24 heures du mans

[85t5mcss]

Great finish. Less than 20 seconds for the overall win AFTER 24 hours of racing on a 8.4 mile course. Spectacular. And McNish took a pretty good lick early in the race.
auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/video-allan-mcnishs-massive-le-mans-accident/
I was almost late for work due to watching the finish.

McNish went for a hole that closed up, the GT car only saw 1 DP car behind him and didn't realize McNish was even there. All attention was on McNish, notice the GT driver still in his car after McNish was extracted. Both drivers are OK, McNish was released and the GT driver (forgot who he was-sorry) was kept under observation. McNish had an interview this morning and only complaint was bruising his thigh getting out of the car and the monocoque was intact.

I say we all need a vaca and go over to France next year ;D

[twomanymontes]

That was a sweet race!!! I missed a good portion of the race, I turned it on shortly after Rockafeller crash. I did get to see it until the end.

The entitre course was under caution for a long time! 2 out of 3 Audis out within the first 8 hours. and the Third takes the win! Also Congrats to the Corvette team taking their 6th win a row! That finish was sweet.

I agree about the vacation, But lets do the Daytona race 1st

[85t5mcss]

Daytona would be nice and I wouldn't have to fly. BUT, a 6 hour race at Indy would be the sweetest of all. Put that road course to use.

[twomanymontes]

Dude, Indy would be cool! But you'd have to put up with some unwanted guests, LOL!

We need to do a meet at Mid Ohio, even if it's just SCCA races

[85t5mcss]

NASA Nationals are Mid-O this year. Don't recall date. August maybe. And I think they allow camping there. Hmm.

And what do u mean UNWANTED guests? Thats funny.

[twomanymontes]

Well find out when they are!!!

And I'm pretty sure Matt and I would wear out our welcome pretty quick out there, LOL! Lets go racing!, no!, Shooting!, no! eating!, no......... LMAO!!

[85t5mcss]

September 8-11th at Mid-O. NASA Championships.

[twomanymontes]

d**n, Diana's birthday is the 9th. Hmm, I wonder if she'd like a day of peace and quiet for her birthday? LOL!

[twomanymontes]

Oh Better yet!!! She gave me tickets to the races for My Birthday, I can give her tickets to races too!!!

Keith got a spare bedroom? Just in case.....

[85t5mcss]

Actually, I do. It's used to clean the "tools" so it has a solvent smell. But it's not bad. Small closet and a view of the street. But it will be fine if she tries to kill you. LOL

[twomanymontes]

Solvent doesn't bother me, My Wife with a knife does! I'll wait until we get back from Vacation to ask her.

[twomanymontes]

WTF? How do you go from being #1 in the circuit to pulling out completely??

Peugeot announced its withdrawal from Le Mans effective immediately.

While the diesel Peugeot 908 prototype won the 2009 24 hours of Le Mans outright, and has also earned 14 victories out of the 16 races in 2011, Peugeot has decided to terminate its endurance racing program in order to place greater emphasis on its sales operations amid decreasing profits and a trying European economy.

In hopes to turn things around for 2012, upcoming new model releases include the Peugeot 208, 3008 HYbrid4, RXH 508, 508, and 4008 Hybrid4, each playing a role in Peugeot’s strategy to globalize the brand and position itself upmarket.

While Peugeot’s absence from endurance racing will be missed, motorsport fans can look forward to the upcoming return of Toyota and its new LMP1 hybrid program for 2012. What’s more, Porsche engineers are hard at work developing their new prototype for Le Mans 2014.

[twomanymontes]

Maybe Toyota scared them??

The dominating diesels will have a fuel economy foe at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, thanks to a new hybrid race car from Toyota. Set to compete in the top-tier LMP1 class later this year, the first photos of the hybrid electric drive prototype have hit the net, thanks to a tweet by Toyota UK PR boss Scott Brownlee.

No details have yet been provided on the powertrain, but it’s expected the car will utilize a generous hybrid drivetrain that will not only add power but also supplement power through regenerative braking, allowing the car to drive further with fewer pit stops – the strategy that has allowed diesels from Audi and Peugeot to block out all the top podium spots in endurance racing.

