More than 30,000 sports car fans came to the Fuji circuit in Japan to cheer on all the Japanese manufacturers taking part in the Six Hours of Fuji; the penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. They were rewarded not only by a close run race, but ultimately a win for the home team; Toyota.

Toyota at the 6 Hours of Fuji

Since making their debut at Le Mans earlier this year, Toyota has consistently challenged the dominance of Audi. After taking their first victory in Brazil, they showed in Japan that the result was not a fluke upset, by bringing home the TS030 Hybrid car for a second series win. Audi have already won the constructors title, but they know now that they won’t have things all their own way at Le Mans 2013.

The race between the two factory teams was close throughout. In the end the Toyota crossed the finished line just 11 seconds ahead of the No. 1 Audi, with the No. 2 Audi following a more distant third. Audi will point to some bad luck as race incidents wiped out any fuel economy advantage they thought they may have over the Toyota. They No.1 Audi collided with the No.97 Aston Marting Racing GTE car and had to come in for an unscheduled pit-stop for repairs. This delay was compounded when it was decided that the coming together could have been avoided by the Audi car, and so they suffered a further stop-go penalty. The No. 2 Audi could not take advantage of the situation following contact of their own. The experienced McNish and Kristensen experienced handling issues throughout the race, but damage sustained during a minor collision with an LMP2 car affected the aerodynamics. The decision was made not to lose time in the pits and stay out on track, but ultimately they limped home in third place. This keeps the drivers title still open with just 16.5 points separating the two Audi driver line-ups going in to the last race of the season.

Audi at the 6 Hours of Fuji

There was further reason for Japanese joy as the Rebellion Racing team (powered by Toyota) came home a lap ahead of its rivals, to not only claim the win in the privateer LMP1 race, but also secure the season title that they had always looked like winning. They were followed home buy the JRM car who just edged out the Strakka Racing team (both cars powered by Honda).

In the LMP2 class there was much celebrating to be had by the American Starworks Motorsport team as their second place finish at Fuji secured the LMP2 championship with a race to spare. The Honda powered team couldn’t beat the Nissan powered ADR Delta team that came home first in this race, but they stayed ahead of Oak Racing Morgan (Nissan powered!) who finished third for the second consecutive race.

Starworks at the 6 Hours of Fuji

In GTE Pro the 6 Hours of Fuji saw a return to form for the Felbermayr Proton Porsche team. Having secured victory back in May at Spa, they have been through a barren run. However, the Porsche was the consistently quickest through practice and qualifying and ultimately led the GTE class from start to finish. The overall championship in this class has already been won by the Ferrari of the AF Corse team, who finished second here after a close battle with the Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage. The British team will think that things should have been different after they sustained damage in the incident with the Audi and still only finished third by 39 seconds after the full six hours of racing.

Felbermayr Proton at the 6 hours of Fuji

It was the Corvette of Larbre Competition that took the win in the GTE Am category. This time avoiding any subsequent penalties to rob them of the class win. The Krohn Racing Ferrari recorded its best result of the season by finishing second after a trouble free race with the Porsche of Felbermayr Proton finishing third, and giving the team further reason to enjoy their night.

The teams now move on to China for the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship with some trophies yet to be decided. The Japanese certainly put on a good show on and off the track at Fuji and they have set the standard that all circuits need to follow.

Written by: Richard Webb, Travel Destinations
Photography: David Lord, www.dailysportscar.com

If you would like to join Travel Destinations at Fuji next year or any of the other rounds of the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship then register your interest with us now by emailing your contact details to info@traveldestinations.co.uk

The 6 Hours of Sao Paulo, part of the FIA World Endurance Championship, saw Toyota Racing win their first race of the 2012 season. Their victory at Interlagos is all the more impressive considering that the Toyota-Hybrid project has been fast tracked to replace the demise of Peugeot at the start of the season.

FIA WEC 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

Toyota’s first showing was at the big one, Le Mans. It was always going to be a tough challenge for a new car. After showing impressive pace and actually taking the lead, it was racing incidents rather than reliability that curtailed their challenge. At the FIA WEC round at Silverstone, Toyota again showed their impressive pace and signalled their intent by splitting the two Audis. In Brazil they took the next step by dominating the Audis and leading from the start to the finish.

