM P2, started by co-driver Marc Goossens) pulled off the winning pass at the "Corkscrew" in Sunday’s AMERICA’S TIRE 250 to win the IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship race at Laguna Seca (Mazda Raceway). After slowly reeling in race leader Dane Cameron (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. started by co-driver Eric Curran) over the final 20 minutes of the two-hour, 40-minute race, van der Zande charged from nearly five car lengths back, outbraking the Cameron with three laps remaining and completing the winning pass by the exit of the iconic corner. Van der Zande went on to win by 2.248 seconds. It was the first win of the season for VISIT FLORIDA Racing, and the first WeatherTech Championship win for an LM P2 prototype. “I asked over the radio, ‘Hey guys, can I go for it?’,” said van der Zande, who also won at Mazda Raceway in the Prototype Challenge class in 2014. “You know, it’s their car. They said, ‘Yeah, go for it’ and I knew the Corkscrew was the place to do it. It was one shot, two minutes to go, and I just did it.” It was an emotional win for VISIT FLORIDA Racing, as the team's Daytona Beach, Florida, race shop and equipment were damaged in Hurricane Irma just 14 days ago. Team owner Troy Flis said the team found two feet of water in its shop and a foot of water in its offices, and damaged race equipment. With the runner-up finish, Cameron and co-driver Eric Curran are now second in the series standings. The deficit is nearly insurmountable, however, with points leaders Ricky and Jordan Taylor (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R.) unofficially holding a 29-point lead. The brothers finished third on Sunday and can clinch their first WeatherTech Championship title by starting the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans season finale in two weeks at Road Atlanta and scoring points.
Renger van der Zande (No. 90 Ligier LM P2, started by co-driver Marc Goossens) pulled off the winning pass at the "Corkscrew" in Sunday’s AMERICA’S TIRE 250 to win the IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship race at Laguna Seca (Mazda Raceway). After slowly reeling in race leader Dane Cameron (No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R. started by co-driver Eric Curran) over the final 20 minutes of the two-hour, 40-minute race, van der Zande charged from nearly five car lengths back, outbraking the Cameron with three laps remaining and completing the winning pass by the exit of the iconic corner. Van der Zande went on to win by 2.248 seconds. It was the first win of the season for VISIT FLORIDA Racing, and the first WeatherTech Championship win for an LM P2 prototype. “I asked over the radio, ‘Hey guys, can I go for it?’,” said van der Zande, who also won at Mazda Raceway in the Prototype Challenge class in 2014. “You know, it’s their car. They said, ‘Yeah, go for it’ and I knew the Corkscrew was the place to do it. It was one shot, two minutes to go, and I just did it.” It was an emotional win for VISIT FLORIDA Racing, as the team's Daytona Beach, Florida, race shop and equipment were damaged in Hurricane Irma just 14 days ago. Team owner Troy Flis said the team found two feet of water in its shop and a foot of water in its offices, and damaged race equipment. With the runner-up finish, Cameron and co-driver Eric Curran are now second in the series standings. The deficit is nearly insurmountable, however, with points leaders Ricky and Jordan Taylor (No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R.) unofficially holding a 29-point lead. The brothers finished third on Sunday and can clinch their first WeatherTech Championship title by starting the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans season finale in two weeks at Road Atlanta and scoring points.
(BMW)
John Edwards (No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GTLM/Michelin, co-driven by Martin Tomczyk) spun on the opening lap of AMERICA’S TIRE 250 but led the team on to the GTLM class win in the two-hour-and-40-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race. Edwards dropped all the way to last in the 33-car field after spinning in the Andretti Hairpin (Turn 2) just seconds after the green flag dropped on the race. It took him only eight laps to work his way back through the entire GT Daytona (GTD) field. He turned the car over to Tomczyk for the middle driving stint in the race and the former DTM champion worked his way into sixth in class for the majority of his stint. Edwards took over again just past the halfway point in the race under a full-course caution period and restarted the race in third place. Edwards went on to win with a fuel conservation strategy, holding off Toni Vilander (No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE/Michelin, started by Giancarlo Fisichella) by 0.152 seconds. Patrick Pilet and Dirk Werner (No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR) finished third. Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette Racing C7.R/Michelin) retained their GTLM class points lead with a fourth-place finish. Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook (No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT/Michelin) made it five different manufacturers in the top five with their fifth-place run. Heading into the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans on Oct. 7 at Road Atlanta, Garcia and Magnussen lead Briscoe and Westbrook by 19 points, 302-283. With a nine-car GTLM field expected, the No. 3 teammates simply need to score points in the race to clinch the title.
