The Alley : March 2014 Sebring

News From the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship - Sebring 2014

michelinalley.com

Finally racing all together

PRUETT & LUHR NOW MEET ON TRACK

Daytona to Sebring journey

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hen the checkered flag fell on the Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 26, Team SRT – that stands for Street and Racing Technology – had much to celebrate, much to lament.

The last time the Viper team was at Daytona, in 2000, it was branded Dodge, instead of SRT. And unexpectedly, the car won overall, beating all the exotic, faster Prototype entries that either broke or crashed, this being quite early in the Prototype era.

The American Le Mans Series, which is where the SRT Vipers have been racing, merged with the GRAND-AM Series, and beginning at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the combined field raced under the auspices of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

With a combined schedule, too, this meant that the Viper would be racing again at Daytona, followed up by the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Daytona, then, was a learning

experience for the two-car SRT Motorsports Viper GTS-R team.

And with a solid third-place finish for one car, the race had to be judged a success. But given the fact that both Vipers led for much of the 24 hours, it simply primed the pump for Sebring.

At Daytona, the number 91 Viper was driven to the podium finish by Dominik Farnbacher, Marc Goossens and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

The team car, number 93, finished sixth in class with drivers Rob Bell, Jonathan Bomarito and Kuno Wittmer, each one leading at least a lap in the race.

But just short of halfway, that car was forced into the wall coming out of the pits and required a lengthy run of pitside repairs to fix the front end.

Even the number 91 wasn’t immune from problems – a power steering hose ruptured, requiring a 15-minute repair that likely cost the car a win, dropping it 12 laps behind the leader. At the end, they had made up all but four laps.

Bottom line, though: Team SRT had run well, and both cars survived the race relatively intact. On to Sebring, right?

Well, not exactly. Even with two intact, operable cars, much work was left to do before returning to Florida for the grueling 12-hour race on Sebring’s ancient, bumpy pavement – a perfect warm-up and shake-down for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

So what happened in the 48 days between Daytona and Sebring?

“Basically,” said Russ Ruedisueli, head of SRT and Motorsports Engineering, “we completely rebuilt both cars, from the ground up.”

For the number 91, that rebuild was delayed a bit – the car was transported, in its exact race-finishing condition, grit and grime intact – to the Chicago Auto Show, where it was displayed next to its street-going counterpart, one sure way to demonstrate the “technology transfer” that keeps manufacturers deep into sports-car racing.

Door to Door From Daytona to Sebring with SRT Viper

Like the new Chevrolet Corvette C7.R, the Viper’s arch rival, the racing versions are considered test beds for new technology, and a way to gauge reliability under the most trying conditions.

Meanwhile number 93 was shipped back to Sebring for a two-day test, using part of the Daytona package, including the same engine.

A complete rebuild is necessary for two reasons – Daytona is the longest race on the SRT Viper’s schedule, and Sebring is the most demanding.

“Sebring is the toughest track on a car,” said Bill Riley, vice-president and chief engineer of Riley Technologies, SRT’s partner in building and racing the Viper. Per hour, it’s the toughest place on a car without a doubt. As far as sports car racecar tracks – this is the toughest.

“Sebring will prove your car. Le Mans will prove your engine. Daytona is between the two.”

The cars are completely dismantled, Ruedisueli said. After a 24-hour race,

the engine is replaced by one that is either new or rebuilt – on shorter races, an engine can run three events between replacement.

“We changed radiators, hoses, all electronics – we look at the data we gather during the race to see if there were any issues, and we maintain a checklist at the track of items we need to improve.”

The transmission and differential are rebuilt, and the carbon bodies needed repainting.

“There is so much sand at Daytona, that it just sandblasts the paint during the race,” Ruedisueli said.

Rules-wise, IMSA, the sanctioning body, tries to maintain a “balance of performance,” in the Viper’s GT-Le Mans class, with the Corvette C7.R, Porsche 911, BMW Z4, Ferrari 458 and Aston Martin Vantage.

After Daytona, IMSA put a smaller air restrictor on the Viper’s V-10 engine, added some mandatory weight to the car, and reduced the size of its fuel cell.

Those changes had to be incorporated into the rebuilds for Sebring.

The suspension is also rebuilt or replaced, a critical factor for this race.

One of the few things the tight rules allow is different shock absorbers and springs, tailored to each track, and at Sebring, that’s important.

“We’ve raised the ride height, because the track is so darn bumpy,” said Ruedisueli.

“At Sebring, grip is everything.”

SRT, like every other GT-Le Mans competitor at Daytona, chose Michelin as the tire partner; in the only TUDOR Championship class that allows racers to choose whatever brand of tire they prefer.

The Twelve Hours of Sebring will have an enormous field of 66 cars – including the two GT-Le Mans Vipers. “We’ll be ready,” Ruedisueli said.

“If you think we have something to prove after Daytona, well, you’re right!”

