FIA WEC: New entry list for COTA

The latest provisional entry list for the upcoming Lone Star Le Mans at COTA is down to 30 cars after the withdrawal of Ginetta in LMP1 and the addition of Dragonspeed in LMP2. 

Ginetta pulled out both of their G60-LT-P1 cars, which are back on their wa the factory after the Bahrain round in December.  The team released a short statement on their website this morning.  

The WEC calendar is challenging, especially for any team with a new car in it’s first season and we have not had the chassis' back at the factory since before Silverstone in August.  

The cancellation of the earlier WEC race in Brazil and the new race at COTA made it impossible to do the planned work at our facility in Virginia, so the cars were shipped post race back to Ginetta UK, the cars hopefully arrive at the factory today.

This puts the LMP1 class down to just 3 cars for the Lone Star Le Mans race with both Toyota's and a single Rebellion. Although still on the provisional entry list for Sebring, it's not clear whether the Ginetta's will make the trip across the pond for the 1000 mile race in March. 

Dragonspeed is a new addition to the LMP2 class. The American team which has raced in LMP1 in the past Super season has shifted its focus back to the LMP2 class this year, winning the Daytona 24 hours last month in IMSA and planning an assault for the title in the European Le Mans Series.  Ben Hanley (who initially would race with Ginetta in LMP1) will share the car with Henrik Hedman and Colin Braun.  

It's unclear yet if this is a one-off appearance in the WEC, or Dragonspeed will run a double program in Sebring; combining IMSA and WEC.

© Richard Prince for Chevy Racing

In GTE, the brand new Corvette C8.R will make its debut in the World Endurance Championship, facing the competition of Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin.  Jan Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller make an unexpected return to Corvette racing after their contracts with the manufacturer ended at the end of last year.

Magnussen raced with Corvette for 16 years, and has 4 Le Mans wins under his belt.  Rockenfeller was part of the endurance squad but would have been unable to race at Le Mans this year due to a date clash with DTM.  Jan Magnussen should be at the start of the French endurance race this season with Danish team High Class Racing in the LMP2 category.

In GTE Am, so far Thomas Preining is the only confirmed driver so far on the #88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR.

The updated entry list can be found HERE.


Kristof Vermeulen. 

Visionaries who changed Motorsport and the Auto Industry at the Amelia Concours

A central theme of the Silver Anniversary Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is visionary leadership through innovation. It is also confirmation that The Amelia is as much - perhaps more - about people than cars.

Not only this year's honoree; Roger "The Captain" Penske will be celebrated at the Concours, but other visionaries who changed motorsport and the auto industry will be recognized. 

Mercedes Rennabteilung

1939 Mercedes-Benz W154/39. Photo courtesy of Revs Institute.

The Rennabteilung (racing department) that was created in 1936 to design and build the mighty Silver Arrows of Mercedes-Benz created the template for professional racing operations and swept all before them. Mercedes-Benz’s Silver Arrows changed the grammar of racing car design, construction and management. Mercedes-Benz created the Rennabteilung after a troubled 1936 season with the W25.

Led by engineer Rudolph Uhlenhaut the Rennabteilung quickly restored Mercedes competition successes and dominated the 1937, 1938 and 1939 Grand Prix seasons with the variants of three new cars. In the fifties a new generation of Silver Arrows won the 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 1954 and 1955 Formula 1 World Championships and the 1955 World Sports Car Championship.

Mercedes-Benz produced grand prix car designs and an engineering orthodoxy -- engine in front, gearbox in back, coil/wishbone front suspension and de Dion rear suspension -- that endured until the emergence of the revolutionary rear-engined F1 cars of 1958. Mercedes-Benz team management shaped a new code of race car development and team organization that still echoes in the 21st Century.

Das beste oder nichts -- the commandment of Gottlieb Daimler to have the best or nothing -- still resonates within Mercedes-Benz and their World Championship-winning racing organization. To honor their inestimable contribution to motorsport the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance chose the mighty Silver Arrows of Mercedes-Benz as a signature class for the Silver Anniversary celebration

Harley Earl

Harley Earl and the 1951 General Motors La Sabre. Photo courtesy of General Motors

The Cars of Harley Earl class features the great stylist’s most famous dream cars and successful productions cars. Winnowing that group down was no simple task. 

