This weekend the European endurance racing season will kick off with the Le Castellet 8 Hours; the opening round of the Le Mans Series. It will be the first time that the championship will host a race at the Paul Ricard track. An impressive 43 cars have entered for the event with the new Audi R15 plus as one of the most interesting. The German manufacturer has now released the first pictures of the V10 engined machine's livery. With an abundance of red and black, it is a big departure from the familiar silver paint scheme and it does require some getting used to.
One of our favourite elements of the Le Mans Series weekend is the Classic Endurance Racing race held on Saturday afternoon. For this weekend a staggering 62 racing cars from the 1960s and 1970s have signed up for the one-hour 'enduro'. Among them is a genuine Porsche 936, which has already made regular appearances and won the championship in 2009. The car raced is the fourth car built, which was raced with considerable success by Reinhold Joest in the early 1980s. Its record is nevertheless eclipsed by the three cars used by the Porsche Works team. Each one of them scored an outright victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans; in 1976, 1977 and again in 1981. Our article on the Porsche 936 is illustrated by six pictures of one of Porsche's own examples and a further 24 of the car that will race at Paul Ricard. It is seen in action at some of Europe's most famous tracks, including Le Mans, Silverstone and the Nurburgring. Further cars of note in the entry include the ferocious Porsche 935/81 'Moby Dick', the unique Ferrari 712 Can-Am and the Ford GT40 Mk II that finished third behind two sister cars in the 1966 Le Mans race.
We will of course be at Paul Ricard to catch all the on-track action and also to have a closer look at the revised R15. Our detailed report will be available early next week.
At last week's New York Auto Show, a legend returned; the sedan bodied Subaru Impreza WRX STI. As a 2011 model, the 305 bhp will be available at dealers later in the year.
Enjoy the links:
2010 Audi R15 plus - Images, Specifications and Information
1976 - 1980 Porsche 936 - Images, Specifications and Information
1981 Porsche 935/81 'Moby Dick' - Images, Specifications and Information
1970 - 1972 Ferrari 712 Can-Am - Images, Specifications and Information
1965 - 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II - Images, Specifications and Information
2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Sedan - Images, Specifications and Information
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Originally Posted by LeonOfTheDead
