More Mercedes speed, Red Bull issues during Bahrain Day 3

By Feb 21, 2014, 9:49 AM EST
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As Formula One’s testing period enters its second half – today was the seventh of 12 official days of 2014 preseason testing – the narrative didn’t change too much. Mercedes-powered cars again were fast and reliable. Renault-powered ones were again not-so-fast and fragile.

Lewis Hamilton took his turn atop the timesheets, back in the Mercedes W05 after Nico Rosberg had it on Thursday, with a best lap of 1:34.263 the fastest of the week thus far. Hamilton spent some time in the garage during the afternoon while the team experimented with different set-ups, but he wasn’t resigned to the garage because of any issues.

Jenson Button enjoyed a rather good day with second at 1:34.976, and completed the most laps on the day with 103 in the McLaren MP4-29-Mercedes. And after a rough month or so to start the year, with the loss of his father John in January, he announced much happier news with his engagement to longtime girlfriend Jessica Michibata.

Williams-Mercedes also enjoyed a positive day with Felipe Massa clocking in third, albeit some 2.8 seconds back at 1:37.066 in 60 laps, and Valtteri Bottas providing the winter’s oddest statistic thus far with 55 laps completed but no time registered. The reason for that was that the talented Finn spent the majority of his day entering and leaving pit lane, to provide the team a chance at live pit stop practice.

Things were less rosy for the Renault brigade. Daniel Ricciardo managed 28 laps for Red Bull, most in the morning and only 5 in the afternoon, thanks to further mechanical problems. Ricciardo remained upbeat, as the Australian usually is, while the now oft-quoted Red Bull race engineering coordinator Andy Damerum said the car needed to be stripped for repairs ahead of Saturday’s running.

“We came across a mechanical issue that we hadn’t encountered before and because of its nature it means we have to take the car apart,” he said in the team’s release. “As everyone in the pit lane is finding out this is a long process, so we decided to suspend running in the afternoon so that we can be ready for the final day. These issues are of course frustrating but this was unrelated to the others so it’s just a case of tackling each issue as it appears.”

Elsewhere Lotus managed its most laps thus far this week  – 26 with Pastor Maldonado – and broke into the 1:39 bracket at 1:39.642. Daniil Kyvat bettered that mark in the Toro Rosso-Renault at 1:38.974.

Ferrari’s day was neither great nor negative. Meanwhile for the tail-enders, Marussia’s Max Chilton completed only four laps before an engine change, and Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson completed 98 laps as he garners the necessary mileage for his FIA Superlicense.

Here’s Friday’s breakdown of laps completed by manufacturer, although note Bottas’ were all in-and-out laps:

  • Mercedes: 342 (Hamilton 67, Button 103, Massa 60, Sergio Perez 57, Bottas 55)
  • Renault: 209 (Kvyat 57, Maldonado 26, Ricciardo 28, Ericsson 98)
  • Ferrari: 144 (Esteban Gutierrez 96, Kimi Raikkonen 44, Chilton 4)

For the week, Mercedes holds a clear laps completed lead and have also had their teams be able to work on setups and pit stops. Renault, largely thanks to Caterham’s pounding over the three days compared to Marussia’s struggles, is ahead of Ferrari on total laps completed:

  • Mercedes: 886 (238 Wednesday, 306 Thursday, 342 Friday)
  • Renault: 505 (95 Wednesday, 201 Thursday, 209 Friday)
  • Ferrari: 462 (149 Wednesday, 169 Thursday, 144 Friday)

And here’s Friday’s times:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m34.263s, 67 Laps
2. Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes, 1m34.976s, 103
3. Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 1m37.066s, 60
4. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber-Ferrari, 1m37.180s, 96
5. Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, 1m37.367s, 57
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m37.476s, 44
7. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso-Renault, 1m38.974s, 57
8. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus-Renault, 1m39.642s, 26
9. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault, 1m40.781s, 28
10. Marcus Ericsson, Caterham-Renault, 1m42.130s, 98
11. Max Chilton, Marussia-Ferrari, 1m46.672s, 4
12. Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes, no time, 55

With throaty roar, NASCAR Next Gen Camaro is taking Le Mans by storm on global stage

Associated PressJun 8, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT
Le Mans 24 Hour Race - Car Parade
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
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LE MANS, France — The V8 engine of the NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro has a distinct growl that cannot go unnoticed even among the most elite sports cars in the world at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

When the Hendrick Motorsports crew fired up the car inside Garage 56, NASCAR chairman Jim France broke into a huge grin and gave a thumbs up.

“The only guy who didn’t cover his ears,” laughed seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson.

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France has been waiting since 1962 – the year his father, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., brought him to his first 24 Hours of Le Mans – to hear the roar of a stock car at the most prestigious endurance race in the world.

