Lexus in motorsport 2019

[gdh300]

Here we go again! Well, almost.

The so-called "Roar Before the Rolex 24" will run for two days from tomorrow at Daytona. It is the first opportunity for the North American RC-Fs to have a proper run in their new team, AIM Vasser Sullivan. For those Twits amongst you, their Twitter page is here.

I hope they won't mind that I've nicked a picture, just to show the new colour scheme as the Lex comes off the truck...

 

[gdh300]

Just over a day now until the start of qualifying at Daytona for the 57th Rolex 24. Forty seven cars competing in four categories, a combined infield and oval track for a whole day's race, what's not to like? 

Lexus enter their third season in GTD (that's D for Daytona, not Diesel!), with RC-Fs that are the same specification as the GT3 cars we see in the Blancpain GT series. With new tyres this season in Weathertech, I read there was some talk of the need to slow down the GTD cars as they were getting too close the the GTLM spec cars from the class above! A new team is charged with running the Japanese two cars this year, the new AIM Vasser Sullivan outfit who showed a good turn of speed at the recent Daytona test. 24 hours though, will be a very different kettle of fish... 

There's a nice preview to all the makes in GTD here at dailysportscar. Elsewhere, full details of the Weathertech Sportscar Championship can be found at the IMSA website. 

Over the weekend live streaming should be available in UK on imsa.tv. One year it was properly foggy at dawn; not the best conditions for motor racing, or streaming... 😁

Good luck, Lexus!

PS: Lexus appear to be committed to GTD - at least for the immediate future - and are not looking to move into any prototype formula. News article here.

Edited January 22, 2019 by gdh300
Additional link

[gdh300]

What a messy race the Rolex 24 turned-out to be! Daytona was wetter than a haddock's bathing costume, which made for a disappointing streaming experience...

But, through it all, a good race for Lexus and their new team. You can read about it here. Meanwhile, look at this:

Oh, by the way, it is the Bathurst 12hrs this weekend. No Lexus involvement, but a great race and the weather can't help but be better! Coverage will be on the Nismo YouTube channel, and full details of the race are available here.

Edited January 29, 2019 by gdh300
More stuff

[gdh300]

If you haven't seen it by now, I guess you aren't going to, but Daytona spoliers alert!

The post-race exclusion of the Land Motorsport Audi R8 that finished second on the road at Daytona means the #12 RC-F of the débutante AIM Vasser Sullivan team is promoted one place from what was already an impressive third. 

Meanwhile, I read an Toyota Gazoo Racing press release this weekend (admittedly that's been out for nearly a month) which confirms that the new Supra will take on SuperGT duties in 2020. So, 2019 will sadly be the last we see of the bonkers LC500 in GT500 guise. Understandable why Toyota are doing it; it's pretty much a 'silhouette' series so the bodywork on top is interchangeable, and the Supra will need a motor racing presence rather more than the LC.

Which begs the question, what is the long term racing plan for Toyota and by extension, Lexus?

The RC-F is likely to be racing in IMSA until 2022, and hopefully in GT3 in Europe for a similar time. Disappointingly, there doesn't seem to have been any take-up by other teams, or may be Lexus just aren't making them available; perhaps they just aren't interested in flooding the customer market like Audi do with the R8. But by 2022, you'd imagine the RC-F will be out of production, or at least withdrawn from some markets. Is there a model in the pipeline to replace it in the Lexus range? Will the petrol GT car be as dead as a Dodo by then? May be the opportunity will be in the speculated replacement for the LMP1 category. The vaunted 'Hypercar' regulations are about as settled (and popular!) as a Brexit deal, but it could be a route for Toyota, and may be a good fit for the Lexus brand if the Supra is to be the chosen new GT3 model. I imagine it also depends how well the corporate investment in WRC goes the next few years.

Ultimately though, I guess it will turn on customer focus groups and how effective the investment in motorsport is considered. I can't help feeling as we move towards an electric, semi-autonomous, wheeled mobile phone, car-leased-by-the-hour world, that motorsport will become even more of a minority sport than it is already. Which makes me a little sad. 

