Racing auto news

Official: Toyota GT 86, Lexus LFA racers ready for N"urburgring 24 Hours

Toyota and Lexus are gearing up for this year's Nüburgring 24 Hours. The two companies plan to take to the track with a total of five entries, including four Toyota GT 86 race cars and one Lexus LFA. Prepped by factory tuner Gazoo Racing, the LFA will compete in the SP8 class while two of the GT 86 models will go fender-to-fender in the SP3 class. Those will be joined by two more GT 86 racers built by Toyota Motorsport and competing under the Toyota Swiss Racing Team banner in the V3 class for production vehicles.

Gazoo Racing has already had a little fun at the Nüburgring this year. While competing at two shorter events at the legendary track, the LFA took home two wins. This year's 24-hour endurance race kicks off this weekend, May 17-20. The even will be streamed online here and here. Scroll down for the quick press release.

Continue reading Toyota GT 86, Lexus LFA racers ready for N"urburgring 24 Hours

Official: Maserati upgrades GranTurismo racer for 2012 Trofeo MC World Series

Spec racing series are emerging as an indispensable way for exotic automakers to show what their vehicles can do without the constraints of road regulations, and for their top customers to race wheel-to-wheel on some of the most famous racing circuits in the world behind the wheel of top machinery. Ferrari has the Challenge series, Lamborghini the Blancpain Super Trofeo, Porsche operates several iterations of the Carrera Cup around the world, and Maserati has the Trofeo World Series.

Now entering its third year, the Trofeo is campaigned by a field of specially prepared versions of the GranTurismo coupe, which has been upgraded with several improvements for the season ahead. Maserati Corse has both optimized the aerodynamic setup and trimmed the car's weight, resulting in an average lap time that proved two and a half seconds faster around the Vallelunga circuit outside Rome over last year's car during winter testing.

Whereas previous series have been held almost exclusively in Europe or in the Middle East, this year's Trofeo World Series adds rounds at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, and the Shanghai International Circuit that hosts the Chinese Grand Prix after the returning races at Jarama, Spain (next weekend), Portimao, Portugal (in early June), Imola, Italy (late June), and Paul Ricard, France (in July).

Maserati Corse provides the full motorsport experience to gentlemen racers for €110,000 ($140K) for the full season or €70,000 ($90K) for just the European races, including use of the car. Teams owning and fielding their own cars pay €35,000 ($45K) or €25,000 ($32K), respectively. Scroll down for the full press release and check out the latest machinery in the high-res image gallery above.

Continue reading Maserati upgrades GranTurismo racer for 2012 Trofeo MC World Series

Video: Saab victorious in inaugural Swedish Touring Car race

The sequel to Frankenstein is being written in Swedish, by Saab. The ostensibly former car company could teach the good doctor about life after death, having earned itself more good news by winning the inaugural race of the Swedish Touring Car series. Team Tidö's black 9-3 racer was on pole and carried that lead all the way to the checkered flag. Driving it was Linus Ohlsson, whose past triumphs include taking third in the 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia series.

Just to be clear, all the cars in the series are silhouette racers, with Saab, Volvo, BMW and Citroën bodies placed over a spec chassis. Still, it was the body with the Griffin badge that beat the rest, and we all know Saab's faithful could use something to cheer about these days. Scroll down for a video recap of the race; it's in Swedish, so hit the CC button for English subtitles if you need 'em.

Continue reading Saab victorious in inaugural Swedish Touring Car race

Motorsports: Nissan GT-R dominates 2012 One Lap of America

After eight days, 3,300 miles, nine tracks and untold bloody knuckles and zip ties, the song remains the same: Leh Keen and the No. 3 TopSpeed Motorsports Nissan GT-R emerged victorious at the 2012 Tire Rack One Lap of America on Sunday. Keen, his co-drivers Doug Wilks and Lawrence Richard, and their 2010 GT-R put on a clinic, remaining atop or near the top of the leaderboard of every event, from road courses to ovals to drag races and autocrosses.

If Keen's name sounds familiar, it's either because you follow racing - the Georgia native is a multiple Grand Am Rolex GT series champion, currently campaigning a Porsche 911 GT3 with Brumos Racing - or because you follow One Lap (this is the third victory in a row for Keen and his second victory in a row at the wheel of the black and green GT-R). In fact, the top three spots this year were all occupied by Nissan's heavyweight, with the No. 4 2009 GT-R of Todd Treffert and Tyson Timperley and the No. 7 2012 GT-R of Hugh Bate and Craig Kahle rounding out the podium. A total of seven GT-Rs entered this year's One Lap, though none were officially sanctioned Nissan efforts.

