BTCC 2009 Thruxton Race 4

BTCC 2009 Thruxton Race 3

Australian V8 2009 New Zealand Race 4

Australian V8 2009 New Zealand Race 3

TC 2000 Endurance Rio Hondo 2009

TC 2000 Endurance Race in Rio Hondo, Argentina. Great racing, and an unexpected final, with foreign drivers like Alain Menu, Anthony Reid, Carlos Cacá Bueno,etc.In two parts.

Grand Am Laguna Seca 2009

2009 24 Hours of Le Mans Video

24 heurs du Mans: Peugeot comes through with a 1-2 Le Mans victory

Racing series	LEMANS
Date	2009-06-14 (Le Mans, France)

By Tom Haapanen - Motorsport.com

With the French newspaper headlines demanding "Now go win Le Mans" after Team Peugeot won the pole at the Le Mans 24 Hours on Thursday, it was clear that the pressure was on, with the entire country expecting the French team to win the race over its arch-rival Audi this year, the third of its Le Mans program.

#9 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908: Alexander Wurz, David Brabham, Marc Gene.Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt.

There would be no disappointment this time. David Brabham, Marc Gene and Alexander Wurz drove a strong race in the #9 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, with Marc Gene crossing the finish line to lead a 1-2 victory for the French marque, its third victory in the June endurance classic, and the first since the Peugeot 905B took the spoils in 1992 and 1993.

"We won, but (the #8 car) deserved it just as much as we did," said Gene. "I felt terribly emotional over the closing laps, like I have felt never before. Personally, I was expecting a little bit more opposition from Audi, but mechanically, with a new car I did expect them to have some problems".

The all-French teaming in the #8 sister car -- Sebastien Bourdais, Franck Montagny and Stephane Sarrazin -- seemed to be the initial favourite, and certainly the local one, having started from the pole position. The trio of drivers demonstrated their speed, building a substantial lead after passing Allan McNish's Audi in the opening minutes of the race. However, a problem with loosened components in the left-rear brakes caused a 10-minute delay in the pits for the #8, allowing Wurz to slip by and take the lead. Bourdais would eventually take the chequered flag second, one lap down to his teammate.

"It's a great day Peugeot, we had a double," said Bourdais. "And if it hadn't been for a rather stupid mistake in the pits, it would have been a triple."

The #9 may not have been the absolutely fastest of the three works Peugeots, but it suffered neither a mechanical problem nor a driver error in its clean 24-hour run to the chequered flag. Le Mans demands respect and requires reliability, clean driving and a bit of luck, and the Brabham-Gene-Wurz trio cam up with all three to take the honours -- the first for Brabham and Gene, and the second for Wurz, who already had a victory from 1996, when he won with Joest Porsche.

	#8 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908: Stéphane Sarrazin, Franck Montagny, Sébastien Bourdais. Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt.

Meanwhile, the #8 suffered from the brake problem, and the third team car, the #7 fell back first after the pit lane collision that Bourdais referred to, in the first hour of the race, as the team released Pedro Lamy from the pit box while Team Pescarolo's customer Peugeot was driving by. Extensive repairs were just the start of a bad day, and in spite of its speed, the #7 finished the race in only sixth place, 13 laps adrift of the winners.

Team Pescarolo's 908, factory-supported but privately run, was a threat for the podium for much of the race, in spite of the early damage from the pit lane incident. However, the team's hopes were extinguished when Benoit Treluyer crashed heavily into the barriers in the Esses, after losing control on the downhill segment.

For Audi, this was the German marque's first defeat at La Sarthe, surely a huge disappointment for motorsports chief Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, who was present to oversee the drive for a ninth victory, along with team principal Reinhold Joest. However, the team's most experienced driver combination, McNish, Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen in the #1 R15 TDI, was only able to finish third, seven laps down.

Kristensen, an eight-time Le Mans winner in his own right, Capello and McNish drove a clean, incident-free race, but lost ground rapidly to the Peugeots in the early going, and then fell victim to mechanical delays in the second half of the race.

"Peugeot have raised their game, there is no doubt that," said Kristensen. " We had some issues, we were not happy with the balance of the car, especially in hot conditions. "

#1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R15 TDI: Allan McNish, Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen. Photo by Tom Haapanen.

In general, the race pace of the marque's new R15 disappointed, after the brief flicker of hope lit by McNish's strong qualifying performance on Thursday night. The car appeared to suffer from poor handling and driveability, limited testing opportunities possibly hampering its development.

"We agreed to cancel the test day, and it was the same for everybody," Dr. Ullrich summarized the issues with limited track time for the R15. "And if we couldn't make the best of it, it's in our hands."

It was only after the installation of some new front bodywork in the night-time hours that the Audi drivers were able to post competitive lap times. By then, the two top Peugeots had taken a decisive lead -- and multiple subsequent visits for the #1 car to the team's garage to cool it down put paid to any hope of catching the 908s.

Adding to the lack of outright speed were the handling problems: experienced drivers Alexandre Premat and Lucas Luhr both had spins, the latter writing off the #2 Audi in a heavy shunt at the Porsche Curves. Premat, Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard fought on in the #3, but extended repairs in the pits dropped the car way back; it eventually finished 18th overall, 50 laps behind the winners.

