GP3 med sportscar farver

Jeg har ikke rigtigt nogen fornemmelse af hvor mange læserne her på siden, der spiller GrandPrix 3(formel 1 spillet) fra Microprose, men jeg gør. Mit spil er dog meget modificeret, og har derfor ikke meget med det originale spil at gøre mere. og i min søgen efter nye ting til spillet faldt jeg over dette her, som er lavet af Aurel Jouveau & Slygue.

Han har designet F1 bilerne i GP3 spillet, således at deres bemaling ligner nogle af de sportscar som vi kender fra Le Mans, jeg kan her nævne Porsche98, Viper, McLaren, Peugeot & Porsche86 og mange flere

Se de flotte biler her
Download Le Mans Carset

Her er to små programmer som gør at det stadig er GPIII til det bedste F1 spil på markedet:
GPxPatch 2.02    GP3 EDIT V. 1.13

Tom K nomineret til årets kører i USA
Kilde: Nils Finderup

Har Tom Kristensen været bedre end Michael Schumacher i år? Det spørgsmål stiller det amerikanske magasin Racer sine læsere i det netop udkomne nummer, og selv om danskeren formentlig godt kan regne med at blive slået med en længde eller to af tyskeren i afstemningen om årets kører, er nomineringen af ham en klar indikation af, at han var dette års profil på Le Mans og i den amerikanske Le Mans-serie.

Som bekendt vandt danskerens holdkammerat hos Audi, italieneren Emanuele Pirro, ALMS-mesterskabet, men det er ikke gået Racers redaktions-næser forbi, at Tom K gennem hele sæsonen var markant hurtigere. Faktisk lykkedes det ikke Pirro at slå danskeren i nogle af årets mange kvalifikationskørsler, til gengæld undgik italieneren de uheld, der endte med at ødelægge Kristensens mesterskabsdrømme.

Ud over Kristensen og Michael Schumacher er lillebror Ralf Schumacher, ChampCar-køreren Helio Castroneves og den amerikanske GT-chauffør Ron Fellows nomineret i år. Afstemningen i Racer finder sted i samarbejde med den amerikanske tv-kanal Speedvision, og danskere kan støtte Tom K's stemmeprocenter ved at klikke ind på hjemmesiden www.speedvision.com.

"Det er lidt af en overraskelse, at jeg er blevet nomineret oven på min uheldige sæsonafslutning, men jeg er glad for, min speed ikke er gået helt upåagtet hen. Jeg føler selv, jeg har haft en rigtig god sæson med fem sejre og flere nye banerekorder, og jeg har sammen med min makker Rinaldo Capello faktisk ført hvert eneste løb i den amerikanske og europæiske Le Mans-serie. At det så ikke altid holdt hjem, er en del af at være motorsportskører," siger Tom Kristensen fra hjemmet i Monaco.

Audi har endnu ikke meldt ud, hvad programmet bliver i 2002, men alt peger i retning af endnu en sæson i ALMS og endnu et forsvar af Le Mans-titlen. Med en sejr mere kan Audi score det eftertragtede trofæ til
ejendom.

Lige meget hvad, Audi vælger at prioritere næste år, siger Tom Kristensens kontrakt, at han er førstevalg i tyskernes primære motorsports-team.

Koenigsegg LMP900

Projektet styres af Christer Flodman og Rickard Franklin i samarbejde med Koenigsegg. Christer Flodman og Rickard Franklin bruger begge dette som deres afslutningsprojekt fra universitetet i Skövde.

Motoren der skal sidde i bilen er ifølge projektets side en Boxer 12'er.

Der står ikke meget om hvor langt man er kommet med projektet, eller hvornår man har tænkt sig at begynde banetesten af denne bil................men kommer bilen på bane, og kommer den på Le Mans, så er det så vidt jeg ved, den første Svenske bil som deltager i det berømte løb.

projekt LMP900 siten.

WR V6

Det franske team Idée Verte Compétition testede i den forgangene uge et 1998 WR chassis, udstyret med en helt ny Peugeot V6. Denne motor skal efter sigende afløse den R4 motor som teamet tidligere har kørt med.

Ifølge vores kilder er deres mål, at indsætte en bil i LMP675 serien i den kommende sæson, så om de vil ind i ELMS eller ALMS forlyder der intet om.

Det er som altid, en spændende bil og kigge på, og den ser da lidt rå ud, ik' ?

Billederne er taget af David Legangneux

Courage - Judd

Yves Courage har i den forgangene uge testet en Courage C60 med en Judd motor.

Yves Courage kørte selv den første omgang, inden han overlod bilen til Boris Derichebourg. Bilen der blev brugt var chassis #2 som hertil var udstyret med en XTrac gearkasse.

Som det tydeligt fremgår at billedet er det ikke kun motoren der er skiftet ud på C60'eren. Der er ihvertfald modificeret en hel del på fronten af bilen, som på det nærmeste er udstyret med en singleseater frontvinge.

