As global car sales collapse, the boss of Audi Motorsport argues success on the racetrack fosters success in selling
Wolfgang Ullrich is a giant in the world of motor racing. He’s the man who put Audi on the map by leading the team to nine victories at Le Mans.
This year, Audi told him to go out and win it again but then told him he would only get one practice race to get ready for the main event. That’s how the collapse of global car sales is playing out in the racing world.
Honda has bailed out of Formula One, Detroit is cutting back on NASCAR … Details
One of the most spectacular supercars ever built was Dauer 962 LM. Some supercars were converted to race use, some were designed with racing purpose very much in mind, but the Dauer 962 LM was completely reversed – it was a racing car converted for road use. No wonder it could out-performed McLaren F1 and simply anyone else.
Every motorsport lovers must know how great the Porsche 962 endurance racer was. It and its predecessor, 956, dominated the Group C scene for a decade. Itself won five World Sportscar Championships and 6 Le Mans, although occasionally challenged by Jaguar XJR series and the Silver Arrow (Mercedes-Benz). It was also the most popular racing car ever built – about 150 cars were built. Many used cars were available in the market, while spare parts were widely available from Porsche as well as the aftermarket. Therefore, when a so-called “Supercar Boom” occurred in the early 1990s, several racing teams decided to create the “ultimate” supercars based on the 962… Details
Building on its partnership with Penske Racing while extending its Verizon Championship Racing program, Verizon Wireless today announced that it will serve as primary sponsor of the Penske Racing Daytona Prototype in the 2009 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.
Beginning with the Bosch Engineering 250 race at Virginia International Raceway, April 24-25, and for the remaining events on the 2009 Grand-Am Series schedule, the Penske Racing entry will carry the Verizon Wireless black and red color scheme and iconic “V” design. The car will be co-driven by championship racers Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas, who earned back-to-back American Le Mans Series sports car titles for Penske Racing in 2007 and 2008…. Details
… Nevertheless, we’re on our way to the famous Porsche test track at Weissach, out in the German countryside west of Stuttgart, where we’re going to see the 2010 Porsche Panamera. We’ve already been warned that there will be no test-driving of the four-door Panamera sedan — not by any non-Porsche personnel, anyway….
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