THE LINE
Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at 08:48AM March 10, 2010
(Ford Racing)
Mikko Hirvonen (FIN)/Jarmo Lehtinen fly in their Ford Focus RS WRC on day two of the 2010 Rally Mexico. Six-time defending series champion Sebastien Loeb of France won the rally, his fourth victory in the race and the 55th of his career. Petter Solberg of Norway finished second and Sebastien Ogier (France), finished third. All three were driving Citroens. Loeb now leads the driver standings, six points ahead Hirvonen. Hirvonen finished fourth on Sunday and Jari-Matti Latvala was fifth, both driving Fords.
(K-Pax Racing)
K-Pax Racing announced will return to the World Challenge GT Championship in the Volvo S60 AWDs this year with drivers Randy Pobst and Andy Pilgrim (in photo above). The K-Pax Volve team debuted in 2009 and won three races with Pobst and Pilgrim behind the wheel. The Volvo S60 uses a 2.5-liter motor with 26 pounds of boost and it will compete against machines with much larger V8s and V10s. “The World Challenge GT is a great racing series for us because of the diversity of cars: Volvos, Vipers, Corvettes, Mustangs, Porsches and many more,” team owner Jim Haughey said. “All these different types of cars with their individual advantages and disadvantages really make for a challenging race season. The SCCA technical staff does such a good job of equalizing the cars that the outcome of the races is usually determined by car preparation and driver skill.” Joining K-Pax Racing for a second season is sponsor TiAL Sports Inc. USA. TiAL Sports designs the highest quality engineered turbo charging products for today's performance systems market. "TiAL Sports solved our turbo charger and waste gate problems last year,” Haughey said. “We could not run these turbo pressures without TiAL Sports engineered solutions and we are proud to use their products on our Volvos.” More information on K-Pax racing, drivers Pilgrim and Pobst, and the Volvo S60 AWD are available at www.kpaxracing.com. Sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing and managed by WC Vision, the World Challenge Championships represent some of the best production-based racing in the world. Utilizing a single driver format and standing starts for the 50-minute races, the series offers non-stop action in each of its three categories—GT, GTS and Touring Car. The series features 12 races at eight different venues in 2010, starting with a doubleheader weekend at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in conjunction with the Indy Racing League, March 26-28. For more information, visit www.world-challenge.com.
(ALMS)
Even though the gates don’t open for another week, more than 100 vehicles with nearly 300 spectators are already in line awaiting the 58th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. At 6 a.m. local time on Wednesday, March 17th, spectators can enter the historic raceway in preparation for the 12-hour classic that starts at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 20th. The opening race of the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón expects the largest entry in four years.
(HSR)
Historic Sportscar Racing’s (HSR) season-opener at Sebring International Raceway saw fourteen feature races, four special challenge races, two 40-minute night races and two three-hour enduros over a full weekend of historic car racing. The Al Holbert Memorial for GTP, WSC and DP was a highlight event of the weekend. Saturday’s race was won by owner/driver George Robinson, in his 2001 Riley & Scott MK111C. Sunday’s 90-minute race was won by Bill Adam and Butch Leitzinger in the Jim Rogers owned 2005 Audi R8 and the overall 3-hour enduro victory went to “Ironman” Travis Engen in a 2005 Audi R8, who drove solo the entire three hours. The Cayman Interseries, featuring 2009-2010 Porsche Cayman S cars painted in famous historic Porsche racing paint schemes, had its inaugural race at Sebring. The winning driver of both Saturday and Sunday’s feature races was Jim McCormick, of New York, New York, in the No. 44 Martini Porsche-liveried 2009 Porsche Cayman. The next HSR race will be the “MITTY presented by Classic Motorsports Magazine and sponsored by Mazda”, celebrating its 34th year, at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia on April 29-May 2. The very popular race weekend will be highlighted with a tribute to Formula 5000 and Peter Brock’s BRE heritage of Datsun 240Z’s, 510’s and Shelby Daytona Coupes with Peter Brock on hand as Grand Marshall. Check out www.TheMitty.com for details.
Graham Rahal, Sarah Fisher. Curt Cavin first reported for Indystar.com that Graham Rahal will drive Sarah Fisher's Dollar General-sponsored No. 67 car at two early-season races including the event at St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 28 - where Rahal won his first IndyCar race in 2008 - and the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park on April 11. Rahal's plans for the rest of the season are incomplete.
(Robertson Racing)
Robertson Racing is gearing up for next week's 12 Hours of Sebring with their distinctive privateer Ford GT. “I love Sebring and racing there, especially as it’s such an important part of motorsport history,” said David Robertson, team owner and driver, who will partner wife Andrea and David Murry in the team’s No. 40 Doran-built, Roush V8-powered Ford GT. “I’m just thrilled to be a part of that place. I love everything about it. Your pulse quickens just pulling in knowing what’s gone on there for the past 58 years. It’s just an exciting place. It’s also neat to have the Ford connection, what with the GT40 winning there in the 1960s. You see it in the car. You look at it and can’t help but remember that great era of endurance racing.”
Ford Fans, Mustang Enthusiasts. You already know about the 5.0-liter, 412HP V-8 in the upcoming new 2011 Mustang GT, but don't underestimate the significance of the new 2011 Mustang 3.7-liter V-6, which will make its debut as the pace car for the March 21 Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup event. The new V6 Mustang delivers a best-in-class 31 mpg, 305HP and a 7,000 RPM redline. But that's not all, because later this summer a V6 Performance Pack will be available that features the following high-performance upgrades: A 3.31 rear axle ratio, Mustang GT coupe front and rear stabilizer bars, Mustang GT front struts and rear shocks/springs, Shelby GT500 rear lower control arm, unique 19-inch wheels, Pirelli performance tires for improved grip, Mustang GT front and rear brake calipers with Performance Friction pads, a strut tower brace for increased body rigidity, unique electronic stability control calibration with Sport mode for performance driving and unique badging.
Publisher's Note: Our friend and photographer extraordinaire John Thawley attended the World Famous Naples Swamp Buggy event in Florida and filed the following report: "The World Famous Naples Swamp Buggies wrapped up their 2009/2010 season March 5~6 crowning Eddie Chesser as the Budweiser Shootout Champion. Running in front of yet another packed house at the Florida Sports Park, the buggies put on a fantastic display of wheel-to-wheel racing. No one in the stands went home disappointed. In the paddock it was a different story, though. Swamp Buggy racing is a win or go home proposition, so needless-to-say, many competitors see their hopes of victory gone in 60 seconds or less. With the season point's championship on the line, it was Eddie Chesser taking home the big feature win and the season championship. Chesser ended up with 39 points, 11 more than Bud Cup runner-up Lorrie Johns, the driver of the V8 Sportsman entry called Lady Liberty. Third place in the points went to Ortega’s Terminator. The big story of the weekend, however, was the retirement of the winningest man in Swamp Buggy history, Leonard Chesser. Known as the Godfather of Swamp Buggy, you'd have to go pretty deep in the Everglades looking for someone who doesn't agree the title is well-deserved. Leonard began racing in 1956 and has won more Big Feature races than anyone. Chesser is known for his competitiveness, a long list of buggy innovations and his unrelenting work ethic. Though Leonard claims he won't miss driving, he still plans to keep on helping his son, Glen, and his daughter, Amy, with their racing futures." - John Thawley. Check out John's spectacular images from the event by going here. - PMD
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