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Re-Load: Risi seeks to build on Utah win in ALMS GT battle at Lime Rock

Houston, Texas - Tuesday, July 20 - Hot on the heels of its dominant GT victory in the Utah Grand Prix, Risi Competizione now heads to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, for the second round of the five-race ALMS summer odyssey.

Its central aims will be to not only secure a back-to-back ‘sprint’ victory, but also to consolidate its position in the championship points’ battles. Melo and Bruni currently lead the Drivers’ Championship by two points over Bergmeister/Long, and Risi/Ferrari are one point away from leading the Teams/Manufacturers’ chase.

With a view to breaking the stranglehold that the Flying Lizard Porsches have had on class victories over the last three years, the Houston-based Ferrari team has drafted in a second F430 GTC to be driven by Finland’s Mika Salo and Germany’s Pierre Kaffer, racing alongside Miller Motorsport Park winners, Jaime Melo and Gianmaria Bruni.
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LM24 mid-race update: Risi #82 retires with gear selection issues

LM24 2010 has been tough on a couple of favorites, and the latest major player to fall out of the race is the #82 Risi Competitzione Ferrari. The Risi squad was aiming for their third GT2 win, and looked to again have the right car to do it. The retirement of the #82 car means that the incredible battle between it and the #64 Corvette is over. It was fun while it lasted.

Here’s the presser from Risi Comp:

The No. 82 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GTC will have no opportunity in 2010 to challenge for a third consecutive GT2 victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans; the car has been retired in the 10th hour of the race due to gear selection problems.

The retirement is a bitter blow for the team after an intense and exciting battle with the two factory Corvettes in the first quarter of the race. Nose-to-tail racing between all three cars provided heightened interest in the GT2 category, with Pierre Kaffer and Jaime Melo both having hard, but fair, battles on track with Emmanuel Collard and Oliver Gavin.
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Le Mans news alert: Peugeot #3 retires, Bourdais out

You didn’t even have to see his face. With a shrug in his shoulders and helmet sagging into his chest, you knew the dejection Sebastian Bourdais was feeling as he found out that his mighty #3 Peugeot LMP1 machine had just dropped out due to a mechanical failure and resulting chassis damage.

Bourdais, who grew up near Le Mans, had put this car on pole, and seemed poised to lead his three-driver team that included Pedro LAMY and Simon PAGENAUD to another 24 Hour victory. It wasn’t to be.

This is sure to give the Audi LMP1 camp a morale boost, because they’ve not been able to keep up the pace. But can they win the endurance battle? There’s 21 more hours left before we find out.

Live Timing and Scoring: http://www.lemans.org/en/courses/24h-chrono-en-direct-2010.html

24 Hours of Le Mans Hour 1 Tweetcast

Hour 1 of the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans has been pretty exciting and eventful despite the Peugeots early drubbing of the LMP1 class. The big story of the first hour was a fairly large shunt by Nigel Mansell in the Beechdean LMP1 Ginetta-Zytek that brought out the safety cars for a long full course yellow period. Mansell was transported to a hospital via ambulance, but SPEED TV reported that Mansell is ok.

The safety car “situation” created by the early crash really screwed the Audi P1 effort. Track officials don’t use one safety car, they use four, all seemingly spaced out evenly on the race track. The Audi’s get caught by a different safety car than the leading Peugeot cars, and were put 3 or 4 minutes down due to the ridiculous safety car rules.

The cast of characters on Twitter have been doing a heck of a job keeping the world updated on this years “#LM24″. Here’s some of the best for Hour One’s “Tweetcast”.

TWEETCAST - HOUR 1 - 2010 24 HOURS OF LEMANS

sniffpetrol: Cars on parade lap. For some reason the ACO is pumping out EuroToss music on the pit straight about 1 hour ago via Twitterrific

TheAardvrk: Here we go!! About to start the #24Hours of Le Mans. LIVE on #SPEED. The coolest race you’ll see all year! Good luck to the #ALMS teams!!

MidwkMotorsport: So bloody excited with #LM24 on the flat screen @radiolemans reverberating around the house! Just magic! Come on Nishy & @Audi!
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Risi holds on to GT2 pole for the 24 hours of Le Mans

UPDATE: Risi disqualified during technical inspection, Corvette assumes pole.

Risi Competizione ruled GT2 qualifying in Le Mans today, taking the class pole, and making ALMS fans here in North America proud. The Ferrari F430 piloted by Gianmaria Bruni put up the fast time on Thursday in the provisional qualifying session. Risi was followed by the ALMS GT2 Corvette driven by Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Emmanuel Collard.

The GT classes will again be the race to watch unless Peugeot has some mechanical issues. The Sebastian Bourdais piloted Peugeot is smoking the Audio R15’s by about two seconds per lap. It could turn into yet another massacre by the diesels.
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Now for some good ALMS news: Peugeot to run Petit Le Mans

While the news of Acura’s likely exit out of ALMS at the end of ‘09 is still hot on the blogosphere, some much better and brighter news has emerged.  Peugeot has announced that they will be running the Petit Le Mans endurance race at Road America coming up in late September.

