Racing: Le Mans – LM24 Entry List Released

24 HOURS OF LE MANS ENTRY LIST

LMP1 (8 entries)

1 – Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R18 e-tron quattro – Andre Lotterer

2 – Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R18 e-tron quattro – Tom Kristensen

3 – Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R18 e-tron quattro – Marc Gene

7 – Toyota Racing – Toyota TS030 Hybrid – Alexander Wurz

8 – Toyota Racing – Toyota TS030 Hybrid – Anthony Davidson

12 – Rebellion Racing – Lola B12/60 Toyota – Nicolas Prost

13 – Rebellion Racing – Lola B12/60 Toyota – Neel Jani

21 – Strakka Racing – HPD ARX-03c – Nick Leventis

LMP2 (22 entries)

24 – OAK Racing – Morgan-Nissan – Jacques Nicolet

25 – Delta-ADR – Oreca 03 Nissan – John Martin

26 – G-Drive Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Roman Rusinov

27 – Sebastien Loeb Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Franck Montagny

28 – Gulf Racing Middle East – Lola B12/80 Nissan – Fabien Giroix

29 – Gulf Racing Middle East – Lola B12/80 Nissan – Frederic Fatien

30 – HVM Status GP – Lola B12/80 Judd – Jonathan Kennard

31 – Lotus – Lotus T128 – Kevin Weeda

32 – Lotus – Lotus T128 – Thomas Holzer

33 – Level 5 Motorsports – HPD ARX-03b – Scott Tucker

35 – OAK Racing – Morgan-Nissan – Olivier Pla

36 – Signatech – Oreca 03 Nissan – Franck Mailleux

38 – Jota Sport – Zytek Z11SN Nissan – Simon Dolan

40 – Boutsen Ginon Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Koen Wauters

41 – Greaves Motorsport – Zytek Z11SN Nissan – Christian Zugel

42 – Greaves Motorsport – Zytek Z11SN Nissan – Tom Kimber-Smith

44 – Starworks Motorsport – HPD ARX-03b – Alex Popow

45 – OAK Racing – Morgan-Nissan – David Heinemeier Hansson

46 – Thiriet by TDS Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Pierre Thiriet

47 – KCMG – Morgan-Nissan – Alexandre Imperatori

48 – Murphy Prototoypes – Oreca 03 Nissan – Brendon Hartley

49 – Pecom Racing – Oreca 03 Nissan – Luis Perez-Companc

GTE-Pro (11 entries)

51 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Gianmaria Bruni

63 – Corvette Racing – Corvette C6.R – Antonio Garcia

64 – Corvette Racing – Corvette C6.R – Oliver Gavin

66 – JMW Motorsport – Ferrari F458 Italia – Tim Sugden

71 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Olivier Beretta

91 – Porsche AG Team Manthey – Porsche 911 RSR – Marc Lieb

92 – Porsche AG Team Manthey – Porsche 911 RSR – Joerg Bergmeister

93 – SRT Motorsports – SRT Viper GTS-R – Marc Goossens

94 – SRT Motorsports – SRT Viper GTS-R – Dominik Farnbacher

97 – Aston Martin Racing – Aston Martin Vantage – Darren Turner

99 – Aston Martin Racing – Aston Martin Vantage – Stefan Mucke

GTE-Am (14 entries)

50 – Larbre Competition – Corvette C6.R – Patrick Bornhauser

54 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Yannick Mallegol

55 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Piergiuseppe Perazzini

57 – Krohn Racing – Ferrari F458 Italia – Tracy Krohn

61 – AF Corse – Ferrari F458 Italia – Jack Gerber

67 – IMSA Performance Matmut – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Pascal Gibon

70 – Larbre Competition – Corvette C6.R – Pedro Lamy

76 – IMSA Performance Matmut – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Raymond Narac

77 – Dempsey Racing-Proton – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Patrick Dempsey

80 – Extreme Speed Motorsports – Ferrari F458 Italia – Scott Sharp

81 – 8Star Motorsports – Ferrari F458 Italia – Enzo Potolicchio

88 – Proton Competition – Porsche 911 GT3 RSR – Christian Reid

95 – Aston Martin Racing – Allan Simonsen

96 – Aston Martin Racing – Rolad Goethe

Unclassified (1 entry)

0 – GreenGT Technologies – GreenGT H2 – Christian Pescatori

John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at askdagys@gmail.com

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/le-mans-lm24-entry-list-released/

Heavy Metal Affliction 2011 Cadillac CTS-V

Is it a foregone conclusion that professional race car drivers love to taunt death? Not necessarily. It’s really about pushing limits and finding the edge without careening over. Few have the judgment and skills to not only survive a life racing, but to excel at it.

