(Photo by Chris Owens/IndyCar)
Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 2 Team Penske Verizon Chevrolet Turbo V6) heads into Turn 1 on the way to victory in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, the Verizon IndyCar Series season opener. It was Montoya's second straight win at the St. Petersburg event. Montoya led teammate Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Team Penske Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevrolet Turbo V6) across the finish line by 2.3306 seconds for a Penske 1-2 finish. Montoya's 15th career Indy car win ties him with Alex Zanardi for 31st on the career chart. It is also the 179th victory for Roger Penske's team in Indy car racing, the most of any team in history, and eighth for Team Penske in the 13-race St. Petersburg history. Read more from Tony DiZinno here.
(Photo by John Cote/IndyCar)
Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Team Penske Hewlett Packard Enterprise Chevrolet Turbo V6) exits Turn 10 during the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He would finish 2.3306 seconds behind Juan Pablo Montoya to make it a Team Penske 1-2. Get more insider IndyCar stuff from Curt Cavin (INDYStar) here.
(Photo by John Cote/IndyCar)
Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 Andretti Autosport DHL Honda Turbo V6) and Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Steak 'n Shake Honda Turbo V6) run through Turn 1 during the Verizon IndyCar Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Hunter-Reay finished third, while Rahal got caught up in a ten car pile-up that blocked the track at one point. He finished sixteenth. Read more from Tony DiZinno here.
(Formula E)
Lucas di Grassi (No. 11 Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport, above) won the Formula E Mexico City ePrix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit but he was later excluded from the results, because the car that he used for the first half of the race was found to weigh 886.2kg, 1.8kg under the 888kg minimum. The Abt Schaeffler team has decided not to appeal the decision.
(Formula E)
The official winner of the Formula E Mexico City ePrix is now Jerome D’Ambrosio (No. 7 Dragon Racing) the second place finisher.
(Formula E)
Sebastien Buemi (No. 9 Renault e.dams) was moved up to second place in Mexico. He now leads di Grassi by 22 points in the championship.
(Photo courtesy of GM/Chevrolet Racing)
Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Jimmy John's Chevrolet SS) edged Carl Edwards (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Stanley Toyota Camry) by .010 seconds to win the Good Sam 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway Sunday. It was Harvick's 32nd win in NASCAR's top series. Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing FedEx Freight Toyota Camry) finished third. Watch a NASCAR video and get more info here.
(Pirelli World Challenge)
Michael Lewis (No. 41 EFFORT Racing/Curb-Agajanian Porsche 911 GT3 R) scored his second straight flag-to-flag GT victory in Sunday's Round 4 race at the Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, sweeping the weekend and notching his first two PWC career wins.
(Pirelli World Challenge)
Martin Fuentes (No. 07 Hublot/Under Armour Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia) swept both Pirelli World Challenge races in the GTA class last weekend. “Today’s race was more complicated than Saturday’s race," said Fuentes. "I don’t know why the second race of a weekend is more challenging than the first race. We were trying to stay away from the crashes in front of us and have a clean race. We were able to move up the field and I was fighting a little overheating again. With the yellow flags, we came out with a little luck today. We always know that luck is part of racing. So winning our fourth race in a row is a tribute to the Scuderia Corsa team. We are very happy to leave St. Petersburg with double wins and move to Long Beach now.”
(Pirelli World Challenge)
Sloan Urry (No. 20 Security National/Avasis Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) swept both PWC races in GT Cup in St. Petersburg.
(Pirelli World Challenge)
Jack Roush Jr. (No. 60 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302) swept the weekend in GTS winning Saturday's Round 4 race at the Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Brett Sandberg (No. 13 ANSA Motorsports KTM X-Bow GT4) finished second, while 15-year-old (!) rookie Parker Chase (No. 19 Performance Motorsports Group Ginetta GT4) finished third. Watch the expanded coverage of Rounds 3 and 4 from St. Petersburg on CBS Sports Network, March 27, at 3 p.m. Eastern.
(Ford Performance)
Ford Performance and Ford Chip Ganassi Racing has finalized its team of racing drivers for its four-car entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 18-19. German Stefan Mücke, Frenchman Olivier Pla and American Billy Johnson will be in the No. 66 Ford GT, while Scot Marino Franchitti, Guernsey-based Andy Priaulx and Englishman Harry Tincknell will be in the No. 67 Ford GT. American Joey Hand and German Dirk Müller will be joined by Frenchman and Le Mans native Sébastien Bourdais in the No. 68 Ford GT. And New Zealander Scott Dixon, Englishman Richard Westbrook and Australian Ryan Briscoe will wheel the No. 69 Ford GT. Bourdais and Dixon will also complete the Ford GT lineup for the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring this week. “For once I’m the rookie as this will be my first Le Mans,” said Dixon. “I’m excited to make my Le Mans debut in the Ford GT. I’ve been in the car a few times in testing so I know we have a great race car here. Like any driver it is a dream come true for me to race at Le Mans and I can’t wait to get started. The history of Ford at Le Mans is very well documented and I’m proud to be part of this very special program.” “Personally, and as an organization, we are thrilled to be racing at Le Mans this year,” added Chip Ganassi. “As a driver I raced there once back in 1987 and I have been looking to get back there ever since. To be going with Ford and the new GT makes it all the more special and the talent assembled in this driver line-up just adds to the anticipation.” “We are pleased to have a very strong driver line-up for our return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” commented Raj Nair, Ford executive vice president and chief technical officer, Global Product Development. “We’ve assembled a talented and experienced team on all fronts and we are all focused on creating a new chapter in Ford’s history at Le Mans.”
