World Endurance Championship
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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 prototypes this season, with a third car to race the special Spa and Le Mans events. For the first time, the title defenders Loïc Duval and Tom Kristensen are sharing a car, along with Lucas di Grassi who replaces the recently retired Allan McNish and previously raced for the Virgin F1 team. In the...
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Mystery Ferrari Race Car Prototype Spy ShotsFerrari 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: VideoNext 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 MansIs 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 -
Porsche’s 2014 Le Mans Prototype Is The 919 HybridAt 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2014 Audi R18 e-tron quattro: More Efficient, Lighter, SaferThe 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 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 the team until the end of the year. “My first day in this fascinating project was an intense experience for me,” Webber said after the test. “We have a long way to go and it involves a lot of hard work--I have no misconceptions about this.” The new LMP1, which will compete in...
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Morning Pit Walk & Driver Signing, WEC At Circuit Of The Americas: GalleryThe 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: VideoNext 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 WeekendThe 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 -
Toyota TS030 Hybrid To Make U.S. Debut At Circuit Of The Americas This WeekendThe 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...
Nelson Ireson -
Honda Developing Turbo V-6 For Le Mans’ Premier LMP1 CategoryHonda, 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 -
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 biggest names to ever race on the famous Circuit de la Sarthe, but today its presence there is only felt in the GTE category and not the blue ribbon LMP1 category. That may soon change, as Auto Motor und Sport is reporting that Ferrari is seriously considering entering the top LMP1 category with a...
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Ferrari GT Driver Kamui Kobayashi Wants To Return To F1: VideoJapanese 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: VideoLast 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-UpThe 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 -
Danish Driver Allan Simonsen Dies In 2013 Le Mans CrashDanish racing driver Allan Simonsen has died from injuries sustained in a tragic crash that took place during the first hour of racing today in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services in attendance, Simonsen’s injuries proved fatal. Simonsen, competing in...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
24 Hours Of Le Mans 2013 Qualifying UpdateThe biggest endurance race of the season is coming this Saturday and Sunday, but before the green flag waves, we need to take a look at the all-important qualifying results. Final qualifying runs from last night's sessions have seen the order tweaked, but not truly changed, especially at the top...
Nelson Ireson -
After having a number of its race car components seized by a court in Le Mans, France earlier in the week due to an alleged financial dispute, the Lotus Praga team, run by German outfit Kodewa, has been cleared to race in this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. After an interrupted qualifying session, the team’s two 2013 T128 LMP2 prototypes managed to qualify in the 23rd and 24th positions. In a statement, team officials said they had filed a criminal complaint against Stéphane Chosse and the firms Adess and SCE Solutions. They claim that Stéphane Chosse is the one that...
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Lotus Le Mans Preparation Halted After Court Seizes LMP2 PrototypesThe Lotus Praga Le Mans campaign has come unstuck just days out from this year’s running of the 24-hour endurance race. A number of components for the two T128 LMP2 prototypes being prepared by German squad Kodewa, which is running the cars under the Lotus Praga banner, have been seized by a...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Aston Martin Presents Vantage GTE Racer With Fan-Designed LiveryIn early February, we told you that Aston Martin was asking fans to design the livery of one of its Vantage-based race cars destined for competition this year. Today, Aston Martin took the wraps off the fan-designed livery, which graces the #97 Vantage GTE race car to be driven by Darren Turner...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
First Look At Porsche’s 2014 Le Mans PrototypeIt’s been three years since we first heard Porsche’s confirmation it would be returning to Le Mans’ premier LMP1 category in 2014, with a brand new works team and car. Porsche has been working overtime since then, in order to get its team ready for the start of the 2014 World...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2013 24 Hours Of Le Mans Preview: Interview With Allan McNishWe were fortunate enough to be able to steal away 20 minutes of two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Allan McNish's pre-race week today, and we spent it asking about the R18 e-tron quattro race car, his hopes and expectations for the race next weekend, and his thoughts on endurance racing...
Nelson Ireson -
Audi And Aston Martin Top 24 Hours Of Le Mans TestingOfficial testing for the 81st running of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans race is now over, with Audi and Aston Martin topping the time sheets in their respective categories. This year’s Le Mans race doesn’t kick off until June 22, but this past weekend teams got their final chance to...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran