DOCSLIB.ORG

50 Years of Endurance Racing: the ROLEX 24 AT

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
50 Years of Endurance Racing: the ROLEX 24 AT 50 Years of Endurance Racing: THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONAY ARL EYFERT B K S The race cars have gotten faster and the technology an order of magnitude more advanced, but after half a century of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, two things haven’t changed: Today’s drivers are just as tough and the race is as grueling as ever. Take it from us. Bobbitt Kevin Photo: ndianapolis celebrated the 100th signal from the flagman indicating that chicane in the second half of the back anniversary of the 500 last year. the three-hour race was about to end, straight further slows the cars before the This year it was time for Day- he employed gravity to allow the crip- Turn 12 banking and completes the mod- tona to mark the 50th anniver- pled car to coast across the finish line ifications to the basic tri-oval design. The sary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, for the win. Gurney’s son Alex compet- added road course curves and chicane ex- and MOTOR was lucky enough to ed this year and was the sentimental fa- tend the lap distance to 3.81 miles. attend the event. While this year’s race vorite to win the race. While the 24 Hours of LeMans is held Ifeatured just two classes, the inaugural The race was lengthened to 2000 near the summer solstice, the winter 1962 version (called the Daytona Conti- kilometers two years after the 1962 date of the Daytona endurance race nental) had 10, with Dan Gurney’s Lo- event. Although we’re marking its 50th means a larger percentage of the race is tus-Climax 19B taking the overall win. anniversary, the race wasn’t extended to run at night. The track’s lighting system The other nine classes were won by two the full 24 hours until the 1966 event. is reduced from its maximum output to Ferraris, three Porsches, a Jaguar, an Al- Fierce battles among Ford, Ferrari, force the drivers to rely on their head- fa-Romeo, a Chevrolet Corvette and Jim Porsche and the Chevrolet-powered lights. Each driver must be able to make Hall’s Chaparral. Fifty cars lined up for Chaparrals characterized the latter part hundreds of laps around the track with- the start of that race, with several other of the first 10 years of the race. Many of out mistakes, under constantly changing well-known names such as Phil Hill, Stir- the same manufacturers, plus several conditions—daylight or darkness, heat or ling Moss, Jim Clark, Innes Ireland, Jo others, competed in this year’s golden cold and clean or dirty track conditions, Bonnier, Briggs Cunningham, Roger anniversary race. as well as a mix of nearly 60 different cars Penske, A.J. Foyt and “Fireball” Roberts The 24-hour race utilizes nearly all of of vastly different speed capabilities. Jr. also in the field. Daytona’s iconic 2.5-mile tri-oval, al- Although this is an endurance race, it Gurney’s engine threw a rod while he ready very familiar to NASCAR fans. A probably would be impossible for one held a substantial lead near the end of sharp left turn near the end of the front driver to complete the entire 24 hours the race. He made the canny decision straight transfers the cars to an infield without assistance. In practice, each car to park the car at the top of front road course before the banking, where has several different drivers (most use straight’s banking, just short of the they must negotiate several turns before four). This helps to mitigate driver fa- start/finish line. When he received the returning to the banking. A “bus stop” tigue, but makes for some interesting 26 March 2012 8 the track and vastly faster prototypes in- 9 to the mix and things can get very inter- esting for the drivers (and race fans). Bus Stop 5 Contest Winner 7 Last year, MOTOR partnered with 4 LIQUI MOLY to conduct the LIQUI International 3 MOLY Pit Crew Sweepstakes. One Horseshoe MOTOR reader was selected at random 2 6 to attend this year’s Rolex 24 at Day- 1 tona. As we announced in our Decem- ber 2011 issue, Rod Reisdorf, owner of Mr. Best Wrench in Grand Island, NY, was selected to join the LIQUI MOLY- sponsored pit crew in Daytona. Illustration: Creative Commons & Harold A. Perry Creative Illustration: The Daytona tri-oval is reconfigured for the 24-hour race, with an infield road Rod is an avid race fan and partici- course and chicane section added. This slows the overall speed of the cars con- pant, with memberships in the SCCA, siderably and greatly increases the complexity of the course. The infield section BMWCCA and Corvettes of Buffalo car features several additional viewing areas for fans. clubs. He autocrosses an ’83 Camaro and takes to the Watkins Glen and Mosport challenges on the track. Teams may ate a pass on any of the other cars on circuits for high-performance track driv - substitute drivers