(BMW)
After a strong two-day test at Sebring International Raceway at the end of February, BMW Team Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is looking forward to this weekend's 12 Hours of Sebring on March 19th. To mark the 100th anniversary of the Bavarian Motor Works, both of the team's BMW M6 machines will race with unique liveries and numbers significant to the marque. The No. 100 M6, with John Edwards, Lucas Luhr and Kuno Wittmer driving, looks forward to BMW’s next century with an artistic theme that reveals a glow-in-the-dark surprise for nightfall at Sebring. The No. 25 M6, driven by Bill Auberlen, Bruno Spengler and Dirk Werner honors BMW Motorsport’s first season of racing in the US in 1975. The car displays images of four significant racing BMWs: the 3.0 CSL, M1, M3 and V12 LMR. BMW has two overall wins at America's most prestigious endurance race; in 1975 with a 3.0 CSL and in 1999 with the V12 LMR. BMW also has scored four GT class wins with the BMW M3: in 1997, 1998, 2011 and 2012. The 64th 12 Hours of Sebring takes the green flag at 10:40 a.m. Saturday, March 19 with the first one-and-one-half hours of coverage on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET. Coverage shifts to FOX Sports 2 from 12 p.m. ET. IMSA.com will pick up the broadcast at 7 p.m. ET and then finish on FOX Sports 2 beginning at 10 p.m. ET. You can follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for “from-the-pit-box” updates all weekend.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
Corvette Racing returns to Sebring International Raceway for this weekend’s 64th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida, ready for the all-out battle in the GTLM class. Corvette Racing is looking for a two-for-two start for the 2016 season, having already won the Daytona 24 Hour in a historic 1-2 finish for the team. Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller will be in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R and Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fässler will be in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R. Between them, the group has 13 class victories. Gavin has five wins, Magnussen four, Garcia two, and Milner and Fässler one each. Magnussen and Garcia were part of the winning lineup a year ago. Chevrolet ranks second in Sebring history with 27 class victories. Of those, 22 were by a production-based Corvette, including nine for Corvette Racing since 2001. In all, Corvette Racing has 98 victories worldwide. This year’s 12 Hours has added meaning for Corvette as it marks the 60th anniversary of Corvette’s first appearance at a major motorsports event - the 1956 Sebring 12 Hours - where five Corvettes were entered, one of which placed ninth overall and won its class. That same year, work began on two special Corvettes that would race in the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours – the Corvette SS and Corvette SR2. Both were purpose-built race cars that provided a foundation for future production Corvettes in terms of technology and aerodynamics. In order to highlight the early days of Corvette as a racing brand, a Corvette SR2 and Corvette SS will be on display this weekend in the Sebring Gallery of Legends.
(John Thawley ~ Motorsports Photography @ www.johnthawley.com ~ 248.227.0110)
And this just in: The Porsche factory team of 911 RSRs will be ready to rumble in GTLM at Sebring too. The No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR will be driven by Nick Tandy, Kevin Estre and Patrick Pilet and the No. 912 RSR will be driven by Fred Mako, Earl Bamber and Michael Christensen.
(Audi)
Some of the most historic competition days ever held at Shelsley Walsh - the 111-year-old Worcestershire hill - will be recreated during the Classic Nostalgia weekend on July 16 & 17. An Auto Union Type C similar to the one that Hans Stuck (above) drove on the hill in June 1936 is returning to Shelsley with none other than Stuck's son, Hans-Joachim Stuck (below) driving the incredible V16 Grand Prix turned-hill-climb-car that was such a stunning technological marvel at the time - and indeed still to this day. Hans Stuck was a European Champion hill climb driver to the extent that his "King of the Mountains" name preceded him following his success at Austria's highest mountain pass the Grossglockner hill climb, and at Klausen hill climb in Switzerland, events that held as much status as a win at Monza or the Nürburgring.
(Audi)
(Aston Martin The Americas)
British luxury brand Aston Martin and Formula One team Red Bull Racing have announced a partnership that will have Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey and Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman collaborate to produce a ground-breaking Aston Martin hypercar. Codenamed Project ‘AM-RB 001’, the new hypercar will represent the ultimate blend of cutting-edge F1 technology with Aston Martin’s signature sports car design. The combined talents of Newey, widely noted as the most successful Formula One designer of all time, and Reichman, Aston Martin’s design chief since 2005, are set to produce the ultimate hypercar. Editor-In-Chief's Note: No one knows what this means as of yet, for now it's a giant "We'll see." -PMD
Editor's Note: “The Decision” is the first of five video shorts from the Ford Motor Company about the development of the Ford GT. It features Bill Ford Jr., Raj Nair, Dave Pericak and Edsel B. Ford II, who attended the 1966 race with his father, Henry Ford II. The shorts will culminate in one long-form documentary that will follow the development of both the Street Car and Race Car version of the Ford GT from the decision to build the cars to the return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. (The Autoextremist makes a cameo appearance as well.) Watch it here. -WG