Autoblog

Watch SRT's Viper GTS-R return to professional racing at Mid-Ohio

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:31:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Videos, Racing

Spectators at this past weekend's ALMS race at Mid-Ohio made sure to pay special attention to the two Viper GTS-R racers with their video cameras, and Chrysler's cameras were out in full force as well. It was the first race for SRT Motorsport's Team Viper after a lenthy hiatus. Both V10 racers had to run their 8.0-liter engines with an air restrictor because the rest of the class runs with 5.5 liters. The 455-horsepower snakes finished the race in 10th and 12th place overall while gathering valuable data.

Oh, about that "thundering in your ears" that Autoblog Editor-in-chief John Neff mentioned in his race coverage? They've still got it. Big time. Have a watch and a listen of the videos below.

Team Viper and their thundering coupes head to Road America in two weeks.

Continue reading Watch SRT's Viper GTS-R return to professional racing at Mid-Ohio

Watch SRT's Viper GTS-R return to professional racing at Mid-Ohio originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford Mustang race teams sit out Mid-Ohio race in protest of SCCA rules [w/video]

Drew Phillips — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 11:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Ford, Racing

The Ford Mustang Boss 302S race car dominated the inaugural season of the GTS class in the SCCA World Challenge, with Paul Brown of the Tiger Racing team winning five races and capturing the driver's championship. That wasn't necessarily a surprise, though, as the class was developed in part for the turn-key race car. This season, Ford's pony car hasn't had nearly as much success, however, with a Mustang driver not standing atop the podium since the first race and the highest ranking team currently sitting 6th in the standings.

The frustration of the Mustang teams came to a head this past weekend at Mid-Ohio when their quickest car finished in 10th place in Saturday's race. To compound their problems, seven of the Mustang race cars had overheating issues, a problem that the teams say is due to the small air restrictors mandated for the Mustang by the SCCA. Tiger Racing experienced two engine failures, while another driver experienced temperatures so high in the cabin that the rubber soles of his shoes melted.

In protest, each of the Mustang teams decided to sit out Sunday's race, parking their cars in pit lane after the initial formation lap. "The Mustang owners and drivers collectively and unanimously feel that the SCCA's method of creating parity is not working and leaves the Mustang with a significant handicap in many areas, and an advantage in NO area," said the teams in a collective statement released yesterday. "The Boss Mustang teams held meetings with series officials throughout the Mid-Ohio event in an attempt to regain some level of competitiveness, but those discussions proved fruitless. The teams collectively felt that their voices were not being heard and staged a protest to bring more attention to this matter."

Scroll down to read the official announcement or watch Justin Bell, driver of the Tiger Racing Mustang Boss 302S, talk about the protest.

Continue reading Ford Mustang race teams sit out Mid-Ohio race in protest of SCCA rules [w/video]

Ford Mustang race teams sit out Mid-Ohio race in protest of SCCA rules [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viper GTS-R makes competitive debut at Mid-Ohio

John Neff — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 15:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance

Saturday saw the Viper makes its much-anticipated return to competitive motorsports when SRT Motorsport's Team Viper successfully campaigned its pair of Viper GTS-R cars in the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. What did success look like? Far from a podium finish, Team Viper was pleased just to have both cars finish the race, and was pleasantly surprised to have one crack the top ten.

The two cars fielded were the No. 91 Forza Motorsports Viper GTS-R (blue/silver) driven by Kuno Wittmer and Dominik Farnbacher and the No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra car (yellow/silver) driven by Marc Gooseens and Tommy Kendall.

We were at the race and watched both Vipers make their debut. While not nearly quick enough yet to threaten the Corvettes, Porsches, BMWs and Ferraris that contend fiercely for the GT Class crown, the Vipers were nonetheless very consistent and Team Viper reports the cars actually got quicker as the race progressed.

While the No. 91 car made it through Mid-Ohio's 15-turn, 2.4-mile course all day without incident, and in fact spent most of its time running down the black-and-gold liveried Lotus Evora of Alex Job Racing, the No. 93 had two incidents, including an off-track excursion in the final minutes of the race. The GT Class was won on Saturday in a thrilling finish by Corvette Racing's Oliver Gavin, who held off the No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in his No. 4 Corvette C6 ZR1 for the race's final 20 minutes.

With the addition of the Viper this year (and the Lotus Evora), the GT Class of ALMS racing has become one of our favorite series to watch, especially in person where the personalities of these cars can be felt thundering in your ears. The Viper's 8.4-liter V10 engine makes a very distinct sound on the track. While not as gutteral as the Corvette's 5.5-liter V8, it's also not as loud as the BMW M3's 4.0-liter V8 nor as shrieky as the Ferrari 458 Italia's 4.5-liter V8 either. It falls somewhere in between the the Corvette and BMW, and could stand to have its volume cranked up a notch. And though the Viper's new design looked the part of a menacing GT car on the track, we hope at some point the cars will be wearing liveries that harken back to the red-and-white-striped Oreca Vipers that dominated early ALMS racing.

