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PORSCHES ON TOP IN ADELAIDE GT OPENER

12. March 2010

Porsches have dominated the opening day's practice session of the first round of the Australian GT championship on the streets of Adelaide. Canberra driver James Koundouris in his Porsche 997 GT3 outpaced defending champion David Wall and Victorian Max Twigg to lead a big field of 31 GT cars. Tony Quinn in the controversial Mosler MT900 was the only car to challenge the Porsches which featured in five of the first six places. High profile Lamborghini driver Peter Hackett had to play second fiddle in the battle of the Gallardo's to local driver Andrew Taplin. Former GT champion Mark Eddy debuted his new Audi R8 LMS in 11th spot just ahead of the battling Dodge Viper pair of Greg Crick and Ross Lilley.

GT1 WORLD TITLE’S GOLD COAST DISAPPOINTMENT

8. March 2010

FIA GT1 World Championship promoter Stephane Ratel has expressed his disappointment at not gaining a berth on the Gold Coast Street Race card. Speaking on Tuesday night's edition of the C31 Melbourne television show "In Pit Lane" Mr Ratel said that Australia had always been an important part in his plans for the World Championship and he was disappointed that his proposal to be a part of the Gold Coast event had been refused. " We had a big ambition to launch the Championship on all five continents." he said. "I visited Australia twice in the last couple of years... I had a lot of hopes that something would come together and the last one was to join Surfers Paradise, but as you know... they finally decided to do V8's (V8 Supercars) only." Mr Ratel believes that the new World Championship would have been a considerable asset to the event bringing International glamour, media attention and corporate support to the race. "I personally think that we are an excellent fit for any big event in Australia." he said.

2010: LE MANS BIG BANGERS EXIT STAGE RIGHT

4. March 2010

The 2010 Le Mans 24 hour classic will be the last chance to see the big banger turbo diesels in action. Changes to regulations for 2011 and beyond are expected to cut the maximum engine size of the diesels back to only 3.7 litres a far cry from today's 5.5 litre 700 BHP powerplants. Already the two major players in the diesel race at Le Mans have signalled their intention to develop cars for the new regulations. According to the respected magazine Racecar Engineering, Audi will develop a new car powered by a 3.7 litre Turbo V6 while Peugeot have announced that they are actively developing a hybrid powered racer to replace the current 908 HDI FAP.

BRISCOE TOPS WEBBER IN WORLD DRIVER “RANKINGS”

14. January 2010

Indy Racing League driver Ryan Briscoe has topped Formula One star Mark Webber and 2009 Le Mans and ALMS winner David Brabham to be the top ranked Australian driver in a new world driver ranking system. The Castrol Driver Ranking System claims to fairly compare drivers across a number of different race series and styles. The rankings analyse performances over 50 major National and International racing series, points are awarded based on a bewildering formula based on results from qualifying, racing and fastest laps. Events and series are also given a rating based on the number of rounds and the "importance" of the event or series. The rankings were revealed at the Autosport International Show in Great Britain by former F1 driver David Coulthard.

PEUGEOT FOCUS ON NEW PROTOTYPE

2. January 2010

Reigning Le Mans 24 hour winners Peugeot will focus their attention on building a new prototype for 2011 and are unlikely to compete in the new ACO Intercontinental Cup. The Cup which will combine the Sebring 1000 race, The Petite Le Mans at Road Atlanta and the Asian Le Mans series race has already attracted the interest of Peugeot's great rival Audi, but the French manufacturer has more pressing commitments. Speaking to the British publication "Autosport" Peugeot Sport boss Olivier Quesnel said that Peugeot was unlikely to have any factory presence in 2010 after the Le Mans 24 Hours. "The Intercontinental Cup is a good idea, but we can't do everything." he said. Mr Quesnel said that Peugeot had two main objectives for 2010 "to do our best with the current car at Le Mans and to build a new car for 2011,"

NO THREAT TO SYDNEY GT RACE

22. December 2009

The Australian GT Championship have denied rumours that they would not be on the grid for the Sydney street race in 2010. A post on an Internet forum had claimed that the GTs had been replaced for Sydney, a story denied by Australian GT Director Rachael Wagg. "I don't know where they'd get that one from." she said. "Our calendar for next year is almost set and at this stage the only date not confirmed is a planned race at Phillip Island." Ms. Wagg said that it was possible that the GT series could run it's own meeting at the Island if nothing suitable could be found.

