Month: December 2011

Audi R8 LMS ultra to compete in the FIA GT1 World Championship

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Audi has announced that two of its new R8 LMS ultra race cars will be competing at next year’s FIA GT1 World Championship; the world’s top racing class for GT vehicles.

The pair of cars will be fielded by Belgium’s Team WRT, which has already tasted success with the R8, having won the Blancpain Endurance Series as well as clinching overall victories at the 24 Hours of Zolder and Spa.

“We very much welcome the decision of the FIA World Motor Sport Council on December 7th in favor of the GT3 cars,” said quattro GmbH’s Werner Frowein.

The championship, which begins on April 8 at France’s Nogaro Circuit, will consist of ten rounds, with each round featuring two one-hour races.

Team WRT will confirm its driver line-up before the end of the year.

[Source: Audi Motorsport]

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Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid back on track in 2012

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Porsche has announced that it will continue to develop its 911 GT3 R Hybrid project throughout the 2012 season.

“With the 911 GT3 R Hybrid, we have shown how you can test important future technologies on the race track and pave the way for motorsport success in the future. We will continue to determinedly blaze this trail and further develop the hybrid technology,” confirmed Board Member, Wolfgang Hatz.

The current 2.0 Version features a pair of electric motors which develop 75 kW/101 hp (increased from 60 kW/80 hp) on its front axle. They supplement the 350 kW/470 hp 4.0 L flat-six engine, while the overall weight of the 911 drops from 1,350 to 1,300 kg.

Power for the motors comes from an electric flywheel accumulator, which is housed within a carbon fibre cell on the passenger’s side of the cabin. Braking forces see its rotor spinning at up to 40,000 rpm with the resulting kinetic energy being stored inside the cell, ready to be called upon by the driver, via a steering wheel-mounted button, when accelerating out of a corner or overtaking another car.

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Volkswagen Amarok supporting the 2012 Dakar Rally

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For the third successive year, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will be providing a fleet to the event organisation team for the 2012 Dakar Rally.

The A.S.O. (Amaury Sport Organisation) will have access to a total of nearly forty vehicles, including thirty Amarok SUVs, throughout the legendary event, with celebrities and members of the press invited by Volkswagen Motor Sport to experience the Dakar Rally in an Amarok.

During the rally’s rest day, Formula One legend Jacky Ickx will be showing the Scorpions’ Rudolf Schenker and boxing world champion Dariusz Michalczewski how to safely handle the Amarok, while windsurfers Klaas Voget, Bjoern Dunkerbeck and Robby Swift will be heading to the Atacama Desert to experience to hit the dunes.

The 9,000 kilometre test of endurance will run from 1 to 15 January starting at Mar del Plata, Argentina.

[Source: Volkswagen]

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