Watch ‘Build To Win’ S1 E2: Meet ORECA’s Hugues de Chaunac
Source: Sports Car 365
Posts
Dempsey, Andrade Opt Against Double Duty at Portimao
Photo: SRO/JEP Several GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS teams have confirmed changes to their lineups for this weekend’s Portimao season finale, including FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Peter Dempsey and Rui Andrade no longer contesting both categories. The initial 61-car entry list published last week had Dempsey sharing the Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo in which he won the Sprint Cup Bronze class title, but he will now prioritize the clashing Barcelona WEC contest. That list also included Rui Andrade in one of two new Motopark Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo entries but he is another to now solely focus on Barcelona. This means that now only four drivers are due to contest both events: Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo pair Tom Fleming and Benji Goethe, Comtoyou Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo racer Mattia Drudi and Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 EVO pilot Darren Leung. Dempsey’s place in the Porsche has been taken by Lucas Wolf, who last raced...
Joint IMSA-SRO Daytona BoP Test Canceled
Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA IMSA and SRO have canceled its planned joint Balance of Performance test for GT3 machinery at Daytona International Speedway, citing “substantial unplanned costs” after “considerable dialogue” with manufacturers. Originally scheduled for Dec. 12-13, on the back of a two-day IMSA-sanctioned test for all WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams, the BoP test was set to run to the same protocol as SRO Motorsports Group’s annual BoP test at Paul Ricard, with dedicated test drivers sampling each GT3 car. However, a number of GT3 manufacturers were understood to have been against the mandatory test for each model, as it would have added unplanned end-of-year costs to provide cars, team operations, logistics and other added resources. The joint test was announced by SRO founder and CEO Stephane Ratel during the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in June and IMSA President John Doonan told Sportscar365 that it was set to run to IMSA GTD ...
Bamber Makes Surprise Macau Return With Audi
Photo: MPS Agency Earl Bamber will make a surprise return to the FIA GT World Cup on the streets of Macau next month, joining Joel Eriksson in a two-car Audi Sport Asia assault. Cadillac FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship star Bamber last contested the Guia Circuit fixture in 2023, at the wheel of a D2 Racing Team Porsche, and finished on the podium in 2019 for the same brand. The 36-year-old New Zealander will be hunting for a first Macau win on Nov. 19-22 driving an Absolute Racing-run Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. Alongside him in the Audi stable is Eriksson, who made only his second Macau appearance last year and was the Ingolstadt marque’s top finisher in fifth place. As per last year, Eriksson’s entry will be prepared by Phantom Global Racing. “We believe we have assembled our strongest possible line-up to compete for a fifth GT Cup crown for Audi on the legendary downtown streets of Macau,” said head of Audi Sport custom...
SRO Admits Multi-Tire Suzuka BoP Poses “Huge Challenge”
Photo: Gruppe C Photography/SRO SRO Motorsports Group CEO and founder Stephane Ratel admits the Balance of Performance for next year’s Suzuka 1000km round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge will be a “huge challenge” considering that both Dunlop and Pirelli tires will be used. The field for next year’s IGTC season finale, which will also serve as points race for SUPER GT’s GT300 runners, will see cars split between next year’s in-development Dunlop GT300 tires and the off-the-shelf Pirelli rubber used by the IGTC. A recent test for the 2027 Dunlops at Suzuka yielded a best lap time of 1:57.372, which was around one second up on the fastest lap set in qualifying for this year’s 1000km, a 1:58.455 recorded by Craft-Bamboo Racing’s Kaku Ohta. The SRO plans to use data from both the GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS round at Suzuka and SUPER GT’s standalone event at the figure-of-eight venue to determine the BoP, as well as...
Duqueine Names Forbush as North American Distributor
Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA Duqueine Automotive is doubling down on its commitment to North American prototype racing, naming Memphis-based Forbush Performance its official North American distributor while significantly expanding factory support for teams competing in IMSA. The move comes as the sanctioning body prepares to transition the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge to an all-endurance format in 2027. As part of the expanded North American program, Forbush Performance will provide domestic parts availability, customer support and trackside service, while Duqueine will send a factory representative from France to every VP Racing Challenge event, giving teams direct access to engineering and technical support throughout each race weekend. “North America is an important market for Duqueine, and Forbush Performance brings the combination of competition experience, entrepreneurial experience and direct customer understanding that we were looking for,” said Duqueine Automotive ...