Race Weekend Central

Tequila Patrón ESM Claims Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Victory

2018 Daytona Iwsc Johannes Van Overbeek Car Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Saturday (March 17), Tequila Patrón ESM’s Pipo Derani, Nicolas Lapierre and Johannes van Overbeek claimed overall victory in the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring presented by Advance Auto Parts.  For all three drivers, it is their second overall wins at Sebring.  Derani and van Overbeek won in 2016 with Tequila Patrón ESM, while …

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FIA WEC Unveils 2018-19 Full Season/Le Mans Entries, Moves Fuji Race

2017 Monza Wec Nicolas Lapierre Car Marius Hecker Adrenalmedia.com

(Photo: © Marius Hecker - AdrenalMedia.com)

On Friday afternoon (European time), the FIA World Endurance Championship officially launched the 2018-19 season with an announcement in Paris.  The full-season entry list was revealed, containing 36 teams.  However, the biggest news was the shift of the 6 Hours of Fuji up by one week to Oct. 14. The Fuji move has been met …

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Entry List: WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Roar Before the 24

Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of discussion about which teams will attempt the Rolex 24 in 2018.  The mandatory Roar Before the 24 test sessions in early January give viewers a look at who will be there.  As of Wednesday, there are 50 teams entered for the three-day test. On …

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Nicolas Lapierre, Olivier Pla Join Tequila Patron ESM for 2018 Enduros

2017 Watkins Glen Iwsc Pipo Derani Car Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Tuesday morning, Tequila Patron ESM announced their endurance drivers for the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.  Regular drivers Ryan Dalziel, Pipo Derani, Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek will be joined by Nicolas Lapierre and Olivier Pla.  The team has not made specific car assignments as of yet for the two European pilots. Team …

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André Lotterer, Jose Maria Lopez Top Wet WEC Fuji Practices

2017 Fuji Wec Jose Maria Lopez Car Marius Hecker Adrenal Media

(Photo: © Marius Hecker - AdrenalMedia.com)

On Friday, on-track activity for the FIA World Endurance Championship got underway at Fuji Speedway in Japan.  As you can tell from the picture above, it was a bit dicey at times.  Porsche LMP Team’s André Lotterer was fastest overall, lapping the 2.8403-mile road course in 95.527 seconds (107.039 mph). Free Practice No. 1 Lotterer’s …

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Olivier Pla Quickest in Watkins Glen WeatherTech Rain Practice

2017 Watkins Glen Iwsc Olivier Pla Car Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

In the third practice for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Watkins Glen International, PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ Olivier Pla was quickest with a lap of 108.566 seconds (112.742 mph). His lap was nearly 20 seconds slower than the fastest lap of the weekend that Pipo Derani set on Friday. There was a very good reason why the …

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Entry List: Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen

2016 Watkins Glen Iwsc Larry Degeorge Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

The entry list for Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen has been by IMSA.  39 cars in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s four classes will battle on Watkins Glen International’s 3.37-mile long course. In Prototypes, Olivier Pla will be in the No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Ligier JS P217-Gibson this weekend alongside José Gutierrez.  That …

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PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Signs Olivier Pla for Watkins Glen

2017 Daytona Iwsc Tom Kimber Smith Car Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Wednesday, PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports announced that Olivier Pla will drive the team’s No. 52 Ligier JS P217-Gibson in the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen.  Pla will join José Gutierrez in the sole Ligier.  The 35-year old Frenchman normally races a Ford GT in the FIA World Endurance Championship.  However, he comes to PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports with …

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Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Confirms 3 Entries for Sebring

2017 Daytona Iwsc Billy Johnson Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Thursday afternoon, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing announced that they will be fielding three Ford GT’s in the GTLM class in the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring on Mar. 18.  Joining the two full-time entries will be the No. 68, which will again be piloted by Billy Johnson, Stefan Mücke and Olivier Pla. Team …

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Action Express Racing Goes 1-2 in Rolex 24 Qualifying

2017 Daytona Iwsc Joao Barbosa Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Photo: Phil Allaway)

On Thursday afternoon, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship held qualifying for this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.  With teams not necessarily showing their full hand during the Roar Before the 24, it was unclear what everyone truly had.  However, when it was time for brass tacks, Action Express Racing came to play. Joao Barbosa won …

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Michael Shank Racing Dominates to Win Petit Le Mans

2016 Road Atlanta Iwsc Olivier Pla Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Credit: Phil Allaway)

All week, Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian‘s No. 60 had been the class of the field.  Olivier Pla topped three of the four practice sessions.  Teammate Oswaldo Negri, Jr. topped the other one.  Pla put the car on pole a half-second clear of the field. Once the green fell, Pla ran away from the field, …

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Olivier Pla Puts Michael Shank Racing on Petit Le Mans Pole

2016 Road Atlanta Iwsc Oswaldo Negri Jr Car Credit Phil Allaway

(Credit: Phil Allaway)

All weekend long, Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian‘s Ligier JS P2-HPD has been the class of the field.  The No. 60 had been on the top of the timesheets for all four practice sessions.  Qualifying changed absolutely nothing. Prototype: Ricky Taylor set the early pace while trying to get the tires up to temperature, but …

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