Motorsport News
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
IN TOUCH MOTORSPORT NEWS GET READY FOR A SPARKLING YEAR AHEAD WITH ACTION ON TWO AND FOUR WHEELS! FOUR WHEELS TWO WHEELS AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES AMA HITS DAYTONA The ALMS kicked off in Sebring The famous Daytona 200 race last weekend with the debut race traditionally opens the now for the Dunlop shod E92 M3 ‘all-Dunlop’ AMA road racing BMW team. season. > PAGE 2 > PAGE 3 ISSUE ONe – MARCH ‘09 FOUR WHEEL NEWS LEIN MTOUANSCH ‘tHE DUNLOP CAr’ WELCOME to ‘IN TouCH’! DUNLOP ART CAR COMPETITION elcome to In Touch, the dealer network we share a strong WMotorsports newsletter that passion for racing. Not just for the endeavors to keep you informed speed and excitement, but also about our global partnerships in car because we realize that motorsport and motorcycle racing. participation has made Dunlop what The 2009 season looks to be it is today, one of the world’s long a big year for Dunlop Motorsport established technology leaders in with an unprecedented number of performance tyres. manufacturers and world famous The March edition is the first of protagonists putting their trust in nine issues to be published this Dunlop to help them win races year and will be circulated internally and championships. In Touch and shared with our European will report on their fortunes and dealer network as a pdf document. how Dunlop contributed to the Additionally the contents can also success, disclosing to you the latest be read on the European Dunlop developments in tyre technology websites so that public and press coming from our racing ‘labs’. will also understand that there are Right down from management, few tyre manufacturers as successful engineers, factory workers to our in racing as Dunlop. THE SEASON AHEAD DuNLOP MotorSPort LINES UP ON THE GRID for 2009 he 2008 LMS GT2 Car Competition website. championship-winning Ferrari Subsequently, winning national three-year contract for AMA is T F430 became an iconic car overnight designs from the participating already paying off for the riders when it appeared in a striking yellow markets enter into the European as exhilarating Sportbike and Dunlop livery at the first race of the semi-final, where an expert jury will Superbike action sees Ben Bostrom ’08 season in Catalunya. The impact once more select three designs and winning the Daytona 200 and was such that since then the Ferrari the public can vote for their favorite. Mat Mladin and Tommy Hayden has been referred to as the ‘Dunlop These four semi-final winners will complete a Suzuki one-two at the car’. For 2009 Dunlop wants build be Dunlop’s guests at the 2009 AMA Superbike races in Fontana on this success and take the 24 Hours of Le Mans to attend California. Teams from the national concept a step further. the press presentation of the next Superbike, Supersport and In a matter of weeks the ‘Dunlop Dunlop Art Car featuring the winning Superstock race series’ in Italy, Art Car Competition’ will be publically ‘European’ design from the contest. Germany, France and Spain have announced; a pan European contest The Ferrari F430 GT car of the is set to be an exciting been enjoying successful pre-season challenging talented amateurs and JMW Motorsports team will proudly year for the Dunlop testing in Albacete and Valencia and 2009 art school students to design the sport the winning livery during Motorsport brand on both two and Dunlop’s first national championship next ‘Dunlop Car’. National contests the Le Mans race as well as in four wheels with chequered flags win of the season is already under organized in countries across the remaining rounds of the 2009 and national championship wins the belt in New Zealand. Europe will result in three winners per LMS GT2 championship, hopefully already rolling in as a high octane The MotoGP teams are in Jerez country elected by an expert jury. A creating a pedigree of Dunlop Art season of success kicks off. this weekend for the official pre- fourth national winner will be chosen Cars that will appear on a yearly On four wheels 2009 promises season test, before heading to Qatar by the public who can vote for the basis for a long time to come! excitement across Europe with the for the first of the 17 races in the designs on the dedicated Dunlop Art Le Mans series, GT Open, DTM and 2009 World Championship on April BTCC as highlights. The famous 12. Marco Simoncelli is looking to Ferrari F430 ‘Dunlop car’ will be defend his 2008 250GP title on his competing both in the Le Mans Dunlop shod Gilera. series and the Le Mans 24H itself, The World Endurance and looking to retain its