The next time Team Viper competes will be at Road America in two weeks.

Continue reading Viper GTS-R makes competitive debut at Mid-Ohio

Viper GTS-R makes competitive debut at Mid-Ohio originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viper GTS-R will debut at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 4 [w/video]

John Neff — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:15:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

SRT has confirmed that the Viper GTS-R will make its competition debut in the American Le Mans Series at Mid-Ohio on August 4. While development of the car has continued in earnest, SRT Motorsports, along with partner Riley Technologies, has only been able to perform three test sessions since its debut in April - one at Carolina Motorsports Park in South Carolina, another time at Virginia International Raceway, and most recently at Mid-Ohio over the July 4 holiday. Says Gary Johnson, Road Racing Manager for SRT Motorsports, "Each test has met and more often exceeded our expectations, so we'll see how things go at Mid-Ohio and then make a decision about the rest of the 2012 season." While the rest of the 2012 season may be up in the air until after the GTS-R's debut at Mid-Ohio, the team is planning to campaign the entire 2013 ALMS season.

SRT Motorsports will be fielding two Viper GTS-Rs on race day at Mid-Ohio. The drivers include Dominik Farnbacher of Germany, who set a claimed production car lap record at the Nürburgring last year in a Viper ACR, Marc Goossens from Belgium and Kuno Wittmer from Canada, with American-born Ryan Hunter-Reay from Dallas, Texas joining the team for longer endurance races than Mid-Ohio's three-hour jaunt. The cars will compete in the production-based GT class of ALMS, which means on race day they'll be rubbing fenders with the Aston Martin Vantage, BMW M3 GT, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, Ferrari 458 Italia, Lotus Evora and Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

Continue reading Viper GTS-R will debut at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 4 [w/video]

Viper GTS-R will debut at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 4 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dallara's next-generation IndyCar undergoes maiden track run at Mid-Ohio

Noah Joseph — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Honda, Racing

A little over a year since officials picked the Dallara proposal over those of its rivals, testing has begun in earnest on the next-generation IndyCar chassis.

The new car underwent the first of a dozen scheduled shake-down runs at the hands of Dan Wheldon, the reigning Indy 500 champion, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where the series competed this past weekend.

Dallara's clean-sheet design - which will be built at a new Stateside facility instead of the factory in Italy - was envisioned right from inception for use on both high-speed ovals and road courses, unlike the car it replaces which was designed for the speedways and later adapted for twistier circuits. Each team will be able to switch the bodywork depending on the type of track, but that's hardly where the differences between the new car and the old one end.

Instead of the 3.5-liter Honda V8s that powered the existing crop, the new car Wheldon was running packed a 2.2-liter turbocharged V6, also from Honda, that will be one of three engines - alongside Chevrolet and Lotus - that will proliferate across the field next year.

Engine suppliers will get their first taste of the new chassis in October, with deliveries to individual teams slated for December, but you can scope out the images from the test right now.

Dallara's next-generation IndyCar undergoes maiden track run at Mid-Ohio originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cadillac CTS-V Coupe collects first victory at Mid-Ohio [w/video]

John Neff — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:27:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Cadillac

Cadillac Racing hadn't won a race since the finale of the 2007 World Challenge season when Andy Pilgrim took the checkered flag at Laguna Seca driving the team's previous-generation Cadillac CTS-V sedan. This past weekend, the Wreath and Crest's factory team finally won again since returning to the sport this season after a three-year absence, but this time at Mid-Ohio with Andy's teammate, Johnny O'Connell, behind the wheel of the team's new CTS-V Coupe.

We happened to be at Mid-Ohio for race one of this past weekend's World Challenge double header in which O'Connell was running second and could've easily won had his car not spun off the track after contact with another GT Class Corvette. We just happened to catch the CTS-V Coupe's off-track excursion, including how O'Connell passed the Corvette that contacted him after returning to pavement (check out the video after the break).

O'Connell finished eighth that race, but had an opportunity for redemption in race two of the double-header on Sunday. Things went Cadillac's way this time when, after working his way up from seventh to third, O'Connell took advantage of last-lap contact between the two race leaders to take the win.

Cadillac Racing hasn't had the same level of success yet that seemed to come so much easier with the previous generation CTS-V sedan. We've discussed at length why, which has more to do with added weight and restrictor plates mandated by the governing body than the racing abilities of Pilgrim and O'Connell or the vehicle's ultimate potential. Now that the team has tasted success again, it probably won't be as long between victories.

