O’Connell post two third place finishes

St. PETERSBURG, Fla., (March 24, 2013) – Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim drove their Cadillac CTS-V race cars to third and fifth-place finishes in race two of the Pirelli World Challenge Championships Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg this morning.

O’Connell and Pilgrim improved one position each on the final standings from race one at St. Pete yesterday. The “gift” was the result of the Porsche of Ryan Dalziel, yesterday’s GT race winner, being disqualified in post-race inspection for the front splitter being out of compliance. As a result O’Connell was granted third place and Pilgrim fourth.

Based upon their fastest race laps from yesterday, O’Connell started today’s round two of the double event weekend from fourth, with teammate Pilgrim starting directly behind him in sixth. Unlike the first race, the Pirelli World Challenge officials went back to the traditional standing start for this morning’s race.

With light precipitation in the air, the Cadillac CTS-V racers of O’Connell and Pilgrim jumped off of the starting grid and headed to Turn One. O’Connell was able to put his CTS-V Coupe between the Corvette of Michael Skeen and the apex picking up a position in fifth with teammate Pilgrim following in behind. As the race progressed the threat of rain went away and left the Pirelli World Challenge competitors to run the 50-minute event without a caution. On lap 30, the front runners began to experience problems. Early race leader Alex Figge, No. 9 Volvo, experienced engine problems and retired, he was soon followed in by second place runner Dalziel with a flat tire on his Porsche. Keeping the pressure on, O’Connell was able to drive his No. 3 Cadillac Racing CTS-V Coupe to a podium paying position of third. Pilgrim came to the checkered flag in fifth.

“I slid more than I thought at the start,” O’Connell said. “I ran fifth pretty much the entire race. I ran clean. Looking at the total weekend, I ran about as perfect as I could have yesterday and today. I can honestly say that I got 110% out of the car. Thanks to the misfortune of Dalziel yesterday, I finished third and two guys had trouble in front of me today, which put me on the podium again. Team Cadillac puts great cars under us and we had a pretty good weekend.”

Pilgrim experienced some handling issues in race two.

“There was a tiny bit of precipitation on the warm-up lap, but not enough to affect anyone,” Pilgrim said. “I was able to get a good start. I got by Skeen’s [Mike] Corvette at the start. I knew I was going to be running with him again, like yesterday. He was a little better around more of the track than I was today. As long as I could lean on the brakes, I was alright. We had a slight push in the car all weekend and we just couldn’t quite figure it out. About 15 laps into the race, the brake pedal began to get a little soft, so I had to back out of it.”

Round two of the Pirelli World Challenge Championships Honda St. Peter Grand Prix was won by James Sofronas in an Audi R8.

The Pirelli World Challenge Series, race two, will run tomorrow, 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.

Rounds three and four of the Pirelli World Challenge Series will be at the Long Beach Grand Prix presented by KIA, April 19-21.

 http://gmauthority.com/blog/2013/03/corvette-racings-secret-weapon-is-the-pratt-miller-radar-camera/

With the start of the 2013 American Le Mans Racing series at last weekend’s 12 Hours of Sebring, Corvette Racing was able to snatch a victory in the GT class with the C6.R race car. The car also featured something special for the first time that may have helped Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin, and Richard Westbrook win: an innovated rear-view camera system that relays the distance of approaching vehicles, even in the blind spots. And it works in the rain, and in the dark.

The system runs on a custom Linux machine with an Intel Core i3 CPU and uses a rear-facing radar sensor that is capable of tracking up to 32 objects while working in tandem with the camera. Different colors and symbols are displayed on the rearview screen, which allows the driver to easily see race cars that are behind, how close they are, their closing speeds, and even the approaching vehicle’s racing class.

For instance, a green marker means the car behind the Corvette C6.R is falling back, while yellow means it’s moving at the same rate of speed; a red marker indicates that the car is closing the gap and about to pass, with a blinking arrow indicating on which side the C6.R will be passed. To differentiate racing classes, an extra line in the marker indicates when the computer believes the encroaching vehicle to be of a faster class (as shown above).

Pratt Miller claim it to be the only system of its kind in racing, but plans to sell the technology to other teams in the future, with pricing still to be determined. Watch how the radar camera works in this video (visit the following URL):

St. PETERSBURG, Fla., (March 23, 2013) – Team Cadillac’s Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim finished round one of the Pirelli World Challenge Championships Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in fourth and fifth respectively this afternoon.

O’Connell and Pilgrim started the 50-minute race together on the third row of the Pirelli World Challenge GT grid based upon their fifth and sixth place qualifying times. For the first of two races this weekend, the series’ officials decided to have the competitors come to the green flag using a rolling start. Tomorrow’s round two will be a traditional standing start.

