Category: Endurance Racing

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Quick 10 With…..Neel Jani

 

He is a Swiss racing driver of Indian Gujarati origin who began karting in 1998. In 2000 he moved up to Formula Lista Junior for a year before moving to the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup and then the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup.

He raced in the GP2 series from 2005 to 2006 with Racing Engineering and stepping in for a race with Arden. He put his name in the record books as the only person at that time to drive F1 and GP2 on the same day as he was test driver for Formula One team Toro Rosso. In GP2 he won at the Hungaroring and Monza.

He combined his GP2 driving to race in A1GP for Team Switzerland. He took the championship in 2007/08 and finished second the following season. He switched to the Champ Car World Series for 2007 but it was his move to sportscar racing which heralded even greater success.

Driving for Rebellion from 2012 to 2013 in the World Endurance Championship he caught the eye of Porsche and made the move to factory driver in 2014.

In 2016 came his greatest success by not only winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans but securing the World Endurance Drivers’ championship with Marc Lieb and Romain Dumas.

He is a reigning world champion….these are his Quick 10 questions and he is…..

NEEL JANI

1. What is your favourite circuit and why?

Le Mans and the old Kyalami circuit are my favorite. Both are kind of old school race tracks where one small mistake could result in a big crash. It takes a lot of skill to go quick. You really have to know the limits and drive very precise.

2. Who is/was your racing idol?

I had several idol’s growing up from skiing to racing. I was, and still am, always impressed by the attitude and ability to perform under the extreme pressure of competition. It doesn’t matter which sport you do, the pressure is the same.

3. Who would you regard as your toughest opponent?

For 2017, Toyota will be our toughest opponent.

4. Considering racers of all time, you are a team principal and money is no object. Which two racers would you have in your team?

Jim Clark and Juan Pablo Montoya

5. If you could invite four famous people to dinner (past and present), who would you invite?

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Muhammad Ali, Roger Federer, Mahatma Ghandi

6. Personal racing number? What is it and the reason behind it?

#18. It gave me a lot good memories in 2002 during my Formula Renault year.

25.01.2009 Taupo, New Zealand, Neel Jani (SUI), driver of A1 Team Switzerland Neel Jani (SUI), driver of A1 Team Switzerland wins the feature race – A1GP World Cup of Motorsport 2008/09, Round 4, Taupo, Sunday Race 2 – Copyright A1GP – Free for editorial usage

7. What is the best race you have been involved in?

A1 GP Durban because I was sick and I still won the race! My Le Mans 2016 victory because it was a race for the history books and it was an emotional roller coaster

8. Is there a race or series you have not competed in, that you would like to or had wanted to?

No, I am very happy how things went in my career. Everything has a reason!

9. How did you get into motor racing? What ignited that spark?

My family got me into racing, luckily, and we only lived about 5km from a go kart track and the home of Swiss Hutless Karts

10. What is the best advice in racing you have been given?

Give your best and you can be happy, because you cannot do more.

I would like to thank Neel Jani for taking the time out from his busy schedule to answer the Quick 10 and wish him the very best for the forthcoming season. An absolute honour for me to be able to put these questions to a reigning World Champion.

See you at the chequered flag.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

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Spirit Of Le Mans

2010 Le Mans 24 Hours
Peugeots run 1-2-3 and away from the field during the opening hours of the race. Photograph taken from a helicopter shows the famous Dunlop Bridge at bottom of frame and the road winds up to the Terte Rouge corner and the beginning of the Mulsanne straight.
Photo: Rick Dole
©2010 Rick Dole/All Rights Reserved.

Every person has a burning ambition inside them, born from a desire to test their resolve to the ultimate limit. Being able to reach those limits, to go beyond the boundaries, to come face to face with fear like nothing ever experienced before.

Not knowing whether the current lap will be the final chapter in the story. Holding on to every single piece of emotion so much, that the body tenses with every turn. Searching for ‘that’ zone, where the car becomes an extension of the mind through the curves and chicanes.

As the car begins to feel at ease gliding effortlessly through historic parts of the course another, more powerful, force enters the fray as Mother Nature calls upon all of her strength to cast sun, cloud, wind and rain into the dramatic opera. Responding. Reacting. Realising that this is all part of the test. Can the driver adapt and overcome to these powerful elements as the car speeds through treacherous rain on one side of the course to be met by dry conditions in another part?

Day becomes dusk. Dusk gently dissolves into night wrapping it’s cold arms around the circuit as the cars take on a new existence of life. The headlights flash at every turn, brake discs glowing hot in the cold night praying for morning to arrive, a step closer to that final chapter.

The field of gladiators dwindles, some temporarily but for others it is the end of the emotional journey.

On the horizon the first signs of daylight begin to appear as the sun rises to bring the start of a new day to this epic battle of endurance and speed. Drivers on the limit for every second of every minute of every hour.

There are no losers, not in this story, just the chosen men and women taking a journey into a world that few will ever experience. The crowd are roaring with delight, gasping at horrific crashes and applauding every driver that passes their vantage point. It is a distant respect of honour.

The excitement building to a crescendo of tears, laughter and sadness. To be victorious in unfavourable circumstances, humble in the disappointment of defeat and sombre at the loss of those who never returned from the journey.

Fireworks exploding along the grid as the hero crosses the line with the cast of equal heroes parading behind, every single one playing their part to perfection in this epic tale.

It is remembering why they do this, the reason that every single driver gambles with their life on every stretch of tarmac around this historic circuit and never forgetting that within a second everything can change.

