Aston Martin AMR-One

Aston Martin Racing has unveiled its AMR-One LMP1 racer, which will be used to contest this year’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Although it seems likely that the team will miss the opening round at Sebring, it is expected to participate in the remaining events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Unlike the rival Peugeot 908 HDi FAP and Audi R18 TDI, the AMR-One’s two litre, six cylinder, turbocharged engine uses petrol, not diesel. That choice follows a commitment by ILMC organisers, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, to modify the regulations to better equalise performance levels from the two fuels.



Further emphasising the different approach from its two main opponents, the AMR-One is an open-cockpit car. The bespoke carbon fibre monocoque chassis is brand new, and features a prominent aerodynamic fin.

When plans for an LMP1 challenger were first revealed last year, it was said that just six cars would be built. Aston Martin Racing has indeed been true to its word, and the factory team will be running two of them. Car #007 is going to be in the hands of Darren Turner, Stefan Mücke and an as yet unconfirmed third driver, while car #009 will see Adrian Fernandez, Andy Meyrick and Harold Primat behind the wheel.



Aston Martin is planning to commence testing the AMR-One soon, ahead of a competition debut at the 6 Heures du Castellet, the first race of the 2011 Le Mans Series that takes place on 3 April.



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Yamaha YZR-M1 livery

Yamaha Factory Racing has unveiled a new colour scheme its MotoGP challenger, the YZR-M1.

The bikes may look smart finished in blue with the signature Yamaha ‘speed block’ motif, but the livery reveals that attempts to find a title sponsor for the 2011 season have failed.



Current World Champion Jorge Lorenzo remains with the team to defend his title, while replacing Valentino Rossi is Ben Spies, who moves up to the works outfit following a year at independents Tech 3.

The 2011 MotoGP championship commences on March 20 with the Grand Prix of Qatar.



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BTCC-inspired Civic Ti

A major appeal of touring car racing is that the machinery used is similar - at least in looks - to the models that the public can buy from their local showroom.



Honda has decided to capitalise on this association by launching the limited edition Civic Ti. Unashamedly inspired by its own British Touring Car Championship contender, the Ti is based on the five-door 1.4 i-VTEC SE and 1.8 i-VTEC SE. Production will be restricted to just 500 examples.

A marketeer’s dream, the Ti builds on relationships already forged by the Honda Racing Team. For starters, the 17” wheels are supplied by Team Dynamics, and their dark finish undoubtedly looks good against the Premium White Pearl paintwork - the only colour choice available for the Ti.



There’s also a navigation system from Pioneer which, conveniently, is the company that has just been announced as title sponsor for Honda’s 2011 BTCC campaign. Featuring a 3D graphical touch screen, the Pioneer hardware includes mapping for 44 countries, incorporates a hands-free phone system and supports playback for CDs, DVDs and USB devices.



The package is completed by a fairly subtle ‘GP’ body kit.



According to Honda, all of that extra specification adds up to £3,700, but the good news is that the cost hasn’t been reflected in the Ti’s pricing.



In fact, the on the road prices for the Ti variants are over £300 less than their equivalent SE models. That makes the £15,995 1.4 i-VTEC Ti and £16,995 1.8 i-VTEC Ti rather a bargain. Both will go on sale in March.



Meanwhile, Honda Racing has made its intentions for the imminent BTCC season very clear, stating that the target is to win the Drivers’, Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles.

Team Dynamics will again be running the cars, although a big difference for 2011 is that they are going to be powered by NGTC-spec turbocharged engines. Matt Neal and Gordon Shedden continue as Honda’s works drivers.

Virgin reveals MVR-02

Marussia Virgin Racing has unveiled its Formula 1 challenger for 2011.

After scoring zero points last season with the VR-01, naturally the team will be hoping for better things from its successor, the MVR-02. The addition of that ‘M’ to the name recognises that Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia Motors bought a large stake in the operation last November.

Virgin is sticking to Cosworth power for the MVR-02, but it hasn’t bothered installing a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). Wisely, the team recognises that there are bigger issues to address if it wants to slash a couple of seconds off its lap times and improve reliability.

Timo Glock remains as a driver for 2011, but Lucas di Grassi has been replaced by Belgian Jérôme d'Ambrosio.

Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

Peugeot Sport has revealed the car that will be going head-to-head with the Audi R18 TDI in this year’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

It’s still called the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, which is rather confusing because there are plenty of differences compared to 2010’s version. Those changes are thanks to a revised set of regulations, designed to cut the continued dominance of diesel-powered cars in endurance racing.



