Super GT Provisional Entry List Revealed

For those of you that don't know, this was going to be the replacement for the Acura/Honda NSX....
It’s shaping up to be a great season of Super GT this year with the news that 13 GT500 and 25 GT300 teams have completed entry registrations.

Among those 13 GT500 teams, 5 supported by Honda with its new HSV-010 GT with Epson, Keihin, Raybrig, ARTA and Weider teams running the new car. Only three teams, Calsonic Impul, HIS Advan Kondo and Motul Autech, will field Nissan’s GT-R in 2010 with Hasemi Motorsport leaving their GT-R behind and moving out of the GT500 class to enter a Nissan Fairlady Z in the GT300 class. Nissan has also introduced a new 3.4L V8 for this season and hopes to be very competitive up against the previous season winning Lexus SC430.

GT300 class has had a total of 25 registrations, two more than last year thanks to the previously mentioned team Hasemi Motorsport, plus an new entry in the form of an Aston Martin V8 Vantage fielded by A Speed. ThunderAsia Racing is a Singapore-based team running a Mosler MT900M and will be the first wholly international team to race in the Super GT for an entire season. The team that brought an ‘Itasha’ BMW Z4 M to Round 6 of the 2008 Super GT season will return this year but under a new organisation, now named Goodsmile Racing with Cox and fielding a Porsche 911. Toyota Team Tsuchiya that raced in the GT500 class previously will now be called Samurai Team Tsuchiya and enter the GT300 class with a car that has yet to be announced.

An interesting battle among tire manufacturers will surely add some spice to each race too with all three Nissan GT-Rs running different tire brands, with Nismo Motul Autech running Michelin tires, Calsonic Impul running Bridgestone and the HIS Advan Kondo running Yokohama. So expect to see some different race strategies between these teams running the same car but different tire brands.

The season opener will be held at Suzuka Circuit on March 20 – 21.
Entry list: http://supergt.net/supergt/news/2010n/news100222_1e.htm

Source;
http://www.7tune.com/super-gt-provisional-entry-list-revealed/

New Honda NSX race car

A newly-built Honda NSX race car will compete in this weekend’s Britcar race at Brands Hatch.
The unique NSX has been built to comply with the Britcar Production regulations and it successfully completed its shakedown at Snetterton last week.

See the hi-res pics of the new Honda NSX race car

The car has been prepared by Colchester-based John Danby Racing and it will be driven in the two races on 7 November, one of which is at night, by Vicki Butler-Henderson, James Barclay and David Fenn.

John Danby, team principal, said: “The uniqueness and advanced technology involved in this project presented several new challenges and we are pleased to debut this exciting car at the last event of the 2009 season.”

Features over the standard car include upgraded brakes, dampers and tyres, while engine control and data-logging capabilities including GPS, Fly by Wire and live feed video also feature.
Last week, Honda announced it was axing its iconic NSX from the Japanese Super GT championship after 13 years of competing.

Honda NSX racer axed

During its time racing in the series - Japan's top class for GT cars - the NSX-GT has won the driver and team championships, in 2000 and 2007. The car has also sat on pole 49 times and won 36 races.

Source;
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/Honda-NSX/244522/

Acura Upstages Audi And Peugeot Taking The Pole At Sebring

Ferran Motorsports will be on pole position for Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Fresh From Florida.

Scott Dixon in the Acura ARX-02a set the fastest lap time in today’s qualifying session. The expected battle between Audi and Peugeot was fought out on the track, but on a last lap attempt the Acura team beat them all.

Read the article, (via Autospies.com);
http://www.planetlemans.com/2009/03/19/sebring-12-hours-qualifying-report/

Acura says sports-car prototype operation will continue

So, even though Honda is backing away from F1, they are still working on a the LMP1 Sports Car. My guess is that as soon as this economic downturn starts to rebound we'll see Honda back at the F1 table.For those paying close attention, the stunning news that Honda will quit Formula One effective immediately raises another question: what does the news mean for the LMP1-class sports-car prototype program that Honda subsidiary Acura announced Labor Day weekend during the Detroit Grand Prix?

Attempts to reach Honda Performance Development officials on Friday were unsuccessful, but the company released the following statement:


"It is unfortunate that current global economic challenges have necessitated the cessation of Honda’s participation in Formula One racing. However, Honda’s U.S.-based motorsports activities are expected to continue in 2009.


"Racing has played an essential role in Honda’s history as a company, and the competition that racing provides has always been a cornerstone of Honda’s corporate values. We race to learn, and we race to win. We plan to continue both of those traditions in 2009 and beyond."

However, with the cost of an LMP1 program believed to reach--and exceed--$60 million, the question remains: Does Honda's F1 pullout portend more bad news for racing fans? With Audi announcing on Friday that it will also scale back its hugely successful diesel-powered LMP1 effort in 2009, a best-case scenario for the American Le Mans Series could see Acura racing for wins between its own Highcroft Racing and De Ferran Motorsports teams. Certainly, there will be no Acura vs. Audi all-out factory factory efforts in 2009.


Source;http://www.autoweek.com/article/20081206/FREE/812069997