World Endurance Championship
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BMW's run in endurance racing lasted just a single season. BMW said Wednesday it will exit the World Endurance Championship series as it makes changes to its motorsports program. That will make the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans this June BMW's farewell to WEC. "We will not compete in WEC going forward," BMW Group Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt, said. "Therefore, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June will be another highlight for us in drawing to a close—just like in 2018, when we celebrated the successful world premiere of the BMW 8 Series Coupe there." "In light of us sharpening our focus as...
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Have a closer look at the Porsche 919 Hybrid EvoPorsche's "Top 5" series returns but this time it's all about one car: the 919 Hybrid Evo. The race car adopted from the Le Mans-winning 919 Hybrid went on a global parade to claim lap records before both cars were escorted to their final homes inside the Porsche Museum in Zuffenhausen, Germany...
Sean Szymkowski -
New McLaren F1 boss previously ran Porsche LMP1 program
It's no secret that McLaren's once great Formula 1 team has been struggling in recent years, with the team having failed to secure a single win since as far back as 2012. The good news is that McLaren has no intention of leaving F1. In fact, the team has a recovery plan, and the latest move is the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Brabham BT62 to go racing in WEC, 24 Hours of Le Mans
Brabham will use this week's 2019 Autosport International show starting Thursday in the United Kingdom to formally announce plans to take the BT62 supercar racing in the World Endurance Championship, whose highlight is the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Australian race team and nascent car manufacturer...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Red Bull hints at Aston Martin-linked Le Mans program
Red Bull's motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, has dropped hints the energy drinks company is considering a future in endurance racing, namely the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the highlight of the World Endurance Championship. In an interview with Autosport published Wednesday, Marko indicated that...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R tests at Sebring, shoots flames
The new race car based on the yet-to-be-revealed mid-engined C8 Chevrolet Corvette has been spotted. Prototypes have been undergoing tests at major racetracks under the cover of darkness in order to hide their details, and a video of one of the test sessions, taken at Florida's Sebring...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Organizers for the World Endurance Championship, which includes the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, on Wednesday agreed on regulations governing the new “hypercar” class being introduced in the 2020/2021 season to replace the current LMP1 class as the series' premier class. The hypercar class was first announced in June. Its purpose is to attract more manufacturers by allowing designs that closely resemble cars the manufacturers actually sell. Some technology will also be shared, such as powertrains, but the cars will still be dedicated racers and in most cases have separate...
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Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus first to sign on for WEC's new hypercar class
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus on Monday announced it signed a deal that will enable it to race in the so-called hypercar class that will replace the premier LMP1 class of the World Endurance Championship from the 2020/2021 season on. SCG will compete with a hypercar called the 007, which the company...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Cost of WEC's new hypercar class could be lower than previously thought
Teams preparing to run in the World Endurance Championship's planned hypercar class will be happy to learn the cost of entry could be lower than previously thought. The new budget reportedly sits at $23 million for a two-car entry, down from from a previous estimate of between $28.7 million and...
Sean Szymkowski -
2019 Porsche 911 RSR race car spy shots
Porsche is close to revealing a new generation of its 911, the 992 series, and today we have our first look at one of the racing variants. It was spotted lapping the automaker's Weissach test track located near Stuttgart, Germany. The prototype is for the new 911 RSR which we expect to be ready...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Koenigsegg might race in Le Mans' new Hypercar class
Koenigsegg may be among the automakers fielding a car in the new Hypercar class set to be introduced in the 2020/2021 season of the World Endurance Championship, whose final round will be the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In an interview with Top Gear magazine published Wednesday, Koenigsegg CEO and founder...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Aston Martin likely to race Valkyrie successor at Le Mans
Aston Martin is more likely to race the successor to its Valkyrie and not the Valkyrie itself in the so-called Hypercar class (a name is yet to be selected) that will replace LMP1 as the premier class of the World Endurance Championship, and thus the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well. The news was...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Organizers of the World Endurance Championship, whose highlight is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, are currently embroiled with automakers, teams and other stakeholders over a major shakeup to the series' top class in time for the 2020/2021 season. The current proposal is to replace the current LMP1 class with a so-called Hypercar class (a final name is yet to be decided) that will see the race cars closely adhere to road car counterparts. Unfortunately, Sportscar365 has learned from its sources that Ferrari and Ford are no longer part of the talks. This doesn't necessarily mean the two automakers...
