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| AUDI'S R15 TDI UNVEILED! |
New diesel prototype bound for Sebring  Audi has unveiled its second-generation diesel-powered prototype, the R15 TDI. Photo: Audi AG The world got its first look Monday at Audi's new R15 TDI, the latest diesel-powered factory prototype from Audi AG that will race for the first time at the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. It will mark the start of the 2009 American Le Mans Series and serve as its 100th all-time event. Audi is the only automobile manufacturer to have won the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel car. "With the R15 TDI we have created the base to be in a position to win also in 2009," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish will drive one R15 TDI at the 12 Hours with Mike Rockenfeller joining defending Series LMP1 champions Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner in the other. Audi has taken P1 victories at Sebring every year since its first race in 2000. It won every Sebring race overall from 2000-2007. In 2006, Audi unveiled its R10 TDI that won its first time out at Sebring International Raceway. Since that time, the R10 TDI is unbeaten at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Petit Le Mans. Audi aims to underline its supremacy and consolidate its expertise in car technology once more at Le Mans with the all-new R15 TDI. Efficient and economical cars are especially required for the French endurance classic. Lightweight construction, environmentally friendly drive concepts and well-thought out aerodynamics are the focus of attention at Le Mans just as they are during the development of production cars. "The R15 TDI has many detailed technical solutions never seen before on a sports prototype," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Photo: Audi AG For this purpose the regulations intentionally give the engineers plenty of freedom. Audi Sport fully exploited this creative freedom and put a new LMP1 race car on the track that differs significantly from all previous Le Mans sports cars. "The R15 TDI has many detailed technical solutions never seen before on a sports prototype," explained Ullrich. "To a certain extent we followed entirely new routes." Next week at Sebring, Audi will take on fellow manufacturers Acura, Mazda, Lola and Peugeot for overall victory. Highly efficient TDI engine The heart of the R15 TDI is a newly developed V10 TDI engine producing more than 600 hp, with a maximum torque output in excess of 1,050 Newton meters and which reflects the latest version of the TDI Technology invented by Audi. The power unit is more compact and lighter than the 12-cylinder engine used in the preceding R10 TDI model. The specific fuel consumption and associated CO2 emissions could also be reduced. Innovations in the turbo-charging and fuel injection areas simultaneously ensure improved engine response. The R15 TDI is also equipped with a new generation of even lighter diesel particle filters. The new sports car's aerodynamics, which play a particularly important role at Le Mans, are extremely refined. Like the DTM 2008 championship winning Audi A4, the airflow around and through the car was optimized with CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). Included among the many innovative detail solutions which can be spotted at first glance are a rear wing suspended from the top and a high nose. Innovative vehicle electrical system concept The vehicle electrical system in the Le Mans sports car is entirely new: A lithium-ion battery, as found in some hybrid vehicles, is used for the first time. It is lighter than the conventional battery and supplies a higher voltage. The headlights fitted to the R15 TDI also benefit from the higher power. At Le Mans, Audi competes for the first time with a low beam unit comprised entirely of light emitting diodes, which represents the next generation of Audi LED technology for road cars. Innovative approaches Numerous innovative approaches are also hidden in the chassis and suspension of the diesel sports car. Due to the aerodynamic concept the front and rear suspension have been raised. Thanks to a longer wheelbase and the optimized vehicle weight the R15 TDI is significantly more agile than its predecessor. The American Le Mans Series will open its 11th season with the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 21. SPEED will televise the race live from 10 a.m. to noon and 2-11 p.m. ET. American Le Mans Radio and Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com. Tickets are available at sebringraceway.com or by calling (800) 626-RACE. A limited number of hotel rooms and rental condos are still available. Information is available by contacting the Sebring Chamber of Commerce at (863) 385-8448. |
| Posted on 12 Mar 2009 by garysweb1 |
| SPECIAL: F1 Year in Review |
