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Old 01-10-2008, 12:54 PM   #16
HeilSvenska
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GULF-liveried Aston Martins?!! That's awesome!

*They do look awesome!!!
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Old 01-12-2008, 02:28 PM   #17
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Just was sent this....

check out this blurb on one of the ALMS news/rumor sites: "Just bizarre enough to be true - @ the Barwell launch Jonny Cocker said he had heard Michael Schumacher was going to drive @ Sebring... (Risi? & Le Mans?)"
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Old 01-12-2008, 04:13 PM   #18
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Interesting - since Risi does a lot of testing at MSR, might we see a new uber-track record in the Texas heat?
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Old 01-13-2008, 03:37 AM   #19
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meh, I know the GT1 and GT2 cars don't have much mechanical resemblance to their street driven counterparts, but the body lines are pretty much there. I love the ALMS series since th GT cars actually look like cars, unlike the late Trans Am series where you were lucky if the racecars had anything that sort of looked like headlights.
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Old 01-23-2008, 01:03 AM   #20
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I've come up with an interesting theory. In Murphy the Bear's latest blog, he bas a blurb about Corvette Racing getting competition in GT1 this year in which someone plans to run an Aston Martin DBR9 in the series and it's titled "Corvette Playmate". "It’s said the funding is in place, the car is in North America, and there’s reason to believe it might be seen in a week or so", murphy says. The official Wheels Down Sebring Winter Test is next week, so that's what "next week" is referring to.

Elsewhere, it was reported that Unitech Racing, the team that ran Playboy sponsored Nissan 350Zs and Daytona Prototypes in Grand Am is planning an ALMS GT Program.

Put 2 and 2 together, and what do you get? A Playboy sponsored Unitech Racing Aston Martin DBR9 for the ALMS full time in 2008!

That's just my theory, but it seems to make sense.

That black and white livery would look awesome on a DBR9!

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Old 01-23-2008, 01:03 AM   #21
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Highcroft Racing announces exciting changes for the 2008 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season. Scott Sharp will be joining the team and partnering with Le Mans-winning driver, David Brabham, with Patrón Spirits as the team’s title sponsor. Patrón Spirits is the distiller of Patrón Tequila, the world’s number-one selling ultra-premium tequila. The team will be known as Patrón Highcroft Racing. Highcroft Racing is a factory-backed team which campaigned an Acura ARX-01a in the LMP2 class in the 2007 ALMS season.

Duncan Dayton, Team Principal of Patrón Highcroft Racing, said, "I am truly excited to announce the partnership between Patrón Spirits and Highcroft Racing’s Acura program in the ALMS. Our ability to attract Patrón Spirits is a testament to the hard work that Highcroft has put in over the past 18 months and our results on the track. This partnership represents a significant milestone for this young team and for the ALMS."

Dayton continued, "The team is delighted to welcome Scott Sharp to the Patrón Highcroft Racing family. Scott comes from a long line of sports-car racers and holds strong family ties to the Connecticut area. In fact, some of our team members worked for the original Newman-Sharp teams over 20 years ago. Scott’s distinguished career in the Indy Racing League certainly bodes well for a successful partnership with Patrón Highcroft Racing, Acura and David Brabham."

In moving from the IndyCar Series to the ALMS, Scott Sharp’s career has come full circle. Sharp began racing sports cars in the beginning of his professional career, and is returning to the arena once again. Sharp has won nine IndyCar events and has 35 top-five finishes in the Series. He holds the record of 138 consecutive IndyCar starts. In 1996, he was the IndyCar Series co-champion and also won the 24 Hours of Daytona. He is also a two-time Trans-Am champion, winning 15 races over three seasons.

Patrón Highcroft Racing's David Brabham said, "I am really looking forward to the next season racing for the Patrón Highcroft Racing team and driving with Scott. I believe Scott will be a great addition to the team. I had a fantastic time working with Highcroft and Acura last year and I am honored to continue as one of their drivers. Highcroft came in ahead of the other Acura teams last year, and as drivers, Scott and I will be pushing not only to be the lead Acura team, but also to be at the front of the P2 class in 2008."