Eight decades ago General Motors’ Art & Colour Section was the auto industry’s first attempt to invest the business of creating and selling automobiles with aesthetics as a marketable commodity. GM chief Alfred Sloan put Harley Earl in charge and Earl changed the car business forever. Every American auto company followed his lead employing designers who trained under or worked for Earl.

Earl created an industry within the biggest industry in the world, set the design and esthetic parameters for the American car industry and led General Motors from a 12 per cent market share in the 1920s to a 55-plus per cent market penetration during the decade when he retired. For nearly four decades Harley Earl was the arbiter of style for the entire American auto industry.

In the decade before he reached GM’s mandatory retirement age (65) he oversaw the creation and the rise of America’s storied, celebrated and sometimes unloved “tailfin era.” No matter. “Misterl” as his disciples called him, left his mark on the American industry and on the GM Technical Center at Warren, MI, the definitive monument to Earl’s towering contributions to GM and the automobile industry.

Porsche Firsts

1967 Porsche 910/6. Photo courtesy of Revs Institute.

In its Silver Anniversary year, the Amelia Concours also celebrates and honors the 50th anniversary of Porsche’s first -- of 19 -- victories in the world’s most important and prestigious sports car race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

By 1969 Porsche chief Ferdinand Piech must have grown weary of hearing his family’s famous Stuttgart marque constantly called “giant killer” or “underdog.” When new international rules were written for the 1969 World Championship he saw a loophole and organized a radical program creating the Porsche 917 that delivered Porsche’s first 24 Hours of Le Mans victory.

The 917 won Le Mans again in 1971 with yet another World Championship of Makes as a bonus. The international rules for endurance sports car racing were rewritten for 1972. Porsche turned their attention to North America’s unlimited Can-Am Championship, turbocharged the 917 and formed an alliance with Team Penske. That coalition swept through the mega-dollar/mega-horsepower Can-Am series winning back-to-back titles in 1972 and ‘73. With Penske’s organization and procedures it was all very reminiscent of the dominance of the Rennabteilung in Grand Prix racing decades earlier.

“In each instance a culture has been created within these organizations that accept only the very best. The result is people who see themselves as members of an elite corps and work consistently to that high standard,” said Bill Warner, founder and chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. “It works because of uncompromising principles and the insistence on the relentless pursuit of excellence. It creates legends and legendary cars. We’ve all benefitted from the efforts of these visionaries.”

The Amelia Island Conours honours "The Captain", Roger Penske at its silver anniversary

For its 25th edition during the first weekend of March, the Amelia Concours d'élégance, famed racer, team owner and international businessman Roger Penske will be the honoree. 

Roger Penske’s name is synonymous with motorsport excellence and success. Yet few appreciate his on-track accomplishments as a driver in the years (1958-64) before the creation of Team Penske. It began at an SCCA drivers’ school at Marlboro Raceway (MD) and just four years later he won the professional USAC Road Racing Championship title.

Roger Penske started 130 races in seven seasons and won 51 of them. He also finished in the top five in another 60 races. That record stands with even the greatest drivers. He won his first national championship -- SCCA D Modified -- in 1961 racing a Maserati T61 and a Cooper Monaco. Sports Illustrated named him “Driver of the Year.” It was merely prefaced. In 1962 he changed American road racing and left his mark on motorsport forever.

Photo courtesy of David Friedman.

In 1962 Penske created the Zerex Special sports racer from the remains of a Formula 1 Cooper that had crashed in the first US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. When the Zerex Special showed up at Riverside, CA that October for the LA Times Grand Prix everyone cried “foul.” But the car was legal even though the driver sat in the center, not in the usual position for a two-seat sports car. There was a small -- but legal -- second seat under an access panel. That meant Penske’s Zerex Special met the letter of the regulations precisely.

Penske not only won that race, he also delivered broad and positive publicity to his sponsor Du Pont. And when he put the names Du Pont and ZEREX on his unique red center-seat sports car it broke through the clutter at a time when the major American sports car racing sanctioning body outlawed commercial sponsorship. Penske’s Zerex Special was the biggest news in motorsport that October weekend, even displacing the competition debut of a new American sports car named “Cobra” to the inside pages. A week later Roger and his Zerex Special won at Laguna Seca and he was crowned the 1962 USAC Road Racing Champion. 

