WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

World Endurance Championship 2012

05/05/2012 by PeteS2K

After joining forces with the American Le Mans Series for the opening round at Sebring, the WEC is in Europe for round 2 at the fantastic Spa-Francorchamps. However, the expected arrival of the works Toyota cars into the championship has now been delayed until the Le Mans 24 following a heavy testing crash put the team's schedule back. Audi will be looking to take advantage of this as they field twelve drivers in four cars, two of which will be hybrid powered. Whilst the LMP1 class may be a little one-sided, there is plenty of competition for the LMP2 and the GT honours. However, Status Grand Prix have been forced to withdraw their LMP2 entry after Alex Sims crashed hard at the end Thursday’s second free practice session. The 6G impact at the top of Eau Rouge left the team without enough spares to rebuild the car.

12 Hours of Sebring

World Endurance Championship 2012

17/03/2012 by Pat W

F1 is not the only major racing series to kick off this weekend. The combined fields of the brand new FIA World Endurance Championship (the first global endurance title for 20 years) and the IMSA American Le Mans Series meet to provide an enormous 64-car grid for the 60th Anniversary 12 Hours of Sebring, the oldest endurance race in North America. A field so big that part-time entries were turned away.The battle at the absolute sharp-end may be a little flat, the withdrawal of Peugeot leaving Audi uncontested on sheer pace, but a very strong field of closely-matched petrol-engined contenders (including David Brabham, Karun Chandhok, Nick Heidfeld and more) are expected to provide a fantastic race - and of course Audi still has to complete the distance to win it, no guaranteed feat at this track with this many cars.The LMP2 class is the best it has been in years and for once is very much worth watching, whilst GT will surely be its usual fraught battle between Ferrari, BMW, Corvette and Porsche.

Where have all the good men gone?

Ex-F1 drivers make their way to the World Endurance Championship

08/03/2012 by PeteS2K

Formula 1 is a difficult place for a driver to get to, and often when they do get there, the stay is not a long or prosperous one. So what happens to the talent that the F1 gods reject? This year eight drivers with experience in the big leagues will be fighting it out for a different crown as the World Endurance Championship gets under way.

Rolex 24 at Daytona

Endurance racing at the Daytona International Speedway

28/01/2012 by Christine

This year's race sees the Starworks Motorsport team on pole position, with a lineup that features endurance racing legend Allan McNish. Last year's winner, Chip Ganassi Racing were unable to qualify one of their cars and thus start from the back of the grid. With 24 hours and a 5.73 kilometre course in front of them, it's all to play for as the 50th anniversary of the race gets underway. Oh, and look out for bonus Patrick Dempsey somewhere in the field.

Race of Champions 2011

Pitting title winners and almost-winners against each other

03/12/2011 by Bassano

Probably the last chance we'll get to see F1 drivers racing in anger until the season begins again, it's the annual Race of Champions. Drivers across many disciplines race in a variety of cars to determine the Champion of Champions on a purpose built, 2 lane track. The list of drivers and cars is too long to mention but they are both impressive and varied, more details can be found at the ROC website. The races are short but can be very tight, creating lots of tense action.

2011 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

Time for the V8 Supercars to take centre stage once more

09/10/2011 by Jeremy

Mt Panorama, Bathurst. New South Wales. A few hours drive west of Sydney, this 6. 2 km track with the almost 2 km long ‘Conrod’ straight, is known worldwide. The cars take roughly 6 hours to cover 161 laps. For touring cars, ('V8 Supercars' in Australia) this is a long race.

Petit Le Mans 2011

Audi and Peugeot get set for another lengthy battle

01/10/2011 by Pat W

Here's a quick thread for Petit Le Mans, which has just this second started. I believe that Franck qualified third, which isn't too bad, all things considered. He's also teamed up with Alex Wurz, and I bet those two play a few practical jokes as they go along!

2011 Le Mans 24 Hours - The race

Get the caffeine going, it's time for endurance racing for drivers and fans

11/06/2011 by Pat W

So here it is, one of the real highlights of the motorsport year and the pinnacle of the sportscar calendar! This is your introduction and guide to the festival of racing that is the Le Mans 24 Hours.In the modern era the LMP1 and GT classes are more like long sprints. Meanwhile the LMP2 class is more like 'old' Le Mans, cars breaking down and teams trying to coax them to the end.Who will prevail: Audi or Peugeot? Ferrari, Corvette, BMW or Porsche?Bring it on!

