Pic Post: Baltimore Grand Prix 2012

Another year, another Falken victory in GT, another great weekend for Baltimore City. 

_WRS

Video Post: Trackside at Sebring 2012

Sebring preview 2012

Things have been a bit slow around here lately. Not much about motorsport, or anything else for that matter, but it's not for lack of attention on my part. I'm still very much invested in motorsport this year, more so than any other in fact, but ultimately I just don't have as much spare time to contribute anything of merit into the vast vacuum of noise that is the internet.

So this year we've already seen the 50th running of the Daytona 24, and while it was exciting and while it has heritage, it is really a dim candle in comparison to the 12 Hours of Sebring. Sebring is a tougher track. It's more challenging from both the driver and car perspective, and it's much better for spectators. You can get shockingly close at some points, and there is something for everyone when it comes to the circuit itself.

Like years past we're sending troops down south to Sebring, but rather unfortunately I will not be able to go. Duty calls, so I'll be at a track, just not one in central Florida. I'll be quite a few miles north at West Virginia's famed but certainly less-famous Summit Point for an Audi Club track day. Any other day of the year this would be preferable, but certainly not this weekend.

But I digress, it's going to be a heck of a race, despite Peugeot dropping out of the WEC at the last minute, and allowing Audi a factory-free run in Florida. There will be challengers to be sure, but Dyson, Rebellion and Muscle Milk are small change compared to a factory, despite their millions. Toyota won't be in action until Spa, so unless Audi makes a mockery of themselves - totally possible seeing what they did to themselves last year in the ILMC - it will be tough to beat the diesels.

I personally am an Audi fan (rather obviously looking at the header pic) but I'm more a fan of underdogs, so any petrol car taking the overall win will have made for a great race. Dyson has a brand new Lola, Muscle Milk has their HPD, and either of those taking the win would be the ideal result. An American team winning America's premier endurance event on its 60th birthday. Both Dyson and Pickett are pillars of the sportscar community over here and both deserve a Sebring win - and the ALMS needs to bring a little hardware home as well. I've been pretty silent about it up until now, but the boys in Braselton need to grow a pair and divorce themselves from the ACO if they expect to survive beyond the next year or so.

But I digress; that is something for another time.

In GT the battle is far from predictable and there are no real clear 'sure bets.' Ferrari is due, BMW is last year's hot ticket, Corvette is hungry and Porsche both consistent and sporting new hardware. So it's nearly anyone's game. It'll take luck along with a healthy dose of performance behind the wheel and in the pits. As always we'll be pulling for Team Falken Tire. From the top down, CEO to Bryan and Wolf, they are a class act, and it's great to see them continuing to run at the top level in the best championship in the world.

Josh and Kevin, accomplices in all our previous Sebring trips, will be driving south tomorrow to the sunshine state. So despite my own inability to attend they'll be there for pictures and report.

For more / picture credit: American Le Mans
Coverage: Radio LeMans

_WRS

From behind the pitwall: Petit Le Mans 2011

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The following can be attributed to Robert Overholser of Lufteknic Porsche, Richmond, VA. 

It's been a while since I was at the track for some ALMS crew work. It was refreshing and fun to be back in the action, almost a vacation to be away from the shop and doing something that I've enjoyed doing for a long time now. My good friend Marc at German Performance Service has been working with Black Swan Racing for the past 2 years.

 

The past 2 years have resulted in Championships in the ALMS GTC class. Road Atlanta was packed with fans ready to watch the battles, and it was also one of the few races in recent memory where there was more competitors than slots available to race cars. A few were cut depending on qualifying results...

The Baltimore Grand Prix

Approximately one month ago, Baltimore City, held the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. It was a double-header weekend featuring the American Le Mans series on Saturday, and IndyCar on Sunday. Despite the fact I was quite literally in the process of moving from New York to Baltimore, there was no way I was missing the ALMS on the streets of my hometown.

 

Open wheelers, let alone spec open wheelers, have never really done it for me, so I opted to finish moving on Sunday, but with the full blessing of the best wife in the world to go and enjoy myself, I was able to make it down on Friday and Saturday for the main event, the ALMS. And what a weekend it was.

ALMS: Baltimore Grand Prix preview

We'll have full coverage of the Baltimore Grand Prix - but I do want to apologize for the total lack of updates lately. I'm in the process of moving, and well, it's kind of been taking up all my time. After the BGP we'll also have fresh H2O pics and feedback, plus work will commence on the IMSA GTI.

_WRS

Double Coaster: ALMS and CTSCC on Saturday

It's a busy weekend for motorsport in the good ole U-S of A. The American Le Mans boys are up one of the shortest and fastest tracks in the country, Lime Rock Park. We were there last year and it was blazing hot, much to my wife's chagrin at the time, but not many spouses are crazy enough to let you take them to a race track on THEIR birthday. Unfortunately with the upcoming Waterfest show and upcoming move from NYC to Baltimore taking all my time and energy, we won't be attending this year.

Still, it should be a great battle. Dyson brings a second car so at the very least there will be a full podium in LMP1, but of course, the real battle is in GT. It's anybody's guess as to what team will take honors - the Ferraris are always fast, Corvette and BMW have been the two to beat here and abroad, and Flying Lizard is overdue for a win for Porsche. As always my underdog favorite is the Porsche RSR of Team Falken Tire. In GTC look for it to be Black Swan's race to lose - not that the other teams are of lesser quality or ability, it's just that Black Swan have been that good. It is impossible to count them out.