Photo courtesy of Bill Warner.

After sweeping the 1964 Nassau Speed Weeks, Penske retired from driving to concentrate on business. In 1966, Roger created Roger Penske Racing, which would eventually become Team Penske. It was a time of technical innovation, especially in road racing; wider tires and the new science of aerodynamics moved the performance boundaries and brought increased speeds. A pair of United States Road Racing Championships (1967 and ’68) and three Trans-Am Championships (1968, ’69 and ‘71) came quickly.

In 1972, Team Penske won racing’s biggest prize, the first of a record 17 victories in the Indianapolis 500. That was the same year Team Penske arrived in Can-Am - the Canadian American Challenge Cup - with the 1000 hp Porsche 917/10. There were nine championship races that season; Team Penske won six and took the title. A year later when the new Porsche 917/30 arrived with even more power, Team Penske won six of eight races and another Can-Am championship title for Porsche.

Penske applied the same concentration and effort that he brought to motorsport to his first car dealership in Philadelphia. It was the first rung on a ladder that would see Penske’s international portfolio bulge to over $31 billion in annual revenue and more than 63,000 employees worldwide. Known as “The Captain” for his lead-from-the-front management style, Roger Penske’s business empire is global in fame and reach.

Photo courtesy of Bill Warner.

“Remarkably, Roger Penske began to create the template for modern professional motorsport when he was still in his twenties,” said Bill Warner, founder, and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. “I can think of no one whose contributions to all facets of motorsport deserve to be acknowledged as much Roger Penske’s. We’re flattered that he’s been able to make time to accept our invitation to be the Honoree of the Silver Anniversary Amelia Concours.”

LMDh announced as the future of global SportsCar Racing

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and North America’s sanctioning body for endurance racing, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), have today announced that agreement has been reached for a common future with convergence of the top categories of endurance racing.

Jim France, IMSA Chairman, Pierre Fillon, President of  the ACO (copyright Mike Meadows/IMSA)

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and North America’s sanctioning body for endurance racing, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), have today announced that agreement has been reached for a common future with convergence of the top categories of endurance racing.

On the occasion of the 2020 Rolex 24 At Daytona, the two sanctioning bodies unveiled the guiding principle for this platform – the introduction as the top category of competition of LMDh, which will be eligible for both the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.  This joint platform responds to the wishes of numerous manufacturers.

The chance for automotive manufacturers to compete with the same car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, at SuperSebring or at Spa-Francorchamps, at the Motul Petit Le Mans or even Silverstone, will soon become a reality.

The ACO and IMSA have together established the basis for joint regulations to govern the new LMDh category.  The objective is that, from September 2021 in the FIA WEC and from January 2022 in the WeatherTech Championship, manufacturers will be able to enter the top category and compete in the two leading championships in endurance racing with this new model of car, LMDh.

The two sanctioning bodies were inspired by elements from each of their respective regulations, namely from the ACO’s Le Mans Hypercar and those in preparation by IMSA for the DPi 2.0. The result of this convergence, the LMDh car will be:

Based on a new chassis common to both ACO and IMSA, using elements of the Le Mans Hypercar and LMP2 chassis, and built by the four current LMP2 manufacturers: Dallara, Ligier, Multimatic and Oreca.  This chassis will also be used for the new generation LMP2.  

Its silhouette and design will be modifiable, developed according to the brand or style of the manufacturer which will provide the engine power for the car.  The car will use a common hybrid KERS system, on the rear axle.  In the future the top category of endurance racing will include both LMDh and Le Mans Hypercar.  A balance of performance system will ensure fair competition. 

Introduction of the new class is planned in September 2021 for the FIA WEC and at the Daytona 24 Hours in January 2022.  The lifespan of the new LMP2 cars should be 10 years as announced by Gérard Neveu, the LMDh homologation will be for at least 5 years said John Doonan.  More technical details for the car will be revealed in March at SuperSebring, in a presentation from the ACO and IMSA Technical Departments.

