Official '13 Racing Thread

[Swarley]

Red Bull Racing Australia (formerly Vodafone team) unveils their new Holden VF Commodore:

[JimLeavy59]

I wish they sold the Commodore in the states.

[Swarley]

I wish they sold the Commodore in the states.

They basically did and will again. It's essentially what was the Pontiac G8 and what will be the Chevrolet SS.

[Swarley]

Big Shocker, Extreme Speed Motorsports Moving From GTE to LMP2 Category:

The P2 class in the American Le Mans Series is set to receive a massive and much-needed boost, as SPEED.com has learned that Extreme Speed Motorsports will make a shock move to the cost-capped prototype ranks for this year.

Following three seasons running Ferraris in the GT category, the Scott Sharp-owned squad has reversed its decision to continue in the production-based ranks for 2013 and is instead finalizing plans for a two-car HPD ARX-03b program.

“I’m very proud that ESM will move to the P2 class, effective immediately," Sharp said. “We enjoyed our three-year run in the GT class with Ferrari. If the GT class is a strong factory-supported class and you are not a full manufacturer entry, everything falls on the shoulders of the team.

"As a result, the independent teams are at a serious disadvantage compared to their factory-supported counterparts.

“Moving to P2 is a new chapter for us at ESM and a homecoming for Tequila Patrón. We feel we have a terrific opportunity to learn and develop the P2 car this year, and that will put us in an ideal position going into the merged season of 2014."

The first car, purchased from reigning FIA WEC P2 champion Enzo Potolicchio, turned laps Wednesday at Sebring International Raceway, in preparation for a planned debut in next month’s ALMS season opener.

It’s believed ESM has ordered a brand-new second chassis that is scheduled to be delivered in time for the first round of the season on March 16.

All four of its current pilots: Sharp, Johannes van Overbeek, Guy Cosmo and Ed Brown will continue with the re-focused effort.

Both Patron Spirits CEO Brown and Cosmo, a former ALMS Rookie of the Year, are Silver-rated drivers, which would satisfy the category’s Pro-Am enforcement of at least one Bronze/Silver driver per car.

It’s unclear the status of ESM’s entry for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the Florida-based team had entered a Ferrari in the GTE-Am category. Sharp said they will continue their relationship with Ferrari in the GRAND-AM GT class and Ferrari Challenge.

ESM had just completed a test at Sebring last week with its two Ferrari F458 Italias, upgraded to 2013-spec, making the late move to P2 even more surprising.

While the reasoning behind the switch is unclear at this point, it comes at an opportune time for the ALMS, which will merge with GRAND-AM to form a unified sports car championship in 2014.

The expected two-car ESM effort will become the first full-season entrants in P2, with others potentially soon to follow.

Two-time class champions Level 5 Motorsports, which withdrew its planned effort this year due to lack of entries, is prepared to re-evaluate its situation if competition arrives, according to team manager David Stone.

If Level 5 re-commits, it could result in a four-car HPD ARX-03b battle for this year’s P2 championship. Additional entries, including a Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN Nissan and potentially two others from Europe, could be on the grid for Sebring.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/exclusive-alms-esm-to-field-hpds-p2-class-revived/

[JimLeavy59]

They basically did and will again. It's essentially what was the Pontiac G8 and what will be the Chevrolet SS.

I will be sure to get one.

[Swarley]

[JimLeavy59]

I like it.

[Swarley]

A shot of all four manufacturers (including new to the series Nissan and Mercedes) in the Aussie V8 Supercar series:

[JimLeavy59]

[Swarley]

The new Porsche 991-based RSR GTE broke cover today at Sebring to start testing for the WEC season.

[Swarley]

ALMS and Grand-Am 2014 unified series name, logo and class names will be unveiled on March 14th at 2:30pm ET. Will be live streamed on SPEED.com, ALMS.com and GrandAm.com.

[Swarley]

Anybody watching Grand-Am of the Americas?

[Swarley]

Picture from Sebring today...

[Swarley]

ALMS and Grand-Am Merged Series




Class Names:

Prototype (P):
Daytona Prototype, Le Mans Prototype 2, Delta Wing

Prototype Challenge (PC):
Unchanged from the PC class in ALMS

GT Le Mans (GTLM):
ACO-homologated GT cars currently running in ALMS

GT Daytona (GTD):
Grand-Am GT and ALMS GT-Challenge classes

GX:
Unchanged from GX class in Grand-Am


Confirmed Venues (so far):
Daytona, Sebring, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, Road Atlanta

[Price]

Hoping that they'll still go to Long Beach.