at their discretion, so the track. About the time a driver be- ing events. He also has been a part own- competitors often are not certain who comes comfortable with the other driv- er of a late-model stock car that was they’re interacting with out on the track. ers in his vicinity, driver changes may campaigned at local short tracks, so he Different drivers negotiate the track in take place and the whole process begins has lots of hands-on racecar experience. slightly different ways, so it may take again. Throw a darkened track, a grow- He arrived in Daytona eager to help the several laps to determine how to negoti- ing accumulation of rubber debris on LIQUI MOLY pit crew any way he could. March 2012 27 THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA Photos: Karl Seyfert Karl Photos: When Rod Reisdorf and I arrived in the LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler/Mitchum Motorsports garage area (left photo), the en- tire front bodywork, the wheels and some of the rear bodywork still needed to be reinstalled. The team was completing some last-minute adjustments and seemed relatively unconcerned about the amount of time that remained before the start of the race. At right, Rod works on the Porsche’s rear bumper cover prior to the race, with a backup ready close by. LIQUI MOLY is the chief sponsor of number of top teams over the past 15 Rileys. One Ford Dallara and one Ford Team Engstler in Germany. Team En- years. Franz Engstler was partnered in Lola also were entered in the DP class. gstler, headed by team owner and driver the LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler/Mit- Daytona Prototypes have competed Franz Engstler, competes with a BMW chum Motorsports Porsche GT3 with at Daytona since 2003. Grand American in the World Touring Car Championship experienced sports car drivers David Road Racing Association, the organizing (WTCC), and the original plan was for Murry and Gunter Schaldach, and body, decided at that time that it was the team to bring its car to the States to young phenom Jade Buford. Unlike En- necessary to lower the overall cost of compete at Daytona. However, the gstler, all three had previous experience competition (and possibly the speed) in Team Engstler car in its WTCC configu- in the Daytona 24-hour race. the top class. To do this, DP cars were ration did not meet the GT class require- restricted to closed-cockpit chassis con- ments for Daytona, and would have had The Cars structed with tube frames, instead of to undergo significant modifications to Just two classes competed in the 2012 higher cost composites. To further re- comply. The decision was made to join race—Daytona Prototype (DP) and GT. strict costs, the series regulated which forces with an American team and enter The DP class was dominated by cars companies could provide chassis and a Porsche 911 GT3 instead. LIQUI manufactured by chassis builder Riley. which manufacturers could provide MOLY had previously sponsored a These included Ford Rileys and BMW engines. Engines had to be based on Porsche 935 Turbo to an road-legal production units overall win of the 1980 Day- from a major manufacturer. tona 24-hour race, so the At the same time, major man- switch from BMW to Porsche ufacturers were not allowed was interpreted as a good to run Daytona Prototype omen rather than a setback. teams. LIQUI MOLY and Team Many sports car racing fans Engstler partnered with have expressed disdain for Mitchum Motorsports for the the too-similar appearance Rolex 24 at Daytona effort. of the DP cars that resulted Mitchum was already a com- from these rule changes. petitor in the Grand Ameri- Only a limited number of can Road Racing Association manufacturers are allowed (Grand-Am) series and team to pro vide chassis for the principal Chris Mitchum class and one chassis manu- brings experience from both The team kept a stockpile of key replacement parts in the facturer (Riley) has domi- sides of the pit wall as a for- garage area, several of which were needed during the nated, with teams selecting mer professional driver, course of the race. Radiator assemblies are visible in the different engine suppliers. coach, crew chief, team man- foreground and a complete set of front bodywork sits on From the outside, it’s diffi- ager and consultant for a the ground near team owner Chris Mitchum. cult for a race fan to tell the 28 March 2012 THE ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA difference between a Ford Riley and a BMW Riley, for example.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Redwood Region Newsletter Newsletter Date: January 10, 2008 9:18:58 AM PST To: [email protected] Reply-To: William [email protected]