Even Audi will have to admit competition at the front of the field is good for sports car racing as a whole. Those looking forward to the rest of the FIA WEC season will be encouraged. Those looking further ahead to Le Mans 2013 will be salivating.

FIA WEC 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

Starting from pole in Brazil, the Toyota TS030 petrol hybrid, only gave up the lead during pit stop rotation and any worries about heavier fuel consumption than Audi were allayed when both Audis endured worse tyre degradation than the Toyota. The final winning margin of a whole lap, reduced by a splash and dash for the Toyota near the end, will have Audi thinking ahead of the next FIA WEC round in Bahrain.

The front runners were ahead of the early action at Interlagos. Spins at the very first corner by the LMP2 pair of Pecom Racing & Oak Morgan cars caused chaos. Contact was inevitable. The No 61 AF Corse Ferrari collided with the Gulf Racing LMP2 Lola causing considerable damage. Both cars, however, fared better than the Krohn Racing Ferrari that was forced to retire following the same collision. Brazil is a long way to travel for so short a race.

FIA WEC 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

At the front of the GTE Pro class, Aston Martin had taken pole, but lost this lead initially to the Felbermayr-Proton Porsche. The British team were pushed further back by the Ferrari of AF Corse who went on to take the lead. The superior fuel consumption of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage allowed them to re-challenge for the lead after each round of pit stops and it was these two cars that fought on different strategies right through to the chequered flag.

Back at the front the initial stint by lapierre gave Toyota a healthy lead. The Audi challenge was being led by the diesel hybrid with the R18 Ultra not able to keep pace. The LMP1 privateers followed behind these three, where Rebellion Racing had the advantage of two cars in the race. The No 12 Rebellion Racing Lola had an untroubled race and eventually finished fourth overall, but the other Rebellion endured a hard fort battle with the Strakka Racing HPD. Iniitally Primat caused problems in the Rebellion car with an ill-judged passing move on the Strakka car. Although delayed by this incident Leventis kept the Strakka in contention and it when the car was passed on to Johhny Kane, it was a charge for the flag. In the last minutes of the race (with all the TV eyes on the Toyota crossing the line) the Strakka re-passed the Rebellion Racing Lola to claim 5th overall.

FIA WEC 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

The LMP2 class put on another close race. The spins on the first corner for two of the cars was only the start. The ADR-Delta Oreca also caused problems on the track when it lost a wheel. Although the car pitted, this unscheduled stop ended their challenge in this class. The American Starworks team were to show their quality, with ex-Peugeot driver Stephane Sarrazin, clearly the fastest driver on show in this class, and went on to take the class honours. The No 24 Oak Racing car looked to have taken second in class before a stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane promoted Pecom Racing. Greaves Motorsport would finish fourth ahead of the now four wheeled ADR-Delta.

There was ultimately disappointment for local driver Fernando Rees, who finished at the front of the GTE Am field in the Larbre Competition Corvette. However the car was disqualified after the race for a regulations breach. This promoted the Porsche of Felbermayr-Proton to the class win. There was not much consolation that the other Larbre Competition Corvette was also promoted to second place.

FIA WEC 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

The 6 Hours of Sao Paulo will, however, be remembered most for the victory of Toyota. Their win in Brazil is a result of a lot of hard work in not much time by the whole Toyota Racing team. It has been a great effort and one that they must sustain as the FIA World Endurance Championship moves on to Bahrain on the 29th September.

FIA WEC 6 Hours of Sao Paulo

Not only that, but the challenge for the Le Mans 24 Hours 2013 may just have begun here.

Report: Richard Webb
Photography: FIAWEC.com

More than 35,000 spectators at Silverstone witnessed Audi being crowned as the inaugural FIA World Endurance Manufacturer Champions as they finished first and third at the 6 Hours of Silverstone, part of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC).