Peugeot Sport drivers take up a pit stop challenge

Taking part in a pit stop from the other side of the cockpit

10/06/2011 by Mr. C

Ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Peugeot Sport set their drivers a challenge to perform a pit stop faster than their own mechanics. All nine of the team's drivers competing in this year's race, including Franck Montagny, Anthony Davidson, Alexander Wurz, Sébastien Bourdais and more, took part to see if they could beat the 10.7s benchmark.

2011 Le Mans 24 Hours - Qualifying

Deciding the grid for the epic endurance adventure

08/06/2011 by Pat W

Tonight and tomorrow night see the qualifying sessions for the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours. I've taken the liberty of writing a live thread for anyone who wants to comment during these sessions.

ILMC LMS 1000km of Spa-Franchorchamps

The endurance championship continues in Belgium

07/05/2011 by Pat W

Good afternoon and welcome to the wonderful Spa-Franchorchamps. This race is the last long race before the 24 Heures du Mans next month and as such both Audi and Peugeot have brought their full fleet of new cars. The Peugeot 908 has already raced this year of course, but the much-tested Audi R18 has not. Yet it is the Audi which has been the faster all weekend as Peugeot claim they are running a Le Mans downforce spec which may be compromising them here.

59th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring

Peugeot versus Audi as the ILMC series gets underway

19/03/2011 by Christine

The 12 Hours of Sebring begins today, kicking off the brand new 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Stopping off at Spa and Le Mans among many others, the new championship has eight of the top car manufacturers fully committed to taking part. Audi and Peugeot are the two most notable, but equally, BMW, Audi, Ferrari and more are all determined to prove they are the best of the best.

2011 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona

The new year kicks off with the Grand-Am Rolex Series

29/01/2011 by Pat W

At last, winter is almost over! The racing season continues its awakening from slumber, following the Dakar Rally and the Rallye Monte-Carlo it is time for the first major circuit racing event of the 2011 season. Whilst the Dubai 24 Hours a couple of weeks ago was probably the first racing event on a closed course this year it isn't yet considered a major event, Daytona is the venue the motorsport world looks to to officially kick off the racing year.

Race of Champions 2010

Gathering together the best (and available) drivers in an end of year head to head

27/11/2010 by Christine

It is that time of year again, when the best of the world of motorsport congregate together to crown the champion of champions. Except of course, it is only those who are available and allowed to participate, and they are not all champions. That doesn't make it any less fabulous though. This year, the competition takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany, with the Nations Cup this evening at 6pm GMT, and the Race of Champions tomorrow at 1pm GMT.

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

V8 Supercars get their touring endurance on

09/10/2010 by Paul

Another year, another October, and another Bathurst 1000. With Jeremy away on holiday this year, it is up to me to introduce the race. For those who don't know about it and haven't joined us for live commenting, the Bathurst 1000 is an annual touring car race for Australian V8 Supercars. The annual race in October has been run on the spectacular 6.2km Mount Panorama circuit since 1963 which makes it older than me.

2010 Petit Le Mans

America's take on the epic endurance challenge

02/10/2010 by Christine

Finally, Franck returns to the track after a prolonged disappearance, and it is for the 2010 Petit Le Mans race. The Peugeot and Audi battle heads to the Road Atlanta track, with Anthony Davidson riding high after a win at Silverstone.

The 2010 Le Mans 24 Hour thread (Part 2)

The second half of a supreme endurance challenge

13/06/2010 by Mr. C

We're at the halfway mark in this years 24 Hours of Le Mans race, and things are starting to get interesting. After almost twelve hours of Peugeot domination, it looks like Audi might manage to stage something of a comeback during the cool of the summer night.

The 2010 Le Mans 24 Hour thread (Part 1)

The first shift of twelve hours as the endurance event begins

12/06/2010 by Christine

It is that time of year again - the one time when we all have an excuse to attempt to stay up for 24 hours in a row. I have never achieved such a thing, despite the attraction of a certain Frenchman taking part in the event. What event is it? We're talking about Le Mans, the 24 hour marathon of endurance racing.

Le Mans: A guide

A comprehensive preview by Pat and Alianora

09/06/2010 by Pat W

The Le Mans 24 Hours is an invitational race run by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO - literally "Automobile Club of the West"). It has been running since 1923 when the winners completed more than 2200km - this year we can expect the winners to run for over 5200km.

Le Mans 24 Hours - Practice & qualifying

Setting up the grid for the super duper endurance race

09/06/2010 by Pat W

There are many 24-hour races around the world but none have the history or prestige of the French event and none draw such a quality entry or feature cars almost fast as F1 cars - in fact the LMP1s are known to lap just as quickly as IndyCars at tracks like Mid-Ohio and Long Beach. Despite the geographic split in sportscar racing, this is the one all the top teams enter, the one everyone in endurance/sportscar racing wants to win.