Latest news with #GTDPRO
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Sebring 12 Hours: Penske Sweeps GTP, Tandy Secures ‘Triple Crown'
Porsche Penske Motorsport secured a dominant 1-2 finish at the 73rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, with Nick Tandy joining an elite group by completing endurance racing's "Triple Crown." In LMP2, Tom Dillmann led the No. 43 Inter Europol ORECA to victory, while AO Racing's Porsche "Rexy" triumphed in GTD PRO for its first major endurance win. Winward Racing's Mercedes-AMG went back-to-back in GTD after a dramatic late-race pass, capping an action-packed event across all Penske Motorsport is clearly on a roll in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, and Nick Tandy is reaping the benefits in historic fashion. By co-driving the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 with Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor to victory in the 73rd running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Tandy became the 10th driver to claim overall wins in international sports car racing's three most prestigious endurance races – Sebring, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Nasr crossed the line 2.239 seconds ahead of Mathieu Jaminet in the No. 6 Porsche he shared with Matt Campbell and Kevin Estre as Porsche Penske Motorsport earned its 22nd 1-2 finish in IMSA competition and first since Road America last August. The result gives the No. 7 - the 2024 GTP class champions with a driver lineup consisting of Nasr and Dane Cameron - a solid 91-point lead over the No. 6 in the GTP standings early in the new season. Porsche's Saturday joy at Sebring also included a win in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class for the No. 77 911 GT3 R (992) fielded by AO Racing. But the major story was Tandy's historic feat. Over the last seven weeks, the 40-year-old Englishman added crown jewel race wins at Daytona and Sebring to accompany his overall triumph at Le Mans in 2015. All were achieved with Porsche. 'You rarely see a sports team or operation that does a single event without any faults or mistakes, and we've just celebrated with 40 people who have flawlessly run a car for 36 hours at Daytona and Sebring combined,' said Tandy. 'Just a testament to what Porsche and Penske have put together to allow us to go racing. It's just incredible that we've had this run the last two events. 'The 'Triple Crown' is probably one of the more historic accomplishments or accolades,' he added. 'You look at the names of the people on that list that you are linked with, and that's an unbelievable thing.' At Sebring, Nasr qualified the No. 7 Porsche third fastest, then led most of the first hour after BMW Team RLL's Motul Pole Award winning No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 incurred a start procedure penalty. Nasr was in the No. 7 when it took control of the race just before the halfway mark. From that point, its chief competition came from the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, which paced most of the 10th hour. But Tandy made an aggressive overtake on Frederik Vesti for the lead, and the Cadillac's speed faded in the cooler night conditions, allowing the No. 6 Porsche and the No. 93 Acura to claim the final two podium positions. 'It was incredible to get the job done once again,' exclaimed Nasr after his 13th career IMSA race win. 'After the Rolex 24 At Daytona, we spoke among ourselves and said, 'What a dream it would be to win Sebring if we can.' And here we are. It's just sinking in.' Acura's sister No. 60 car, the No. 31 Cadillac and the pair of BMW M Hybrid V8 cars also factored but all faded from the podium due to some issues in-race. The debuting Aston Martin Valkyrie also ran consistently on debut to finish in ninth place. Porsche doubled up victories with the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class with the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 R GT3 (992), shared by Laurin Heinrich, Klaus Bachler and Alessio Picariello. They beat the pair of BMW M4 GT3 EVOs fielded by Paul Miller Racing, the No. 48 car finishing ahead of the No. 1 car. Winward Racing repeated its 2025 GTD class win with the same trio of Russell Ward, Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje in the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3. A forceful pass by Ellis on last year's GTD PRO winner, Jack Hawksworth, netted the Winward Mercedes-AMG the top spot. 'It feels super to win the 12 Hours of Sebring, such a legendary race,' remarked Dillman. 'When you race in IMSA you have the chance to compete for the win in some amazing events like Daytona, Sebring, and Petit Le Mans. 'We had a plan; we wanted a quick car in the night, so we had to suffer a bit with the balance in the afternoon. But it worked out well. A mega job by everyone with the team.' The No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA that Steven Thomas drove to the LMP2 Motul Pole Award finished third in class. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship's Rolex 24 At Daytona GT class season-opener featured a classic battle among American manufacturers Ford and Chevrolet. Its follow-up, Saturday's 73rd running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring added Germany's finest from Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-AMG into the mix, with a pinch of Italian flair from Ferrari to create an exciting and eclectic mix. The Porsche better known as 'Rexy' secured its first traditional IMSA endurance race win, and second IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup win in its team history. After Heinrich and Michael Christensen won last September's six-hour Battle on the Bricks in Indianapolis, Heinrich, Austrian Klaus Bachler and Belgian Alessio Picariello secured the win in one of the three longest IMSA races tonight at Sebring. 'Unbelievable result, I'm so proud of the team,' Bachler said. 'They did an amazing job. And honestly, Laurin in the end in the last two hours, was incredible. 'Somehow during the last three hours, I thought maybe we had a chance to go for the victory, but you never know. Honestly, I'm so proud of the team and also for sure my teammate Alessio. 'We finally won something together really big, the Twelve Hours of Sebring in GTD PRO! I won it two years ago, but I'm so happy that we managed this today again. And I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.' The victory was Heinrich's fourth in the series. It was the second IMSA victory for Bachler and the first career win for Picariello. The No. 48 Paul Miller BMW, driven by German Max Hesse, Brit Dan Harper and Finn Jesse Krohn finished runner-up in the GTD PRO Class by a slight 4.907 seconds followed by the team's No. 1 BMW co-driven by the American trio of Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi. Meanwhile in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD), Swiss driver Phillip Ellis pulled off perhaps the most dramatic move of the race to victory in the closing laps, his No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 passing Brit Jack Hawksworth in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 with less than 15 minutes remaining in the race. The GTD class provided one of the more dramatic race outcomes with Ellis invoking a NASCAR-style 'bump-and-run,' bumper tap on the leading No. 12 Lexus. The contact in Turn 5 was enough to allow him to maneuver around and pull away from what was a tight chase all day. Ellis described the maneuver: 'I mean, it was just a good battle I think with the Ferrari and the Lexus for probably the last two hours. Was very tough, but that's what this racing is, especially in IMSA,' he said. 'I think the drivers like it, I think the spectators like it. I think that's what we should keep doing, as well. 'Obviously there was some rubbing here and there. That's part of good racing. Nothing was over the limit. Just used whatever I had to use.' Even then, the podium order was not fully decided until the very final seconds. The No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus ended second with the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo in third. It marked the ninth IMSA victory for Ellis and Ward, and fifth for Dontje. Most have come in Michelin Endurance Cup races. Ellis laughed off any controversy over his pass. 'Yeah, I wouldn't be happy if I lost first place either,' he said. 'I understand that he's not super happy with it. 'To be honest, I just gave him back what he gave me a couple laps before in Turn 7. He we all know Jack. I have a lot of respect for him. He's a great guy. But that's how he races, as well. You reap what you sow.' After opening 2025 with a pair of iconic events counting toward the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship resumes April 11-12 with the first sprint race of the 2025 season - the 50th anniversary Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, for GTP competitors. The LMP2 field has an extended break until the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen, June 19-22.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
A year of progress pays off for Ford's GT3 program at Daytona