WIN TICKETS TO HISTORIC SANDOWN

4. November 2009

With a record 420 competitors taking part, this weekend’s 18th Nationallube Historic Sandown (November 6-8) can claim the largest entry ever seen at the popular Melbourne circuit since it opened in 1962. As well as capacity fields in most categories, some 100 V8-engined historic touring, sports and open wheeler racing cars will compete in 16 races over the weekend. A highlight of this year’s meeting is the final and deciding round of the 2009 Biante Touring Car Masters series, with former Bathurst winners Jim Richards and John Bowe again locking horns in their Falcon Sprint and Chevrolet Camaro respectively. Three generations of the Brabham family will also be on track for a unique Speed Comparison, with Victorian Historic Racing Register Patron Sir Jack dropping the flag on his Le Mans 25-Hour race winning son Geoff in a BMW M3, his grandson and rising Formula Ford star Matthew aged 15 and four times Australian champion John Bowe in a racing GT40 replica.

SORA SOARS TO ASIAN LE MANS WIN. SIMMONSEN WINS GT2

2. November 2009

It would have to be one of the shortest race series in the world. One weekend, two races, but with a guaranteed start in the Le Mans 24 hour classic as one of the prizes, it was little wonder that Sora racing were delighted to win the first Asian Le mans series at Okayama. The Sora Racing Pescarolo of Christophe Tinseau and Shinji Nakano won Saturday's first race with the Gulf Aston Martin of Stefan Mücke and Harold Primat winning the second race. A second place to Tinseau and Nakano in race two was enough to give the team the overall victory. In LMP2 the team of Mathieu Lathaye, Jacques Nicolet and Richard Hein in the Pescarolo-Mazda came out on top, while Lamborghini won in GT1 thanks to the all Japanese team of Atsuhi Yogo and Hyroyuki Iiri. Australian based Danish driver Alan Simonsen had a great weekend as he helped co-driver Dominick Farnbacher to a win in GT2. Driving their Ferrari 430 GT, Simmonsen and Farnbacher turned the tables on race one winners, the BMW M3 of Dirk Muller and Tom Milner to take the overall win and an invite to the 78th running of the World's greatest motorsport spectacle the 24 hours of Le Mans on the 12th and 13th of June.

De FERRAN BOWS OUT ON TOP IN ALMS: BRABHAM/SHARP TAKE THE TITLE

12. October 2009

Gil de Ferran brought his stellar career to a close with a closely fought win at Laguna Seca to close the 2009 American Le Mans Series. De Ferran and co-driver Simon Pagenaud won the Monterey Sports Car Championship after a thrilling duel with Adrian Fernandez in the final 30 minutes of the four-hour classic. De Ferran beat his long-time open-wheel rival by just 0.662 seconds earning the Brazilian his fifth win of the season. “It certainly wasn’t easy. There wasn’t much time to think about anything else,” an emotional de Ferran said after the race. “Coming into the weekend, there were a lot of different thoughts going through my head. But I had a job to do as a driver. It was a tough weekend from that standpoint. In a way, the race was so intense that I never had time to think of anything else.” The Patrón Highcroft Acura finished second in class and third overall, to secure the LMP1 driver championship for Australia's David Brabham and US co-driver Scott Sharp.

PEUGEOT ENTERS PETIT LE MANS. AUDI TO FOLLOW ?

29. July 2009

Peugeot have confirmed that the team will compete in this year's Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in late September. Pedro Lamy, Nic Minassian, Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin will make up the driving lineup for the team in it's second attempt at the race. Last year’s Petit Le Mans saw the team of Stephane Sarrazin, Nic Minassian and Christian Klien came up 4.512 seconds shy of race-winner Audi in an epic battle. American Le Mans Series organisers are thrilled at the news in a year when the series has struggled following the departure of the dominant Audi team. “It would be hard for us to imagine a stronger end to 2009 than with Peugeot sending not one but two clean diesel-powered prototypes for an event that truly has become a spectacle on the landscape of global motorsport,” said Series President and CEO Scott Atherton. “With the Le Mans trophy already in hand, the potential of adding yet another significant honour to close out the year would wrap up a season for the ages…especially if the rumour mill is indeed accurate and other world-class teams and manufacturers who are no strangers to Road Atlanta, Petit Le Mans powered by MAZDA6 and Peugeot confirm their entries in the near future." This is clearly a hint to the strong rumours that Audi will return to the race in it's Sebring winning R15. Audi were hurting after it's Le Mans loss and the team will be looking for more testing opportunities in preparation for next year's classic. Should Audi enter the race, the prospect of a clash between the German marque, Peugeot and the all conquering Acuras will be one that will excite Sportscar fans the World over. with ALMS Media