The No 1 Audi R18 E-tron Quattro driven by Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fässler and Benoit Tréluyer , repeated their victory at Le Mans in June with the win at Silverstone.It was a good race and they had to fight hard for the honour as they were pushed all the way to the chequered flag by the Toyota Racing petrol hybrid, TS030 of Alex Wurz, Kazuki Nakajima and Nicolas Lapierre. The No 2 Audi R18 Ultra of Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen came home third after a slow puncture forced the team to make an unscheduled pit-stop earlier in the race.

The No 13 Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota of Andrea Belicchi and Harold Primat finished “best of the rest” taking the win in the LMP1 Privateer race, but they were chased home by the No 21 Strakka Racing HPD-Honda of Danny Watts, who managed to close the gap to just 0.627 seconds as the two cars crossed the line after 6 hours of racing.

Silverstone based team ADR-Delta made home advantage count to win the LMP2 class, with the No 25 Oreca-Nissan piloted by John Martin, Tor Graves and Jan Charouz taking the win less than 6 seconds ahead of Sebring and Le Mans winners Enzo Potolicchio, Ryan Dalziel and Stephane Sarrazin in the No.44 Starworks Motorsports HPD-Honda. The No.26 Signatech Oreca-Nissan of Pierre Ragues, Nelson Panciatici and Roman Rusinov finished not far behind these two in third place.

In LMGTE the 6 Hours of Silverstone proved to be successful for the Ferraris of the AF Corse team as they took wins in both the Pro and Am classes. The No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Gianmaria Bruni and Giancarlo Fisichella won the Pro class in a hard fought race, while the No. 61 AF Corse-Waltrip Ferrari 458 Italia of Piergiuseppe Perrazzini, Marco Cioci and Matt Griffin were victorious in the Am class, finishing ahead of the No. 50 Larbre Competition Corvette and the No.88 Team Felbermayr-Proton Porsche.

The FIA World Endurance Championship now moves on to Brazil and the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo in the 15^th September.

Report: Richard Webb
Photography: Richard Leach

Starting from fourth on the grid the No 35 Oak Racing Morgan-Nissan driven by Baguette, Enjalbert and Pla had a perfect race and emerged victorious in the Donington 6 Hours (The second round of this year’s European Le Mans Series).

Donington European Le Mans Series

This car was entered by Jacques Nicolet’s team only a few days before the event, and although it was the spearhead of the French squad’s attack it, had been hit with problems in the days prior to the race. On Friday it had an engine problem and water in the fuel on Saturday. All these glitches reduced the track time of no.35’s drivers, in particular Olivier Pla whose first time out on the circuit was in qualifying when he set the fourth-fastest time.

Oak Racing at Donington ELMS

OAK Racing ran different strategies for its two cars, and decided to send out the no. 35 on its qualifying rubber and bring it in on lap 30 to shod new tyres. Thus, while the other Morgan-Judd, driven by Matthieu Lahaye (pole setter) was pulling away at the front of the field, Bertrand Baguette snatched second place from Sam Hancock’s Zytek-Nissan in lap 60. From then on the two Morgans monopolised the first two places in the overall classification. The Belgian driver took the lead when the no. 24 stopped. The battle for victory went on till the last hour as the pit stops and strategies decided by the different teams played out.

Murphy Prototypes at Donington ELMS

With 1 hour and 10 minutes to go to the chequered flag Warren Hughes (Murphy Prototypes Oreca-Nissan) snatched the lead from Pierre Thiriet (Thiriet by TDS Racing Oreca-Nissan) who pitted and handed over to his team-mate, Mathias Beche. But only two laps afterwards, the Brit spun when overtaking a GT and went off. Hughes managed to rejoin still in front. But his spin did not go unpunished. On lap 200, the Murphy Prototypes car stopped at its pit and lost additional time as the front bonnet had to be readjusted.

LMP2 battle at the Donington Park ELMS

Olivier Pla in the no. 35 Morgan-Judd took over the lead after the sixth round of refuelling stops and stayed there till the flag. Mathias Beche was delayed after being hit by a 30-second stop & go penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and this dropped him back to third behind the Murphy Oreca-Nissan. But the battle for second continued and Beche and Brendon Hartley had a ding dong scrap with forty minutes to go to the flag. Finally, the bonnet change on the Irish-entered prototype during its final pit stop cost the New Zealander second place on the podium.