With only a single Audi in contention, and the single Pescarolo Peugeot eliminated, the door was open for the petrol-powered cars to make a move. Aston Martin Racing did exactly that: its lead driver combination of Jan Charouz, Stefan Mucke and Tomas Enge hustled the Lola B09/60-Aston Martin combination with speed and care throughout the 24 hours to cross the line fourth, nine laps off the pace of the winning Peugeot.

"If we can finish in the three it will be a dream result, but top five would be great as well," Enge summed up the team's hopes prior to the race. "We'll try to beat as many diesels as possible and be the first petrol car."

Behind Aston Martin, notable was the achievement of Team Kolles. Running a pair of year-old ex-works Audi R10s with limited factory support and a team of six Le Mans rookie drivers, the German team was going into the race with a tall mountain to climb. Things got worse when Narain Karthikeyan sprained his shoulder on the grid, leaving the #15 with just two drivers. Charles Zwolsman and Andre Lotterer did yeoman work to bring the #14 home in seventh place, having driven about twelve hours each in their first Le Mans appearances.

"It's funny I haven't spoken to (Lotterer) but I can just tell he's doing well," said Zwolsman an hour before the end of the race. "Always when Andre is in the car, I'm not and vice versa!"

	#31 Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder: Kristian Poulsen, Casper Elgaard, Emmanuel Collard.Photo by Eric Gilbert.

In the LM P2 category, the Porsche RS Spyders were unmatched in terms of performance, and it looked like a 1-2 Porsche finish was in the offing for most of the race. Team Essex, with drivers Casper Elgaard, Kristian Poulsen and Emmanuel Collard, did go on to win the class, 10th overall and 24 laps behind the overall winners.

"It's perhaps better to win in a category (rather than overall), as (a category win) is very much for the driver," said Collard. "This year Porsche asked me to drive for Essex, and I know I would be driving for a class win. For a driver it is always motivating to drive for victory!"

The victory is the first at Le Mans for each of the three Team Essex drivers, Collard finally making it to the top step of the podium in his 15th consecutive year at Le Mans. Poulsen, on the other hand, already takes home the silverware in his first attempt.

However, the other RS Spyder, that of NAVI Team Goh just barely failed to make it to the 23-hour mark, with Seiji Ara losing control of the car at the second chicane on the world-famous high-speed Mulsanne Straight, and destroying much of the car running into the barriers.

Instead, the joint Swiss-British effort, Speedy Racing Team Sebah, took second in class with the Lola B08/80-Judd, with Jonny Kane, Benjamin Leuenberger and Xavier Pompidou driving a steady race. The team could not match the pace of the works-supported Porsches, but they were easily fastest of the non-Porsche brigade.

#33 Speedy Racing Team Sebah Lola Judd Coupe: Xavier Pompidou, Benjamin Leuenberger, Jonny Kane. Photo by Rainier Ehrhardt.

With the attrition at the front, the French OAK Racing team moved up into a podium position with their #24 Pescarolo 01-Mazda. They were 11 laps behind the second-placed Lola, but it was a remarkable result for the small team nevertheless.

"It's superb to finish in third," said Yvon. "I work in wood, oak is strong and solid, and we have a great team, solid, in OAK Racing!"

The third-place class finish was actually the second in a row for the team: before being renamed OAK Racing this year, they finished third in P2 in 2008 as Saulnier Racing, with drivers Cong Fu Cheng, Mathieu Lahaye and Pierre Ragues.

This time it was a team of three gentlemen drivers though: company president Jacques Nicolet, Richard Hein and Jean-Francois Yvon, all over 50 years old.

"Even if these gentlemen are not in their first flush of youth, we have really achieved something special," Richard Hein summed up.

See also Corvette, Risi earn historic Le Mans GT wins.

Results

24 hs du Mans: Gene holds the lead for Peugeot at midnight

Racing series	LEMANS
Date	2009-06-13 (Le Mans, France)

By Tom Haapanen - Motorsport.com

Marc Gene continues to drive in the lead as midnight approaches at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Peugeot has held the lead for all but a few minutes of the race so far, and the #9 908 HDi FAP (driven by Gene, David Brabham and Alexander Wurz) has led since just before nine o'clock when the #8 Peugeot experienced rear-left brake problems, being delayed in the pits by some ten minutes.

#8 Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908: Stéphane Sarrazin, Franck Montagny, Sébastien Bourdais. Photo by Tom Haapanen.

The #9 has run trouble-free in the three hours since, and the only fight has been for the second position, between Sebastien Bourdais and then Franck Montagny in the #8, and Tom Kristensen in the remaining Audi R15 TDI.

Kristensen lost some time in the pits with the car being wheeled into the garage for a quick inspection, and Montagny took advantage of the opportunity, slipping by into second place. That only lasted for about 30 minutes, though, as on his next stop Montagny had to get the front bodywork on the Peugeot replaced, and the mechanics had some difficulty getting the relatively flimsy piece mounted correctly.

