70-494: Motor race [REDACTED] This article needs to be updated . Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( March 2013 ) [REDACTED] Track map of Lime Rock Park The Lime Rock Grand Prix (2010 name: Memorial Day Classic ) is a sports car race held at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut , United States on
140-615: A back seat to GT cars with the FIA replacing the World Championship for Sports Cars with the International Championship for GT Manufacturers. In national rather than international racing, sports car competition in the 1950s and early 1960s tended to reflect what was locally popular, with the cars that were successful locally often influencing each nation's approach to competing on the international stage. In
210-599: A car with a similar powerplant (Peugeot 908). P2 cars can weigh much less — first 675 kg, then 750 kg and now 825 kg — but are restricted to 3400 cc V6 or V8 normally aspirated or 2000 cc turbocharged powerplants. In the European series in which endurance is a priority and P2s have been run largely by privateers, P2s have not challenged P1s for outright victories; in the American Le Mans Series with generally shorter races P2 has become
280-538: A crop of large-engined "big bangers" the technology of which largely gave rise to Can-Am but soon died out. Clubmans provided much entertainment at club-racing level from the 1960s into the 1990s and John Webb revived interest in big sports prototypes with Thundersports in the 1980s. There was even enough interest in Group C to sustain a C2 championship for a few years; at 'club' level Modified Sports Car ("ModSports") and Production Sports Car ("ProdSports") races remained
350-509: A feature of most British race meetings into the 1980s, evolving into a "Special GT" series that was essentially Formula Libre for sports or saloon cars. After a relative period of decline in the 1980s a British GT Championship emerged in the mid-90s. Italy found itself with both grassroots racing with a plethora of Fiat based specials (often termed "etceterinis") and small Alfa Romeos , and exotica such as Maserati and Ferrari – who also sold cars to domestic customers as well as racing on
420-515: A franchise-like approval system in which only approved constructors are eligible, with rules stability enforced for several years at a time, although this led in 2007 to established constructors like Lola and Dallara entering the 2008 series by taking over the rights of existing constructors (Multimatic and Doran respectively). Grand Touring (from the Italian Gran Turismo ) racing is the most common form of sports car racing, and
490-632: A high point in the history of the sport. In Europe, the FIA adopted the ACO GTP rules virtually unchanged and sanctioned the Group C World Endurance Championship (or World Sportscar Championship ), featuring high-tech closed-cockpit prototypes from Porsche, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz , Nissan , Jaguar and others. In the US, the IMSA Camel GTP series boasted close competition between huge fields of manufacturer-backed teams and privateer squads –
560-456: A larger emphasis on the reliability and efficiency of the car and its drivers as opposed to outright car performance or driver skills. The FIA World Endurance Championship is an example of one of the best known sports car racing series. A type of hybrid between the purism of open-wheelers and the familiarity of touring car racing, this style is often best associated with the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. First run in 1923, Le Mans
630-399: A long Japanese tradition of such hybrids; a Grand Champion series ran for many years with rebodied Formula 2 and Formula 3000 cars, rather similar to the second incarnation of Can-Am ). In the US, however, road racing actually saw a decline. The IMSA GT Championship had been prototype-based since 1983, with less emphasis on production cars. NASCAR was becoming increasingly dominant, and
700-703: A mechanic if necessary or permitted. Cars such as the Bugatti Type 35 were almost equally at home in Grands Prix and endurance events, but specialisation gradually started to differentiate the sports-racer from the Grand Prix car. The legendary Alfa Romeo Tipo A Monoposto started the evolution of the true single-seater in the early 1930s; the Grand Prix racer and its miniature voiturette offspring rapidly evolved into high performance single seaters optimised for relatively short races, by dropping fenders and
770-810: A number of GT series sprung up at national and European level, with the BPR series eventually evolving into the FIA GT Championship . IMSA GTP continued for a few more years but was replaced by a series for World Sports Cars – relatively simple open-top prototypes – which gave rise to cars such as the Ferrari 333SP and the Riley & Scott Mk 3, supported by GTs. As the 1990s progressed, these prototypes and others like them started to be raced in Europe and an FIA Sports Car series evolved for them. Since