Oprindeligt var Courage designet til en Nissan V8 motor, men af uforklarelige årsager kom denne motor aldrig i bilen. I stedet kørte bilen sidste år med Peugeot motor, og nu eksperimentere man med Judd

Billederne er taget af David Legangneux

LE MANS SERIES RACE OF CHAMPIONS OFFICIALLY CANCELED

BRASELTON, Ga. -- KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (October 31, 2001) -- The Le Mans Series Race of Champions, scheduled for Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit January 11-13, has been officially canceled. The event was originally scheduled for Nov. 9-11, 2001, but was postponed to the January date after the tragic events of Sept. 11 in the United States.

The six-hour sports car endurance race was to have included drivers and racing teams from both the American and European Le Mans Series. "The ongoing unrest in the world as a result of what happened on September 11 gave us no choice but to cancel the event," said Scott Atherton, President and COO of the Panoz Motor Sports Group. "We were all looking forward to holding a spectacular event in Malaysia, and regret having to disappoint those who had bought tickets or had planned to attend," he said.

What had been scheduled to be the second annual Le Mans Series Race of Champions in Malaysia on Nov. 1-3, 2002, will now become the inaugural event.

"All of the energy and effort that was being focused on the January event will now turn to the November, 2002, Le Mans Series Race of Champions," said Atherton.

"We are obviously very disappointed to have to make this decision, but the global political and financial climate has changed dramatically in the past few months," said Automobili Motorsports Chairman, Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib.

"After originally postponing the race, we were hopeful the situation may have become calmer, but this does not appear to be the case," he said. "This is a very difficult decision for the organizing team, but we are determined to push on. I am sure that everyone will be very understanding about our predicament. Automobili remain committed to bringing the stars and cars from the American and European Le Mans Series to Malaysia and we now look forward to staging our inaugural event in November next year," he said.

Automobili Motorsports is giving ticket holders an option of receiving a refund or having the purchase transferred to the November, 2002, event.

Magnussen har forlænget sin kontrakt med Panoz

Danske Jan Magnussen har netop forlænge sin kontrakt med Panoz, hvilket betyder at han bliver hos det Amerikanske team i endnu 3 år.

Magnussen har tidligere ytret sig om at han gerne ville til CART serien, men det er øjensynligt ikke faldet i hak, og derfor han skrevet under på denne kontrakt med Panoz.

I går blev det offentliggjort at David Brabham også har forlænget sin kontrakt med Panoz, frem til og med 2004.

"Vi har forlænget kontrakterne med både David og Jan, hvilket giver os det bedst tænkelige team i sportscar racing," siger Don Panoz.

Min bedste vurdering af dette udspil fra Panoz, er at de helt klart går benhårdt efter at give Audi hård kamp i ALMS, i 2002 sæsonen.

Det er dog stadig usikkert om Jan’s kontrakt inkludere at han skal køre Indianapolis 500 for G Force, som også ejes af Panoz.

Alesi og Maserati

Alesi har i øjeblikket forhandlinger med Ferrari, som ejer Maserati. Det forventes at Maserati vender tilbage til International sportsvogn racing inden for de næste to år, og det helt store mål for teamet er at komme til at deltage i Le Mans.

Maserati vil bygge deres nye racerbil lover den nye Spyder model.

En af hovedmændene i projektet bliver den 55 årige Luca di Montezemolo, der idag spiller en stor rolle i Ferraris F1 team, der har et stor ønske om at "Ferrari" vender tilbage til sportscar racing, men da Ferrari allerede er på toppen i F1, vil fabrikke koncentrere sig om det, og derfor bliver det søster selskabet Maserati der kommer ind i Sportscar racing.

Ferrari boss kommer til at styre Maserati

Maserati vender tilbage til racerbanen

DOME test på Snetterton
Kilde: Motorsporten.dk

Team Den Blå Avis Goo testede i går med deres Dome racer på Snetterton banen i England. Og ikke mindre end fire kørere var bag rattet i raceren.

Dagens hurtigste mand var ikke overraskende John Nielsen, der jo er fast kører på Dome raceren.
Ud over John så var også Carsten Ree og Frank Ludvigsen bag rattet i Dome raceren, så man kan sige at ejerskabet også fik prøvet raceren af. Sidste mand i raceren var Casper Elgaard, der dog kun fik kørt tre omgange før en knækket trækaksel satte en stopper for dagens løjer på Snetterton.

PIRELLI AND SALEEN

Pirelli Tires announced today at the 2001 SEMA Snow that it will be renewing Its tlre and marketing relatlonshlp wlth Salen/Allen Speedlab for the 2002 American Le Mans Series (ALMS).

Pirelli previously helped Salean win the ‘Triple Crown" of the inaugural Grand-Am season (2000 GTS Manufacturers', Drivcrs’ and Team Championships), but chose not to compete last year in order to focus on renewing its racing product and pmcesses. Since returning to sports cBr racing in 1885, Pirelli has had rzurnemus s~~msses in the U $ , including twa straight IMSA Wnrlrl Spnrfs Car Championships (Farmin Velez racing Team Scandia’s Femn 333 SP in 1935 and Wayne Taylor driving Doyle Racing’s Oldsmobile in 1330) and four straight IMSA GTS championships with Porsche and Saleen’s 2000 GTS championship.

