JULY 26, 2017

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Though strongly rumored over the last few weeks, Porsche's announcement that it was abruptly ending its LMP1 Le Mans racing program and participation in the WEC after this season is still a blow to the sport. And the fact that Porsche is now turning its attention to Formula E in 2019 makes it even more depressing. As much as I have reserved optimism for this new formula in its initial stages, in its current form Formula E is a dismal exercise. As Andrew Frankel commented in his latest in Motor Sport Magazine, Formula E is a "... new formula for cars that are slow, silent and tedious to watch." And then some. I was embarrassed for the members of the media who gushed over Formula E's appearance in New York City, because everything about the "race" there was a giant bowl of Not Good. The track was a joke and the racing was indeed tedious to watch. I guess certain lesser lights in the media are easily amused these days, but I am not. That said, it's hard to find sympathy for either party involved in this decision. The executives who run the ACO - the French organization in charge of Le Mans - have acted like ruthless, carpetbagging mercenaries for years. They bestow favors on manufacturers willing to spend a ton of money for the privilege of running at Le Mans, and then they look the other way as those favored manufacturers are allowed to have blatant performance advantages over the competition. As long as the money is spent like water, the ACO turns a blind eye and just smiles, and their actions over the years have been beyond reprehensible. And by messing around with the rules and regulations for its top category at Le Mans while forcing hybrid powertrains down manufacturers' throats, the ACO has made the class cost prohibitive. So here we are.

But then again, Porsche is just as culpable in this mess. Manufacturers who participate in racing often do so on the basis of what's perceived as being in their best interests. These manufacturers couldn't care less about the overall health of the sport or the Big Picture, as long as the particular racing they choose to compete in is politically aligned with their marketing goals. This is why you see manufacturers come and go in the sport. They get in with both feet, and when they have extracted enough of whatever it is they needed, or were looking for, they get out. Porsche's move into Formula E aligns with their new Mission E Concept, the all-electric sports car that they've been working on for almost two years. It matters little to Porsche that Formula E is a borderline embarrassment and one completely devoid of any visceral appeal, a joke that will have monumentally negative ramifications for the long-term health of the sport itself. Porsche is a truck manufacturer. Wait a minute, no, it's a sports car manufacturer, make that an electric sports car manufacturer. Does it really matter anymore? No. Porsche will do what it wants and justify it any way they see fit, just like every other manufacturer that has come and gone in the sport. I will be shocked if Toyota continues with its LMP1 program, because running against itself for the overall win at Le Mans in 2018 will be a hollow and damn-near worthless pursuit. And even though the ACO has new rules coming for the 2020 season - which Porsche had input in by the way - no one is looking that far ahead. Once again racing has been thrown into yet another uncertain phase. And thus it was ever so. -PMD

(Porsche)
Patrick Pilet and Dirk Werner (No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR) won the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on Saturday, a stop on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar featuring GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes. Pilet crossed the stripe 14.5 seconds ahead of Laurens Vanthoor (No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR) that Gianmaria “Gimmi” Bruni had started from the pole position. It was the first victory for the new mid-engine Porsche 911 RSR, the first 911 to be configured with the engine in front of the rear axle. The No. 911 Porsche ran inside the top three positions throughout the two-hour-and-40-minute, caution-free race. Werner qualified third, but jumped to second at the start of the race and ran behind Bruni for the first 49 minutes of the race before taking the lead when Bruni came in for his first pit stop. Pilet lost the lead when he made his second and final pit stop, but reclaimed the top spot for the final time when Antonio Garcia pitted the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R from the lead. He would not be challenged the rest of the way en route to his eighth IMSA race victory. “It means a lot,” Pilet said. “Since the first race of the season, we’ve fought for the victory but never achieved that. It was great because everybody worked so hard. It went smooth all weekend since first practice. Both cars were really quick, especially the 912. We managed to get a really good pace during the long runs and we knew it was a key here to be strong during the long runs and it went perfectly.” A fierce battle for the final podium spot between Martin Tomczyk in the No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GTLM and Garcia in the Corvette went to Tomczyk and his co-driver, John Edwards, by a slim margin. Garcia and co-driver Jan Magnussen wound up fourth in the No. 3 entry ahead of Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook, who rounded out the top five in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT. Next up for the WeatherTech Championship is the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on Sunday, Aug. 6. The two-hour-and-40-minute race will include all four WeatherTech Championship classes.