Andy Pilgrim is one. An accomplished racer in many disciplines, Pilgrim started racing on motorcycles in the 1980s an then came to the U.S. to find career opportunities that weren’t available in his native U.K. He has always been passionate about bikes; for example, he has kept a race program from a local track—Mallory Park—near Nottingham U.K since he was two years old. Growing up Pilgrim was the kid that was doing stunts on his tricycle, bicycle, or moped. He was also the one who didn’t need to follow the crowd when they chose to do something stupid, and he’s always sworn off alcohol and drugs. In his words, “Because I was a risk taker, when it came to anything with faster than feet mobility, I also realized early that altered states were not a good idea.“

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Industry Team Offers MAV-L for Special Applications Beyond SOCOM

Industry Team Offers MAV-L for Special Applications Beyond SOCOM

Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and Pratt Miller Engineering team celebrated the debut of the MAV-L at AUSA 2012, the team’s entry into the GMV 1.1 pursuit. MAV-L is a modular vehicle, built to transports up to seven operators and easily reconfigured to fit specific missions.

Despite its spacious size it can be air transportable internally in MH/CH-47 Chinook helicopters, thanks to height compression technique reducing the vehicle’s height to fit the Chinook’s cabin.

Motor racing specialist company Pratt Miller Engineering is signed on the unique design, brought from idea to fully functional prototype in few months. A respected industry leader in the defense, automotive, motorsports and powersports industries, Pratt Miller is renown for their innovative, high-performance engineering and manufacturing solutions.

“Our clean-sheet approach and purpose-built solution applies innovation from across our industry team. We deliver an affordable solution that meets the warfighter’s mission requirements and a great new capability,” said Tom Vice, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Technical Services. “We’re fully committed to providing the Special Operations Command with the most modular and agile vehicle capable of top performance in any operational environment.” While MAV-L was designed to meet SOCOM GMV 1.1 requirements, the team considered it has applications beyond SOCOM. For example, such vehicles could be suitable for US Army and Marine Corps recon teams, forced entry teams operated by the Air Force, or for international customers. designing the vehicle for maximum adaptation and ample growth.

BAE Systems provides the experience of military vehicle manufacturing, and sustainment for the program. If MAV-L is selected, it will be produced at the company’s Sealy, Texas, facility where MRAPs and tactical trucks where produced in recent years.

“The capabilities of our partners combined with Northrop Grumman’s decades of experience integrating C4ISR systems into land forces sustainment and military platforms, ensure that our customers receive a vehicle as capable and flexible as their mission requirements,” said Frank Sturek, deputy director of land forces sustainment and MAV-L program manager, Northrop Grumman.

Northrop Grumman Team Unveils GMV 1.1 Candidate

Another GMV 1.1 candidate is unveiled at AUSA 2012

Fanfare and ceremony accompanied the opening of this week’s Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., as an industry team led by Northrop Grumman used the AUSA gathering to unveil their candidate solution for the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV) 1.1 program.

The ceremony marked the sixth company or team to acknowledge submitting a vehicle test sample as part of their GMV 1.1 proposal. Other companies that have acknowledged GMV 1.1 candidates include AM General, Navistar, Oshkosh, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS)/Flyer, and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) [Force Protection].

The Northrop Grumman-led entry, dubbed Medium Assault Vehicle – Light (MAV-L), was developed in conjunction with team members BAE Systems and Pratt Miller Engineering.

MAV-L 3 SG

Northrop Grumman’s MAV-L, unveiled at AUSA 2012, displayed some obvious racing bloodlines as well as its ability to be configured for various loads and weaponry. Photo by Scott R. Gourley

“Today marks a unique time for the future of ground combat vehicle technology as we unveil the [Medium] Assault Vehicle – Light (MAV-L) for the U.S. Special Forces GMV 1.1 competition,” said Tom Vice, president of Northrop Grumman Technical Services. “Our MAV-L solution is the result of first understanding the need; the technical requirements; affordability requirements; production requirements; as well as operation and support requirements. From there we started with a clean sheet approach and designed, produced, and rigorously tested our solution … I think you will see that this solution meets all the requirements: mission, tactical, affordability, production, demand in terms of schedule, and of course all the operation support requirements.”