Now we wait to hear from Audi.  Hopefully they will jump into the mix and bring some competition to the Peugeots who would pretty much destroy the rest of the field otherwise.

Wired News: Peugeot Comes To The Petit Le Mans

What will ALMS look like if Acura leaves at year’s end?

AutoWeek put out a story today that brings new light to the rumors that Acura will exit ALMS at the end of 2009, leaving the series without much of a LMP1 class.

AUTOWEEK:

Acura looks increasingly likely to quit its LMP1 prototype program in the American Le Mans Series.

News that all three of its teams–De Ferran Motorsports, Highcroft Racing and Fernandez Racing–are eyeing a move to the IndyCar Series has fueled speculation that the sports-car effort will come to an end and supports AutoWeek sources that insist that the decision has been made.

“[The future of the Acura program] doesn’t look good from everything you hear and everything you see,” said team owner Adrian Fernandez. “The future of [LMP] prototypes doesn’t look good to me.”

-Read the entire story at AutoWeek.com

While this is depressing, I’m not sure if it is as depressing as Murphy The Bear’s rumor that the Daytona Prototype “Guppies” might find their way into ALMS?

The horror!

In 2007 as Champ Car was folding, it seemed like ALMS had an opportunity to become the premier American road racing series.   The series was touting its “green racing” and technology, and seemed to be emerging into the mainstream of the American sports landscape.  But with P1 and P2 both gutted with the exit of Porsche and Audi in 2009, things have rapidly changed for the worse.

These latest developments will add fuel to the fire regarding the M-word with Grand Am, that’s for sure.  And what a shame that would be.  While the two series don’t have the enmity against each other like Champ Car and the IRL had, they are as different in philosophy and technology as their open wheel counterparts were to each other.

Why is it that American racing fans generally lose out on the better of two series when it comes down to one folding and the other standing?  If racing were like stick-n-ball sports, today we’d be watching the USFL and the ABA.

Peugeot storms back to 24 Hours pole

Alan McNish and Audi had their provision pole snatched away by Stephane Sarrazin and the Peugeot team tonight in night qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The French super-team again showed that their machine is the quickest on the grid. They’ve got the speed thing figured out. The looming question is in regards to their ability to put together a 24 hour race.
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McNish fastest in Le Mans round 1 qualifier

Reigning 24 Hours champ Allan McNish put up the best time in the first round of qualifying for the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans on Thursday.   While McNish is happy about the result, he doesn’t think his numbers will hold up against the Peugeot later in night qualifying.