Of course, for most competitors and fans, Brock Yates' One Lap isn't actually about winning - there's no prize money doled out and trophies are modest. The event is more about the camaraderie among driving enthusiasts that inevitably results from one of the most unique and challenging tests in motorsports - a week-long pressure-cooker test of man and machine. For more results, photos, videos and tall tales, check out One Lap of America on their website or Facebook page.

Video: Watch Carlos Sainz flog this Audi R8 LMS around an 80-year-old GP track

Certain videos, when the protagonists speak a foreign language, don't need subtitles: Mexican telenovelas, dolphins in love and auto racing are but three. Although the narration is in Spanish and there isn't any racing in this video of former WRC Champion Carlos Sainz and current DTM driver Miguel Molina lapping the Autódromo Terramar, the action needs no translation.

Terramar, in Spain, is the second oldest racing track in Europe after England's Brooklands, built in 1922 to host Grand Prix cars. Its owner's vision stretched further this his financial backing, so the two-kilometer oval track with 60-degree bankings hosted only one sanctioned race in 1923. After that, it was used sporadically, holding its last event in 1950. It is now part of land used for a chicken farm.

That didn't stop Sainz and Molina from seeing how fast they could lap the 80-year-old circuit in a Red Bull Racing Audi R8 LMS. The video is a bit long, but it's well-shot and definitely worth watching for the high banking and bumpy airborn Audi shots alone. Check out the action by scrolling down to watch the video.

Continue reading Watch Carlos Sainz flog this Audi R8 LMS around an 80-year-old GP track

Carroll Shelby, 1923-2012

It's darn near impossible to overemphasize the impact that Carroll Shelby has had on the automotive world as we know it today. Born in 1923, Shelby took part in his very first race, a quarter-mile drag, in 1952. Later that year, he'd go on to win his first road race in an MG-TC. By 1956, Shelby had garnered enough race wins to earn the title "Driver of the Year" from Sports Illustrated. He would win that award again in 1957.

Carroll Shelby was nothing if not a keen businessman. In early 1957, Shelby opened his first car dealership in Dallas, Texas. Bolstered by his success behind the wheel - Carroll won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1969, driving an Aston Martin - Shelby went on to build the iconic Cobra using a chassis built by AC Cars in England and powered by a Ford V8 engine. Officially homologated in 1962, the Cobra Roadster won its first race in January of 1963.

Driven by legendary drivers like Phil Hill, A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney, the Shelby Cobra and its aerodynamic Daytona Coupe sibling won the Sports Car Club of America's A-production title and the United States Road Racing Championship in '63. The following year brought with it the big-block 427 Cobra, and the machine went on to deal serious blows to Ferrari, the dominant sports car manufacturer of the time.

Shelby began his long-running relationship with the Ford factory in 1965, as the Shelby GT350 hit both the street and the race track. That year, Shelby secured the FIA World Championship of GT cars. In 1966, a Shelby-backed Ford team finished in first, second and third place at Le Mans; this was the first time an American team claimed victory in the historic race, but it would not be the last - Shelby's team would go on to win Le Mans again in 1967. The Ford GT40 ended up in first place four straight years from 1966-1969.

The Shelby GT350 claimed the Trans Am racing title in 1967, and in that year, the very last 427 Shelby Cobra was built. In 1970, Ford ended its partnership with Shelby, and the man would remain mostly quiet in the automotive industry until the 1980s, when Lee Iacocca approached Carroll about building high-performance versions of Dodge products. The Omni and Charger would Go Like Hell for several years, embarrassing V8-powered Mustangs and Camaros along the way.

Carroll Shelby received a heart transplant in 1990 and would go on to reintroduce Cobra 427 S/C continuation cars and 4000-series cars throughout the 1990s. Shelby was also involved heavily with both the Dodge Viper and Ford GT programs. No wonder why Carroll Shelby was inducted into the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

Today, the name Shelby may be most often tied to the latest and greatest GT500 models from Ford, but it's clear that the man has impacted the performance world for decades. While he may no longer be alive, there can be little doubt that Carroll Shelby's influence will be felt by enthusiasts for as long as cars move us from one place to another.

We've collected a couple of videos that we thought were a fitting tribute to Shelby's unending legacy. Join us in watching them by scrolling down below.