Oak Racing in the pitlane

The Morgan-Nissan driven by Baguette, Enjalbert and Pla scored its first win of the season from the Beche-Thiriet Oreca Nissan, which is still in the lead in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). The Loeb Racing squad finished fourth after the collision on the first lap between Nicolas Marroc and Soheil Ayari.

The Greaves Motorsport Zytek- Nissan with the team of Ordonez, Kimber-Smith and Brundle behind the wheel ( the reigning champion in LM P2) saw the flag 17 laps behind the leaders after a brake problem delayed the car in the second half of the race. Among the retirements was that of the Status Grand Prix Lola-Judd (alternator), which meant that neither of the Jousse brothers did a lap in the race, and the Jota Zytek-Nissan (accident with Simon Dolan at the wheel).

ELMS Podium at Donington

Winning sriver Bertrand Baguette said “We’ve been expecting this victory for some time now. My team-mates and I did a good job. After the problems we had before the race I reckon we fully deserved this win. I think that our strategy of starting on used tyres and then doing a couple of stints on new rubber played a major part in our success.”

His co-driver Olivier Pla added “Since the start of the year we’ve shown the car’s potential without turning it into results. We’ve done so at Donington despite a difficult start to the weekend. This victory is also down to the whole team which has done a great job to enable us to be so quick and reliable throughout the race. I’m very happy with my first outing at Donington. We’re dedicating this victory to Guillaume Moreau who’s contributed so much to the team.”

JMW Motorsports Ferrari at Donington ELMS

The JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 Italia finished first in the GTE Pro class, although Jonny Cocker admitted “It’s a pity there weren’t more cars in our category but that didn’t stop us from having a good race. Allan Simonson was the perfect last-minute replacement for James Walker.”

The IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 RSR continued its good form by winning the GTE Am class. Driver Nicolas Armindo commented that “We were not happy with our qualifying performance. Finally, we found the right setup at the last moment and it worked well in the race. It was important for us to finish in front of the Ferrari, which had better fuel and tyre consumption, which meant that we had to be very quick on the track.”

GTE Racing at Donington ELMS

Despite the weather that interupted practice and threatened all weekend, Donington hosted an exciting round of the European Le Mans Series, this weekend. Despite a great race, questions about the number of cars participating and the future of the ELMS will no doubt rumble on in the coming weeks.

The 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship is coming to Silverstone (UK) for the weekend of the 25th & 26th August 2012. This will be your chance to witness this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours teams go head to head again.

In association with the FIA WEC  we are pleased to offer all our customers the opportunity to purchase your tickets for this exciting event at a special reduced price.

Weekend entrance ticket (adult) £35.00   Special offer price £29.00
Saturday only entrance ticket (adult) £15.00  Special offer price £10.00
Sunday only entrance ticket (adult) £30.00 Special offer price £25.00

Included in the ticket price will be:
–    Open Paddock on Saturday & Sunday
–    Free Grandstand Seating
–    Free Car Parking
–    Free pit walk on Sunday (Weekend & Sunday tickets only)

To get your tickets at the Travel Destinations special offer price all tickets must be purchased by phoning Silverstone (not on-line) on 0844 3750 740 and then quote “TRAVEL 2012” when purchasing your tickets.

The special offer code is valid for all bookings made before the 17th August, so tell your friends and get booking.

As a specially invited car, the DeltaWing may not be able to win the Le Mans 24 Hours this year, but it is certainly out to win friends, admirers and respect at this year’s race. Potentially it could even influence the shape of endurance racing.

Described as the most revolutionary car to appear in motorsport for a generation – the Nissan DeltaWing – spearheads the Japanese manufacturer’s dominant entry to the 80th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th June 2012.

Nissan DeltaWing

It features half the weight, half the horsepower and half the aerodynamic drag of a conventional Le Mans machines meaning it uses half the fuel of its competitors.

