Part III of IV on the ALMS Rocked by a sour economy, decimated by manufacturer defections and a TV deal that has been panned by fans and the media (“It’s About the Content Not the Medium”) the American Le Mans Series is in damage control mode. Yet the biggest blow to the ALMS may end up being the one thrown by its partner, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. The ACO are the organizers of the 24 Hours at Le Mans, and partners with the European Le Mans Series (LMS) and North America’s…
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
Where Do We Go Now, O’Sweet Child of Mine
The original working title of Part II of this series on the ALMS was “Out Manuvered and Out in the Cold.” Following a couple of press releases, one on the 2013 Oklahoma City race (exactly what we need, another processional street race, but that’s another story) and the return of “a” P1 team at Lime Rock, I kept wondering where are they going. What better theme for the ALMS today than Axel Rose and Slash “Sweet Child of Mine.” We all know the chorus, “Where do we go, Where do…
Read MorePart 1 Season of Discontent
“The best we get is fuzzy internet and (a) highlight show at the same time as an Indy broadcast. Come on man, that’s (expletive) shit” says one ALMS Team Manager on condition of anominity. A business/media manager for a front-running GT team tells me “you can’t sale it, none of us can now, they (expletive) tied are hands”. The “can’t sell” is there’s no high-dollar sponsor value for the current ESPN3.com and ESPN2-ABC offers. “We’re already studying GrandAm for next year. We may not finish this season. We can’t resign…
Read MoreALMS – Long Beach Recap from Patron
Flying Lizards Going for Long Beach Hat Trick
The Flying Lizard Porsche team heads into Long Beach as one of, if the not favorite in the GT field. Drivers Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long have won the last two years and hope to score the hat trick this year. While Sebring is unlike any other circuit on the ALMS calendar, the Porsche teams seemed a bit off the pace. A few tweaks to the IMSA Regulations between races and the Porsche’s should be mixing it up with BMW, Ferrari and Corvette teams at Long Beach. Thomas Blam, Flying…
Read MoreIt’s About the Content, Not the Medium: The ALMS Gamble
Readying for Long Beach, the brain trust at ALMS are still wringing their collective hands over the negative fan backlash and media criticism of the ABC-ESPN3.com Sebring coverage. Even some of the teams are questioning the series organizer. After all, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. They, the ALMS, hyped their new ABC-ESPN Network package and world-wide, live coverage of their races via the web as groundbreaking. They were venturing into an exciting new digital medium, with a major network partner and opportunities to tap a fresh audience…
Read MorePescarlo Team Wins Le Castellet 6 Hours
The LMP1 Pescarlo Team of Emmanuel Collard, Christophe Tinseau and Julien Jousse win the opening round of the Le Mans Series in the Le Castellet 6 Hours at Paul Ricard. The Pescarlo-Judd started last on the grid following a technical infraction after qualifying second Saturday. It was the first race for Team Principal Henri Pescarlo’s team after being away from racing for a year. Rebellion Racing’s Lola B10/60 Toyota of Andrea Belicchi and Jean-Christophe Boullion finished second, a lap down. The Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN-Nissan of Ojjeh, Chalandon and Kimber-Smith…
Read MoreRebellion Racing Lola on Pole for LMS Paul Ricard
Neel Jani put the Rebellion Racing Lola B10/60 Toyota on pole for Sunday’s 6-Hours of Le Castellet at Paul Ricard for round one of the Le Mans Series. The TDS Racing Oreca 03 Nissan took top honors in LMP2 class. GTE-Pro field did not disappoint. AF Corse’s Gimmi Bruni repeated his Sebring pole, this time in AF’s Ferrari 458. Bruni’s pole was more dramatic as the car barely made qualifying following a serious crash earlier. Four out of the top five GTE positions were claimed by Ferrari 458’s. Tomas Enge split the…
Read MoreILMC – Audi Testing the new R18 at Sebring
Audi R18 TDI Testing at Sebring from QuattroWorld.com on Vimeo. We were very lucky to get our hands on some very very nice footage of the Audi R18 running a test day at Sebring just last week. This is the most detailed video published to date of the R18 and we hope you enjoy the video! Turn up your volume! Raw footage courtesy of Audi USA.
Read MoreOP-ed – Looking Forward to Sebring 60th Next Year
An OP-ed submitted by Barry Foster, aka “MisterMedia20”, aka “trackside”, detailing plans for next year’s 60th running at Sebring. We can start to look forward to it now and make our 2011 plans accordingly. It may seem like a long time away, but 2012 is actually right around the corner for a number of those preparing to celebrate landmark anniversaries in Sebring. Next year represents the centennial anniversary for the city of Sebring, the 75th year for the Highlands County Fair, the 70th annuversary of the Sebring Regional Airport and…
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