That is the spirit of Le Mans.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

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Le Mans By Numbers

Porsche 919 Hybrid, Porsche Team: Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley, Mark Webber (c) photo courtesy of Porsche

LE MANS BY NUMBERS

There are names. There are stories. There are legends. Then, there are numbers.

Here are a few of those numbers.

For WEC Week and the build up to the greatest endurance race in the world, here is Le Mans By Numbers:

1 – Wins In Their First Entries – Andre Lagache, Rene Leonard, Bernard Rubin, Woolf Barnato, Luigi Chinetti, Tazio Nuvolari, Philippe Etancelin, Luis Fontes, Jean-Pierre Wimille, Peter Walker, Fritz Riess, Hermann Lang, Ivor Bueb, AJ Foyt, Hurley Haywood, Klaus Ludwig, Andy Wallace, Christophe Bouchut, Eric Helary, Alexander Wurz, Tom Kristensen, Laurent Aiello, Nico Hulkenberg, Earl Bamber

2 – Most Pole Positions Without Winning – Toyota

2 – Most Consecutive Wins By Same Car – Bentley Speed Six, Ford GT40, Porsche 956 & Porsche WSC-95

2 – Most Cars In The Leading Lap – 1933, 1935, 1966, 1969, 1983, 1987, 1988, 2004, 2008 & 2011

3 – Wins In All Drivers Entries – Woolf Barnato

3 – Most Consecutive Pole Positions – Jacky Ickx & Stephane Sarrazin

4 – Most Consecutive Fastest Laps – Mike Hawthorn

4 – Winner With Most Constructors – Yannick Dalmas

5 – Most Wins By A Car – Audi R8

5 – Most Second Place Finishes Without Winning – Toyota

5 – Most Consecutive Fastest Laps – Audi

5 – Most Fastest Laps – Jacky Ickx

5 – Most Pole Positions – Jacky Ickx

6 – Most Consecutive Pole Positions – Porsche

6 – Most Consecutive Wins – Tom Kristensen

6 – Fewest Finishers – 1931

6 – Most Podiums Without A Win – Bob Wollek

7 – Most Consecutive Wins – Porsche

8 – Most Podium Hatricks – Porsche

8 – Most Cars Of The Same Brand In A Row – Porsche

9 – Most Driver Wins – Tom Kristensen

9 – Most Consecutive Podium Finishes – Emanuele Pirro

11 – Most Entries As Team Mates – Tracy Krohn & Niclas Jonsson

11 – Most Consecutive Finishes – Johnny O’Connell

12 – Most 1-2 Finishes – Porsche

12 – Most Safety Cars In A Race – 2013

13 – Most Wins By A Team – Joest Racing

13 – Biggest Gap In Years Between Two Wins – Alexander Wurz

14 – Most Fastest Laps – Porsche

14 – Most Starts Without Finishing One Race – Hans Heyer

14 – Most Podiums – Tom Kristensen

16 – Most Starts Before First Win – David Brabham

16 years (202 days) – Youngest Driver To Start A Race – Matt McMurry

17 – Biggest Gap In Years Between First And Last Win – Hurley Haywood

17 – Entries With Most Constructors – Francois Migault

17 – Fewest Cars In A Single Race – 1930

18 – Most Constructor Wins – Porsche

18 – Most Consecutive Podiums – Audi

18 – Most Retirements – Henri Pescarolo

18 years (133 days) – Youngest Driver On The Podium (Overall) – Ricardo Rodriguez

19 – Most Pole Positions By Constructor – Porsche

19 – Most Finishes – Derek Bell

20 – Most Entries With The Same Constructor – Bob Wollek

21 – Years Of Most Time Between Successive Starts – Jean Alesi

22 years (91 days) – Youngest Winner – Alexander Wurz

23 (hours, 15 minutes & 17 seconds) – Most Time In The Car During 24 Hours – Louis Rosier

30 – Most Winning Drivers Per Nation – United Kingdom

30 – Most Consecutive Starts – Henri Pescarolo

30 – Most Starts Without Winning (Overall) – Bob Wollek

33 – Most Entries By A Single Constructor In A Single Race – Porsche

33 – Total Starts – Henri Pescarolo

34 – Most Wins By Nation Constructor – Germany

34 – Most Winning Tyre Manufacturer – Dunlop

35 – Most Times Between First And Last Start – Mario Andretti & Yojiro Terada

43 – Total Driver Wins Per Nation – France

44 – Most Finishers – 2016

47 years (343 days) – Oldest Winner – Luigi Chinetti

55 years (110 days) – Oldest Driver On The Podium (Overall) – Mario Andretti

60 – Most Cars In A Single Race – 1950, 1951, 1953, 1955 & 2016

66 – Most Participations By A Single Constructor – Porsche

68 years (110 days) – Oldest Driver To Start A Race – Jack Gerber

788 – Most Total Entries By A Single Constructor – Porsche

24 – The Hours It Takes To Finish The Greatest Race In The World

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

 

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IMSA Agree TCR Class For 2018

WSC Ltd, the rights holder for TCR, and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), today confirmed plans for a TCR class to begin competing in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, beginning in 2018.

The TCR class will run in addition to the two existing Continental Tire Challenge classes, Grand Sport (GS) and Street Tuner (ST) next season.

“We began our due diligence process on the potential introduction of the TCR platform more than a year ago, and formally announced that we were exploring the concept last year,” said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett. “We engaged our automotive partners and teams throughout the discovery process and determined that TCR would be an attractive addition to the Continental Tire Challenge. We are pleased to work together with WSC CEO Marcello Lotti and Sporting and Series Director Nunzia Corvino to introduce what we believe will be a popular class to IMSA fans and participants.”

