ALMS 2011 thread

September 16, 2011

Maybe it's CR's turn to sandbag...

September 16, 2011

Hey Shifter, or anyone else for that matter, you can win a trip for two to Sebring next year! :thumbs

Sign up for your chance to win through Sunday, Oct. 2 - the day following the 14th annual Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda. We'll fly the winner and a guest, and include hotel accommodations, two race weekend tickets, access to the ALMS hospitality tent, and a Vitesse ride for two - yep, you'll experience the track first-hand! All you have to do is sign up and watch the upcoming races to hear your name announced.

Linkapalooza :cfdeadagain

Laguna Seca Practice and Qualifying later today. :banannarainbow:

Posted Image

September 16, 2011

Ya, I saw that this morning, and I'm already in my own damn self, but thanks for teh heads-up! :howdy

September 16, 2011

ALMS: Muller Leads Practice 2 At Monterey

BMW quickest again in first official practice at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca...

Posted Image

Dirk Muller topped the time charts in the first official practice for Saturday's ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey. The BMW driver turned a best time of 1:23.450, edging out Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 01 Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari by 0.248 seconds.

The sister No. 55 BMW of Dirk Muller wound up third in GT, ahead of Baltimore winners Team Falken Tire, the quickest of the Porsche contingent.

The surprise of the 60-minute session was again the strength of Porsche's 911 GT3 R Hybrid, which was good enough for second quickest in GT, although drivers Romain Dumas and Richard Lietz are competing unclassified this weekend.

Up front, Guy Smith led the way overall in his No. 16 Dyson Racing Lola B09/86 Mazda. The LMP1 championship leader edged out the No. 007 Lola-Aston Martin of Adrian Fernandez by 0.038 seconds.

The similarly prepared Muscle Milk Lola-Aston of Lucas Luhr was third, ahead of Butch Leitzinger, making his return to Dyson Racing, in fourth aboard the Oryx-backed Lola-Mazda.

Level 5 Motorsports continued making progress with its new HPD ARX-01g, as Luis Diaz posted the fifth quickest time overall, which was less than five seconds from the overall pace-setting Lola-Mazda.

Kyle Marcelli (LMPC) and Martin Ragginger (GTC) led their respective Challenge categories.

The hour-long practice saw three red flags, including one for the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari, which spun off course.

Practice 2 is on tap for 2:15 p.m. PST.

TRY TEH FRIGGIN SUSHI YOU DIRK! :cuss

September 16, 2011

It's fairly obvious that BMW decided to win teh championship this weekend.... :nopity

September 16, 2011

They're fcukin haulin this weekend. Qualifying, unofficialy: Hand, Bimmer Gavin, Vette Auberlen, Bimmer Cosmo, Ferrari Long, Porsche van Overb, Ferrari Vilander, Ferrari Berreta, Vette Sellers, Porsche Maassen, Porsche Junquera, Jaguar Neiman, Porsche :3gears:

September 16, 2011

Tommorow will be Ollie G's day to shine! :xfinger :burnout2 :driving: :shifter:

September 16, 2011

:facepalm: :banghead Hand gapped him and everyone else by almost a second.....but over six freaking hours I'm hoping there might be a couple 'racing incidents' to help us out. Mebbe one of these a-holes in the Aston prototype will get a little pushy, who knows.

ALMS: Dyson Locks Out Front Row At Mazda Raceway

Guy Smith, Steven Kane outrun Lola-Aston Martins for all-Dyson front row at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca...

Dyson Racing picked up where it last left off two weeks ago at Baltimore, securing a sweep of the front row for Saturday's ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey.

After battling a suspected misfire, Guy Smith returned to the track and stormed to the overall pole for the six-hour race into the darkness. The No. 16 Dyson Lola B09/86 Mazda posted a best time of 1:13.927, edging out teammate Steven Kane by 0.694 seconds.

Smith, who will share the wheel of the LMP1 contender with Chris Dyson and Jay Cochran tomorrow, was motivated to secure the pole at Mazda's home track.

Adrian Fernandez put the No. 007 Aston Martin Racing Lola in third with a 1:14.827 lap time, ahead of the similarly prepared Muscle Milk entry of Klaus Graf, who struggled for grip during the 15-minute session.