    From: william walters <[email protected]> Subject: Redwood Region Newsletter Newsletter Date: January 10, 2008 9:18:58 AM PST To: [email protected] Reply-To: [email protected] P O R S C H E der Reisenbaum Redwood Region Newsletter Porsche Club of America Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma January 2008 Issue II Volume I ; electronic newsletter Bill Walters, editor Kurt Fischer, assistant editor See us on the web at: http://red.pca.org//index.htm President's Message Kurt Fischer It's New Year's Eve and I'm thinking of the 2008 calendar and all the events that will be forthcoming...what an action packed year we have in store! Bob Hall's great breakfast runs, our 9 Autocrosses; more of Greg Chamber's "Artisan" wine tours, car corrals for the Wine Country Classics and Grand AM/IRL races at Infineon Raceway, our overnight tours to Eureka and Mendocino, PCA Escape #4 in Albuquerque, NM and the list goes on! Look for several "special" surprise events that are in the works as well. More details will follow in the upcoming months! Again...I want to thank the members of the Redwood Region for their participation in the events of 2007. Our members are the heart and soul of this group and we try to accommodate all of your wishes for events! If you would like to suggest a new event, please let me know! I'd like to welcome Bret Boutet as our new Membership Chairman. He spent a day with Dave and LaVonne Benson learning all the nuances of this very important job and will be a welcome addition to our Board of Directors.
    [Show full text]
  • Kenny Brack Signed As Development Driver With
    Media information 13.00 BST, 28 September 2015 KENNY BRACK SIGNED AS DEVELOPMENT DRIVER WITH McLAREN AUTOMOTIVE The relentless research and development programme at McLaren Automotive has been further strengthened with the appointment of Kenny Brack as Test and Development Driver. With the introduction of the Sports Series, McLaren Automotive has recently confirmed its three tier product range as the brand extends its offering into new markets. The development plan to support the expansion of groundbreaking products is expected to account for 20 percent of overall turnover in 2015. Kenny Brack, 49, joins McLaren with extensive motorsport experience, and a racing career including securing the Indy Racing League Drivers Championship in 1998. The following year, the Swedish driver joined motor racing’s elite by adding his name to the famous Borg Warner Trophy, claiming victory at the Indy 500. With this result, he joined McLaren heroes including Johnny Rutherford, Mark Donohue and Emerson Fittipaldi. His versatile driver career spans more than three decades and includes an X-Games Rally/Racing gold medal and numerous other victories both in racing and rallying. Most recently, he has helped prepare and race a number of notable historic cars, claiming victories at the Goodwood Revival in 2011 and 2013 at the wheel of a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe and Ford GT40 respectively. No stranger to a McLaren, Kenny Brack has taken to the track in models old and new over the past few years. In 2014, he drove the famous Goodwood Hill at the Festival of Speed with the McLaren F1 GTR ‘Longtail’, and joined the grid at the 73rd Goodwood Members’ Meeting which saw 16 examples of the McLaren F1 GTR take to the track.
    [Show full text]
  • WRC Rallye D'espagne
    MEDIA INFORMATION November 2013 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship Round 7: 6 Hours of Shanghai Victory for the N°1 AUDI R18 e-tron quattro/MICHELIN, as Tom Kristensen/Loïc Duval/Allan McNish secure the 2013 WEC Drivers’ title After the torrential rain that forced the organisers to halt the recent 6 Hours of Fuji after just 16 laps, all spent behind the safety car, Audi Sport Team Joest and Toyota Motorsport GmbH were both eager to join battle once again this weekend in China. In contrast to the conditions encountered in Japan, the 6 Hours of Shanghai was marked by clear skies and warm weather (air temperature: approximately 25°C, and track temperatures up to 30°C) which enabled the teams to produce yet another thrilling show, with the outcome only settled with less than half-an-hour remaining. The pole-winning N°7 Toyota TS030-Hybrid of Wurz/Lapierre carved out an early lead, while the N°8 sister car – with Antony Davidson in command – engaged in a fight with André Lotterer in the N°1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro. On Lap 10, the British driver succeeded in finding a way past to ease into second place. The two Japanese prototypes then proceeded to dominate the top of the leaderboard until the eventful 143rd lap (190 laps completed in total). After 4½ hours of racing, the N°8 Toyota TS030-Hybrid was suddenly eliminated when its front- right suspension failed under barking for Turn 6. This promoted the N°1 Audi to second spot, approximately half-a-minute behind the N°7 Toyota, thanks to a strong stint from Benoît Tréluyer in the German car, as well as to a couple of time-consuming „moments‟ for the Japanese team‟s Nicolas Lapierre while overtaking slower competitors.
