World Endurance Championship
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Audi will field an updated version of its multiple race-winning R18 e-tron quattro Le Mans prototype in the 2014 World Endurance Championship and the series’ highlight, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 2014-spec car was shown for the first time late last year but now it’s been revealed in its full racing livery--not on a race track but on the streets of the French city of Le Mans. Yes, Audi factory driver Tom Kristensen, a winner of nine 24 Hours of Le Mans races, drove the diesel-electric race car along the roughly six-mile trip from the Saint-Julien du Mans cathedral in the city...
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SRT Won't Race Viper In This Year's 24 Hours Of Le Mans
After making its return to the 24 Hours Of Le Mans last year, the Viper GTS-R race car won’t be among the lineup at this year’s race. The information was revealed by SRT boss Ralph Gilles, though he is yet to give a reason for the decision. “We regretfully and respectfully decline...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Toyota Teases Its 2014 TS040 Hybrid Le Mans Prototype: Video
Toyota has dropped more details on its new Le Mans prototype for its campaign in the premier LMP1 category of the 2014 World Endurance Championship and the series highlight, the 2014 Hours of Le Mans. After returning to top-level endurance racing two years ago with its TS030 Hybrid, Toyota is now...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
World's First 'Open Source' Race Team To Tackle Le Mans In 2015
Perrinn myTeam will take its open source approach to one of racing's most legendary venues.
Stephen Edelstein -
2014 Porsche 919 Hybrid Is The Essence Of Porsche: Video
Later this year Porsche will relive its Le Mans glory days after a 16-year hiatus, with a brand new LMP1 race car and a determined team of drivers and engineers, including former Formula One ace Mark Webber. The new LMP1 is called the Porsche 919 Hybrid, and it recently made its debut on the world...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2014 Porsche 919 Hybrid Le Mans Prototype Races Into Geneva: Video
Porsche used the 2014 Geneva Motor Show this week to show the world its new hybrid Le Mans prototype that will contest the 2014 World Endurance Championship, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The new Le Mans prototype is the 2014 Porsche 919 Hybrid, and it will compete in the LMP1 category of...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
The entries for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans are out (PDF here) and one of the big surprises is that a Lotus prototype will be contending the top LMP1 category, albeit the LMP1-L category for independent teams with non-hybrid cars. This is allowed because the Lotus prototype being fielded is from German racing team Kodewa rather than Lotus the automaker, although the two have close links. Kodewa competed in the LMP2 category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the full World Endurance Championship last year using a pair of T128 prototypes racing under the Lotus banner. For its LMP1 entry...
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Porsche Demonstrates The Art Of Pit Stops Using Its 919 Hybrid: Video
Porsche--understandably--is excited about its return to top-level endurance racing after sitting out for 16 years and watching sister brand Audi rack up win after win. The sports car brand has been building the excitement with the release of information surrounding its preparation for the new...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi Confirms Driver Lineup For 2014 World Endurance Championship
Audi’s assortment of drivers for its campaign in the 2014 World Endurance Championship has been confirmed, and the lineup includes no less than five world champions and Le Mans winners plus a former Formula One driver. Audi will be fielding two of its 2014-spec R18 e-tron quattro Le Mans...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mystery Ferrari Race Car Prototype Spy Shots
Ferrari engineers are out testing a new race car prototype, but the vehicle doesn’t appear suitable for any motorsport categories the Scuderia currently competes in. With recent comments from Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo suggesting a return to top-level racing at Le Mans, namely the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche Discusses LMP1 Regulations For The 2014 WEC: Video
Next year will see the introduction of completely new rules for the World Endurance Championship and the series’ highlight, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The central theme is a focus on efficiency, which is designed to push participants to develop new technologies that can eventually filter across...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ferrari Chairman Hints At Return To Top-Level Racing At Le Mans
Is Ferrari about to make a return to top-level racing at Le Mans? Going by the latest comments made by its chairman, it may be a possibility. “We have won with the 458 GTE, but I also quite like the idea of racing at Le Mans in the highest category,” Luca di Montezemolo said during a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
At Porsche’s annual ‘Night Of Champions’ motorsport celebratory bash held earlier today at the automaker’s R&D center in Weissach, Germany, the name of the new Le Mans prototype that will see the Porsche marque return to top-level endurance racing after 16 years was finally announced. Porsche’s new Le Mans prototype will be known as the '919 hybrid', which means it succeeds both the 917 race car that gave Porsche its first overall Le Mans victory back in 1970 as well as the latest 918 Spyder production model. “The vehicle name 919 hybrid follows on from...
