Pratt Miller presenting at RTC’s 2013 Robotics Day

New Hudson, MI – Pratt Miller’s Director of Government Markets, Sara Blackmer, will speak at the 2013 Michigan Robotics Day, hosted by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences on Monday April 15, 2013. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to hear about PME’s system integration capabilities and autonomous platform development. This is also a great time to learn about the value of becoming a Robotics Technology Consortium Member!

For more info, please visit www.microbotics.org.

St. PETERSBURG, Fla., (March 22, 2013) – Team Cadillac’s Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim will start round one of the Pirelli World Challenge Series Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg from the fifth and sixth grid positions for tomorrow’s GT race.

Team Cadillac, the reigning World Challenge GT driver and manufacturer champions, started the weekend with two practice sessions today around the 1.8-mile, 14-turn concrete lined streets of downtown St. Petersburg. In session one, O’Connell posted a fastest lap of 1:16.181, good for third, followed by Pilgrim who drove to a 1:16.254 placing him fifth. In the second practice O’Connell, once again third, with a time of 1:15.852 and Pilgrim sixth with a 1:16.209. The opening weekend of the World Challenge Series has attracted a strong group of 15 GT cars representing brands like Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, and Volvo.

In qualifying O’Connell, last year’s race one winner, put up a time of 1:15.237 good for fifth place on the grid. Pilgrim ran a 1:15.473 that will have him start next to his teammate on the third row in sixth.

“Practice went alright,” O’Connell said. “It is always difficult on a street circuit. Guys are making mistakes, so if you have a half-hour session it ends up being 15 or 20 minutes. That happened both times today. Since we ran here the last two years, we have good data. The Pratt & Miller guys always unload a car that is ready to go with a good set up. The circuit changed for the second session and we improved. I was P3 and happy with that run.”

“In qualifying your disappointed if you’re not on the pole. We qualified fifth and sixth. We’ll see how it shakes out tomorrow.”

“If it rains, everyone has to run out there. Here it is very difficult and challenging with all the paint on the runway. Rain and paint don’t go together. Paint is very slippery when it gets wet. It will be important to be aggressive early in the race, because we will see full course cautions. The Cadillac in the wet is a very good car.”

Pilgrim is satisfied with his day behind the wheel of the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe.

“We went out a little later in the morning than we usual do for the first practice,” Pilgrim said. “We are usually the first ones out. The track was good. It was cool, so when the tires came in it was really nice. In the second practice I had a lot of traffic. We were working pretty hard on the set up that second practice and we made some nice changes for the race.”

“Qualifying was a little more humid than practice. The times weren’t much faster in qualifying until we got a lot of heat in the tires and the cars. I almost went as fast as last year. I made a few changes in the car. That seemed to help. I am happy we are in the top six.”

“Rain is a possibility for the weekend. It is going to be a gamble with the rain. All of the cars on the track – throw in the paint that is on the runway portion of the track, it will be a real crap shoot. If it is raining Saturday, hopefully cool heads will prevail as we also have to race on Sunday. I hope we can stay dry.”

The Pirelli World Challenge schedule will kick-off at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The race is run through the streets of downtown surrounding the marina and the Albert Whitted Airport. The World Challenge Series, race one, will be at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 23 with the second round on Sunday at 10:25 a.m. The races from St. Pete will be televised on NBC Sports, Sunday, April 7 at 12:30 p.m., EDT. Live streaming can be viewed on race day at world-challengeTV.com.

DETROIT, Mich., (Mar. 20, 2013) -Team Cadillac’s Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim are looking for a fast start to the Pirelli World Challenge Series at the season opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg running this weekend March 22-24.

The reigning World Challenge GT driver and manufacturer champions were able to get a strong start in 2012 at St. Pete with a race win and a podium by O’Connell, complimented by a third-place finish by Andy Pilgrim.

“I think we are ready to do well in qualifying again as a team at St. Peter,” Pilgrim said. “We have been slowed down over the winter by the SCCA so we need to see how we stack up now. The restrictor change is really the only variable, but we are ready to go.”