Pierre Fillon, President of the ACO: “This announcement today is the crucial starting point for a joint endurance racing future, supported by both the ACO and IMSA. The platform represents the convergence achieved by both organisations which is a great success story for endurance racing. A manufacturer will soon be able to compete in the top category of two championships, the FIA WEC and the WeatherTech Championship. We can’t emphasise enough, as it’s exceptional, how many opportunities this long-term sporting and marketing vision will open up.”

Jim France, IMSA Chairman: “When my father, Bill France Sr., brought the first Daytona Continental sports car race here to Daytona International Speedway back in 1962, he wanted to bring together sports car drivers, teams and manufacturers from around the world. With the ACO, IMSA and manufacturers aligned, today’s announcement proudly takes my father’s vision to the next level.”

Gérard Neveu, CEO of the FIA World Endurance Championship: “The big winner today is endurance racing as the door is now opened to many additional competitors to compete at the highest level on both sides of the Atlantic with the same car.  The two sanctioning bodies should be congratulated for their vision and spirit of collaboration. Le Mans Hypercars and the new LMDh cars racing together at Le Mans or Daytona will be an incredibly exciting prospect for endurance fans across the world.”

John Doonan, IMSA President: “On the eve of IMSA’s 51st season of competition, future race fans will regard today as one of the most significant of all time for IMSA, the ACO and the world of sports car racing. Providing a common platform for top-level prototype racing globally has been a goal for the sanctioning bodies, our manufacturers – and most importantly, sports car racing fans everywhere – for many years, and we are proud to say the opportunity has finally arrived. We are grateful for the collaboration with our partners at the ACO and the open dialogue with our manufacturer partners that led us to today’s introduction of the LMDh platform.”

Ligier presents the JS P320: next generation LMP3

Ligier is the first manufacturer to present their next generation LMP3 car which will be eligible to race as from the 2020 season in the ELMS and Michelin Le Mans Cup.  The JS P320, powered by the new Nissan V8 VK56 engine went on track at Magny Cours last week for the first time.  The successor of the very succesful Ligier JSP3 will be officially unveiled on Friday June 14th at Le Mans. 

In 2015, Ligier Automotive launched the Ligier JS P3, the French constructor’s first LM P3. Easy to run, competitive and reliable, it soon attracted many clients. The Ligier JS P3 has raced all over the world and clinched no fewer than five titles in 2018: the IMSA Prototype Challenge, European Le Mans Series, LM P3 Cup, V de V Endurance Series and Asian Le Mans Series with 26 victories in 34 races. Mission accomplished for the Ligier JS P3!

In 2020, it will give way to its younger sister, the Ligier JS P320, which will race in the European Le Mans Series, the Michelin Le Mans Cup and in the Ultimate Cup Series. But the Ligier JS P3 is not retiring! It will be competing in the 2019-2020 Asian Le Mans Series, the 2020 IMSA Prototype Challenge and the 2020-2021 Australian LM P3 Cup.

The Ligier Automotive design department worked flat out to create the Ligier JS P320 after the first discussions with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest on the new LM P3 regulations.“In 2014, when we designed the Ligier JS P3, the LM P3s were not supposed to race on the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit,” explains Nicolas Clemençon, Ligier Automotive Design Department Manager. “For the Ligier JS P320, we took this layout into account and optimised the car’s aerodynamics to make the car efficient on all the circuits. Some constructors brought out their LM P3 in 2017, three years after the Ligier JS P3. We’ve corrected the few youth weaknesses of the Ligier JS P3 and used all the knowhow accumulated with our sports prototypes in LM P2, the Ligier JS P2 and Ligier JS P217, to create an even more accomplished and competitive racer.”

With its modern hypercar look and the hollow in its nose, the Ligier trademark, the design of the Ligier JS P320 was dictated by the feedback from Ligier clients and drivers. With its 95% new bodywork, Ohlins dampers, a new more powerful Nissan V8 VK56 engine, an adapted cooling system and aerodynamics optimised for all the circuits, the Ligier JS P320’s aim is to surpass its elder sister. Olivier Jansonnie who supervised the technical direction of the project comments: “Our aim was to optimise the development of the Ligier JS P320 within the constraints of an evolution kit and a fixed budget. We focused on the fundamental parameters of performance: aerodynamic finesse, weight, cooling and damping while respecting the restrictions and freedoms imposed by the new regulations, in particular, the twin-element wing, the safety kit and the 290 km/h speed limit. We did a huge amount of work on the bodywork with the help of our partners EXA in CFD and HP Composites for the manufacturing process.”