Written by: Adam Cooper 11/04/2008 - 12:15 PM Baelen, Belgium Hamilton's wet-weather dynamism was key to his championship triumph. (LAT photo) This was a sensational Formula 1 season, marked by a string of entertaining races. An unusually large number of wet events certainly helped, but the fact is that the racing was close and unpredictable throughout the year. Most people were happy to see it go to a final-round showdown last weekend, not least Bernie Ecclestone, of course. But no one could have anticipated that the destination of the title would be resolved at such an astonishingly late stage. It was a reminder of why we all love this sport so much. So how did 2008 unfold, and is Lewis Hamilton a worthy champion? Let’s take a look back an amazing year. As we all expected, McLaren and Ferrari generally led the way, but the rest were so close that any slip would often drop a driver of one of the top cars right out of the points. Perhaps the most fascinating statistic is that in 18 attempts only three races saw only McLaren or Ferrari drivers on the podium. In 2007 the FIA had been embroiled in a serious conflict with McLaren, and while the spy affair had been consigned to history, there remains a certain degree of tension between the two. And that was exacerbated by a series of penalties applied to both Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen during the course of the season. There was always a good argument from the FIA side, and on occasions, as in the case of the Montreal pit accident, there was no defense. But even neutrals had to agree that sometimes it appeared that Hamilton in particular was subject to an extraordinary degree of scrutiny. Thankfully in the end none of that mattered. In Brazil Lewis did just what he had to do, earning fifth place and beating Felipe Massa by just a point. It was a superb second year from the Englishman, who bounced back from the bitter disappointment of the previous season and emerged as a stronger and more mature driver, better able to cope with the ups and downs of a long season. And the ups were many. He won the opening race in Australia, and followed up with brilliant wet-weather successes in Monaco and Silverstone, and two further wins in Germany and China. Five out of 18 doesn’t sound like a great strike rate, but it reflects just how competitive the season was, and also just how many hurdles he had to negotiate. Most frustratingof all he lost a hard-earned Belgian GP win to a penalty after once again his wet-weather prowess paid had dividends. There were mistakes, of course, and his crash in the Montreal pitlane was the most blatant. It cost him not only a big haul of points in Canada but also ruined the next race in France. A 10-place penalty was bad enough, but in try to make up lost ground on the first lap he ran off the road and was penalized again for gaining an advantage. In Japan a penalty applied after his first-corner incident proved to be expensive. However, it was made worse by the fact that having emerged from the Turn One mess in third place, Lewis then skated off the road a few corners later while trying to pressure Fernando Alonso. That put him into a position where he was battling with Massa, which in turn led to a collision (for which Felipe was penalized), which ultimately cost him any chance of points. We saw that impatience again in Bahrain where, after a bad start, Lewis not once but twice hit the back of Fernando’s car (spot a theme here?) on the first lap. In Monza he made a silly tire decision in damp qualifying that ensured he took away only two points from a race which he could have won. Fortunately he had no mechanical gremlins only year, and the only outside event that cost points was a puncture in Hungary. It was by no means a perfect season, but it was easy to forget it was only his second. He’d certainly done more than enough to be considered a worthy World Champion. But so too had Massa.  Massa's grace under pressure this season was underscored by his perfection in Brazil with the title on the line. (LAT photo) Having become a contender for poles and race wins alongside Michael Schumacher in 2006, the Brazilian matured further last year, and again this season. He ended the year with six victories, although Spa was a gift from the FIA on a day when he was left trailing behind not only the McLaren driver, but also his own teammate. Elsewhere they were solid successes, other than in France, where a mechanical problem for Kimi Raikkonen led to the two cars trading the lead. Massa also put in some brilliant pole laps, notably in Monaco where previously he had underperformed, and again under the most intense pressure in his home race, where his race performance was exemplary. But there were also bad days. He crashed on the first lap in Australia and later had an unnecessary collision with David Coulthard, and he spun off in Malaysia. He was hopeless at a wet Silverstone, although the team took the rap for some bad tire decisions. And his clumsy punt of Hamilton in Japan was like something out of a Formula Ford race. But overall he showed signs of increasing maturity, on and off the track. His calm demeanor after that last second defeat in Brazil spoke volumes. So what of the teammates of the title challengers? It was a bad year for Raikkonen, who