So just what is so innovative about the DeltaWing?
The car looks very different, of course, but it is in the statistics that the car’s goals become clear. The DeltaWing is half the weight of a conventional Le Mans prototype. It generates half the normal amount of wind resistance or drag as well. It is predicted that it will only use half the amount of tyres during the race and that the DeltaWing will use half the amount of fuel whilst still staying competitive in pace. A pace generated by half the usual amount of power provided by a direct injection 1.6 litre turbocharged petrol engine.

Nissan DeltaWing looks radically different to any other racing car. The driver sits well back, almost over the rear axle and looks ahead down a long, narrow fuselage to narrow twin front tyres – each just four inches (10cm) wide, specially created for the car by tyre partner Michelin. All parts, including its Nissan 1.6-litre DIG-Turbo engine – are smaller and weigh much less than traditional Le Mans machines.

Nissan DeltaWing

The car is so unique that it will compete in the race outside the regulations of Le Mans, wearing the number ‘0’ and running from “Garage 56”, reserved exclusively for experimental racers. On 3rd June, the DeltaWing completed its first running on the famous 8.5 mile Circuit de la Sarthe, completing 54 laps with drivers Michael Krumm, Satoshi Motoyama and Marino Franchitti at the wheel.

The Nissan DeltaWing technical, team led by concept originator Ben Bowlby, believe they are comfortably within reach of their target pace of 3 minutes, 45 seconds as requested by race officials.

“Green” race technologies are fast becoming the main topic of conversation in endurance racing. In this year’s 24 hours we will see the introduction of LMP1 Hybrid cars from both Audi & Toyota. However, it is the aim of the DeltaWing approach to car design that hopes to prolong the life of the humble petrol engine. You will be the first to see.

DeltaWing Statistics:
Total weight: 475Kg.
Horsepower: 300 BHP
Wheel base: 2.90m
Aerodynamic drag: Cd 0.24
Front track: 0.6m
Rear track: 1.7m
Length 4.65m Width 2.00m Height 1.03m
Brakes: Carbon discs and pads
Fuel cell capacity 40 litres
Chassis construction: lightweight composite
Front tire: 4.0/23.0 R15
Rear tire: 12.5/24.5 R15
Weight distribution: 27.5% Front (72.5% Rear)

The 12 hours race at Sebring has long been a favourite of the Travel Destinations team, and once again this year it was our privilege to introduce the event to our customers travelling from the UK. In amongst our group this year were race marshals, a television crew as well as race fans giving us an eclectic mix, but the over whelming response from everyone was “wow!”

Sebring 12 Hours 2012

Although there had been a few showers the weekend before, the weather at Sebring for race week was perfect. If anything it was a little too sunny for some as the pink faces would testify. Certainly being a marshal out on the concrete for hours was hard work. Much like Le Mans shade is difficult to come by at the circuit, although some of our guests found a good viewing spot under some trees beyond turn 10.

Trying to describe the viewing and access at Sebring to those people who have never been is difficult. The paddock is open from the start of the week. For those wanting to get a glimpse of the cars, mechanics & drivers at work then this is the place to hang out. It could be that everyone is excited by the start of the season, but generally everyone seems relaxed and happy to answer questions or pose for photographs. Before any car has been driven in anger, the paddock is a happy place. Friday’s autograph session gives everyone an opportunity to meet their heroes. Of course if your hero is an Audi driver then you do have to queue in the sun for quite a while but then they’re worth it.

12 Hours of Sebring Autograph Session

Once the action starts on track then the best place to be is out around the circuit. Unlike Le Mans it is possible to walk around the whole of the Sebring circuit and much of the time you can walk trackside keeping an eye on the action as you go. Although Sebring doesn’t have grandstands the grass mounds around the circuit provide excellent views not obscured by catch fencing. The hairpin and turn 10 were firm favourites with our guests, although for a real sense of speed turn 17 at the end of the paddock straight is a must.