Through its partnership with WSC, IMSA will use TCR cars fully homologated by WSC in the new Continental Tire Challenge class. The TCR class is projected to slot in between GS and ST, based on its current level of performance.

As the market develops for TCR-spec cars, IMSA has the additional, exclusive right to establish TCR USA and TCR Canada as standalone series. IMSA, in cooperation with WSC, also now holds the right to sublicense the proper use of TCR specifications to other sanctioning bodies in the territory as well.

“TCR has quickly become the standard global Touring Car platform,” said Lotti. “Our goal was to once again create a base for Touring Car racing. The crucial part about it was to keep the costs for the cars low to ensure equality of opportunity. In North America, we believed IMSA was the most professional partner available in the market and we could not be more pleased to establish this partnership together.”

Current TCR manufacturers with a presence in North America include Audi, Ford, Honda, Alfa Romeo, KIA, Subaru and Volkswagen.

TCR cars will make their Continental Tire Challenge debut next January at the Daytona International Speedway during the three-day Roar Before The Rolex 24 At Daytona, with their first race planned for the day preceding the 2018 Rolex 24.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

(c) Photos courtesy of TCR International Series

Press Release courtesy of TCR International Series

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2017 Le Mans entry list revealed

The official entry list for the 2017 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans has been revealed ahead of the historic event in June.

Of the 60 cars that will comprise the field, 28 will be full-time entrants from the full World Endurance Championship. The prototype classes will be led by six LMP1 entries, including Toyota’s additional #9 TS050 Hybrid, and 25 cars from all four different chassis manufacturers will contest the LMP2 category.

Meanwhile, the two LMGTE classes will feature 29 entrants between them, representing Aston Martin, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche.

Car Collective Shoot: Prologue Monza – Autodromo Nationale Monza – Monza – Italia

John Rourke/ FIA World Endurance Championship

LMP1

The biggest change in the LMP1 field is an adjustment to Toyota’s racing lineup. Following Jose Maria Lopez’s crash at Silverstone and withdrawal from Spa, Toyota has elected to swap the Argentine around with Stephane Sarrazin.

This means that Lopez will now drive the team’s third car alongside Nicolas Lapierre and Yuji Kunimoto, whilst Sarrazin will return to the #7 TS050 Hybrid to partner Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, the pairing with whom the Frenchman finished second for Toyota in last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

LMP2

In the LMP2 category the entrants total 25 cars, including thirteen from the Asian and European Le Mans series’ to complement those from the WEC field.

Notable names on the 2017 grid include Rubens Barrichello joining the ELMS Racing Team Nederland entry, as well as top single-seater talents such as Jean-Éric Vergne, Felix Rosenqvist, Alex Lynn and Sergey Sirotkin, who are all making their Le Mans debut in LMP2 this year.

Last year’s LMP1 champion Romain Dumas will continue racing in the #36 Signatech Alpine in place of regular driver Nicolas Lapierre, who will instead pilot the third Toyota LMP1. Matthieu Vaxiviere will also return to TDS Racing’s #28 Oreca-Gibson following his recent foot injury, and will compete against his Spa stand-in Ben Hanley, who makes his Le Mans debut this year with ELMS team DragonSpeed.

LMGTE

As always, the LMGTE fields feature several third-man additions to established lineups. Amongst those are former Audi LMP1 drivers Lucas di Grassi and Marcel Fassler, both of whom return to contest Le Mans in the GTE-Pro class with AF Corse and Corvette Racing respectively.

The USA and UK Ford Chip Ganassi teams have also altered their squads from the usual WSCC configuration: the respective crews of the #66 and #68 Ford GTs have been swapped around, whilst Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell have moved from the #69 to the #67 and join new teammate Pipo Derani.

In GTE-Am, former Manor and G-Drive racer Will Stevens joins the #66 JMW Motorsport, and Fernando Rees will make his return to Le Mans with Larbre Competition, the team with which he made his WEC debut in 2012.

James Matthews, Deputy Editor

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WEC – 2017 Preview

(c) Alexis Goure (ACO)

|

Matthew Pigg

 

What can we expect from the WEC this year?

One thing is for sure that we are going to see close racing throughout the four different classes this year. with different cars suiting different tracks and different weather conditions it is set up for a very exciting season.

There have been changes in every class for this year new. Updated cars from Porsche & Toyota in LMP1, new engine for ByKolles, the departure of Audi & Rebellion from LMP1. New cars, drivers, teams & engines in LMP2 and new, updated cars in both GTE-PRO & GTE-AM along with new teams and drivers.

The 2017 World Endurance Championship promises to be yet another fantastic year of sportscar racing.

First action for the WEC entries will be the prologue which this year takes place at Monza over the weekend of the 1st & 2nd April with 27 of the 28 season entries take part.

Below is a link to the prologue entries.

http://www.fiawec.com/wpphpFichiers/1/1/ressources/Pdf/2017/FIAWEC2017_provisional_Monza_Prologue_entry_list_090317.pdf

First race of the season is set to take place at Silverstone on 16th April with the entry list just announced, below is a link to the entries for Silverstone.

http://www.fiawec.com/wpphpFichiers/1/1/ressources/Pdf/2017/FIAWEC2017_provisional_6_hours_of_Silverstone_entry_list_150317.pdf

After Silverstone the WEC moves onto Spa on the 6th May then onto the BIGGEST & one of the oldest events on the motorsport calendar. The LE MANS 24 HOURS over the weekend of 17th & 18th June, Nurburgring on 16th July, Mexico on the 3rd September, Austin 16th September, Fuji 15th October, Shanghai 5th November with the end of season being in Bahrain on the 18th November.