A path finally opened when NASCAR developed its Next Gen car, which debuted last year. France worked out a deal to enter a car in a specialized “Innovative Car” class designed to showcase technology and development. The effort would be part of NASCAR’s 75th celebration and it comes as Le Mans marks its 100th.

Once he had the approval, France persuaded Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear – NASCAR’s winningest team, manufacturer and tire supplier – to build a car capable of running the twice-around-the-clock race.

The race doesn’t start until Saturday, but NASCAR’s arrival has already been wildly embraced and France could not be more thrilled.

“Dad’s vision, to be able to follow it, it took awhile to follow it up, and my goal was to outdo what he accomplished,” France told The Associated Press. “I just hope we don’t fall on our ass.”

The car is in a class of its own and not racing anyone else in the 62-car field. But the lineup of 2010 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button and Johnson has been fast enough; Rockenfeller put down a qualifying lap that was faster than every car in the GTE AM class by a full three seconds.

The Hendrick Motorsports crew won its class in the pit stop competition and finished fifth overall as the only team using a manual jack against teams exclusively using air jacks. Rick Hendrick said he could not be prouder of the showing his organization has made even before race day.

“When we said we’re gonna do it, I said, ‘Look, we can’t do this half-assed. I want to be as sharp as anybody out there,” Hendrick told AP. “I don’t want to be any less than any other team here. And just to see the reaction from the crowd, people are so excited about this car. My granddaughter has been sending me all these TikTok things that fans are making about NASCAR being at Le Mans.”

This isn’t NASCAR’s first attempt to run Le Mans. The late France Sr. brokered a deal in 1976, as America celebrated its bicentennial, to bring two cars to compete in the Grand International class and NASCAR selected the teams. Herschel McGriff and his son, Doug, drove a Wedge-powered, Olympia Beer-sponsored Dodge Charger, and Junie Donlavey piloted a Ford Torino shared by Richard Brooks and Dick Hutcherson.

Neither car came close to finishing the race. McGriff, now 95 and inducted into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame in January, is in Le Mans as France’s guest, clad head-to-toe in the noticeable Garage 56 uniforms.

“I threw a lot of hints that I would like to come. And I’ve been treated as royalty,” McGriff said. “This is unbelievable to me. I recognize nothing but I’m anxious to see everything. I’ve been watching and seeing pictures and I can certainly see the fans love their NASCAR.”

The goal is to finish the full race Sunday and, just maybe, beat cars from other classes. Should they pull off the feat, the driver trio wants its own podium celebration.

“I think people will talk about this car for a long, long time,” said Rockenfeller, who along with sports car driver Jordan Taylor did much of the development alongside crew chief Chad Knaus and Greg Ives, a former crew chief who stepped into a projects role at Hendrick this year.

“When we started with the Cup car, we felt already there was so much potential,” Rockenfeller said. “And then we tweaked it. And we go faster, and faster, at Le Mans on the SIM. But you never know until you hit the real track, and to be actually faster than the SIM. Everybody in the paddock, all the drivers, they come up and they are, ‘Wow, this is so cool,’ and they were impressed by the pit stops. We’ve overachieved, almost, and now of course the goal is to run for 24 hours.”

The car completed a full 24-hour test at Sebring, Florida, earlier this year, Knaus said, and is capable of finishing the race. Button believes NASCAR will leave a lasting impression no matter what happens.

“If you haven’t seen this car live yet, it’s an absolute beast,” Button said. “When you see and hear it go by, it just puts a massive smile on your face.”

For Hendrick, the effort is the first in his newfound embrace of racing outside NASCAR, the stock car series founded long ago in the American South. Aside from the Le Mans project, he will own the Indy car that Kyle Larson drives for Arrow McLaren in next year’s Indianapolis 500 and it will be sponsored by his automotive company.

“If you’d have told me I’d be racing at Le Mans and Indianapolis within the same year, I’d never have believed you,” Hendrick told AP. “But we’re doing both and we’re going to do it right.”

Le Mans 24 Hour Race - Car Parade
Fans gather around the NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that is the Garage 56 entry for the 100th 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe (Chris Graythen/Getty Images).

General Motors is celebrating the achievement with a 2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition and only 56 will be available to collectors later this year.

“Even though Chevrolet has been racing since its inception in 1911, we’ve never done anything quite like Garage 56,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “A NASCAR stock car running at Le Mans is something fans doubted they would see again.”

The race hasn’t even started yet, but Hendrick has enjoyed it so much that he doesn’t want the project to end.

“It’s like a shame to go through all this and do all this, and then Sunday it’s done,” Hendrick said. “It’s just really special to be here.”