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2014 Audi R18 e-tron quattro: More Efficient, Lighter, Safer
The Audi R18 e-tron quattro continued the four-ringed brand's dominance of the Le Mans prototype division in 2013, and with a new batch of updates and improvements, Audi is looking to repeat again for the 2014 season. With Porsche joining the LMP1 fray, and Toyota likely to bring improvements as...
Nelson Ireson -
Porsche Confirms Four-Cylinder For New LMP1, Mark Webber Starts Testing
Porsche has wrapped up testing of its new LMP1 race car for the year, but not before its star driver Mark Webber got some time behind the wheel. The Red Bull Racing Formula One team gave the Australian the green light to conduct these initial tests, despite Webber still being under contract with...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Morning Pit Walk & Driver Signing, WEC At Circuit Of The Americas: Gallery
The Six Hours of Austin will see the green flag in just over an hour, but the teams and drivers are out in the pit lane showing off their hardware and signing autographs--and the fans have turned out in droves to see it all up close. There's not as much fanfare--no pomp and circumstance--as you'll...
Nelson Ireson -
Porsche’s 2014 Le Mans Preparation Continues Unabated: Video
Next year Porsche will relive its Le Mans glory days with a brand new LMP1 race car and a determined team of drivers and engineers, including Formula One ace Mark Webber. Porsche is in the process of developing a new prototype, which will be fielded by a factory team based out of its research...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi Aiming For Sixth Straight WEC Win At COTA This Weekend
The 2013 World Endurance Championship season has been a story of Audi's dominance. While the Toyota Racing TS030 Hybrid has managed some strong finishes, so far this year, the R18 e-tron quattro has won every single race. The team is aiming to keep that roll going this weekend as the WEC heads to...
Nelson Ireson -
The American Le Mans Series will host the fifth round of the World Endurance Championship at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas this weekend, and among the highlights will be the U.S. debut of the Toyota TS030 Hybrid race car and the official Toyota Racing team. It might seem odd that Toyota's WEC team has never raced on American soil, what with endurance standards like the Petit Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring being held here. But Toyota's team is young, having just returned to endurance racing in 2012, and both of those races are off the current WEC schedule. The race at COTA...
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Honda Developing Turbo V-6 For Le Mans’ Premier LMP1 Category
Honda, more specifically Honda’s U.S.-based Honda Performance Development unit, is working on a new engine it hopes to sell to private teams competing in the World Endurance Championship and the series’ highlight, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The new engine is a turbocharged V-6 that will...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Is Ferrari Considering A Le Mans LMP1 Entry?
Ferrari has a long and prestigious history in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a history that has led to many a story, including the famous one of Ford and its GT40 ending the dominance of the Prancing Horse at Le Mans back in 1965. The Italian automaker has nine overall wins at Le Mans and is one of the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ferrari GT Driver Kamui Kobayashi Wants To Return To F1: Video
Japanese racing driver Kamui Kobayashi was in Moscow this past weekend to take part in an exhibition event held in the heart of the Russian capital. Perhaps it was the poor weather or the excitement of driving a Formula One car again but Kobayashi, behind the wheel of Ferrari’s 2009 car...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche Makes Major Impact In Its 2013 Return To Le Mans: Video
Last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, as devastating as it was, proved to be an almost fairy tale-like event for the Porsche works squad, which made its official return to the legendary race after a 15-year hiatus. After trailing Aston Martin in the GTE category, both in the Pro and Am classes...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
24 Hours Of Le Mans 2013: Race Wrap-Up
The 90th anniversary 24 Hours of Le Mans was a fabulous, tragic race. Marred early on with the death of Allan Simonsen, to whom Tom Kristensen of Audi dedicated his 9th overall race win from the podium, the 2013 running of the world's most famous 24-hour endurance race also put competitors through...
Nelson Ireson