In LMP2, Level 5 Motorsports continued making considerable gains with its new HPD ARX-01g, with Christophe Bouchut posting an impressive 1:16.688 lap time in the new cost-capped machine. It was only 2.761 seconds from Smith's overall pole-sitting time.

There was no stopping Joey Hand, who earned BMW Team RLL's seventh GT class pole of the season. Hand laid down a series of fast laps in his No. 56 BMW Team RLL, ending at the top of the time charts with a 1:22.226 lap time.

Hand outran the No. 4 Corvette Racing C6.R of Oliver Gavin by a considerable 0.898 seconds, a large margin considering the usual highly competitive field in the production-based ranks.

Gavin set his 1:23.124 lap time late in the 15-minute session, knocking Bill Auberlen to third and erasing hopes of an all BMW front row. Auberlen was 0.235 seconds quicker than the No. 02 Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari F458 Italia of Guy Cosmo, who recorded a season-high fourth place qualifying run.

The No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Patrick Long completed the top-five in class.

After suffering an accident in morning practice, Risi Competizione returned to action in qualifying, although Toni Vilander could only muster the seventh best time. The Finn stopped on track late in the session after running out of fuel.

Kyle Marcelli stormed to the LMPC class pole, clocking a 1:18.844 lap time in his No. 89 Intersport Racing Oreca FLM09.

The 21-year-old Canadian enjoyed a fierce fight with class points leader Gunnar Jeannette for the top spot, with Jeannette pushing his car to the limit and suffering an off-course excursion after laying down his fast time.

Eric Lux, who sits just one point behind Jeannette and co-driver Ricardo Gonazlez in the tight title race, posted the third quickest time in his No. 63 Genoa Racing machine.

In GTC, Jeroen Bleekemolen celebrated back-to-back class poles, although this time less eventful from his Baltimore adventures.

The Dutchman turned a best time of 1:27.850 lap in his No. 54 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, edging out the sister Green Hornet machine of Damien Faulkner by 0.302 seconds.

Spencer Pumpelly wound up third in his No. 66 TRG Porsche.

The ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey takes the green flag at 1:30 p.m. PST.

BTW, that hybrid does haul, but it better stay out of the dicing tomorrow...ya know? :hunter

September 17, 2011

CORVETTE RACING QUALIFIES SECOND AND EIGHTH FOR LAGUNA SECA

Gavin Puts No. 4 Corvette C6.R on GT Front Row for Third Straight Race

MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 16, 2011 - As the laps counted down in qualifying for Saturday's ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey, Corvette Racing engineer Chuck Houghton radioed to driver Oliver Gavin, "A tenth of a second will put you in P2." Gavin responded with his quickest lap of the 15-minute qualifying session, taking the No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R from sixth to second on the GT grid.

"As always, Chuck tells me exactly how it is," Gavin said with a laugh. "I knew that the car had it in it. I just needed to put a lap together without any traffic or sand on the track. It all seemed to come together on that last lap."

It was the third consecutive front-row qualifying effort by the No. 4 Corvette C6.R after Gavin's teammate, Jan Magnussen, qualified the yellow car in the No. 2 spot at Road America and the Baltimore Grand Prix. Gavin's ninth and final lap was his quickest, navigating the 2.238-mile course in 1:23.124 (96.925 mph). Olivier Beretta's sixth lap in the No. 3 Compuware Corvette C6.R was his fastest at 1:23.566 (96.412 mph), placing him eighth in the hard-fought GT class - the gap from second to eighth was less than half a second. Joey Hand took the GT pole at 1:22.226 (97.984 mph) in the No. 56 BMW M3 GT.

"I knew by Turn 7 that it was going to be a good lap," Gavin recalled. "I'd been losing some time in the Corkscrew because I was trying too hard and overshooting the corner. This time I backed down a little bit, got through the turn quickly, and then it was just hauling through the rest of the corners to the start-finish line.

"It's super close with everyone except Hand's BMW, and we're in with a fighting chance," the Briton added. "Six hours at Laguna Seca is a long race, and I know that Corvette Racing will make the right calls and we'll be battling to keep ourselves in the championship."

Gavin and Magnussen will go into the penultimate round of the ALMS second in the GT standings, 25 points behind Hand and Dirk Mueller. With 55 points available in the remaining two races, the championship is still in play.

