Mike hezemans le mans

“Strange and exciting.” Those are the words that came into FIA chief technical and safety officer Xavier Mestelan Pinon’s mind when he was told about the Garage 56 entry for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. And for good reason. The car that filled the grid slot reserved – but not always allocated – for an innovative or experimental car at the World Endurance Championship blue riband was, off all things, a NASCAR Cup contender. It was strange because an American stock car, Next Gen Cup racer developed in conjunction with Dallara or no, is very different from the prototype and GT machinery that makes up the WEC grid. And it was exciting for the very same reason. Incorporating the Chevrolet Camaro LS1 run by Hendrick Motorsports and driven by Jenson Button , Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller into that field of Hypercar, LMP2 and GTE Am cars was the challenge faced by Le Mans organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest in conjunction with the FIA, co-organiser of the WEC. “The … [Read more...] about Inside the adaptations needed to realise NASCAR’s Le Mans return

The Frenchman, who recently parted ways the G-Drive squad that he was initially set to contest the endurance classic with, joins Memo Rojas and Julien Canal in Greaves' LMP2 class Ligier JS P2-Nissan. Berthon replaces Kuba Giermaziak in the team's line-up, the Pole understood to have encountered sponsorship difficulties in the run-up to the race. Jon Lancaster deputised for the absent Giermaziak at the official test day. "I am delighted to join Greaves Motorsport for the Le Mans 24 Hours," said Berthon. "I have been speaking with the team for a few years, now we are able to finally able to work together. "Greaves Motorsport is a very strong and professional organisation and I have no doubt that we are going to do an amazing job together in Le Mans." Team principal Jacob Greaves added: “This is very positive step towards achieving our goal at Le Mans, that is to win. "Of course to do that we must first finish, so having an experienced, fast driver, with a proven track … [Read more...] about Berthon joins Greaves Motorsport for Le Mans

London, UK – This weekend the final European Le Mans Series event takes place at Estoril in Portugal and Nissan will be there to celebrate 30 years of NISMO with the fans of Le Mans racing. This event also sees the LM P2 debut of 2013 GT Academy Europe winner and local man, Miguel Faisca. Nissan will help to bring the excitement of Le Mans racing to Estoril through its sponsorship of this event. On Saturday and Sunday fans can go along to the circuit entrance to test drive the Nissan product range and the first 200 fans to do so will receive Nissan VIP passes for the event. “It’s good to see another NISMO Athlete take the next step up the ladder,” said Darren Cox, Global Head of Brand, Marketing & Sales, NISMO. “As always we will be watching to see how he performs as it’s important for us to build our drivers into top line racers for our premier racing activities. Lucas Ordonez showed them all how it was done this year when he moved up to Super GT so let’s see what the next … [Read more...] about 30 years of NISMO celebrations continue at final Le Mans Series event

JOTA Sport has registered its best-ever final placing in the prestigious European Le Mans Series after finishing third in the fifth and final round in Portugal today (19 Oct). Simon Dolan, Harry Tincknell and Filipe Albuquerque combined to record the British team’s fourth top-four result of the season – their Dunlop-shod JOTA Sport Zytek finishing 43.713-seconds behind the winning car in the Four Hours of Estoril. Their third place today together with first, second and fourth place finishes plus four “pole” positions in ELMS races earlier this season, earns JOTA second in the final standings – agonisingly missing out on the Series “crown” by just four-points. JOTA had lay second in the title race since the second race in May. Locking up at Turn 7 has ultimately cost us the championship title. Simon Dolan While JOTA Sport won the LMP2 category in the Le Mans 24 Hours four months ago, this marks JOTA’s best-ever championship position since its formation 14 years ago … [Read more...] about JOTA Sport claims best-ever European Le Mans Series placing in final standings

