Team Falken Tire to run Tandy, new livery at Petit Le Mans - MotorSportsTalk

Team Falken Tire will round out its 2013 campaign in the American Le Mans Series with Nick Tandy rejoining the team as he did at the season opener in Sebring, and a new livery on its 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

Tandy joined Falken’s full season drivers Bryan Sellers and Porsche factory ace Wolf Henzler at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the team finished third in the highly stacked GT class. Now, Tandy will race the team’s second car, after it was pressed into action following a bad start-line crash at Baltimore that wiped out the 2012-spec RSR.

“I’m really looking forward to coming back to the American Le Mans Series, back to Falken and also back to Road Atlanta,” Tandy said in a team release. “After the team’s great performance and result at Sebring when I last competed with Falken I’m hoping for more success and will be pushing flat out to achieve this.”

The team’s usual teal and blue livery on the car will be replaced by a fan’s design as created in a Forza Motorsport contest. More than 200 designs were submitted with the final six then voted on on Falken’s Facebook page; Kevin Neuville of Belgium’s design was chosen to be raced.

Also of note, expect Team Falken team manager Derrick Walker to be in attendance and on the box for Petit Le Mans, as IndyCar closes out its 2013 season the same day at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

There have been several IndyCar/ALMS conflicts since Walker joined Team Falken Tire at the start of the 2012 season; in all instances, Walker has been on the box for Falken. Walker was team manager at Ed Carpenter Racing through this year’s Indianapolis 500, before taking on his new role with IndyCar as President of Competition and Operations.

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The IndyCar Series has re-signed NTT as its title sponsor in a multiyear agreement starting in 2024.

NTT, a global information technology and communications company based in Japan, became the series’ title sponsor before the 2019 season after starting as a sponsor of the No. 10 Dallara-Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.

NTT Data (a subsidiary of parent company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.) will remain the official technology partner of IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Brickyard weekend.

With the extension, an IndyCar spokesman said NTT would become the second-longest title sponsor in series history. The longest title sponsor was PPG from 1980-97 (under the CART sanction of the Champ Car Series).

NTT replaced Verizon, which was IndyCar’s title sponsor from 2014-18 after IZOD from 2010-13.

“NTT is an excellent partner across our enterprise with strong expertise and a deep commitment to our sport,” Penske Corp. chairman and IndyCar owner Roger Penske said in a release. “From Smart Venue technology at the Racing Capital of the World to the reimagined Series mobile application, NTT is transforming the fan experience in new and innovative ways. We look forward to a bright future together.”

NTT has used artificial intelligence-enabled optical detection technology at IMS to provide information to the track’s operations and security teams, helping improve fan traffic flow and safety, the track said.

“IndyCar is a great partner for NTT Data because of our shared commitment to driving innovation, increasing sustainability and delivering amazing experiences,” NTT Data CEO Kaz Nishihata said in a release. “We also appreciate how IndyCar is so diverse, with drivers from 15 different countries, and races that range from short ovals and superspeedways to road and street courses. It’s both an incredible sport and a wonderful example for our world.”

NTT also has been instrumental in helping redesign the IndyCar app and providing more race and driver data for use in NBC Sports’ broadcasts by utilizing 140 data points from every car in the field.

“NTT is fully invested in the development and growth of our sport and has already established a terrific track record in our industry with problem-solving capabilities and access to top talent and tools,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said.

Said NTT Data Services CEO Bob Pryor: “We’re thrilled to continue our collaborations that enhance and expand the fan experience for motorsports and serve as proof points for data analytics, AI, and other innovative digital technologies. For more than a century, this racing series has pioneered innovations making driving safer for everyone, and by continuing this relationship, we will accelerate the pace of innovations and new technologies, particularly related to sustainability that ultimately can benefit organizations, communities and individuals around the world.”

Starting as a Japanese telephone company, NTT grew into a $100 billion-plus tech services giant with U.S. operations based in Plano, Texas.