“In teaming with BAE [Systems] and Pratt Miller, this team combines the most innovative companies from defense and the commercial racing industries to create this purpose-designed vehicle that meets the warfighters’ needs, both in effectiveness and new capabilities. And in partnering with BAE and Pratt Miller we found the perfect complement to Northrop Grumman’s innovation and our ground vehicle sustainment programs that we have been producing for quite some time,” he said.

“This process began and ended with the warfighter in mind,” he added. “And all three companies have tirelessly dedicated themselves to producing this clean sheet approach that meets the demands of our U.S. Special Forces.”

Outlining the need for the new vehicle, Frank Sturek, a land forces modernization campaign manager for Northrop Grumman, noted that the current USSOCOM Ground Mobility Vehicle “does not meet the long range surveillance and airfield seizure mission requirements.”

In addition to internal transport by MH/CH-47 helicopter, Sturek added that “USSOCOM wanted a vehicle with high off road mobility and quick dash speed that leveraged technologies from the off road racing and high performance racing communities” as well as the ability to configure the vehicle load to meet their own requirements.

“They told us that they need a vehicle where a couple operators can get in there – with a lot of stuff.’ And the vehicle needs to be able to do that for the long range surveillance mission. And they also need the same vehicle to be able to transport a lot of dudes with not a lot of stuff for an airfield seizure mission.”

In addition to the GMV 1.1 program, Sturek said that the MAV-L industry team sees the potential product market expanding to include forced entry equipment sets for the U.S. Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps, Marine Corps forced entry equipment requirements, Army and Marine Corps reconnaissance elements, and several international special operations markets.

Motorsports to Mission Critical

How Simulation Propelled Pratt Miller into New Markets

Pratt Miller | Based on an interview with Jesper Slättengren

Pratt Miller learned how to develop vehicles under tight deadlines and get them right the first time as a highly successful designer and builder of race cars. In 2005, the company created an Engineering Services Division to bring the same skills to industrial customers. The company found a niche developing showcase vehicles, fully engineered working prototypes, for defense contractors, under deadlines as short as a few months. Vehicle dynamics simulation using MSC Software’s Adams software plays a key role by making it possible to evaluate and optimize the performance of critical vehicle subsystems long before prototypes and even detailed CAD models of the vehicle are available. Recently, the company created a prototype of a new wheeled military vehicle in only 12 weeks. The ability to develop showcase vehicles so quickly has helped the Engineering Services Division increase its revenues by a factor of 100 and its engineering staff by 122 people in just 7 years.

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Northrop Grumman unveils proposal for next U.S. Special Ops vehicle

Who says car racing isn’t a battle?

Northrop Grumman has unveiled its proposal for the U.S. Special Forces’ next combat car, the Medium Assault Vehicle – Light (MAV-L.)

One of several entries being evaluated for the U.S. Special Operations Command Ground Mobility Vehicle 1.1 competition, the truck was co-developed with BAE Systems and Pratt Miller engineering, the same outfit behind the 2012 American Le Mans Series GT championship-winning Corvette Racing team.

The vehicle was designed from the ground up to meet the goals of the competition, which is looking to find a fast, relatively lightweight 4×4 that can be transported inside of a Chinook helicopter or C-130 airplane, operate in a variety of theaters and support the “peculiar modifications” required by special ops teams from each branch of the military. Approximately 1,300 of the winning vehicles will be purchased by the Pentagon through 2020 starting next year at fully equipped price of under $350,000 per unit.

The MAV-L is powered by a 4.4-liter CAT four-cylinder diesel engine with 220 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. The six-passenger truck features a protective tubular roll cage that can accommodate a variety of equipment and armament configurations, including a gun turret. Top speed of the 7,400-pound vehicle is 80 mph on pavement and 60 mph on rough roads, its weight minimized through the use of carbon fiber bodywork. Along with the open top version show, it’s been engineered with several fully-enclosed armored solutions in mind.

Northrup Grumman tapped Pratt Miller to build the prototype that was submitted to the Pentagon for a full gauntlet of tests by its evaluation team.

