Endurance Racing News Thread

From ACO Press release
Victorious in its class (GT2; GTS) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1998, 1999 and 2000, the Chrysler Viper will be back in ALMS during the course of this season. This will be a brand new model, showing the lines of the road version that will be marketed next year.

Soon, Corvette will not be the only U.S. manufacturer in the fight against Aston Martin, Porsche and Ferrari. Starting this summer, two new Chrysler Vipers will join the ranks of the American Le Mans Series at the hands of experienced drivers; Dominik Farnbacher, Marc Goossens Ryan Hunter-Reay and Kuno Wittmer.

The car, which has already had its first test, was designed in partnership with Riley Technologies,, seen many times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (Riley & Scott). Although a possible return to La Sarthe has not yet been mentioned, significant results in the ALMS should be enough to set new ambitions for Chrysler, especially since the new road version of the Viper will be launched commercially in 2013.

Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of Chrysler SRT group : "Racing has been a significant part of the illustrious history of Viper not only with significant wins on the track, but also in the continued development of the street cars - and our new 2013 SRT Viper models are proof of those lessons learned,"

Scott Atherton, ALMS President: "The Chrysler Group has a long, storied and very successful history of competing with the American Le Mans Series. We would be hard-pressed to come up with a better scenario than having the brand return with the simultaneous introduction of both the new production car and the competition version. What a great way for SRT Viper to come back to racing."

Toyota forced to miss Six Hours of Spa after Paul Ricard testing crash

Toyota has been forced to delay the racing debut of its new LMP1 car following a crash during testing at Paul Ricard.

The Japanese manufacturer was scheduled to compete with its new TS030 HYBRID in the Six Hours of Spa on 5 May, but a crash at Paul Ricard last week has made Toyota change its plans.

Frenchman Nicolas Lapierre was driving the car, and the team did not specify the cause of the accident.

Toyota said the damage to the car was too severe to be repaired, and that a new monocoque cannot be produced and sufficiently tested to ensure reliability within the limited time available.

The team will now make its first racing appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours in June.

"We are deeply saddened to announce this decision and our sympathies are with the drivers, team members and fans who have been anticipating the Spa race so eagerly," said Toyota racing president Yoshiaki Kino****a.

"Since the accident we have looked into all options but unfortunately there is no alternative course of action open to us."

The team said it will now urgently prepare a new monocoque to resume testing ahead of Le Mans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_CU_MuTqps