After announcing its newly revised calendar for the 2015/2016 season, the Asian Le Mans Series is now in a position to present its communications plan. Since taking over the organization of the series, the ACO has redefined the Asian LMS communication strategy, which aims at reaching as many fans as possible not only in Asia, but all over the world.

The main objective was to create an ecosystem that would raise the profile and brand of the Asian Le Mans Series internationally while creating value for all stakeholders:

1. The ACO and the Asian Le Mans Series
2. Partners and Sponsors, at all levels: Series, Teams and Drivers
3. Profile of participating Teams and Drivers
4. Engagement with and for Spectators/ Viewers/ Followers/ Fans

Thus, in addition to the TV broadcast plan, the series will be promoting its brand and activities across several popular digital media platforms.

Over the following months, the Series’ social media reach and activities will be expanded to include Weibo (micro-blogging website and app) and Youku (China based equivalent of YouTube). A regular newsletter is also being developed as a means to update subscribers of the latest news relating to the Series.

In support of these communications activities, the Asian Le Mans Series is proud to announce and share details of the various Official Partnerships that have been forged to-date as we strive towards establishing ourselves as the reference operator and synonym for Endurance Racing for Asia. Efforts to explore and establish other appropriate and relevant partnerships will continue in the coming months.

Official Media Production Agency: EPM
Official Photography Agency: Rewind Media
Official Digital Media Partner: 9tro
Official Digital Media Partner: Revv Motoring
Official Digital Media Partner: Endurance Info

Cyrille Taesch Wahlen, Asian Le Mans Series Operations Manager said, “In addition to our TV broadcast agreements, the social and digital media exposure of the Asian Le Mans series was a must have within the context of our development plan. I am very happy that we secured these strong partnerships that are all complementary, and will bring added value to all our stakeholders and allow the Asian LMS fanbase to follow us very easily and to grow quickly. I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to thank all our communication partners for their support in making the Asian LMS the reference for Endurance Racing for Asia.”

Just in time for summer, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is adding one new exhibit and totally recreating another.

Beginning June 17, the popular Charlotte, North Carolina, venue will unveil "From the Garage: Street Rides of NASCAR Stars" in the Great Hall along with a revamped Heritage Speedway on the fourth floor.

"From the Garage: Street Rides of NASCAR Stars" puts fans in the driver's seat of the personal vehicles of some of the sport's most well-known figures.

The full lineup includes:

- Clint Bowyer: 2007 Harley Davidson Jack Daniels-Themed "Bobber" Motorcycle

- Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 2001 CS-R Corvette Rolex 24 at Daytona Tribute

- Joey Logano: "Rat Rod" Pickup Truck

- Darrell Waltrip: 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 W30

- Greg Biffle: 2005 Ford GT

- Ray Evernham: 1969 Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II Dan Gurney Special

- David Ragan: 1960 Ford Fairlane Mayberry Police Car

- Mike Helton: 2005 London Taxi Company TXII

Meanwhile, the brand new Heritage Speedway will add more than 200 artifacts that trace NASCAR's storied past decade by decade. From dirt and asphalt short tracks to superspeedways, drivers have showcased their talents over the course of seven eras of motorsports. In this exhibit, guests will find iconic moments illustrated through artifacts that capture the personality of the legends who paved the way for today's drivers, along with memorabilia and relics that pay homage to the sport's deep-seated roots. Items range from Bobby Allison's 1988 uniform that he wore at the Daytona 500 when he beat his late son, Davey, to the late Dale Earnhardt's money bag from his spectacular come-from-behind win in the fall 2000 race at Talladega.

"Both of these exhibits provide new perspectives and continue our promise to regularly update and refresh exhibits as we celebrate our fifth anniversary," said NASCAR Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley. "We're excited to welcome hundreds of new artifacts that give fans unprecedented and exclusive access to the memorable moments and celebrated personalities of NASCAR. I think guests will walk away learning lots of new things they never knew about the sport and their favorite drivers after exploring these two exhibits."

Porsche has swept the front three positions on the starting grid for the 83rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans at Circuit de la Sarthe.

Neel Jani, driving the No. 18 Porsche 919 Hybrid, secured the pole position with a lap in 3:16.887 that he put down on Wednesday, the best lap time ever by an LMP1 car at Le Mans and the best lap time since both chicanes have been added in the Mulsanne Straight.