Andy PilgrimPilgrim has a fondness for street racing and likes the St. Pete layout.

“I love street racing and St. Pete is a great track for it. I am a huge fan of fast sweepers and St. Pete has a few really good ones, so even if you’re not in heavy traffic this place will get your attention three or four times a lap. I especially like the fast chicane back onto the airport runway area, it’s a great transition.”

A strong start to the season is essential as every race is a valuable points paying event.

“Every race is critical in this series. One bad race can effectively end your season as far as the Championship. Every year the driver who wins it had the most consistent high place finishes. A DNF or bad finish is not what any of us want. We have to finish towards the front in every race, starting at St. Pete.”

Reigning World Challenge GT driver champion, O’Connell knows a fast start is crucial, but the competition has improved for 2013.

“Last year the team came out of the box fast with top qualifying positions and a win at St. Pete,” O’Connell said. “It’s going to be very hard to repeat that effort. We really don’t know the strengths of our competition and we weren’t the fastest there last year. We got a bit lucky with traffic and I can only hope the same happens this year.”

Johnny O’ConnellLike Pilgrim, O’Connell, 2012 drivers champion, is a big fan of racing through the city streets.

“I’ve always loved street racing and the precision needed to excel on them. Having won at St. Pete before allows me to go into the event knowing what I need to do. I like the entire circuit, but if there is a place that is challenging – it’s braking for Turn One. There is a lot of paint on the surface, and the car doesn’t like that.”

Last year’s race one winner wants to get out of the box again fast in 2013.

“It’s very important to get a good first double race weekend start to the season,” he said. “The most important thing is for us to get good finishes, and then we will see what weaknesses we need to address before Long Beach. We’re entering St. Pete with no preseason testing, so I expect it to be a challenge.”

John Kraemer, V-Series Racing marketing manager, is ready to get the Cadillac CTS-V Coupes back on the track this weekend.

“It has been a long off season,” Kraemer said. “We are ready to hit the track and start the 2013 Pirelli World Challenge season. We had a dream start to the year in St. Pete in 2012, which will be hard to duplicate. Johnny and Andy are ready to go and the team at Pratt Miller has the rig pointed toward Florida. We have a full complement of V-Series fans coming to be a part of the action and kick off the season.”

The Pirelli World Challenge schedule will kick-off at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The race is run through the streets of downtown surrounding the marina and the Albert Whitted Airport. The World Challenge Series, race one, will be at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 23 with the second round on Sunday at 10:25 a.m. The races from St. Pete will be televised on NBC Sports, Sunday, April 7 at 12:30 p.m., EDT. Live streaming can be viewed on race day at world-challengeTV.com.

No. 4 Compuware Corvette C6.R Brings 8th 12-Hour Victory to Corvette Racing

SEBRING, Fla., (March 16, 2013) – Tommy Milner made a late pass for the lead and then held on for the final 15 minutes as the No. 4 GT Compuware Corvette C6.R won the American Le Mans Series GT class 61st Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway on Saturday.

The No. 4 Corvette C6.R – driven by 2012 Drivers’ champions Milner and Oliver Gavin, and Richard Westbrook – overcame an early electrical issue and two key penalties to win the 2013 ALMS opener. It is Gavin’s fifth victory at Sebring; Milner and Westbrook each recorded his first.

“What an incredible effort by Corvette Racing; these guys never gave up,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice-President for Performance Vehicles & Motorsports. “They came from behind multiple times. It was a focused team effort, with great driving and great calls in the pits, and great pits stops, and they delivered a big win. I’m proud of them.”

The No. 3 GT Compuware Corvette C6.R – driven by Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Jordan Taylor – retired with just over three hours remaining due to an overheated gearbox. The team, which also experienced an electrical issue early in the race, finished in 11th place in class, 120 laps off the pace in class.