Continue reading Cadillac CTS-V Coupe collects first victory at Mid-Ohio [w/video]

Cadillac CTS-V Coupe collects first victory at Mid-Ohio [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tivo Alert: Mid-Ohio ALMS race to be shown Sunday as 90 minute docu-drama

Sam Abuelsamid — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:32:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Last week's American Le Mans Series race at Mid-Ohio was a nail-biter right down to the checkered flag with lots of action in each of the four classes. Unfortunately, the race wasn't shown live on TV... though it was streamed over the interwebz. If you missed the action the first time around, you can catch yourself up this Sunday in an interesting new way.

Intersport Productions, the creators of one of the greatest racing films ever, Truth in 24, has applied its skills to the Mid-Ohio footage. The cameras were rolling throughout the weekend and the editors have spent this week putting together a 90-minute special that apparently goes beyond just the race to tell a narrative about the whole process of competition. The docu-drama, called Road Warriors, will air this Sunday, August 15, at 12:30pm EDT on CBS.

Gallery: American Le Mans Series Mid-Ohio 2010

[Source: American Le Mans Series]

Tivo Alert: Mid-Ohio ALMS race to be shown Sunday as 90 minute docu-drama originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IndyCar: 2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio [SPOILERS]

Frank Filipponio — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:25:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio - Click above for high-res image gallery

With just six races left on the schedule, the IndyCar Series moved to its penultimate road course event: Mid-Ohio. While series leader Will Power was in position to wrap up the inaugural Mario Andretti trophy for the series road course champion, he also had a good shot at putting the overall championship out of reach as well. While that was a pretty big deal, everyone was still talking about the crazy ending to the last race at Edmonton.

To recap, Helio Castroneves was black-flagged for taking the inside line while leading into turn 1 on a restart, but he ignored the order and stayed on track just in case. When he drove into the vicinity of victory lane three laps later, he was deflected aside. Helio jumped out of his car, looking for anyone with a headset who might be able to explain why the race leader would have to give up his hard-fought lead so late in the race. He didn't get much of an answer - at least not right away. Chief Steward Brian Barnhart reviewed the tapes and stuck to his on-field call. For good measure, he fined Castroneves $60,000 for his tantrum.

While that pretty much eliminated Helio from championship contention, there was still a race to run this weekend. Follow the jump to see how things played out at Mid-Ohio.

Gallery: 2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio

[Images: Chris Graythen, Rick Dole, Robert Laberge/Getty Images, Jay LaPrete/AP]

Continue reading IndyCar: 2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio [SPOILERS]

IndyCar: 2010 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio [SPOILERS] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge provides spills, chills and WTFs

Damon Lavrinc — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Chevrolet

Click above to view the video after the jump

The Grand-Am Cup has changed names more times than Prince, but the series remains largely the same. Two classes run in the Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge - Grand Sport (GS) and Street Tuner (ST) - the former comprised of Porsche 911s, Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros (among others), with the latter covering everything from Honda Civics to Mini Coopers and Subaru Imprezas.

Depending on the event, both classes run at the same time, which can make for some entertaining action. Such was the case at last month's race at Mid-Ohio, where Joey Atterbury and his Camaro fought tooth-and-nail in the GS class. The on-track antics had us screaming expletives for the better part of three minutes. Find out why by clicking on the jump.

[Source: Atterbury Racing via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge provides spills, chills and WTFs

Video: Continental Tires Sports Car Challenge provides spills, chills and WTFs originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Lap of America 2010: The warm-up

Chris Paukert — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

One Lap of America 2010: Day One - click above for high-res image gallery

Spring has sprung and we're at the Tire Rack in South Bend, Indiana, which can only mean one thing: the start of another One Lap Of America.

Every year we tell ourselves we're crazy for embarking on another one of these eight-day 'round-the-country exploits, and for over ten years now we've been signing on to help run the event on the timing and scoring crew. And could you blame us? Every year, a great bunch of people gather together at the behest of none other than Brock Yates, and they bring with them all manner of machinery to compete on race tracks across the nation.

This year's event starts off as usual, with a wet skidpad event at the Tire Rack, with the racers moving on to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for stints around Road America, one of the country's most historic and challenging roadcourses. After the time trials at RA, it's off to Mid America Motorplex, a fine 2.2-mile long roadcourse off in the middle of ~~nowhere~~ Pacific Junction, Iowa. On Monday, the racers will visit the surprisingly quick and engaging Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Oklahoma, followed by some drag racing at Tulsa Raceway Park. The next day will find the competitors at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis for a 1.6-mile road circuit. From there, it's on to Mid Ohio on Wednesday, a circuit that needs no introduction. The increasingly bedraggled competitors will then make the drive to New Jersey Motorsports Park on Thursday and then jog back to Ohio's Nelson Ledges for the last roadcourse events on Friday. After that, the teams will filter back to the Tire Rack in South Bend for the final event, a dry skid pad (weather permitting) and to unwind at the awards banquet on Saturday.