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#1732790366264840-513: A race for touring cars ) and sports cars, whether descended from primarily road-going vehicles or developed from pure-bred racing cars came to dominate races such as Le Mans and the Mille Miglia . In open-road endurance races across Europe such as the Mille Miglia , Tour de France and Targa Florio , which were often run on dusty roads, the need for fenders and a mechanic or navigator was still there. As mainly Italian cars and races defined
910-496: A result, some cars racing in the GT category did pass as true sports prototypes, in turn leading to some road-going versions for homologation purposes. The Dauer- Porsche 962 LM, Porsche 911 GT1 -98, Mercedes CLK-GTR and Toyota GT-One were prime examples of prototypes masquerading as GTs. In simplistic terms, sports prototypes are two-seat racing cars with bodywork covering their wheels, and are as technically advanced and, depending on
980-486: A result, sports car racing is seen more as a team endeavour than an individual sport, with team managers such as John Wyer , Tom Walkinshaw , driver-turned-constructor Henri Pescarolo , Peter Sauber and Reinhold Joest becoming almost as famous as some of their drivers. The prestige of storied marques such as Porsche , Audi , Chevrolet , Ferrari , Jaguar , Bentley , Aston Martin , Lotus , Maserati , Lamborghini , Alfa Romeo , Lancia , Mercedes-Benz , and BMW
1050-452: A resurgence of interest in sports car racing in the US, with the network originally showing a large amount of sports car racing and sports car–related programming before being replaced by Fox Sports. The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series ; the European races eventually became the closely related Le Mans Series , both of which mix prototypes and GTs; the FIA remains more interested in its own GT and GT3 championships, with
1120-570: A single race, such as in the 24 Hours of Le Mans . In mixed-class races, an overall winner is awarded, though individual class winners are often recognised as well. Sports prototype is the name given to a type of car used in sports car racing and is effectively the next automotive design and technological step-up from road-going sports cars and are, along with open-wheel cars, the pinnacle of racing car design. The highest level in sports car racing, these cars are purpose-built racing cars with enclosed wheels, and either open or closed cockpits. Ever since
1190-616: A support series for the Rolex Series, provides a similar series to the old Trans Am Series, mixing conventional sports cars and touring cars. Due to Grand Am's affiliation with NASCAR, many NASCAR drivers occasionally participate in the Rolex Sports Car Series. Max Papis is a notable example in that he was a road racer prior to his tenure in the Sprint Cup Series. Many of these drivers only participate in
1260-655: A vehicle to increase performance as a season progresses, DPs are restricted to their original conception of the car from the start of the season. For these reasons, the category being labeled as a "prototype" has occasionally been criticised as misleading and being more in line with traditional "spec" race series prevalent in the United States. The intention of the DP formula was to provide a class in which tight technical regulations encouraged close competition and where budget would be relatively unimportant. DP chassis are subject to
1330-533: Is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built sports prototypes which are the highest level in sports car racing or grand tourers (GT cars) based on road-going models and therefore, in general, not as fast as sports prototypes. Sports car racing is one of the main types of circuit auto racing , alongside open-wheel racing (such as Formula One , IndyCar Series and Super Formula Championship ), touring car racing (such as
1400-401: Is built in part upon success in sports car racing. These makers' top road cars have often been very similar both in engineering and styling to those raced. This close association with the 'exotic' nature of the cars serves as a useful distinction between sports car racing and touring cars. The 12 Hours of Sebring , 24 Hours of Daytona , and 24 Hours of Le Mans have in the past been considered
1470-403: Is found all over the world, in both international and national series. Historically, Grand Touring cars had to be in series production, but in 1976 the class was split into production-based Group 4 Grand Touring Cars and Group 5 Special Production Cars , the latter of which were essentially pure-bred racing cars with production-lookalike bodies. GT racing gradually fell into abeyance in Europe in