Beretta expects the No. 3 Corvette C6.R to move to the front as the race unfolds. "With our strategy for qualifying we should look good in the race," Beretta said. "I tried my best, and the engineers and mechanics did a good job. I'm quite happy about how the day went."

The six-hour ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will start on Saturday, September 17, at 1:30 p.m. PT. Live video coverage will be available on ESPN3.com in the U.S. and americanlemans.com for international users. ESPN2 will televise the ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey on Sunday, September 18, at 1 p.m. ET.

ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey GT Qualifying (Top 10):

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Time

1. 56 Mueller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 1:22.226

2. 4 Gavin/Magnussen, Corvette C6.R, 1:23.124

3. 55 Auberlen/Werner, BMW M3 GT, 1:23.132

4. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:23.367

5. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:23.368

6. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:232.386

7. 62 Melo/Vildander, Ferrari F458 Italia, 1:23.518

8. 3 Beretta/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 1:23.566

9. 17 Henzler/Sellers, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:23.758

10. 48 Miller/Maasen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:24.133

:armed:

September 17, 2011

ALMS: Monterey Notebook

News and notes from the penultimate round of the American Le Mans Series season, courtesy of Michelin...

Posted Image

PORSCHE HYBRID 2.0 — While carbureted pushrod V8 engines still provide the power in some racing series, Porsche is providing American Le Mans Series fans an early look at some of the most innovative technology in global motorsports today, the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0.

Already in its second generation, the new Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 features a flywheel hybrid and electric front wheel motors. Since its 2010 introduction, the 911 GT3 R Hybrid has undergone further development and compared to its predecessor, its weight has been reduced from 1,350 to 1,300 kilograms.

The car will race “Unclassified” as GT rules have not yet been homologated for hybrid systems.

The Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0, with two 75 kilowatt electric motors on the front axle supplementing the 465 hp four-litre, six-cylinder power unit at the rear, particularly embodies the philosophy of “Porsche Intelligent Performance”. The electric energy is generated during braking and stored in an electric flywheel.

During acceleration, this energy is automatically delivered to the front wheels, supporting the combustion engine. This leads to a reduction in fuel consumption and increases the cruising range on the circuit.

Drivers Romain Dumas and Richard Lietz can manually utilize the stored energy with a boost-paddle on the steering wheel for overtaking.

“The Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca layout with a series of up and downhill passages should actually suit our 911 GT3 R Hybrid,” says driver Romain Dumas.

Earlier this summer, Porsche excited the Porsche faithful, and race fans worldwide, with the news that Porsche will return to LMP1 prototype competition at Le Mans in 2014.

Porsche has made no further announcements regarding details of the car or power source.

Observers expect that within the next five years Le Mans will begin to limit the amount of energy available to entrants. If so, a flywheel hybrid would be an interesting and highly innovative option.

At the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, the orange and white Porsche race car achieved the same quick lap times as its top rivals while using considerably less fuel.

CHAMPIONSHIP ZOOM — There are two kinds of teams at this weekend’s six-hour round of the American Le Mans Series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca: Those that are in their respective championship fights, and those that are not.

With two races remaining, manufacturers, teams and drivers in the 2011 ALMS championship hunt have one eye on the race and the other on the championship. For the rest, there is nothing to lose – they will go all out for the wins.

Extra championship points are on the line here and at Petit Le Mans due to the longer race distances. Failing to finish can destroy a championship bid.

The 2011 ALMS season is already one to remember for Mazda. The feisty carmaker that makes efficiency its by-word is on track to claim a first-ever ALMS championship. The Dyson Racing Mazda team, with drivers Chris Dyson and Guy Smith, currently hold a 24-point lead in the LMP1 prototype duel. A pair of top three finishes will secure the titles.

The Muscle Milk Aston Martin team, with Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr, leads the victory parade with four wins to two, but an early exit at the season opener at Sebring put the Benicia, California, squad in a deep championship hole. They need victories in both races and hope that the Dyson squad encounters some trouble, easy enough to happen in a six-hour race here and the 10 Hour/1000-mile Petit Le Mans finale at Road Atlanta.

Dyson bolstered its championship bid by adding a second car with Humaid al Masaood and Steven Kane under the Oryx Dyson Mazda banner at the third race. The pair claimed the victory at Baltimore two weeks ago. Reinforcements for the Muscle Milk squad arrive in the form of Adrian Fernandez and the AMR Aston Martin team.