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SCG reveals 007 hypercar bound for 24 Hours of Le Mans
Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus founder James Glickenhaus is clearly a man who loves cars. He loves them so much, in fact, he wants to create new ones to bring joy to the world. He started creating fabulous machines back in 1971 when he converted a Lola T70 race car into a machine he could drive on...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche 919 Evo obliterates Nürburgring record with 5:19 run
It's official. Porsche's 919 Evo with Timo Bernhard behind the wheel clocked an unbelievable 5:19.55 lap time at the Nürburgring on Friday, completely destroying the previous all-time record of 6:11.13 set by Stefan Bellof in a Porsche 956 C back in 1983. His average speed around the Green...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Toyota wins 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans after so many years of heartbreak
After more than a decade of heart-crushing defeats, Toyota finally won the historic 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday, claiming both the overall win and the LMP1 class. Piloting the number No. 8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid were Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, and Fernando Alonso, with Nakajima behind...
Joel Feder -
Toyota confirms hypercar development, likely based on its Le Mans race car
Toyota, the manufacturer best known for its vanilla sedans and crossovers, confirmed it has plans for a hypercar. It will likely be based on its Le Mans-winning LMP1 racer. More specifically, Toyota previewed its idea for a hypercar with the Gazoo Racing Super Sport concept first shown at the Tokyo...
Sean Szymkowski -
New hypercar class announced for 2020/2021 season of World Endurance Championship, Le Mans
Come 2020, the 24 Hours of Le Mans will look very different. The FIA announced on Friday new regulations for the motorsport to include a "hypercar" class in the World Endurance Championship for the years 2020-2024. "The new regulations for the FIA World Endurance Championship, which come into...
Sean Szymkowski -
Porsche is melding old and new school at the upcoming 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. The German automaker is diving headfirst into its heritage pool and its pulled out two great color schemes. The famed Pink Pig and Rothmans' liveries will be on full display, and they'll be wrapped around the bodies of a pair of Porsche 911 RSR race cars. This is Porsche's future shaking hands with a bit of its glorious past. First we need a bit of a history lesson. The Pink Pig is a moniker initially applied to a monster race car from 1971. A one-off Porsche 917/20, the Pink Pig featured wide bodywork and a short...
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Witness the Porsche 919 and 956 lap the Nürburgring together
Porsche continues to globe trot with its 919 Evo tribute race car. The latest stop was Germany's famed Green Hell. The Nürburgring was playing host to the annual VLN 24-hour race this past weekend, and Porsche took the opportunity to bring its hybrid race monster to the track. There it would...
Jeff Glucker -
BMW prepares for Le Mans return and reveal of new 8-Series
You've seen the prototypes and leaked shots, but in just a few weeks BMW will finally pull the covers off its new 8-Series. The debut will take place June 15 in Le Mans, where BMW the next day will compete in the French town's famous 24-hour race with the M8 GTE race car. The last time BMW competed...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Alonso tastes victory with Toyota at 2018/2019 6 Hours of Spa
It's been five years in the making but Fernando Alonso on Saturday finally tasted victory again in top-level competition. Driving for Toyota, the Spaniard won the opening round of the 2018/2019 World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, together with teammates Sébastien...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Watch a Porsche 919 race car cruise through New York City
Porsche has created a version of its already legendary 919 Hybrid race car to serve as a tribute machine for everything the car accomplished during its recent racing career in the World Endurance Championship. Built without the burden of motorsport regulations, the car has been made even faster and...
Jeff Glucker -
Brabham BT62 tipped to spawn road car, Le Mans racer
Brabham this week revealed its new BT62 supercar and already there's talk of additional versions. The BT62 that debuted in London on Wednesday is a track-only model limited to 70 units, the number representing 70 years since Brabham founder and namesake Jack Brabham started his racing career. But...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran