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#17327903662641540-656: Is one of the oldest motor races still in existence. Other classic but now defunct sports car races include the Italian classics, the Targa Florio (1906–1977) and Mille Miglia (1927–1957), and the Mexican Carrera Panamericana (1950–1954). Most top-class sports car races emphasise endurance (generally between 6 and 24 hours), reliability, and strategy, over pure speed. Longer races usually involve complex pit strategy and regular driver changes. As
1610-575: The ACO regulations, two categories of sports prototypes are now recognised: P1 and P2. Cars competing in the P1 category must weigh no less than 900 kg and are limited to 6000 cc naturally aspirated and 4000 cc turbocharged engines. 5500 cc turbo- Diesel engines are also permitted in P1 ;– Audi scored Le Mans victories with such a car in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and Peugeot returned to racing in 2007 with
1680-549: The British Touring Car Championship , which is based on 'saloon cars' as opposed to the 'exotics' seen in sports cars. Supercars Championship , is an Production Touring Car Racing specs consists with 5-litre V8 Engine and the fastest touring car racing in the world) and stock car racing (such as NASCAR ). Sports car races are often, though not always, endurance races that are run over particularly long distances or large amounts of time, resulting in
1750-4743: The Dodge Dealers Grand Prix report 1997 May 26 [REDACTED] Antônio Hermann [REDACTED] Andrea Montermini [REDACTED] Moretti Racing Ferrari 333 SP 1 hour, 45 minutes Connecticut Lottery presents the Dodge Dealers Grand Prix report 1998 May 25 [REDACTED] Butch Leitzinger [REDACTED] James Weaver [REDACTED] Dyson Racing Riley & Scott Mk III - Ford 1 hour, 45 minutes Dodge Dealers Grand Prix report United States Road Racing Championship 1999 May 30 [REDACTED] Fredy Lienhard [REDACTED] Didier Theys [REDACTED] Doran Lista Racing Ferrari 333 SP 2 hours, 15 minutes Dodge Dealers Grand Prix report Grand American Road Racing Championship 2000 May 29 [REDACTED] Butch Leitzinger [REDACTED] James Weaver [REDACTED] Dyson Racing Riley & Scott Mk III - Ford 150 miles (240 km) Dodge Dealers Grand Prix report 2001 May 28 [REDACTED] Butch Leitzinger [REDACTED] James Weaver [REDACTED] Dyson Racing Riley & Scott Mk III - Ford 40 minutes Dodge Dealers Grand Prix report [REDACTED] Butch Leitzinger [REDACTED] James Weaver [REDACTED] Dyson Racing Riley & Scott Mk III - Ford 45 minutes Trans-Am Series 2002 May 27 [REDACTED] Boris Said [REDACTED] ACS Express Racing Panoz Esperante 100 miles (160 km) Mohegan Sun presents The Lime Rock Park Grand Prix report 2003 May 26 [REDACTED] Johnny Miller [REDACTED] Rocketsports Racing Jaguar XKR 100 miles (160 km) Mohegan Sun presents The Lime Rock Park Grand Prix report 2004 -2005 Not held 2006 May 29 [REDACTED] Andy Lally [REDACTED] R.J. Valentine [REDACTED] Marc Bunting [REDACTED] The Racer's Group Pontiac GTO .R 250 mi (400 km) Rolex GT Series Challenge report 2007 May 28 [REDACTED] Leighton Reese [REDACTED] Tim Lewis Jr. [REDACTED] Banner Racing Pontiac GXP .R 2 Hours, 30 Minutes Grand-Am GT Classic report 2008 May 26 [REDACTED] Paul Edwards [REDACTED] Kelly Collins [REDACTED] Banner Racing Pontiac GXP .R 250 mi (400 km) Grand-Am GT Classic report 2009 Not held 2010 May 31 [REDACTED] Max Angelelli [REDACTED] Ricky Taylor [REDACTED] SunTrust Racing Dallara DP01 - Ford 2 hours 30 minutes Memorial Day Classic report 2011 May 31 [REDACTED] Max Angelelli [REDACTED] Ricky Taylor [REDACTED] SunTrust Racing Dallara DP01 - Chevrolet 2 hours 45 minutes Memorial Day Classic report 2012 Sept 29 [REDACTED] Max Angelelli [REDACTED] Ricky Taylor [REDACTED] SunTrust Racing Corvette DP 2 hours 45 minutes Championship Weekend report 2013 Sept 28 [REDACTED] Max Angelelli [REDACTED] Jordan Taylor [REDACTED] Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP 2 hours 45 minutes Championship Weekend presented by BMW report External links [ edit ] World Sports Racing Prototypes: SCCA Nationals archive World Sports Racing Prototypes: IMSA archive World Sports Racing Prototypes: USRRC archive World Sports Racing Prototypes: Grand-Am archive Racing Sports Cars: Lime Rock archive Ultimate Racing History: Lime Rock archive Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lime_Rock_Grand_Prix&oldid=1183029753 " Categories : IMSA GT Championship races Grand-Am races Recurring sporting events established in 1957 Motorsport in Connecticut 1957 establishments in Connecticut Litchfield County, Connecticut Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Misplaced Pages articles in need of updating from March 2013 All Misplaced Pages articles in need of updating Sports car racing Sports car racing
