FIA GT1: Spotter Guide now available from Andy Blackmore Design |  |
- FIA GT1: Spotter Guide now available from Andy Blackmore Design
- Falken Tire’s 12 Hours of Sebring race report
- Porsche Cayman Design Competition – Part II
- Scirocco R-Cup calendar for 2011
- Porsche Motorsport breaks down their 2011 season
- Volkswagen Group wins fleet awards
- Volkswagen Battles Fiat for Supremacy in Rapidly Growing Brazil
| FIA GT1: Spotter Guide now available from Andy Blackmore Design Posted: 24 Mar 2011 11:28 AM PDT
With the 12 Hours of Sebring behind us, we now turn our heads to Abu Dhabi for the first round of the FIA GT1 Series. 10 teams, 20 cars and 5 manufacturers will be represented in 2011. All-Inkl will be back with their Lamborghini Murcielago 670 R-SV’s and now Swiss Racing will be entering with two 670 R-SV’s as well. Unhappy with the Nissan GT-R, Swiss Racing took them over from Reiter Engineering. Andy Blackmore Design just finished up on the Spotter Guide for this weekends race. If your attending live, watching online or just want a wicked poster, download now and print.
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| Falken Tire’s 12 Hours of Sebring race report Posted: 24 Mar 2011 10:53 AM PDT
Team Falken’s new line-up of Team Manager Derrick Walker and returning driving veterans Wolf Henzler and Bryan Sellers entered the 59th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring ready to race their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with its newly approved bodywork and suspension. Joined by Porsche Factory Driver Martin Ragginger, it was a strong combination for one of the most important race events in the American LeMans Series calendar. The team and Falken engineers worked closely with Porsche to make changes and set the car’s balance and final tire choice as recommended by Falken’s Japanese contingent. Aided by Falken Tire Engineer Yoshi Yasuda and Falken Car Engineer John Ward, the best tire combination was selected for the changing track and weather conditions as the race wore on. It was regrettable that a serious gearbox issue that had been troubling the team during the first four hours finally forced the team out of the race after hour nine. “After nine hours, the gearbox issue could not be ignored, and so Falken mechanics opted to go behind the wall to rebuild the box in order to finish out the race, however, once apart, it was obvious that it was not possible to rebuild it in time and rejoin the race,” declared Nick Fousekis, Director, Motorsports Marketing and Events. “Clearly, more investigation needs to be done to determine the precise cause of the failure, but to be taken out just three hours before the end of the race was a bitter disappointment to the team. Nevertheless, this is a learning process, and we’ll take it in stride and move on from here,” Fousekis added. More than 160,000 fans were in attendance, welcoming the warm weather throughout the day. The Team Falken Porsche qualified 11th in class, and ran consistent lap times, with its trio of drivers providing strong consistency throughout the event, placing as high as third in the tough ALMS GT2 class. This year’s 12 hours of Sebring proved to be a hard one for Porsche as many of the automaker’s teams succumbed to a number of issues. A similar 911 GT3 exited the race eight laps after Team Falken’s with a similar gearbox problem. Though the team placed 15th in class due to the mechanical woes, the Falken 17 car was carrying the fight in the GT class for Porsche and stood well to earn a certain 4th place finish. “Well, it seems I will have to wait a bit as I had hoped this would have been my first 12 hour event but I guess you can only say that when you actual finish the race,” said Team Falken Manager Derrick Walker. ”However, the end result does not do justice to what happened in the race or even what led up to the race. There was a superhuman effort all around by the Falken team to be the best we could. Our strategy going into the race was to manage everything within our control – consistent pace; variable tire selection; zero penalties; avoiding the mayhem on track – and we did all of that really well. “We slowly advanced our way through the field; pit stops were great; drivers worked really well together and did an excellent job for Falken, and it was fun… until our gearbox became an issue,” Walker added. “I can’t wait for Long Beach, a track I have been to many times before with open wheel cars, which require a completely different tire and race strategy, but we will be prepared and ready to compete.” Photos: © 2011 Darren Pierson | Buy Prints         Round 2 of the ALMS presented by Patron Tequila will take place in Team Falken’s backyard on the streets of Long Beach April 15-16. TV coverage is on ESPN2 at 5:00 p.m. ET, April 17. To learn more about the Falken TIre American Le Mans team visit www.wegetyougoing.com Related posts:
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| Porsche Cayman Design Competition – Part II Posted: 24 Mar 2011 09:16 AM PDT In the second part of the Cayman Design Contest, listen to the four designer that compete for the overall win. Watch Part 1 here. http://design.porscheitalia.com Related posts:
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| Scirocco R-Cup calendar for 2011 Posted: 24 Mar 2011 08:45 AM PDT
A grand stage, a great sport: After its sensational inaugural season the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup starts into 2011 with an attractive calendar. The spectacular, eco-friendly Volkswagen one-make cup that reduces CO2 emissions by 80 per cent thanks to the cars being fueled by bio natural gas encompasses eight DTM events with ten races. A new addition to the 2011 event schedule: the Red-Bull-Ring at Spielberg, Austria, which complements the time-tested venues of the Scirocco R-Cup. The season opener and the finale will be held at Hockenheim. In addition, there will be rounds at the EuroSpeedway, the Norisring and the Nurburgring, at Brands Hatch in the UK and at Oschersleben between the end of April and end of October. The paddock has international flair: 21 male and female drivers from eight different countries will be on the grid, plus motorsport legends and celebrities as guest entrants. Successful partnership with the DTM continues As a DTM partner series, the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup will continue to perform on a grand stage. Letting fans come close to the action and delivering thrilling races are aims which the top touring car class and the world’s most eco-conscious one-make cup have in common. 2010 saw about 86,000 spectators on average flock to the jointly held races. Thanks to the push-to-pass system, which is unique in motorsport and puts a power boost of 50 hp at the driver’s fingertip, the Scirocco R-Cup guarantees captivating races. In addition, the direct comparison between the young drivers, seasoned campaigners and legends of motorsport in the same race creates suspense galore. The central fielding of the identical sport coupes by a fixed team guarantees absolute equality of opportunities to all entrants. The 2011 Scirocco R-Cup Calendar
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| Porsche Motorsport breaks down their 2011 season Posted: 24 Mar 2011 07:34 AM PDT
Porsche Intelligent Performance: 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 ready for the Nürburgring Porsche has revised the ground-breaking 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car in all key areas and competes with the 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 at the 24 hour race on 25 June. With hybrid components now approximately 20% lighter and improved aerodynamics, the GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 achieves comparable lap times with even better fuel efficiency. The output of the two electric motors at the front axle has increased from 60 to 75 kilowatts each, with approximately 200 extra horsepower available to pilots for seconds at a time on top of the 470 hp of the six-cylinder rear engine, depending on the balance of performance classification. The total weight of the race car was reduced from 1,350 to 1,300 kilograms.
Sebring 12 Hours: Pole and podium for Richard Lietz & Co. Porsche works driver Richard Lietz posted the best time in qualifying for the Sebring 12 Hours (19 March) with the 911 GT3 RSR of Proton Competition in the GTE-AM class. The race from pole position yielded second place for Lietz, Christian Ried and Gianluca Roda in the GTE-AM class after suffering transmission problems. A collision, a stop-and-go penalty and electrical problems caused by a faulty cooling vest hampered factory pilots Joerg Bergmeister, Marc Lieb and Patrick Long in Flying Lizard Motorsports’ 911 GT3 RSR: Sixth in the GT class. Tim Pappas, Sebastiaan Bleekemolen and Damien Faulkner were victorious with a 911 GT3 Cup in the GTC class reserved for one-make race series vehicles.
