An early entry list has been released for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race to be held later this year and on the list is the ALMS defending champions Highcroft in the LMP2 class. Highcroft will be entering the event for the first time ever and have stated the mission objective is victory in the LMP2 category. The team won the LMP1 championship in the ALMS season last year, however the team will be running an LMP2 Acura this year as the technical regulations change here in the states.…
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Updates on sports car racing in European Le Mans Series, World Endurance Championship, American Le Mans Series, and United SportsCar Championship
Le Mans – Aston Performs a 180
A few weeks back we had originally posted a story that indicated Aston Martin was not going to have a factory effort in the Le Mans championships around the globe. They have decided to do a 180 and seize an opportunity that has been provided. We have noted this off season that the LMP field was rather lacking and that was putting it nicely. Both Audi and Peugeot are running very select races and the American prototype program is virtually non existent. Enter newly named series vultures Aston Martin to…
Read MoreALMS – Marino Franchitti Joins Highcroft, Bummer for Mazda.
Autoweek Magazine announced today that Marino Franchitti has signed with Highcroft Racing and joins David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud as their third LMP driver for 2010. Marino had been with the Dyson team driving the Mazda powered Lola coupe for the past two seasons, but with Dyson’s 2010 plans still not completed with regards to running a second car and the 12 Hours of Sebring not too far away, Franchitti opted for a part-time ride with Highcroft as a third driver in the longer endurance races on the ALMS calender,…
Read MoreLe Mans – Pugs Snub ACO
French Manufacturer Peugeot has announced that at this time, the new International Cup is “not in the plans” for 2010. While the announcement is not official, it certainly continues the bad news for the LMP series across the globe. The announcement was made after arch rivals Audi stated their intention to enter two cars in the championship. Problems with the French manufacturer are to blame for the snub as the board has approved the budget for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hour and work for the 2011 challenger. This is…
Read MoreLe Mans – Strakka is Acura Powered
While the Acura LMP2 program may be dead here in America, it has found new life in Europe as Strakka Racing has become the first team to acquire the car outside of the US. The car seen great sucess under the Fernadez Racing team as it took the LMP2 championship against the Dysin Mazdas. The car was shown to have some weak spots in development towards the middle of the season but put on a great show for the season finale at Laguna Seca. The car made a testing debut…
Read MoreLe Mans – Kolles to Contest International Cup
Our Force India friend Collin Kolles will contest the International Cup in 2010 with two Audi R10s. This is the second entrant into the new championship, and the second squad of Audis. Audi Sport and now Kolles Audi make up the lineup as of now. The ACO made special breaks to allow the R10 to compete, however the new R15 must conform to new regulations if it hopes to run in ACO sanctioned races. This will see at least two more LMP cars at the Petit Le Mans as the…
Read MoreLe Mans – de Ferran ALMS Program Dead?
de Ferran Motorsport may have moved yet another step closer to killing their sportscar program this week when Honda Performance Development stated they will be ending their partnership with the team. The crew here at openpaddock.net have really began to speculate on whether or not a de Ferran entry would be present on the 2010 grid, and this news seems to all but confirm the end for the program. HPD claimed the partnership had to end due to economical problems. HPD had also just recently signed with Patron Highcroft, which…
Read MoreLe Mans – Aston Martin Out Until 2011
Prodrive teamed with Aston Martin will take a one year break from their LMP challenger this year. The team has decided to focus on the 2011 challenger instead of a continuous evolution of the current project. Aston has yet to decide whether or not the car will run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, however a private team will run one Aston/Lola combo for the European Le Mans Series. Signature-Plus, a French outfit, will run the Aston Lola for the 2010 season. However, it is unknown at this time…
Read MoreLe Mans – ORECA Choose Peugeot
As customer cars become even more popular in the realm of Le Mans, ORECA have announced today that they will now run with the Peugeot 908 for the 2010 season. ORECA who typically run their own car in a variety of motorsport disciplines, have teamed with Peugeot to create the French manufacturers second customer team behind Pescarolo. The 908 is currently at the end of its development phase is a proven winner that won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as the Petit Le Mans here in…
Read MoreALMS – Pagenaud Signing at Patron Highcroft Raises Questions
Simon Pagenaud has signed a contract with Patron Highcroft for 2010 to replace Scott Sharp who previously left the team to start his own GT2 team. Simon will partner with David Brabham in the newly revised Acura ARX-01c LMP2 car. This will give Patron Highcroft a very impressive driver pairing. David Brabham is one of the most talented and experienced sportscar drivers of this generation. Teaming him with a very quick and capable Pagenaud only spells wins for the team. Especially since Pagenaud is a more reliable and less erratic…
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