Running the racing operation for Toyota will be ORECA Racing, a team that has been racing at Le Mans for 35 years and which has achieved a first place finish in every category it has ever competed in.

Toyota’s three-man team scheduled to pilot the new hybrid racer at this year’s endurance classic includes 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Alex Wurz, last year’s 12 Hour of Sebring winner Nicolas Lapierre and former F1 pilot Kazuki Nakajima.

[twomanymontes]

Racing memorabilia goes for big money!

With an estimated value of €200,000, the race suit worn by Steve McQueen in the movie "Le Mans" (1971) soared to €600,000 at auction recently.
Lot number 899 in the auction "Profiles in History" last weekend in Beverly Hills, this historic race suit from 1970 was popular with wealthy collectors.

Made from fireproof fabric (Nomex) and manufactured by Hinchman in Indianapolis, it had an unpredictable impact on fashion, the film "Le Mans" made ​​the Gulf brand famous for motor oil ... and a clothing line! Almost forgotten in the 80's, the famous orange and blue logo has become fashionable in recent years, the official store of Le Mans 24 Hours has many examples here.

[85t5mcss]

IIRC, Audi pulled out when they were on top, too. Poof, gone. There were others as well but most of them escape me right now. I believe Chevy pulled out as well. But they seem to usually return.

Bentley returned at one point.

[twomanymontes]

I knew about Bentley, But didn't realize Audi did too. But I thought their absence was due to the R18 not being ready in time. Oh well, I hope it isn't for long.

[85t5mcss]

It may have been. I do not recall all the details on that one. No reason the R8 couldn't have stayed in competition though. Especially with as dominant as it was.

[twomanymontes]

It does look like a temporary deal.

Peugeot's 908 LMP1 sports-car program was axed ahead of the closing date for entries for the new FIA World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours last week, but the company has stressed that it is not the end for its Peugeot Sport facility near Paris.


A spokesman for Automobiles Peugeot said that it was the company's intention to return to motorsport, most likely in the WEC, possibly as early as 2013.


“This should be and must be a temporary compromise,” the spokesman said. “I cannot say that we will not be in the WEC next season. We will try to be back in motorsport next year. Maybe 2013 is a little too early, but we are definitely not closing the door.”


Peugeot opted not to push into a sixth season of sports-car racing after a poor sales year in key markets in 2011. It decided to cut the 908 turbodiesel program in favor of concentrating its resources on the launch of a number of new models, including hybrid versions of its 3008 hatchback and the 508 family car.


The company had planned to race the second-generation 908 turbodiesel in hybrid form in this year's WEC. The 908 HYbrid4 has been testing on track since October.


A swift return to sports-car racing or any other form of motorsport could be problematic because Peugeot plans to reallocate staff away from Peugeot Sport. It is understood that the resources, human and financial, will not be made available to continue development the hybrid version of the 908. The remaining staff at Peugeot Sport will focus on its customer racing programs.


The decision for Peugeot to halt its sports-car program was made on the morning of the closing date for entries for the WEC and Le Mans on Jan. 18 at an extraordinary board meeting. Peugeot Sport was preparing for the 2012 season, and two 2011 908s were in the United States ahead of a planned test at the Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway.


The LMP1 pullout brings to an end more than a quarter of a century of continuous top-line motorsport activity by Peugeot, starting with the 205 T16 Group B rally car in 1984. Peugeot Sport subsequently competed in the rally-raid arena, Group C sports cars, Formula One, touring cars and rallying again before returning to Le Mans with the original 908 HDi turbodiesel in 2007.

[twomanymontes]

Didn't realise yesterday was the 12 hours of Sebring. Found this write up:

While the rebirth of the FIA World Endurance Championship saw fierce battles in both LMP2 and GT, Audi Sport Team Joest put on a dominant performance in the race for overall honors, scoring a convincing 1-2 finish in Saturday’s 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

After suffering heartbreak and misfortune in their 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup campaign, the veteran trio of Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello took their No. 2 Audi R18 TDI to victory, marking the German manufacturer’s 10th win in America’s oldest endurance race.