For Mazda and Dyson Racing, the only thing better than winning the ALMS manufacturer and team titles would be to lock them up at Mazda Raceway. A Muscle Milk win in its home state would keep the championship fight alive.

BMW Team RLL made a strong start in 2011, reeling off three consecutive GT class victories to open the season. Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand currently lead the drivers’ championship by 25 points over Corvette Racing’s drivers Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen. Risi Competizione Ferrari and Corvette Racing have one win each while the surprising Falken Porsche squad has a pair.

The closest championship is in the LMP Challenge class, where CORE autosport and Genoa Racing have two wins each and just two points separate them in the championship. CORE’s drivers Gunnar Jeannette and Ricardo Gonzalez hold a one-point lead over Genoa’s Eric Lux.

In the GTC class, Tim Pappas and Black Swan Racing have won two races in a row to lead both the driver and team championships over the TRG team and its drivers.

SEAT TIME — Romain Dumas hopes for a little more practice here than he had before the recent Baltimore GP, where he subbed for Lucas Luhr in the Muscle Milk Aston Martin.

Electrical issues kept the car out of practice, qualifying and the race-morning warmup, while the crew did a heroic job sorting and repairing the damaged electronics. All this meant that Dumas had zero seat time or track time until he was able to drive from the paddock to the starting grid. Dumas will drive the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid here.

100 STARTS — In the 13-year history of the ALMS only three drivers (Johnny O’Connell, Olivier Beretta, David Brabham) have more than 100 race starts. That number will likely triple during the 2012 season as Bill Auberlen, Joerg Bergmeister, Jan Magnussen, Johannes van Overbeek, Chris Dyson and Oliver Gavin should all pass the century mark in ALMS race starts. That does not include Jon Field who will make his 100th start next month at Petit Le Mans.

Posted Image

http://photos.americanlemans.com/0348/BA1_9646.jpg

http://www.michelinalley.com/wp-content/uploads/BMW_pole.jpg

http://www.michelinalley.com/wp-content/uploads/mazda_pole.jpg

http://www.michelinalley.com/wp-content/gallery/michelin_laguna_gal_thurs/michelin_laguna_gal_thurs_2.jpg

http://www.michelinalley.com/wp-content/gallery/michelin_laguna_gal_thurs/michelin_laguna_gal_thurs_7.jpg

:armed:

September 17, 2011

This should be on our smilie list... Posted Image

September 18, 2011

Speechless. :caveman:

Very bitter as well, but those last 5 minutes...... :wtf:

September 18, 2011

September 18, 2011

:funnypost:

ALMS: Aston Martin Racing Wins In Monterey

Adrian Fernandez, Harold Primat and Stefan Mucke put Lola-Aston Martin in victory lane. Flying Lizard (GT), Genoa Racing (LMPC) and TRG (GTC) class winners...

Posted Image

Aston Martin Racing triumphed in its American Le Mans Series return Saturday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, with drivers Adrian Fernandez, Stefan Mucke and Harold Primat taking the Gulf-liveried Lola-Aston Martin to a three-lap victory in the six-hour California enduro.

In a race that featured four different leaders in LMP1 in one of the most competitive battles season all season, the British Prodrive squad benefited from the misfortunes of ALMS prototype regulars to claim their maiden prototype victory in series competition.

"It's just great," Mucke said after climbing from the V12-powered machine. "It's a perfect feeling The team did a great job. Adrian and Harold did a great job. We're finally on the podium in first place. We're absolutely happy."

Mucke crossed the line three laps ahead of the No. 16 Dyson Racing Lola B09/86 Mazda of Guy Smith, Chris Dyson and Jay Cochran in second, which clinched the LMP1 championship in controversial fashion.

Losing the lead to Mucke shortly after climbing aboard the Mazda-powered entry, Cochran later suffered a tire puncture and subsequent spin. The former IMSA GTP racer then became lodged in the gravel trap at the Corkscrew, which brought out the final safety car of the race with under 20 minutes to go.

Dyson's Oryx-backed No. 20 Lola-Mazda of Steven Kane, which led earlier in the hands of Butch Leitzinger, then made a series of three unscheduled pit stops, which delayed Kane enough to give Cochran back the position and ensure Dyson and Smith the LMP1 drivers' championship.

