JANUARY 6, 2021

Editor-in-Chief's Note: INDYCAR officials have announced that the 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is being rescheduled for Sunday, April 25, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The move creates a condensed, action-packed early-season schedule for 2021. “It’s not surprising that an event of this magnitude, scheduled for the first week of March, is still subject to the implications of the pandemic,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said. “We’re delighted we were able to work with Mayor Rick Kriseman’s administration and Green Savoree Racing Promotions to find a more suitable date, which helps consolidate the beginning of our schedule and allows us to stay on NBC network television.” Due to the move, Barber Motorsports Park becomes the host of the season opener as the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will raise the curtain on the 2021 season. -PMD

(IMSA)
Porsche will remain part of the GTLM class for the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. WeatherTech Racing and Proton Competition will campaign a Porsche 911 RSR for the entire 2021 season. The No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche will debut in the class in the season opener, the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Drivers for the 24-hour race at Daytona International Speedway’s road course will be Cooper MacNeil – the team’s full-season driver – along with Porsche works drivers Richard Lietz, Kevin Estre and Gianmaria Bruni. "We have put a lot of thought into this move," MacNeil said. "I have raced against this level of competition at Le Mans twice, most recently this year, and have felt comfortable with the added performance of the car. We are going back to running a Porsche, and I am looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the 911 RSR. It will be more pressure on me as a driver, but I am welcoming the added effort it is going to take to run GTLM in 2021." WeatherTech Racing has been part of the IMSA scene since 2012, capturing American Le Mans Series GTC championships in 2012 and 2013. It most recently competed in the GT Daytona (GTD) class of the WeatherTech Championship, with a win at the Motul Petit Le Mans last October. Proton Competition makes the move to the WeatherTech Championship following successful competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the European Le Mans Series. The agreement also will see the team apply for entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE Pro class. The Porsche GT Team closed its GTLM operations following the 2020 WeatherTech Championship season, concluding a highly competitive seven-year run that saw the team claim victory in its debut at the 2014 Rolex 24, collect a pair of season titles (2015, 2019) and win its final three races of 2020. Estre and Bruni each held part-time driving roles for the team between 2016 and 2018. WeatherTech Championship action begins with the Roar Before the Rolex 24 from Jan. 22-24, providing teams and drivers the chance to test on the 3.56-mile road course and compete in the Motul Pole Award 100, the qualifying race that will set the Rolex 24 starting grid. Race week for the Rolex 24 runs Jan. 27-31, with the 24-hour race set to start at 3:40 p.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 30.

(Richard Prince for Corvette Racing)
This is what the GM Racing Press Release said: After 25 years, Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan is stepping away from his position following the team’s 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. Fehan started with GM Racing in 1988 and worked on a number of the company’s motorsports programs including the Chevrolet Beretta Trans-Am, Chevrolet Intrepid GTP and Oldsmobile’s World Sports Car efforts. 

He was named program manager of Corvette Racing in 1996. Fehan and the Chevrolet Motorsports team worked for two-plus years on the development of the Corvette C5-R racecar, which served to market the hugely popular Corvette C5 production car. The C5-R made its debut in January 1999 at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and produced a podium finish in the GT2 class. Subsequently, Fehan worked with the team to develop and race three additional generations of racing Corvettes: the C6.R, C7.R and the mid-engine C8.R, which made its competition debut this year. Each racing car served as development platforms for technology transfer to Corvette production cars, culminating with the C8.R and the 2020 Corvette Stingray.

 

In 22 seasons, Corvette Racing has won 14 Team championships, and 13 Manufacturers and Drivers titles to go along with 113 race victories. It also is the only team to achieve 100 wins in IMSA. In 238 races, the two Corvette Racing teams have finished first and second a remarkable 63 times. 

“Doug’s contributions to Corvette Racing go far beyond the unparalleled successes on the race track,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President, Performance and Motorsports. “He developed strong relationships between Corvette Racing and the Corvette Engineering, Design, Powertrain and Marketing teams, and a variety of corporate sponsors, along with the various series and sanctioning bodies in which Corvette Racing competed. Doug’s passion and enthusiasm created an incredible connection with race fans around the world. Any fan who met Doug will never forget him."

 

Perhaps fittingly, Fehan’s last race as program manager was the 2020 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Advance Auto Parts at Sebring International Raceway. Corvette Racing has won 12 times at Sebring – more than at any other track.

Corvettes also have eight wins at Petit Le Mans and three wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona – including an overall win in 2001 and a 1-2 class finish in 2016. On the world stage, Corvette Racing has eight class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Fehan was recognized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) with the esteemed “Spirit of Le Mans Award” in 2014 for his contributions to the iconic endurance race. Fehan also was inducted into the prestigious National Corvette Museum Hall of Fame earlier this year. 

Doug leaves with Corvette Racing in great shape: Chevrolet clinched the GTLM Manufacturers Championship at the start of the 12 Hours of Sebring. Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor, who teamed to win five races, clinched the GT Le Mans (GTLM) Drivers Championship the prior race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The No. 3 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R also earned the GTLM Team Championship.

Editor-In-Chief's Note: This is what I say. Doug was forced out. After 25 years of molding and shaping Corvette Racing into the entity that it is today, he was summarily dismissed with little or no warning and without cause. I think the move was motivated by two things: 1. Jealousy. GM operatives couldn't stand the fact that Doug had more credibility and a genuine connection with Corvette enthusiasts than all of them put together. Doug also represented Corvette racing to IMSA, the FIA, the ACO, the Corvette Museum and the other race teams, and he had the utmost respect from all of them. Doug tirelessly lived and breathed Corvette Racing, and he woke up every day trying to make the program better. This will prove to be a huge error on GM's part. 2. Age-ism. They'd never say that but that had more than a little to do with it as well. This is a Bush League Bullshit decision. Doug is simply the best at what he does. Corvette Racing wouldn't be what it is today without the commitment, dedication and passion of Doug Fehan. His winning legacy and his concept of racing "the right way" will endure for many, many years to come. -PMD

(Honda)
Max Verstappen (No. 33 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda) started from the pole and went on to lead every lap to win Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 2020 Formula 1 World Championship finale. Verstappen streaked away from Valtteri Bottas (No. 77 Mercedes-AMG Petronas) and recorded a 15-second victory. The win was his second of the season and the 10th of his career, while marking Honda's third trip to the top step of the podium in 2020. Bottas finished second, and Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 Mercedes-AMG Petronas, still recovering from his bout with COVID-19, finished third. The finish gave Honda the 199th podium result in its Formula 1 history, and the 20th provided by Verstappen. The win was Honda's 78th and the first from pole since Verstappen's win in last year's Brazil GP.