(c) FIA WEC

LMP1

Unfortunately LMP1 is going to be a bit thin on the ground this year with the departure of Audi from the WEC & Rebellion going to LMP2 for 2017. This leaves just Porsche & Toyota (both running two cars each for the full season with Toyota running third car at Spa & Le Mans) as the only entries into LMP1 – H and one entry into LMP1 – L which is the ByKolles CLM with Nissan power this year.

Hopefully we will see some good battles this season between Porsche & Toyota. But it’s hard to see beyond the #1 Porsche for the world Championship with Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer & Nick Tandy onboard, although I am sure Toyota & the #2 Porsche will do their be to keep them honest.

Porsche see changes in both cars this year with Andre Lotterer & Nick Tandy replacing Romain Dumas & Marc Lieb in the #1 car & Earl Bamber replaces the now retired Mark Webber in the #2 car.

#1

Porsche 919 Hybrid

Neel Jani, Andre Lotterer, Nick Tandy

#2

Porsche 919 Hybrid

Timo Bernhard, Earl Bamber, Brendon Hartley

Toyota also see a slight change in there driver line up with Stephane Sarrazin stepping down (although he will race the third car at Spa & Le Mans) to be replaced by Jose Maria Lopez whilst the line up of Anthony Davidson, Kazuki Nakajima & Sebastien Buemi remains unchanged.

#7

Toyota TS050 Hybrid

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez

#8

Toyota TS050 Hybrid

Anthony Davidson, Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi

Not to be out done by Porsche & Toyota the ByKolles team also sees a change in the driver line up with Robert Kubica making a welcome return to circuit racing joining Oliver Webb in the #4 car and powered by the Nissan V6 turbo engine which was installed in the Nissan GT-R LM in 2015.

#4

ByKolles CLM Nismo

Robert Kubica & Oliver Webb

(c) @ManorWEC

LMP2

LMP2 see some major changes this year. gone is the option to run an open topped car, along with the choice of engines, and in comes a new for 2017 “spec” engine from Gibson. The new Gibson engine is a 4.2 litre V8 producing around 600bhp which will power all LMP2 cars this season. There is also now a choice of four chassis (ORECA, Onroak/Ligier, Dallara & Riley), unlike last year where chassis choice was open. There are ten cars entered for the full season, all teams have gone for the ORECA chassis this year (although two of them will be entered as Alpine A470). There are two cars each from Rebellion Racing (stepping down from LMP1 this year), CEFC Manor Racing, Signatech Alpine Matmut & Jackie Chan DC Racing (run by Jota). Single entries for G-Drive racing & TDS Racing.

Racing should be close in LMP2 this season with a lot resting on the shoulders of the “silver” rated driver and how they will cope with the increase in power & performance of the new generation of LMP2 cars.

Signatech Alpine will be out to retain their hard earned title from last year but will be pushed all the way to the chequered flag of the last race. Reliability could also play a major part in the outcome of this the LMP2 title with the Gibson being a new engine, although it has done plenty of bench testing and has been already used in this year’s Daytona 24 hours and Sebring 12 hours.

Trying to predict a championship winner in this class is pretty difficult, but I think it will come down to a battle between Signatech & Rebellion.

#13

Rebellion Racing

Matias Beche, David Heninemeier Hanson, Nelson Piquet Jr

#24

Manor Racing

Tor Graves, TBA, TBA

#25

Manor Racing

Roberto Gonzalez, TBA, TBA

#26

G-Drive Racing

Roman Rusinov, Pierre Thiriet, Alex Lynn

#28

TDS Racing

Francois Perrodo, Matthieu Vaxiviere, Emmanuel Collard

#31

Rebellion Racing

Julien Canal, Nicolas Prost, Bruno Senna

#35

Signatech Alpine

All Drivers TBA

#36

Signatech Alpine

Nicolas Lapierre, TBA, TBA

#37

DC Racing

David Cheng, Alex Brundle, Tristan Gommendy

#38

DC Racing

Ho-Pin Tung, Oliver Jarvis, Thomas Laurent

(c) Ford Performance

GTE- PRO

For me this is probably the most exciting of all the classes with two cars each from Aston Martin Racing, Ford, Ferrari & Porsche and all with star driver line ups.

Porsche make a welcome return to the WEC GTE-PRO class with the new 911-RSR whilst Aston Martin, Ford & Ferrari all return with updated versions of last year’s cars and we also have a tyre war in both GTE classes this season with Dunlop & Michelin providing rubber to teams. Dunlop on the Aston Martins & Michelin on the Ford’s, Ferrari’s & Porsche’s.

Can Aston Martin retain their world championship from last year with Nicki Thiim & Marco Sorensen? Well this one is even closer to call than LMP2, with any of the eight cars more than capable of lifting the crown at the seasons end. Who will it be? Well your guess is as good as mine, I for one would like to see the Aston Martin of Darren Turner & Jonny Adams take the crown this year but they will have their work cut out.

One of the other big questions for both GTE classes is how much the dreaded “balance of performance” (Bop) affects things this year, let’s hope that Bop doesn’t get in the way of hopefully another fantastic wheel to wheel racing this season.

There are a few driver changes this year in GTE-PRO with Gianmaria Bruni departing from Ferrari & heading towards Porsche (not in WEC). He is being replaced by Alessandro Pier Guidi. Both Ford’s see the addition of a third driver this year. Along side Stefan Mucke & Oliver Pla will be Billy Johnson and teaming up with Andy Priaulx & Harry Tinknell will be Luis Felipe Derani.