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he decade plus split in North American sports car racing meant that two of the most successful sports car racers in North America rarely met on a race track in direct competition, until now. That all changes in 2014 as Scott Pruett and Lucas Luhr face-off in the Prototype class in the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Luhr was the all-time series leader in the American Le Mans Series with 50 race wins and six championships. Pruett, the poster boy of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series has 41 race wins including five Rolex 24 at Daytona race wins to his credit and is a five-time Series champion.

It is no surprise that the two drivers now tread separate paths in the TUDOR Championship. Pruett, now in his 11th year with Chip Ganassi Racing, is aboard a Daytona Prototype based Riley chassis, now powered by Ford EcoBoost.

After winning the 2012 and 2013 ALMS P1 championships, Luhr is now in a new Prototype chassis (P2 Oreca from a P1 HPD) and engine (Nissan from Honda), along with a switch from Michelin to the TUDOR Championship Prototype class tire provider.

A native Californian and Ford factory Trans-Am champion, Pruett and his wife, Judy, have authored four children’s books and currently live at the Pruett Vineyards winery in Auburn, California with their three children.

A former Porsche and Audi factory driver, the German, Luhr, now lives in Switzerland with his wife Claudia and their two children.

Luhr, 34, captured the European Karting Championship at age 14 and was signed as a Porsche Junior driver at 18. His success brought him to the ALMS where he claimed two GT class championships before moving to the Porsche RS Spyder team where he earned a P2 class title. He then joined Audi where he won the LMP1 class championship and has since taken the 2012 and 2013 ALMS titles with Muscle Milk Pickett Racing, co-driving with Klaus Graf.

Along the way, Luhr has racked up five class victories here at Sebring and two wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. His career scorecard also includes wins at Daytona (GT), the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, Spa 24 Hours and Petit Le Mans.

Each is part of a strong and experienced team.

Ganassi and Pickett are themselves both former drivers.

“We’re going through a renaissance now with sports car racing going back to what we saw in the mid to late 80s,” Pruett said.

A tale of two

“The governing body is working hard to try to find parity between the different types of cars and I think it adds another element for the fans – there is a lot to see, a lot of great cars and a lot of great drivers.”

“I’m looking forward to Sebring immensely but we know we have our hands full. Ganassi has never been there and I haven’t been there since the late 80s. We have a lot to learn but it is always exciting going back for me and it is a new track for our team.

“The biggest thing for me personally is we finally have one united ground of road racers. There is no more confusion for fans, sponsors or manufactuers - there is one united series and the future couldn’t be brighter.”

The Pickett Racing driver Luhr knows the level of competition has significantly improved.

“It will be very challenging,” said Luhr.

“Just winning a race in the TUDOR Championship will not be easy because the competition is so tough.

“I had great years in the ALMS and I can only hope to continue to do so in the TUDOR Championship as well. It was never easy to win a championship but it always was, and will always be my goal.

“As for winning races, I’m just looking forward to getting a first win in 2014 and then, many, many more, I hope!”

Pruett and Luhr are not alone. Rolex 24 at Daytona-winning Action Express Racing with Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Sebastien Bourdais, runners-up Wayne Taylor Racing with Jordan and Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli and Michael Shank Racing with John Pew, Oswaldo Negri and Justin Wilson are all powerful contenders.

Other top Prototype entries include: Extreme Speed Motorsports Honda, OAK Racing Nissan, Michael Shank Racing Ford, SpeedSource Mazda, Starworks Motorsports Honda, Spirit of Daytona Chevrolet and the distinctive DeltaWing.

Beyond competing together, the merger also means drivers from each side will now compete at events not on their prior schedules. For the GRAND-AM teams that means Sebring and the season ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

For the former American Le Mans Series teams it means new challenges at Daytona, Watkins Glen and Indianapolis.

o champions

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FAST FACT Are you ready to watch?

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring can be seen from flag to flag on multiple platforms including the FOX Network. Fox Sports 1 will screen the opening three hours of the race with the remainder streamed live on IMSA. com and through the FOX Sports Go mobile app. The IMSA.com stream will feature the FOX Sports broadcast team and be available globally.

Saturday, March 15 10am-1pm: FOX Sports 1 1-10:30 pm: IMSA.com

Highlights Sunday, March 16 8:30am-11:30am: FOX Sports 1

On your marque’ With Ford, Honda, Nissan, Mazda and Chevrolet battling it out in Prototypes and BMW, Chevrolet Corvette, Ferrari, Porsche, and SRT Viper in the GT Le Mans class, race fans have plenty of options to cheer for. The GT Daytona class also includes Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, SRT Viper and Porsche.

That makes 11 different manufacturers all in one race. Kind of makes the TUDOR Championship the envy of some other series and the antithesis of one make racing.

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

The 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

Cha-Ching!

Continuing its long support of increased efficiency, performance and the environment, Michelin recently announced a Michelin Total Performance prize of €1 million ($1.2 million) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for a car that wins the overall 2014 race, sets the fastest race lap, uses 15 percent less fuel than last year’s P1 average and uses nine sets of tires or less in the race. Audi won the 2011 race using just nine sets of MICHELIN® tires. Audi, Toyota and Porsche have all uncorked new hybrid Prototypes to meet the new energy efficient 2014 race regulations.

