Brie and Heidi, aka the @ALMSChicks, and one of our new staff photographers for 2012, Brian McKay, have sent us the first batch of images from the 60th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring. Enjoy!
Read MoreCategory: Sports Cars
Updates on sports car racing in European Le Mans Series, World Endurance Championship, American Le Mans Series, and United SportsCar Championship
ALMSChicks – Sebring: THINGS WE LEARNED AT SEBRING THE DAY BEFORE THE 12 HOURS
Beware of traffic in the Paddock between morning practice and the autograph session: And we do mean traffic. Racecars, golf carts, pedestrians, trash trucks, cars, vans, pit carts: you name it, it will be trying to get from Point A to Point B between the hours of 11 am and 12 pm. Our suggestion? Get to a side and stay there! It gets very crowded and frustrating for everyone! Tiki Tea: A new discovery of ours this year. 20 oz of Sweet Tea for $1 – no way you can…
Read MoreThe Spike has returned…to Indianapolis!!! Can you smell what The Spike…is cooking???
Well I am back—not that I really left Open Paddock. Yes, I will return for another season of Op-Ed columns for Open Paddock. Where did I go? Well, toward the end of last season I was being paid by another website to write for them. (My name not attached to the articles, but when you get paid that’s fine). I won’t name the site for the moment, it is up in the air if the site will be back. It was funded and created by a company that was…
Read MoreWEC – Toyota Answers the Call
The new FiA World Endurance Championship (WEC) received a much needed shot in the arm today as Toyota officially announced their “entry” in this year’s maiden championship. The new TS030 HYBRID will still compete with a single entry at Spa and two machines at Le Mans as originally planned with maybe more on the schedule. The news was announced today and now gives the FiA the two manufacturers needed in the LMP1 division. This will put Toyota one on one with Audi for sports car supremacy. No small order to say…
Read MoreGrandAm – Anders Krohn Lands Rolex24 Ride with Yellow Dragon Motorsports
After spending several seasons in the Mazda open-wheel development system culminating with his 2011 Firestone Indy Lights season with Belardi Auto Racing, Anders Krohn transitions to world of sports car racing. He was picked to drive Yellow Dragon Motorsports’ #36 Mazda RX-8 GT-class entry along with John and Jarett Andretti and fellow Mazda driver Taylor Hacquard. While we are a bit biased and would love to have seen Anders in an open-wheel ride this year, we’re happy to see him land any kind of driving gig. Its a task that’s…
Read MoreThe Mid-Ohio Weekend in Photos
One of the magnificent things about a road course event, and the ALMS/INDYCAR weekend at Mid-Ohio especially, is that there is NEVER a quiet moment on the track. There’s always something buzzing around the circuit. This year was no exception as we has the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship, the SCCA Pro World Challenge, the American LeMans Series, the US F2000 National Championship, and the IZOD IndyCar Series taking to the circuit from 0800 to as late as 1900! That also means that is photog was one busy dude! I…
Read MoreLeMans – Lotus to Contest Full North American and International GTE Schedules
Lotus (Group Lotus, the car people, not Team Lotus the Tony Fernandez team) released news today that they will compete in a full North American and International schedule in the GT2 classe with the Lotus Evora GTE. They will race in the American Le Mans Series in a factory-backed effort through the newly formed Lotus Sport USA, and will also look toward fielding an LMP2 car by 2013. Heading up the new program are sports car racing veteran Ian Dawson and financial guru John Pritzlaff. “We are very happy to…
Read MoreAudi Statement on Porsche
Audi on Porsche’s return to Le Mans: “This is the decision of Porsche Company, a decision in which Audi is not involved. Audi relishes the prospect of every strong new opponent at Le Mans and in the new FIA Sportscar World Championship. Porsche’s entry into the LMP1 class is evidence of the high level of attraction of sport prototypes”.
Read MorePorsche to Le Mans with Works LMP1
Porsche announced today their plan to return to Le Mans with works-run LMP1 prototype. The newly developed race cars first outing is planned for the year 2014. “Motorsport was always an essential part of the Porsche brand,” emphasizes Matthias Müller, President of the Executive Board at Porsche AG. “So for us it was only a matter of time before we returned as a factory to the top league of racing. Porsche’s successes in Le Mans are unrivalled. We want to follow up on this with the 17th outright victory.” According to…
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