#51

Ferrari

James Calado & Alessandro Pier Guidi

#66

Ford

Stefan Mucke, Oliver Pla, Billy Johnson

#67

Ford

Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell, Luis Felipe Derani

#71

Ferrari

Davide Rigon & Sam Bird

#91

Porsche

Richard Lietz & Frederic Makowiecki

#92

Porsche

Michel Christensen & Kevin Estre

#95

Aston Martin

Nicki Thiim & Marco Sorensen

#97

Aston Martin

Darren Turner & Jonathan Adam

GTE – AM

GTE – AM sees a five car entry for 2017 with the arrival of two Ferrari 488, two Porsche & one Aston Martin. The favourite for this class must surely be the #98 Aston Martin with the departure of last year’s winning Ferrari. Once again we see a tyre war with GTE – AM with Dunlop & Michelin providing rubber. Dunlop’s on both Porsche’s and Michelin on the Aston Martin & Ferrari’s.

#54

Ferrari

Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci, TBA

#61

Ferrari

Weng Sun Mok, Keita Sawa, Matthew Griffin

#77

Porsche

Christian Ried, Matteo Cairoli, Marvin Dienst

#86

Porsche

Michael Wainwright, Benjamin Barker, TBA

#98

Aston Martin

Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda

The 2017 WEC season is upon us. It is going to be fantastic. Hold on tight.

Matthew Pigg

Twitter: @photopigg

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Neel Jani Takes Pole At Sebring

 

News courtesy of Rebellion Racing.

Neel JANI dominated the qualifying session for the 65th edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring with the #13 REBELLION Racing Oreca 07 Gibson powered car and secured the Pole Position with a fastest lap time of 1:48.178.

This is the Swiss Team’s and Neel Jani’s first Pole Position in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship. REBELLION Racing and Neel Jani previously captured four Pole Positions at the time of the ALMS from 2012 to 2013.

Today’s achievement is also the first ever Pole Position for the new Oreca 07 LMP2 car and REBELLION Racing is deeply proud to provide this milestone to their constructor partner.

The #13 REBELLION Racing Oreca 07 Gibson powered car will start tomorrow’s 12 Hours of Sebring race from the first position on the grid and the whole Swiss team will aim to keep that position at the end of the race. Being quick in qualifying means a lot, but we all have seen that the race can be a different story, especially here at Sebring.

This Pole position for the 65th edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring has a high value for the team, as the they along with the drivers Neel Jani, Sebastien Buemi and Nick Heidfeld have worked really hard since the Daytona 24 race to be back strongly at the front.

Neel Jani – #13 REBELLION Racing Oreca 07 : “It was a good Qualifying session, we didn’t expected to be P1. We had a few issues in free practice and we had to play a lot of catch up. There is no ideal lap here at Sebring, you have to improvise as it’s so bumpy, it’s always a nice and challenging track. We saw in Daytona that we were close in qualifying, but in the race the Cadillacs were really fast. I think that tomorrow it will be an other game to translate this Pole into a win. For sure we will try to stay at the front as long as possible !”

Bart Hayden REBELLION Racing Team Manager : “Before qualifying we were not completely confident of taking the pole position, as we knew the Cadillacs had been quick since the beginning of the weekend and also because it’s always a question of finding a lap clear of traffic without mistakes. Nonetheless, the gap to the next cars is very small, so we know tomorrow’s race will be close. Congratulations to Neel for driving so well the pole winning lap and many thanks to the engineers and mechanics for working so hard to get the setup and preparation right with the car. We’re looking forward to tomorrow’s 12 Hours of Sebring race and hope that it will be an exciting one for everyone.”

Copyright © 2017 REBELLION Racing, All rights reserved.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

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Porsche Announce WEC Driver Pairings

Stuttgart. The Porsche GT Team campaigns two 510 hp Porsche 911 RSR in the GT class of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which has been given world championship status in 2017 for the first time. After a year of development in 2016, the 2015 FIA WEC title winners return with a works entry to the world’s most important GT competition.

The 911 RSR with the starting number 91 can be recognised by the red Porsche lettering on a black windscreen banner and on the rear wing as well as red wing mirrors. The vehicle is driven by the 2015 WEC Champion Richard Lietz (Austria) as well as Frédéric Makowiecki (France). Tackling the series in the number 92 vehicle are Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Kévin Estre (France). In contrast to the sister car, their 911 RSR features a white background on the windscreen and the rear wing as well as white wing mirrors.

Both 911 RSR, which were designed from scratch for the 2017 season featuring a four-litre flat-six engine mounted in front of the rear axle, will take part in the official WEC Prologue tests on 1-2 April in Monza. Silverstone (Great Britain) hosts the first race of the season on 16 April.

“In the fight for the maiden GT World Championship title in the FIA WEC we’ve put together two strong driver pairings. And all four pilots come from the world’s best GT hotbed of talent, Porsche’s one-make race series,” says Head of Porsche Motorsport Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser.

The 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship races
16 April: 6 Hours of Silverstone (Great Britain)
6 May: 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
17/18 June: 24 Hours of Le Mans (France)
16 July: 6 Hours of Nürburgring (Germany)
3 September: 6 Hours of Mexico (Mexico)
16 September: 6 Hours of Austin (USA)
15 October: 6 Hours of Fuji (Japan)
5 November: 6 Hours of Shanghai (China)
18 November: 6 Hours of Bahrain (Bahrain)

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

Photos courtesy of Porsche (c)

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CRONIN CONFIRMS FULL BRC SEASON WITH M-SPORT’S FORD FIESTA R5

M-Sport LTD Press Release

Keith Cronin and Mikie Galvin are confirmed to contest this year’s Prestone MSA British Rally Championship with M-Sport and the Ecoboost-powered Ford Fiesta R5.