McNish drove the 2011-spec Audi across the line four laps ahead of the sister No. 3 machine of Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Loic Duval in second, which suffered a late-race collision with an unidentified car and lost a handful of laps in the pits in the final hour.


While Audi scored a 1-2, Starworks Motorsport ended up on the overall podium with its LMP2-class winning HPD ARX-03b. (Photo: VS Agency/FIA WEC)
It marked the final win for the current-generation Audi R18 TDI, before the new R18 e-tron quattro and R18 Ultra make their debuts in the Six Hours of Spa in May.

"The R18 now goes to its retirement with a victory, which I have to say, from a personal point of view, after last year, it was nice to actually to send it off in the right way," McNish said.

"We didn't necessarily have the best of seasons in 2011. The thing we're looking towards now is the next race in the world championship. From my point of view, we've had a really good run and we should really be proud of that. But the hard work starts here because there are a few more races to win until we win the title."

While tactics may have played a factor in the initial running order, as the winning No. 2 machine was designated as one of Audi’s season-long WEC entrants, it still proved to be a history making day.

With the victory, Kristensen became a six-time overall winner at Sebring, extending his record as the most successful driver to tame the famed airfield circuit. Co-driver Capello, potentially making his final 12-hour start in a prototype, notched up his fifth victory.

"It was tough clinching victory here," Kristensen said. "Everyone in the team and at home at Audi can be proud of this. It’s great that we won the anniversary race and the WEC opener here."

The early stages of the around-the-clock marathon saw the potential of a sweep of the podium by the German diesels, but electrical issues for the No. 1 entry of Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer dropped the pole-sitting machine nearly 20 laps behind. The defending Le Mans winners settled for a 16th place finish overall.

It opened the door for Muscle Milk Pickett Racing, which looked to be en route to a third place overall finish in the debut of its HPD ARX-03a, but a refueling problem during the car’s final stop denied Simon Pagenaud of a hard-earned podium for the American Le Mans Series stalwarts.

Another podium contender, the No. 12 Rebellion Racing Lola B11/60 Toyota, dropped out with less than two hours remaining when wheel damage left the FIA WEC LMP1 car stranded on track in the hands of Nicolas Prost.

With the rapid demise of the LMP1 favorites, it opened the door for a fairy-tale finish by Starworks Motorsport, which not only won the FIA WEC season-opener in their LMP2 debut, but also scored a surprise third place overall finish.

Stephane Sarrazin pedaled the No. 44 HPD ARX-03b to a narrow 32-second victory over the American Le Mans Series P2 class-winning No. 055 Level 5 Motorsports HPD of Joao Barbosa to give the California-based manufacturer a double win in both classes and a trip to the overall podium.

Stephane Sarrazin, Ryan Dalziel and Enzo Potolicchio surprised the LMP2 field with a debut win in the FIA WEC. (Photo: John Dagys)
It marked an incredible win for the Peter Baron-led team, which saw its cost-capped prototype turn its first laps on Monday. Former Peugeot factory driver Sarrazin teamed with Ryan Dalziel and Enzo Potolicchio in what turned out to be a flawless run for the runner-ups from January's Rolex 24.

Sarrazin took over the outright LMP2 lead on Lap 271, passing the No. 055 Level 5 machine for the top spot, which had dominated the majority of the race following an early accident by the team’s sister car of Ryan Hunter-Reay.

"We were racing with the Level 5 car, it was a great race all the way through," Sarrazin said. "But the last two hours we started getting quicker and quicker so we drove away."

Barbosa, Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut came home as the highest-placed ALMS team in fourth overall, taking the ALMS P2 class win along the way.

"To get a top-five finish overall and winning the ALMS class and mixing it in the WEC battle is really incredible," Tucker said. "While there were a couple of different races going on at the same time, we focused on the ALMS prize."