You cannot talk about Sebring without commenting on the Sebring race fans. Like Le Mans fans travel from far and wide to have fun on the circuit. The Sebring fan is more partial to an RV (motorhome) than its European counterpart, but diets of meat and alcohol are the same and they share the same fondness for fancy dress. The cows of Sebring are now famous, but with the race also falling on St. Patrick’s day this year the shamrocks and leprechauns were also out in force. Although the residents of Green Park can appear intimidating at first, get talking to them and you’ll soon be welcomed in for a beer.

Sebring cows 2012

The race itself was a good one. The combination of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the American Le Mans Series cars made for a congested circuit. It was perhaps remarkable that there were so few yellow flags during the race. As expected Audi’s diesels dominated the race from start to finish but there were challenges along the way.

Start of the Sebring 12 hours 2012

For a full race report from the media centre we now pass over to our good friend Graham Goodwin fromdailysportscar.com

Audi returned to victory at Sebring International Raceway for the first time since 2009 on Saturday with a convincing victory in the 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish completed 301 laps in their Audi R18 to win by four laps in the opening round of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Sebring 2012 Winners

Audi finished 1-2 at Sebring for the first time since 2005. Kristensen extended his Sebring record with his sixth overall victory. Capello now has won five times and McNish four. The winning trio gained control in the second half of the race as gearbox problems beset the pole-winning No. 1 Audi and the second-place R18 suffered contact with a slower car in the last hour.

Dyson Racing took advantage of fueling issues from Muscle Milk Pickett Racing and won the ALMS’ P1 class. The trio of Chris Dyson, Guy Smith and Steven Kane moved into the class lead near the 30-minute mark. Dyson Racing won last year’s P1 team championship, and Dyson and Smith claimed the drivers championship. Their victory on Saturday came within a week of testing the new Lola-Mazda for the first time. On the other end of the spectrum, the Muscle Milk crew was devastated by their final-hour fueling problems. Klaus Graf, Lucas Luhr and Simon Pagenaud ran in overall podium position for much of the race’s second half in their HPD ARX-03a prototype.

Corvette at Sebring 2012

Joey Hand won GT for BMW Team RLL on the last turn of the last lap with a daring pass for the team’s second straight Sebring victory with the BMW M3 GT. It was a frantic race for much of the second half with six cars in position for the lead. Hand appeared to lose the lead on the final lap when he was forced off on the first third of the lap by an AF Corse Ferrari. Hand went off track but never lost the lead thanks to a remarkable recovery. Corvette Racing’s trio of Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor also got around Beretta at the finish and ended 6.3 seconds behind the BMW. Beretta, Andrea Bertolini and Marco Cioci placed third in their Ferrari F458 Italia.

Starworks Motorsports’s trio of Ryan Dalziel, Stephane Sarrazin and Vicente Potolicchio won in P2 with their HPD ARX-03b. The closing two hours were a back-and-forth affair with the Starworks car finishing third overall. Sarrazin and Level 5 Motorsports’ Joao Barbosa swapped the lead multiple times within the last 90 minutes. Sarrazin began to drive away in the final 20 minutes. It was still a successful opening round in Level 5’s title defense of the ALMS P2 championship. Bouchut, Christophe Bouchut and Scott Tucker were the highest-finishing ALMS team in the class and overall standings. It was a remarkable comeback for the Level 5 team after a huge crash in qualifying Friday that left Bouchut in the outside tire wall at Turn 1. The team began the race from the rear of the field after changing tyres.

GT battle at Sebring 2012

Black Swan Racing placed second among the ALMS runners in class in its first P2 race since moving up from GT Challenge. Tim Pappas, Bret Curtis and Jon Fogarty completed 298 laps in their HPD-powered Lola B11/80 coupe.
They were ahead of Conquest Endurance, which finished third among the ALMS P2 finishers in the team’s first race in the Series. Martin Plowman, Jan Haylen and David Heinemeier Hansson drove their Morgan-Judd.

