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News From the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship - Circuit of The Americas 2014
FIA WEC action hits Texas
Corvette’s all American stars
Milner and taylor brothers taking on world’s best
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The Young Americans
TAKING ON THE WORLD’S BEST
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s the world’s top sports car endurance teams arrive at the Circuit of The Americas for their only North American stop, they will find new, yet familiar competitors waiting. The factory backed Corvette Racing team is a fixture at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning the top GT class seven times, but the team traditionally focuses on the North America championships and leaves the global FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) competition to the Ferrari, Porsche and Aston Martin factory teams. That approach changes here as Corvette Racing does the double, racing in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race Saturday morning then rolling out a fresh Corvette C7.R artillery piece with a trio of young American drivers for the evening’s WEC event. “The team is excited. It certainly adds another element,” said Tommy Milner, a Corvette Racing factory driver and 2011 GTE-Pro class co-champion at Le Mans and the 2012 American Le Mans Series GT co-champion. Milner, age 28, will be joined in the WEC fray by Corvette prototype aces Ricky and Jordan Taylor, ages 25 and 23 respectively, as the only Americans entered in either of the two top WEC Pro classes. “It is a good opportunity and we are all motivated,” said Milner, who will drive factory Corvette Racing C7.Rs in both races. “It will be a big challenge, especially for Ricky
and Jordan to jump from their DP prototype car in the morning race into our Corvette GT car for the WEC race the same day.” While the competition in WEC is fierce, it would be a mistake to expect the young Americans to go for a joy ride, with a ‘we’re just happy to be here’ attitude. “We aren’t worried about WEC points or anything, so we can take some chances on strategies and we fully intend to go for the win, if we can,” said Milner. “We are not here just to run around.” Also jumping into the WEC fray here are Americans Scott Sharp and Ed Brown, who will be joined by Scotland’s Ryan Dalziel aboard the Extreme Speed Motorsport P2 class entry and Texan Tracy Krohn will team with Nic Jonsson and Ben (“The Stig”) Collins, codriving Krohn’s Ferrari F458 Italia in the GTE-Am class. One challenge that awaits all of the WEC drivers is darkness. The six hour race is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. with sunset due at 7:28 pm, meaning roughly half the race will be run after dark. “Racing into the darkness at COTA will be a new experience,” said Milner. “This will be a tough place to race at night. There are very few landmarks here at night. Most tracks, or circuits like Le Mans, have landmarks like trees or structures. I expect there will be some track lighting at certain sections of the track, but COTA is a modern F1 track, so it is a sea of asphalt.”
TUDOR Championship runs
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hile Milner and co-driver Oliver Gavin seek their first victory of the 2014 TUDOR Championship aboard the #4 Corvette in the two hour 45 minute TUDOR Championship race, teammates Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen in the #3 Corvette look to take a big step toward the 2014 GTLM class driver championship. The Garcia/Magnussen combo looked unstoppable earlier in the season, reeling off four consecutive victories with their new Corvette C7.R. However success in modern motorsports competition often carries consequences called “Adjustment of Performance.” The Corvette’s reward was 55 pounds of extra baggage. Neither Corvette has made the podium since adding the poundage three races ago but will enter this weekend 33 pounds lighter thanks to new AoP numbers from IMSA. The IMSA Manufacturers Championship in the GTLM class is now wide open with Porsche holding a two point lead over Corvette, with Dodge SRT Viper just one point
back and BMW a single point further back. The new Porsche North America factory team opened the season with big victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The Dodge Viper pairs of Marc Goossens/Dominic Farnbacher and Jonathan Bomarito/Kuno Wittmer have combined for eight podiums in the first nine races. Wittmer and “JBom” have closed the gap to Garcia in the driver championship to just six points with two races remaining. BMW has been knocking on victory’s door all season long with all four factory BMW Team RLL drivers currently tied with Goossens and Farnbacher for third in the championship. A win could vault BMW to the top. Meanwhile, the hottest team in the TUDOR Championship has been the proud red Ferrari F458 Italia of the Houston based team led by Giuseppe Risi. Drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Pierre Kaffer arrive fresh from back to wins at Road America and Virginia International Raceway and look to make it a Texas hat trick.
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udi, Toyota and Porsche are developing exciting new technologies for the future of transportation, but their latest efforts are not simply meant to be on display, they are on the track here at Circuit of The Americas. Featuring technologies such as electric wheel motors, flywheel hybrids, KERS, ERS and ultra-capacitors, the latest Hybrid prototypes are entered here at the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Lone Star Grand Prix. WEC rules challenge manufacturers to dramatically reduce energy use by 30 percent while matching or exceeding race speeds from traditionally powered racing prototypes and encourage a range of technologies. Developing technology in motorsports is not without risk, but each of the three manufacturers, soon to be joined by Nissan, has boldly chosen a path linked to promising technologies for future consumer vehicles. Having enjoyed great success on track and in extending the market for its diesel offerings, Audi has chosen a four liter V6 turbo-diesel engine paired with electric wheel motors mounted on the front axles. For Toyota, the TS040 HYBRID combines 480HP of four-wheel-drive hybrid boost in addition to the 520HP 3.7 liter petrol engine, a maximum power of 1000HP. Toyota claims it represents the most advanced hybrid technology in racing. Toyota explains that under deceleration, the motor-generators apply braking force in combination with traditional mechanical brakes to harvest energy, which is transferred via inverter (AISIN AW at the front, DENSO at the rear) to the NISSHINBO super-capacitor. During acceleration, the motor/generator reverses its function, acting as a motor to deliver a 480HP power boost. Not to be outdone, Porsche has chosen a “game changing� radical gasoline-powered V4 engine for its Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 car with a single turbocharger sitting between the banks of the turbocharged 16-valve 2.0-liter direct-injection 4-cylinder engine designed specifically to package itself with a hybrid system. The turbo V4 engine is responsible for driving the rear wheels only, while an electric system drives the front. Two energy recuperation systems, KERS and ERS, are installed on the car. The KERS system harvests kinetic energy from the brakes while the ERS harvests energy from the turbochargers. The batteries on board are lithium-ion units supplied by U.S.-based A123 Systems.
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TOYOTA
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TOYOTA
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Porsche’s drivers include former F1 driver Mark Webber, former Lola/Rebellion LMP1 driver Neel Jani, and former Le Mans winners Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. An official fuel flow meter monitors fuel usage and penalties are assessed if a three lap average consumption exceeds defined limits. The capacity of the electric power, battery size and efficiency of the storage and integration of the two systems are critical in the development of future vehicles. Packaging all of the hardware, electronics and engine into an aerodynamic car and sustaining performance for 24 hours is a massive challenge. Drivers must also adapt to the technologies and develop an ability to achieve optimum lap times with varying levels of electrical power and energy use in traffic and changing conditions. The WEC LMP1 teams are free to choose key technical partners, and the Audi, Porsche and Toyota hybrids have all chosen Michelin, winner of the last 17 consecutive Le Mans 24 Hour races. Michelin engineers work from the outset of design in continuing collaboration with each manufacturer to optimize race performance and efficiency while developing Michelin’s own innovative technologies and insights for future vehicles. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans this past June, all three led the race at various stages with the winning Audi competing more than 3,200 miles with an average speed of 133.549 miles per hour for the race. The Audi recorded a fastest race lap of 150.504 mph. Equally impressive was that the winning Audi R18 e-tron quattro diesel hybrid used 22 percent less fuel than its 2013 winner. Audi, now a 13 time overall race winner at Le Mans, has reduced the fuel use of the winning car by 38 percent since 2006. The winning car used just 12 sets of MICHELIN® tires in the race and was able to run four consecutive stints on the same set of tires. After pointing out that “our new TS040 HYBRID is the most technologically-advanced TOYOTA ever to compete on the track,” Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Team President sums it up, “We consider it very important that our racing program contributes to TOYOTA’s wider activities and I am very proud that data, knowledge and technology pass regularly from our racing program to our R&D colleagues, who are working to make great road cars of the future.” That is indeed the approach of the manufacturers and technology developers. And for fans here at COTA, the future is on the track today.
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FAST FACT Watch us now on Fox All the action of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship races from Circuit of The Americas can be seen flag to flag on the FOX Sports 2 network. September 20 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm (EDT) on FOX Sports 2 (Live) FIA WEC 6:00 p.m. – Midnight (EDT) on FOX Sports 2 (Live) September 21 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Check local guides - 2 hour highlights on FOX
Texas 2-step? Dempsey Racing celebrated its first podium of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship as team co-owner Patrick Dempsey and co-driver Andrew Davis took their Porsche to a well-earned third place finish in the big GT Daytona (GTD) class at Virginia International Raceway. Can they take another step here in Texas?
2014 Schedule January 25-26
Rolex 24 at Daytona
March 15
Twelve Hours of Sebring
April 12
Long Beach (P and GTLM only)
May 4
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
May 31
Raceway At Belle Isle Park (P, PC & GTD only)
June 7
Kansas Speedway (PC only)
June 29
Six Hours of The Glen
July 13
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
July 25
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
August 10
Road America
August 24
VIR (GTLM/GTD race; PC race)
September 20
Circuit of The Americas
October 4
Petit Le Mans
Double ouch!
Corvette’s Jan Magnussen and Porsche’s Richard Lietz are expected to return to competition at COTA after both missed the VIR race with injuries. Lietz suffered a fractured left arm and Maggs had concussion like symptoms after both spun on fluid on the circuit during practice at VIR. Lietz spun into the tire wall and Maggs spun into Lietz. Missing the race cost Magnussen his share of the GTLM Driver Championship lead.
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“It’s what it’s all about when you have these moments. I am just grateful to have this experience.”
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PATRICK DEMPSEY TALKING ABOUT HIS FIRST TUDOR United SportsCar Championship PODIUM AT VIR
GTD High 5 With just two races, including COTA, left on the 2014 TUDOR Championship schedule, there are five drivers tied for the GTD class driver championship lead! In alphabetical order, Townsend Bell, Dane Cameron, Leh Keen, Cooper MacNeil and Bill Sweedler are all at 244 points. Drivers in the quicker Prototype, PC and GTLM class are forewarned not to expect many breaks in traffic as the fearsome fivesome fight for their GTD class positions.
The Beaux Sheaux
The Circuit of The Americas marks the return of Beaux Barfield as IMSA race director. Barfield spent four years in that role with IMSA before a three-year odyssey lap in IndyCar. Barfield will report to veteran Simon Hodgson, the new IMSA Managing Director, Racing Operations. Racing officials are among the most important and least appreciated people in racing since drivers, engineers, team principals, sponsors and fans always appreciate being called for infractions.
Thursday, September 18, 2014 2:45 pm - 4:15 pm
Practice #1 - FIA WEC
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Practice #1 - TUDOR (All Classes)
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Practice #2 - FIA WEC
Friday, September 19, 2014 8:00 am - 8:45 am
Race #1 - GT3 Cup
9:00 am -10:00 am
Practice #2 - TUDOR (All Classes)
10:20 am - 11:20 am
Practice #3 - FIA WEC
12:20 pm - 2:50 pm
Race - CTSC
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm
Practice #3 - TUDOR (All Classes)
4:30 pm - 4:45 pm
Qualifying - TUDOR (GTD)
4:50 pm - 5:05 pm
Qualifying - TUDOR (GTLM)
5:15 pm - 5:30 pm
Qualifying - TUDOR (PC)
5:35 pm - 5:50 pm
Qualifying - TUDOR (P)
6:00 pm - 6:25 pm
Qualifying - FIA WEC (LMGTE-PRO/AM)
6:35 pm - 7:00 pm
Qualifying - FIA WEC (LMP1/LMP2)
7:25 pm - 8:10 pm
Race #2 - GT3 Cup
Saturday, September 20, 2014 8:40 am - 9:00 am
Warm Up - TUDOR (All Classes)
9:30 am - 10:15 am
TUDOR and FIA WEC Autograph Session
11:35 am - 2:20 pm
Race - Lone Star Le Mans for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship
5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Race - FIA WEC - 6 Hours
AUDI
Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer Audi Sport • Audi R18 e-tron quattro LM P1 - FIA WEC
Michelin
Smartphone scan code here Relive the victory by Audi Sport at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans - scan the QR code above.
PORSCHE
Webber/Bernhard/Hartley Porsche Team • Porsche 919 Hybrid LM P1 - FIA WEC
ASTON MARTIN
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Michelin
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Turner/Mucke Aston Martin Racing • Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE-PRO - FIA WEC Michelin
FERRARI
Fisichella/Kaffer Risi Competizione • Ferrari F458 Italia GT Le Mans - TUDOR
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Michelin
TOYOTA
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Davidson/Buemi/Lapierre Toyota Hybrid Racing • Toyota TS040 Hybrid LM P1 - FIA WEC Michelin
CORVETTE
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Magnussen/Garcia Corvette Racing • Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GT Le Mans - TUDOR Michelin
DODGE VIPER
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Wittmer/Bomarito SRT Motorsports • Dodge Viper SRT GTS-R GT Le Mans - TUDOR Michelin
REBELLION
FAN FAVORITES
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Prost/Heidfeld/Beche Rebellion Racing • Rebellion R-One Toyota LM P1 - FIA WEC Michelin
BMW
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Müller/Edwards BMW Team RLL • BMW Z4 GTE GT Le Mans - TUDOR Michelin
PORSCHE
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Long/Christensen Porsche North America • Porsche 911 RSR GT Le Mans - TUDOR Michelin
Michelin North America, Inc • One Parkway South, • Greenville, SC 29615 • TEL: 1-800-458-5000 • www.michelin.com • Printed in USA, September 17, 2014 • Volume 8, Issue 10 No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior permission of the publisher. • Copyright © 2014 Michelin North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed on recycled paper • 10% Total Recovered Fiber • All Post-Consumed Fiber