Got all that? Said another way, it's another action-packed week that's sure to test the racers' mechanical, mental and intestinal fortitude.

Click through to the jump to read on.

Gallery: One Lap of America 2010: Day One

Continue reading One Lap of America 2010: The warm-up

One Lap of America 2010: The warm-up originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mid-Ohio 2009: GT2 Corvettes run 2nd and 4th in debut

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Chevrolet

Corvette C6.R GT2 - click above for a high-res image gallery

After more than two years of design and development work, the new GT2 class Corvette C6.R made its racing debut on Saturday at Mid-Ohio. For an all-new race ca,r it proved remarkably free of teething pains. In fact, it seems the biggest hurdle was for the drivers, Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen, Olivier Berretta and Oliver Gavin, who had to deal with running in the GT pack rather than racing in the top of the pack amongst themselves.

After two hours and 45 minutes of action, O'Connell and Magnussen ended up finishing second in the GT1 class to Patrick Long and Joerg Bergmeister in one of the Flying Lizard Porsches. Their teammates suffered a bout of bad timing when the safety car was out during a full course yellow and causing the duo to lose a lap. Nonetheless, they still finished fourth behind the BMW M3 of Tom Milner and Dirk Mueller. Next weekend it's off to Road America in Elkhart Lake WI.

Gallery: Mid-Ohio 2009: Corvette GT2 racing

Continue reading Mid-Ohio 2009: GT2 Corvettes run 2nd and 4th in debut

Mid-Ohio 2009: GT2 Corvettes run 2nd and 4th in debut originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Corvette Racing GT2 car to be unveiled on Tuesday

Alex Nunez — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:06:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet

Corvette Racing GT1 mega-gallery -- Click above to enter

While the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the swan song for the GT1-class Corvette C6.R, the fellas at Corvette Racing will unveil the next chapter of the story this coming Tuesday, August 4th. According to the crew at BadBoyVettes.com, that's the day we'll see the new GT2-class Chevy Corvette racer, which will allegedly wear "ZR1-influenced" styling. Beyond that, well, we're waiting along with the rest of you. We can't imagine Corvette Racing would abandon the Jake-emblazoned Velocity Yellow-and-Black livery that has become synonymous with success over the years. They'll need all that mojo and then some in GT2, where the competition is fierce and Porsche and Ferrari rule. And that's fine. Consistent, healthy competition has been sorely lacking for the Vettes, which have essentially just raced each other recent years, so this ought to be fun. The GT2 Vettes spring into real action on August 8, when ALMS visits Mid-Ohio. To the GT2 field: Check your mirrors. They're coming. To the rest of you in readerland: Check your local listings and set those DVRs.

Gallery: Corvette Racing GT1 Mega Gallery

[Source: BadBoyVettes.com]

Corvette Racing GT2 car to be unveiled on Tuesday originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IRL and ALMS at Mid-Ohio - BIG gallery

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Huge gallery of destop wallpaper-sized pics available by clicking above

We like having race coverage on Autoblog, but can't always get to the races ourselves. So when we get a huge gallery of pics and a nice writeup sent our way by a loyal reader, we're happy to share. AB Reader Eric Moretti shot a whole bunch of pictures from this weekend's IRL Honda 200 and ALMS Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio and wrote the blurb below.

We'll add a note, as well, that the big diesel R10 from Audi set a Mid-Ohio lap record for LMP1 during qualifying. What that doesn't tell you is a lap record for LMP1 was only good for fourth on the grid, as the Porsche RS Spyders continue to keep P2 at the top. We doubt this is a spoiler situation for any of you, but just in case you haven't seen your TiVo recording yet, the write-up is after the jump.

Thanks, Eric!

Gallery: IRL and ALMS at Mid-Ohio - 2007

Continue reading IRL and ALMS at Mid-Ohio - BIG gallery

IRL and ALMS at Mid-Ohio - BIG gallery originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dodge Viper joins ALMS GT2 ranks

Alex Nunez — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:36:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Dodge

Next week's American Le Mans Series race at Mid-Ohio will feature a special guest appearance by the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe in the GT2 class. Woodhouse Performance, which runs a pair of the cars in the Speed World Challenge series, is converting its #13 car to GT2 specs for the ALMS race to help itself and Dodge determine whether or not the Viper's a good fit for ALMS GT2. If the car's competitive, Dodge could then offer up the race Vipers to customers with the added selling point of having two race series in which they can be campaigned. Mid-Ohio is the only race on the ALMS calendar that the Woodhouse Viper will compete in this year.

[Sources: American Le Mans Series, Woodhouse Performance]

Dodge Viper joins ALMS GT2 ranks originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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