march 11, 2015

(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/HHP for Chevy Racing)
Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart Haas Racing Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet SS) dominated the Kobalt 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday, leading 142 laps. Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet SS) had a great run to second place, and Ryan Newman (No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Caterpillar Chevrolet SS) finished third as Chevrolet swept the top three positions. Watch a video here.

(Pirelli World Challenge)
Kevin Estre (No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S GT3), of Lochau, Austria, won Round 2 in the top GT class in the Pirelli World Challenge opening weekend at the Circuit of The Americas, in Austin, Texas in driving rain. The race was officially dubbed the "Nissan Grand Prix of Texas brought to you by Motul," if you must know. Estre's win was also the first global win for the new McLaren 650S. Olivier Beretta (No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari of Ontario/Toronto/Alberta Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia) won the GT opener on Saturday. Other notables included Michael Lewis (No. 41 EFFORT Racing/Curb-Agajanian Porsche 911 GT3R), of Laguna Beach, CA, who won both rounds in GTA over the weekend. And Colin Thompson (No. 11 Kelly-Moss Motorsports Porsche of Bucks County/Penn Valley Constructors/Sherwin Williams Automotive Finishes/Austin Hatcher Foundation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup), of Doylestown, PA, swept the weekend in the new GT Cup presented by MOMO class. There were a horde of other winners over the weekend as the PWC parses classes to include just about anything you can think of, but we'll stop here. You can watch the GT/GTA/GT Cup Rounds 1 and 2 on CBS Sports Network, Saturday, March 14 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

(Pirelli World Challenge)

(Porsche/newspressUSA)
Michael Lewis (No. 41 EFFORT Racing/Curb-Agajanian Porsche 911 GT3R) swept the GTA class races in Austin.

(Volkswagen Motorsport/newspressUSA)
Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (No. 1 Volkswagen Polo R WRC) were victorious in the Rally Mexico, the third round of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). It was win number three of the season for the duo and their third success in a row in Mexico. The French pair now has an impressive 27 victories to its name, putting them ahead of rally legend Carlos Sainz and into third place in the all-time winners list. It was the 25th triumph for Volkswagen in its 29th rally with the Polo R WRC. Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene (N/N) also completed a hat-trick, claiming their third podium finish in a row and climbing into second place in the Driver and Co-Drivers’ Championship.

(Honda/INDYCAR images)
Honda has revealed its new base road/street course and short oval aero kit for INDYCAR. "It's been an interesting journey to get here and we're really pleased with the results we've been able to achieve," Steve Eriksen, vice president and COO of Honda Performance Development, said. "The Verizon IndyCar Series has such an amazing array of tracks and you really want to fine tune to each of those tracks, and (the aero kits) allow you to do that. Time will tell if we have the best kit out there and we did everything we could have done, and I mean everything." "It's getting back to the roots of INDYCAR where you have development," Eriksen continued. "Now you'll have the visual differences across the cars. It's a huge uphill battle because of several factors; one is you know there is so much performance potential. If you look at the rate of gain of an aero kit versus an engine, it's drastic for the aero kit. That's part of the pressure you feel." It looks amazing. Not.

(Porsche Cars North America)
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. has released new details for the highly anticipated Porsche Rennsport Reunion V being held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, September 25 – 27, 2015. This year’s Reunion - the fifth installment of what has become a Porsche tradition in North America - will highlight Porsche's long history at the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. Porsche is the most successful marque in the history of the famed 8.47 mile Le Sarthe Circuit, with sixteen overall race victories between 1970 and 1998 and 100 class victories. Porsche returned to Le Mans last year to contest for the overall win with its 919 Hybrid LMP1 Sports-Prototype. To access up-to-date information on the drivers and cars that are scheduled to attend, along with photos and videos from past Reunions, you can go to the Porsche Rennsport Reunion V website, www.porscherennsportreunion.com. Links to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s website for tickets, registration and track information are also available on the official website. For followers of Social Media, #PorscheRRV has been chosen to be used for tagging photos, video and social media content. It is welcomed for fans and enthusiasts to use the new hashtag on any Porsche Rennsport Reunion related subject matter.

(Lister Motor Company Limited/newspress)
The first of the Lister Cars ‘Knobbly’ continuation racers has been completed at the Lister Cars factory in Cambridge, England, and is ready for delivery. Built to the very same specification as the original 1958 ‘Knobbly,’ the machines are constructed from the late Brian Lister’s original drawings and manufacturing jigs. The machine shown above is the first of a planned limited production run of ten cars, which have already sold out. This first continuation ‘Knobbly’ has been finished in metallic silver with a lustrous dark green leather interior. All ‘Knobbly’ models are built to meet relevant FIA racing regulations and are powered by a race-prepared  3.8-litre, 330HP, Jaguar D-Type straight-six. That translates into notable on-track performance, with a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 181 mph. The overwhelming response for these continuation cars has led Lister Cars to consider three additional "one-off" final editions (hmmm... three "one-offs" - ?). Customers will also able to compete in a series of historic Lister race meetings taking place in England in 2015. Lister Cars chairman Lawrence Whittaker said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to see the first customer ‘Knobbly’ roll off our production line in Cambridge – it’s a testament to our fantastic team and a fitting tribute to the memory of Brian Lister.”

(BMW)

 BMW of North America has unveiled a special livery, which pays homage to the IMSA 3.0 CSL, for the two BMW Team RLL Z4 GTLM cars that will race in the 12 Hours of Sebring next Saturday. The reveal was part of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance weekend in Northern Florida. 1975 12 Hours of Sebring winning drivers Brian Redman, Sam Posey and Hans Stuck, 1972 -1980 BMW Motorsport Manager Jochen Neerpasch and current BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt were on-hand when BMW ace driver Bill Auberlen drove the car onto the show field to the applause of showgoers and BMW Motorsport fans.