Urrutia wins Gateway as Kaiser all but seals Indy Lights title

By Aug 26, 2017, 8:00 PM EDT
Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography
0 Comments

MADISON, Ill. – Santiago Urrutia did all he could to keep the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires title fight alive with his second win of the season, but Kyle Kaiser has all but cinched the title with one race remaining following a wild 75-lap affair at Gateway Motorsports Park.

For the young American, with a revised 31-point lead unofficially over Urrutia, merely starting at Watkins Glen next week will ensure he wins the title and the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship that comes with it.

Kaiser entered the weekend with a 42-point lead and only needed a 34-point margin to ensure he had the title clinched before going to the season finale at Watkins Glen International.

It looked early on in the 75-lap race that Kaiser would be able to pull it off outright, but a strong start quickly faded as the race went on.

After shooting up to third on the initial start from fifth on the grid, Kaiser delivered his statement of intent to wrap the title on Saturday night by making a move on Urrutia for second place on Lap 9, going to the outside of his closest title rival for the position into Turn 1 in an authoritative move.

Urrutia got Kaiser back five laps later on the inside of Turn 1, but with Kaiser not needing to fight it to ensure he had enough of a points gap to clinch at that moment, he kept the door open wide enough for Urrutia to come through.

Up front, Urrutia was left to focus on catching surprise polesitter Juan Piedrahita of Team Pelfrey for the lead and subsequent win of the race.

Kaiser ran in third place with the best battle on the road behind him in the form of Andretti Autosport’s Nico Jamin and Carlin’s Matheus Leist close for fourth.

On Lap 43, Urrutia, having closed the gap significantly on Piedrahita, powered past for the lead into Turn 1. This pass meant Urrutia was within 34 points of Kaiser, who was running in third.

Meanwhile Kaiser fell back into the clutches of Jamin and Leist, which had championship implications in terms of whether Kaiser would have enough points to win the title tonight.

Jamin was by Kaiser for third by Lap 49, and then Leist was by shortly thereafter. Zachary Claman De Melo soon closed in and made a move during the final 20 laps for fifth, and Kaiser then had to hold off Colton Herta for sixth.

On Lap 62 there was a heavy three-car accident that occurred. Contact occurred between Chad Boat, the series debutante, and Neil Alberico entering Turns 1 and 2 as Alberico attempted to lap Boat, and Garth Rickards also got caught up in it. That took out two of the three Carlin cars (Alberico and Rickards), with Boat the third Belardi car (along with Aaron Telitz and Shelby Blackstock) to be involved in an incident during the race.

The race was red flagged as a heavy amount of debris littered the track.

Following the restart, a chaotic battle for the lead occurred between Piedrahita and Urrutia, with Piedrahita briefly getting the advantage on the restart to take lead before another quick yellow was flown for a spinning Nico Jamin.

Jamin’s spin moved Kaiser up a position, again making it appear like he may clinch the championship outright. However, a restart with three laps remaining saw Urrutia finally edge passed Piedrahita, the two going side-by-side for a full lap before Urrutia cleared him for the lead with two laps left. Urrutia was able to hang on from there to take the win.

Colton Herta meanwhile moved up to third while Kaiser ended up fourth, with Nicolas Dapero completing the top five.

More to follow, unofficial results are below.

Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
2 Comments

LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).