    [Show full text]
  • Ryan Hunter-Reay and Rob Bell Complete SRT Motorsports Driver Lineup for 2014 IMSA TUDOR United Sportscar Championship
    Contact: Dan Reid Stellantis Adam Saal BurnsGroup Unlimited (321) 890-2848 (cell) [email protected] Barbara Burns BurnsGroup Unlimited (404) 873-0772 (office) (770) 329-7134 (cell) [email protected] Ryan Hunter-Reay and Rob Bell Complete SRT Motorsports Driver Lineup for 2014 IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Both drivers will join team for endurance events, including the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, Jan. 25-26, 2014 Returning full-time drivers include Jonathan Bomarito, Dominik Farnbacher, Marc Goossens and Kuno Wittmer Driver lineups set for both SRT Viper GTS-Rs January 3, 2014, Auburn Hills, Mich. - SRT Motorsports announced today that Ryan Hunter-Reay and Rob Bell will join the factory two-car team for the extended endurance races in the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in 2014. Hunter-Reay, the 2012 IndyCar Series champion, returns to the SRT Motorsports team he competed with in 2012 and is looking forward to getting the upcoming racing season off to a good start overall. “The SRT Motorsports program has come such a long way in a short period of time,” Hunter-Reay said. “This is truly one of the most competitive forms of GT class racing in the world and for the Viper GTS-R team to earn three poles and a win last season is outstanding. I have a long history with the Riley Technologies family and am looking forward to working with the same group in 2014 to again represent SRT on the track.” Hunter-Reay competes full-time in the IndyCar Series for Andretti Autosport. With 10 years and more than 150 career starts, he has recorded 11 victories behind the wheel of an Indy car.
    [Show full text]
  • Le Mans 1998 – the Anniversary Victory
    Le Mans 1998 – the anniversary victory Porsche celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding with victory in Le Mans, overcoming stiff competition from Mercedes, BMW and Toyota. Driven by Allan McNish, Laurent Aïello and Stéphane Ortelli, the 911 GT1 ’98 secured Porsche’s 16th overall victory in Le Mans. The strength of the starting field led Porsche race director Herbert Ampferer to describe it as the ‘race of the century’. A crowd of at least 250,000 attended the 1998 edition of the classic race, with Porsche not looking much like a winner in the opening stages. An AMG-Mercedes took the lead early on and the BMWs were also setting a good pace, but engine trouble and problems with the wheel bearings forced the cars from both teams to retire. The Porsche 911 GT1 ’98 models were built with a focus on durability rather than recording the quickest lap times. The engineer Norbert Singer noted the gearbox as an example of this phenomenon, as rival Toyota took greater risks than Porsche in its design and trusted that this would enable them to perform a gearbox change within a few short minutes. By the early hours of Sunday morning, the quickest Toyota and the two Porsches – one driven by Allan McNish, Laurent Aïello and Stéphane Ortelli, the other by Jörg Müller, Uwe Alzen and Bob Wollek – were almost neck-and- neck. However, both cars from Weissach then lost time in the pits. Jörg Müller gave his team a lot of work to do after spinning into the gravel, with the entire crew descending on the Porsche to perform repairs.