had barely put a foot wrong on his way to the title in 2007. Like some other drivers, he found it hard to adapt to a new era of no traction control and struggled all year to adjust the car to his liking. He also found it harder than Massa to get the most out of the tires in qualifying. He scored early wins in Malaysiaand Spain and was well ahead of Massa in France when his exhaust broke. He was also leading at the pit exit in Montreal when Hamilton thumped him. Things began to go awry in the second half of the season as tried to adapt to changes to the car. He made a silly mistake in Valencia, leaving the pits before the signal, but then his engine failed anyway. He was fast in Spa but got caught out when it rained, crashing spectacularly when he tried to keep up with Hamilton. He also went off in Singapore while running fifth. Most thought that by then he was going through the motions, but he outpaced Massa in China before handing him two vital points. His countryman Heikki Kovalainen had a tough first year at McLaren. Mentally scarred after his difficult year under Flavio Briatore at Renault, he was quick straight away but found it hard to deal with the steamroller that was Lewis Hamilton. He lost good points in Australia to a safety car situation and then had a series of disasters, with a huge crash caused by a wheel failure in Spain, a first-lap puncture after a touch with Kimi in Turkey (where he could have won), and electronic gremlins on the grid in Monaco that stranded him at the back. It was hard to recover momentum after that, but he took a fine pole at Silverstone and won in Hungary after Massa’s engine failed. He also had a good run to second in difficult conditions in Monza. He had his own engine failure in Japan, but his season was summed up by China, where in the first stint his incorrectly marked front tires were fitted the wrong way round. It can only get better in 2009.  It was the best and worst of times for Robert Kubica, who broke into the winner's ranks but couldn't sustain a title challenge with BMW Sauber (LAT photo) It was a wonderful year for BMW Sauber, and for much of it the team clearly had the third-fastest package in the field, and at times the white and blue cars could slip in among the Ferraris and McLarens. However, by the end of the year others had caught up, notably Renault and Toro Rosso. Much to Robert Kubica’s frustration, the team’s development program failed to match that of others, and the Pole’s outside chance of stealing the title faded away. Nevertheless, he did himself a lot of good with consistently good performances, and his first win in Canada was well deserved. He also made no mistakes other than at Silverstone when the car swapped ends on the straight in fifth gear, something for which he can hardly be blamed. Nick Heidfeld struggled to match his teammate’s pace for much of the season, but proved adept at bringing the car home – indeed, he finished every single race. He was particularly good at taking advantage on days when chaos reigned, earning four second places. Renault got off to a poor start and Alonso must have rued his decision to return to the team after his “sabbatical” at McLaren. In the early races his only satisfaction was the occasional good grid position earned with a low fuel load, but the car improved steadily as the year went on. Luck with the safety car propelled him to a shock win in Singapore, and he took advantage of the mistakes of others to score a second well-deserved victory in Japan. Over those last six races he was clearly “best of the rest,” earning 43 points – more than anyone else. His teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. had a tough baptism, meanwhile. The fifth team to register a win was Toro Rosso. After delaying the introduction of its newcar until Monaco, STR rose steadily up the grid, propelled by the prodigious talent of Sebastian Vettel. His pole and victory in the wet at Monza was the stuff that dreams were made off, and elsewhere he was impressively quick, taking points on eight further occasions. His performance left struggling rookie teammate Sebastien Bourdais in the shade. For the rest, it was a year of ups and downs. Toyota’s form was erratic, but as usual Jarno Trulli was generally fast in qualifying, while Timo Glock proved to be good at bringing home points. Like Trulli, Mark Webber was usually in the top 10, and he scored some good points for RBR earlier in the year, but later the team’s fortunes faded as those of Toro Rosso rose. David Coulthard had the consolation of a third in Canada before making a dignified exit from the sport. Williams had a year of extremes. The car was quick on temporary and street tracks, and Nico Rosberg rode his luck to take a second in Singapore and third in Australia. But elsewhere it was often hopelessly uncompetitive. Kazuki Nakajima couldn’t match his teammate’s pace, but was good at picking up stray points. It was a disastrous year for Honda and new team boss Ross Brawn, and eventually all efforts were focused towards 2009. Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button were embarrassed by the hopeless RA108, although the Brazilian took a third in the wet at Silverstone. Force India showed clear signs of improvement, but the grid was so competitive that Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil struggled to get off the back row. Both had some races where they humbled quicker cars, and Sutil was brilliant in the wet at Monaco until Raikkonen took him out. Unlike troubled Super Aguri the team did at least survive the year in good health...  Great strategy as well as significant technical improvements by Renault helped Alonso's genius put the French squad back atop the podium in 2008. (LAT photo) The season saw two new races, and both proved to be huge successes. Valencia was better than many had anticipated, but it was all too clear that the venue had been completed in a hurry. It will get better over time. On the down side the race proved to be a yawn, with virtually no passing and, against expectations, no safety cars to spice up the action. In contrast Singapore was a wonderful event, with non-stop action ensuring that the sport’s first-ever night race was a TV spectacular that brought extra attention to F1 around the world. The facilities were good, the organizers eager to please, and everything ran like clockwork. And most importantly grand prix cars looked sensational at night, spitting blue flames from their red hot exhausts, and leaving showers of sparks in their wake as they bottomed out on the track’s bumpy surface. Thankfully, there were no major off-track controversies that had a direct impact on the racing, and there was no repeat of last year’s spying scandals. In fact, with Jean Todt taking a step back and handing the reins of the Prancing Horse to Stefano Domenicali, there was a new spirit of cooperation between Ferrari and the other teams, and notable thawing in the frosty relationship with McLaren. Indeed, Luca di Montezemolo was instrumental in setting up the Formula One Teams Association, becoming its first chairman. Having Ferrari onside with all the other teams was essential as concerns over costs, exacerbatedby the global economic crisis in the autumn, came into sharp focus. For the first time, everyone recognized that action had to be taken, but inevitably Max Mosley has his own ideas about which direction the sport should take. Mosley made the global headlines in April for all the wrong reasons, after a British tabloid newspaper trapped him in a sex scandal. Initially it seemed that there was no way that he would survive this personal crisis, and several manufacturers were quick to voice their concerns. Even Bernie Ecclestone, coming under pressure from all sides, distanced himself from his old pal. However, Mosley survived the difficult first few weeks, earned himself a vote of support from his FIA colleagues, and finally won a legal case against the newspaper concerned. Indeed, in some ways he seemed to be in an even stronger position than last year. Once the title fuss dies down, the move towards cost-cutting measures will grab the headlines in the coming weeks. And then when the testing starts, we’ll be into the new era of slick tires, KERS and reduced downforce. A step into the unknown... |
| Posted on 04 Nov 2008 by garysweb1 |
| Hamilton wins World Title |
STAT WRAP: Brazilian Grand Prix. Written by: Sean Kelly 11/02/2008 - 04:22 PM Sao Paulo, Brazil Hamilton: youngest-ever champion in F1's most dramatic conclusion in history. (LAT Photo) Formula 1 saw the most dramatic finish in its history on Sunday, and no amount of numbers could ever properly capture the drama that confronted us in the final three laps on Sunday. The history books will recall that Felipe Massa was the winner of the 2008 race at Interlagos, joining Emerson Fittipaldi (1973-74) and Ayrton Senna (1991, 1993) as Brazilians who are multiple winners in Sao Paulo. It was also his sixth victory of the season, making Felipe the first driver since Senna in 1989 to win the most races but not take the title. No driver has ever been closer to a championship and failed to win it. Lewis Hamilton looked set to see a second successive title slip through his fingers when he ran wide at Juncao, allowing Sebastian Vettel to pass. However, all champions need that little bit of luck, and Toyota’s decision to leave both Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli out on slicks came up just a tiny amount short, allowing Hamilton to pass at effectively thefinal corner of the season and become the youngest world champion in history at age 23 years 299 days, eclipsing Fernando Alonso’s mark from the 2005 season. Lewis is the 30th world champion and the 9th from Great Britain, three times as many as the next nation – ironically, Brazil – and ending a 12-year drought since Damon Hill took his only world title success in 1996. Next year he will try to become the first double world champion from Great Britain since Sir Jackie Stewart added his second success back in 1971. Amazingly Mclaren hadn’t had a world champion since Mika Hakkinen back in 1999, and they might not even notice