Category: Sports Cars

Updates on sports car racing in European Le Mans Series, World Endurance Championship, American Le Mans Series, and United SportsCar Championship

TUSCC – Extreme Speed Motorsports Takes the Win at Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix

Josh Tons

Recent “Balance of Performance” made for two exciting races of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The pole-sitting No. 2 Extreme Speed Motorsports HPD ARX-03b car driven the duo of Johannes van Overbeek and Ed Brown, earned the first Prototype win for both drivers and placed a P2 car atop the podium for the first time in four TUDOR Championship races. As Brown started the race, the Pro-Am driver fell more than 10 second back and was the first to pit, handing the car over to Overbeek at the 22-minute mark.…

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TUSCC – Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix Preview

Josh Tons

As the 2014 SportsCar season continues, we travel to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in beautiful Monterey, California. This weekend will feature non-stop racing action as nine races will be run over the course of three days (Friday-Sunday) on the famed road circuit (2.238 miles, 11 turns). Seven of those races will be sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), including Sunday’s headlining, nationally televised (FOX Sports 1) TUDOR United SportsCar Championship doubleheader. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a tracked laid out with several long medium- to medium-high speed corners…

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PR – Pirelli World Challenge heads west to Long Beach for second weekend of season

Mike Shaw

LONG BEACH, CALIF. – The Pirelli World Challenge Championships heads west to the Streets of Long Beach, Calif. for the second race weekend of the 2014 25th Anniversary season. The Roar By the Shore Presented by Kia is the only race weekend where just one race of competition is scheduled for the series’ GT, GT-A and GTS divisions. That said, the season opener to end the month of March at St. Petersburg, Fla. saw only one race rather than two. Severe weather and limited track time lead to the canceling of…

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TUSCC – Changes abound as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship takes over Long Beach

Josh Tons

As the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship continues following the two of the longest races of the year, significant changes in both scene and format will be evident at Saturday’s Tequila Patron Sports Car Showcase on the streets of Long Beach, California. Moving from 24/12 hour events to shorter sprint type events, we will see a reduction in driver line-ups and car classes in addition to much different race strategies compared to the longer events. Marking the shortest event on the 2014 calendar, the Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase at Long…

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IndyCar – Relive the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Photos

Doug Patterson

Two of our top photographers, Brian McKay of TenPesos.com and Tom Turk of PiraticalPhotography.com, were down in Florida for the season opening races for the Verizon IndyCar Series, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, the Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda, and the SCCA Pro Racing Pirelli World Challenge. Yes, it was a busy weekend and a crowded race track! Brian and Tom did incredible work, and you can enjoy the fantastic racing action all over again through their photos.…

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Pirelli World Challenge 2014 TV debut

Mike Shaw

Last Sunday, SCCA Pro Racing’s Pirelli World Challenge kicked off its 2014 racing season with a ‘brawl between the walls’ of Saint Petersburg’s 1.8-mile race track. The race will be shown on Sunday afternoon on NBC Sports Network. Tune in! Here’s a view from the race winner’s car, provided by Racer.com: Tomas Enge, in a Lamboghini Gallardo, raced from first, backward to eleventh-place, forward to win the season’s first race. The season-opener that had been scheduled for Saturday was cancelled due to a thunderstorm in Saint Petersburg.

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PR – Enge, Aschenbach, Palmer Take St. Petersburg Victories in Season Opener

Mike Shaw

March 30, 2014 St. Petersburg, Fla. – A mix of new drivers and cars, along with some past Pirelli World Challenge champions, opened the series’ 2014 25th Anniversary season with a classic battle in the Cadillac Grand Prix of St. Petersburg brought to you by StopTech. When the race had concluded, open-wheel and sports car veteran Tomas Enge, a series newcomer, took the overall and GT class victory. Meanwhile three-time series champion Lawson Aschenbach took the GTS class victory, and Andrew Palmer took the top honors in the new GT-A…

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Sports Car Wars return to Florida

Mike Shaw

(Saint Petersburg, Florida) This is the 25th anniversary season of SCCA Pro Racing’s Pirelli World Challenge Championships. And it begins this weekend in the Cadillac Grand Prix of Saint Petersburg Presented by StopTech. The Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) is the playground of many auto makers as Acura, Aston-Martin, Audi, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Lamborghini, Nissan, McLaren, and Porsche use the 22-race series as a technology proving ground — and a marketing tool. Blackdog Speed Shop returns to the sports car wars to defend its…

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Inside the Helmet – Shelby Blackstock, A Multidisciplinary Racer

Doug Patterson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadShelby Blackstock joins us to talk about his unique start (and late) start into the world of motorsport, how he moved up through the ranks, and how he now does double-duty as both an open-wheel racer in the Indy Lights Series Presented by Cooper Tires as well as the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Be sure to connect with Shelby and Andretti Autosport to keep track of their progress through the 2014 racing season. Shelby Blackstock: Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ShelbyBlackstock Twitter: @Shelbilly Website: http://shelbyblackstock.com/ Andretti Autosport:…

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TUSCC – Ganassi takes home win at 62nd annual 12 Hour of Sebring

Josh Tons

Controversy clouds an exciting 62nd annual 12 Hour of Sebring, that featured 30 lead changes among 11 different cars, came down to a final hour pit-stop sequence, as Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates took the overall win for Ford and the new EcoBoost turbo Daytona Prototype in their debut at Sebring. Following the late caution with 20 minutes remaining, caused by the stalled No. 31 Whelan Corvette DP, Franchitti took the green on the restart and piloted the No. 01 Telcel-sponsored Riley-Ford across the finish line, 4.682 seconds ahead of…

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