(IMSA)
Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan (No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3) had built a solid lead in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class standings with a run of six consecutive podium results in the middle of the season. Only a victory was still missing on the team’s 2017 résumé. That changed on Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as Balzan won the GTD class by 6.550 seconds over Andy Lally and Katherine Legge (No. 93 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3). Patrick Lindsey and Joerg Bergmeister (No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R) finished third. It was Balzan’s sixth IMSA victory and the third for Nielsen, and was the first for the duo since the 2016 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
John Edwards (No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GTLM/Michelin, co-driven by Martin Tomczyk) spun on the opening lap of AMERICA’S TIRE 250 but led the team on to the GTLM class win in the two-hour-and-40-minute IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race. Edwards dropped all the way to last in the 33-car field after spinning in the Andretti Hairpin (Turn 2) just seconds after the green flag dropped on the race. It took him only eight laps to work his way back through the entire GT Daytona (GTD) field. He turned the car over to Tomczyk for the middle driving stint in the race and the former DTM champion worked his way into sixth in class for the majority of his stint. Edwards took over again just past the halfway point in the race under a full-course caution period and restarted the race in third place. Edwards went on to win with a fuel conservation strategy, holding off Toni Vilander (No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE/Michelin, started by Giancarlo Fisichella) by 0.152 seconds. Patrick Pilet and Dirk Werner (No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR) finished third. Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia (No. 3 Corvette Racing C7.R/Michelin) retained their GTLM class points lead with a fourth-place finish. Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook (No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT/Michelin) made it five different manufacturers in the top five with their fifth-place run. Heading into the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans on Oct. 7 at Road Atlanta, Garcia and Magnussen lead Briscoe and Westbrook by 19 points, 302-283. With a nine-car GTLM field expected, the No. 3 teammates simply need to score points in the race to clinch the title.
(IMSA)Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan (No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3) had built a solid lead in the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) class standings with a run of six consecutive podium results in the middle of the season. Only a victory was still missing on the team’s 2017 résumé. That changed on Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as Balzan won the GTD class by 6.550 seconds over Andy Lally and Katherine Legge (No. 93 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3). Patrick Lindsey and Joerg Bergmeister (No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R) finished third. It was Balzan’s sixth IMSA victory and the third for Nielsen, and was the first for the duo since the 2016 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.
(Autosport)
Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team RC213V) came from fifth on the grid to win the Aragon MotoGP, his fifth victory of the year. Dani Pedrosa (No. 26 Repsol Honda Team RC213V) finished second and Jorge Lorenzo (No. 99 Ducati Team GP17) was third. Valentino Rossi (No. 46 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) ran in the lead group finishing a gutty fifth after breaking his right tibia and fibula in an enduro training accident just 24 days earlier. Marques now leads the MotoGP points championship by sixteen points over Andrea Dovizioso (No. 4 Ducati Team GP17).
Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team RC213V) came from fifth on the grid to win the Aragon MotoGP, his fifth victory of the year. Dani Pedrosa (No. 26 Repsol Honda Team RC213V) finished second and Jorge Lorenzo (No. 99 Ducati Team GP17) was third. Valentino Rossi (No. 46 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) ran in the lead group finishing a gutty fifth after breaking his right tibia and fibula in an enduro training accident just 24 days earlier. Marques now leads the MotoGP points championship by sixteen points over Andrea Dovizioso (No. 4 Ducati Team GP17).
(IMSA)
Al Carter, making his fourth IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge start of the season in the No. 99 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage, picked up the Grand Sport (GS) class victory with co-driver Steven Phillips in the four-hour Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 240, the Saturday headliner at the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix. Carter and Phillips came from the back of the pack to win, qualifying the car 12th in the 15-car field. The team ran mid-pack for the first part of the race, but by the halfway mark had moved up to the top five. Trent Hindman and Cameron Cassels (No. 12 Bodymotion Racing Porsche Cayman GT4) finished second, while Jack Roush, Jr., Scott Maxwell and Nate Stacy (No. 59 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang) finished third. Pierre Kleinubing and Roy Block (No. 75 C360R Audi S3) won the Street Tuner (ST) class. The race broadcast of the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 240 will air on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
Al Carter, making his fourth IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge start of the season in the No. 99 Automatic Racing Aston Martin Vantage, picked up the Grand Sport (GS) class victory with co-driver Steven Phillips in the four-hour Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 240, the Saturday headliner at the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix. Carter and Phillips came from the back of the pack to win, qualifying the car 12th in the 15-car field. The team ran mid-pack for the first part of the race, but by the halfway mark had moved up to the top five. Trent Hindman and Cameron Cassels (No. 12 Bodymotion Racing Porsche Cayman GT4) finished second, while Jack Roush, Jr., Scott Maxwell and Nate Stacy (No. 59 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang) finished third. Pierre Kleinubing and Roy Block (No. 75 C360R Audi S3) won the Street Tuner (ST) class. The race broadcast of the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca 240 will air on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
(Toyota) Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&Ms Caramel Toyota) won Sunday’s ISM Connect 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Busch, the polesitter, took control of the race at the halfway point and beat Kyle Larson (No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chevrolet) to the finish line by 2.641 seconds. Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing SIRIUSXM Toyota) finished third. In winning for the third time this season, the third time at Loudon and the 41st time in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career, Busch led 187 of 300 laps at the 1.058-mile track and locked up a spot in the next round of NASCAR's playoffs.
