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Posted Oct 03 2009, 07:50 AM by Linhbergh Nguyen with 31 comment(s)

GALLERY>> PETIT LE MANS IMPRESSIONS
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The sky was already emptying out its emotions when we arrived onto the track in the morning. Water literally flowed down the parking lots and access streets around the circuit, and as Rod and I hurried into the media tower, we tried our best to walk around deep rivers and ponds that quickly formed from the morning down pour. As we stepped into the dry and warm building, the sensation of wet socks was the first thing that greeted us. I looked down at my watch, and it wasn't even 7am yet.... The...
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Posted Oct 03 2009, 12:20 PM by John Brooks with 7 comment(s)

BEHIND THE SCENES>> PLM & TEAM FALKEN
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In a very short period of time the motor race known as Petit Le Mans has acquired “Classic” status. It is now regarded in the same league as its yahoo, elder cousin, the Sebring 12 Hours. Some of this status is because of the association with the Le Mans 24 Hours and some of the status is due to the challenging Road Atlanta track. It is popular with teams, drivers, fans, even photographers, all of whom enjoy the undulations and sheer flat out speed of the place. Generally a pretty good...
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Posted Sep 29 2009, 12:40 PM by John Brooks with 7 comment(s)

EVENT>> PLM RACE REVIEW
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"Blow,Winds and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout til you have drenched our steeples, drown'd the cocks!" I did not actually see King Lear out in the storms that hit Road Atlanta during the middle of the Petit Le Mans last Saturday but I saw plenty of candidates for the role of the Fool, me for one. Sitting in the warm, dry media centre contemplating a two hour session in the pit lane, I looked at the weather radar on John Dagys' computer and could...
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Posted Sep 28 2009, 11:20 AM by Andy Blackmore with 3 comment(s)

VIDEO ROLL>> ACURA DESTROY AND BUILD
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I’m still recovering from my first American Le Mans Race, and a strange race it was. Luckily I was there for a few days, so enjoyed the practice and qualifying before the ‘Trèz-Petit’!

One of the most impressive things about the weekend was seeing how the Patron Highcroft race team built up a new race car after Scott Sharp destroyed the original during practice (above, with Radio Le Mans commentary). It was one of the biggest accidents I’ve ever seen and it’s a testament to today’s safety standards that he walked away.

The car was completely destroyed and ended up back at the pits on two trucks! Only 10% of the parts were salvageable. A new tub was sent from California overnight and the mechanics built up the car during the course of Friday, amazingly ready for warm-up on Sunday morning. The mechanics looked shattered by the end of it.

This is a great time lapse video of the rebuild.

More from Petit during the week.

 

-Andy Blackmore

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Posted Sep 26 2009, 05:01 PM by John Brooks with 11 comment(s)

NEWS>>PLM FLASH RESULT
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" A Rainy Night in Georgia, A Rainy Night in Georgia, It seems like it's Raining all over the World" We had dodged the monumental thunderstorms for most of the day but eventually the monsoon hit Road Atlanta and turned the track into a lake in places. The lightning was also an issue as no one wanted corner workers and other personal working outside to be exposed to unnecessary dangers. Finally the track became undrivable, so the although the race was running behind a safety car under...
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Posted Sep 26 2009, 04:00 PM by Rod Chong with 9 comment(s)

EVENT>> PLM09: THE START OF HOSTILITIES
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Amongst the Speedhunters on site at the Petit Le Mans, I've been designated the press room worker. So while John Brooks and Linhbergh were off shooting the race, I've been sitting here watching the Speed TV feed and listening to Radio Le Mans. Out the window I can see one corner of the track, but I might as well be in my living room as I'm mostly getting a sense of the race through media, rather than direct experience. Not that I'm complaining! The weather has been pretty rubbish...
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Posted Sep 26 2009, 07:30 AM by Rod Chong with 12 comment(s)

GALLERY>> ON THE PITWALL WITH TOMMY MILNER
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I'm sitting here in the media center at Road Atlanta watching a very wet support race. The track is looking rather flooded right now and yesterday's extreme heat and humidity is rapidly fading from memory. But before we swamp the site with coverage from the start of Petit Le Mans 2009, I want to quickly convey what I got up to yesterday. Early start times seem to be the defacto standard for international level motorsports events and Petit Le Mans is no exception. Linhbergh and I were expected...
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Posted Sep 26 2009, 07:05 AM by Linhbergh Nguyen with 10 comment(s)