The Swiss driver and his teammates Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb will start from pole position on Saturday, followed by both sister cars, No. 17 (Brendon Hartley, Timo Bernhard and Mark Webber) and No. 19 (Nico Hülkenberg, Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber), resulting in a Porsche sweep of the first three spots on the grid of the 83rd 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Following the three Porsches were the three Audis, but not in the same order as they were on Wednesday as the three-time Le Mans winners Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer, in the No. 7 R18 e-tron quattro, were able to squeeze past the sister car, the No. 9 of Marco Bonanomi, René Rast and Filipe Albuquerque. The No. 8 Audi, driven by 2013 Le Mans winner Loïc Duval, Oliver Jarvis and Lucas di Grassi, was the fastest of the Audi entries.

There was also no change for the Toyota squad as the Endurance World Champions Sébastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson, joined by Kazuki Nakajima will start from eighth on the grid in the No. 1 Toyota TS040 Hybrid, right behind the No. 2 sister car driven by two-time Le Mans winner Alexander Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Mike Conway.

The brand new Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, which will make its debut in endurance racing at Le Mans, will start from the back of the LMP1 field, even though the three cars were faster than yesterday.

In the LMP2 class, the brand new Oreca 05 will start from pole position thanks to Chinese team KCMG and Matt Howson, Richard Bradley and Nicolas Lapierre with Wednesday’s best lap time of 3:38.032. G-Drive Racing’s No. 26 Ligier chalked up the second best lap time Thursday, passing Greaves Motorsport and last year’s winner Jota Sport.

Aston Martin Racing swept qualifying in GTE, with the British manufacturer claiming three of the top-four positions in the combined class.

Richie Stanaway’s 3:54.928 lap time from Wednesday held up in GTE-Pro, while Pedro Lamy will earned the pole in the GTE-Am portion.

There was one major crash during the Thursday’s two sessions, with the Corvette Racing No. 63 making heavy contact in the Porsche Curves with Jan Magnussen behind the wheel during the first session on Thursday. Magnussen wasn’t hurt in the crash, but the resulting damage has forced the team to withdraw the No. 63 entry from Saturday’s event.

The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series announced a new two-flight qualifying format for when there are 32 or more cars competing at an event.

The long-planned update comes after months of consultation with team owners and competitors.

“We are excited to be able to finally implement this in the series,” said World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Director Carlton Reimers. “We believe this format will help to minimize the effect of a changing race track on qualifying and will create a more equitable playing field for all of our competitors.”

The two-flight qualifying will be in place when the series has 32 or more cars; the procedure will otherwise remain the same as it has been all season. Under the new format, the field of cars will be split into two flights based on the pill draw. The first half of the draw will comprise Flight A and the second half of the draw Flight B. Flight A will qualify, then Flight B, which will create two qualifying results.

Heats 1 and 2 will be lined up by times from Flight A, with four cars inverted, and the top five finishers transfer to the A-Main. Heats 3 and 4 will be from Flight B. Heat winners and the top two fastest qualifiers in each Flight that made the transfer go to the Dash. The fastest car of the night will still be awarded quick time and one championship point.

During Dash inversion draw for all events, drivers will see the removal of the 8 pill, leaving the 0, 4 and 6.

Two Last Chance Showdown lineups will be based on corresponding qualifying Flights and Heats.

This update goes into effect immediately.

“As a series we are constantly evaluating how to improve the racing experience for our competitors and fans,” Reimers said. “Implementing the new two-flight procedure now allows us to improve the experience for everyone involved immediately. We look forward to seeing the improvements in place this weekend.”

Additionally, at 49 or more cars, the series will add two Heat races for a total of six. At 61 or more cars, a second C-Main will be added.

This two-flight qualifying accompanies a 20-or-fewer cars format that was introduced earlier this season. Under that format, pill draw and qualifying proceed as normal. The entire field is then divided into two Heat races with the top-four inverted. The winners of those Heat races and the next 2 fastest qualifiers that finish in the top six transfer to the Dash. The remaining cars are split into two qualifiers lined up by Heat finish. The winner and next two fastest qualifiers that finish in the top six, from the qualifier races make up the remaining Dash field.

Ford confirmed that the automaker would return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning in 2016 with its new Ford GT race car.

Revealed Friday at the famous Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France, the Ford GT will compete in the Le Mans GT Endurance class for professional teams and drivers.

The new race car is based on the all-new Ford GT supercar unveiled in January. Both the production car and race car will arrive in 2016 to mark the 50th anniversary of Ford GT race cars placing 1-2-3 at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ford went on to repeat its victory at Le Mans in 1967, 1968 and 1969.

“When the GT40 competed at Le Mans in the 1960s, Henry Ford II sought to prove Ford could beat endurance racing’s most legendary manufacturers,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company. “We are still extremely proud of having won this iconic race four times in a row, and that same spirit that drove the innovation behind the first Ford GT still drives us today.”

