24H Spa : Un plateau relevé pour la plus grande course GT au monde !

par Laurent Mercier (Endurance-Info.com)

Le plateau des Total 24 Heures de Spa prend forme petit à petit. Une fois de plus, on devrait être autour de 60 GT3 sur l’épreuve phare de la Blancpain Endurance Series. La liste diffusée n’est que provisoire mais elle fait déjà dans la qualité et la quantité.

Quelques changements sont à noter en Pro-Cup avec l’arrivée d’une troisième Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 pour les Allemands de Black Falcon. On ne connaît pas encore l’équipage mais il se pourrait fortement que l’on trouve des pilotes proches de Mercedes. Chez Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, Markus Winkelhock fait son arrivée aux côtés de Laurens Vanthoor et René Rast. Le Marc VDS Racing Team vient d’opérer un changement avec la titularisation de Lucas Luhr à la place de Bas Leinders, ce dernier ayant un rôle de directeur d’équipe. La troisième Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 du HTP Motorsport attend encore un troisième pilote pour épauler le tandem Buhk/Götz. L’autre surprise est la présence d’une McLaren MP4-12C GT3 pour le Von Ryan Racing. Là aussi on attend de connaître le trio mais on sait déjà qu’on y retrouvera un ancien champion V8 Supercars.

En Pro-Am Cup, Pedro Lamy fait son arrivée sur l’Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 du Leonard Motorsport AMR en compagnie notamment de Michael Meadows. On note la présence du SMP Racing Russian Bears avec un certain Daniel Zampieri à bord. Fort de deux victoires aux 24 Heures de Spa, le team Sofrev-ASP ne revient pas pour faire de la figuration dans les Ardennes belges mais bien pour briller. Il faudra surveiller de très près Ludo Badey, Tristan Vautier, Eric Debard et Fabien Barthez, la seconde Ferrari étant pour Pascal Gibon, Christophe Bourret, Jean-Philippe Belloc et Julien Canal.

Audi et Ferrari ne seront plus seuls en Gentlemen Trophy avec l’arrivée d’une Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, d’une Porsche 911 GT3-R et d’une Mercedes SLS AMG GT3.

Par rapport à la première liste présentée, on retient l’absence des deux Aston Martin du Brussels Racing AMR même si le team belge travaille à aligner une auto. Aucune trace du Reiter Engineering qui devait faire rouler une Lamborghini Gallardo FL2. Les Britanniques du United Autosports ont jeté l’éponge tout comme Speed Lover en Gentlemen Trophy.

L’édition 2014 des Total 24 Heures de Spa s’annonce pour le moins ouverte. Dommage tout de même que Ferrari, Porsche et Aston Martin ne jouent pas le jeu en Pro-Cup afin d’avoir une affiche encore plus relevée.

PRO-CUP
1	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Vanthoor-Rast-Winkelhock
2	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Fässler-Lotterer-Tréluyer
3	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Nash-Stippler-Mies
7	M-Sport Bentley	Bentley Continental GT3	Meyrick-Kane-Smith
8	M-Sport-Bentley	Bentley Continental GT3	Leclerc-D’Ambrosio-Tappy
18	Black Falcon	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	TBA-TBA-TBA
19	Black Falcon	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Haupt-Simonsen-Al Faisal
26	Saintéloc Racing	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Guilvert-Ortelli-Sandström
44	Oman Racing Team	Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3	Al Harthy-Caine-Jelley
66	Marc VDS Racing Team	BMW Z4 GT3	Leinders-Martin-Farfus
75	ISR	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Salaquarda-Hamprecht-TBA
77	Marc VDS Racing Team	BMW Z4 GT3	Luhr-Palttala-Werner
84	HTP Motorsport	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Primat-Verdonck-Schneider
85	HTP Motorsport	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Wolf-Afanasiev-Dusseldorp
86	HTP Motorsport	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Buhk-Götz-TBA
92	Von Ryan Racing	McLaren MP4-12C GT3	TBA-TBA-TBA
98	ART Grand Prix	McLaren MP4-12C GT3	Demoustier-Parente-Lapierre
99	ART Grand Prix	McLaren MP4-12C GT3	Korjus-Estre-Soucek