that Ferrari won their 8th constructors’ championship in the past 10 years. The nerdier stats are hardly appropriate on a weekend such as this, but Hamilton is also the first champion to wear #22 since Juan-Manuel Fangio was champion in 1951, wearing that number only at the Spanish Grand Prix at Pedrables. Hamilton has now won and lost titles by 1 point in consecutive seasons. The only man to have won and lost titles by a narrower margin was Niki Lauda, who lost the 1976 crown by 1 point to James Hunt, but pipped Alain Prost to the ’84 crown by just half a point in the closest result ever. In the middle somewhere was Renault’s Fernando Alonso, who had another impressive drive to finish second – his first podium of 2008 that was not for a victory, and his fourth successive podium in Brazil without ever winning. The Spaniard was the top scorer in the final 8 races of the year (48). With Kimi Räikkönen in third place, the top three drivers were the same as they were in last year’s race, albeit in a different order. Räikkönen’s third place moved him up to third place in the final championship standings, as although he is tied on points with Robert Kubica, he has the edge on wins (2-1). Fourth fell to Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel in his last drive for the team. The German was sensational again, running as high as second for long period, and it was his second-best result of 2008, behind his landmark Monza victory. Then we come to young Lewis. Aside from the small matter of becoming world champion, it was his second successive poor race at Interlagos, following on from his 7th-place calamity in 2007, which cost him a title in his rookie year. Hamilton’s championship was made possible by the rain coming down hard enough to leave Timo Glock a sitting duck on slick tires. Toyota looked set to gamble and win late on, when they left their drivers out when others came in for intermediates, but unfortunately when the rain increased, Glock and Trulli’s final laps were 18 seconds off the pace. However, the Toyota duo still finished 6th and 8th, to underscore their fifth place in the final constructors’ standings. For Heikki Kovalainen it must have been a bittersweet day. Quickest man in Q2 for the third time in the last six races, the Finn was never really a factor on Sunday after his long first pitstop, and inall fairness, his relative lack of pace relative to Lewis may have its roots in Q3 strategy, as the Finn was only lighter than Hamilton once all season, when he took pole at Silverstone. Outside of the points, Mark Webber gave Red Bull their third 9th place finish at Interlagos, and the team has still never scored in Brazil, while Nick Heidfeld, in his 150th start without winning, became only the second man in the last 44 years to complete every race in a season, matching the record set by Michael Schumacher in 2002. However, 18 race finishes in a year has been done once before, by the mighty Tiago Monteiro in the 2005 season, when he failed to finish just once in a 19-race season, ironically at Interlagos. A final mention must go to Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard. For Coulthard this was definitely the last day in the office, so how unfortunate it was to see him out at turn one, a victim of a bump from Nico Rosberg, followed by a hit from Kazuki Nakajima. As he pointed out afterwards, it was Williams who launched his career in 1994, and Williams who finished it in 2008! In the case of Rubens Barrichello, we may be witnessing the final start in a career of a man with more F1 starts than any other driver (268). He is the only current driver to have raced against Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, not to mention Riccardo Patrese, who made his debut as long ago as 1977. So ends the 2008 Grand Prix season, and with an extended offseason prior to the opening race in Melbourne on March 29, 2009, there will be a long time to reflect on arguably the most dramatic race we may ever see in championship history. |
| Posted on 04 Nov 2008 by garysweb1 |
| ALMS: Werner, Luhr Win Monterey as Pirro’s Audi Career Ends |
Written by: ALMS Communications 10/19/2008 - 02:48 AM Monterey, CA  His teammates took overall honors, but Audi's Emanuele Pirro was treated to a hero's welcome after the race. There were few dry eyes in the pits. (Photo: Doug Werner) Marco Werner and Lucas Luhr ended their championship season in fitting style Saturday with an overall victory for Audi Sport North America in the Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón. Werner passed Emanuele Pirro on a restart with 26 minutes left and won by 1.941 seconds at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It was the sixth overall victory of the season and eighth LMP1 victory for the new class champions. The finish was the first 1-2 result for Audi at the circuit since 2004. "We had a great year, and great season," Luhr said. "It's always good to end the year with a win, and a 1-2 with Audi. The last 20 minutes was a good memory for the 2008 season." Luhr and Werner led twice for a total of 31 