Milner took over for Gavin with two hours to go and the No. 4 Corvette C6.R the No. 62 Ferrari F458 Italia by about one minute; when he pitted with an hour remaining, he was about a half minute behind.

“Those guys had an unreal pit stop at the end,” Milner said. “We were about a minute back and then 35 seconds at the next pit stop, and then we were 14 seconds back. And once I got to see him, I thought, ‘Here we go. I’ve got a chance here.’ Once I got close to him, he went wide in one and I knew he was pushing hard and he kept making mistakes, and that was it, that was the moment.”

“Really, it came down to when Tommy got on the back bumper of the leader, and that’s when I thought this is when we can really make this happen,” Gavin said. “Tommy was relentless – chasing him down, chasing him down, putting the pressure on. It was a spectacular victory for everybody at Corvette Racing. I’m really delighted.”

Gavin qualified second in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R, and on the very first lap gained the lead. The team was still out front in its class when, nearing the race’s third hour, Westbrook reported that smoke was coming from the dashboard.

“It was clear that we had a good car from the beginning, and then when I had that problem with the dashboard, which put us two laps down – it took a few yellows and some great stints by these two to get us back into position on the lead lap,” Westbrook said. “The pit stops and Tommy’s stint was just amazing at the end, and on balance I thought we deserved it, and we did it the hard way.”

Corvette Racing, which last year won the ALMS Manufacturers’ and Team championships, earned its ALMS-leading 78th all-time victory.

“You can’t start a better way,” Gavin said. “We had a very good year last year in the championship. We didn’t have a great Sebring last year, but this win just puts us up there straightaway, leading the championship off the bat. Tommy and I just sort of picked up where we left off last year, which is exactly what we wanted to do. Proud of all the guys at Corvette Racing today. They nailed every single stop. It was spectacular to watch.”

The No. 3 Corvette C6.R started fifth but experienced a couple of problems early. Garcia accidently ran into the back of a slower car which was in the middle of the track, and incurred a 60-second penalty, then he reported problems with downshifting. Starting on lap 20, the car three times came in for repairs – which included changing the gearbox, steering wheel and electronics.

The car is very, very good, it’s just a shame that we’re so far back,” Taylor said after his first stint. “We have a very competitive car.” The team used its remaining time on track as a test session before its night ended early.

GT Class, 61st Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring

1. 1. #4 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R (Gavin/Milner/Westbrook), 333 laps
2. 2. #62 Ferrari F458 Italia (Bruni/Beretta/Malucelli), 333 laps
3. 3. #17 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Henzler/Sellers/Tandy), -1 lap
4. 4. #55 BMW Z4 GTE (Auberlin/Martín/J. Muller), -3 laps
5. 5. #91 SRT Viper GTS-R (Dalziel/Farnbacher/Goossens), -4 laps
6. 6. #48 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (Miller/Holzer/Lietz), -4 laps
7. 7. #56 BMW Z4 GTE (D. Muller/Hand/Edwards), -12 laps
8. 8. #97 Aston Martin Vantage V8 (Turner/Mucke/Senna), -15 laps
9. 9. #007 Aston Martin Vantage V8 (Della Lana/Johnson/Lamy), -26 laps
10. 10. #93 SRT Viper GTS-R (Bomarito/Kendall/Wittmer), -30 laps

Note: it is said that the C7 will be at the Corvette corral in Sebring!

Gates open Tomorrow!

Gates will open Wednesday morning for the 61st running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh from Florida. America’s premier sports car endurance race runs on Saturday beginning at 10:45 am. A variety of tickets are still available at the gate.

For more information visit sebringraceway.com.

Audi, Corvette Fastest

in First Test Day

Lucas di Grassi set the fastest time for Audi in the opening day of testing for the 61st Sebring with a lap of 1:46.262 (126.706 mph) in the No. 2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid prototype.

The Brazilian, a past Formula One regular and current test driver for Pirelli, drives in the U.S. for the first time in 19 years when the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón opens its season Saturday at the famed Sebring circuit.