Contesting all seven events, Cronin’s Fiesta will be clad with DMACK tyres which claimed the championship laurels last year and sport an M-Sport livery which draws inspiration from those made popular by Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier in the FIA World Rally Championship.

As a three-time British Rally Champion, Cronin knows what it takes to excel in what is fast becoming one of the best proving grounds for rallying’s elite and will be keen to prove his potential as he makes his debut with the M-Sport team.

With more than 10 years of rallying experience under his belt, Cronin has contested a number of events and championships throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom as well as impressing on the world stage.

Debuting in his homeland in 2006, it did not take long for the Irishman to become a regular podium contender and he claimed his first British Rally Championship title in 2009. That success was followed by two further British Championships in 2010 and 2012.

In 2013, he ventured to the world stage and instantly impressed in the WRC 3 category – claiming victory at the event every driver wants to win, Neste Oil Rally Finland.

Returning to more familiar soil last year, Cronin was crowned Ireland’s Tarmac Rally Champion and is now relishing the opportunity to compete for further success.

With no previous experience of M-Sport’s acclaimed range of Ford Fiesta rally cars, Cronin took to the wheel for the Carrick-on-Suir Wm. Loughman Forestry Rally earlier this month and secured a fine third place on his debut with the car.

Gaining more experience of his new charge in the lead-up to the Border Counties Rally in mid-March, Cronin will also contest the Malcolm Wilson Rally so as to familiarise himself further with the Fiesta in anticipation of an exciting new chapter in his career.

With Ford having registered as a manufacturer for the national championship, Cronin will also have an opportunity to add to the Blue Oval’s impressive rallying pedigree.

Keith Cronin said:

“I’m really looking forward to the season ahead and to be working with M-Sport as we chase success on the stages of the British Rally Championship. It’s a fantastic series which has really come into its own recently and I can’t wait to be back competing in the championship.

“I’m really excited about the Fiesta R5. I’ve not had a lot of seat time, but we’ll get a couple of rallies under our belt before the start of the season and hopefully it won’t take us long to find our feet.

“M-Sport are known for developing winning cars and my initial feeling has been good. The Fiesta is a great car to drive. It handles really well and I hope we’ll be able to challenge for some top results this year.

“It’s also great to have DMACK on board. Last year, they proved that their products are capable of winning rallies, and championships. The level of development that they are undertaking is really impressive, and it’s great to be involved.”

Gerard Quinn, Senior Manager at Ford Performance, said:

“Ford is the most successful manufacturer in the British Rally Championship taking the title no less than nineteen times so it is appropriate that one of the championships most successful drivers, Keith Cronin, will return to the series in a Ford Fiesta R5 in 2017.

“He has won the title on three occasions, the last back in 2012, and is the current Irish Tarmac Champion so he has got the tenacity and professionalism required to win a challenging championship such as this.

“I am proud that a fellow Cork resident will be competing in one of the most prestigious championships in rallying today. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Ford in Ireland and Henry’s ancestral home is also in West Cork so it is fitting that a driver from the locality will be defending Ford honours in the British Rally Championship this year.”

Malcolm Wilson OBE, M-Sport Managing Director, said:

“The British Rally Championship has always been a cornerstone of the rallying community both nationally and internationally. Having won the title with Elfyn Evans last year, it was important for us to continue our support of the series and I think we have another exciting season ahead of us.

“Once again, Ford will be competing for the manufacturer title and M-Sport will also register in the teams’ championship. We know that the Fiesta provides a competitive package, and we’ll be looking to prove that once again by competing for some top results throughout the season.”

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Herberth Motorsport Porsche Wins Hankook 24H DUBAI

With its Porsche 991 GT3 R, German team Herberth Motorsport has won the Hankook 24H DUBAI. In the twelfth running of the event, drivers Daniel Allemann, Ralf Bohn, Robert Renauer, Alfred Renauer and Brendon Hartley racked up a total of 578 laps of the 5.399 kilometres long Dubai Autodrome. “It was an awesome experience! My first race with a GT car, my first race in a 911, and my first victory in a 24-hour race. A great car, great team-mates and a great performance,” Hartley commented. “We have had some good success in the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook last year, but this certainly is our biggest success so far,” said Robert Renauer, who drove the winning car across the finish line. For Porsche, it was the fifth victory in the Hankook 24H DUBAI after earlier wins in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014. This time, it was even a 1-2 for the German manufacturer as the Manthey Racing Porsche (#12, Otto Klohs/Sven Müller/Matteo Cairoli/Jochen Krumbach) finished second, two laps down on the winning entry. A three times’ Dubai race winner, the Black Falcon team saw its Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#3, Abdulaziz Al Faisal/Hubert Haupt/Yelmer Buurman/Michal Broniszewski/Maro Engel) finish third. Buurman posted the fastest lap time of the race.