GT2 LMS Championship gets underway with title. The Mini Challenge adds Spain the Le Mans 24H on April 18/19. to Germany, UK and Australia (where Dunlop’s long time partner and it starts the season at this week’s F1 defending World Champion team race weekend). Suzuki will be out to defend their Across the Atlantic the American position as the team to beat in Le Mans series kicked off in Sebring endurance racing. last weekend with the debut race April 19th also sees the first for the Dunlop shod E92 M3 BMW round of the Supermoto World team. Championship which runs It’s business as usual on exclusively on Dunlop tyres. two-wheels, Dunlop’s exclusive > PAGE 1 FOR MORE FOUR WHEEL STORIES GO TO WWW.DUNLOP-TIRES.COM FOUR WHEEL NEWS LEAMIN MTEROUANSICACHN LE MANS SERIES LMS TEAM INTRODUCTION BMW M3 GTR INtroDUCTION IN THE 2009 ALMS JMW MotorSPort he Le Mans Series features five T 1000 kilometre races on some of Europe’s historic race circuits, including Spa Francorchamps (BE), the Nürburgring (GER), and Silverstone (UK). The season starts in Barcelona on April 5, and Dunlop will be strongly represented in the 50-car field, including its partnership with JMW Motorsport, which will run a Ferrari 430 GT in the GT2 category. Though the name is new, there is much similarity between the double champion Virgo Motorsport team, including the car’s owner, Jim McWhirter, and its drivers including unlop Dunlop returned to the great - the best all week,” said Dirk so far on the ALMS project. Dunlop British driver Rob Bell, and his DAmerican Le Mans Series Müller, “which is a big compliment to brings in great enthusiasm and Italian co-driver Gianmaria Bruni. with BMW at the opening round, the everyone’s efforts. We were running significant resources, and together McWhirter, a property developer Sebring 12 hours held in Florida on trouble-free in second place, no we have made big progress from Holywood, near Belfast, raced March 21. It was the first race of the incidents, no scratches, nothing. I already. We are looking forward to with Virgo Motorsport in the Ferrari new car, and the team was delighted made it from the back to fourth place the forthcoming season and will Challenge in 2003 to 2005. He with the initial performance. Drivers in two stints. Then we got a drive hopefully celebrate some successes then paired up with Virgo to run a Dirk Müller and Tom Milner ran as train issue that ultimately made us together.” Ferrari F430 GT2 for a three year high as second in class before a stop. It’s a new car and we need to Testing with Dunlop began in the programme, and with Dunlop as a mechanical problem stopped the car investigate this problem, but I have second half of 2008 using BMW’s partner, the team finished fourth in before mid-distance. no doubt St. Pete will be a better factory drivers, including its multiple the GT2 category. Following that In high daytime temperatures, race for us.” touring car champion Andy Priaulx, achievement, the team went on to the Dunlop tyre engineers saw their The 57th edition of the race 2001 ALMS champion Dirk Müller win the Le Mans Series GT2 title in product, developed with BMW, marked the start of the 2009 and Brazilian Augusto Farfus. BMW 2007 and 2008 with Rob Bell as perform to expectations. At the American Le Mans Series season. Motorsport completed much of its main driver, sharing with Allan 10:30am start, track temperature The ALMS was the first to run to the the development work before the Simonsen for much of the 2007 was 26 degrees Centigrade, and rules and regulations of Le Mans. cars were handed, race ready and season, and with Gianmaria Bruni that rose during the day to over 36 In the past ten years it has grown developed on Dunlop tyres, to the and Tim Sugden in 2008. degrees. The team started on soft into one of the most popular racing Rahal Letterman team which will run After the contract with Virgo compound tyres in temperatures of championships held in the US and the cars in the ALMS this season. expired, McWhirter formed JMW 28 degrees on the 3.7 mile bumpy its reputation in Europe is equally “Dunlop came to the tests every Motorsport, managed by Steve airfield circuit in central Florida. highly regarded. time with a package which got Bunkhall, and the team made its As the temperatures rose, This year, BMW has returned to better and better,” says Priaulx. “I public debut in the pre-season test the team switched to a harder the GT2 category for the first time liked the way that they worked. Their at the Paul Ricard High Tech Test compound and found that the since it won the title in 2001, and has understanding of the tyres, and what Facility in March this year.