Le Mans Series: Porsche teams optimistic after testing in Le Castellet Optimism prevailed amongst the Porsche customer teams after the official Le Mans Series test days (11/12 March) at Le Castellet in Southern France. The further-enhanced 911 GT3 RSR met with approval from all drivers. Works pilot Marc Lieb, who with teammate Richard Lietz attempts a title defence for the Felbermayr-Proton squad, praised the excellent agility of the GT sports car. Porsche works driver Patrick Pilet from France pointed out the markedly improved stability on uneven surfaces. In 2011, Pilet and his works driver teammate Wolf Henzler are on a campaign to defend their title for IMSA Performance Matmut, whilst the second 911 GT3 RSR is manned by team owner Raymond Narac and Nicolas Armindo as the reigning champion of the Carrera Cup Deutschland. Factory pilot Marco Holzer competes for Prospeed Competition with Belgian privateer Marc Goossens. Porsche Mobil1 Supercup: Jonas Krauss takes over the wheel Jonas Krauss took over as manager of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup on 1 March. The 37-year-old industrial engineer is successor to Jens Walther. In October 2010, Walther was made President and CEO of Porsche Motorsports North America. With Jonas Krauss, Porsche has gained a motorsport manager with many years of experience to helm the flagship of its 19 brand trophy series worldwide. As project manager at BMW Motorsport, Krauss was responsible for the Formula BMW Motorsport Deutschland and the Formula BMW Europe series.
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge: 15 year old, youngster impresses at debut The greatest one-make race series in the USA celebrated its season-opener as support to the Sebring 12 hour race (19 March) with a packed grid of 40 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Henrique Cisneros won both classification races in the Platinum class for race cars from the 2010/2011 model years. Reigning LMPC champion Scott Tucker and Glen Gatlin won the Gold class for older GT3 Cup sports cars. Fifteen-year-old Madison Snow gave his debut as the youngest race driver in all of Porsche’s brand trophy series internationally. Snow clinched fifth and fourth in the Gold class, in which his mother Melanie was champion two years ago. In Sebring, Melanie Snow saw the flag in the Platinum class ranking 9th and 11th. Porsche one-make race series: Now 20 Cups and GT3 Cup Challenges worldwide The family of Porsche’s one-make race series continues to grow. As the 20th all-Porsche race series, the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge Canada starts featuring the best-selling race car worldwide, the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Three race weekends each with two classification races make up the ca-lendar. Now in its 19th race season, the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup accompanies the Formula 1 exclusively. Eight Carrera Cups are run worldwide, with the Carrera Cup Australia making a comeback after a two-year break. The season kicks off on the last weekend in March as support to the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne. Porsche organises a total of eleven GT3 Cup Challenges for amateur racers on four continents.
Carrera Cups Asia and Scandinavia: More competitors than ever before The Carrera Cups Asia and Scandinavia have announced record starter fields. For the Carrera Cup Asia, 26 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup tested on 12 March on the Formula 1 circuit in Sepang (Malaysia). Entering its ninth season, the first of six race weekends takes place from 15-17 April as support to the Grand Prix of China in Shanghai. Early in March, Porsche Sweden announced the entry list for the eighth season of the Carrera Cup Scandinavia with a record grid of 24 race cars, including 22 new 911 GT3 Cup for the first time. Season kick-off: 23/24 April on Denmark’s Jyllandsringen. GT3 Cup Challenge New Zealand: Daniel Gaunt champion after gripping finale Points’ leader Daniel Gaunt travelled to the finale (11/12 March) on the circuit in Taupo, central North Island, with a mere 25-point advantage over six-time champion Craig Baird. Baird promptly won the first two races of the weekend and snatched the lead from Gaunt heading into the last sprint race. Gaunt, however, answered with the quickest race lap and a lights-to-flag win to secure the title. Jonny Reid as title candidate number three had to bury his hopes after suffering tyre damage in the last race. Final standings: Gaunt: 1,042 points, Baird: 1,032, Reid: 1,000. GT3 Cup Challenge Australia: Extra trophy for the best long distance driver Run since 2008, the GT3 Cup Challenge Australia introduces the inaugural “Jim Richards Endurance Trophy”. On three of the six race weekends in 2011, drivers contest endurance races for this special trophy. Round one is at the season-opener in Wakefield on 2/3 April. New Zealand-born Jim Richards is one of the most successful GT and touring car drivers in Australia. The Porsche representative won the Targa Tasmania eight times and is four-time Australian Touring Car champion. GT3 Cup Challenge Brasil: 43-strong Porsche festival at Estoril The Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Brasil uses the delivery of 20 new, 450 hp Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to South America for a spectacular start to the season. On the way from Weissach to Rio, the new cars will rendezvous on the Estoril race track near Lisbon with 23 older, 420 hp 911 GT3 Cup shipped from Brazil to contest round one of the one-make race series. On 26 March, 43 competitors will race in two classes. Round two takes place on 30 April in Argentina’s Buenos Aires.
Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas: Leisure time at the limit In their spare time, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas compete at the limit. In 2011, Bernhard – 2010 ADAC Race Driver of the Year and Motorsport Grand Slam winner – will contest four rounds of the German Rally Championship with the newly-founded “Rallye Team 75”. His vehicle: a privately-prepared 2009 model 911 GT3 Cup. Romain Dumas contests his fourth season in the French Rally Championship with the latest, 450 hp 911 GT3 RS. The Frenchman can already look back on six overall and eleven class victories. Race notes: Germany’s Manthey Racing squad fields six Porsche 911 at the Nürburgring Long Distance Championship. Spearheading the contingent is a 911 GT3 R with works drivers Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb as well as former Porsche factory driver Lucas Luhr and Arno Klasen sharing driving duties. +++ Gianluca Roda, the most successful Porsche private driver and winner of the 2010 Porsche Cup, aims to defend the title in the International GT Open with Autorlando Sport and a 911 GT3 R. +++ The Porsche Mobil1 Supercup will be broadcast live by Eurosport in 59 countries, Sky Deutschland also televises the entire race live. New is coverage from Eurosport Asia which broadcasts to 19 countries. Race highlights can be viewed in 170 countries. +++ Porsche Italia expects 23 to 25 new 911 GT3 Cup racers to test in Imola on 23/24 March in preparation for the Carrera Cup Italia. Related posts:
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| Volkswagen Group wins fleet awards Posted: 24 Mar 2011 07:00 AM PDT The Volkswagen Group scooped up three first places in the “Fleet News Awards 2011” presented by the British trade journal “Fleet News”. The Volkswagen Polo and Golf models and the Skoda Superb took pole position in their respective segments.
The “Fleet News Awards” were presented in London for the 23nd time. The jury comprising “Fleet News” editors and trade association members along with representatives from key accounts and automakers judged the vehicles in terms of quality, running costs including residual value and CO2 emissions. The awards were presented in a total of nine categories. The jury awarded first place to the Volkswagen Polo in the “Best Small Car” category and to the Volkswagen Golf in the “Best Lower Medium Car” category. The Skoda brand came first with the Superb in the “Best Upper Medium Car” category. The UK is Europe’s largest fleet market and is characterized by a high concentration of few customers with very large fleets. Some 3 percent of customers represent roughly 60 percent of total key account business. For 2010 as a whole, the Volkswagen Group with its Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Skoda brands grew new registrations in the passenger car fleet market, which covers fleets of 25 or more vehicles, by 10.8 percent to 97,929 vehicles (2009: 88,417) and is therefore the clear market leader. “The awards confirm that the Volkswagen Group and its brands are excellently positioned to respond to the complex demands of the international fleet business. For us, this achievement is an incentive to continue to meet our customers’ wishes with a balanced and young product range and convincing service,” Martin Jahn, Head of Volkswagen Group Fleet International, said. Related posts:
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| Volkswagen Battles Fiat for Supremacy in Rapidly Growing Brazil Posted: 24 Mar 2011 06:36 AM PDT Volkswagen AG (VOW) will boost production and add models in Brazil to challenge Fiat SpA (F) for the leading position in the country’s rapidly growing auto market. “Competition in Brazil is intense and we expect it will become even more intense in the future,” Thomas Schmall, head of VW’s Brazilian operations, said in an interview. “We want to further expand our position.” VW, trailing Fiat in a three-way race with General Motors Co. (GM) for the country’s top spot, is expanding three of five plants in Latin America’s largest economy to increase sales 40 percent to 1 million vehicles in the next four years, he said. Europe’s largest automaker is investing 2.3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in Brazil through 2014 as a growing middle class, strong currency and job creation ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics fuel demand. Auto sales in the country, VW’s third-biggest market after China and Germany, will advance 40 percent by the end of 2016 to 3.64 million vehicles annually, according to industry researcher IHS Automotive. Fiat leads this year with a 22.3 percent share of the car and light truck market through mid-March, according to data from Brazilian dealers association Fenabrave. Wolfsburg, Germany- based VW is second with 21.8 percent