Di Grassi’s lap in the second of Monday’s four-hour session at Sebring International Raceway was 0.199 seconds clear of Rebellion Racing’s No. 12 Lola B12/60-Toyota. It’s best time of 1:46.461 (126.469 mph) came in the morning portion of testing. Nico Prost, Nick Heidfeld and Neel Jani are in the No. 12 entry.

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing’s Honda Performance Development ARX-03a was third quickest at 1:47.157 (125.647 mph) – set in the afternoon. Klaus Graf, Lucas Luhr and Romain Dumas drive the No. 6 car.

Corvette Racing, looking for its first Sebring victory since 2009, led GT with a 1:59.411 (112.753 mph) for the No. 4 Corvette C6 ZR1 of defending ALMS class champions Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin, and Richard Westbrook. Aston Martin Racing’s No. 97 Aston Martin Vantage was second at 1:59.969 (112.229 mph); Darren Turner, Stefan Mucke and Bruno Senna share driving duties.

Sebring TV Coverage

Returns to SPEED

More than 10 hours of coverage of

America’s toughest endurance race

The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón returns to SPEED Saturday for its 2013 season opener. Television’s leading motorsport channel will air 10.5 hours of the 61st Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida.

Bob Varsha, Calvin Fish, Dorsey Schroeder, Brian Till, Johnny O’Connell and Justin Bell will call the action from the commentary booth at Sebring Raceway. Roving the pitlane will be reporters Jamie Howe, Kelli Stavast, Chris Neveill and Andrew Marriott.

SPEED begins its coverage with a pre-race show at 10:30 a.m. ET with the green flag set for 10:45. After a one-hour break at noon, SPEED returns to Sebring from 1 to 7:30 p.m. and airs the final three hours of the race from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The Details

The 61st running of the 12hrs of Sebring will be one for the record books. This will be the last one before the North American sportscar merger of the ALMS and Grand-Am.

The Competition

-#17 Falken Tires Porsche 911 RSR: The duo of Brian Sellers and Wolf Henzler are back with a 3rd driver TBD. These guys showed they were no joke last season, but have had a harder time in the long endurance events.

-#23 Team West/ARJ Ferrari 458: These two teams have come together with drivers Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell. This Pro/Am duo probably won’t be in contention for a podium, but it’s great to see them on the track putting on a show for the fans.

-#48 Paul Miller Racing Porsche 911 RSR: Returning for 2013 with driver Bryce Miller and Porsche factory driver Marco Holzer.

-#55 & 56 Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE: Rolling out with a new car for 2013, look for this team to be in contention all season long. This new car doesn’t come without controversy though. It is essentially a FIA GT3 car with GTE bodywork and aero. The wheelbase is longer then the production car (3.1 ACO Regulations), it has a V8 (5.5.1 ACO Regulation), and it is wider then the the width extension the regulations state you can make the car compared to the production variant (3.3.8 ACO Regulations). To read the ACO LM-GTE Regulations for yourself, CLICK HERE

-#62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 458: They are back, and look strong. Ex-Corvette driver Oliver Berretta, Gianmaria Bruni, and Matteo Malucelli will be looking for nothing short of a win.

-#91 & 93 SRT Motorsports Viper: The snakes will be making their first full season debut. We know they want to beat Corvette at their own game, but is the car/team ready to take down the best in the business?

-#007 & 97 Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage: The Brits are back! Look for AMR is to be strong competition, with an all new car and a powerful driver lineup, including Formula 1 driver Bruno Senna making his sportscar debut.

-#3 & #4 Corvette Racing ZR1: The gang is back and ready to defend their titles. Corvette Racing, the powerhouse of GT racing, has yet to win the 12hrs of Le Mans since moving to the GT2/GTE category. They will be looking to send off the C6.R with a win.

Qualifying will be broadcast via ALMS.com ONLY….not ESPN3 (1:05pm EDT 3/15)

The race will be broadcast via SPEED Channel and ALMS.com….not available on ESPN 3 (10:30am EDT 3/16)