(Porsche)

(Porsche)
Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Lindsey (No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3.R) won the GT Daytona (GTD) class at the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park, making it a Porsche sweep for the weekend. It was the first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship win for Park Place Motorsports since the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October 2015. Bergmeister inherited the lead on the final series of green flag pit stops with 59 minutes remaining and went on to lead the race’s final 57 laps. The two-hour, 40-minute race was run caution free for the first time in the WeatherTech Championship since another GT-only race at VIRginia International Raceway in 2015. “Basically, we tried an undercut and pitted first for the last stop, so I knew it was going to be really difficult to manage the tires through a long stint,” said Bergmeister, who is no stranger to the top step of Lime Rock’s podium, winning in seven of 10 IMSA starts. “Once I got in the lead and passed Bryan (Sellers) I tried to be smooth and save the tires. He tried to do the same, but when Patrick (Long) came up and he was defending, I was able to check out a little bit.” Bryan Sellers (No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3, started by TOTAL Pole Award winner Madison Snow) finished second, 3.473 seconds behind Bergmeister. The runner-up finish was the best finish this season for Lamborghini and Paul Miller Racing. Patrick Long and Daniel Morad (No. 28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3.R) finished third. It was the second WeatherTech Championship start of the season for Long, who got the call to drive just one week ago, and his first for Alegra Motorsports. Long took the lead from polesitter Snow 35 minutes into the race and led the next 17 laps before losing the lead on the first round of pit stops.

(Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Farmers Insurance Chevrolet) passed race leader Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Miller Lite Ford) with a rocket restart in the second overtime of Sunday’s Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 and went on to win the caution-filled Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in front of a painfully sparse crowd. It was Kahne's first win in three years. Ryan Newman (No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Velveeta Chevrolet) finished third. Editor-In-Chief's Note: Well, that was special. NASCAR's steadfast refusal to do something - anything - about its declining fortunes was on full display on Sunday. The lack of attendance at the cavernous Speedway couldn't be concealed, and moving the Indy race date back to September next year won't make one damn bit of difference, because the High-Octane Truth is that NASCAR should have stopped racing there a decade ago. NASCAR's continued bumbling will now get the full attention of executives at the TV networks who can't be amused and who can no longer turn a blind eye to the ugliness. The Formula of Doom for NASCAR hasn't changed. Too many races + Too many repeat visits to the same tracks + Too many races at tracks they have no business running at (e.g., Indy) + An abject refusal to change = A Declining Death Spiral of Mediocrity that is accelerating. If NASCAR continues to believe it is healthy and does nothing to fundamentally alter the way it goes about its business, it will become a regional nostalgia racing series in five years. Or less. I've talked about this repeatedly in many, many columns over the years, the most recent being just a few weeks ago. NASCAR's head-in-sand approach simply isn't sustainable. -PMD

(Getty Images)
The attendance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday was beyond embarrassing for NASCAR, in fact, it was pathetic.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
IndyCar unveiled its new racing car for 2018 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, July 24th. Shown in both Honda and Chevrolet liveries, the new car will come in two specifications: one for superspeedway ovals (shown) and the other for use on short ovals, permanent road courses and temporary street circuits. It's sleeker and much more attractive to look at and is expected to perform at speeds equal to or better than today's car with better all-around performance and control for the drivers. Veteran drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Oriol Servia will drive the two cars - one for each engine manufacturer - throughout the testing regimen operated by IndyCar at The Speedway on 7/25. Team Penske is providing the Chevrolet-powered car for Montoya; Schmidt Peterson Motorsports the Honda-powered chassis for Servia.

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)

(Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Juan Pablo Montoya powers through Turn 1 in the 2018 IndyCar universal aero kit for Chevrolet during its maiden oval test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday (7/25).