Racing series merger brings Big 3 savings, attention!
09-07-2012, 11:56 AM
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Racing series merger brings Big 3 savings, attention!
September 6, 2012 at 8:37 am
Racing series merger brings Big 3 savings, attention
By Doug Guthrie
The Detroit News
2 Comments
Grand-Am racing was part of the lead-up to the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix that was held in June.
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Grand-Am racing was part of the lead-up to the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix that was held in June. (John T. Greilick / The Detroit News)
Detroit — Automakers got what they wanted Wednesday with the announcement that professional sports car racing in North America will unite under a single sanctioning banner.
The heads of racing at Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. expect to save money and get more marketing attention from the merger of NASCAR-affiliated Grand-Am and the American Le Mans series. Although not as popular as stock car and IndyCar racing in the U.S., no other type of motor sport more directly transfers its new ideas to cars built for the public.
"This is the strongest platform to test our new technologies," said Jim Campbell, General Motors Co. vice president for performance and racing. "What we have learned on these tracks, we drive right into the showroom."
The move brings the biggest events in sports car racing, the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, and the ALMS affiliation with the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, into a single spotlight.
The two series have for a dozen years competed for attention with similar but not identical types of cars. Eight different racing series operate under the two sanctioning bodies — ranging from nearly showroom stock sports coupes and sedans like Camaros, Mustangs and BMWs to sports cars like Corvettes, Ferraris and Porsches to exotic and sometimes experimental prototypes like Audi's hybrid diesel/electric race cars.
The complete combination of series and schedules won't be completed until the 2014 season. The result will be consistent rules and a single calendar of events at North America's best known road racing facilities. There also will likely be less confusion for fans and lower costs for participants, including the manufacturers.
"It was difficult to do both series," said Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of the SRT, Chrysler's high performance and racing division, which returned to sports car competition this season with the reintroduced 2013 SRT Viper sports car.
"This will save money for both the manufacturers and the privateers we have supported," Gilles said. "There had been very different specifications and (they were) very expensive."
The merger will bring together eight different sports car racing series:
Grand-Am operates the Rolex Sports Car Series, Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Total Performance Showcase, and also sanctions the Ferrari Challenge in North America.
American Le Mans sanctions the International Motor Sports Association GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Series, the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda Series, and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin.
Ford racing boss Jamie Allison called the merger "epic" for fans and manufacturers.
"We race not only to advance and showcase our cars, but also to ignite passion. Our data shows fans buy Fords," Allison said.
dguthrie@detnews.com
(313) 222-2548
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz25neoCtKB
Racing series merger brings Big 3 savings, attention
By Doug Guthrie
The Detroit News
2 Comments
Grand-Am racing was part of the lead-up to the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix that was held in June.
Purchase Image
Grand-Am racing was part of the lead-up to the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix that was held in June. (John T. Greilick / The Detroit News)
Detroit — Automakers got what they wanted Wednesday with the announcement that professional sports car racing in North America will unite under a single sanctioning banner.
The heads of racing at Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. expect to save money and get more marketing attention from the merger of NASCAR-affiliated Grand-Am and the American Le Mans series. Although not as popular as stock car and IndyCar racing in the U.S., no other type of motor sport more directly transfers its new ideas to cars built for the public.
"This is the strongest platform to test our new technologies," said Jim Campbell, General Motors Co. vice president for performance and racing. "What we have learned on these tracks, we drive right into the showroom."
The move brings the biggest events in sports car racing, the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, and the ALMS affiliation with the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, into a single spotlight.
The two series have for a dozen years competed for attention with similar but not identical types of cars. Eight different racing series operate under the two sanctioning bodies — ranging from nearly showroom stock sports coupes and sedans like Camaros, Mustangs and BMWs to sports cars like Corvettes, Ferraris and Porsches to exotic and sometimes experimental prototypes like Audi's hybrid diesel/electric race cars.
The complete combination of series and schedules won't be completed until the 2014 season. The result will be consistent rules and a single calendar of events at North America's best known road racing facilities. There also will likely be less confusion for fans and lower costs for participants, including the manufacturers.
"It was difficult to do both series," said Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of the SRT, Chrysler's high performance and racing division, which returned to sports car competition this season with the reintroduced 2013 SRT Viper sports car.
"This will save money for both the manufacturers and the privateers we have supported," Gilles said. "There had been very different specifications and (they were) very expensive."
The merger will bring together eight different sports car racing series:
Grand-Am operates the Rolex Sports Car Series, Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Total Performance Showcase, and also sanctions the Ferrari Challenge in North America.
American Le Mans sanctions the International Motor Sports Association GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Series, the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda Series, and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin.
Ford racing boss Jamie Allison called the merger "epic" for fans and manufacturers.
"We race not only to advance and showcase our cars, but also to ignite passion. Our data shows fans buy Fords," Allison said.
dguthrie@detnews.com
(313) 222-2548
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz25neoCtKB