Following Muscle Milk's late-race issues, it promoted Dyson Racing's Lola B12/60 Mazda to the ALMS P1 class win, finishing eighth overall in the hands of Chris Dyson, Guy Smith and Irishman Steven Kane, who celebrated his second career series victory on St. Patrick's Day.

"It was kind of surprising," Chris Dyson said of the win. "Steven came in after a stellar stint and the guys were getting ready for routine service and there's our opposition for the full season parked."

The Muscle Milk HPD eventually returned to action but finished 28th overall, 2nd in the ALMS P1 class.

[twomanymontes]

The battle for top honors in GT came down to an epic five-way battle between ALMS squads Corvette Racing and BMW Team RLL plus AF Corse from the FIA WEC.

With teams splitting their strategies, the nail-biting finish saw Joey Hand and Dirk Muller go back-to-back at Sebring, joining ALMS debuant Jonathan Summerton in the No. 56 BMW M3 GT.

It didn't come easy as the pole-sitting No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia of Gianmaria Bruni, which was nearly 100 laps behind after early clutch issues, passed Hand on the back stretch before the white flag flew. But Hand re-passed the Italian, only to be knocked off track moments later by the Italian.

The battle for top honors in GT came down to a fight between BMW and Ferrari. (Photo: John Dagys)
The defending ALMS GT champion, remarkably, held on to win, with the sister No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari of Olivier Beretta spinning in avoidance of the incident and coming home third.

"This is a team effort," said Hand. "I really enjoy driving for this program. Bobby Rahal really motivates me. And this crew. Did you see how many times we came in second and left in first? I hope everybody got a show. If you didn't like that, you don't like racing."

Beretta had been in contention for the win, sparking controversy over the Italian squad's tactics. In the end, Bruni was handed a 15,000 Euro penalty from the FIA for his actions on the final lap.

The No. 03 Corvette Racing C6.R of Jan Magnussen snuck by to finish second, just 1.740 seconds behind the ALMS-class winning BMW.

Despite the last lap spin, Beretta and co-drivers Andrea Bertolini and Marco Cioci still won the FIA WEC GTE-Pro division, with the No. 77 Team Felbermayr-Proton Porsche of Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Patrick Pilet coming home second in class and sixth among the overall GT runners.

In FIA WEC GTE-Am, Team Felbermayr-Proton took the class victory after the driveshaft of the No. 50 Larbre Competition Corvette of Pedro Lamy failed with less than 20 minutes to go.

The defending ILMC champion's Corvette stopped on track, giving way for Christian Ried, Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti to claim class honors in their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

Larbre's sister No. 70 Corvette of Christophe Bourret, Pascal Gibbon and Jean-Philippe Belloc came home in second.

CORE autosport notched top honors in ALMS PC, with the No. 06 Oreca FLM09 of IndyCar driver EJ Viso, Alex Popow and Burt Frisselle edging out the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports machine of Rudy Junco Jr., Butch Leitzinger and Ken Dobson by one lap.

The defending class champion’s sister machine of Colin Braun, Erix Lux and team principal Jon Bennett completed the class podium in third.

The GTC class win went to Alex Job Racing, which ended up recording a 1-2 finish in following two costly incidents by rivals NGT Motorsport. Townsend Bell, Bill Sweedler and Dion von Moltke took their No. 023 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to the checkered flag.

The FIA WEC heads to Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for the second round of the global sports car championship on May 5, while next up for the ALMS is the two-hour street fight in Long Beach on April 14.

[85t5mcss]

Aaaaaarrrrghhhhh! I missed 3 races yesterday. I feel so much better now.

[twomanymontes]

June 16th!!! SPEED will be covering 25 hours of the race between TV and the internet. Should be another great day of racing!!

[twomanymontes]

I totally forgot to update this thread!

I saw probably 8 hours of the race, And Keith kept me updated for the early part.

Lots of good side by side racing, some a little too close to the sides.

[85t5mcss]

And one nasty accident at the end of the long straight.

[twomanymontes]

Yeah, that was nasty!