The new Ford GT race car will run the full 2016 schedules of the FIA World Endurance Championship and TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, making its competition debut in January 2016 in the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway. The two Ford teams will be operated by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS). Both series teams intend to compete with a four-car effort at Le Mans. Drivers will be announced later.

“We are thrilled that Ford is bringing its iconic brand and car into the GT Le Mans class in the TUDOR Championship,” said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett. “This is a high-level, factory program that aligns perfectly with the other programs competing in GTLM, which has earned global recognition for being one of the top GT classes. These new cars will bring even more intrigue to the 2016 Rolex 24, which will be the first event for Daytona Int’l Speedway to showcase the completed Daytona Rising project. It will be spectacular.”

Set to deliver more than 12 new performance vehicles by 2020, Ford Performance will leverage its racing efforts and expertise to speed innovations on dedicated performance models and performance parts in order to more quickly iterate the latest technologies that can ultimately be applied to the full Ford vehicle lineup.

The performance segment is a growing business for Ford, as the company recognizes its customers’ desire for vehicles that offer excellent fuel economy, leading technology and a great driving experience. The Ford Performance lineup includes Ford GT, Focus RS, F-150 Raptor, Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT350R, Focus ST and Fiesta ST.

“Ford remains focused on three priorities globally – accelerating our One Ford plan, delivering product excellence with passion and driving innovation in every part of our business,” said Mark Fields, Ford Motor Company president and CEO. “All three came together to create the new Ford GT. We also know from our rich history in motorsports that world-class competition is a great incubator for even further product innovation.”

The Ford GT race car features a number of innovations Ford believes will not only make it competitive in LM GTE Pro, but ultimately positioned to provide benefits to each vehicle in the Ford lineup. These include state-of-the-art aerodynamics to deliver outstanding levels of downforce for improved stability with minimal drag, advanced lightweight composites featuring carbon fiber for an exceptionally rigid but light chassis, and the power and efficiency of EcoBoost technology.

“As we developed the Ford GT, from the outset, we wanted to ensure we had a car that has what it takes to return Ford to the world of GT racing,” said Raj Nair, Ford Motor Company group vice president, Global Product Development and chief technical officer. “We believe the Ford GT’s advances in aerodynamics, light-weighting and EcoBoost power will make for a compelling race car that can once again compete on a global stage.”

Joining Ford in this project are Multimatic Motorsports, Roush Yates Engines, Castrol, Michelin, Forza Motorsport, Sparco, Brembo and CGRFS. The race car has undergone extensive design and testing within Ford and Multimatic, with CGRFS providing input into the development. Roush Yates is supporting development of the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6.

The 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine debuted in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in 2014. Since then, Ford, with CGRFS, has captured significant overall wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and Rolex 24 At Daytona. Besides great success in sports cars, Ganassi race teams achieved major victories in the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis 500.

“We’ve won races and championships, but we’ve never run Le Mans,” said team owner Chip Ganassi. “When presented the opportunity to compete with the all-new Ford GT on the world’s biggest sports car stage, and on the 50th anniversary of one of the most storied victories in racing history, how could any race team not want to be part of that? Will it be a challenge? Absolutely, but we couldn’t be with a better partner than Ford.”

Hi-Tide Boat Lifts continues to expand its motorsports presence with the announcement that the Ft. Pierce, Florida-based company will be an Official Partner of the Mazda Road to Indy.

The three-year agreement will comprise each level of the premier driver development ladder—Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda—and will kick off with the next rounds of competition for all three series on the streets of Toronto June 12-14.

Hi-Tide Boat Lifts’ initial foray into racing began earlier this year when the company announced title sponsorship of the No. 91 JDC MotorSports Pro Mazda entry piloted by Kyle Connery. The sponsorship is part of the 36-year-old company’s initiative to “lift” communities and encourage them to pursue their dreams.

A leader and pioneer in the boat lift manufacturing industry, Hi-Tide’s partnership will encompass multiple platforms including branding, event title sponsorship and contingency awards through 2017. A key component of its involvement will include the hosting of inspirational activities for local Boys & Girls Club of America children at race events.

“We are very pleased to welcome the Hi-Tide Boat Lifts team to our partnership lineup for all three series,” said Dan Andersen, owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “People are very passionate about boating just like they are about racing so there is already a lot of synergy between our camps. We look forward to growing our new relationship.”

Hi-Tide operates one of the largest boat lift manufacturing facilities in the United States and has a dealer network of 240 professionals covering 21 states as well as Canada and the Caribbean.