From the drop of the green flag the Cadillac CTS-V race cars of O’Connell and Pilgrim took up positions in fourth and seventh places. As is the nature of closed street course racing, the parade effect took over. On lap 11 O’Connell was passed going into Turn One, relegating him to fifth position. On lap 26, a full-course caution brought the field back together. On lap 30 the race restarted with a rejuvenated O’Connell and Pilgrim, each able to make up positions on the lap finishing the race in fourth and fifth place.

“The start was pretty clean,” O’Connell said. “I was able to gain a position going into Turn One. The front cars seemed like they could get off of the turns a little better than we could. Early in the race they just inched, inched away and the next thing you know there’s a gap. Then you add in the GTS traffic and you almost lose touch. I had the Audi behind me at the start. It was a matter of time before he was able to get by. On the restart, Randy [Pobst] in the Volvo bobbled in the kink and I was able to get a place back on him. I am pleased with the race. Team Cadillac gave Andy and me great race cars. We will be ready for round two tomorrow.”

Pilgrim had a clean start and was able to make up two positions on the restart.

“Everyone really bunched up quickly on the start,” said Pilgrim. “A lot the guys behind me didn’t get up to the pack in the last turn. The traffic here is unbelievable with so many GTS cars. They are not that far off of us, speed wise, down the straight, but in the turns they are much slower. You have to be so patient with them. I don’t think you’ll see as much patience tomorrow. On the restart, I was able to make a couple of good moves and get some positions. I was able to get inside Skeen [Mike, No. 2 Corvette] in Turn Four and held the position. In Turn 10 Randy [Pobst] got balked a little and I banged in behind Johnny to make the pass. It was tight coming out of that turn, but I got by.”

Round One of the Pirelli World Challenge Series from St. Petersburg was won by Ryan Daiziel in a Porsche 911 GT3.

The Pirelli World Challenge Series, race two, will run tomorrow, 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.

Written by: John Dagys

Location: Northampton (UK)

Following in the footsteps of his father and brother, Ricky Taylor will get his chance to tackle the world’s greatest endurance race this year, having secured a ride with one of the most successful privateer endurance teams in the business.

The 23-year-old second-generation driver has signed with Larbre Competition for the 90th Le Mans 24 Hours, joining team regulars Julien Canal and Patrick Bornhauser in the French squad’s No. 50 Corvette C6.R, which will be seeking its third consecutive GTE-Am class victory and fourth in a row in the twice-around-the-clock classic.

“If I ever have a situation where I could be comfortable and have a good chance to win [Le Mans], this is it. I don’t think the opportunity could be better,” Taylor told SPEED.com in an exclusive interview.

“It’s a great opportunity for me because it’s a strong team, good car and not a huge factory effort, so there’s not too much pressure. But at the same time, they have won it three times in a row. I think it’s a good chance for me to go to Le Mans for my first time.”

The deal to jump aboard the two-time and defending class-winning Corvette came when Pedro Lamy, the team’s original designated professional driver, moved to one of Aston Martin Racing’s GTE-Pro entries, leaving a void for a Platinum or Gold-rated driver in the squad.

“Originally we were talking about the 70 car,” Taylor explained. “Then Cooper MacNeil ended up over there. I’d just gotten my [FIA/ACO] license all finalized and turned out that I was a Gold. A lot of the options went away at that point and I was kind of discouraged. Then, a seat opened up in the 50 car and Larbre called and said they’d like someone with a history of endurance racing.”

While it will mark Taylor’s debut at Le Mans, the GM driver holds an impressive resume in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, which includes seven victories, a string of poles and two runner-up finishes in the DP championship, all with his father’s Wayne Taylor Racing operation. He’s since moved over to Spirit of Daytona Racing for 2013.

But outside of a one-off run in a V8 Supercar at last year’s Gold Coast 600, Le Mans will be Ricky’s first experience of a GT-style car but will have plenty of people to lean on for advise. That includes younger brother Jordan, who made his Le Mans debut in 2012 with Corvette Racing and returns to the factory GTE-Pro squad this year, with a similar spec Corvette C6.R.

“I’ve got the excuse and can say my car is a little bit older!” Ricky joked, in reference to the one-year old car mandate for cars competing in GTE-Am. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be good. I’m actually going to be sleeping in [Jordan’s] room at the track. We’re both going to be able to compare notes without being competitive, which is going to be cool.

“There’s going to be absolutely no competitive aspect to it, which is going to be weird, especially this year in DP. It’s going to be pretty cool.”

Ricky will get his first taste of the Corvette C6.R in a private test in France, prior to the official Le Mans Test day on June 9 and the race itself on June 22-23.

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