Tag: endurance racing
Lamborghini seals Blancpain GT honours on Pirelli tyres
The Orange1 FFF Racing #563 Lamborghini won the final Blancpain Endurance Cup race of the season in Barcelona, helping the team to seal the overall and Endurance Cup titles with 185 points. The crew of Andrea Caldarelli, Marco Mapelli and Albert Costa, who replaced the unwell Dennis Lind, started third on the grid following qualifying, but eventually moved up to first spot to take the chequered flag.
Giti ladies team ‘inspires fans’ at Green Hell
Five vehicles on the starting grid of the Nürburgring 24-Hour Race fit the GitiCompete GTR1 track tyres, including Giti Tire Motorsport, one of the 155 teams spread across 24 classes.
Falken celebrates 20 years at the Nürburgring
Falken Tyres celebrated 20 years at the Nürburgring with sponsorship of the ADAC TOTAL 24-Hour Race (N24), held on 22-23 June 2019. The Sumitomo Rubber Industries brand’s team, run by Sven Schnabl, now fields two cars at the event, and in the VLN Endurance Championship. The UK’s Peter Dumbreck and Swiss driver Alexandre Imperatori drove the BMW M6 GT3 alongside BMW factory drivers Stef Dusseldorp and Jens Klingmann to claim an excellent sixth place finish, having started 31st on the grid, while the new Porsche 911 GT3R, driven by Austrian duo Martin Ragginger and Klaus Bachler supported by Porsche factory drivers Dirk Werner and Jörg Bergmeister, finished the race in 21st, having suffered an off that put paid to its chances of a top-ten finish. Falken also supplied racing tyres to Subaru Tecnica International’s WRX STI. Tyres & Accessories took the opportunity to catch up with Falken Tyre Europe’s new chief operating officer and president, Markus Bögner, on what is probably the rising company’s most important weekend of the year.
Falken celebrating 20 years at Nürburgring
Falken Tyres is marking 20 years at the Nürburgring with sponsorship of the ADAC TOTAL 24-Hour Race (22-23 June 2019). The Sumitomo Rubber Industries brand is hosting more than 400 tyre retailers and almost 50 journalists from all key European markets at the "Grüne Hölle", the oldest and most famous part of the Nürburgring racetrack.
Pirelli at Paul Ricard for Blancpain GT endurance
Pirelli is bringing its rubber to Paul Ricard as it plays host to the third round of the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and the fourth round of the overall championship this weekend. The GT4 European Series and Blancpain GT Sports Club will feature too, both of which also run on Pirelli tyres. The endurance grid will feature 49 cars piloted by 147 drivers during the six-hour race, whichever comes first. There will be 10 manufacturers on the grid: Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes and Porsche. All will run on Pirelli’s P Zero DHD2 slick tyres for the dry and the Cinturato WH for the wet.
Falken Motorsports concludes 2019 shakedown ahead of Nürburgring return
Falken Motorsports has completed a shakedown of its 2019 race cars at Portugal’s Autodromo Internacional Algarve ahead of the 2019 VLN Endurance Championship, which begins on 23 March 2019. This season the team will introduce the new 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 R, with the test marking the first running for the new chassis as well as the new larger 300/680R18 Falken tyres fitted to the front axle to provide additional grip. The rear axle is fitted with 310/710R18 tyres, which are the same as the team’s previous model.
Dunlop concludes German VLN Endurance Championship tyre test in Portugal
Dunlop has concluded a tyre test programme that will result in new tyres being introduced into the German VLN Endurance Championship. The tyre manufacturer hopes to make another step forward in performance to build on a successful season in the Nürburgring Nordschleife based series. Dunlop-equipped cars took several overall and class wins in 2018, and the tyre company used the session at Portugal’s Autodromo Internacional Algarve to test new ideas and concepts for the 2019 season.
Falken Motorsports introduces new Porsche 911 for 2019
Falken Motorsports has introduced a new Porsche 911 GT3 R for the start of the 2019 motorsport season. The new Porsche will compete alongside the team’s BMW M6 GT3 at the Nürburgring, continuing the Japanese tyre brand’s 20-year commitment to the legendary Nordschleife with racing cars from two premium car manufacturers.
Falken celebrates ‘most successful’ VLN season
Falken Tyres experienced its most successful VLN Endurance Championship season in 2018, securing seven podium finishes including two race victories, as its Porsche 911 GT3 R beat its competitors around the Nordschleife. The Type 991 has been the most successful Falken race car in the VLN to date, claiming two wins and nine podium finishes since its racing debut in April 2016. A reliable competitor, it has completed more than 30,000 racing kilometres overseen by Falken’s engineers.
Hankook’s Ventus Race tyre supports wide variety of circuit racing series
Hankook has supplied several demanding series in 2018, including the DTM, FIA Formula 3 European Championship, 24H Series powered by Hankook, the VLN Endurance Championship, and the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, with the Ventus Race tyre.
Dunlop’s ‘most successful’ status continues at Le Mans, Isle of Man
Dunlop’s long record of success at the Le Mans 24 hours and the Isle of Man TT was continued in 2018, though the tyre brand added victories in other four and two-wheel series too.
Falken Tyre to mark 20th motorsport season on Nürburgring: video
Falken will contest its 20th season at the 2018 Nürburgring 24-Hour Race and subsequent VLN Endurance Championship. The Falken Motorsports driver line-up, which has been altered for 2018, are competing in its two GT3 cars, the Porsche 911 GT3 and BMW M6 GT3. Falken has also produced a video to mark the occasion of two decades on the Nordschleife “Green Hell”.
Grasser Lamborghini wins Pirelli supported Blancpain GT titles after Mercedes win
The GRT Grasser Racing Team claimed Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and overall titles with a third-place finish in the final race at Barcelona with its Lamborghini Huracan GT3. The result gave Grasser’s Mirko Bortolotti, Christian Engelhart and Andrea Caldarelli the drivers’ Endurance title, while Bortolotti and Engelhart became the overall Blancpain GT Series drivers’ champions, which also considers results in the Sprint Cup.
Victories on Dunlop in two classes at Endurance World Championship opener
The new season in the FIM Endurance World Championship began this weekend with the Bol d’Or at the Paul Ricard circuit in southern France with Dunlop victories in both classes.
Audi seals 9th Blancpain GT series title on Pirelli tyres
Following a closely-fought one-hour race at the Nürburgring in Germany, Audi claimed both the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup drivers’ and team titles, as well as the race win. The overall Sprint Cup drivers’ title went to Stuart Leonard and Robin Frijns, who also won the race overall in the #17 Audi R8 LMS. However, it was another Audi of Belgian Audi Club Team WRT that clinched the overall Sprint Cup team title, with Marcel Fassler and Dries Vanthoor finishing the race 10th to secure the teams’ championship: adding up to a highly-successful weekend for the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer.