Nerves and anticipation ran high this weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park as BFGoodrich made an impressive splash at the first ever U.S. RallyCar RallyCross event. BFGoodrich dominated the marquee All-Wheel Drive (AWD) class as drivers took advantage of the grip, acceleration and toughness of their BFGoodrich tires sweeping all three podium spots, with X Games champion Tanner Foust (Ford) coming in first, closely followed by Travis Pastrana (Subaru) and Dave Mirra (Subaru). Being the first event of the series, teams were eager to test the different types of BFGoodrich tires on the approximately 85% tarmac and 15% dirt surface. The BFGoodrich tires demonstrated their grip, acceleration and toughness as they provided supreme traction to the 450-plus horsepower vehicles that tore through the dirt corners and made the aggressive transitions to tarmac seamlessly. The heavy hitters came out swinging in the AWD class Sunday evening capping off an exhilarating weekend of rally racing. The AWD class consisted of a qualifying round and three heats of lightning-fast times as drivers put both their vehicles and their tires through the paces of the challenging course. All the excitement of the three-heat challenge led to an action-packed six-car main event on Sunday afternoon that featured the BFGoodrich-shod powerhouse combination of Foust, Pastrana, Mirra and Andrew Comrie-Picard (Mistubishi). In the five-lap race, Foust secured an early lead with his Ford Fiesta while Pastrana drove his Subaru WRX STI to the limit. As Pastrana made his move going into a sharp left corner before the track’s final dirt section, he slid wide and soared into and over a tire wall, prompting a red flag and the restart of the race. Pastrana’s car was relatively unscathed and he was able to restart in sixth place. Once the race restarted, Foust again dominated the course and drove to a first place podium finish, maintaining his perfect U.S. RallyCross record, which began with his SuperRally gold medal at X Games 16 just a few weeks ago. BFGoodrich-shod drivers rounded out the podium with Pastrana securing second and Mirra taking home third to complete the sweep.
Highcroft HPD, Corvette Claim Michelin Green X Challenge Honors
One of the most environmentally active drivers in motorsports, David Brabham, celebrated his 100th American Le Mans Series start by joining Highcroft HPD Racing co-driver Simon Pagenaud and team owner Duncan Dayton to claim Michelin Green X Challenge Prototype honors at historic Mosport International Raceway. “It is certainly appropriate that here at the 50th anniversary of Mosport, where his family has such a long history, that David Brabham and the Highcroft team is once again winners of the Michelin Green X Challenge,” said Silvia Mammone, motorsports manager for Michelin North America.Taking the Michelin Green X Challenge honors in the GT category was the No. 4 Corvette ZR1 from Corvette Racing. “Corvette Racing is a leader in bringing E85R fuel to the ALMS,” said Mammone. “We congratulate the Corvette Racing team and GM on their success in alternative fuels.”
Michelin Muscles To Mosport Win
Just one week after suffering a heart-breaking loss just two turns away from victory at Road America, the Muscle Milk Team CytoSport Porsche RS Spyder experienced true racing love as Romain Dumas and Klaus Graf scored the team’s second victory to claim a convincing victory in the Grand Prix of Mosport. It was a perfect weekend for the team as they led all three practice sessions, won the pole, and built a nearly one lap lead while leading every lap on one of the fastest, most challenging tracks in North America. Graf and mega-substitute Dumas, filling in for the injured Greg Pickett, had the magic combination here at the eighth stop of the 2010 American Le Mans Series season. “The car was just really good all week,” said Graf. “We got out of the box well and we never felt we had a safe gap over the competition. Our team and Michelin just kept working together and improving the car and we were fastest every session and had a great combination for the race. I couldn’t be happier,” said Graf. Celebrating David Braham’s 100th career ALMS start and finishing second in the specially-numbered No. 100 Highcroft HPD were Brabham and Simon Pagenaud. Michelin technical partner teams claimed 1-2 both overall and in the GT category. Michelin cars claimed 10 of the top 12 spots in the two hour, 45-minute race that was shortened by 28 minutes due to guard rail damage requiring lengthy repairs. Mosport is an especially challenging track and it is very satisfying for the Michelin engineers, tire developers and support team to see our Michelin technical partner teams perform so well here,” said Silvia Mammone, Michelin motorsports manager. In the hypercompetitive GT category, the No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche driven by Joerg Bergmeister and Patrick Long scored the team’s fourth victory of the season on a hilly circuit that is especially difficult for their rear engine Porsche. “This was a very hard race, but our Flying Lizards team and Michelin worked really hard all week and we ended up with a very good balance on the car,” said Long. Finishing a stirring run to second place was the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari driven by Gianmaria (Gimmi) Bruni and Toni Vilander. After winning the pole on Saturday, the car was sent to the rear of the field for the start of the race due to Vilander substituting for the ailing Jaime Melo. Vilander then blazed from his 27th overall starting position and 12th in class to third place in GT, merely 0.950 seconds off the leader in just 52 minutes without the benefit of a yellow flag. In the LMP Challenge class with identical Chevrolet-powered Oreca chassis which exclusively use Michelin “non- confidential” customer tires, Gunnar Jeannette and Elton Julian in the No. 99 Green Earth Team Gunnar scored the team’s fourth victory of the season. Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut in the Level 5 Motorsports’ No. 55 finished second followed by Genoa Racing’s Frankie Montecalvo and Christian Zugel.