David Brabham raced in Formula One, Formula 3000 and Formula 3 before becoming one of the world’s leading sports car racers in the American Le Mans Series and the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans. He took top honors at the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans driving an Aston Martin. David is the only American Le Mans Series driver to have taken the pole in all four Series classes. He won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2005 and 2006 in the GT1 class. Other notable career victories include the Bathurst 1000, which he won with his brother, Geoff, in 1997, the 24 Hours of Spa in Belgium and the Macau Grand Prix, where he defeated Michael Schumacher.

Patrón Highcroft Racing also announced that Stefan Johansson, who was David Brabham’s teammate last season, will be joining the team again for the two endurance events - the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. One of the most experienced drivers in all of motorsports, Stefan Johansson has competed in everything from Formula One and Champ Cars to prototype sports cars, with great success in every division. Notable career achievements include winning the 12 Hours of Sebring twice, in 1984 and 1997, and an overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997 with Joest Racing. Stefan drove full time for Highcroft in the 2007 season and helped the team take third place in the LMP2 championship.

Duncan Dayton welcomed Stefan Johansson back, saying, "We are thrilled to have Stefan joining Patrón Highcroft Racing for the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans. His long, successful career and his results for Highcroft last year speak for themselves. We're looking forward to having his experience in the Acura program contribute to our efforts in 2008."

Founded in 1989, Highcroft Racing started as a vintage racing and restoration company and moved into the modern racing arena a few years later. Both the racing team and restoration company are housed in a state-of-the-art 48,000 square foot shop in Danbury, Connecticut. In addition to Patrón Spirits, Patrón Highcroft Racing's other sponsors are Acura, Takata, Forbes and Beta Tools. The team's technical partners include Honda Performance Development, Wirth Engineering, Hewland Engineering, McLaren Electronics and BERU Systems.

Simply Perfect in every way, Patrón is the world's #1 selling ultra-premium tequila. From the finest, most expensive Weaber Blue agave plants grown in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, to the centuries-old distillation process, to the signed, handcrafted glass bottles, Patrón is produced with unparalleled attention to detail. Imported and marketed by Las Vegas-based The Patrón Spirits Company, brands in the portfolio consist of Patrón Gran Platinum, Patrón Anejo, Patrón Reposado, Patrón Silver, Patrón XO Café (tequila and coffee blend), and Patrón Citrónge (extra fine orange liqueur), Ultimat Vodka (80 proof, Black Cherry and Chocolate Vanilla), as well as Pyrat Pistol, Pyrat Cask, and Pyrat XO Reserve Caribbean rums.

Credit: Highcroft Racing

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Old 01-23-2008, 01:05 AM   #22
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Updates:

Peterson/White Lightning has withdrawn its entry for the 2008 season

Factory Ferrari driver Dirk Mueller will be Dominik Farnbacher's partner in the #71 Tafel Ferrari

Farnbacher Loles will run 1 Porsche full time, and will have a 2nd for at least 5 races.
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Old 01-23-2008, 01:12 AM   #23
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LMP1
1 Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI (McNish, Capello) (TK, Rocky)
2 Audi Sport North America Audi R10 TDI (M. Werner, Luhr)
06 Team Cytosport Lola B06/10 AER ( Pickett, Graf, Gidley )
12 Autocon Motorsports Creation CA06/H (Lewis, McMurray, Willman)
37 Intersport Racing Lola B06/10 AER (J. Field, C. Field, Berry)
88 Creation Autosportif Creation CA07 AIM ( Campbell-Walter, Ortiz) The 3
07 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP V-12 diesel (Gene, Minassian) Sebring/PLM
08 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP V-12 diesel (Lamy, Sarrazin )Sebring/PLM