CORE autosport opened the defense of its Prototype Challenge championship with the team’s first victory at Sebring. E.J. Viso, Alex Popow and Burt Friselle drove their ORECA FLM09 to a one-lap victory over PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports
Butch Leitzinger, Rudy Junco and Ken Dobson finished second in another class fight that went down to the final hour. CORE also took third on the class podium with the trio of Colin Braun, Jon Bennett and Eric Lux.

Oak Racing at Sebring 2012

In GTE Am, Team Felbermayr-Proton’s Christian Ried, Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti won by a lap in their Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. The Felbermayr team placed second last year and finished ahead of Larbre Competition’s Corvette of Christophe Bourret, Pascal Gibon and Jean-Phillippe Belloc.

Alex Job Racing won in GT Challenge at Sebring for the second time in three years. Bill Sweedler, Townsend Bell and Dion von Moltke outlasted the field for a one-lap victory over the team car of Cooper MacNeil, Leh Keen and J.P. Dumoulin.The winning Alex Job car recovered from a mid-race spin and stayed steady as other challengers fell by the wayside in the race’s second half. AJR won at Sebring for the eighth time. Green Hornet Racing’s trio of Damien Faulkner, Sebastiaan Bleekemolen and Peter LeSaffre placed third.

Sebring pit lane at night

If this has inspired you to visit Florida for the Sebring 12 Hours in 2013 then please register with us now to be the first to receive travel and ticket details. Email us now at info@traveldestinations.co.uk

We begin the year with a series of previews of the 2012 race season starting with the new FIA World Endurance Championship and its showpiece; the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Graham Goodwin from dailysportscar.com gives us an exclusive insight in to what to expect in 2012:

2012 sees the birth of a brand new World Championship. The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is a collaboration between the FIA and the ACO; the body responsible for running the Le mans 24 Hours and for putting together the rules and regulations that have governed Endurance racing worldwide for decades.
FIA WEC

Born from the basis of the successful Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) the WEC is designed to attract manufacturer interest back to the endurance racing discipline and the early signs are that it has been very successful indeed thus far in that regard.

The inaugural season will see 8 races around the globe with a class structure familiar to anyone who keeps track of happenings at Le Mans.

The top LMP1 category is for the fastest prototypes, pure racing cars. This is a class that has been dominated in recent years by diesel powered cars from Peugeot and Audi but 2012 will see the diesels reeled in a little – The factories though are looking for an edge once again and rumours suggest that both Peugeot and Audi (see photo below) may field hybrid versions of their existing cars.

Audi 2012 Season LMP Test Car

They’ll be joined (for a part season at least) by Toyota, the Japanese manufacturer bringing a single car, at least initially, to the fray. The car hasn’t yet been seen in public but it’s known to be a petrol powered hybrid – an answer appears to be just over the horizon as to whether a factory developed petrol powered programme can truly go head to head with the diesels.

There’s a supporting cast of privateers as usual with the Toyota powered Lolas of Rebellion Racing looking set to return. They’ll be joined by British team Strakka Racing with a brand new Honda LMP1, rumoured to be a toe in the water ahead of another factory programme!

The ‘baby’ prototype class, LMP2, looks set to be hotly contested too with a hefty grid of production engined, Pro-Am crewed cars currently assembling – Lola, HPD, Pescarolo and Oreca chassis are likely with Nissan, Honda and Judd BMW power – It looks likely to provide a real race within a race for 2012.

As will the two GT classes, GTE Pro reserved for the newest cars and all Pro driver line ups – GTE Am for cars at least a year old with Pro-Am line ups.

Aston Martin are set to return to the GT ranks with a full factory effort and they look set to be joined on the grid by several examples of the near all conquering Ferrari 458, Chevrolet Corvette and Porsche 997 (plus more besides we hear!). GTE racing is well worth watching as a stand alone formula – Put the Prototypes into the mix and there is never a dull moment!

So where can this little lot be seen racing in 2012? Well it’s a mix of well established events and brand new markets for the endurance racers.

The season starts in the United States on 17th March at the 12 Hours of Sebring and 2012 will see a double celebration at the opening round of the WEC. The 12 Hours of Sebring not only marks the dawn of a new era for the sport but also celebrates its own 60th anniversary – This is an event in the truest meaning of the word and, with Orlando just a couple of hours drive away it’s both easy to get to and offers real opportunities for a longer break too.