The LM P3 teams have two options. Buy a new Ligier JS P320 for 239 000 euros excl. Taxes or transform their Ligier JS P3 into a Ligier JS P320 with the evolution kit ranging from 54 900 to 89 300 euros excl. Taxes.

The Ligier JS P320 passed the official crash test at 950 kg. It was then shaken down on the Nevers Magny-Cours circuit and did several runs with its new Nissan V8 VK56 engine last week. Additional tests are planned this week to validate some aero setups. Then it heads for the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit where the car will be available for presentations to clients and it will be unveiled to the public on 14th June.

Richard Tur, Ligier Automotive general manager concludes: “We’re proud to present this new JS P320 with its new modern, aggressive design. Its shakedown has confirmed the quality of the huge amount of work carried out by the Ligier teams as we’ve had no problems during the track tests. We very quickly highlighted the gains we’ve made while keeping the strengths of the JS P3 that have forged its reputation, robustness and its easy running characteristics.”

Testing will continue all July and tests for prospects will take place immediately afterwards. The first deliveries are scheduled for the last three months of 2019.

The 2020 LMP3 regulations announced by the ACO

After the introduction of the LMP3 class in 2015 by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the next generation of cars will make its competition debut in 2020. Four manufacturers have been selected to help the ACO to take the class forward. Today, the 2020 version of LMP3 has been presented with some key technical information and the introduction process in different championships. 

The LMP3 class forms the first tier of the ACO’s endurance pyramid. The class was introduced by the organisers of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 and will enter its second phase in 2020. The second-generation chassis will race for five seasons; from 2020 to 2024. The entry level class has been a resounding success since its inception, with to date 170 LMP3 cars entered in various racing series all over the world. Several drivers have used the class to launch themselves on the endurance ladder, including Thomas Laurent, who won the 2016 Road to Le Mans race, took the LMP2 crown at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans (finishing second overall) and came third at Le Mans in 2018 in LMP1. LMP3 has als been proven very popular with amateur and gentlemen drivers. 

The backbone of the series continues to be formed by competitive cars, a top-flight sporting programme, affordable budget, a straightforward mechanical set-up and technology within everyone’s reach. LMP3 was designed as a training ground for endurance racing: an area in which drivers, team members, engineers and mechanics can hone their skills and prepare for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

4 manufacturers have been selected to build the new LMP3 chassis: Ligier, Duqueine Engineering (Norma Automotive), Ginetta and Adess. The new generation of LMP3 cars will be an upgrade of the manufacturers' present vehicles, so not a completely new car. An upgrade kit has been defined, covering safety as well as performance and design. As with the current generation of LMP3 cars, Oreca remains the exclusive supplier for the engine, gearbox and electronics. The engines will still be built by Nissan, who will introduce the new Nissan VK56 engine. Engine power will be increased by 35hp, up to 455 hp. The current engines (Nissan VK50 V8) will be adapted to deliver the same power and performance as the new one. This means competitors will be able to keep their current engines until they come to the end of their life cycle before investing in a new engine.  New for the class will be the introduction of traction control and a technical passport. Some safety-related changes have also been approved for the driver’s headrest structure and the driver’s seat, and Zylon side panels will be introduced.

The new regulations also stipulate the costs for either the upgrade of the current cars or a new car.  The maximum cost for the upgrade of the current engine will be € 4.900, the upgrade of the chassis (including technical passport) has been set to € 50.000. This brings out a total of € 54.900 to upgrade the current car for the 2020 season. The price of a completely new car for the 2020 season has been set to a maximum of € 239.000. A bodywork upgrade kit and mechanical modifications are also permitted, provided costs do not exceed the price of the kit indicated in the regulations.

The second generation of LMP3 cars will be introduced over 2 years/seasons: 

• 2020 season: European Le Mans Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup, Road to Le Mans, Ultimate Cup, VdeV
• 2020/2021 season: Asian Le Man Series
• 2021 season: all other competitions