JULY 6, 2016

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Editor-In-Chief's Note: Skirting its own rules about notifying teams of Balance of Performance changes seven days in advance, IMSA announced on Tuesday afternoon that it would be taking unexpected action to adjust the BoP in the GTLM class before next weekend's race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Pointing to its own rulebook and addressing the moves as being due to "extraordinary" circumstances, IMSA said the following as reported by RACER: "On occasion, circumstances are presented, either unforeseen or otherwise extraordinary, in which strict application of the rules may not achieve the Purpose. In such rare circumstances, Officials, as a practical matter, may make a determination that is not contemplated by or is inconsistent with the rules. Such determinations are reviewable by the Supervisory Officials. All such determinations are Conclusive, except as provided for in the rules." In other words, they were up Shit's Creek without a paddle and they had to do something to rein in the Fords, which seemingly were able to turn up the wick at will whenever they needed to, both in France and at Watkins Glen. As one team manager told me, "We have no idea how fast the Fords can really go." Although the factory BMW M6 machines will receive no changes, Corvette Racing's C7.Rs will get a 22-pound reduction in weight and a wider - by 0.4 mm - air restrictor. They will also get 2 liters of extra fuel. The factory Porsche 911 RSRs will also get a 22-pound weight reduction, while the Ferrari 488s will get an increase of 1 liter of fuel. The factory twin-turbo Ford GTs will get a 33-pound weight increase and a reduction of turbo boost between 2,000 - 7,000 rpms. There were also changes announced for the GTD class. The discussions over the growing discrepancy between the speed of the Ford GTs and the rest of the GTLM class were getting louder by the minute, but it was still unprecedented for IMSA to take action so emphatically and convincingly. Hand it to Jim France for understanding the scope of the problem and realizing that the very fate - and credibility - of his racing series was on the line. The already intense battle in GTLM just got a lot more interesting. Practice for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at CTMP begins on Friday. -PMD

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Christian Fittipaldi and Joao Barbosa (No. 5 Action Express Raciing Mustang Sampling/Cider Tree Corvette DP) won the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen to take their first victory of the season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The drivers now have the lead in both the WeatherTech Championship and Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup standings after their victory. Barbosa finished 0.709 seconds ahead of Action Express Racing teammate Dane Cameron (No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Team Fox Corvette DP, co-driven by Eric Curran) at the 3.4-mile Watkins Glen International circuit. “It was probably one of the fastest-paced races that I’ve done in a while,” Barbosa said. “They did an amazing job with the repaved surface. We were able to keep up the pace for a long time. We did a few changes after qualifying and we really hit it. The team has been working really hard to get a win for the No. 5 car, and we did it in great style. It was a great race, very hard.” The No. 60 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Curb Records/AERO Ligier JS P2 driven by Olivier Pla, John Pew and Ozz Negri finished third, 1.048 seconds behind. The very best images from the racing weekend at The Glen - created by John Thawley - can be seen here.

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Richard Westbrook and Ryan Briscoe (No. 67 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT) finished ahead of teammates Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller (No. 66 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT) to make it a 1-2 for Ford in the GTLM class at The Glen. The GTLM class battle was between Ford and BMW, as both Porsche and Corvette Racing were relegated to being also-rans due to the BoP numbers. (IMSA didn't change its BoP specs after Le Mans. Now that it has hard data from The Glen, action is expected to be taken to make the Corvettes and Porsche more competitive.) The win moved the No. 67 teammates to within eight points, 159-151, of GTLM championship co-leaders Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin, (No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R). Bill Auberlen/Dirk Werner (No. 25 Rahal Letterman Lanigan IHG Rewards Club BMW M6 GTLM) finished third. (Ford announced at The Glen that its factory-supported Ford GT GTLM/GTE PRO racing program will run for a minimum of three more years in both IMSA and FIA WEC competition, through the 2019 season. “We wanted to make sure everyone knows that we are committed to sports car racing globally with WEC and IMSA,” said Raj Nair, Ford executive vice president and chief technical officer. “The stated goal of our Ford GT program was to win Le Mans, and we're very proud that we were able to do that in our first year. To commit to a full, four-year assault on both the IMSA and WEC championships shows how serious we are about taking Ford GT racing around the world. We are in motorsport to win races and championships, but just as importantly we are using it to develop our engineering expertise and help develop advancements for production vehicles like EcoBoost engines, advanced aerodynamics and lightweight materials that consumers can use in Ford production vehicles going forward.” The first-year program currently consists of two Ford GT race cars in IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship competition, and two Ford GT race cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship.) 
 

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan (No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3) extended their GTD class points lead, while Jeff Segal earned his third major endurance race victory of the year at The Glen. The co-drivers of the No. 63 machine overcame a one-lap deficit that resulted from an extended pit road stay in the first half of the race to replace an engine sensor. Andy Lally, John Potter and Dion von Moltke (No. 44 Magnus Racing Audi R8) finished 1.837 seconds behind. “It was not an easy job to do qualifying for three hours,” Balzan said. “We were really pushing hard out there. I didn’t expect to be that competitive, Christina found a problem in the car. We had about two hours when I didn’t think we would even finish the race, but then the team and the support from Ferrari managed to fix that problem. I was really pushing 100 percent, and as the car was burning fuel, the car was getting better and better. The secret of our three is that we are having a lot of fun.” Balzan, Nielsen and Segal also combined to win the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida in March. Two weeks ago, Segal also won the GTE Am class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a Scuderia Corsa Ferrari alongside 2015 WeatherTech Championship GTD co-champions Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell. Full-time drivers Balzan and Nielsen now lead the GTD standings by 13 points, 162-149, over Mario Farnbacher and Alex Riberas, who finished third in the No. 23 Heart of Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R along with endurance co-driver Ian James.