 

[gdh300]

I had an email today from Emil Frey Racing, and it appears their involvement with the Lexus GT3 spec RC-F is over. 😢 Seems they are to run Lamborghini Hurican's in Blancpain this year instead. They say:

"We were able to support Lexus with the GT3 Project from the testing and developing stages (2015/2016) to the finished, homologated race car (2017/2018). We are proud to have demonstrated the Lexus´ competence in the world´s most competitive GT championship by winning the six-hour-race in Paul Ricard and taking third place overall in the championship"

...which does sound like a sign-off, sadly. 

Understandably, this announcement came the same day as Toyota Gazoo Racing release their full program for 2019, which is perhaps more varied than you'd imagine. There is a line in the GT3 programme for Europe, but it is 'TBD'. I suppose 'TBD' could mean 'To Be Declared', hinting someone is waiting in the wings for an announcement in the next few days, or equally it could mean 'To Be Decided', which you might interpret as nothing will happen this year...

I really hope there is a team ready to race the RC-Fs in Blancpain, GT Open, may be even a national GT3 series. It has its limitations as a platform sure, but it would be such a shame if it never turns a wheel again as it is a proven winning car. But may be the support that other manufacturers offer, for example AMG, Lamborghini and most notably Audi is too much for any prospective team to turn down. The low take up of McLaren, Nissan and Bentley GT3 cars may be a similar situation; either that or the factories want to control their efforts. Wish I knew more! 

That Toyota Gazoo Racing press release is here if you're interested. There's confirmation on there of the drivers and six teams for the LC500's last season in SuperGT, plus the three RC-Fs in GT300. 

[gdh300]

Phew, that's a relief!

A welcome announcement today that GT3 spec RC-Fs will be racing in Europe this year. They will compete in the Blancpain Endurance and Sprint Cups (hopefully two cars) in a new team under the management of Tech 1 Racing and Panis-Barthez Compétition. Both have a proven [a-hem] track record but I can't quite fathom which name they will run under. I recall Monsieur Bartez (yes, that Bartez, he formerly of Manchester United) driving a Ferrari 458 in a GT series a few years ago, so perhaps his name will be the best fit for the Lexus effort as Tech 1 are more associated with single seaters. Panis-Barthez Compétition have also been running in European LeMans. 

There is pre-season test on March 13 and 14 at Paul Ricard. That's not that far away, so hopefully we'll get drivers names in the next couple of weeks. And you never know, may be we will be surprised by a second customer team.

Elsewhere, more RC-F news! Racing Project Bandoh will run a GT3 spec car in SP9 in the 2019 Nürburgring 24 Hours. This makes two Lexus competing, this RC-F alongside the works Gazoo Racing LC500. 

[gdh300]

It's been deathly quiet on the Tech 1 Racing / Panis-Barthez Compétition front since that announcement on 12th

Finally more today, and a little underwhelming it is. An article is here in Sportscar365, but the summary is the RC-F will not be competing in the Pro category, and are likely to run a single car, at least for the first few races.  

Not to knock the new team before they have even started, but to me this seems a big step back for Lexus. It means we won't see the drivers of the calibre of Albert Costa etc. pedalling the Lexus, so a repeat of the glorious win at Paul Ricard last year will be a that much harder to achieve. Nothing at all wrong with the Am category, nothing at all but this will be the only Lexus representation in Blancpain. I could understand it if they were offering customer cars, but so far these are not been offered or aren't been taken up. May be the late switch from Emil Frey (which might have been acrimonious, who knows) meant there just weren't the pro drivers left available. 

Oh dear. Anyway, PMA. Let's see what happens at the pre-season test. 

[gdh300]

Hello friends, Blancpain GT news from the south of France.

Sadly, not reporting in person (no time off for me!), but I was keeping an eye on the timing from the two day test at Paul Ricard at work. Just the single RC-F from the Tech1 Racing, driven by Fabien Barthez and Konstantin Tereschenko. Paul Ricard was of course the setting in 2018 for the first Blancpain win for Lexus, so you would hope for a strong showing here but as we know, testing isn't racing and there is a lot of serious competition this year. The new Porsche, the new Aston, the new Bentley, the already well-developed and potent AMG, etc...