Kristensen nodded his thanks and sped by the stationary Peugeot, taking back second by a margin of about two minutes. Montagny is currently tearing up the track, though, setting stonking lap times in an effort to catch Kristensen.

Jean-Christophe Bouillon is still fourth in the #17 Pescarolo Peugeot, with Jan Charouz next in the #007 Lola-Aston Martin.

The duo of Charles Zwolsman and Andre Lotterer continues to impress, though, as they have the #14 Kolles Audi R10 in sixth place. Neither Zwolsman or Lotterer has raced at Le Mans before this weekend -- and with Narain Karthikeyan's pre-start injury, they are having to drive the entire race without a third teammate.

In the LM P2 category, Emmanuel Collard, driving the Team Essex Porsche RS Spyder, has now pulled out a lead of more than a lap over the NAVI Team Goh RS Spyder, after the latter experienced some mechanical delays in the pits. The Speedy Racing Team Sebah Lola-Judd is another four laps adrift of the second Porsche.

The LM GT1 class is now down to three runners, with the retirements of the JLOC Lamborghini Murcielago and the Luc Alphand #72 Corvette. The two works Corvettes -- #63 and #64, respectively -- lead the remaining Luc Alphand Corvette, the #73, by a two-lap margin.

Jaime Melo has taken over from Mika Salo in the #82 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430, but that has not stopped the team from dominating the LM GT2 standings. Currently Melo has a three-minute lead over JMW Motorsports' Ferrari F430 (currently driven by Robert Bell), while Patrick Pilet has the IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 RSR in third position in class, a lap behind the second Ferrari.

Elsewhere, the race stewards have made the extraordinary decision to exclude Aston Martin Racing's Stuart Hall from further participation in the race. Hall contacted the #26 Bruichladdich Radical SR9 AER early on (see separate article), forcing the Radical to the garage with extensive damage.

"After my contact with the Radical, the stewards have decided to exclude me from the meeting so I won't be driving today or tomorrow," Hall said. "I made a mistake, and it a slight touch was enough to do a lot of damage to them. I am really sorry to those guys."

"I'm actually gutted," he added. "We weren't running too badly until then. Everyone I've spoken too said it's a bit harsh, but that's how it goes. The decision is final, you can't do anything to change that ruling, immediate exclusion from the meeting. It's down to Koxie (Peter Kox) and Harald (Primat) to bring the car home to the finish."

TC2000: Latin America's top championship

MOTOR RACING JOURNALISTS' ASSOCIATION


Latin America's Motor Racing Journalists' Association, which is formed by journalists representing more than 50 companies from 12 countries, has elected TC2000 as the best championship of last season. In other categories, Brazil's Felipe Massa was elected as the Latin American Driver of the Year, while Mexico's Esteban Gutierrez won the "Gonzalo Gonchi Rodriguez Prize", for drivers of under 21 years.
Buenos Aires, February 23rd 2009.- Latin America's Motor Racing Journalists' Association, which is formed by journalists representing more than 50 companies from 12 countries, has elected TC2000 as the best championship of last season. In other categories, Brazil's Felipe Massa was elected as the Latin American Driver of the Year, while Mexico's Esteban Gutierrez won the "Gonzalo Gonchi Rodriguez Prize", for drivers of under 21 years.

With 52 % of the votes on its side, and a total of 188 points, TC2000 established itself as the most appraised division of the continent. Brazil's Stock Car V8 division was the second most voted one, with 107 points, ahead of NASCAR Mexico which was third with 105 points. The Codasur Rally championship was fourth with 95 points, ahead of South American Formula 3 with 70.

CHAMPIONSHIP OR DIVISION OF THE YEAR
1. TC2000 (Argentina) 188 points
2. Stock Car V8 (Brazil) 107 points
3. NASCAR (Mexico) 105 points
4. Codasur Rally 95 points
5. South American Formula 3 70 points
6. Rally NACAM (Nacam) 30 points
7. LatAm Challenge F-Renault (Mexico) 21 points
8. Turismo Carretera (Argentina) 8 points
9. Turismo Nacional (Argentina) 5 points
10. Formula Truck (Brazil) 2 points
11. TC2000 (Colombia) 1 point

The category corresponding to the "Event of the Year" went to the Brazilian Grand Prix once again. Second place went to the Argentina Rally, fourth to the FIA GT event held at Potrero de los Funes (San Luis, Argentina), and ninth to TC2000's "Buenos Aires 200 Km", this latter event once again being considered as one of the most interesting ones.

EVENT OF THE YEAR
1. Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix 248 points
2. Argentina Rally (Argentina) 105 points
3. Mexico Rally (Mexico) 82 points
4. FIA GT round (Argentina) 72 points
5. WTCC round at Curitiba (BRazil) 41 points
6. Grand Am Mexico City 40 points
7. AiGP (Mexico) 34 points
8. WTCC round at Puebla (Mexico) 33 points
9.Buenos Aires 200 Km (Argentina) 20 points
10. Dos Sertoes Rally (Brazil) 17 points

TC2000 - Mendoza - 31/05/09

Resultado
Campeonato