1820-5527: The Memorial Day weekend. It had been a part of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series , SCCA National Sports Car Championship , USAC Road Racing Championship , Trans-Am Series , IMSA GT Championship and United States Road Racing Championship . The revived version in 2017 is for the United States Auto Club Pirelli World Challenge . Winners [ edit ] Year Date Overall Winner(s) Entrant Car Distance/Duration Race Title Report SCCA National Sports Car Championship 1957 June 9 [REDACTED] Carroll Shelby [REDACTED] John Edgar Maserati 300S 60 miles (97 km) Lime Rock National Championship Sports Car Races report 1958 June 15 [REDACTED] Walt Hansgen [REDACTED] Briggs Cunningham Lister - Jaguar 60 miles (97 km) Lime Rock National Sports Car Races report USAC Road Racing Championship 1959 June 6 [REDACTED] George Constantine [REDACTED] Elisha Walker Aston Martin DBR2 180 kilometres (110 mi) report 1960 -1971 Not held IMSA GT Championship 1972 May 29 [REDACTED] Jim Locke [REDACTED] Bob Bailey [REDACTED] Locke Family Enterprises Porsche 911S 200 miles (320 km) Camel 200 report 1973 September 15 [REDACTED] Michael Keyser [REDACTED] Toad Hall Motor Racing Porsche Carrera RSR 100 miles (160 km) report [REDACTED] Peter Gregg [REDACTED] Peter Gregg Porsche Carrera 100 miles (160 km) 1974 September 2 [REDACTED] Peter Gregg [REDACTED] Brumos Porsche-Audi Porsche Carrera RSR 100 miles (160 km) report [REDACTED] Michael Keyser [REDACTED] Toad Hall Motor Racing Porsche Carrera RSR 100 miles (160 km) 1975 May 26 [REDACTED] Peter Gregg ? Porsche Carrera RSR 100 miles (160 km) Schaefer 350 report [REDACTED] Al Holbert ? Porsche Carrera RSR 100 miles (160 km) 1976 May 31 [REDACTED] George Dyer [REDACTED] George Dyer Porsche Carrera RSR 100 miles (160 km) Coca-Cola Lime Rock Camel GT Challenge report 1977 May 30 [REDACTED] Al Holbert [REDACTED] Holbert Racing Chevrolet Monza 100 miles (160 km) Coca-Cola 350 report 1978 May 29 [REDACTED] Peter Gregg [REDACTED] Brumos Porsche Porsche 935/77A 100 miles (160 km) Coca-Cola 300 report 1979 May 28 [REDACTED] Peter Gregg [REDACTED] Brumos Porsche Porsche 935/79 100 miles (160 km) Coca-Cola 350 report 1980 May 26 [REDACTED] John Paul Sr. [REDACTED] John Paul Jr. [REDACTED] Preston Henn Porsche 935 K3 1 hour, 30 minutes Coca-Cola 400 report 1981 May 24 [REDACTED] Brian Redman [REDACTED] Preston Henn Lola T600 - Chevrolet 2 hours Coca-Cola 400 report 1982 May 31 [REDACTED] John Fitzpatrick [REDACTED] John Fitzpatrick Racing Porsche 935 K4 1 hour Coca-Cola 400 report 1983 May 30 [REDACTED] Bob Tullius [REDACTED] Bill Adam [REDACTED] Group 44 Jaguar XJR-5 3 hours Coca-Cola 500 report 1984 May 28 [REDACTED] Sarel van der Merwe [REDACTED] Kreepy Krauly Racing March 83G - Porsche 1 hour Coca-Cola 500 report 1985 May 27 [REDACTED] Drake Olson [REDACTED] Dyson Racing Porsche 962 2 hours Coca-Cola 500 report 1986 May 26 [REDACTED] Al Holbert [REDACTED] Holbert Racing Porsche 962 225 miles (362 km) Camel Grand Prix report 1987 May 24 [REDACTED] Al Holbert [REDACTED] Holbert Racing Porsche 962 225 miles (362 km) Camel Grand Prix report 1988 May 30 [REDACTED] Geoff Brabham [REDACTED] Electramotive Engineering Nissan GTP ZX-T 225 miles (362 km) Camel Grand Prix report 1989 May 29 [REDACTED] Geoff Brabham [REDACTED] Electramotive Engineering Nissan GTP ZX-T 225 miles (362 km) Toyota Trucks Grand Prix report 1990 May 28 [REDACTED] Price Cobb [REDACTED] John Nielsen [REDACTED] Castrol Jaguar Racing Jaguar XJR-10 225 miles (362 km) Toyota Trucks Grand Prix report 1991 May 26 [REDACTED] Chip Robinson [REDACTED] Nissan Performance Technology, Inc. Nissan NPT-91 2 hours Toyota Trucks presents
1890-596: The Targa Florio and as they grew bigger (via the Porsche 910 to the Porsche 908 and finally the Porsche 917 ) the Stuttgart marque became first a competitor for overall wins and then came to dominate sports car racing – both they and Mercedes have made intermittent returns to the top level of the sport through the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2010s. Sports car racing has intermittently been popular in Japan ;– in
1960-559: The Triple Crown of endurance car racing . And also the additional of Bathurst 12 Hour , Spa 24 Hours , Nürburgring 24 Hours and Suzuka 1000km are considered the Crown Jewel of Endurance race. According to historian Richard Hough , "It is obviously impossible to distinguish between the designers of sports cars and Grand Prix machines during the pre-1914 period. The late Georges Faroux contended that sports-car racing
2030-482: The World Sportscar Championship was conceived, there have been various regulations regarding bodywork, engine style and size, tyres and aerodynamics to which these cars must be built. Sports prototypes may be (and often are) one-of-a-kind machines, and need bear no relation to any road-going vehicle, although during the 1990s, some manufacturers exploited a loophole in the FIA and ACO rules. As