Between them, the Manthey and Herberth Motorsport Porsche teams spent more than three quarters of the race in the lead of the field. Driving the Manthey car around 5.30 hrs, Otto Klohs became involved in a collision with another vehicle, after which some repair on the left front side of the Porsche was required. That gave the Herberth team a slight advantage to which it held on for the final eight hours of the race. In total, the Herberth Motorsport Porsche led the field for 380 laps. The two Black Falcon Mercedes-AMG GT3 both were in contention for a podium finish, running in the top four until well after sunrise, but then local hero Khaled Al Qubaisi, driving the #2 car, spun and collected the #963 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini (Mirko Bortolotti/Christian Engelhart/Rik Breukers/Rolf Ineichen/Mark Ineichen). Both cars retired after the accident. Earlier in the race, the Austrian team’s #964 car (Mirko Bortolotti/Christian Engelhart/Ezequiel Companc/Rolf Ineichen/Adrian Amstutz) had already retired following a collision while the HB Racing Lamborghini (#7, Herbert Handlos/Norbert Siedler/Sam Tordoff/Florian Spengler/Andrea Amici) was out early in the race following a burst tyre that damaged the fuel line and led to a fire. Polish ex-Formula 1 racer Robert Kubica didn’t make it to the finish either in his first-ever 24h race as the car on which he was entered, the Forch Racing powered by Olimp (#29, Robert Lukas/Marcin Jedlinski/Wolf Henzler/Santiago Creel/Robert Kubica) retired with technical issues.

Reigning 24H SERIES teams’ champions, Hofor Racing, won the A6-Am class on the first competitive outing with its new Mercedes-AMG GT3 (#1, Michael Kroll/Chantal Kroll/Roland Eggimann/Kenneth Heyer/Christiaan Frankenhout) after a largely trouble-free run. GP Extreme finished second in class with its Renault RS01 FGT3 (#27, Frédéric Fatien/Tiziano Carugati/Nicky Pastorelli/Stuart Hall), followed by Car Collection Motorsport’s Audi R8 LMS (#34, Dr. Johannes Kirchhoff/Gustav Edelhoff/Max Edelhoff/Elmar Grimm/Ingo Vogler).

Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo cars scored a 1-2 in the SPX class with victory for GDL Racing Middle East (#87, Franck Pelle/Rory Penttinen/Vic Rice/Pierre Ehret), followed by Leipert Motorsport (#10, Oliver Webb/Jake Rattenbury/Jean-Charles Perrin/Harald Schlotter), a fine performance by the team that started from the back of the grid due to a chassis change following an incident in practice. The Fach Auto Tech Porsche (#51, Thomas Fleischer/Peter Joos/Marcel Wagner/Heinz Bruder/Martin Ragginger) came third in class.

The Black Falcon Team TMD Friction won the Porsche 991 Cup class with its #68 car (Saud Al Faisal/Saeed Al Mouri/Anders Fjordbach/Alexander Toril), from Prosport Performance (#85, Charles Putman/Charles Espenlaub/Joe Foster/Andy Pilgrim) and race:pro motorsport (#63, Stanislav Minsky/Murad Sultanov/Klaus Bachler/Carlos Rivas/Mark Wallenwein).

The SP2 class saw the Bovi Motorsport Brokernet Silversting (#207, Wolfgang Kaufmann/Kalman Bodis/Jaap van Lagen/Heino Bo Fredriksen) come out on top from the Reiter Engineering KTM X-BPW (#247, Anthony Mantella/Dore Chaponick jr./Brett Sandberg/Benjamin Mazatis) and the VDS Racing Adventures MARC Focus V8 (#58, Raphaël van der Straten/Joël Vanloocke/Grégory Paisse/Pierre Dupont/José Close).

British sports car brand Ginetta scored a 1-2 in the SP3-GT4 class. Optimum Motorsport (#231, Stewart Linn/Ade Barwick/Dan O’Brien/William More) won by a comfortable margin from Century Motorsport (#229, Nathan Freke/Aiden Moffat/Jack Mitchell/Ben Green). The GDL Racing Team Asia Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR (#267, Jonathan Hui/Frank Yu/Antares Au/Kevin Tse) came third.

Making its competition debut in Dubai this weekend, the Audi RS3 LMS scored a class win in the TCR category with the Cadspeed Racing with Atech entry (#108, James Kaye/Julian Griffin/Erik Holstein/Finlay Hutchison). A long-time class leader, the Modena Motorsport SEAT Leon TCR (#216, Wayne Shen/John Shen/Francis Tjia/Mathias Beche) came second, with the Zest Racecar Engineering SEAT (#105, Philippe Ulivieri/Gosia Rdest/John Allen/JT Coupal/John Weisberg) third.

A3 touring class honours went to the Team Altran Peugeot with the victory for the #308 Peugeot 208 GTi (Guillaume Roman/Thierry Blaise/Kim Holmgaard/Michael Carlsen) and second for the #908 sister car (Yusif Bassil/Thierry Boyer/Gonzalo Martin de Andres/Loïc Dupont). The PB Racing Lotus Elise Cup (#133, Stefano D’Aste/Stefano Pasotti/Lorenzo Pegoraro/Immanuel Vinke/Michele Bartyan) came third.

German team Sorg Rennsport scored a 1-2 in the CUP1 class with its #151 BMW M235i Racing Cup Car (Stephan Epp/Christian Andreas Franz/Michael Hollerweger/Heiko Eichenberg/Oskar Sandberg) in first and the #152 sister car (Ahmed Al Melaihi/Jesus Diez/José Manuel de los Milagros/George Richardson/Shawn Peh) in second, followed by the Bonk Motorsport entry (#146, Hermann Bock/Rainer Partl/Max Partl).