Sebring 12 Hours

2012 will also see the WEC join forces for a combined grid with the hotly contested American Le Mans Series – a 60 plus car grid is possible, and with a crowd which often tops 200,000 this should be on everyone’s bucket list.
(You can join us this March in Sebring. Book now by calling us on 0844 873 0203 or email us atinfo@traveldestinations.co.uk)

The traditional curtain raiser for the Le Mans 24 hours is the 6 hours of Spa Francorchamps, in 2012 that will be held on 5th May, a classic circuit and a classic race – the dead hand of 21st century circuit design has left an oasis of wonderfulness in the Ardennes and, again, this is a race, and an event, not to be missed – The factory teams usually roll out their full Le Mans line-ups, boosting the grids more than a little, and with frites and mayo, and Belgian beer aplenty available it’s an ideal weekend’s entertainment.

Then it’s the big one on 16th & 17th June, the Le Mans 24 Hours – 56 cars, 24 Hours and the biggest race meeting in the world, with pre race razzamatazz and on track action for a full week before the race proper – It’s a double points scoring round too for the WEC, the season’s regulars being joined by strengthened factory teams and the best of the rest from the European and American Le Mans Series.

Le Mans 2012
It might also be your first chance to see the spectacular and controversial Deltawing racer, the car has been accepted as the 56th entry for 2012 and plans to display what can be done via radical aerodynamics with a much smaller engine than the norm – Will it work? You could be one of the first to see for yourselves! (Tickets for Le Mans 2012 are selling fast. If you haven’t booked your place already call us now on 0844 873 0203 to discuss your requirements and book your place at the greatest race event on the calendar.)

After a break during the London Olympics the WEC reconvenes in the UK of 26th August at the revamped and super quick Silverstone circuit – By now the Championship battles will have been well defined – A win mid season might make the difference for a team or driver being in the title hunt – or not!

After Silverstone the Championship goes global – Four more races will take the WEC to South America, the Middle East, Japan and China – Four races, four very different circuits and World Championship glory up for grabs.

14 September sees the WEC race at the world famous Interlagos circuit in Brazil. An increasingly important global player, Brazil is a key market for many of the competing manufacturers and they’re sure to pull out all of the stops – Interlagos, of course has played host to the Brazilian Grand Prix many times and the passion for motorsport runs deeply there – The birthplace of Ayrton Senna, a trip to his grave has become part of the pilgrimage for many motorsport fans.

By far the most controversial addition to the WEC calendar is the 6 Hours of Bahrain on 29th September. The tiny Gulf state has had more than its share of political controversy of late but for those fans that have made the trip in recent years Bahrainis have proven to be warm and welcoming, the circuit is truly world class and the racing could be spectacular.

Mount Fuji Circuit

The 14th October sees the penultimate round for the WEC at the exciting Fuji circuit. Owned by Toyota and substantially redesigned in recent years Fuji will be a new test for almost all of the WEC contenders, and there are signs that there is still a substantial Japanese fanbase for Endurance racing – Could this event become a new classic? Certainly there will be plenty of support in evidence for the Toyota LMP1 effort, and for the Honda privateers and Nissan engined LMP2s too!

The season closes in China, though, at present, we don’t have a confirmed date or a confirmed location – Early versions of the calendar suggested either the 11th or 18th November, with the Championship organisers still negotiating with both Zhuhai and Shanghai circuits to determine which will host the season finale – Whichever it is a visit to China is a must – Utterly different, fascinating and let’s remember, the potential for a World Championship deciding endurance race too!

With so many races happening in so many different parts of the World the WEC offers a real opportunity to race fans to expand their global horizons – Experience a new event, Experience a new country, Experience a new culture – Just experience it! Believe me you won’t regret it

Graham Goodwin
www.dailysportscar.com

Register your interest for tickets & travel to any of the FIA WEC rounds in 2012 by calling 0844 873 0203 or by emailing info@traveldestinations.co.uk