    [Show full text]
  • Revolution Magazine Autumn 2005
    Welcome to Revolution When we launched Revolution magazine earlier this year we were pleasantly surprised by the positive feedback that we received from readers, in the form of calls, letters and emails. You 2 seemed to like the mix of information and news and it’s given us something to live up to with this, our second issue. As the largest independent distributor of turbochargers in the world, we aim to support the factors and vehicle repairers who depend on us to supply replacement turbos quickly and efficiently, and to provide advice on all aspects of turbocharging. Some of the facts and figures that we quote in this issue illustrate just how many turbocharged vehicles there are on the road today. Sooner or later, they’re all going to need some turbo attention! Inside Revolution 2 In this issue, you’ll find an article outlining the basic principle of turbocharging. It is surprisingly simple in its basic form, but technology is moving very fast, as you will see in our profile of BorgWarner Turbo Systems. We also look at the success of the Garrett®-boosted Audi R8 in June’s Le Mans 24 hour race and, by way of contrast, we see how turbocharged diesel power is becoming popular in the marina (that’s the harbour, not the seventies’ Morris car!) Win a Silverstone Track Day BTN offers you the opportunity to spend a day driving at Silverstone! Enter our simple competition and you and a friend or colleague could be off to for an adrenalin-filled day behind the wheel, in everything from a Lotus Elise on the track to a 4x4 on the specially constructed off-road course.
    [Show full text]
  • The Indy Racing League and the Indianapolis 500
    The Indy Racing League and the Indianapolis 500: Increasing Competition in Open-Wheeled Automobile Racing in the United States Robert W. White Department of Sociology and Andrew J. Baker Department of Geography School of Liberal Arts IUPUI We thank Terri Talbert-Hatch and Pete Hylton for their comments and support of Motorsports Studies. Please direct correspondence to Robert White ([email protected]), Professor of Sociology and Director of Motorsports Studies, or Andrew Baker ([email protected]), Lecturer, Department of Geography, School of Liberal Arts, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), 425 University Boulevard, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202. 1 The Indy Racing League and the Indianapolis 500: Increasing Competition in Open-Wheeled Automobile Racing in the United States Abstract Over the course of its lengthy history, the popularity of open-wheeled automobile racing in the United States has waxed and waned. This is especially evident in recent years. The 1996 “split” between the Indy Racing League (IRL; later, the IndyCar Series) and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART; later the Champ Car World Series) severely hurt the sport. Following the split there was a well-documented decline in fan interest from which the sport has not recovered. Less understood, however, is that under the Indy Racing League the Indianapolis 500, the premier event in open-wheeled racing in the United States, became more competitive. Ironically, while fan interest decreased in the Indy Racing League era, the quality of racing increased. The increased competition associated with the Indy Racing League is a historically significant development that bodes well for the future of the sport.
    [Show full text]
  • 1911: All 40 Starters