Record P Zero Club Bonus Payout Highlights Montreal 200
Another record-setting performance from Pirelli, in addition to an unprecedented Pirelli P Zero Club GT Bonus payout of $35,000 – made Saturday’s Montreal 200 on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve one of the most memorable races in Pirelli’s successful three-year run in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas co-drove to a record eighth Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype win to clinch the 2010 Daytona Prototype Team Championship for the No. 01 Telemex/Chip Ganassi Racing BMW Riley team. Pruett and Rojas may also win their second Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype driver championship as a duo in two weeks at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City if each drives for a minimum 30 minutes in the season-ending race. “It’s been an incredible season for us,” Pruett said. “We’ve hit on something that’s incredible, and I can’t say enough about the Pirelli tires. We really know how to get the most out of them at the different tracks. It’s truly been a dream season, and (winning in Montreal) takes some of the stress off going into Salt Lake City.” Pruett and Rojas shared the victory-lane podium with the second-place No. 99 Gainsco Bob Stallings Racing/Chevrolet Riley of Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney, and the third place No. 10 SunTrust Ford Dallara of Ricky Taylor and Max Angelelli. “The Pirellis held up really, really well,” Angelelli said. “Those tires have proved to be good in all types of conditions and weather and they are enjoyable to drive.” In GT action, the No. 07 Banner Racing Chevrolet Corvette team of Paul Edwards and motorcycle road-racing legend Scott Russell scored its first victory of the season, and took home the record P Zero Club Bonus as well. Russell – a former World Superbike Champion and five-time winner of the Daytona 200 motorcycle race – scored his first victory on four wheels with this weekend’s win. “We have been so close so many times,” Edwards said. “The whole team never gave up, and for it finally to come together, thanks in part to Pirelli, this is just a great feeling. I was just able to push the heck out of the car and the tires.” A first time 2010 race winner, the No. 07 Banner team pocketed the record $35,000 payout that has been building for the past six races since last being claimed at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in April. “The bonus is huge and the Pirelli guys were up there at the podium with the team, and they all had big smiles on their faces for us,” Edwards said. “They are just a super cool group of guys and we are happy to win one with them.” The GT podium was rounded out by the Stevenson Motorsports’ No. 97 and No. 57 Camaro GT-Rs, which finished second and third respectively. Ronnie Bremer and Gunter Schaldach drove the No. 97 car for Stevenson, and Andrew Davis and Robin Lidell piloted the No. 57 car. Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato finished fourth in the No. 69 FXDD Mazda RX-8, opening up an eight-point lead (318-310) over SpeedSource teammate Sylvain Tremblay in the championship. Tremblay, who shares the No. 70 Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 with Jonathan Bomarito, finished seventh. This weekend’s repeat win by the No. 01 team also gave the Daytona Prototype P Zero Club Bonus pool a “double bonus” bump to $15,000 for the season-ending race at Miller Motorsports Park in two weeks. The GT Pirelli P Zero Club Bonus at Miller will be $5,000. The Pirelli P Zero Club is comprised of returning teams that finished inside the top 10 in the final 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype and GT points standings. When one of those teams in either class scores its first victory of the 2010 season they will also earn a $5,000 Pirelli P Zero Bonus. Any repeat wins in the remainder of the season, or victories by non-eligible teams, will result in that race’s $5,000 bonus to “roll over” and continue to build at each race until other P Zero Club members score their first 2010 victories. For the season finale at Miller Motorsports Park on September 11, all members of the P Zero Club will again be eligible for the bonus, regardless of whether or not they have won earlier in the season. The final race of the 2010 season at Miller Motorsports Park can be seen live on Speed on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.