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“Sebring: bit rough around edges but cool place to race nonetheless, Come prepared, T1 will make you want your mummy”

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@ALEXBRUNDLE ON TWITTER TALKS ABOUT RUNNING AT SEBRING FOR THE FIRST TIME

Looking good Now in its fifth season, www.michelinalley.com unveils a major redesign here at Sebring to make it easier to follow the stories, photos, videos and tweets on your computer, tablet or mobile during the race and all season long. The Michelin Alley team is on site throughout the entire TUDOR Championship to keep fans up to date with the latest news.

Gator v. Roo The recent 12 Hours of Bathurst produced a great race at Australia’s Mount Panorama circuit but the race ended early for one team after it had an on-track encounter with a kangaroo. No ‘roos are expected here at Sebring International Raceway, but track historian Ken Breslauer reports that an alligator appeared at the gate two years ago. We suspect that it didn’t have a ticket.

Patrick is packing After a tantalizing fourth place GTEAm class finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013, Patrick Dempsey and codriver Joe Foster have a prized invitation in hand and are deep into the details for their return to Le Mans this June in a new 991 based Porsche 911 GT3 RSR entered by Dempsey Racing-Proton.

Here at Sebring, Dempsey and Foster will be aboard the #27 Porsche GTD class entry with Andrew Davis.

Thursday, March 13, 2014 8:00 am - 8:30 am

Qualifying - Lamborghini

8:45 am - 9:05 am

Qualifying - GT3 Cup

9:20 am - 9:40 am

Qualifying - IMSA Lites

9:55 am -10:55 am

Practice - TUDOR (All Classes)

11:10 am - 11:55 am

Race #1 - MX-5

12:55 pm - 1:10 pm

Qualifying - CTSC ST

1:20 pm - 1:35 pm

Qualifying - CTSC GS

1:50 pm - 2:40 pm

Race #1 - Lamborghini

3:05 pm - 3:50 pm

Race #1 - GT3 Cup

4:05 pm - 5:05 pm

Practice - TUDOR (All Classes)

5:30 pm - 6:00 pm

Race #1 - IMSA Lites

6:15 pm - 7:00 pm

Races - HSR

8:00 pm - 9:30 pm

Night Practice - TUDOR (All Classes)

Friday, March 14, 2014 7:45 am - 8:30 am

Race #2 - MX-5

8:55 am - 9:40 am

Race #2 - GT3 Cup

9:55 am - 10:55 am

Practice #4 - TUDOR (All Classes)

11:15 am - 12:00 pm

TUDOR Autograph Session

11:15 am - 12:00 pm

Race #2 - IMSA Lites

1:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Race - CTSC

4:10 pm - 4:25 pm

Qualifying - TUDOR (GTD)

4:30 pm - 4:45 pm

Qualifying - TUDOR (GTLM)

4:55 pm - 5:10 pm

Qualifying - TUDOR (PC)

5:15 pm - 5:30 pm

Qualifying - TUDOR (P)

5:45 pm - 6:35 pm

Race #2 - Lamborghini

6:45 pm - 7:30 pm

Races - HSR

Saturday, March 15, 2014 8:00 am - 8:25 am

Warm Up - TUDOR (All Classes)

10:15 am - 10:15 pm

Race - 62nd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (Round 2) - 12 Hours

CORVETTE

Gavin/Milner/Liddell Corvette Racing • Chevrolet Corvette C7.R GT Le Mans Michelin

Smartphone scan code here Take a look back at the 2013 12 Hours of Sebring when the No.4 Corvette took victory

ORECA - NISSAN

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Graf/Luhr/Mardenborough Muscle Milk Pickett Racing • Oreca - Nissan Prototype Continental

HPD - HONDA

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Brown/van Overbeek/Pagenaud Extreme Speed Motorsports • HPD ARX-03b Prototype Continental

CORVETTE DP

Bourdais/Fittipaldi/Barbosa Action Express Racing • Corvette DP Prototype

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Continental

CORVETTE DP

J.Taylor/R.Taylor/Angelelli Wayne Taylor Racing • Corvette DP Prototype

BMW

Müller/Edwards/Werner BMW Team RLL • BMW Z4 GTE GT Le Mans

FERRARI

Malucelli/Fisichella/TBA Risi Competizione • Ferrari F458 Italia GT Le Mans

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Continental

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Michelin

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Michelin

SRT - VIPER

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FAN FAVORITES

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Farnbacher/Goossens/Hunter-Reay SRT Motorsports • SRT Viper GTS-R GT Le Mans Michelin

PORSCHE

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Long/Christensen/Bergmeister

Porsche North America • Porsche 911 RSR GT Le Mans Michelin

PORSCHE

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Dempsey/Davis/Foster Dempsey Racing • Porsche 911 GT America GT Daytona Continental

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