Muscle Milk AMR's Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr, championship rivals heading into the race, battled electrical issues for the second consecutive weekend. The Greg Pickett-owned squad lost nearly 50 laps mid-race when its Lola-Aston Martin failed to fire up during a pit stop.

The Lola-Aston Martin returned to action and came home fifth in class, claiming fourth place points, as the race-winning AMR entry is not a full-season registered entrant. However, it was not enough to keep their title hopes alive after what appeared to be a tactical move by the Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based squad.

The battle for top honors in GT was just as fierce but fought out on the track, as Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Long scored their first victory of the season for Flying Lizard Motorsports in dramatic fashion.

Dirk Muller in the No. 56 BMW Team RLL BMW M3 GT led the field on the final restart but quickly dropped to third behind Bergmeister and the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia of Jaime Melo.

Melo then battled it out with Bergmeister, pushing the Porsche nearly into the pit wall heading for the white flag. While Melo's move was deemed under review by the race director, it didn't matter as the Brazilian's Ferrari began to sputter before running out of fuel. It gave clear sailing for the German, who picked up Porsche's third victory of the season.

"It's been a long coming for us, but in the end, I think it came down to fate," Bergmeister said. "They were pretty rough on us but in the end they ran out of fuel and we won. So that's what we wanted. Finally, I have to say, it's been a long year and we have our first win."

The Ferrari's last-lap misfortunes gave Muller and co-driver Joey Hand a second place finish, which was enough for the BMW duo to clinch the GT class drivers' championship. Additionally, BMW Team RLL locked up the teams' championship for the second consecutive year.

"Coming into this year, we were saying it was going to be the greatest GT championship we'd ever seen," Hand said. "To be the drivers' champion in such a tough crowd, it's great. We've had a great year and now we go to Petit to see if we can't get another long race [win]."

Melo and co-driver Toni Vilander initially came home in third, but were penalized 90 seconds post-race for avoidable contact, handing the final podium position to the No. 01 Extreme Speed Motorsports Ferrari of Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek.

Level 5 Motorsports enjoyed a trouble-free run in the debut of its new HPD ARX-01g as drivers Scott Tucker, Christophe Bouchut and Luis Diaz scored an impressive fourth place overall result.

While the lone LMP2 contender finished seven laps behind the overall race winner, Bouchut turned a best lap that was nearly within one second of AMR Lola-Aston Martin's quickest time.

Another impressive performance came from the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid 2.0 of Richard Lietz and Romain Dumas, which finished ahead of the entire GT category thanks in part to making two fewer stops than the other GT machines.

In LMPC, Genoa Racing scored its third victory of the season and second for the pairing of Eric Lux and Elton Julian, who took their Oreca FLM09 to a narrow 0.329-second win over the No. 05 CORE autosport machine of Gunnar Jeannette, Ricardo Gonzalez and Rudy Junco Jr.

Former teammates Julian and Jeannette were locked in an epic fight for the top spot during the second-half of the race, with it going in favor of the Genoa squad, which sees Lux now three points ahead of the CORE autosport duo in the class title race heading into the season finale.

"It was a back and forth deal," Julian said. "Gunnar had better rubber at times than I did and my car was [sometimes] working better than his. It was really important to watch what you had and take care of it. I think the big difference was that I was able to get my old tires to come back one last time and he quit on his and went with new. That made it happen for us and all I had to do was bring it to the end."

Julian completed three hours and 57 minutes at the wheel of the car, coming just a few minutes shy of the maximum four-hour drive time.

Baltimore winner Kyle Marcelli joined brothers Chapman and David Ductoe for a third-place finish in the No. 89 Intersport Racing machine.

TRG came out on top again in GTC, thanks to another late-race move by Spencer Pumpelly, who put the No. 66 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car out ahead of multiple-time Porsche SuperCup champion Jeroen Bleekemolen for the win.

The result keeps Pumpelly and co-driver Duncan Ende's title chances alive heading into the final round.

Next up is the 14th annual Petit Le Mans on Oct. 1, which will conclude the American Le Mans Series and also play host the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. (So teh Larbre vette will be there, they finished just off the podium last week at Silverstone, but maintain the GTE-Am class points lead.)

:facepalm: Can't wait to read the spin job the Corvette Racing pr hack puts on this. Vettes 6th and 7th and no match out there today. Not easy to put a shine on this turd.