LMP2
6 Penske Motorsports Porsche RS Spyder (Maassen, Long)
7 Penske Motorsports Porsche RS Spyder (Dumas, Bernhard)
8 Mazdaspeed/B-K Motorsports Lola B07/46 MZR-R (Bach, Devlin, Matos)
9 Highcroft Racing Acura (Patron) ARX- 01b V8 ( Brabham, Sharp, Johansson)
15 Lowe's Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b V8 (Fernandez, Diaz)
16 Dyson Racing Team Porsche RS Spyder (Dyson, Smith)
19 van der Stuer Racing Radical SR9 AER P07-E (van der Stuer, Pecorari)
20 Dyson Racing Team Porsche RS Spyder (Leitzinger, M. Franchitti, Lally)
26 Andretti Green Racing Acura ARX- 01b V8 (Herta, Fittipaldi, Kanaan )
27 Lista/Horag Racing Porsche RS Spyder (Theys, Leinhard, Lammers ) The 3
32 Barazi Epsilon Zytek 07S Zytek (J.Barazi, M.Vergers, TBA) Sebring


LMGT1
3 Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R (O'Connell, Magnussen, Fellows)
4 Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R (Gavin, Beretta, Papis)

LMGT2
?? Barwell Motorsports AM Vantage GT-2 (E-85?) (Drayson, Co.cker)
11 Primetime Race Group Viper Comp. Coupe (Feinberg, Ducote)
18 Rahal Letterman Racing Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (Kelleners, Milner, Rahal)
21 Panoz Team PTG Panoz Esperante GTLM (Auberlen, Hand, Sutherland)
22 Panoz Team PTG Panoz Esperante GTLM (TBA )
28 LGM/Pro Long Tube Headers Riley/Corvette C6 ( Gigliotti, TBA )
44 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (Pechnik, Neiman, Law)
45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (van Overbeek, J. Bergmeister, Lieb)
48 Corsa Motorsports Ferrari F430 GT (Jeanette, Mowlem)
49 LGM/Pro Long Tube Headers Riley/Corvette C6 ( TBA, TBA)
53 Robertson Racing K/D Mk.VII Ford GT (D. Robertson, A. Robertson, D.Murry)
54 Team Trans Sport K/D Mk.VII Ford GT (E-85?) (Pappas, Borcheller, Basseng)
61 Risi Competizione/Krohn Racing Ferrari F430 GT (Krohn, Jonsson) ??
62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT (Salo, Melo, )
71 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GT (Farnbacher,Muller, TBA )
73 Tafel Racing Ferrari F430 GT (Tafel, Ehret, TBA)
85 Farnbacher Loles Porsche 997 GT3 RSR ( Keen, TBA )
87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche 997 GT3 RSR ( Miller, D. Werner )


?? MAYBE'S ??

P-1


P-2
XX Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01b V-8 ( Dayton, Kerr )
XX ? BK ? 2nd Mazda MZR-R
99 CET Solaroli Motorsports Porsche RS Spyder ( Lehto, Herbert)

GT-1
007 AMR DBR9 (TBA, TBA)
009 AMR DBR9 (TBA, TBA)

GT-2
XX Farnbacher Loles Porsche 997 GT3 RSR ( ? 3rd car )
XX Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 997 GT3 RSR ( ? 3rd car)
XX Doran Kuttner Mk. VII Ford GT (TBA, TBA) Limited schedule
86 Spyker Squadron Spyker C8 (Kox, Hezemans)
XX ARC Bratislava (Konopka) Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (TBA, TBA) Se
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Old 01-24-2008, 02:13 AM   #24
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I can't wait for this year's Long Beach GP. I totally dissed Capello buy ignoring him to talk to McNish instead. I have a picture of him looking at me funny.

As for the Ford GT2s. Excellent news! I hope Aston would run their cars, but I think they're happily settled with focusing just on Le Mans.

I guess V8 Vantage GT2 will do everything else then.
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Old 01-30-2008, 05:00 PM   #25
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New entries.

LMP2 De Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-01b (Gil de Ferran, ?)
Doesn't start racing till mid-season. Possibly as early as Long Beach GP.

GT1 Bell Motorsports Aston Martin DBR9 (intermediate drivers: Antonio Garcia, Chapman Ducote, Jamie Camara)


GT2 Drayson-Barwell Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT2
Dale White of Petersen/White Lightning Racing team will join the Drayson-Barwell Motorsport for 2008. Petersen/White Lightning Racing, which ran an F430 in 2007, is absent from ALMS this year since Michael Petersen wants to focus on his Petersen Motorsports team's rally efforts.
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