Fairladyfairlady the Z33 Years Z
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EVENT COVERAGE ▪ FEATURES ▪ NEWS & REVIEWS ▪ TECHNICAL “Where Motorsports are more than a passtime” DownShiftDownShift Mar / Apr 2013 www. DownShift Magazine .com our fairladyfairlady The Z33 Years Z ON SCENE AT : ■ D AYTONA ■ A USTIN ■ O RLAN D O ■ C HICAGO RED LIGHT RACHEL RETURN of the ■ D ETROIT distracts: skarsten deltawing ■ L AS V EGAS the big camera debate beautiful & determined Panoz’s faith in concept ■ S EBRING May 16-19th Fontana Dam, 2013 NC Register for ZDayZX Today! An annual event started in 2004 "By Enthusiasts For Enthusiasts" located near the Tail of the Dragon in the Smokey Mountains. This event attracts enthusiasts from all over the US and Canada. ZDayZ is geared to all generations of the Nissan/Datsun Z car, Infiniti G's, Skyline's, and GT-R's, but all are welcome to enjoy the onsite and driving events held throughout the extended weekend. www.zdayz.com 2 Down Shift photos: forgedperformance.com table. of. contents 4 2013: Rolex 24 6 Our Fairlady Z: Z33 12 Red Light Cameras 14 2012: USGP Austin Register for ZDayZX Today! 16 McLaren To Debut P1 18 Festivals of Speed 20 BMW Z4 GTE 22 Tomorrow’s Performance 26 Porsche 959 Prototype 27 Competion for GoPro 27 2013: Chicago 28 Music Spolight 30 The Genius of McLaren 32 2013: Detroit 34 Return of the DeltaWing 36 2012: SEMA 37 Actress Rachel Skarsten 38 Aston Martin Racing DOWN SHIFT_staff Robert W. Maddrey, Jr._Editor Laura Maddrey_Creative Director Ric Quintanilla_Photographer J. Patrick Dean_Photographer Michael Coates_Photographer Paul Epperly_Analyst Steve Welk_Tamed Race Car Driver Garrick Hansen_Associate Associate Eliza Thompson_Administrative Vikram Saini, Esq._General Counsel model: taylor lane dsh, llc . po box 272652 tampa, fl 33688 . 813-448-3108 . downshiftmagazine.com Mar/Apr 2013 3 Rolex 51st Running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona Speedway 24Wrap Up 2013 Marks the Fifty-First until a racing incident clipping the wall while exiting As prosperous as the weekend was for BMW on the the pit lane. After fighting back to within two laps of the Daytona Prototypes front, it was inversely so for the GT Running of Florida’s Legendary leading 01 Ganassi car -the 02 car suffered a mechanical class. Turner Motorsport – who was to be represented Rolex 24 Hour Endurance Race at failure with approximately 4 hours to go. through two E92 M3’s and with star drivers like Bill Daytona International Speedway Auberlen, Andy Priaulx, and Boris Said ultimately lost ground during practice with only one of the M3’s running After nearly 23 hours and 50 minutes – the race came versus the two originally planned. The #93 Turner M3 down to a successful a single, accurate pit stop for fuel went off during a practice session in which Andy Priaulx for the BMW-powered Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix crashed heavily due to a potential mechanical failure. Sabates BMW Riley 01 car with Motorsport legend Juan While Priaulx was ultimately OK and came away from Pablo Montoya in for the final stint. Was there need for the accident uninjured – the #93 chassis did not. After concern? a detailed assessment of the damage, the decision was made to not rebuild the car for the Rolex 24 – despite As has become typical for the Rolex 24 Hours in the the 93 car qualifying better in class in 18th compared last few years – the endurance race has become a to the 94 car’s 22nd. sprint race to the finish. The 01 car was under attack by Max Angelelli in the Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP The sole Turner M3, and sole M3 in the whole of the Rolex car. Ironically, this late in the race both cars were low on 24, fought hard throughout the day, night and back into fuel with the 01 Ganassi car leading. In the closing minutes the day. However, it was no walk in the park as early into of the race, the Ganassi car dipped into the pits for a the night session the car developed mechanical issues splash of fuel, handing off the lead to the Velocity car. Out of the pits and back onto the track, Montoya found himself caught up by the heated battle between the trio of Audi R8’s fighting their own sprint race – luckily, cutting through the GT’s Montoya was back on pace as the #10 Corvette DP dipped back into the pits for fuel giving the 01 Ganassi car a chance to regain the lead for the final two laps. With that the Ganassi team – powered by BMW S62 V8’s won another Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. The victory proved historic – while Montoya was the driver to get the Daytona Prototype across the finish line for his third overall win in Daytona, today’s victory marks a fifth with for Scott Pruett. That proves especially significant to Mr. Pruett as it ties him for number of wins with famed Porsche driver Hurley Haywood – legendary for piloting the blue and red striped Brumos cars over the last 40 years. Ganassi’s 02 piloted by Dario Franchitti, Jamie McMurray, and Joey Hand which had been running very well just behind the 01 car throughout most of the race 4 Down Shift resulting in a prolonged pitstop in which the car was Porsche Cayman which came second in GX class. The 2014 24 Hours of Daytona will be even more exciting brought back to the garage for more work. This delay Mazda diesels, reminiscent of the Audi R18’s running as the merger between Grand-Am and the American Le put Turner many, many laps down against the GT in the World Endurance Championship with their eerily Mans Series will be in full effect this time next year. competition. Ultimately, it was largely a battle between quiet speed through the corners, had a poor showing Here’s hoping to see a Z4 GTE or M3 taking its class the Ferrar 458’s of Team Corsa Michelotto and AIM with two retirements earlier in the race and the third next year! Autosport the new-to-Grand-Am Audi R8’s. Almost a sometime later. Despite a difficult weekend, it’s a 1-2-3 finish in GT, the RumBum R8 exhausted its fuel welcome sign to see new technologies like diesel on the final lap pushing them down to seventh in class racers finding their way into Grand-Am. with WeatherTech and Audi Sport Customer R8’s making it a 1-2 with the AIM Autosport 458 rounding All in all, the 2013 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona proved to out the podium in GT. be an exciting race. Though predictable in its nature, the sprint race that comes in the closing hours of the As far as GX class, the new, somewhat less regulated race is nothing short of impressive to see so many class – it was a mix of Porsche Caymans and Mazda contenders still in it all the way down to the finish. SkyActiv diesels with the Napleton Racing Cayman Beyond the finish, the diversity seen in the field with taking first in class while James Clay, owner of the the new GX class and the addition of the Audi R8’s in Continental Tire Challenge Series team Bimmerworld GT plus a strong showing for the Corvette DP’s keeps was one of the drivers campaigning the Bullet Racing things interesting across the entire field. No doubt the Mar/Apr 2013 5 6 Down Shift our fairladyfairlady After production of the Z32 Nissan 300ZX ended in 1996, Nissan initially tried to keep the Z name alive by re-creating the 240Z the following year. The car was conceived by Nissan’s North American design team in their free time, and the concept was introduced in a four state Road Show in July 1998 to various car media, dealers and employees. The 240Z concept was produced for the Detroit Motor Show for the following Au- gust and September. Nissan was unhappy with the first design as they felt the original 200 bhp 2.4 L engine known as the KA24DE that was going to be as- signed made the car feel under-powered they also felt the car was considered too “retro” or too “backward” resembling a futuristic 240Z; thus, a redesign was commissioned. During a press conference in February 2000, president Carlos Ghosn announced plans to produce the car as he felt the new model would help to assist the company’s recovery. The Z Concept was unveiled in Detroit Motor Show two years later, which was similar in body shape but with a new front end. The car then underwent a mi- nor redesign and was eventually assigned the VQ35DE engine, hence becoming known as the 350Z. The 350Z entered production in late 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut until the following year. Initially, the coupe came in base, Enthusiast, Performance, Touring and Track versions, while the roadster was limited to Enthusiast and Touring trim levels. The Track trim came with lightweight wheels and Brembo brakes, but its suspension tuning was the same as all other coupes. Released on August 20, 2002, the 350Z coupé was available in the U.S. in 5 trim packages: ’350Z’ (Base), ‘Enthusiast’, ‘Performance’, ‘Touring’, and ‘Track’ editions. In Europe, only the ‘Track’ trim was available, although it was badged and marketed as ’350Z’. model: Taylor Lane car: Nissan 350Z Track Edition, 2006 Z Mar/Apr 2013 7 In 2004 Nissan introduced the 350Z Roadster featuring an electrically retractable soft-top roof.