Anyway, here are the times:

13/03/19 Testing Session 1 (4 hours): 42 laps completed, fastest lap 1m 55.801s in p42 (fastest session lap was a 1m 53.132s)

13/03/19 Testing Session 2 (3 hours): 49 laps completed, fastest lap 1m 54.200s in p23 (fastest session lap was a 1m 52.856s)

14/03/19 Testing Session 3 (4 hours): 59 laps completed, fastest lap 1m 53.687s in p24 (fastest session lap was a 1m 52.801s)

14/03/19 Testing Session 4 (3 hours): 49 laps completed, fastest lap 1m 53.486s in p8 (fastest session lap was a 1m 52.765s)

There were - from what I can make out - 46 cars at the test, although not all cars ran in every session. Solid progression by the team, then. Reasons to be cheerful!

Oh, I should say there may have been third driver, but I missed that; scusi...

 

 

[gdh300]

From Provence to Florida!

It's the Sebring 12 hours this weekend as the second round of this year's IMSA Weathertech Championship. The race starts tomorrow - from what I can work out - at 1430 UK time, and streaming will be available outside the US and Canada(?) at imsa.tv.

Just the second outing for the new AIM Vasser Sullivan outfit with their two RC-Fs #12 and #14. It's a long race of course, so qualifying position not that important, except as a guide for outright speed of course. And the Lexus qualified in p8 and p14 (dead last), so it might be a very long race!

 

[gdh300]

It's been a while but Lexus are back on track this weekend, on two continents!

No IMSA action for the RC-Fs at Long Beach, as their GTD category don't compete in the Bubba Burger Sports Car Grand Prix. The AIM Vasser Sullivan team will next be in action over the weekend of 4th and 5th of May; hopefully they won't be running into each other this time... 

So we flit instead to Japan, and the start of the new SuperGT season. Rather than me waffling on, you can read a preview here and here. The six LC500s will be competing for their last season in GT500, while there is an increased presence in the GT300 category with three RC-Fs. Hopefully, live streaming will be provided again by Nismo on their YouTube channel, now childishly named 'Let's Go Racing'. Interestingly, as the two series closer align, there will be some joint races with the DTM later in the year.

Meanwhile, back in Europe Blancpain GT starts with a three hour endurance race at Monza. Sadly, just the one RC-F competing, and one driver will need to double stint. All a bit underwhelming from a Lexus point of view, but seeing the positives it is a monster 49 car grid competing at a magnificent circuit in glorious spring sunshine, for three hours! There is increased TV coverage this year, but it will again be streamed on the Blancpain website (with timing) and on their YouTube channel.

Good luck, Lexus!

 

Edited April 11, 2019 by gdh300
Bit of video pizazz!

[gdh300]

After the disappointingly low-key début for Monsieur Bartez's Lexus at Monza (hardly saw it during the whole 3 hours!), there should be a higher profile opportunity this weekend for the GT3 RC-Fs at the Acura Sports Car Challenge. The race takes place on Sunday at the Mid-Ohio circuit in Lexington, so a start time in the UK of 6.30pm. Streaming should be available on imsa.tv (qualifying will also be streamed later today).

At least you can watch Blancpain; very disappointed that SuperGT from Japan is not currently being streamed anywhere. Hopefully an agreement will be reached soon, be that with Nismo or someone else.

By the way, you might pick-up that Blancpain is at Brand Hatch this weekend. This is as part of the series of shorter sprint races, in which Lexus are not competing this year. Still, worth a visit if you have the chance, or watch on the GT World YouTube channel. 

Finally, can you believe it is 25 years ago that Ayrton Senna died on that horrific weekend at Imola?

 

[gdh300]

Blancpain moves from Brands to Silverstone this weekend. The solitary Lexus of Monsieur Barthez will be competing in the 3 hour race on Sunday. Qualifying is tomorrow, and the series is supported by the Super Trofeo Lamborghini which has one of the biggest, best sounding grids in all of motorsport. As usual, streaming is on the SRO's Blancpain website (this may be geo-blocked in the UK)

Weekend tickets are a snip at £30 'on the door'. I shall be there both days, may be see some Lexus in the car park?

SPOILERS!