Hell, that fcukin hybrid whupped 'em ALL. Friggin Porches. :twitch

September 18, 2011

Meh...teh new CR motto: Take some prisoners...Jaguar and teh GT40's! :banannasword:

September 18, 2011

Huh, Melo getting teh penalty bumped us up a spot...meh.

FIFTH AND SEVENTH FOR CORVETTE RACING IN LAGUNA SECA ALMS

A Long Day in Monterey as Team Experiences Highs and Lows on Roller Coaster Road Course

Posted Image

MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 17, 2011 - The six-hour American Le Mans Monterey proved to be trying day for Corvette Racing as the Compuware Corvette C6.Rs finished fifth and seventh in the GT class. While the cars showed competitive speed, keeping a handle on the roller coaster Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit throughout a stint was a challenge for the Corvettes.

Jan Magnussen and Oliver Gavin finished fifth in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R, 15.9 seconds behind the winning No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 of Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long. The No. 62 Ferrari, third across the finish line, received a post-race penalty for avoidable contact, promoting the No. 4 Corvette from sixth to fifth in the final results. Tommy Milner and Olivier Beretta finished seventh, one lap behind the leaders, in the No. 3 Corvette C6.R.

"Looking at lap times, we had cars that were very competitive today," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Unfortunately we couldn't find a setup that would allow the cars to keep the tires under them for an entire stint."

After starting second in the GT class, Gavin held his position through the first 14 laps before he was overtaken by the No. 55 BMW. Within a few laps, he had slipped to seventh as the Corvette struggled to maintain grip on the track surface. After an early pit stop put the No. 4 Corvette out of sequence with the leaders, Gavin was back up to third shortly after the one-hour mark, only to slide back to seventh. That established the pattern of the race for the No. 4 Corvette.

"It was a very long day, and definitely not the result we were looking for," Gavin said. "For whatever reason, today we sustained high tire wear and a drop in grip. We'll get to the bottom of this so that we can fight for a win when we come back here next year. I definitely think it's just a blip, since we've been competitive at every other event this year."

Magnussen agreed: "At the beginning of the stint, the car was really good, but then it dropped off about halfway through, so we couldn't really keep up the pace. When the car was good, we were right there with the leaders."

Savvy pit strategy kept the Corvettes in contention, and Gavin was running second after four hours of racing. However, he and Magnussen couldn't maintain their position through long runs.

Milner and Beretta had a similar plight in the No. 3 Corvette. "You always want to keep fighting because anything can happen in a race," Milner said. "Today we weren't the quickest car and weren't as competitive as we would have liked to have been. The team was awesome, they made great pit stops and fast driver changes. I think we're primed and ready for Petit Le Mans."

"We did our best, the team did a good job on the car, but it was a shame that we lost a lap," Beretta conceded. "It's all part of racing. Unfortunately today it was difficult, but we have one more race coming, and the whole team will be going for another victory."

ESPN2 will televise the ModSpace American Le Mans Monterey on Sunday, September 18, at 1 p.m. ET. Corvette Racing's next event is the 10-hour/1,000-mile Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga., on Saturday, October 1, at 11:30 a.m. ET. Live video coverage will be available on ESPN3.com in the U.S. and americanlemans.com for international users. ABC will televise Petit Le Mans at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 2.

ModSpace American Le Mans Series Monterey GT Results (Top 10):

Pos./Car No./Drivers/Car/Laps

1. 45 Bergmeister/Long, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 236

2. 56 Mueller/Hand, BMW M3 GT, 236

3. 01 Sharp/van Overbeek, Ferrari F458 Italia, 236

4. 55 Auberlen/Werner, BMW M3 GT, 236

5. 4 Gavin/Magnussen, Corvette C6.R, 236

6. 62 Melo/Vilander, Ferrari F458 Italia, 236

7. 3 Beretta/Milner, Corvette C6.R, 235

8. 02 Brown/Cosmo, Ferrari F458 Italia, 231

9. 44 Neiman/Holzer, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 230

10. 48 Miller/Maasen, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 224

Fehan's look says it all...."Whaddyado?"