Five other proposals for the GMV are vying for the contract, including another radical, purpose-built vehicle from General Dynamics Land Systems and a more conventional pickup truck from Navistar featuring ballistic protection from Indigen Armor.

A winner is expected to be announced by the end of this year.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/10/22/northrop-grumman-unveils-proposal-for-next-us-special-ops-vehicle/#ixzz2A8DqTjX9

Next-generation Corvette to Debut 1.13.13 in Detroit

New Crossed Flags logo illustrates the character of the all-new, “C7” Corvette

BRASELTON, Ga. – Chevrolet today confirmed the seventh-generation Corvette will debut on Sunday evening, Jan. 13, 2013, in Detroit. To start the countdown to 1.1.13, Chevrolet is showing the new Crossed Flags logo for the new 2014 Corvette.

“The all-new seventh-generation Corvette deserved an all-new emblem,” said Ed Welburn, GM vice president of global design. “The new Crossed Flags design reflects the character of the next Corvette. The flags are much more modern, more technical, and more detailed than before – underscoring the comprehensive redesign of the entire car.”

The new Crossed Flags logo was unveiled at Road Atlanta, where Corvette Racing celebrated a sweep of the 2012 production-based American Le Mans Series GT championships.

Chevrolet secured the manufacturer championship, Corvette Racing secured the team championship, and Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner captured the drivers championship, with four wins in the nine races preceding Petit Le Mans, the 2012 ALMS season finale.

These championships make Corvette Racing the most successful team in ALMS history, with a total of 77 class wins, eight driver championships, and nine manufacturer and team championships. The team has also taken seven class victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and an overall win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Corvette Racing will campaign the C6.R for the 2013 ALMS season. The C7.R is expected to make its racing debut in 2014.

“Winning the ALMS championships with the Corvette C6.R against prestigious competitors from Ferrari, Porsche, and BMW is the perfect send-off for the sixth-generation Corvette,” said Tadge Juechter, Corvette chief engineer.

“The seventh-generation Corvette will build on that success,” Juechter continued. “With the new Corvette, we set out to build a world-challenging sports car with design, refinement, efficiency and driver engagement that is second to none. The result is a truly all-new Corvette. There are only two carryover parts from the C6 used in the C7 – the cabin air filter and the rear latch for the removable roof panel.”

The Crossed Flags logo has been a hallmark of the Corvette since its 1953 introduction. It has always incorporated a pair of flags, one a racing checkered flag and other featuring the Chevrolet “bowtie” emblem and a French fleur-de-lis. The design has evolved over the years, and has been featured on more than 1.5 million Corvettes built between 1953 and today.

For the seventh-generation Corvette, the Crossed Flags design is a more technical, more angular, and more swept appearance – in proportion that symbolizes the new car. It is also a more detailed representation, showing greater depth, color and attention to detail.

More than 100 variations were considered before the final design was selected.

The new Crossed Flags design will be featured on the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which will debut for credentialed media on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013, in Detroit. Chevrolet will offer a limited number of tickets for Corvette enthusiasts, with proceeds benefiting the National Corvette Museum, in Bowling Green, Ky. Interested parties can contact Roc Linkov (roc@corvettemuseum.com) for more details.

Over coming weeks, more information and video content about the seventh-generation Corvette will be unlocked on www.one13thirteen.com. Enthusiasts can join the conversation about the next-generation Corvette, as well as keep track of new announcements on Facebook (facebook.com/corvette) and Twitter @Chevrolet(#Corvette). Fans that follow the #one13thirteen hashtag on Twitter can look forward to exclusive updates.

FAST FACT: The first Corvette debuted as a concept car on Jan. 17, 1953, at the GM Motorama in New York City. That car originally featured an emblem with a checkered flag crossed with an American flag. Because use of the American flag was prohibited as part of a commercial property, the logo was changed to the fleur-de-lis/bowtie when the Corvette went into production in June 1953.

Cadillac Racing Claims Multiple 2012 Championship Titles

Congratulations to Team Cadillac, winners of the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge GT Manufacturer’s Championship. And a special congrats to Johnny O’Connell, winner of the GT-class Driver’s Championship.