2100-403: The 1950s, sports car racing was regarded as almost as important as Grand Prix competition, with major marques like Ferrari , Maserati , Jaguar and Aston Martin investing much effort in their works programmes and supplying cars to customers; sports racers lost their close relationship to road-going sports cars in the 1950s and the major races were contested by dedicated competition cars such as
2170-515: The 1960s and 1970s. In Britain 2-litre sports cars were initially popular (the Bristol engine being readily available and cheap), subsequently 1100 cc sports racers became a very popular category for young drivers (effectively supplanting 500 cc F3), with Lola , Lotus , Cooper and others being very competitive, although at the other end of the scale in the early to mid-1960s the national sports racing scene also attracted sophisticated GTs and later
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2240-424: The 1960s progressed, with worldwide battles between Ferrari, Ford, Porsche, Lotus, Alfa Romeo and Matra as well as other more specialist marques running on into the early 1970s. The competition at Le Mans even made it to the movie screens, with Steve McQueen 's film Le Mans . This era was seen by many as the highpoint of sports car racing, with the technology and performance of the cars comfortably in excess of what
2310-596: The 1960s small-capacity sports racers and even a local version of the Group 7 cars as raced in the Canadian-American Challenge Cup were popular; a healthy local sports prototype championship ran until the early 1990s and now the Super GT series provides high-budget exposure to manufacturers, with many international drivers appearing. The Japanese manufacturers have also been frequent visitors to
2380-634: The 1980s and 1990s, with silhouette cars continuing to race in IMSA races in the USA. When GT racing revived after the collapse of the World Sports Car Championship at the end of 1992, the lead in defining rules was taken by the ACO. Under the ACO rules, Grand Touring cars are divided into two categories, Grand Touring 1 (GT1, formerly GT) and Grand Touring 2 (GT2, formerly N-GT). As the name of
2450-694: The 24 Hours of Daytona. The original Trans-Am Series dissolved in 2006, but returned to action in 2009 with tube frame TA1 and TA2 divisions racing with production-based TA3-American and TA3-International divisions. In addition, the SCCA continues to provide a major support series for Trans-Am. This series, known as the SCCA World Challenge , consists of a one-hour race for each round, combining three classes: GT ( Chevrolet Corvette , Aston Martin DB9 , etc.), "GTS" ( Acura TSX , BMW 3 Series , etc.; replaced
2520-653: The ACO & FIA to come together to create the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) starting in 2012. This new series replaced the ILMC and was a spiritual successor to the former FIA World Sportscar Championship. In 2012, the Rolex Sports Car Series overhauled its Daytona Prototype class, allowing for production-based designs. The ALMS's new LMP/LMC format, however, has not held up. The prototype classes split again in 2011, with LMP1 having three cars and LMP2 having one. A new "GT Pro Am" class
2590-496: The ACO split GT2 into two categories, GTE-Pro (for all-professional teams with current-spec cars) and GTE-Am (for teams with one amateur and one professional per car using previous-spec cars), as a way to entice rookies to enter one of the three Le Mans Series. 1973 IMSA GT Championship season Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
2660-699: The ACO's rules the basis for the LMS and ALMS. The Le Mans Prototype is somewhat reminiscent of the old Can Am prototype. Further splits in the American scene saw the Grand American Road Racing Association form a separate series, the Rolex Sports Car Series , with its own GT and prototype rules aimed at providing cheaper, lower-cost racing for independent teams. Grand Am's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge ,
2730-669: The Continental Challenge's Grand Sport class, promoting its other touring car class to "GTS". This came after several years of the old TC class being an Acura-BMW- Mazda affair. For 2012, the series adopted a "B-spec" touring car class comparable to that of the Continental Challenge's Street Tuner class. 2010 also saw the introduction of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) by the ACO, featuring events in America, Asia and Europe. This in turn led