Pirelli Experiences Thrilling Spa GP3 Weekend
The Spa-Francorchamps circuit, located in the foothills of the Ardennes in Belgium, traditionally produces dramatic races. This weekend’s race was no exception as Pirelli continues its supply of the newly-created GP3 Series. The GP3 Series exists to train young drivers for the demands they will face at the pinnacle of single-seater racing in the future, such as Formula One, which will be supplied by Pirelli from 2011. At Spa, the champions of tomorrow learned some hard lessons. One of the defining characteristics of Spa is variable weather, and this was very much in evidence throughout qualifying and both races. Pirelli came to Spa - the seventh and penultimate round of the GP3 Series – with the medium compound P Zero 13-inch tire, which is designed to cope with a wide range of weather conditions. However, the rain tire also played a starring role during the weekend at Spa, whose iconic corners such as Eau Rouge and Blanchimont have defined motorsport history. Qualifying on Saturday morning provided a taste of what was to come, as it was held on a wet track that progressively dried out. Consequently, drivers started the session on rain tires before coming in to switch to slick tires as a dry line emerged. "From a technical point of view it was a very interesting session, as it allowed us to evaluate the performance of our tires on a drying track, and assess at which point slick tires became quicker," commented Mario Isola, Pirelli's racing manager. The first race on Saturday afternoon was interrupted by safety cars and torrential rain. When the rain hit, nearly all the competitors dived into the pits to change to wet tires. But pole-sitter Robert Wickens stayed out on slicks to take the lead and because of a safety car, none of the other competitors were allowed to overtake him. The Status Grand Prix driver judged his pace to ensure that the maximum permitted time limit for the race would be reached, so that it could end under the safety car and give him victory. The second race on Sunday morning was won by Adrien Tambay, the son of ex-Formula One driver Patrick Tambay. The Frenchman was quickest in Friday practice but started Sunday's race from 27th on the grid: coincidentally the race number that his father was most famous for. Again, the race was hit by rain halfway through but Tambay managed to drive through the shower and then take advantage of his P Zero slick tires when the track dried out again. With most other drivers having chosen to pit for rain tires, Tambay claimed a brilliant tactical victory for Manor Motorsport. "Our tires were at the center of the action this weekend, which featured two of the most unusual and entertaining races that we have seen so far this GP3 season," added Isola. "The performance of Robert Wickens on Saturday and Adrien Tambay on Sunday proved that our medium compound P Zero slick tires were able to stay on the road even in mixed conditions. Both drivers managed to use the rain to their advantage even while running on our slick tires. We are delighted to see that GP3 is fulfilling its role of teaching drivers not only about close competition but also about racecraft in challenging conditions." The final two races of the eight-round GP3 series take place on home territory for Pirelli at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza from Sept. 11-12. With the championship leader Esteban Gutierrez failing to score this weekend, Wickens still stands a chance of claiming the inaugural GP3 drivers' title in Italy.
Franchitti Wins Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway
In round 14 of 2010’s 17 race season, Dario Franchitti took the win this weekend at the Izod IndyCar Series Peak Antifreeze and Motoroil Indy 300 race at Chicagoland Speedway. Dan Wheldon finished 2nd, and 3rd place fell to Marco Andretti. Firestone brought a new tire specification to Chicagoland and, as race winner Franchitti proved, the Firehawks performed superbly over the longest of stints. Designed to deliver more grip than their 1.5-mile oval predecessors, the new Firehawk spec still possessed the incredible durability for Franchitti to skip taking fresh tires on his last pit stop. He grabbed the lead with the gamble and put 62 laps (93 miles) plus victory donuts on the final set of Firehawks, and they never wavered. "We have a lot of faith in Firestone,” said Franchitti, driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone car, “so the guys on the timing stand said to leave the tires on. That was a great call by Chris (Simmons, engineer) and Barry (Wanser) and Chip. We ran a stint and a half on the tires and they were still good. That was pretty impressive by Firestone. My boys said have faith in them and I didn't even worry about it." “We knew the tires could make it, so we went for it,” team owner Chip Ganassi observed. “After so long working with the guys at Firestone and working with the tires, we knew what they were capable of. We said, 'Let's go for it.' That was our only shot to win." "Another incredible Izod IndyCar Series race tonight flag-to-flag in which the Firestone Firehawks played a big part,” added Al Speyer, executive director of Firestone Racing. “Throughout the entire 200 laps, we saw drivers running multiple lines and within inches of each other at more than 210 miles an hour. You just can't do that unless the tires are very, very stable. Then to have Dario Franchitti and his team trust their Firestones so much that they didn't change them on their last pit stop is an exceptional testament to our tires, which is better than anything we could say ourselves. Congratulations to Dario and the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team on another great win, and to all the drivers tonight who put on a fantastic show."