    INDIANAPOLIS 500 – ROOKIES BY YEAR 1911: All 40 starters 1912: (8) Bert Dingley, Joe Horan, Johnny Jenkins, Billy Liesaw, Joe Matson, Len Ormsby, Eddie Rickenbacker, Len Zengel 1913: (10) George Clark, Robert Evans, Jules Goux, Albert Guyot, Willie Haupt, Don Herr, Joe Nikrent, Theodore Pilette, Vincenzo Trucco, Paul Zuccarelli 1914: (15) George Boillot, S.F. Brock, Billy Carlson, Billy Chandler, Jean Chassagne, Josef Christiaens, Earl Cooper, Arthur Duray, Ernst Friedrich, Ray Gilhooly, Charles Keene, Art Klein, George Mason, Barney Oldfield, Rene Thomas 1915: (13) Tom Alley, George Babcock, Louis Chevrolet, Joe Cooper, C.C. Cox, John DePalma, George Hill, Johnny Mais, Eddie O’Donnell, Tom Orr, Jean Porporato, Dario Resta, Noel Van Raalte 1916: (8) Wilbur D’Alene, Jules DeVigne, Aldo Franchi, Ora Haibe, Pete Henderson, Art Johnson, Dave Lewis, Tom Rooney 1919: (19) Paul Bablot, Andre Boillot, Joe Boyer, W.W. Brown, Gaston Chevrolet, Cliff Durant, Denny Hickey, Kurt Hitke, Ray Howard, Charles Kirkpatrick, Louis LeCocq, J.J. McCoy, Tommy Milton, Roscoe Sarles, Elmer Shannon, Arthur Thurman, Omar Toft, Ira Vail, Louis Wagner 1920: (4) John Boling, Bennett Hill, Jimmy Murphy, Joe Thomas 1921: (6) Riley Brett, Jules Ellingboe, Louis Fontaine, Percy Ford, Eddie Miller, C.W. Van Ranst 1922: (11) E.G. “Cannonball” Baker, L.L. Corum, Jack Curtner, Peter DePaolo, Leon Duray, Frank Elliott, I.P Fetterman, Harry Hartz, Douglas Hawkes, Glenn Howard, Jerry Wonderlich 1923: (10) Martin de Alzaga, Prince de Cystria, Pierre de Viscaya, Harlan Fengler, Christian Lautenschlager, Wade Morton, Raoul Riganti, Max Sailer, Christian Werner, Count Louis Zborowski 1924: (7) Ernie Ansterburg, Fred Comer, Fred Harder, Bill Hunt, Bob McDonogh, Alfred E.
    [Show full text]
  • By the Numbers the 40Th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
    BY THE NUMBERS THE 40TH TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE ENTERING THE 2014 TOYOTA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH: DAN GURNEY’S NO. 48 JORGENSEN EAGLE FORMULA 5000 CAR WAS THE FIRST RACE CAR TO TAKE TO THE CITY STREETS ON SEPT. 16, 1975, DRIVEN BY VERN 1SCHUPPAN. MOST POLES EARNED BY MARIO ANDRETTI (1984, ’85 AND ’87), MICHAEL ANDRETTI (1991, ’92 AND ’95), GIL DE FERRAN (1996, ’97 AND 2000) AND MOST RECENTLY (AND CONSECUTIVELY) BY WILL POWER OF TEAM PENSKE (2009, 2010 AND 2011). POWER WON THE 2012 RACE AND THE 2008 RACE (THE LAST CHAMP CAR-SANCTIONED EVENT). AL UNSER JR. WAS DOMINANT AT LONG BEACH, WINNING SIX TIMES: 1988, ’89, ’90, ’91, ‘94 AND ’95. HE ALSO WAS RUNNER- UP IN 1986 AND ’87 AND FINISHED THIRD IN 1996 IN THE RACE WON BY KV RACING TECHNOLOGY CO-OWNER JIMMY VASSER. NEWMAN/HAAS RACING HAS THE MOST VICTORIES BY A TEAM WITH SIX (1984, ’85, ’87, 2005-07). SINCE THE FIRST INDY CAR RACE AT LONG BEACH IN 1984, EIGHT DRIVERS HAVE WON THE RACE AND GONE ON TO WIN THE SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP. DARIO FRANCHITTI (2009) IS THE MOST RECENT. OTHERS ARE MARIO ANDRETTI, AL UNSER JR., JIMMY VASSER, ALEX ZANARDI, JUAN MONTOYA, PAUL TRACY AND SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS. THE RACE CIRCUIT HAS BEEN ALTERED NINE TIMES SINCE THE FIRST RACE IN 1975 (2.028 MILES, NINE FEATURING THE “LINDEN LEAP” WHEN CARS WOULD BARREL DOWN OCEAN BOULEVARD AND MAKE A HARD RIGHT ONTO LINDEN – OCCASIONALLY BECOMING AIRBORNE). THE CURRENT CONFIGURATION (SINCE 2000) IS 1.968 MILES AND 11 TURNS (SIX LEFT AND FIVE RIGHT IN A CLOCKWISE DIRECTION).