Ford Performance can take a bow after capturing the Mustang GT3's first win globally in style on the Daytona high banks Sunday afternoon. The No. 65 was steered masterfully by factory ace Dennis Olsen at the end of the race when an all-out brawl broke out between the front running pack in GTD PRO. Seven cars finished on the lead lap in class, with heavy-hitters from Corvette, BMW, Mercedes and Ferrari also in the mix. But it was Ford that prevailed after the frantic run to the flag, with Olsen installed in the lead car and Seb Priaulx entrusted to drive the sister No. 64, which made it a double podium with a third-place finish. 'I was watching the mirror every single corner, watching for the Chevy coming up the inside,' Olsen said. 'I made sure to cover the gaps and hoped that the diffuser and the bumper wouldn't go off and get a technical flag, but luckily didn't. 'I think it was a faultless race by all the team, by all the drivers really.' The turnaround for Ford's flagship GT racer has been remarkable. A year on from the car's rough debut in the 2024 edition of the Rolex 24, it looks like an entirely different prospect following Ford and Multimatic's move to fix the car's weaknesses and focus on extracting performance from its 5.4 liter V8. 'It's simply amazing,' Mies said when asked to describe the car's development over the past 12 months. 'We came here exactly a year ago, leading the race back then, which was fantastic for a new car. But like everyone, we had some issues. 'The most obvious change is that the rear deck lid isn't coming off anymore. We figured out quite quickly where the problem came from — obviously from side drafting. But to be honest, in development or testing, when do you ever side draft, right? It never happens. 'We had to learn the hard way in the first race, which is one of the toughest races in the world. So yeah, we had no preparation really to test that. 'But there have been things in the background and also on the team side, too. I must say this is probably the biggest improvement compared to last year. It just feels like we made another good step in terms of preparation. 'There's still things we need to improve for the future and people are working on that, but time will tell.' As the time ticked away, the GTD PRO fight heated up beyond boiling, allowing the sister No. 64 up into third. Ford's hard work paying off with a double-podium was surely cause for celebration. Brandon Badraoui/Lumen Battles in GTD PRO raged in the second half of the race. Corvette Racing vs. Paul Miller Racing stood out and will live long in memory after Augusto Farfus, Connor Di Phillippi and Tommy Milner came together while battling for the lead. It was a fight in which Paul Miller utilized its delayed No. 48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO to block the No. 4 Corvette and allow the No. 1 to fight for the top spot. There was contact; there was damage and a post-stint war of words. Milner described it as 'dirty' and 'disappointing' before Farfus defended his actions, claiming he had 'nothing to do with it' (the contact between the No. 4 and No. 1 at the International Horseshoe) explaining that his intention was simply to 'support' the sister car. It didn't end there. The fight resumed in the run to the flag, with the No. 4 Corvette of Nicolas Varrone turning the No. 1 into a spin while dicing for podium spots, which he was later penalized for. Ford got the benefit in two ways. First, the squabbling allowed Olsen to pull a gap with time expiring and second, it helped make sure that Ford beat its rivals from General Motors. 'I think from my side it was my target to make it difficult for them and make them fight,' Olsen added when asked to describe his run at the final restart. 'That was my only chance. They were quicker. Honestly, I had to defend my position and stay inside — that's the only thing. Once they start to fight, I could try to run away, and that's what we did.' Frederic Vervisch, the third driver in the No. 65, joked that the team was under instruction from Ford's CEO Jim Farley this weekend. 'He said, 'Whatever you do, you have to be in front of Chevrolet,'' Vervisch said. 'Corvette are extremely strong, and I think they hid their A-game because suddenly they were going a lot faster than yesterday. 'I am super proud that we could stay ahead and maybe out-strategy them.' Story originally appeared on Racer
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Nasr, Porsche hold off Blomqvist and Acura for Rolex 24 win
Porsche Penske Motorsports' Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor won the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona, giving Penske and Porsche back-to-back GTP and overall victories in the twice-around-the-classic. The No. 7 Porsche 963 won by 1.335s after completing 780 laps around Daytona. It gave Vanthoor his long-awaited first Rolex 24 win, and gave Tandy an unprecedented 'Grand Slam' of 24-hour endurance race victories with overall wins at Le Mans, Nurburgring, Spa-Francorchamps and now Daytona. Meyer Shank Racing's Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist denied Penske and Porsche a 1-2 finish, driving the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 to second place as Blomqvist overtook the No. 6 Penske Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell and Kevin Estre with just five minutes left. The Ford Mustang GT3 got its first victory in global competition as Ford Multimatic Motorsports' Frederic Vervisch, Chris Mies, and Dennis Olsen grabbed a closely fought win in GTD PRO aboard the No. 65 Mustang. They led an all-American GTD PRO podium with the No. 3 Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.R of Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella fighting to second place, ahead of the No. 64 Ford of Mike Rockenfeller, Sebastian Priaulx, and Austin Cindric. Tower Motorsports' John Farano, Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastian Alvarez and Job van Uitert ran away with LMP2 in the final 25 minutes, taking the class win after multiple rivals suffered misfortunes. And Canadian team AWA with drivers Orey Fidani, Matthew Bell, Lars Kern, and Marvin Kirchhöfer gave the Corvette Z06 GT3.R its first IMSA GTD victory — and AWA's second Rolex 24 class win in three years. Just past the top of the hour, the No. 24 RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 began to bounce wildly down the backstretch. Dries Vanthoor needed repairs desperately to get to the flag. Seconds later, the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini (GTD) of Danny Formal suffered a broken left-rear suspension while running third in class. He pulled off at the exit of Speedway Turn 4 but the full course yellow was deployed once again. The No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche and No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 had to come in for an emergency splash of fuel right away, it compromised them as they needed to come in again and dropped down the GTD order. The GTP leaders took fuel to the end and left in the order they came in with the No. 6 Porsche of Matt Campbell in front. But the LMP2 class turned upside down: ERA Motorsport had just brought the No. 18 ORECA in for a stop just before the yellow, and Paul-Loup Chatin only needed to bring the car in for a splash to jump from fourth to 1st! Fast pit work from Pratt Miller Motorsports put Nico Varrone's beaten No. 4 Corvette up front in GTD PRO — and AF Corse pulled a blinder to get Riccardo Agostini's No.50 Ferrari up to the lead in GTD. And with 38 minutes left, the safety car peeled off and the race came down to its final sprint finish. Vanthoor couldn't make Turn 1 and let Nasr through into second, and suddenly Blomqvist's Acura was back in contention. Dennis Olsen and Laurin Heinrich muscled their way to the front in GTD PRO, and Mattia Drudi likewise took the lead in GTD — before Matt Bell took the AWA Corvette to the lead the next lap! Vanthoor's left-front tire began to rub violently against the bodywork in the Le Mans chicane, and he couldn't fight off Blomqvist, who slipped into third. Eventually, Vanthoor limped the No. 24 back to the pits. BMW's challenge for the overall win at Daytona was done. Olsen moved clear of a hard-fighting GTD PRO pack as Alexander Sims' opportunism allowed him to slip up into second place while battling three-wide with Laurin Heinrich and Fabian Schiller. Heinrich got front-end damage and Rexy's challenge for the win was extinguished — as the reigning GTD PRO champion tumbled down the order quickly. Sims' Corvette wouldn't let Olsen's Ford get away as the two American giants were 1-2 — but with a big slide out of the West Horseshoe, Sims was in the crosshairs of Van der Linde. Nasr and Campbell weren't in the clear with 30 minutes left — Blomqvist had caught the leading Porsche duo, and Meyer Shank Racing was back in the window for the overall win! Simultaneously, Drudi bumped Bell out of the way at Turn 1 to take the GTD lead, Aston Martin ahead of Corvette as neither driver was willing to give ground. With 25 minutes to go, Chatin, the Alpine man, was hit and spun by the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports car of Mathias Beche. Beche received a drive-through penalty to put Bourdais up in the lead again, this time to stay. Nasr cranked the pressure up big time on Campbell, as they approached the leading GTD PRO quartet, Campbell got held up in the traffic, allowing Nasr to get a big run through Speedway Turns 1 and 2. The Brazilian passed Campbell below the double yellow line on the backstretch — an illegal move in the Daytona 500 but here in IMSA it was picture perfect! Nasr grabbed the lead in the No. 7, and while Campbell made another attempt into the tri-oval, he couldn't stay ahead through Turns 1 and 2. BACK AND FORTH NASR AND CAMPBELL GO FOR THE WIN IN THE ROLEX 24! JUST MINUTES REMAIN! 📺 : NBC and Peacock — NBC Sports (@NBCSports) January 26, 2025 As Olsen and Sims ran tail-to-nose in GTD PRO, Bell came back at Drudi, and retook the GTD lead for AWA with 16 minutes to go. With 12 minutes left, another BMW vs. Corvette flashpoint happened as Van der Linde and Sims banged fenders out of the infield and onto the banking. Sims ultimately held the position but Olsen was driving away. Just seconds later, Sims and Van der Linde got backed up into Turn 1, and Nico Varrone hit Van der Linde, spinning the No. 1 BMW out of podium contention. Varrone picked up a drive-through penalty for spinning Van der Linde. GTP, GTD PRO and GTD leaders all overlapped with nine minutes left. Campbell lost out, Blomqvist tried a lunge around the outside of Turn 1 with six minutes to go, but the Anglo-Swede couldn't get a good exit and Campbell held onto second…at least for one lap, before Blomqvist made the move and made it stick for second the next time by. PROVISIONAL RESULTS Full reports to follow. Story originally appeared on Racer