Practice and qualifying all take place tomorrow, and the race is at 2:05pm Eastern Time. As usual those with ESPN3 will be able to stream the race live in its entirety, but it will be rebroadcast the following day I believe, should you miss it. You can also check www.americanlemans.com as international viewers don't have to worry about being "allowed" to view the ESPN3 feed.



All the way across the country and on a similarly historic track, the Grand Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (sheesh) is running at Laguna Seca.  APR Motorsport is going strong, after a fantastic 2nd place finish at Road America a couple of weeks back. APR Motorsport is 3rd in ST team standings (just one point behind Compass360), drivers Ian Baas and Ryan Ellis are tied for 3rd in the driver's championship, and Volkswagen lies 1st in the manufacturers championship. Mazda is nipping at their heels just 3 points back, so Laguna could be the make-or-break race of the year.

With just three races remaining, it's imperative that APR Motorsport put in consistent performances in all of them. A DNF or finishing out of the points would be devastating to drivers, team and manufacturer alike.

Practice kicks off tomorrow at multiple times before qualifying in ST goes down at 3:55pm PST.  Check out live timing and scoring at Grand-am.com - and then the race, a 2.5 hour run, begins at 10:45 am.


Hopefully after the silly season dies down I'll have some more time on my hands, and naturally our IMSA GTI will begin to make strides towards track worthiness in no-time.

Look for Waterfest coverage as well, at least a bit from my little dark corner of the vendor row...

_WRS

Baltimore's Bucky Lasek to compete in ALMS in 2012

9Magazine is reporting that Rebel Rock Racing - a motorsport / entertainment fusion entity headed by producer Jim Jonsin - will field an entry for the 2012 American Le Mans season in the GTC class with none other than Bucky Lasek as one of their drivers. Bucky is no stranger to the performance automotive world (at least not to us) and it is with great excitement that we learned about this latest foray into the racing world. The ALMS is in need of fresh blood and a strong commitment from this sort of young, energetic and capable (rich) type of team is just what the motorsport world, and sports car racing in particular, needs to succeed and grow in the future. We will watch this new team with a close eye over the coming months to see how things develop; it could turn out to be quite interesting.

Naturally it is of particular interest to see Bucky entering into a professional racing series. He emerged from the Baltimore skate scene of which we were also a part of, and it was not uncommon to see him him out and about at various VW car shows back in the early-mid 90s with his Corrado. I think the last time I personally ran into him and chatted for a bit was just before he moved out west to concentrate on his professional skateboarding career; the rest of course is history.

For more check out:

Rebel Rock Racing / and on Twitter / Jim Jonsin Twitter
Bucky Lasek / and on Twitter

_WRS

ALMS: Round 2 Qualify at 8pm Eastern - Race tomorrow

In just one hours time live qualifying will begin for round two of the 2011 ALMS season, taking place on the streets of Long Beach. Shown on ESPN3 - it should prove to be a great race in GT, but the LMP classes, if we're honest, are complete crap. Only 2 entries in LMP1, 2 entries (from the same team no less) in LMP2, and both of those cars are struggling to best the lowly LMPC cars.



In GT the Porsches have been doing quite well indeed (probably thanks to their post-Sebring weight break), with the #45 Flying Lizard ahead by a few tenths over the BMWs. Our favorite underdog, Team Falken Tire, are sitting 7th in GT behind the Bimmers, 'Vettes and the Risi Ferrari. We're pulling for a dark-horse upset, so look for Falken to be on the front row...mark my words.

In GTC Black Swan is clearly the team to beat. The 2010 champs have Jeroen back in the car for Long Beach, and there's no doubt that they're going to be on pole and will take the win, assuming no outside interference or problems.  

The race will be live in ESPN3 tomorrow at 7:15pm Eastern, and shown in "highlight" form on Sunday on ESPN2...

By the way, does anyone know how to set up a proxy so I can watch the race?

_WRS

Sebring Paddock: Princes to Paupers

 




The paddock at any big event like the 12 Hours of Sebring is a fascinating place to be. I almost prefer it to being out by the track in certain ways, as you get a much better feel for who the teams really are and what they're really all about. Sure you can see who's fastest on a time sheet, break it down into simple statistics, but that only shows half of the competition really. It's more than who's fastest, it's who's got the most cash, and from the top to the bottom of the grid, teams aren't afraid to spend some cubic dollars to one-up the next guy.

12 Hours of Sebring 2011, Wed-->Thurs

 

For the second time in as many years, the crew (myself and Josh) have made the trek 1200 miles south from NYC to sunny Florida for the most important and exciting endurance race that takes place on United States soil: the 12 Hours of Sebring. So far we know one thing for certain, it's a hell of an adventure no matter how you slice it.

Victory for Oreca at Sebring

While the drivers are off at the podium receiving the accolades, the Team Oreca Matmut crew takes a moment to celebrate in their own way with the car they spend so much time with, and sent to victory lane at the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring. It was a great race. Back from Sebring with many more pictures to share and video to edit, but first, sleep...it was  a heck a of a drive back to NYC, and my mind needs a little time to catch up. 

_WRS