"We are truly excited to be back racing in North America with Saleen," commented Francescr, GonI worldwide president of Pirdi Tires. "ALMS is steadily becoming the premier sports car racing series in the world and the Saleen S7R has definitely proven to be the finest supercar it? GT racing. We’re looking forward to celebrating many podiums with Saleen, especially in the key endurance race3 like the 24 Hours of Le Mans."

In its inaugural season, the Saleen S7R has had a recard possibly unmatched in the annals of racing. Racing in four different series in North America and Europe, Saleen SfRs have 18 wins in 30 races earning 27 poles and 25 fastest laps. Needing only to take the green flag in this Saturday’s Grand-Am finale at Daytona, Saleen S7R drivers will have won the GTS Drivers’ Championship in three series - Grarid-Am, ALMS arid lhe European Le Mans Series -with a fourth Drivers’ Champlonshlp possible in next week‘s Spanish GT series finale, While this is the WR’s inaugural season, this year‘s championship is the sixth straight GTS Manufacturing title for Saleen.

"Last year was certainly a water mark year for Saleen and the $7R," added Steve Saleen, founder and president of the Irvine, Calif.-based company. "But we’re actually looking forward to an even more exciting sea5011 this corning year. We anticipate that Pirelli’s technical resources in development and testing will provide a competitive edge to our race program that we didn’t have lesl year."

Saleen will focus on a full factory assault on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as key enduranm rac8s. Besides Saleen, Piralli will offer its IatQst P Zero racing slicks to Saloon S7R customer teams, as well as other GTS and GT cars in the ALMS and the FIA GT. A high-psrfotmanm vehicle manufacturer for 1 B years, Saleen introduced the S7, the first true American supercar, at the famed Monterey Historic Races in August of last year. Less than ttme months later, the first STR r3cecar peflormed admlrably In Its jnaugural race at the same Laguna Seca circuit. The Saleen STR’S 7-liter racing V8 generates 600 horsepower and is capable of speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour. With its extreme ground effects engineering, the cBr could be driven upside down at 180 mph and still stay ettached to the road.

Founded in 1872, tho Pirelli Group is one of the wdd’s leading mwnufadurers of tires for most cars and light trucks plus cables for telecommunications, electronic data and power transmission. Pirelli tires are fitled as original equipment to more than 350 different vehicle models, from the world’s most powetful supercars to modest gas, diesel and electricity- driven city ME. Pirelli Tire North America makes a full range of car tires developed specifically for the North

American motorist and has ten percent of the country‘s ultra-high performance car tire market. The company is also an important player in the North American $UV/Iight truck tire market.

Reynard bekræfter deres 2002 projekt

Reynard Motorsport has today confirmed the introduction of a new Sportscar for 2002. The Reynard 02S-P675 sports racing car is being developed for Sportscar Series on both sides of the Atlantic including the American Le Mans Series, FIA Sportscar Championship and Le Mans 24 Hours.  The first car is due to be out testing in early December in preparation for the 2002 season.

This new Reynard Sportscar is a clean sheet design from the Championship winning constructor. The first Reynard Sportscar was built in 1999 for the 2000 season and since this time the company has been developing its 2KQ model, with the 2KQ-LM and the 01Q following its introduction. The 2002 car is an evolution of knowledge, but it is an all-new design from a vibrant young design team who have used their experience from the earlier models to develop this exciting Reynard car.

The move to the lighter, 675 class of Sportscar with this new Reynard is a strategic decision for the company. This sector offers scope for manufacturer designed customer entries, with the company focusing on designing a car that can be cost effective as well as highly competitive, to attract racers interested in participating in Sportscar series in the USA and Europe, at an affordable cost.

"We've been working on this project for around two years now," says Mark Smithson, Managing Director, Reynard Motorsport. "We've carefully evaluated the demands of this sector and the opportunities that exist for us as a volume racecar producer, and believe that the 675 class is the way forward for us. We've put together a great design and development team and they're putting a tremendous effort into the fundamentals of the car and ensuring that we'll be introducing a strong product. We'll also be taking our research and development work through to the track with a commitment to a testing programme designed to validate performance and endurance."

"Reynard's strengths lie with the quality of its people, the high standards of production that we achieve and the application of cutting edge technology in the processes we use in manufacturing.  This new car will reflect our strengths and build on over 27 years of race car production experience to produce a quality product that we believe will be another Championship winner. We've had plenty of interest from the industry and we're confident that this will be a prime option for teams and drivers looking at the 675 class."

The new car is close to completion and has undergone an in-depth aerodynamics research programme. The design approach seeks to optimise the aero package with a single roll hoop and a design that offers a very low drag, high downforce configuration in its standard, delivered form, which is appropriate to the majority of the circuits used in Sportscar series, and with a ultra-low drag package for the specific demands of tracks such as Le Mans.