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VOR Grand Touring Series Races in Czech Republic
Dateline - July 27, 2010  Most, Czech Republic


On Friday, July 23rd, I returned to Autodrome Most during the noon lunch break.  The Championship GTC teams were busy preparing their cars for their first officially timed practice.  The GT teams were also preparing their cars for practice, but they were not as hurried as the GTC teams since their practice was scheduled to follow the GTC session.



VOR Stewards walked through the garage area reminding team managers of the Porsche GTC teams that the five minute warning had been given and that it was time for them to get their cars out of the garage and into the pre-grid from where they would be sent out onto the track.  With some rushed activity the nine teams pushed their cars out of their  garages and over to the pre-grid where they were lined up in the order that they arrived there.  By the time the final GTC team arrived at the pre-grid the teams that arrived first were being sent out onto the track.  Crew members took their places in the pits so that they were ready to make any adjustments that their drivers might request.

It was quickly apparent that some teams were trying to find the right tires and set-ups for qualifying.  They would go out and run a couple of laps and then return to the pits for further adjustments.  Other teams were working on their race set-ups.  Their drivers would run ten or fifteen laps before returning to the pits.  At least one team was also checking their fuel consumption and tire wear by keeping their driver out on the course for most of the session.  When the checkered flag flew, all of the cars reported to the pits and then returned to their garages.

When the official results from Timing and Scoring were posted, Chuck Penfield, driving the # 16 Scuderia Bollesnegro Porsche GTC, had posted the fastest lap.  His bes...

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Hockenheimring - Run...Run...Run...Run-a-way
Dateline - July 20, 2010 - The Hockenheimring, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
 Race Report by Jeff Daniels

I arrived in Baden-Württemberg, Germany on Thursday, July 15th after an all night flight that began at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Minnesota.  The flight was pleasant and I even managed to catch some sleep on the flight hoping to offset the dreaded jet lag that often accompanies such international flights.  I grabbed the airport shuttle bus after retrieving my luggage and was soon safely delivered Hotel Motodrom which is actually integrated right into the main stand of the Hockenheim circuit! 



Having made reservations as soon as the date was set on the VOR calendar to ensure that I would be able to enjoy all of the comforts of a hotel that is actually part of the circuit and not have to worry about transportation from the motel to the track and back.   Since I enjoy German cuisine, I was certain that I would feel right at home in Hotel Motodrom.  If the weather brought rain to the track, I could even watch from the viewing area directly above the start-finish line.

The airport shuttle dropped me off at the front door of Hotel Motodrom so I didn't even have to walk very far to check in for the weekend.  I was ushered to a pleasant room which overlooked the track and soon had my gear unpacked and put away.  Once I was settled in, I headed out onto the track for a look around the area.

As I made my way to the garage area, I noticed that there seemed to be less activity than I remember from other VOR international venues.  I walk through the are confirmed my impression.  There were only 27 championship teams that were getting their equipment settled and 11 support series teams located in the garage area.  A quick check with VOR stewards confirmed that no additional teams were ...

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Mission: Monterey - Support Series takes on Laguna Seca
Chris Burk, VOR Staff Writer

The California coast is hot, the ladies are hotter, and the VOR Support Series was smoking as they entered Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this week for their sixth round of championship racing action. Daniel Ramirez has had the GT championship in the palm of his hand for the first half of the season, coming off of his triumphant win three weeks ago at Kyalami. In the GTC class, grizzled veteran Paul Nadeau has had things tied up in his favor by winning the first four races of the season and finishing second at Kyalami, giving him quite the points lead on championship chasers Kent Dickie and Scott Hovanec.  Unfortunately, Laguna Seca was not a stop scheduled for both drivers this week, leaving both fields open for close competition at the famed home of the "Corkscrew", which drops five-and-a-half stories in a mere 450 feet.

For most drivers though, a check in the W column wasn't going to come easy. Dave Jordan, in his #55 Deuces MC 997, came into Monterey raceless in the Support Series for the first half of the season. This didn't prove to be a crutch for him, as when pre-qualifying ended on Friday afternoon at 1800 local time, his name was on top of the board with a 1:20.420, a full two seconds faster than his nearest competitor, Brazil Racing Team driver Helcio Aguirra. Chuck Curtis, third in the points coming into Laguna Seca, finished off the top three pre-qualifiers in his #71 Fuller Racing Viper with a 1:23.067.

With the streaking Nadeau out of the picture (at least for this week), second-in-points Kent Dickie thought it would be his week to shine after a strong win at Kyalami three weeks prior. Dickie's "rough riding" luck got the best of him however, as both his door and windows were shut on him when Terry Fisher rolled onto the track on Thursday afternoon for his pre-qualifying session. Fisher, also raceless in the Support Series up to this p...

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The Heart Beat of Mexico
Dateline - June 29, 2010 - Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico
 Race Report by Jeff Daniels
Photos by Double Clutch Images

Friday, June 25, I awoke as the sunshine poured through the open windows of my hotel room.  After a quick shower, I dressed and double-checked the gear that I had packed to spend the day at Hermanos Rodriguez Circuit located a short distance from the hotel in Mexico City, Mexico. Certain that I had all of the equipment I needed for the day, I grabbed a quick breakfast in the hotel restaurant.



I grabbed the hotel shuttle which swiftly arrived at the press gate of the track.  After checking my credentials and giving a track map, security waved me through.  I waited a couple of minutes for the track shuffle and then rode it over to the garage area where I began my trip through the garage area where teams were busy getting ready.  Since the Support Series runs a shorter weekend than the Championship Series for cost containment, most of the Support Series teams were just beginning to unpack their race equipment and organizing it in their garages.  The Championship teams were getting their cars ready for the first official practice session.

The first group of cars out onto the track were the Grand Touring cars.  Nine teams, four Corvette C6.Rs, two Porsche 997 RSRs, one BMW M3 GTR and one Ferrari F430 GT, recorded timed laps during the GT practice session.  Daniel Parsons, driving the # 30 Propeller Race Works BMW M3 GTR recorded the fastest lap of the session with a time of 1:29.592.  Butch Stone, driving the # 32 Phoenix Motorsports Corvette C6.R had the next best time with a lap of 1:29.811.  Third in the # 823 Winston Racing Corvette C6.R was Alex Wilson whose best time was 1:   30:345.  In fourth was the # 42 Flying Squirrel Racing Corvette C6.R was James Walker whose best time was 1:806 and rounding ou...