(McLaren Automotive images)
The McLaren Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo was designed in response to a call from game creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, for vehicle manufacturers to design "visionary GT cars" to compete in Gran Turismo Sport. Though not a prototype for any future McLaren model, "the Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo showcases the kind of car that McLaren could produce beyond 2030," according to the manufacturer. Players will be able to choose from three liveries: Performance, Ulterior and Noir (above).
The McLaren Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo was designed in response to a call from game creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, for vehicle manufacturers to design "visionary GT cars" to compete in Gran Turismo Sport. Though not a prototype for any future McLaren model, "the Ultimate Vision Gran Turismo showcases the kind of car that McLaren could produce beyond 2030," according to the manufacturer. Players will be able to choose from three liveries: Performance, Ulterior and Noir (above).
(Audi images)
Audi presented the Group’s first all-electric race car - the Audi e-tron FE04 - in Neuburg on Wednesday night (9/27). The Audi e-tron FE04 "mirrors the company’s transformation from a classic automobile manufacturer to a forward-thinking mobility provider on the race track," according to Audi. Teams and manufacturers in Formula E are allowed to develop the powertrain consisting of the motor, transmission, parts of the suspension and the respective software. The combination of the motor and transmission is the centerpiece of the Audi e-tron FE04. Audi engineers primarily focused on designing the motor-generator unit for even greater efficiency. To transmit the power to the wheels, Team Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler will be using a high-efficiency transmission with only one gear in the 2017/2018 season. “Together with our technology partner Schaeffler, we have developed a completely new powertrain,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “You can immediately tell this by looking at the new carbon housing of the powertrain. The car also sounds different because we’re pursuing new avenues in technology.” A new livery for Audi Sport will appear on the e-tron FE04 featuring white, metallic green and black as the basic colors. Thirty-three-year-old Brazilian Lucas di Grassi, who won the Formula E championship title in July, will be the lead driver for the team and will drive the No. 1 machine. Twenty-four-year-old Daniel Abt will be di Grassi’s teammate and will drive the No. 66 machine with additional red color markings intended to make it easier for spectators to distinguish the cars from each other. The new team principal and, as such, the face of Team Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler in Formula E is Allan McNish. The Scotsman had already accompanied and supported the team at the race tracks throughout the third season. Now the former Formula 1 campaigner, long-standing Audi factory driver and three-time Le Mans winner is also officially leading and representing Audi's Formula E team. The Audi e-tron FE04 will make its racing debut at the Formula E season opener in Hong Kong on December 2, 2017, however, the new electric race car will appear this Friday and Saturday - with Daniel Abt at the wheel - during the E-Mobility Play Days at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. The only official Formula E pre-season test takes place next week in Valencia, Spain, with both Audi drivers testing there.
(Photo by Chris Clark)
Ernie Francis, Jr. (No. 98 Buoniconti Fund Ford Mustang) won the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli race at Virginia International Raceway last weekend, his seventh victory of the season. Paul Fix (No. 4 StopFlex/ClassicTube/CarCoach Chevrolet Corvette) was second and Shane Lewis (No. 6 Derhaag Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette), a full-time TA2 competitor, finished third. Lewis made his TA class debut in the No. 6 Corvette filling in for driver Cameron Lawrence who was forced to sit out the race following evaluation as the result of a heavy hit in TA2 practice, in which Lawrence was also participating.
Ernie Francis, Jr. (No. 98 Buoniconti Fund Ford Mustang) won the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli race at Virginia International Raceway last weekend, his seventh victory of the season. Paul Fix (No. 4 StopFlex/ClassicTube/CarCoach Chevrolet Corvette) was second and Shane Lewis (No. 6 Derhaag Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette), a full-time TA2 competitor, finished third. Lewis made his TA class debut in the No. 6 Corvette filling in for driver Cameron Lawrence who was forced to sit out the race following evaluation as the result of a heavy hit in TA2 practice, in which Lawrence was also participating.