“Our mission is to be a safe, passionate, fun part of your boat ownership experience,” said Craig Wood, president of Hi-Tide Boat Lifts. “When we create a great experience for our customers and anyone else who interacts with us, the world becomes a better place. Hi-Tide raises all ships.”

NASCAR has announced that Senior Vice President Jill Gregory, who currently oversees the company’s Industry Services department, will also assume leadership of NASCAR Marketing effective immediately.

Gregory replaces Kim Brink who was named Chief Operating Officer of Global Team Ford, the WPP-owned group of agencies dedicated to Ford.

In her current role, Gregory oversees a group that includes Driver, Team and Event Marketing Services, as well as Industry Operations. She has led NASCAR’s Driver Star Power initiative and spearheaded industry integration on the rollout of numerous marketing initiatives, including the new NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase format in 2014. With her added responsibilities, she will now lead Brand Marketing, Marketing and Media Research, and NASCAR Creative Design. She also serves as a member of the board of directors for The NASCAR Foundation. Gregory will report to NASCAR Chief Marketing Officer, Steve Phelps on Marketing and continue to report to NASCAR Chief Racing Development Officer, Steve O’Donnell on Industry Services.

“Jill is an extraordinary leader with world-class marketing experience from the client, agency and sports property perspective who also has deep relationships across NASCAR and keen understanding of the needs of all our stakeholders,” said Phelps. “Her combined skills, experience and ability to integrate make her a perfect choice to lead this critical discipline into the future. We can’t thank Kim enough for what she has built over the last four years and her new opportunity certainly reflects her immeasurable contributions at NASCAR.”

Gregory joined NASCAR in 2007 after serving as Senior Vice President of Motorsports Marketing at Bank of America and prior to that served as Director of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Marketing at Sprint NEXTEL. Earlier in her career she worked in-house at Texaco, as well as top sports marketing agencies, GMR and Wunderman. She was among the inaugural class of “Game Changers: Women in Sports Business” by SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily and the California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo graduate stays active in the community, currently serving as corporate chair for LLS Light the Night Walk in Charlotte.

“NASCAR is a globally recognized brand and this is an important moment in our history so I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to lead marketing,” said Gregory. “We have many strong assets in the sport right now and I look forward to integrating Industry Services and Marketing as we work across the industry to build our brand and the profile of our drivers, tracks and events to grow NASCAR.”

Brink has led all marketing initiatives at NASCAR since 2011, spearheading award-winning advertising creative, the launch of NASCAR’s current Hispanic outreach efforts, as well as the development of NASCAR’s acclaimed youth marketing platform, Acceleration Nation. She also led NASCAR’s Agency of Record review that resulted in the selection of class-leading Ogilvy and Mather.

Brink joined NASCAR after a long tenure at General Motors in Detroit where she led global advertising and sales promotions campaigns for Chevrolet and Cadillac. As COO at Global Team Ford, Brink will report to Team Detroit CEO, Satish Korde, and play a lead role driving marketing support for Ford Motor Company worldwide.

“My experience at NASCAR has been outstanding and I look forward to staying connected to the sport through its relationship with Ford,” said Brink. “The sport is headed in the right direction and I’m confident the team and marketing foundation that has been built positions Jill and the team for great success going forward. She is a talented leader with strong experience and relationships that will serve the sport very well.”

Circuit of The Americas has announced that the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup will be returning as a support race during the 2015 Formula One United States Grand Prix at Circuit on October 23-25.

The 30-minute sprint races featuring the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991) will be contested just before the United States Grand Prix, with the season’s climax once again featuring a special final race double-header.

The Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is the most international Cup series in the world and this season marks its 23rd year supporting the Formula One World Championship. In 2015, the Supercup will be traveling to eight different countries before once more concluding its season at the Circuit of The Americas.

North American fans will be given further reason to cheer at the Supercup’s return by the news that the respective winners of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA and Canada will join the action in Austin this year.

“I could not be more delighted that the world’s most prestigious one-make cup series is returning to COTA as part of the 2015 United States Grand Prix weekend. Seeing the Supercup compete here in 2014 was a real highlight of the race weekend for myself and thousands of fans and I am sure this year will be equally memorable,” said Bobby Epstein, Circuit of The Americas founder and chairman.

“We are really excited to return to Austin and in particular the wonderful Circuit of The Americas which proved to be such a successful venue for our season finale in 2014. I can speak for the entire Supercup family when I say that we cannot wait to race in front of our American fans once more,” said Oliver Schwab, manager of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

Today, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest held its annual press conference in the 24-Hours museum before the 83rd Le Mans 24 Hours on June 13-14. It took advantage of the occasion to announce two new sets of regulations for the GTE and LM P2 categories.