GALLERY>> THE BMW CLEAN LAB @ PETIT LE MANS
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When you have the time to actually witness a professional racing team do what they do throughout the course of the day, you can't help but to feel intimidated. I had the honor of being a guest with the BMW American Le Mans team and had the opportunity creep, snoop, and stalk the team and their drivers throughout the course of the weekend. This being my first real motorsport and the first non-rice event I've shot, there was a bit of a culture shock as I started to experience the world of real...
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Posted Sep 26 2009, 02:30 AM by Linhbergh Nguyen with 16 comment(s)

RANDOM SNAP>> DRESS REHEARSALS ARE OVER
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There's only so much practicing or rehearsing you can to before a big day. And today is a big day for the multitudes of teams that will be competing in this year's Petit Le Mans. Come back throughout the day for periodic updates and galleries live from Road Atlanta! -Linhbergh Nguyen...

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Posted Sep 25 2009, 08:41 PM by John Brooks with 14 comment(s)

EVENT>> PLM QUALIFYING REPORT
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Friday dawned in Georgia with those of us sporting media track access passes dragged from our beds to attend the mandatory photo meeting. Coffee and grumbles were, as ever, the order of the day at the hot and steamy Road Atlanta track. On the circuit things had a familiar ring, with BMW topping the GT2 class during the final practice session. And still at the top of the timesheets was the #08 Peugeot. Plus ca change............... Friday at Petit Le Mans is also the day when the fans can get up close...
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Posted Sep 25 2009, 12:00 AM by John Brooks with 12 comment(s)

EVENT>>PLM REPORT 1
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Yes, it is time for SpeedHunters' Petit Le Mans coverage to start in earnest. Hartsfield International, Atlanta's airport will be Check-Point Charlie for Motorsport pros this weekend. Heading East will be Linhbergh who should hook up with a West bound Rod later today. Me? I am already here in the humid confines of Road Atlanta. The official sessions leading up to the race are now underway, so here is a quick look at what is to come. SpeedHunters will be looking at all aspects of the event...
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Posted Sep 21 2009, 11:33 AM by Andy Blackmore with 10 comment(s)

RANDOM SNAP>> NEED FOR SPEED SHIFT BMW M3 GT2 TESTING
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The 'Petit Le Mans' round of the American Le Mans Series takes place this coming weekend and Speedhunters will be bringing you coverage of the10hour endurance event. A closed test took place over the weekend and was the first chance to see the 'Need For Speed Shift' liveried #92 BMW M3 which Jörg Müller,Tommy Milner and Dirk Müller will compete in. If you look closely, you will also notice Speedhunters.com stickers on the Rear wing end plate! In addition to our coverage...

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Posted Sep 02 2009, 07:51 AM by Andy Blackmore with 9 comment(s)

EVENT>>ALMS 2009 CATCH-UP
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Workload has resulted in a lack of ALMS updates from me for most of the season, but it is now time to bring you up to date, in preparation for 'Petit Le Mans' later this month. At the front, the series suffered from the withdrawal from Audi and their R15 TDi after Sebring 12hours. The economic climate also resulted in Audi pulling out of the European Le Mans Series. A decision that Audi probably has since regretted, as lack of running and development cost them victory in the 2009 Le Mans...
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Posted Sep 01 2009, 10:30 AM by Rod Chong with 41 comment(s)

SEPTEMBER EDITORIAL>> THE BAVARIAN MOTOR WERKS
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When I look back on the past year of Speedhunting, some of our monthly themes have turned out to be more popular than others. I suppose as some of you guys are very specialized in your own area of automotive interest, it may be tough to spend four weeks reading about a theme you don't really care about, right? However, one of the main focuses of Speedhunters.com is to break down the barriers between automotive subcultures and highlight as many car subjects as possible. So far, we've received...
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Posted Sep 01 2009, 02:01 AM by Andy Blackmore with 14 comment(s)

DESKTOP>>SEPTEMBER 2009 CALENDAR
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It's now BMW Month on Speedhunters so we thought it would be fitting to bring together the first 3 series GT racer with the current ALMS GT2 weapon for September's desktop calendar release. Look out for full features on both of these cars in the coming weeks. You can download standard or widescreen Calendars in our desktop section.

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