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Renger van der Zande and Alex Popow (No. 8 Starworks Motorsport ORECA FLM09) made it two in a row in both 2016 Prototype Challenge (PC) competition and in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. Starting from the TOTAL Pole, van der Zande joined Popow in leading four times for 101 laps. Kyle Marcelli, James French and Kenton Koch (No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA FLM09) finished second, 9.821 seconds behind. The team led twice for 88 laps in scoring its best finish of the season. Mark Kvamme, Richard Bradley and Continental Tire Challenge regular Remo Ruscitti finished third in the No. 88 Starworks Motorsport Popcorn Sutton ORECA FLM09.

(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
The No. 20 BAR1 Motorsports GasMonkey Energy Drink ORECA FLM09 at speed at The Glen. Unfortunately, the car was taken out early in a heavy crash.

(BBC)
Lewis Hamilton (No. 44 AMG Petronas Mercedes) won the Austrian Grand Prix after his teammate, Nico Rosberg (No. 6 AMG Petronas Mercedes) attempted to push Hamilton wide in Turn 2 at the very end of the race, which resulted in damage to Rosberg's machine. Rosberg tried to blame Hamilton, but the racing world was having none of it - roundly hammering Rosberg for what was clearly a Bush League Bullshit move - which ended up relegating Rosberg to fourth.  Max Verstappen (No. 33 Red Bull Racing Renault) finished second and Kimi Räikkönen (No. 7 Scuderia Ferrari) finished third.

(Ford Performance)
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Detroit Genuine Parts Ford Fusion) dominated the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night, in a typical NASCAR restrictor-plate crash-fest. Keselowski led 115 laps on his way to his 20th career win at NASCAR's highest level, his first ever win at Daytona and the 100th Cup win for Team Penske. Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry) was second and Trevor Bayne (No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing AdvoCare Ford Fusion) finished third. Get more NASCAR info here.

(Formula E)
Sebastien Buemi (No. 9 Renault e.dams) is the new FIA Formula E champion after he clinched the title courtesy of setting the Visa Fastest Lap during the season-ending Visa London ePrix. The final race of the 2015/16 season was not without controversy, as title rivals Buemi and Lucas di Grassi (No. 11 Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport) collided on the opening lap of the final race of the season. Buemi made a slow start from pole, and was rear-ended by di Grassi under braking for Turn 3. The incident took the rear wing off Buemi’s car, while di Grassi's machine suffered significant front end damage. Both drivers limped back to the pits so that they could switch to their second car. With two points available for the Visa Fastest Lap and both drivers tied on points, the championship boiled down to a fight over who could be quickest over a flying lap. Both drivers - and Stephane Sarrazin - were awarded FanBoost, but the rules state that this power boost cannot be used to claim the bonus points. Waiting for a clear piece of track to emerge, the two drivers had to bide their time in the pits, waiting for the perfect opportunity to get a clear lap. Di Grassi struck first, but Buemi’s lap was quicker and though di Grassi tried again, he fell short, leaving the Swiss racer to succeed Nelson Piquet Jr as Formula E champion. Nico Prost (No. 8 Renault e.dams, below) won rounds 9 and 10 in London - the final two rounds of the season.

(Formula E)

(VW)
Scott Speed (No. 41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Special Operations Warrior Foundation Beetle GRC) secured a dramatic Red Bull Global Rallycross victory on the airstrip of Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Speed reached the top step of the podium after a rain-soaked charge through the field. Saturday's race was to be the first leg of a Red Bull Global Rallycross doubleheader, but Sunday’s round of competition was called off after lightning and a torrential downpour rendered the track undrivable. Brian Deegan (No. 38 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST) was second and Steve Arpin (No. 00 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST) finished third.

(Honda)
Acura has released the first official images of the NSX GT3 racer as it prepares to race in North America in 2017. The twin-turbocharged Acura NSX GT3 was photographed with exposed, lightweight, carbon fiber bodywork at GingerMan Raceway in South Haven, MI, as part of its continued development program at circuits throughout the U.S. The vehicle is slated for homologation as an FIA GT3 class racing machine this fall. Featuring custom bodywork and aero components including a large deck wing spoiler, underbody diffuser and enlarged hood vents for efficient engine cooling, the NSX GT3 racer is powered by a 3.5-liter, 75-degree, twin turbocharged DOHC V-6 engine using the same design specifications as the engine in the production 2017 Acura NSX, including the block, heads, valvetrain, crankshaft, pistons and dry sump lubrication system. The engine is paired with a 6-speed, sequential-shift racing gearbox, delivering power to the rear wheels. Other cool details? The Acura NSX GT3 is produced by the Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio, the exclusive manufacturing home for the new Acura NSX, and its twin turbocharged V-6 engine is also assembled in Ohio (with domestic and globally sourced parts). Initial development of the NSX GT3 racer was conducted by the company's Japan racing engineering arm with testing on race circuits in Europe and Japan.  Additional development, testing and final homologation to FIA GT3 global racing specifications is currently being undertaken by the company's North American race engineering group, Honda Performance Development (HPD), in Santa Clarita, California.

(Honda)