Continue reading Carroll Shelby, 1923-2012

Official: Carroll Shelby passes away at age 89

Carroll Shelby has passed away at the age of 89. The legendary tuner and proprietor of the famous marque that bears his name had been in the hospital for several weeks, suffering from pneumonia. Shelby addressed his fans fourteen days before his death, saying that he was resting comfortably and being taken care of by his children.

Anyone familiar in the least with automotive history is well aware of Shelby's vast vehicular exploits, so we'll just touch on them here. Carroll was a successful race car driver in the 1950s before creating his own racing team to take on the likes of Ferrari, using Ford-powered sportscar called the Cobra. Suffice it to say, Shelby and his Cobra were extremely successful. Later, Shelby's name would become synonymous with the fastest and most powerful Ford Mustang models ever created.

Shelby is survived by his three children Patrick, Michael and Sharon, his sister Anne Shelby Ellison of Fort Worth and his wife Cleo. An official press release can be found below.

Continue reading Carroll Shelby passes away at age 89

Official: Lotus rolls out new competition-spec Evora GTC

You might say the same for any number of automakers, but in this case it rings particularly true: Lotus wouldn't be Lotus without racing. It's what forged the company at its outset, and that hasn't eluded the management team lead by Dany Behar. Say what you will about his overly ambitious plans to expand the company's product portfolio - he's also lead the company (or at least the brand) into a variety of racing series, and this is its latest product.

A further evolution of the Evora GT4 Enduro, the new Evora GTC packs carbon-fiber body panels in place of fiberglass and plexi windows to help trim 30 kilograms (66 pounds) off its the GT4's curb weight that's now down to 1,130 kilograms (less than 2,500 pounds, depending on customer specification).

The 4.0-liter V6 carries over with 450 horsepower and an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox, both of which are further enhanced by new traction control and Bosch ABS, with eighteen-inch competition alloys packed into flared fenders.

Having already undergone exhausting testing at the company's Hethel test track, the Evora GTC has already found its first customers that will be fielding theirs in the Grand-Am series and Britcar MSA Endurance Championship. Scroll down for the full press release.

Continue reading Lotus rolls out new competition-spec Evora GTC

Breaking: Carroll Shelby passes away at age 89

Carroll Shelby has passed away at the age of 89. The legendary tuner and proprietor of the famous marque that bears his name had been in the hospital for several weeks, suffering from pneumonia. Shelby addressed his fans fourteen days before his death, saying that he was resting comfortably and being taken care of by his children.

Anyone familiar in the least with automotive history is well aware of Shelby's vast vehicular exploits, so we'll just touch on them here. Carroll was a successful race car driver in the 1950s before creating his own racing team to take on the likes of Ferrari, using Ford-powered sportscar called the Cobra. Suffice it to say, Shelby and his Cobra were extremely successful. Later, Shelby's name would become synonymous with the fastest and most powerful Ford Mustang models ever created.

Shelby is survived by his three children Patrick, Michael and Sharon, his sister Anne Shelby Ellison of Fort Worth and his wife Cleo. An official press release can be found below.

Continue reading Carroll Shelby passes away at age 89

Official: Ferrari pays tribute to Gilles Villeneuve at Fiorano

Some teams might give a promising young driver a second chance, but not Ferrari. You only get one offer to drive for the Scuderia, and if you turn it down, that's your last chance.

Legend has it that Ferrari made that offer to Jacques Villeneuve way back in the late 90s after he'd won the Indy 500 and the CART title in the same year, going on to place second in his first season in Formula One and clinching the title the following year. He was the hottest commodity in motor racing, after all, and Ferrari had been his father's team. But Jacques turned it down, opting instead to build up the BAR-Honda team for which he would drive for five seasons before bouncing around another three and eventually retiring.

JV never did get another shot at driving for Ferrari - not in F1 and not in any other form of motor racing, of which Jacques has contested many. Not until today, anyway, when he was invited to the firm's private Fiorano test track. The reason was to pay tribute to his late, great father Gilles Villeneuve.

The occasion was to mark the 30th anniversary of Gilles' tragic death, which occurred behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix on May 8, 1982. Gilles Villeneuve, for whom the grand prix circuit in Montreal is named, was regarded as one of the best drivers ever to have lived, and to see his world champion son drive his Ferrari 312 T4 - the same one in which he won three races in 1979 - was surely a fitting tribute. See for yourself in the vast gallery of high-resolution images above.

Continue reading Ferrari pays tribute to Gilles Villeneuve at Fiorano