2800-522: The Daytona oval and prohibitively expensive for smaller teams to run. Compared to the LMPs, DPs are severely limited in terms of approved technology; for instance, they are required to be constructed of steel tube frames with carbon-fibre skins, rather than being carbon-fibre monocoques, and must use production-based engines. In addition, contrary to their European counterparts who continuously alter and develop
2870-561: The French car industry switched from making large powerful cars to small utilitarian ones, French sports cars of the 1950s and early 1960s tended to be small-capacity and highly aerodynamic (often based on Panhard or Renault components), aimed at winning the "Index of Performance" at Le Mans and Reims and triumphing in handicap races. Between the late 1960s and late 1970s, Matra and Renault made significant and successful efforts to win at Le Mans. In Germany, domestic production based racing
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2940-623: The IndyCar Series' split from CART in 1996 put more emphasis on ovals regarding domestic open-wheel racing. Also contributing to the decline was the retirement of Mario Andretti from Formula One. It would be over a decade before another American driver would join Formula One, viz. Scott Speed , although Speed was ultimately unsuccessful and eventually joined NASCAR himself. The debut of the SpeedVision television network brought
3010-613: The Jaguar C and D types, the Mercedes 300SLR, Maserati 300S, Aston Martin DBR1 and assorted Ferraris including the first Testa Rossas. Top Grand Prix drivers also competed regularly in sports car racing. After major accidents at the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1957 Mille Miglia the power of sports cars was curbed with a 3-litre engine capacity limit applied to them in the World Championship from 1958. From 1962 sports cars temporarily took
3080-1120: The Lime Rock Grand Prix report 1992 May 25 [REDACTED] Juan Manuel Fangio II [REDACTED] All American Racers Eagle Mk III - Toyota 2 hours Toyota Trucks Lime Rock Grand Prix report 1993 May 31 [REDACTED] Juan Manuel Fangio II [REDACTED] All American Racers Eagle Mk III - Toyota 2 hours Toyota Trucks Lime Rock Grand Prix report 1994 May 30 [REDACTED] Eliseo Salazar [REDACTED] Giampiero Moretti [REDACTED] Momo Ferrari 333 SP 2 hours New England Dodge Dealers Grand Prix at Lime Rock report 1995 May 29 [REDACTED] Wayne Taylor [REDACTED] Momo Ferrari 333 SP 1 hour, 45 minutes Dodge Dealers Grand Prix at Lime Rock report 1996 May 27 [REDACTED] Giampiero Moretti [REDACTED] Max Papis [REDACTED] Momo Corse Ferrari 333 SP 1 hour, 45 minutes ATCALL presents
3150-527: The NASCAR-owned Grand Am series. The ALMS has now introduced "GTE-PRO" and "GTE-AM" for endurance races. In 2014, American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series were merged into United SportsCar Championship , with IMSA as its sanctioning body. Fox Sports 1 (successor of Speed Channel) was returned as main broadcaster of the unified series. Daytona Prototype was replaced in 2017 by Daytona Prototype International (DPi), which based on
3220-514: The SCCA's World Challenge, and failing to garner a television contract. A major factor in this is the fact that Trans Am's teams still use vehicles dating back to 1999. In most other series, teams tended to update their vehicles every few years or so (examples include the 2005 vs. 2010 Mustangs in the Continental Challenge and the two different generations of Mazda RX-8 in the Rolex Series). Other television changes include Speed Channel losing
3290-591: The US sports car scene ( Nissan and Toyota in particular during the heyday of IMSA) and to the European scene, in particular Le Mans, where despite many years of trying by all the main Japanese marques the only victory to have been scored by a Japanese marque was by Mazda in 1991, until 2018 when Toyota scored a first and second-place finish. Toyota followed this with another 1-2 finish in 2019. Powerful prototypes (effectively pure-bred two-seater racing cars with no real link to production vehicles) started to appear as
3360-426: The US, imported Italian, German and British cars battled local hybrids, with initially very distinct East and West Coast scenes; these gradually converged and a number of classic races and important teams emerged including Camoradi , Briggs Cunningham and so on. The US scene tended to feature small MG and Porsche cars in the smaller classes, and imported Jaguar, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Allard and Ferrari cars in
3430-405: The cars were technically similar to Group Cs but used a sliding scale of weights and engine capacities to try to limit performance. Both Group C and GTP had secondary categories, respectively Group C2 and Camel Lights, for less powerful cars, targeting entries by small specialist constructors or serious amateur teams. The FIA attempted to make Group C into a virtual "two seater Grand Prix" format in