A very good weekend for Lexus in SuperGT and IMSA, I'd recommend catching up on both, if you can!

[j8pfc]

A brilliant performance by jack Hawksworth in mid-Ohio ...... had me on the edge of my seat..

[gdh300]

On 5/11/2019 at 8:33 AM, j8pfc said:

A brilliant performance by Jack Hawksworth in mid-Ohio ...... had me on the edge of my seat..

Yes indeed. The young lad is a bit a star by all accounts, certainly some good performances last year in IMSA. He was at Silverstone this weekend and - SPOLIERS! - was running in a comfortable 3rd place in the Strakka Mercedes before being punted off in the final few minutes of the three hour race by a Lamborghini. 

Meanwhile, here is a poor picture of the Barthez RC-F in the Silverstone pit:

 

 

I'm not one for driver adulation (I'm with Enzo on this one, I'm there for the cars), but it was strange seeing someone as famous as Fabian Barthez looking a bit grumpy and painfully ignored at the autograph session. 

[gdh300]

...

[gdh300]

Well, somehow I managed to fail to prompt you about the latest race in Japanese SuperGT; apologies for that. However, I have at least found (too late!) that the 2019 season is being streamed somewhere, and that is on motorsport.tv. The next race is in Thailand on 30th June.

I have not though looked into the costs but I suspect you'll need to pay for live streaming and certain other content. But the good news is, this last race (amongst others) is available to view gratis, not even requiring a sign-up. You can see it here: Suzuka SuperGT

Look away now if you're going to the stream!

SPOILERS:

Turns out I missed what was an excellent weekend for Lexus at Suzuka (which must have been a bit annoying for Honda!), both in GT500 and GT300. A rare 1-2-3 for the LC500s, and a win in GT300 for the GT3 spec RC-F. Well done au TOM'S and K-tunes! I shall be better prepared next time...

[gdh300]

Me again, sports fans! Two lots of Lexus action this weekend.

Firstly, in IMSA - state side - it's the next round of the Weathertech Championship at Belle isle Park for the Detroit Grand Prix. Bit of an unusual race in that only the Prototypes and GTD take part in a short race of only 1hr 40mins. And (for reasons I forget) a number of GTD teams have opted to stay away; fortunately not the two AIM Vasser Sullivan RC-Fs. Streaming of qualifying and the race will be available on imsa.tv but don't forget qualifying is Friday at 22.10 BST and the race Saturday at 17.30 BST.

Meanwhile, back in Europe, a race of rather more duration is taking place with the Blancpain 1000km at Paul Ricard. You may remember this was the scene in 2018 of the Emil Frey run RC-Fs first - and admittedly only - victory in the highest level GT3 racing series. I wouldn't hold your breath for a repeat this year, as again Lexus have their public perception presented by the single car run by Monsieur Bartez in the AM Cup. Live streaming will be available on the SRO Blancpain website (with timing, importantly) and the Blancpain YouTube Channel. The race starts at 1700 BST on Saturday, but you might find that qualifying is also streamed tomorrow (Friday). 

Good luck, Lexus!

 

[gdh300]

 

Evening friends. LeMans is in full swing and is entering the evocative evening stage. I'm keeping an eye on the in-car feeds from the two Toyota LMP1 cars, and the speed is simply staggering: 

No.7 here:

And No.8 here:

Toyota hybrids, boring eh?

Meanwhile, looking to the future good news that Toyota are - by the looks of it - seriously planning a car for the newly released ACO regulations. Who knows, it may end-up wearing the Lexus badge, given the exulted company... article here

[gdh300]

Apologies for being a bit late to post this, but the N24 is well underway at the Nurburgring. But it is about to run into the evocative evening stage and then the daunting - if short - night phase. 

Three Lexus competing this year, but you will be lucky to spot them in the mulri-class field of over 150 cars! In SP9, one GT3 spec RC-F (car #19), in SP8 an RC-F (car #20) and finally in SP-PRO and LC500 (car #56). Live streaming is here: 

And timing is here: 

https://livetiming.azurewebsites.net/event=50?config=w9 

[gdh300]

Lexus back in action this weekend in the IMSA Weathertech Series with a six hour race at Watkins Glen. It will be a packed field with all the IMSA categories taking part. 