laps. There were 12 lead changes among eight different cars with eight cars finishing on the lead lap. The race also had 12 caution periods that allowed Audi to use its torque and power to charge toward the front on restarts. It wasn't uncommon to see the Audis make up five positions or more by the end of the first lap following a green flag. "There is a lot of sand on the track and it gives us a hard time," Werner said. "Not every lap is the same conditions. We see a lot of GT cars cutting the curbs and bringing the dirt on the track. With the prototype you have a lot of downforce and grip, and then it just goes away and you snap your rear and lose the car." Pirro teamed with newcomer Christijan Albers for a second-place finish in what was his final race in an Audi prototype. Corsa Motorsports' duo of Stefan Johansson and Johnny Mowlem finished third in class in their Zytek 07S. "It was kind of emotional for me to overtake EP in his last race," Werner said. "I had the opportunity and I knew I had to take it but it was hard. I had a good time in traffic and pulled out with a good gap. It was a good race and great day." Tony Kanaan and Franck Montagny scored Andretti Green Racing's second LMP2 victory in three races with a tense 0.054-second win over fellow Acura team de Ferran Motorsports. Kanaan and Simon Pagenaud, who teamed with Gil de Ferran, exchanged the lead twice within the span of a lap with 15 minutes left as two Acura ARX-01bs finished first and second for the third time this year. "The track is fun, no doubt about it," Montagny said. "It's quite sandy and windy. The grip is not so good a lot of time. It takes time to get used to it; that's why Tony qualified Friday. But getting through the race, I felt more confident and it was really good." It was better than good. The pairing ran in the top three in class throughout the race and was consistently the quickest of the four Acuras. . The victory was the second for both Montagny and Kanaan. Montagny was part of AGR's first overall victory two races ago in Detroit with James Rossiter. Kanaan helped score the first P2 win for Acura and AGR at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2007 with Bryan Herta and Dario Franchitti. The late cautions may have ruined AGR's chance for its second overall victory. Kanaan was in great position and won the race out of pit lane following the next-to-last caution period with 34 laps left. But Kanaan, the 2004 IndyCar champion, said that was part of racing. "Restarting with the two Audis behind me is not a fun thing," he said. " My team manager said watch you mirrors, I said for what? They are just going to go right by me. You can blame it on the gravel traps, but the traps are there just like in a street circuit there are walls so it is something you have to deal with. We are supposed to keep it on the track and not drive in the gravel. "It was eye opening for me driving the Acura," he added. "We go through the corners so much faster than the Indy cars. The G-loads I put on my body reminds me of my old F1 test and some of the short ovals where you are trying to just hold on to the steering wheel." The result wasn't enough for Acura to wrestle the class manufacturer championship away from Porsche as the German marque won the title by 1 point, thanks to a third-place finish for two-time driving champions Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas of Penske Racing. Acura's six victories were one more than Porsche's five. Corvette Racing's Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin successfully defended their GT1 victory from last season with a 12.858-second win over teammates Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen. It was the third win of the season for the Beretta/Gavin duo, who ceded their class championship to O'Connell and Magnussen. Beretta became the first driver to win 40 races in the American Le Mans Series. He made the winning pass with 45 minutes left when he got by O'Connell following the 11th restart. "With all the victories I have, I was lucky to drive for a good team and to have very good teammates. I was not alone," Beretta said. "I didn't want to lose today. I knew this was the last chance. I was thinking about the restart on cold tires and driving like I was in the wet. I put the power down and everything went OK. I could have spun because I put the power down very early, but the car stayed on the track and I managed to overtake Johnny." Beretta and Gavin repeated their class victory from 2007 for Corvette Racing. If the team wins three straight at the circuit, next year's victory will come in GT2 as Corvette has announced plans to enter that class in the second half of the 2009 season. "The engineering work is done and we know the rules," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "The car will probably debut at Mid-Ohio, and then we anticipate running the full season in 2010. We are going to try to dominate as quickly as we can. This team is not one that takes its time. Everything we do is a race, and our goal is to dominate. " Tafel Racing closed the season