Latest news with #CharlieEastwood
BBC News
15-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Eastwood third at Le Mans 24 Hours with Corvette
Northern Ireland's Charlie Eastwood has claimed a podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race by finishing third in the LMGT3 who won the famous race in 2020, was third in his TF Sport run Corvette with team-mates Rui Andrade and Tom van number #81 crew finished the 24-hour race 71 seconds off the race-winning LMGT3 #92 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 of Ryan Hardwick, Richard Lietz and Riccardo Mann, Francois Heriau and Alessio Rovera were second in the #21 AF Course Andrade and van Rompuy started in sixth place and ran on the fringes of the top 10 in the first half of the as night fell over the Circuit de la Sarthe, the team moved into podium contention as Eastwood put in a consolidated third place in the morning, and Eastwood took the chequered flag in the Corvette after holding off a late challenge from Heart of Racing's Mattia is a third Le Mans podium for Eastwood, who described it as his "dream" race, after his victory in 2020 and a second-place finish two years #83 Ferrari Hypercar of Robert Kubica, Phil Hanson and Yeifei Ye claimed overall victory, ahead of the #6 Porsche of Kevin Estre, Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor, while the Ferrari of James Colado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi was third.
BBC News
13-06-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Eastwood prepares for 'dream race' at Le Mans
Once a year, the usually quiet French city of Le Mans comes alive with one of the biggest motorsport races in the world. Even to those unfamiliar with car racing, the Le Mans 24 Hour races needs little 8.5 miles of a semi-permanent race track, which combines a permanent circuit and closed public roads, drivers start in the day and race through the night in various categories of cars, which range from Hypercars to GT3 machines. It's an achievement in itself to make it through to sunrise, and only the best teams will be in a position to challenge to stand on one of the most famous podiums in Formula 1's Monaco Grand Prix and the iconic Indy 500 in the USA, Le Mans is widely considered one of motorsport's 'Triple Crown' events. Winning it just means more than most other other races. Charlie Eastwood, from Northern Ireland, is one of the few lucky drivers to say he has won Le Mans, as he claimed GTEAM glory in a factory driver with Corvette alongside TF Sport team-mates Rui Andrade and Tom van Rompuy, the 29-year-old is aiming to taste that wining feeling once again."I literally love every single part of Le Mans. It is the best endurance race in the world, in my opinion, and by far," Eastwood said."This race it's a dream for many, and I've been lucky enough to do it several times and win it. I hope I can do it for as long as possible".When trying to summarise what makes the race so special, Eastwood's answer was simple - it's everything."Many elements are so special. I have so many good memories and key memories of Le Mans," he added. "My first laps, the first time I did the parade, the first time I did a qualifying lap, the first time I took the start and heard the roar of the crowd over the engine, which I've never heard anywhere else. "And then, of course, I have fond memories of winning in 2020."After a strong qualifying session, Eastwood, Andrade and Rompuy will start the race from fifth in race begins at 15:00 BST on Saturday and the chequered flag will fly 24 hours later.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Thefts mar tradition of souvenir hunting at Rolex 24
It's a time-honored tradition for fans of racing to take home broken car parts as the ultimate souvenirs, and last weekend's edition of the Rolex 24 At Daytona presented plenty of opportunities for memorabilia hunters to add to their collections. Brand-new IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entrant DXDT Racing was a popular source for race-used parts after its Corvette Z06 GT3.R caught fire with Charlie Eastwood onboard the No. 36 GTD entry. The resultant damage forced DXDT out of the race, and with many of the components of the rear-engine car unusable, fans were treated to a bevy of large and burnt bodywork to make their own. 'Unfortunately, I saw a bit of a flame through the second part of the road course and entering Turn 6, and by the time I got on to the banking, the flames were getting bigger,' Eastwood said. 'Thankfully the fire team here are insanely good, and they were at the car before I even got out. We're lucky we still have a car here, based on them, so thank you. They're the best in the business.' From the trash pile that accumulated in front of DXDT's garage space, fans took a crispy bumper, which left its new owner with soot-covered hands, and another, with possibly the largest piece of memorabilia to carry away, had the Corvette's roasted diffuser to transport out of the facility. Elsewhere, a fan had a broken brake disc from an unknown source in hand as they walked through the paddock, and leaving the track after the race, another was seen carrying what appeared to be an undamaged LMP2 rear wing element as they exited the Turn 4 tunnel. Many fans – including this one – obtained their souvenirs with the blessings of the relevant team. Others simply helped themselves. Photo by Marshall Pruett According to DXDT team manager Bryan Sellers, fans were invited to pick through their damaged Z06 GT3.R components and leave with whatever they wanted. The same can't be said for AO Racing, whose No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 Rawr — Rexy — and its No. 99 ORECA 07 LMP2 entry — Spike — were dealt on-track blows and had a pile of broken parts amass in their garage that fans helped themselves to without permission. With dozens of teams focused on the 24-hour race, theft-minded attendees have exploited their absence and plundered all manner of parts, tools, and sundries while crews are on pit lane. In planning for IMSA's return in 2026, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the addition of garage-based security staff, either supplied by the track or hired independently by teams, to ensure teams' belongings remain in their possession. 'Don't get me wrong, we love the exposure and the amount of fans that we've gained over the last couple of years, but people generally at the race track, seemed to be way more emboldened than they were five-10 years ago,' AO Racing team principal Gunnar Jeannette told RACER. 'At points in the night, there were people that just walked into our trailer thinking that that was okay. We had a couple of people just wander into our pit box. One guy's in the middle of the pit box, standing there, and I walked up to him and said, 'Hi, excuse me, but who are you with?' And he said, 'Oh, I've got this pit pass, I thought I could just go anywhere.' I was like, 'Sorry, we need to keep this area open for our pit crew to work.' And, he said, 'Oh, okay. Do you have any parts that I could have?' And I just looked at him with a disgusted look on my face, and was like, 'No, man, we're in the middle of a race. That's kind of a ridiculous question to ask.' 'In our situation, the track services dropped off the remnants of Rexy bumper and somebody just walked off with it. They dropped it off in our garage, and all of a sudden it just disappeared. It says a lot about humanity. It's unfortunate because with IMSA, it's great being able to give people access that doesn't exist in other series, but right now, we're absolutely seeing the negative side of that.' Story originally appeared on Racer