Danish Team Eva Solo/K-Rejser won the A2 class with its Peugeot RCZ (#171, Jacob Kristensen/Jan Engelbrecht/Thomas Sørensen/Jens Mølgaard/Henrik Sørensen) from the Team Cooksport Renault Clio Cup IV (#172, Alex Sedgwick/Shayne Deegan/Oliver Cook/Jonathan Maybin/Josh Cook) and the Team Sally Racing 1 Renault Clio Cup III (#52, Martin Sally Pedersen/Peter Obel/Steffan Jusjong/Sune Marcussen/Mads Christensen).

24H SERIES powered by Hankook action continues with the Hankook 12H MUGELLO (17-18 March) while competitors in the 24H TCE SERIES powered by Hankook will get their season underway with the Hankook 24H SILVERSTONE (31 March-2 April). Following the great success of the Hankook 3x3H DUBAI prototype races, the inaugural 24H PROTO SERIES powered by Hankook season starts with the Hankook 12H MAGNY-COURS (21-22 April). Further information can be found at www.24hseries.com.

CLASS PODIUMS

A6-PRO (mainly GT3 cars)

1st – #911 Herberth Motorsport – Porsche 911 GT3 R

Allemann, Bohn, Renauer, Hartley

2nd – #12 Manthey Racing – Porsche 911 GT3 R

Klohs, Muller, Cairoli, Krumbach

3rd – #3 Black Falcon – Mercedes AMG GT3

Al Faisal, Haupt, Buurman, Broniszewski, Engel

A6-Am (mainly GT3 cars)

1st – #1 Hofor Racing – Mercedes AMG GT3

Kroll, Kroll, Eggimann, Heyer, Frankenhout

2nd – #27 GP Extreme – Renault RS01 FGT3

Fatien, Carugati, Pastorelli, Hall

3rd – #34 Car Collection Motorsport – Audi R8 LMS

Dr. Kirchhoff, Edelhoff, Edelhoff, Grimm, Vogler

SPX – Special Cars (mainly GT cars and Silhouette cars)

1st – #87 GDL Racing Middle East – Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo

Pelle, Penttinen, Rice, Ehret

2nd – #10 Leipert Motorsport – Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo

Webb, Rattenbury, Perrin, Schlotter

3rd – #51 FACH AUTO TECH – Porsche 911 Cup MR

Fleischer, Joos, Wagner, Bruder, Ragginger

991 – Porsche 991 Cup Cars (models 2014, 2015)

1st – #68 Black Falcon Team TMD Friction – Porsche 991 Cup

Al Faisal, Al Mouri, Fjordbach, Toril

2nd – #85 PROsport Performance – Porsche 991 Cup

Putman, Espenlaub, Foster, Pilgrm

3rd – #63 race:pro motorsport – Porsche 991 Cup

Minsky, Sultanov, Bachler, Rivas, Wallenwein

SP2 – Special Cars (mainly GT cars and Silhouette cars)

1st – #207 Bovi Motorsport – Brokemet Silver Sting

Kaufmann, Bodis, van Lagen, Bo Frederiksen

2nd – #247 Reiter Engineering – KTM X-Bow (SP2)

Mantella, Chaponick Jr, Sandberg, Mazatis

3rd – #58 VDS Racing Adventures – MARC Focus V8

vander Straten, Vanloocke, Paisse, Dupont, Close

SP3 – Special Cars (mainly GT4 cars)

1st – #231 Optimum Motorsport – Ginetta G55 GT4

Linn, Barwick, O’Brien, Moore

2nd – #229 Century Motorsport – Ginetta G55 GT4

Freke, Moffat, Mitchell, Green

3rd – #267 GDL Racing Team Asia – Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR

Hui, Yu, Au, Tse

TCR – TCR cars Petrol Touring Cars 2000cc Supercharged

1st – #108 Cadspeed Racing with A tech – Audi RS3 LMS TCR

Kaye, Griffin, Holstein, Hutchison

2nd – #216 Modena Motorsports – Seat Leon TCR V2 SEQ

Shen, Shen, Tjia, Beche

3rd – #105 Zest Racecar Engineering – Seat Leon TCR V2 DSG

Ulivieri, Rdest, Allen, Coupal, Weisberg

A3 – Touring Cars 2000cc up to 3500cc & Supercharged 1650cc up to 2000cc

1st – #308 Team Altran Peugeot – Peugeot 208 GTi

Roman, Blaise, Holmgaard, Carlsen

2nd – #908 Team Altran Peugeot – Peugeot 208 GTi

Bassil, Boyer, de Andres, Dupont

3rd – #133 PB Racing – Lotus Elise Cup PB-R

D’Aste, Pasotti, Pegoraro, Vinke, Bartyan

CUP1 – BMW M235i Racing Cup 3000cc Twin Turbo

1st – #151 Sorg Rennsport – BMW M235i Racing Cup

Epp, Andreas Franz, Hollerweger, Eichenberg, Sandberg

2nd – #152 Sorg Rennsport – BMW M235i Racing Cup

Al Melaihi, Diez, de los Milagros, Richards, Peh

3rd – #146 Bonk Motorsport – BMW M235i Racing Cup

Bock, Partl, Partl

A2 – Petrol Touring Cars up to 2000cc & Supercharged up to 1650cc

1st – #171 Team Eva Solo/K-Rejser – Peugeot RCZ

Kristensen, Engelbrecht, Sorensen, Molgaard, Sorensen

2nd – #172 Team Cooksport – Renault Clio Cup IV

Sedgwick, Deegan, Cook, Maybin, Cook

3rd – #52 Team Sally Racing 1 – Renault Clio Cup III

Sally Pedersen, Obel, Jusjong, Marcussen, Christensen

(c) photos courtesy of 24H Series

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

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