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Corvette Racer Flips Off Daytona Rival at 180 MPH
It happens sometimes: someone on the highway did you wrong, and you are suddenly compelled to voice your displeasure with a hand gesture. Corvette Racing with Pratt Miller's Tommy Milner felt that need in the closing hours of today's 24 Hours of Daytona, and he obliged a particularly frustrating BMW driver with the traditional one-fingered response. He just happened to do it at around 180 MPH. WE HAVE CONTACT FOR THE LEAD IN THE GTD PRO CLASS! 👀@PrattMillerMS and @paulmilleracing get into each other in the international horseshoe. @Rolex24Hours | @NBCSports | @MichelinRaceUSA — IMSA (@IMSA) January 26, 2025 Milner was compelled to action from the lead in GTD Pro after a collision with Paul Miller Racing BMW driver Augusto Farfus, who was running alongside the leaders while a few laps down. Farfus, who was effectively blocking for teammate Kelvin van der Linde in the team's No. 1 entry, had been bothering Milner for a few laps before the collision. The BMW driver had already received a drive-through penalty for his indiscretions when he and Milner hit into a corner, pushing the Corvette into the No. 1 BMW and causing some rear bumper damage. The Corvette driver then flipped off Farfus while the BMW stopped to serve its drive-through penalty. Milner ran a few more laps around the track before ultimately pitting for a traditional repair used on a damaged rear bumper cover: one huge piece of industrial-strength tape. This only held for about 20 minutes before Milner was forced to pit again. Paul Miller Racing's No. 1 BMW leads the GTD Pro class with less than an hour remaining in the race. Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller's No. 3 Corvette, the one involved in the crash, runs fifth and remains on the lead lap. The No. 48 BMW, the one penalized for blocking, runs 55 laps down. You Might Also Like You Need a Torque Wrench in Your Toolbox Tested: Best Car Interior Cleaners The Man Who Signs Every Car
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Rolex 24, Hour 21: Porsches trade lead through pit stops
The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 has just pitted from the lead, meaning that the sister No.6 Porsche is scored as the GTP leader with three hours left in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Porsche's Mathieu Jaminet re-took the advantage over BMW M Team RLL's No. 24 car and has stayed in front. Philipp Eng is currently second in the No. 24 BMW, and Colin Braun is third in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06. They owe pit stops soon and that would cycle the No. 7 Porsche, now driven by Nick Tandy, back to the overall lead barring a disaster. And, from now on, GTP teams can no longer use their allotment of soft tires. There's been a big swing in the LMP2 lead battle after the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA 07 picked up a drive-through penalty for not meeting tire operational requirements. IMSA detected the minimum tire pressures of the No. 99 were not compliant and asked Dane Cameron to come through pit lane. That's given the advantage to AF Corse and Nicklas Nielsen. The blue No. 88 ORECA leads the orange No. 8 Tower Motorsports machine of Job van Uitert. Cameron has dropped back to third ahead of Paul di Resta in the No. 22 United Autosports USA car. A well-executed up-and-under move from Tommy Milner at turn six has put the No. 4 Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the lead of GTD PRO, getting past the No.1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Connor De Phillippi who's now second. The top two in GTD PRO have built a significant gap to the third-placed No. 65 Ford Multimatic Mustang GT3 of Chris Mies, who's just passed the No. 69 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Luca Stolz. We have two more GTD retirements to report – the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3, and the No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3, are both out. However, the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini has returned to the race. Marvin Kirchhöfer's masterful job in the No. 13 AWA Corvette has kept him in the lead in GTD, though Elliott Skeer (No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche) and Philip Ellis (No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG) are not far off in second and third. Mattia Drudi is also in podium contention in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin, down in fourth. HOUR 21 STANDINGS Story originally appeared on Racer