DETROIT -- Following the Tuesday afternoon press conference at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) and the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA), a colleague, who does not follow racing closely, turned around and asked me: “Was there any news here? Did I miss it?” No, he didn’t. The conference was to simply introduce the WEC to automotive journalists, though by Tuesday afternoon, many had already left as Monday and Tuesday morning conferences contained all the new models. And many who did come did so to see TV star and race driver Patrick Dempsey, but he was a late no-show. The closest we came to news being made: Nissan’s Roel de Vries, the Corporate VP, Global Head of Marketing, revealed that there would be more news on Nissan’s LMP1 car “soon.” Others on the panel, which was ably hosted by Andrew Craig, whom you will remember as CART’s head but who is now representing the WEC in the U.S., were Pierre Fillon, … [Read more...] about WEC press conference at Detroit show previewed Le Mans, COTA

The 24-year-old will partner Simon Dolan and Filip Albuquerque in the Gibson-Nissan LMP2 car for the entire ELMS campaign. Yelloly will also race for Jota Sport at the Le Mans 24 Hours and Spa 6 Hours FIA WEC race. Yelloly, who has competed in GP3 for the last two seasons, has already tested the Jota LMP2 car at Estoril and Aragon last month. He will continue his preparation for a switch to endurance racing in the official ELMS test at Paul Ricard in just over two weeks' time. "Sportscars will be my only programme this year and the decision was very simple," said Yelloly. "The sportscar category is now getting much bigger compared to some top-line single-seater categories, the racing intrigues me having to master new skills from almost continuous overtaking to fuel saving, and who could turn down competing at Le Mans! "A number of single-seater guys have successfully made the switch over to sportscars like Brendon Hartley and Harry Tincknell. I have always dreamt of … [Read more...] about Jota Sport signs Yelloly for ELMS and Le Mans

World Endurance Championship title holder and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Ryo Hirakawa has joined McLaren’s driver development programme. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Hirakawa will serve as one of the team’s reserve drivers in Formula 1 this year. His signing comes after IndyCar champion Alex Palou cut his ties with the team and chose to remain with Ganassi in the US series. McLaren confirmed Hirakawa will continue to drive for Toyota in WEC, where he leads the championship he won last year with his team mates Brendon Hartley and Sebastien Buemi. The 29-year-old is also in his sixth season of racing in Japan’s Super Formula series, where he currently races against drivers including AlphaTauri racer Liam Lawson . Hirakawa has won four races in the series and has a best championship position of second. McLaren has not indicated whether it plans to run Hirakawa in practice sessions, though his lack of F1 experience means doing so would count towards … [Read more...] about McLaren signs WEC champion and Le Mans winner Hirakawa as F1 reserve driver

Hirakawa will become part of McLaren's driver development programme, supporting the Woking team in its simulator as well as conducting a testing programme with its 2021 MCL35M car. The 29-year-old will dovetail his F1 testing role with his current drive for Toyota, with which he is currently leading the Hypercar class in the World Endurance Championship. Hirakawa and his team-mates Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley are the reigning champions too, having won both the overall title and the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2022. “I’m happy to have joined the McLaren F1 team as a reserve driver," Hirakawa said on the margins of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix. "It’s an exciting prospect to work with such a respected team and I’m grateful to Zak [Brown] and Andrea [Stella] for the opportunity. "I’ve already met the team and experienced the simulator at MTC which has allowed me to hit the ground running. I’m now fully prepared and focused for the remainder of 2023. "I am grateful … [Read more...] about McLaren signs Le Mans winner Hirakawa as F1 reserve driver

In a move revealed on Thursday, Honda Performance Development, the motorsport arm of American Honda Motor Co., based out of Santa Clarita in California, will join Japan’s Honda Racing Corporation to become HRC US. The aim is for one global HRC entity to boast combined expertise as Honda re-enters Formula 1 in 2026 with Aston Martin. With three F1 races now held in America – in Austin, Miami and Las Vegas – the rebranded HRC US will also be involved in F1 power unit development and race support from 2026. HPD was established in 1993 to produce engines for the IndyCar Series, and has gone on to claim 280 race wins from 510 races, including 15 victories in the Indy 500. In recent years, it has expanded its operations to include IMSA SportsCar Championship competition, scoring three IMSA manufacturers’, drivers’ and teams’ titles since 2018 and three consecutive victories in the Daytona 24 Hours. The collaboration with HRC in Japan means that HPD’s program with the Acura … [Read more...] about Honda motorsport restructuring opens door to WEC/Le Mans bid