3500-505: The class implies, the exterior of the car closely resembles that of the production version, while the internal fittings may differ greatly. GT2 cars are very similar to the FIA GT2 classification, and are considered 'pure' GT cars; that is production exotic cars with relatively few internal modifications for racing. The Porsche 911 is currently the most popular car in the GT2 class. 2009 will be
3570-482: The demise of Group C (where Japan and Germany both had successful series of their own) Japan has largely gone its own way in sports car racing; the Super GT series is for very highly modified production-based cars; although prototypes are slowly returning to Japanese racing in the Japan Le Mans Challenge many of these 'prototypes' are little more than rebodied Formula 3 cars (although there has been
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#17327903662643640-555: The early 1990s, with engine rules in common with F1, short race distances, and a schedule dovetailing with that of the F1 rounds. This drove up costs and drove away entrants and crowds, and by 1993 prototype racing was dead in Europe, with the Peugeot , Jaguar, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz teams all having withdrawn. In an attempt to provide a top-class endurance racing series to replace the WSPC,
3710-399: The former touring car class), and Touring Car (a "showroom stock" class similar to Grand Am's Continental Challenge). The Trans Am series returned in 2009, but has yet to establish a television contract. The 2010s have seen a major overhaul of sports car racing in the United States. The Pirelli World Challenge reformatted in 2010 to have a showroom stock touring car group comparable to that of
3780-438: The four ACO homologated LMP2 chassis made by Dallara , Onroak (Ligier) , Oreca , and Riley - Multimatic , with brand bodywork and homologated engines. Manufacturers are asked to partner with a privateer team, and each car will sport manufacturer bodywork, corresponding to their brand-identity. These rules are made to both control costs and attract manufacturers to the series. In 2018, SRO Motorsports Group has taken over
3850-514: The genre, the category came to be known as Gran Turismo (particularly in the 1950s), as long distances had to be travelled, rather than running around on short circuits only. Reliability and some basic comfort were necessary in order to endure the task. After the Second World War , sports car racing emerged as a distinct form of racing with its own classic races, and, from 1953, its own FIA sanctioned World Sportscar Championship . In
3920-530: The larger classes. A breed of powerful hybrids appeared in the 50s and 60s and raced on both sides of the Atlantic, featuring European chassis and large American engines – from the early Allard cars via hybrids such as Lotus 19s fitted with large engines through to the AC Cobra . The combination of mostly British chassis and American V8 engines gave rise to the popular and spectacular Can-Am series in
3990-450: The last run of the GT1 class as a result of budgeting issues. GT1 teams are currently enlisting to run their cars in the GT2 class next year. The American Le Mans Series also runs a "GT-Challenge" class, which currently only uses Porsche 911 GT3 Cups but will open to other cars next year. This category is designed for privateer and rookie teams as an easier way to enter the series. For 2011,
4060-482: The management of Pirelli World Challenge , with USAC as its sanctioning body since 2017. Beginning in 2019, NBC Sports will be replacing Fox Sports as main broadcaster of WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with six-year broadcasting rights. There are many kinds of sports cars that compete, but they can be broadly broken down into two main categories: Sports prototypes and Grand Touring (GT) cars. These two categories (or "classes") are often mixed together in
4130-798: The most active prototype category with serious involvement from Porsche and Acura and whereas P2 in Europe tends to involve races of attrition, in the US series the P2s, particularly the Porsche RS Spyder are often quicker round a lap than P1s, with the Porsche having scored many overall victories against the Audis in P1. Prototype rules for 2010 and beyond will encourage production-based engines (GT1 engines in LMP1, GT2 engines in LMP2) and rules to equalise
4200-416: The performance of petrol and diesel LMP1s are also being addressed. Daytona Prototypes are a product of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series , and offer a different interpretation of the prototype theme. DPs, as they are often called, are closed-cockpit, purpose-built racing machines which are less expensive and (deliberately) somewhat slower than Le Mans Prototypes, which were becoming dangerously quick on