Not that Peugeot has been persuaded to switch to a petrol engine, though.



The 908 is still fuelled by diesel, but its motor is no longer a 5.5 litre V12. In its place is a 3.7 litre V8, capable of producing 542 bhp (404 kW / 550 PS). An impressive figure, but that smaller capacity means the 2011 908 is around 147 bhp (110 kW / 150 PS) down on its predecessor.

Having won the 2010 ILMC series, Peugeot is naturally eager to defend its title this season. The expanded championship now includes the Le Mans 24 Hours, a round which will receive particular focus given that all three 908s failed to finish 2010’s disastrous event.



Interestingly, the driver roster for the June race has already been decided, and it’s exactly the same as last year:



#7 908: Alexander Wurz / Anthony Davidson / Marc Gené

#8 908: Franck Montagny / Nicolas Minassian / Stéphane Sarrazin

#9 908: Sébastien Bourdais / Pedro Lamy / Simon Pagenaud

Commenting on the decision Olivier Quesnel, the Director of Peugeot Sport, said: ‘At our debrief after the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours at our base in Vélizy, I told all our drivers that I had every confidence in them for 2011. They are true professionals, every one of them. We have nine world class drivers who count among the discipline's very best. We have everything to gain from sticking to the same line-up.’

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 2011
Round	Event	Country	Date
1	Sebring 12 Hours	USA	19th March
2	Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours	Belgium	8th May
3	Le Mans 24 Hours	France	11th - 12th June
4	Imola 6 Hours	Italy	3rd July
5	Silverstone 6 Hours	UK	11th September
6	Petit Le Mans (Road Atlanta)	USA	1st October
7	(Circuit TBC) 6 Hours	China	12th November

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Team Lotus reveals T128

Team Lotus - not to be confused with the Lotus Renault GP Team - has unveiled its 2011 Formula 1 car.

Even if that naming clash is still to be dragged through the courts, thankfully the team has decided not to swap last season’s green and yellow colour scheme for a gold and black one. At least that means spectators will be able to tell the numerous Lotuses apart.



The big changes are under the paintjob, though. Gone are 2010’s Cosworth engines, replaced by motors from Renault which have been combined with gearboxes and hydraulics systems courtesy of Red Bull Technologies.

Together with more aggressive aerodynamics and revised suspension, the Norfolk-based team seems confident that the improved package will be good enough to let drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli score some points in 2011.



Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer, said: ‘I think that basically this car looks like a front-running car in every area. We said very clearly that we want to start challenging the established teams and I think that's very achievable.’ Fighting talk indeed.



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Ferrari F150 unveiled

Scuderia Ferrari has become the first Formula 1 team to reveal its 2011 car.



Unveiled at Maranello, Italy, Ferrari’s new challenger is named F150 to honour the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. Continuing the patriotic theme, it also sports a prominent Italian Tricolore on the rear wing.

Changes to the 2011 car, which has an internal code name of 662, have primarily been made to comply with this season’s revised FIA regulations. That means no double diffuser or blown rear wing, but KERS makes a return and the rear wing is now hydraulically adjustable. Other modifications are courtesy of stricter safety rules regarding cockpit protection, wheel retention and crash testing.



A continued ban on development means the Ferrari’s engine is largely unaltered, although work has been done to improve reliability. The team has also taken the opportunity to completely redesign the rear suspension and tweak that at the front, while the Brembo braking system has been totally revamped too.

But it’s not just those changes that need evaluating ahead of the first race in Bahrain, because there’s also the switch from Bridgestone to Pirelli tyres to factor in, plus Ferrari is saying that the aerodynamic package isn’t yet final. With only fifteen days of pre-season testing allowed, it should all make for a packed schedule.



Ferrari is expecting great things from the F150, especially after Fernando Alonso managed to lose the 2010 drivers’ championship to Sebastian Vettel by just four points, and the team ended up in third spot on the constructors’ table behind Red Bull and McLaren. Both team boss Stefano Domenicali and company president Luca Di Montezemolo are making it very clear that victory in 2011 is the only objective.



And finally, if you’re privileged to drive for one of the top-ranking teams in Formula 1 and you get invited to a nice event to launch a new car, then showing a bit of enthusiasm might be appropriate. Obviously not if your name is Alonso, who - judging by the pictures - was in full miserable git mode. Again.

Somewhere else you'd rather be, Fernando? Check out that body language.

Go on, give us a smile...

BMW to contest ILMC

BMW has confirmed its plans to compete in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup with the M3 GT2.