with a victory for Dirk Mueller and Dominik Farnbacher in the team's Ferrari F430 GT. The pairing won for the fourth time this season as they beat Risi Competizione's Jaime Melo and Mika Salo in their Ferrari by 5.648 seconds. Mueller and Farnbacher placed second in the class championship behind Flying Lizard Motorsports' Jörg Bergmeister and Wolf Henzler, who finished ninth in class after losing time in the pits to repair damage from early-race contact. "Everyone was really down after Road Atlanta because of not winning the championship," Mueller said. "But for Tafel Racing to finish second in its first year with the Ferrari is quite an achievement. It was a good year and it feels good for sure." Mueller and Farnbacher benefitted from a suspension failure on the Risi Ferrari, which started fifth but led on multiple occasions. The late problems with the Risi car allowed Mueller to slowly but surely pull away "There were a lot of incidents - a lot of gravel and dirt and sand," said Farnbacher, who already has re-signed with the team for 2009. "We stayed out of trouble most of the time. The strategy is good and we didn't have any problems. That's why we won this race." Panoz Team PTG's Tommy Milner and Joey Hand placed third in class in their Panoz Esperante GTLM. It was the best result for the team this season. The 2009 American Le Mans Series season starts with the 57th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 21. It will mark the 100th race in the history of the American Le Mans Series. SPEED will televise the race live. American Le Mans Radio will have live coverage on americanlemans.com, which also will feature IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring. Monterey Sports Car Championships presented by Patrón Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. Saturday's results 1. (10) Lucas Luhr, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (1, P1), 145. 2. (9) Christijan Albers, The Netherlands; Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Audi AG R10/TDI (2, P1), 145. 3. (5) Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Tony Kanaan, Brazil; Acura ARX-01B (1, P2), 145. 4. (4) Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Simon Pagenaud, France; Acura ARX-01B (2, P2), 145. 5. (3) Timo Bernhard, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Porsche RS Spyder (3, P2), 145. 6. (7) Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Helio Castroneves, Brazil; Porsche RS Spyder (4, P2), 145. 7. (8) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Porsche RS Spyder (5, P2), 145. 8. (11) Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Porsche RS Spyder (6, P2), 144. 9. (2) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (7, P2), 144. 10. (6) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (8, P2), 144. 11. (12) Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Johnny Mowlem, England; Zytek 07S (3, P1), 142. 12. (18) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (1, GT1), 139. 13. (17) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Johnny O`Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (2, GT1), 139. 14. (21) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Mueller, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (1, GT2), 139. 15. (1) David Brabham, Australia; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Acura ARX-01B (9, P2), 139. 16. (23) Mika Salo, Finland; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Ferrari F430 GT (2, GT2), 139. 17. (15) Stephen Simpson, South Africa; Jamie Campbell-Walter, England; Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Creation CA 07 AIM (4, P1), 138. 18. (26) Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Panoz Esperante Ford (3, GT2), 137. 19. (22) Patrick Pilet, France; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4, GT2), 137. 20. (33) Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (5, GT2), 135. 21. (24) Ben Aucott, England; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Ferrari 430 GT (6, GT2), 134. 22. (28) Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Aston Martin Vantage (7, GT2), 134. 23. (29) Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, GA; Andy Pilgrim, Del Ray Beach, FL; Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Doran Ford GT-R (8, GT2), 133. 24. (20) Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (9, GT2), 133. 25. (31) Pierre Ehret, Santa Rosa, CA; Harrison Brix, San Jose, CA; Alex Figge, Hollywood, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (10, GT2), 132. 26. (25) Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Ferrari F430 GT (11, GT2), 129. 27. (30) David Murry, Cumming, GA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT-R (12, GT2), 129. 28. (32) Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Comp Coupe (13, GT2), 112. 29. (13) Ben Devlin, England; Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Raphael Matos, Brazil; Lola B07 46 Mazda (10, P2), 106. 30. (14) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Ryan Lewis, UK; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (5, P1), 102. 31. (16) Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Tony Burgess, Canada; Lola B06-10 AER (6, P1), 87. 32. (34) Hideki Noda, Japan; Andrew Prendeville, Chatham, NJ; Radical SR10 AER (7, P1), 46. 33. (27) Nicky Pastorelli, Netherlands; Francisco Pastorelli, Netherlands; Marc Basseng, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (14, GT2), 17, Accident. 34. (19) Dirk Werner, Germany; Bryce Miller, Hoboken, NJ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (15, GT2), 138. |