4270-466: The premier form of "sports car" racing from 1976, with prototypes going into a general decline apart from Porsche 936 domination at Le Mans and a lower-key series of races for smaller two-litre Group 6 prototypes. A peculiarly American form of sports car racing was the Can-Am series, in which virtually unlimited sports prototypes competed in relatively short races. This series ran from 1966 to 1974 and
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#17327903662644340-437: The regulations they are built to, as quick as or quicker than their single-seat counterparts. Although not widely known, sports-prototypes (along with Formula 1 cars) are responsible for introducing the most numbers of new technologies and ideas to motorsport, including rear-wings, ground effect 'venturi' tunnels, fan-assisted aerodynamics and dual-shift gearboxes. Some of these technologies eventually filter down to road cars. In
4410-471: The rights to almost every series. The World Challenge was transferred to Versus, while the ALMS was transferred to an ESPN/ABC partnership. ALMS races are shown live online with a telecast the following day (although Speed still has the rights to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is still televised live). For 2012, some races will be televised live. Speed, having a partnership with NASCAR, still has exclusive rights to
4480-581: The second seat. During the later 1930s, French constructors, unable to keep up with the progress of the Mercedes-Benz and Auto-Union cars in GP racing, withdrew into primarily domestic competition with large-capacity sports cars – marques such as Delahaye , Talbot and the later Bugattis were locally prominent. Similarly, through the 1920s and 1930s the road-going sports/GT car started to emerge as distinct from fast tourers (Le Mans had originally been
4550-401: The world stage. Road races such as the Mille Miglia included everything from stock touring cars to World Championship contenders. The Mille Miglia was the largest sporting event in Italy until a fatal accident caused its demise in 1957. The Targa Florio , another tough road race, remained part of the world championship until the 1970s and remained as a local race for many years afterwards. As
4620-503: Was added. Initially, this format was only to be used in endurance races, but was eventually applied to all races. For 2012, only a handful of LMPs are being entered, with almost all of them being powered by Japanese manufacturers ( Nissan , Honda , etc.). The British manufacturer Morgan has entered a Judd -powered LMP. Aston Martin Racing , who for several years had entered an LMP, has returned to GT for 2012. The reformatted Trans-Am Series remained stagnant, being heavily overshadowed by
4690-503: Was an expansion of the USRRC that conformed to FIA Group 7 rules. The original Can-Am fell victim to rising costs and the energy crisis . The ACO, organisers of the Le Mans 24 Hours, attempted to come up with a formula that would encourage more prototypes back to the race but would also be relatively economical – their Grand Touring Prototype rules in the late 1970s, based on fuel consumption rules, gave rise to two different varieties of sports car racing that were widely held to be
4760-436: Was largely dominated by BMW , Porsche and Mercedes-Benz , although sports car/GT racing gradually became eclipsed by touring cars and the initially sports car based Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft gradually evolved into the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft . Porsche started to evolve a line of sports prototypes from the late 1950s; noted for their toughness and reliability they started to win in races of attrition such as
4830-402: Was not born until the first 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1923 , and while as a joint-creator of that race he may have been prejudiced in his opinion, it is certainly true that sports-car racing as it was known after 1919 did not exist before the First World War." In the 1920s, the cars used in endurance racing and Grand Prix were still basically identical, with fenders and two seats, to carry
4900-602: Was seen in Formula 1. Homologation saw many out-and-out racing cars produced in sufficient quantities to see them classed as production vehicles; the FIA responded by placing more restrictions on even the allegedly production-based cars and placed draconian limits on the power available to prototypes – these prototypes of the late 1960s/early 1970s were comfortably quicker than contemporary Grand Prix machinery and for 1972 they were constrained to run much smaller engines to F1 rules, often de-tuned for endurance. Group 4 Grand Touring Cars and Group 5 Special Production Cars became
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