and GM is third with 18.2 percent. VW and Fiat have been trading the top spot back-and- forth, while facing increasing pressure from rivals pouring in to capitalize on the market’s potential. Increased Investments “Brazil has never experienced a moment such as the present one, having 45 brands selling their cars here,” said Paulo Sergio Rosa, an automotive consultant from Consultoria Columbia in Sao Paulo. “The math now suggests a subtraction for everyone. VW is making a huge effort to try and get the lead back.” Fiat, based in Turin, Italy, is spending 10 billion reais ($6 billion) through 2014 to cement itself as the country’s biggest automaker and boost deliveries to more than 1 million vehicles. Brazil is especially important for Fiat because it does not have a strong presence in the other growth markets of China, Russia and India. “Our profits don’t come from Italy, but from Brazil,” Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said Feb. 15. Fiat deliveries in the country increased 1.6 percent last year to 761,400 vehicles, generating revenue of 9.25 billion euros, or 25 percent of total sales, according to its annual report. The VW group, whose revenue in Latin America increased 40 percent last year to 13.5 billion euros, sold 711,500 vehicles, including the Audi luxury brand and commercial-vehicles division, in Brazil in 2010. Revamped Models VW will introduce revamped versions of the Passat sedan, Touareg sport-utility vehicle and Jetta compact sedan this year in the country, continuing a roll-out that featured 26 new models or facelifts at the namesake VW brand in 2009 and 2010, Schmall said. The carmaker will lose 2.5 percentage points of market share in Brazil through 2016, according to IHS forecasts. “I do prefer VW’s cars because my father and my husband have had VW for a long time, but it is a little expensive,” said Andrea Puccini Santos, the 34-year-old owner of a VW Gol, as she looked at offerings at a Sao Paulo dealership. “I am looking at other models with similar prices and cost benefit.” Strong Pricing The best-selling car last year in Brazil was the Gol, with deliveries of 293,783 of the hatchback, followed by Fiat´s Uno, with 229,323 sold. The Gol, based on the underpinnings of VW’s Polo, starts at 29,290 reais, while the Uno’s base price is 26,490 reais, according to the carmakers’ Brazilian websites. “What makes it so relevant for VW, but also for GM and Fiat, to retain share in that market is that the pricing is so strong,” said Guido Vildozo, an IHS Automotive analyst in New York. “A large influx of domestic production in coming years is going to put a lot of pressure on the established manufacturers.” Brazil’s economy will expand 4.03 percent this year, according to a central bank survey of about 100 economists published this week. Brazilian Central Bank President Alexandre Tombini said March 22 the economy has a “great” medium and long-term growth outlook. “We’re expecting a positive economic development in coming years,” Schmall said in the March 11 interview. “It’s our goal to share in the growth in auto markets in Brazil and other Latin American countries.” VW Investments Volkswagen plans to invest 53.5 billion euros in its global automotive business through 2015, with another 10.6 billion euros to be spent through its two Chinese joint ventures. VW aims to spur sales to more than 10 million vehicles globally to surpass Toyota Motor Corp. as the world’s largest automaker. Expansion in South America and Southeast Asia is important to VW as a counterweight to the carmaker’s increasing reliance on China, Bernd Osterloh, head of VW’s works council, said in a an interview March 10 in Wolfsburg. China accounted for 26 percent of VW’s deliveries last year. The carmaker’s operating profit in the country, the world’s biggest auto market, more than doubled in 2010 to 1.9 billion euros. “Development in China is very good and potential for further growth is no doubt in place,” said Osterloh, who is also deputy head of VW’s supervisory board. “But we as the works council don’t want to become too dependent on China.” Adjusting Production Volkswagen may need to adjust production at its Brazilian factories and add models to reap benefits from the country’s economic advance, he said. “Our capacities are already nowadays running close to limits,” Osterloh said, noting that the commercial-vehicle unit would benefit from an added offering. “We could grow even more with new products.” Long-time Gol driver Rossana Matheus Montanarini would be open to new offerings. “This the car I learned to drive with,” the 27-year-old physiotherapist said of the Gol. “But I tested Fox and I saw it‘s very comfortable to drive. I am thinking of cheating on Gol but continuing with Volkswagen.” Related posts:
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