PRO-AM CUP
10	TDS Racing	BMW Z4 GT3	Clément-Lariche-Armindo-Pla
11	Kessel Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Broniszewski-Bonacini-Petrobelli-TBA
12	TDS Racing	BMW Z4 GT3	Hassid-Catsburg-Klingmann-Thiriet
14	Emil Frey Racing	Emil Frey Jaguar	Barth-Frey-Gardel-TBA
15	Boutsen Ginion Racing	McLaren MP4-12C GT3	Vervisch-Grotz-Ojjeh-TBA
16	Boutsen Ginion Racing	McLaren MP4-12C GT3	Sarkissian-Demirdjan-van der Drift-TBA
17	Insight Racing with Flexbox	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Andersen-Jensen-Yeomans
23	Lago Racing	Lamborghini Gallardo LP600	Lago-Russell-Richards-Owen
29	Duqueine Engineering	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Ayari-TBA-TBA-TBA
32	Leonard Motorsport AMR	Aston Martin V12 Vantage	Wilson-Meadows-Lamy-Leonard
35	Nissan GT Academy RJN	Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3	Faisca-Chiyo-Shultzhitskiy-Yanagida
38	MP Motorsport AMR	Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3	Abra-Poole-Osborne-Turner
42	Sport Garage	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Vannelet-Lémeret-Albert-TBA
43	ROAL Motorsport	BMW Z4 GT3	Cerruti-Comandini-Amos-Colombo
50	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Danyliw-Sovinco-Knap-TBA
52	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Rugolo-Wyatt-TBA-TBA
53	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Machiels-Hommerson-TBA-TBA
54	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Cameron-Griffin-TBA-TBA
54	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Cameron-Griffin
70	Graff Racing	Porsche 911 GT3-R	Trouillet-Marroc-Martins-TBA
79	Ecurie Ecosse	BMW Z4 GT3	Bryant-McCaig-Smith-Sims
80	Nissan GT Academy RJN	Nissan GT-R GT3	Strauss-McMillen-Buncombe-TBA
90	Scuderia Villorba Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Castelacci-Gai-Rizzoli-TBA
93	Pro GT by Alméras	Porsche 911 GT3-R	Perera-Dermont-Bonanomi-Lasserre
100	SMP Russian Bears	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Zampieri-Aicart-Mavlanov-Maleev
107	Beechdean AMR	Aston Martin Vantage GT3	Howard-Llyod-Adam-Mücke
116	Team Sofrev-ASP	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Barthez-Debard-Vautier-Badey
120	Team Sofrev-ASP	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Bourret-Gibon-Belloc-Canal
188	Fach Auto Tech	Porsche 911 GT3-R	Ragginger-Klohs-Dolenc-Frommenwiller
333	GT Corse by Rinaldi	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Kogay-Solikhov-Seefried-TBA
888	Wochenspiegel Team Manthey	Porsche 911 GT3-R	Weiss-Kainz-Menzel-Krumbach

GENTLEMEN TROPHY
4	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Blanchemain-Weerts-Kelders-Bouvy
22	Team Parker Racing	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Loggie-Westwood-Jones-TBA
25	Saintéloc Racing	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Gosselin-Lagniez-Sourd-TBA
41	Sport Garage	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Cabannes-Delhez-TBA-TBA
49	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Blank-Bachelier-Mallegol-Perrodo
51	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Mann-Barreiros-Guedes-TBA
67	GDL Motorsport	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Perrin-Montant-Farmer-Li
71	PGF Kinfaun AMR	Aston Martin Vantage GT3	Gaw-Dryburgh-TBA-TBA
111	Kessel Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Earle-Perfetti-Kremer-TBA
128	Delahaye Racing	Porsche 911 GT3-R	Bordet-Viron-TBA-TBA
350	Duqueine Engineering	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Duqueine-TBA-TBA-TBA
458	GT Corse by Rinladi Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Ehret-Matschull-Smickler-TBA

TRIUMPH SWAMP SCRAMBLER BY TTRNO

The Transportation Revolution New Orleans (TTRNO) is a motorcycle dealership and custom bike garage based in New Orleans that, like most things from The Big Easy, prides itself on doing things a little differently.

When it came time to customise a Triumph the team chose a stock Bonneville SE and set to work building into a scrambler that could handle the worst that a Louisiana swamp could throw at it – alligators and all.

The build started with a full tear down, the original wiring loom was removed and then rebuilt to make it simpler and allow all the electronics to be moved under the seat. Benjie from the famous Benjie’s Cafe Racers was then tasked with creating the custom exhaust and headlight, fitting the seat and setting up the oil cooler delete – the oil now runs through the frame tubes.

Those almost obscenely knobbly tires are Continental Twinduro TKC80 Dual Sport Tires - they’re well-known for being surprisingly capable on the road, as well as being infallible on the dirt, mud and gravel – making them a perfect tire for a motorcycle like this.

Once the fenders had been fabricated and installed and a pair of rear sets from a Triumph Scrambler had been fitted, the Triumph Swamp Scrambler was complete and ready for action. It’s one of the more extreme Scrambler customs we’ve seen and I have to say, I really like it.

We’re seeing a surge in interest around scramblers, flat trackers and enduros – leading to some genuinely fascinating new motorcycles, all perfect for use now that the weather is warm and the sun is out.

See more from The Transportation Revolution here.

via SILODROME

McLaren 650S GT3 launched at Goodwood Festival of Speed

McLaren has used the Goodwood Festival of Speed to showcase its new racing car for the 2015 GT3 season…

Following in the tyretracks of the successful 12C GT3, the 650S will be used by both factory and privateer teams in worldwide GT3 championships such as the Blancpain Endurance Series (which the existing car currently leads). Although the 12C has set a high standard in terms of competition results (three championships and 51 race victories in three years), the new car offers improvements across the board. It’s more aerodynamic, safer, easier to repair and has better cooling – all while also promising lower ownership costs after the £330,000 (ex. works, plus tax) initial outlay. No more than 15 examples will be produced, although existing 12C GT3 owners will be able to upgrade their cars to the 2015 specification.

Photos: Joe Breeze/McLaren

You can find numerous road and racing McLarens in the Classic Driver Market.

bombe !!