    [Show full text]
  • Wide Open Battle in Indy
    Wide open michelinalley.com battle in Indy News From the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship - Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship - Indianapolis Motor Speedway the News From Portrait of a Porsche Pro FROM PORSCHE JUNIOR TO PORSCHE VETERAN 2 3 atrick Long joined the Porsche Junior program is not as extreme now. The Juniors graduate through a well- in 2003 as a freckle faced youngster, so it seems designed program. Michael has already been to Sebring and impossible that Long, now 32, has been with Porsche Daytona, so the learning curve now is more about learning to for a dozen years and is the senior Porsche factory work with a bigger team and all the resources.” American driver in the TUDOR United SportsCar The debut in 2014 of an official Porsche North America PChampionship. factory team in the TUDOR Championship is evidence of Beginning his racing career in karts at age eight, Long became the fierce competition in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, a big winner in karting and embarked on a plan that took him where Porsche takes on the factory squads from Corvette to Europe in 1999 at the age of 18. He progressed through the Racing, BMW Team RLL, SRT Dodge Viper and the lead Risi single-seater ranks from the British Formula Ford Zetec series Competizione Ferrari team. and was one of six finalists in the Red Bull F1 driver search. “Ten years ago, Porsche was less aggressive,” said Long. “The That caught the attention of Porsche and he officially joined the Porsche GT program was mostly customer teams.
    [Show full text]
  • Porsche 919 Hybrid English.Indd
    Porsche 919 Hybrid Return to top-level sport Porsche is making its comeback to the top-level motorsport arena: with the new 919 Hybrid the sports car brand is sending a platform for pioneering technology to the top category of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the undisputed seasonal highlight of the 24-hour Le Mans race. Porsche's reputation precedes it at this venue: with 16 overall victories under its belt, the brand holds the record for this, the most famous endurance race in the world. In 2014 Porsche is returning to the top-level class endurance race after a 16-year absence - namely Le Mans Prototypes (LMP1). Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG explains: "The new and revolutionary efficiency regulations for this class were what prompted us to take this step. In 2014 it is not going to be the fastest contender who is going to win the sports car world championship and Le Mans, but the car that gets furthest with the defined amount of energy. And it is precisely this challenge that the automotive industry has to face. The 919 Hybrid is like a high speed research laboratory and the most complex racing car Porsche has ever built." The new WEC regulations for the LMP1 racing car gives engineers an unusual amount of leeway and demands pioneering technology, such as hybridisation, downsizing engines and consistent lightweight construction. This is all particularly relevant for the development of future generations of factory-spec sports cars. Maximum sporting performance and highest efficiency are at the heart of "Porsche Intelligent Performance".
    [Show full text]
  • IZOD Indycar® Series & Firestone Indy Lights
    ® DARIO FRANCHITTIDARIO Chip Ganassi Racing Target Series Champion 2011 IZOD IndyCar IZOD IndyCar ® Series & Firestone Indy Lights™ 2012 Trackside INDYCAR Media Web Site – media.indycar.com A media-only section of the INDYCAR’s Web site is available for media use. This site contains general content about the IZOD IndyCar® Series and Firestone Indy Lights, including: IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights logos for download Graphics and special event photo galleries for download and publication INDYCAR PR contacts Team PR contacts Track contacts Teleconference advisories Teleconference transcripts, press releases, advisories and notebooks Weekly Video News Feed advisories and digital copies Information about each event also is available, including: Complete event schedules Broadcast information Daily Trackside Reports, including session details and quotes Event Video News Release advisories Event press conference transcripts The address for the media site is: http://media.indycar.com INDYCAR Media Photo Web Site – IndyCarMedia.com A media-only website is available for media to download high-resolution photos of at-track events and studio photos of drivers. Note, registration is required to access the side The address for the media site is: http://www.indycarmedia.com INDYCAR PR CONTACT INFORMATION 1. INDYCAR. Contact information for members of INDYCAR Public Relations: a. Amy Konrath, Vice President of Communications/Public Relations 317-331-7437 – cell; 317-492-6453 – office; [email protected] b. Denise Abbott, Vice President of Public Relations 310-430-0496 – cell; 317-492-8836 – office; [email protected] c. Steve Shunck, Vice President of Public Relations 317-716-9188 – cell; 317-492-8532 – office; [email protected] d.
    [Show full text]