12 Hour of Sebring Highlights

Scott Pruett, coming 28 years after a GTO class victory in the 1986 Twelve Hours. Co-drivers Pruett, Memo Rojas and Marino Franchitti also made Chip Ganassi Racing in its first Twelve Hours of Sebring appearance – the first team to win Sebring, the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. The last time Ford won at Sebring was in 1969. The last win for an American car was in 1996, when Wayne Taylor, Jim Pace, Eric Van de Poele took the checkered flag in an Oldsmobile R&S Mk3.

Joerg Bergmeister, the No. 912 Porsche North America RSR crossed the line 5.296 seconds ahead of No. 93 SRT Motorsports driver Jonathan Bomarito in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class to remain undefeated in its debut factory season, run in conjunction with CORE autosport.

IMSA News

 

Sebring 1969 

In 1969, facing more experienced prototypes and the new yet still unreliable 4.5 L flat-12 powered Porsche 917s, the winners Jacky Ickx/Jackie Oliver managed to beat the remaining 3.0 litre Porsche 908 by just a few seconds with the already outdated GT40 (in the very car that had won in 1968 - the legendary GT40P/1075). Apart from brake wear in the Porsche and the decision not to change pads so close to the race end, the winning combination was relaxed driving by both GT40 drivers and heroic efforts at the right time by (at that time Le Mans' rookie) Ickx, who won Le Mans five times more in later years.

GRAND-AM Championship Weekend

Chip Ganassi wins Championship for 2013

 Was waiting for this to post, unlike many motorsports it seems Grand AM gives good highlights of the race but are held off for a week.  Well better late than never and this series was just fantastic this year, quite possibly the most exciting road racing has been Grand AM, along with announcers Brian Till, Bob Varsha, Calvin Fish and Dorsey, you guys are the best!

It was the final race in the 14-year history of the Rolex Series, which is merging with the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón and will debut as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship beginning with the 2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Full Standings 2013

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates won its seventh DP team championship in 10 years and fourth in a row, finishing six points ahead of Wayne Taylor Racing. Yacaman finished the race second in the Michael Shank Racing’s No. 6 Aero/Tuvacol Ford/Riley started by Justin Wilson, followed by Pruett and Rojas, who were seeking their fourth straight championship.

 “This is bittersweet,” Pruett said. “GRAND-AM’s been home for us for the last 10 years, and you hate to see it end – even though there’s a new beginning ahead. I enjoyed the last 10 years and everything we've achieved.  At least no one can break our records.”

63 Scuderia Corsa pulls the championship in GT, 44 Magnus Racing 2nd and 57 Stevenson Motorsports was 3rd in points.

As for the GX class 38 BGB Motorsports wins the series followed by 00 Visit Florida Racing/Speedsource and 3rd place goes to 70 Mazdaspeed/Speedsource, so the little engine that could pulls a 2nd and 3rd, pretty awesome for the first time out on the track!

Ford's new DP 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost for 2014

 Alright a new series to look forward to and how about this, DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 1, 2013 - As part of its continuing strategy to introduce product-relevant technology into racing, Ford announced today plans to bring its 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost racing engine to the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship series. The new engine, which will debut at the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona on Jan. 25-26 and run the entire 12-race season, will power a new-look Daytona Prototype car, created with Ford corporate design influence.  Michael Shank Racing is on board as the first team to put EcoBoost power behind its DP car.

2014 Ford's EcoBoost 3.5 liter V6 Twin Turbo

Bringing a direct-injected, twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine to the United SportsCar Championship in a field of competitive V8-powered entries.  We want to show Ford EcoBoost’s capabilities as an engine that provides both performance and fuel economy, on and off the track. 

 GRAND-AMvids