Visit their Facebook page for more information, including race recap videos.

http://www.facebook.com/cadillac/app_159655680755615?ref=ts

Chevrolet Statement on merger of GRAND-AM Road Racing and American Le Mans Series

Mark Reuss, President, GM North America, statement on today’s announcement regarding the merger of GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series:

“This is an exciting moment in sports car racing. This merger combines the best attributes of GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series to create a singularly focused series. Congratulations to Jim France and Dr. Don Panoz on having the passion for sports car racing and the vision to take it to the next level. The joining of these two series will provide a foundation for Chevrolet to develop technologies and race cars with tremendous relevancy to the production vehicles we sell today and in the future.”

O’Connell Fulfills Goal of World Challenge Driver Title for Team Cadillac

O’Connell Fulfills Goal of World Challenge Driver Title for Team Cadillac; Pilgrim Makes It 1-2 Sweep

O’Connell Consistent, Fast In Earning First Career Pirelli World Challenge Crown

  • * Three Victories, 12 Top-10 Finishes Lead the Way
  • * Pilgrim Smooth, Logs 11 Top-Five Finishes
  • * Cadillacs Finished in top 10 in all 12 Races

SONOMA, Calif. – Johnny O’Connell is a champion racing driver, and as such, he wants to win more championships.

He did so this season, taking Team Cadillac back to the top of the podium in the Pirelli World Challenge Series GT Series on the strength of three victories, nine top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.

“This was my objective since the awards banquet last year when we finished second,” O’Connell said of his first World Challenge championship. “With a year to learn and develop, we figured we would enter this season in a good position. We didn’t make any mistakes this year, and it’s always great when you set a goal to meet it.”

After winning five championships with Corvette, O’Connell tried to put it in perspective.

“This matches those titles I won with Corvette and probably surpasses them, because this one was just me by myself, in terms of driving,” he said. “[Team director] Steve Cole has to get the credit for this, because he’s built an organization here at Cadillac that is second to none.”

After closing 2011 with two victories in the final four races, O’Connell had an inkling that 2012 could be very special for him and the team.

“When we entered last year, we had no dreams of winning it last year,” O’Connell said. “We were highly restricted and needed to do a lot of development. As the season progressed, we got to the point where were able to catch up and have a car that was good, fast and strong.

“Over the winter our engineers improved the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe and I entered this season with a lot of confidence that, provided I did some pretty simple things, I would be able to be in a position to win the championship. Those things were: don’t hit anybody, don’t break anything, stay on the race track.”

He did exactly that, finishing all 12 races in the top 10, nine in the top five.

“It sounds stupid, and it really isn’t that simple, but that’s what we did. We had a good opening round at St. Pete, Long Beach was good, but the key to winning is always being there. The only place I felt super strong was at Detroit, we had a great car at Miller and we had great cars at Mosport.”

The competition was stiff, O’Connell said, and that makes the title so much sweeter.

“The Volvo was super strong, the Porsche was strong and the Corvette had two wins at Mosport,” he said. “There were a lot of cars that were competitive. This championship was won with a combination of speed and wisdom.”

Andy Pilgrim, the only driver to have competed for Cadillac’s GT program in every race of its history, finished second to O’Connell in the driver standings with nearly an identical record. He had one victory, at Long Beach, 11 top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.

“We didn’t dominate,” Pilgrim said of the season. “It was all team. We did not have the fastest cars, we didn’t earn pole positions and it’s all about team and a car that’s reliable. They give us great cars, we do our job and we had to stay out of trouble. “

O’Connell said the Manufacturer’s crown and his driver title are just part of the overall program that Cadillac has for the future.

“If you look at the product, where the CTS-V is, they’re moving toward an athletic platform that takes on and beats BMW. The ATS is a perfect example of that. I’ve driven so many prototype cars for GM…the ATS is insane how good it is. It’s the best car I’ve ever driven as a GM vehicle. That comparison is not even close. They are truly living up to their motto of “Standard of the World,” and using racing as a platform to achieve that.

“It’s a great thing for me and for Andy Pilgrim to represent them. We’re moving forward.”

Cole, who was an engineer in the Corvette program and worked with both O’Connell and Pilgrim in the halcyon days of that program, said the drivers and crews worked so well together during the title run.

“This is truly a reliability and consistency championship, not a performance championship,” Cole said. “The credit goes to Mike West and that crew, the guys at the shop who break their backs when we get back there and cover us when we make dumb mistakes at the track. The engineers are relentless in their pursuit of performance and consistent setups. It’s a great team, we’re happy to be here and glad to have won these titles.”