Posted Image

September 18, 2011

I want teh 6 hours of my life back! :toetap

September 19, 2011

i just got back! 9 hrs drive back... man they corvettes were competitive... the smells and sounds is hard to describe. the corvette corral was packed. they treated us very well in the corvette tent they had food and snacks the whole day.... the corvette drivers were very friendly.... we had access to the paddock you could do just about anything touch.take pics very easy going.......you guys need to go!! theres nothing like being there.... ill post pics this week

September 19, 2011

Come hell or high water, I'm going to Laguna Seca next year....

September 20, 2011

some pics

September 22, 2011

Somebody help this man with his pix! Yuma Rich? Bueller...?

September 23, 2011

Corvette Racing Series Episode 9: Corvette World Tribute

I think I saw teh drummer in teh background! :rockon2:

September 26, 2011

Teh big dogs (Audi & Peugeot) are back in town, vettes are fastest...duh.

ALMS: Peugeot Tops Sunday Petit Le Mans Test

French Lions 1-2 after seven hours of testing at Road Atlanta...

Posted Image

Peugeot got its Petit Le Mans title defense off to a strong start Sunday at Road Atlanta, as the French diesels led a 1-2 in testing for Saturday’s American Le Mans Series and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 1,000-mile/10-hour marathon.

The No. 7 Peugeot 908 of Simon Pagenaud, Sebastien Bourdais and Anthony Davidson topped the time charts, completing 147 laps over the seven hours of available track time in warm and sunny conditions.

Peugeot’s sister No. 8 machine of Stephane Sarrazin, Franck Montagny and Alex Wurz also racked up significant mileage, ending the day 0.519 seconds slower than the Silverstone-winning entry.

Audi Sport Team Joest, debuting its Le Mans-winning Audi R18 TDIs on U.S. soil, wound up third and fourth quickest, respectively, with the No. 2 entry of Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello outpacing the No. 1 car of Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Marcel Fassler.

The diesels held a significant three-second advantage over the quickest of the gasoline-powered LMP1s, that being the No. 20 Oryx Dyson Racing Lola B09/86 Mazda of Steven Kane, Butch Leitzinger and Humaid al Masaood in fifth.

OAK Racing’s No. 24 Oak-Pescarolo Judd, which scored a surprise LMP1 podium at the Six Hours of Silverstone earlier this month, was three-tenths further behind the Dyson machine in sixth.

Level 5 Motorsports led the way in LMP2, with its ILMC-designated No. 33 HPD ARX-01g of Christophe Bouchut and Joao Barbosa topping the time charts in class. Bouchut’s 1:14.799 was 0.694 seconds faster than the No. 35 OAK Racing Oak-Pescarolo Judd in second.

The No. 22 United Autosports Oak-Pescarolo Judd, which turned its first laps on Sunday in the hands of Stefan Johansson and Mark Patterson, was third quickest.

Level 5’s sister No. 055 HPD ARX-01g, as well as the ILMC championship-leading No. 26 Signatech Nissan Oreca 03 Nissan, didn't take part in today’s testing but both are expected to be on track on Monday.

Corvette Racing led a 1-2 in GT, with the No. 4 Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen and Richard Westbrook posting a 1:20.846 lap time. It was enough to edge out the sister No. 3 machine of Tommy Milner, Olivier Beretta and Antonio Garcia by 0.154 seconds.

The Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca-winning No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister wound up third in class.

Only seven GT class entries took time on Sunday, with BMW Team RLL and Risi Competizione two notable absences. Others included the No. 51 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia, as its drivers competed in today's Le Mans Series season-ending Six Hours of Estoril in Portugal.

The No. 36 Genoa Racing Oreca FLM09, one of two LMPC cars not locked into Saturday’s starting field, was the only car to post a time in class. The same was the case for the No. 50 Larbre Competition Corvette C6.R in GTE-Am, although the French squad had a guaranteed place on the grid.

Three GTC cars took to the track, but two were caught up in accidents. Duncan Ende spun his No. 66 TRG Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, bringing out a red flag in the morning session, while the No. 77 Magnus Racing entry slapped the wall in the afternoon.

Both cars, however, returned to action after making repairs, with Ende’s No. 66 entry posting the quickest time in class.

No other major incidents were reported.

Twenty-three of the 57 cars entered set time, although a few cars circulated without transponders, including the GTE-Am class No. 61 AF Corse Ferrari F430 GT.

Eight more hours of testing is on tap for Monday, with more teams expected to take to the 2.54-mile Road Atlanta circuit.

Eye candy:

Posted Image