IMSA 2015: DP @ COTA
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ Lone Star LeMans 2015.
The mid-september 2015 weekend, Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, was hosting both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship (IMSA). Tudor has been the title sponsor in 2014 and 2015 after the merger between the previous North American sports car racing series, the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ Lone Star LeMans 2015.
Lone Star Le Mans was the ninth of a ten races Tudor (IMSA) championship with 2 major manufacturers dominating (4 Chevrolet and 1 Ford) and much at stake as only 2 points were separating the top 3 teams:
1. #90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Chevrolet DP driven by Valiante and Westbrook (248 pts),
2. #5 Action Express racing Chevrolet DP of Joao Barbosa and Christian Fitipaldi (247 pts) and sister
3. Action Expresse Racing #31 Chevrolet DP driven by Dane Cameron and Eric Curran (246 pts).
4. Joey hand and Scott Pruett driving the Ford Ecobooster #01 Chip Ganassi Racing (232 pts).
5. The Taylor brothers Jordan and Ricky on the wheel of the 4th Chevrolet DP #10 Wayne Taylor Racing (230 pts).
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ Lone Star LeMans 2015.
Scott Pruett Started in pole driving the Ford Ecobooster #01 Chip Ganassi Racing. With his teammate Joey hand, they won the 73 laps race.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ Lone Star LeMans 2015.
Jordan & Ricky Taylor in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP ended second 16.910 sec. behind the winning Ford.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ Lone Star LeMans 2015.
#90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Corvette DP teammates Richard Westbrook and Michael Valiante extended their lead in the Tudor championship standings with a third-place result.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ Lone Star LeMans 2015.
Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi with their #5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP won the Tudor drivers and teams championship for a second consecutive time after the last race at Laguna Seca.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ Lone Star LeMans 2015.
Based on the Nissan Deltawing racing that participated to Le Mans 2012, the Katherine Legge and Memo Rojas DeltaWing DW13 finished only three out of nine appearances, with a best results of sixth at Road America. They finished eighth in the Prototypes teams standing.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ Lone Star LeMans 2015.
Seen in the fan zone, the famous Chaparral 2E with a wing attached directly to the rear suspension uprights to generate downforce and loading the tires for extra adhesion while cornering. The 2E scored only one win, at the 1966 Laguna Seca Raceway Can-Am with Phil Hill driving, even achieving a double with Jim Hall (designer and teamowner) in P2 in front of Bruce Mc Laren. All three ended in the same lap.