Results have been very encouraging for the two RC-Fs, so worth a look. Streaming in the UK should be available at imsatv, although it may be geo-blocked in certain other regions. Good luck AIM Vasser!

Meanwhile, half-a-world-away from Watkins Glen the Japanese SuperGT series has its only flyaway race in Thailand. Live streaming still seems to be restricted to subscription on motorsport, but it may appear on Eurosport or similar. Certainly, highlights will appear later on motorpsortstv.

Finally, a short video of TGR testing the hypercar that will (possibly) compete in the class to replace the LMP1 cars:

 

[gdh300]

Nearly too late to post this but there is another round of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscars series this weekend at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (in Ontario).

Qualifying has just got underway as I post and is streaming on imsa.tv. The race will be tomorrow (Sunday 7th), also available streamed in the UK. 

If you can tear yourself away from the live Goodwood Festival Of Speed stream on YouTube... 

. 

[gdh300]

The GT3 spec RC-F is back in action this weekend in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe. It marks a bit of change for the Tech 1 run Lexus as - for the first time in 2019 - the car will be piloted by two professional drivers  in what used to be known as the 'Sprint Series'. One is Aurelien Panis (yes he is, for you old enough to remember his father in F1!) and the boy from Bradford, jack Hawksworth. If you seen any of the recent IMSA races with the Aim Vasser Sullivan RC-F, you'll know young jack and what a capable pedaller he is. Development of the RC-F will have doubtless stalled over winter after it was dropped by Emil Frey Racing, so to have a pair of professional drivers in the car should bring much needed input. Let's not forget in IMSA, the RC-F has been victorious already this season in Jack's hands, although Blancpain probably presents a more challenging environment. 

Coverage from Zandvoort (streaming and live timing) will be available on the GT World website, qualifying tomorrow (Saturday) and the two one-hour races on Sunday. A proper old fashioned circuit amongst the dunes, rather more twiddly than is the usual for a Blancpain endurance race but typical of those for the shorter races; this will favour the mid-engined cars, so it is no surprise at all the see Audi loading the field at this race. Tough ask, but - as ever - good luck Lexus!

[gdh300]

IMSA Weathertech is back this weekend from the Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, a tiny 1.5 mile lap (I think I've been on bigger roundabouts). But, it's a picturesque setting and a twisty little track so should guarantee lots of close action. The race is on Saturday, so don't get caught out! Streaming for non-US viewers will be available on the IMSA.TV website.

I couldn't find a Lexus doing a lap of Lime Rock, so here instead is Jan Magnussen in a Corvette (blink and you'll miss it!):

 

[gdh300]

It's SRO's GT3 'Big One' this weekend, yes it the 24h of Spa. Lexus will again be represented by a lone Tech 1 RC-F (just one car in a field of 72!) with regular season drivers Fabien Barthez and Bernard Delhez being joined by Eric Cayrolle and Timothé Buret for the day long race. Perhaps not as big as the N24, but a race that is a bit easier to follow. It's a very important race for Audi so they are again throwing the factory backed kitchen sink at it, but Mercedes will doubtless be strong and there will be representation from BMW, Porsche, Nissan, Honda, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley and Aston Martin. So bound to be someone to cheer on.

Full details of the even are here on the SRO's dedicated website. Qualifying will begin on Thursday, with the race on Saturday and Sunday. However, keep an eye on YouTube this week for one of the coolest bits of the 24h Spa which is the parade by the cars through the streets of the town and up the main road to the circuit. Race coverage should be on the GT World YouTube channel, assuming it doesn't get geoblocked. In the meantime, here is a bit of a taster: PLAYLIST

 

[gdh300]

Apologies, forgot to post yesterday! If anyone is up-and-about (and interested!), the live stream for the Fuji500 in the SuperGT series is live NOW at: https://motorsport.tv/motorsporttv/video/fuji-race-ii/21985 . You may need to sign up for a free account to get that stream. As I write, there are around 120 of 177 laps remaining.

Later today, if you are enjoying a lie-in, IMSA will be racing at Road America today (4th August). Usual links for IMSA TV apply.