More at auotsport.com –> McNish expects his time to be beaten

QUALIFYING TIMES-OPENING ROUND

Pos 	 # 	 Class 	 Time 	 Drivers 	 			Car
1	1	LM P1 	03:23.7	D.Capello, T.Kristensen, A.McNish 	Audi R15 TDI
2	8	LM P1 	03:24.9	S.Bourdais, F.Montagny, S.Sarrazin 	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
3	17	LM P1 	03:25.1	J.C.Boullion, S.Pagenaud, B.Treluyer 	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
4	2	LM P1 	03:26.4	L.Luhr, M.Rockenfeller, M.Werner 	Audi R15 TDI
5	7	LM P1 	03:27.0	C.Klien, P.Lamy, N.Minassian 		Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
6	9	LM P1 	03:27.0	D.Brabham, M.Gene, A.Wurz 		Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
7	3	LM P1 	03:27.1	T.Bernhard, R.Dumas, A.Premat 		Audi R15 TDI
8	8	LM P1 	03:29.5	A.Davidson, D.Turner, J.Verstappen 	Lola B09/60-Aston Martin
9	23	LM P1 	03:29.8	P.Hardman, N.Leventis, D.Watt 		Ginetta Zytek 09S
10	16	LM P1 	03:30.5	C.Tinseau, J.Barbosa, B.Jouanny 	Pescarolo 01-Judd
11	13	LM P1 	03:30.6	A.Belicchi, N.Jani, N.Prost 		Lola B08/60-Aston Martin
12	15	LM P1 	03:31.2	C.Albers, C.Bakkerud, G.Mondini 	Audi R10 TDI
13	7	LM P1 	03:32.5	J.Charouz, T.Enge, S.Mucke 		Lola B09/60-Aston Martin
14	10	LM P1 	03:33.7	B.Senna, T.Ortelli, T.Monteiro 		ORECA 01-AIM
15	9	LM P1 	03:34.2	S.Hall, P.Kox, H.Primat 		Lola B09/60-Aston Martin
16	14	LM P1 	03:34.4	N.Karthikeyan, A.Lotterer, C.Zwolsman 	Audi R10 TDI
17	11	LM P1 	03:34.7	O.Panis, N.Lapierre, S.Ayari 		ORECA 01-AIM
18	31	LM P2 	03:38.1	C.Elgaard, K.Poulsen, E.Collard 	Porsche RS Spyder
19	4	LM P1 	03:39.2	J.Campbell-Walter, V.Ickx, R.Ianetta 	Creation Judd
20	12	LM P1 	03:39.3	P.Ragues, F.Mailleux, D.Andre 		Courage LC70-Judd
21	5	LM P2 	03:40.4	S.Ara, K.Kunimoto, S.Maassen 		Porsche RS Spyder
22	6	LM P1 	03:40.9	L.Tomlinson, R.Dean, N.Moore 		Ginetta Zytek 09S
23	33	LM P2 	03:43.7	J.Kane, B.Leuenberger, X.Pompidou 	Lola B09/80-Judd
24	40	LM P2 	03:44.3	M.Amaral, O.Pla, G.Smith 		Ginetta Zytek 09S
25	25	LM P2 	03:44.4	T.Erdos, M.Newton, C.Dyson 		Lola B09/86-Mazda
26	35	LM P2 	03:46.2	M.Lahaye, K.Ajlani, G.Moreau 		Pescarolo 01-Mazda
27	41	LM P2 	03:46.4	K.Ojjeh, C.Y.Gosselin, P.Peter 		Zytek 07S
28	30	LM P2 	03:46.5	T.Biagi, M.Bobbi, A.Piccini 		Lola B09/80-Judd
29	32	LM P2 	03:53.0	J.Barazi, S.Moseley, P.Bennett 		Zytek 07S
30	39	LM P2 	03:54.2	H.Noda, J.de Pourtales, M.Marsch 	Lola B07/46-Mazda
31	63	LM GT1 	03:54.2	J.Magnussen, J.O'Connell, A.Garcia 	Corvette C6.R
32	64	LM GT1 	03:54.7	O.Gavin, O.Beretta, M.Fassler 		Corvette C6.R
33	26	LM P2 	03:55.3	P.Bruneau, T.Greaves, M.RostaN 		Radical-AER
34	66	LM GT1 	03:56.1	L.Lichtner-Hoyer, A.Muller, T.Gruber 	Aston Martin DBR9
35	72	LM GT1 	03:57.2	L.Alphand, P.Goueslard, S.Gregoire 	Corvette C6.R
36	24	LM P2 	03:59.4	J.Nicolet, R.Hein, J.F.Yvon 		Pescarolo 01-Mazda
37	73	LM GT1 	04:01.2	Y.Clairay, X.Maasen, J.Jousse 		Corvette C6.R
38	80	LM GT2 	04:03.2	S.Neiman, D.Law, J.Bergmeister 		Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
39	77	LM GT2 	04:03.2	M.Lieb, R.Lietz, W.Henzler 		Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
40	97	LM GT2 	04:04.3	F.Babini, M.Malucelli, P.Ruberti 	Ferrari F430 GT
41	76	LM GT2 	04:05.4	P.Long, P.Pilet, R.Narac 		Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
42	78	LM GT2 	04:05.4	G.Bruni, L.Perez Companc, M.Russo 	Ferrari F430 GT
43	99	LM GT2 	04:05.9	C.Bouchut, Y.Lebon, M.Rodrigues 	Ferrari F430 GT
44	89	LM GT2 	04:06.6	A.Simonsen, D.Farnbacher, C.Montanari 	Ferrari F430 GT
45	82	LM GT2 	04:07.0	J.Melo, M.Salo, P.Kaffer 		Ferrari F430 GT
46	92	LM GT2 	04:08.4	R.Bell, A.Kirkaldy, T.Sugden 		Ferrari F430 GT
47	83	LM GT2 	04:08.8	T.Krohn, N.Jonsson, E.van de Poele 	Ferrari F430 GT
48	70	LM GT2 	04:10.0	Felbermayr Jr,Felbermayr Sr, Lecourt 	Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
49	87	LM GT2 	04:10.0	J.Cocker, P.Drayson, M.Franchitti 	Aston Martin Vantage
50	85	LM GT2 	04:10.5	T.Coronel, J.Janis, J.Bleekemolen 	Spyker C8 Laviolette
51	84	LM GT2 	04:11.2	P.Ehret, L.Mansell, R.Rusinov 	Ferrari F430 GT
52	75	LM GT2 	04:11.7	D.O'Young, P.Hesnault, P.Kralev 	Porsche 911 GT3 RSR
53	81	LM GT2 	04:13.9	P.Dempsey, J.Foster, D.Kitch Jr 	Ferrari F430 GT
54	96	LM GT2 	04:14.1	M.McInerney, S.McInerney, M.Vergers 	Ferrari F430 GT
55	68	LM GT1 	04:22.2	M.Apicella, A.Yogo, Y.Yamagishi 	Lamborghini Murcielago

Long Beach - Thursday Photos

Here’s a few junky shots I took with a plain old digital camera on Thursday afternoon. It was a great to get out of the office and see, hear, and smell the race cars. Here’s a few junky shots of some cool cars to get you ready for the weekend.

Click here for the rest…..

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