| Posted on 20 Oct 2008 by garysweb1 |
| F1: Hamilton Takes Crucial Chinese GP Win |
Written by: RACER & autosport.com 10/19/2008 - 04:40 AM Shanghai, China Hamilton drove a flawless race and will now take a seven-point lead over Massa to the finale in Brazil. (LAT Photo) McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton took a lights-to-flag victory in the Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, building a points gap in the championship that could eventually prove decisive. The Ferrari duo of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen came next, but the two scarlet machines were never truly a factor in threatening the Brit’s victory. Raikkonen was the fastest of the two Scuderia drivers for most of the race, but ceded his position with seven laps to go to help his title-contending teammate. Unlike last week in Japan, Hamilton had little trouble holding the lead at the start, and then made an early break. Although Raikkonen was able to close slightly later in the first stint, by that time he was four seconds adrift – while Massa could not match either of the two leaders and was running eight seconds behind when he became the first of the front-runners to pit on lap 14. Hamilton and Raikkonen stopped one lap later, with the Briton then extending his lead further in the middle stint. By the time the final stops were due, Hamilton was nine seconds clear of Raikkonen and 14 seconds ahead of Massa, so with no hope of beating the McLaren on speed,Ferrari switched focus to getting their title challenger in front of their outgoing champion. Raikkonen's pace gradually became more relaxed and with seven laps to go Massa slipped past into the hairpin. But by that time, Hamilton was 16 seconds ahead and on course for a dominant and hugely significant victory. Fernando Alonso finished fourth for Renault, unable to match the top three this time but clear of the rest of the field. He briefly lost the place to McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen through the first corners, before repassing the Finn into the hairpin further around the opening lap. Kovalainen then fell away from the Renault, although he might have had a chance to strike back by running longer at the final stops had he not picked up a right front puncture on lap 34. The slow lap back to the pits for new rubber dropped Kovalainen to 15th and he eventually retired with six laps to go. The BMW Saubers completed the top six, with Robert Kubica using a long first stint to gain ground from 11th on the grid. The Pole finished close behind teammate Nick Heidfeld, but sixth was not sufficient to keep him in the title hunt, which is now a two-horse race. Timo Glock used a one-stop strategy to take seventh for Toyota, ahead of Renault's Nelson Piquet, who also gained ground by running a very long first stint. That meant Toro Rosso's points scoring run came to an end, with Sebastian Vettel finishing only ninth and Sebastien Bourdais down in 13th following a first corner tangle that took Jarno Trulli's Toyota out of the race. Hamilton now counts a seven-point advantage to Massa in the championship, 94-87, with a single race to go, the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos in two weeks’ time. Interestingly, Ferrari will be hoping for a case of déjà vu all over again: seven points was also the gap taken by Hamilton over Raikkonen to the 2007 finale, when the Finn prevailed to win his maiden title. "It was quite straightforward,” Hamilton reported afterwards. “It was a great start, one of the best we have had this year. I got into Turn 1 clear, took it easy the first few corners and then I started to build the gap. "Fortunately we were very consistent, every lap was faster. I was able to create a gap and from there it was pretty smooth sailing. Massa for his part can at least found solace in becoming the first Brazilian ever to have the chance to battle for a world title on home soil: "We saw Lewis was a bit stronger in the beginning of the race, I mean he was stronger the whole weekend. He started to pulling away in the beginning, maybe two or three tenths per lap, and this for sure made his race much more comfortable and for us we were completely driving on the limit trying to reduce the gap, but it was not possible. "We tried to push, as Kimi was trying to push, to get closer to Lewis, but today unfortunately, Lewis had a better car for the whole weekend." The 2008 finale in Sao Paulo is set to go down in two weeks' time. |
| Posted on 20 Oct 2008 by garysweb1 |
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