Pierre Fillon, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest president, made a point of reminding everybody of the main safety regulations applied at the circuit with the new division of the zones of the layout and the various revamps carried out. It was also announced that during the 2015-2016 winter four new pits will be built so that the circuit can accommodate 60 cars in 2017 in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

With the aim of helping entrants and improving performance two sets of new technical regulations were announced.

The first to come into force will be the one governing the Le Mans Grand Touring (LM GTE) category on January 1, 2016. The aim of these regulations brought in by the ACO and the FIA is to make the category a more sporting and attractive proposition through its technology and regulations, which will lead to a better performance differentiation between the LM GTE and the GT3 categories. This new philosophy will make GTE more attractive to new manufacturers from a cost point of view.

The second set of regulations concern the future of the Le Mans Prototype 2 category (LM P2). The ACO, IMSA and the FIA are working flat out on the introduction of these new regulations that will come into force in 2017. Their aim is to ensure the long-term success of this category thanks to the reduction of costs, a guarantee of stability in the regulations and the wish to orient the performances in LM P2 towards those currently prevailing in LM P1.

After the presentation of the regulations, the allocation of the 56th garage in 2017 was announced. It has been given to Welter Racing with its BW Biogaz Le Mans 2017. The ACO considers this car to be a technically innovative one as it is powered by methane extracted from waste recycling.

The Le Mans 24 Hours is the pinnacle of the FIA World Endurance Championship, and during this press conference it gave pride of place to the Americans by recalling the strong links between Le Mans and the United States. Lesa France Kennedy, CEO of the International Speedway Corporation and NASCAR Vice president, went up onto the podium to talk about the project for the enlargement and improved welcome of the public at the Daytona International Speedway, which runs the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona every year, the opening round of the North American Championship.

To close the press conference President Fillon presented the 15th Spirit of Le Mans to Yoshiaki Kinoshita. This trophy is awarded every year by the Automobile Club to a person who has best served the Spirit of Le Mans. Toyota, the Japanese company that has been the pioneer in terms of engine hybrids, made its Le Mans comeback in 2012. Kinoshita was the president of the Toyota Racing team that entered two TS030 Hybrids for the race. In 2014, he just missed out on victory at Le Mans, but went to win the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

IRG Sports + Entertainment (IRG) and the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) welcome back San Antonio Raceway located in Marion, Texas. The recently foreclosed track has been taken over by new ownership and once again is a member of the IHRA member track family.
 
San Antonio Raceway has been given a new lease on life following the purchase and revitalization of the track by new owner, Iain Grae. Grae is a successful motorsport entertainment business owner of Cycle Ranch Motocross Park & Events Center in nearby Floresville, Texas. Large scale plans for revitalization of the dragstrip are in place with an eye on its long-term viability.

"It's really exciting to see the community rally behind San Antonio Raceway," said Grae. "We intend to fully restore the facility and give San Antonio the high-quality track it needs and wants."

Grae continued, "San Antonio is a major city and deserves a high-caliber raceway. If the doors had remained closed, it would have left this market without another track within 100 miles, leaving fans of this sport empty handed. I didn't want that to happen."



Upcoming events at San Antonio Raceway include a "soft opening" test & tune weekend events on June 12-13 and 19- 20. The grand opening will commence the weekend of June 26- 27 with a test & tune on Friday and the IHRA Summit SuperSeries bracket racing event on Saturday with a variety of festivities and vendors.



IHRA President, Scott Gardner commented on the fresh relationship between the IHRA and the new San Antonio Raceway. "S.A.R. will host a Summit Racing Equipment Pro-Am this season on August 14-16. This is a big boost for the IHRA Division 4 Renegades Pro-Am series presented by AMSOIL. The track will also take part in the Summit SuperSeries bracket racing points program where the San Antonio Raceway team is the defending track champion from the 2014 IHRA Team Finals event at Pine Valley Raceway. Additionally we are working on trying to bring the Nitro Jam back this year and will be making some announcements on that event as soon as they are finalized."



Grae and his team plan on extensive renovations to the track, seating, and concession areas. In addition, a GoFundMe.com crowdfunding campaign was launched to assist in the rebuilding efforts. To date, it has already eclipsed its goal of raising $30,000, reeling in over $33,000 in just under a month. Along with financial support, many area racers, fans and businesses have contributed clean-up labor and use of heavy machinery to restore and update the facility prior to opening.