Following the withdrawal from the World Touring Car Championship by the BMW works entries at the end of last season, drivers Andy Prixaulx and Augusto Farfus have been redeployed to the ILMC programme and will contest all seven rounds.



For the European races and the Chinese event, where two cars will be run by BMW Team Schnitzer, they will be joined by Jörg Müller as the third regular driver.

Meanwhile, in North America, BMW Team RLL (Rahal Letterman Lanigan) will be fielding a pair of BMW M3 GT2s in every round of the American Le Mans Series.



At the two ALMS races that also form part of the ILMC - Sebring and Road Atlanta - regular BMW Team RLL works drivers Dirk Müller and Dirk Werner will be supported by Prixaulx and Farfus, plus American drivers Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand.

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup 2011
Round	Event	Country	Date
1	Sebring 12 Hours	USA	19th March
2	Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours	Belgium	8th May
3	Le Mans 24 Hours	France	11th - 12th June
4	Imola 6 Hours	Italy	3rd July
5	Silverstone 6 Hours	UK	11th September
6	Petit Le Mans (Road Atlanta)	USA	1st October
7	(Circuit TBC) 6 Hours	China	12th November

Citroën WRC 2011 entries

Citroën has confirmed its entries for the 2011 World Rally Championship, ahead of the first round which takes place in Sweden between the 10th and 13th of February.



Following major changes to the regulations for this season, the venerable C4 WRC is no more and so all will be driving the brand new DS3 WRC with its 1.6 litre turbocharged engine and all-wheel drive.

In the lead car of the Citroën Total World Rally Team will once again be Frenchman Sébastien Loeb, who is aiming for an incredible eighth successive world drivers’ title. Sat alongside him will be co-driver Daniel Elena, from Monaco.



Joining them as team mates will be the French pairing of driver Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia, their promotion to full-time duty in the works outfit undoubtedly helped by victories in 2010’s Rally de Portugal and Rally Japan.



Although the Citroën Junior Team has ceased to exist, Citroën Racing Technologies will be running three additional cars for private crews.



Petter Solberg / Chris Patterson, competing for the Petter Solberg World Rally Team, are going to enter all thirteen rallies. Kimi Räikkönen / Kaj Lindström will contest at least ten rounds under the Ice 1 Racing banner, while the Van Merksteijn Motorsport entry of Peter van Merksteijn / Eddy Chevaillier is expected to begin its season at March’s Portuguese event.



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Citroën DS3 WRC 2011

Honda WSB team launch

Honda has unveiled its works team for the 2011 World Superbike championship.

The announcement of Castrol as title sponsor means the return to a very familiar colour scheme for the pair of CBR1000RR Fireblade bikes, which will be ridden by Jonathan Rea and Ruben Xaus.



As in recent years, Honda has entrusted Dutch concern Ten Kate Racing with running the factory WSB team. First thing on the Castrol Honda agenda is a two day testing session at the Motorland Aragón circuit in Spain later this week.



The 2011 WSB season comprises thirteen rounds with Phillip Island, Australia hosting the opening race on 27 February.

Caterham-Lola SP/300.R

A previous attempt by Caterham to expand its range beyond the iconic Seven was not a great success. Only forty-eight examples of the 21, launched in 1994, were ever built.



Now it’s having another go with the SP/300.R, a shrunken Le Mans Prototype in the style of cars such as the Westfield XTR and Radical SR series.

The project has been developed in collaboration with Lola Cars, which was involved in engineering the aluminium tub chassis and perfecting the aerodynamics.



As with the current Seven line-up, power is provided by Ford. In the case of the SP/300.R it’s a two-litre Duratec motor which, thanks to the addition of a supercharger, produces 300 bhp (223 kW / 304 PS). Drive to the rear transaxle is via a Hewland semi-automatic FTR gearbox.

With the Caterham-Lola weighing less than 600 kg (1,322 lbs), that set up is enough for a zero to 60 mph (96 km/h) time of about 2.5 seconds. Top speed should be in the region of 170 mph (273 km/h).



Keeping the SP/300.R on the tarmac is race-derived suspension. There are dual wishbones front and rear, pushrod dampers and an adjustable ride height, all of which is assisted by down force from the front splitter and rear wing.

Although a road-legal version might appear later, for now the SP/300.R is destined for the circuits only. There’ll be a UK-based one-make series from 2012, although the Caterham-Lola will probably find its way into other championships as well as numerous trackdays, too.



The price of the Caterham-Lola SP/300.R is £60,000 (about €71,600 at today’s exchange rate) excluding local taxes. Annual production volume is anticipated to be twenty-five units.