Archive for May, 2010

Thrilling Race at Laguna Seca leads up to the 24 Hours of Le Mans!

Posted by Jason on Monday, May 24th, 2010

utah gp logo

Another close, thrilling race at Laguna Seca this past Saturday!  Again, the GT class was represented by Porsche, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford and Jaguar.  Congratulations to Jaguar for completing it’s first endurance race at Laguna Seca!  With 35 total entries, the field was strong and competitive.  As at Long Beach, it was the 911 up front at the finish, followed by an M3, Corvette and then Ferrari.

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The 6 hour endurance race was everything we’d hoped it would be.  Next up, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, June 12th followed by the fourth round of the ALMS in Utah.   

  24 hours of le mans image

Jason

www.baltimoreracingdevelopment.com

jschiavone@brdsite.com

 

Posted in ALMS | No Comments »

Teams Gear Up For Laguna Seca, May 22nd

Posted by Jason on Monday, May 17th, 2010

2010_Laguna_Ad

So the third round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series at Laguna Seca is coming up this weekend.  This is different from last season in that last year this race was held in October.  The weather will likely be different than what teams remember which means potentially different strategy.  As I’ve mentioned, the race will be 6 hours, two hours longer than last season, so there’ll be more points at stake.  Furthermore, being 6 hours will extend the race into the night creating obvious new challenges and a whooole lotta thrill!

Sport and Racing Motorcycle Photographs

It should also be noted again that this is the last race on the 2010 schedule before teams make the trek to France for the 24 Heures du Mans!  Remember, Petit Le Mans and Class champions from the previous ALMS season all receive invitations to the following season’s Le Mans race.  So it’ll be interesting to see who really shows up this weekend; will some teams take it easy and use this race as a Le Mans warm-up or preparation and not risk too much??  I think, based on point standings being about as close as they’ve ever been and more points available for gain than in a standard 2hr 45min race, teams will run as hard this weekend as any other.  …other thoughts?

I’m not too sure who to expect to come out on top this weekend.  I like the Risi Ferrari again but my hearts still with BMW!  Milner was so close in Long Beach, hopefully he can hold on a little longer this time.  I’d love to hear a good argument for the Porsches or Corvettes…anyone?

cork-screw at laguna seca

Monaco Grand Prix this past Sunday:  So I love Monaco and F1 and all the glamour and heritage of the circuit, but this just wasn’t a very exciting race to watch.  The caution flag ending wasn’t too great as agreed by M Schumacher…hehe.  But Fernando looked good and still no win for Mr. Hamilton.  This is a tough course to gain position on due to the extremely limited room for error and even less, for passing.  I’m happy to say our course here in Baltimore is expected to have much more width and potential for passing.  I still enjoyed it though…I mean…come on, it’s Monaco!    

Jason

www.baltimoreracingdevelopment.com

jschiavone@brdsite.com

Posted in ALMS | 1 Comment »

There will be a Baltimore Grand Prix in 2011!

Posted by Jason on Monday, May 10th, 2010

brd logo

I’m sure most have heard the great news by now; Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and council voted unanimously in favor of hosting a Baltimore Grand Prix, last Wednesday!

baltimore track map

The next step for Baltimore Racing Development is to sign the necessary contracts with Indy and ALMS whom have been extremely supportive of BRD.  We anticipate finality within the upcoming month or so.  The general feeling is that Baltimore is ideally situated to draw fans from DC, northern Virginia, Philly and even Jersey and New York though Lime Rock may be closer; but basicly the mid-Atlantic region.  I’m looking forward to seeing what kinds of car club participation will turn out, any thoughts? 

The select, world class team BRD has put together was not designed to simply bring a Grand Prix to Baltimore, but to sustain a Grand Prix for many years to come.  I’d like to see the Grand Prix become as popular and synonymous with the city as the Preakness (granted, no easy task).  We believe the Baltimore Grand Prix has the potential to be among the largest, most populated venues on the Indy and ALMS schedules!

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May 22nd, Monterey, Ca….ALMS race number 3 on the 2010 schedule.  6 hours certainly qualifies as an endurance race and it should be a thrill.  Any favorites for this event???  I don’t have specifics, such as time length or distance of the races we’ll host here, to report just yet.  But I must say that while a 6 hour endurance race may not be very likely in Baltimore, whewww…it would be awesome!

Jason

www.baltimoreracingdevelopment.com

 

Posted in ALMS, IndyCar | 10 Comments »

Baltimore Racing Development and a Baltimore Grand Prix!

Posted by Jason on Monday, May 3rd, 2010

24 hours of le mans grid

So the Turbo Indy 300 was this past Saturday at Kansas Speedway.  It was the first oval track race of the 2010 Izod IndyCar Series and one of four in a row to come.  Scott Dixon began the race from the second position, advanced and finished first after leading the race for 167 laps.  Tony Kanaan put on a pretty impressive performance advancing to third, behind Dario, from a 15th place start.  Almost equally impressive was Ryan Hunter-Reay climbing from 22nd to 5th behind Castroneves.  Chris, was it you that said Reay was Andretti Autosport’s best driver?  I like Dario but I’m agreeing with you, Reay’s good!  Next up…May 30th, Indianapolis 500!

Indy 500 logo

I’d love to talk ALMS but there’s not much new to discuss; go BMW!  I’m very much so looking forward to the 6 hour race at Monterey but that’s a few weeks out.  The world’s greatest sports car race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is about a month and a half away and certainly that’ll be great.  Grand Am has about a month off and there’s about 3 days until the first F1 practice session in Catalunya; that should be cool.

24 hours of Le Mans logo

…and so, it’s a big week for Baltimore Racing Develoment and the city of Baltimore!  For those unaware, we have a Board of Estimates meeting this Wednesday morning with city council, mayor included.  If all goes well, there will be a lite press release outside of City Hall following the meeting and next summer, we’ll be watching ALMS and Indy right here in Charm City!  So everyone in support of a Grand Prix in Baltimore, keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best!

Jason

www.baltimoreracingdevelopment.com

Posted in ALMS, IndyCar | 8 Comments »