New NSR Audi R18 test

This car features :

Aluminum setscrew wheels on all 4 corners
All metal setscrew mount ultra smooth and quiet gearing
Machined bronze self lubricating bushings with heat treated axles
Adjustable front axle ride height
Suspension type motor pod
Industry exclusive drop arm type guide flag holder
Inline powertrain configuration with adjustable pivoting motor pod
New High Torque / High Performance dynamically balanced "Magnetic Effect" motor
Removable traction magnet
85 grams total car weight with decorated body of only 17 grams

Toyota to compete at LeMans

COLOGNE, Germany– Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) is delighted to confirm that it will take part in several races of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, including the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The entry will be based upon an LMP1 prototype chassis from TMG, and a petrol hybrid powertrain produced by Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan.

The exact scope of this participation and its official name will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

TMG’s high-performance technical centre in Cologne, Germany, where the LMP1 chassis has been designed, developed and produced, will be the base for the team.

The car is planned to take part in a roll-out around the turn of the year prior to an extensive test schedule in early 2012. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

Tadashi Yamashina, Toyota Motor Corporation Senior Managing Officer and TMG Chairman, said: “Toyota Motor Corporation has entered Le Mans before but by using our hybrid technology this time will be a completely new challenge. We want to write a new page in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as in the FIA World Endurance Championship, through our use of hybrid technology. In addition, we aim to learn from the experience of competing in such a challenging motorsport environment to enhance our production car technology. Le Mans is a legendary race and I would like to thank the ACO and the FIA for their constructive and positive cooperation over the last few months.”

LeMans Miniatures Alpine A442-A's in NA

New LeMans Miniatures Alpine A442-A's are now in North America at REH Distribution in Cincy.

Slot It GT40-LeMans 1966-Andretti-Bianchi

The Ford GT 40 is one of the most famous cars in Le Mans history, having won the 24 Hours four times, from 1966 to 1969.



The MKII version came in 1966, and thanks to the experience gained in 1964 and 1965, it dominated the Le Mans race with a 1-2-3 result.



The turning point in Ford's fortunes was the '66 Daytona 24 Hours, when four of the five Mark IIs finished first, second, third and fifth.



Visually, the MKII was little different from the standard GT40s. The car was very stable at high speeds after the lifting habit of the early models was solved. The MKII used the 7.0 liter (427ci) engine derived from the Ford Galaxie, with aluminum head; the power was 485 hp at 6300 rpm, and the car was able to reach a maximum speed of 330 km/h. The chassis was a steel semimonocoque, with a glass fiber body. The disc brakes were ventilated on the four wheels.

Scaleauto BMW Art Car body

A BMW Art Car decoration coming from Scaleauto in 1/24 scale. See this link to Criccrac.com for many more pix!

LeMans Miniatures R15

New LeMans Minatures Peugeot figures

New figures from LeMans Minatures of the Peugeot 908 HDI team.

Porsche returns to LeMans in 2014!

Porsche returns to LeMans in 2014 for LMP1!!!!!!!!!

New Slot It Toyota 88C

CA19a Toyota 88C, 24, Daytona 1969
Drivers:D.Olson, C.Cord , S.Bren

The Toyota 88C is a sports car prototype built in 1988 by Toyota according to the Group C specification, to race the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Japanese Sports-Prototype Championship.

The car, designed by Dome, was powered by a 4-cylinder turbocharged engine, named "3S-GT", a 2.1-liter, water cooled, 680-hp, 16 valves aluminium head, unit. The chassis was an aluminum monocoque, and the composite bodywork was made of carbon fiber and kevlar.

In 1989, one of these cars was entered in the IMSA GTP championship, a category with rules which were very similar to those of Group C in Europe, by All American Racers, Dan Gurney's (an American racing legend who won Le Mans in 1967) team.

The new Slot.it model reproduces the car that took part to the 24 Hours of Daytona, driven by Drake Olson, Chris Cord and Steve Bren. All American Racers, using this engine as a development base, was later (1992, 1993) able to claim, with the Eagle MKIII, two IMSA titles, two victories at Sebring and one in Daytona.

Gulf Slot It Ford GT40 MKI

CW09 Ford Gt 40 MKI: Le Mans Winner 1969
Drivers: Jacky Ickx, Jackie Oliver

The Ford GT40 was one of the most successful car who won four times the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1966 being the Mk II, 1967 the Mk IV, and 1968-1969 the oldest chassis design, the Mk I.

This is the first car in Le Mans history to win the race more than once with the same chassis; it was built to compete against Ferrari (who had won at Le Mans six times in a row from 1960 to 1965).

The Mk I chassis n. 1075 was a steel and aluminum semi-monocoque; body was reinforced with carbon fiber. It had brakes ventilated discs. The engine, originally a 4.7 liter, had been enlarged to 4.9-liter with the special alloy Gurney-Weslake cylinder head; the gearbox was a ZF 5 gears.

The MKI was later upgraded to Mk II specifications with a 7.0 liter (427ci) engine.
The GT 40 will become the most glorious of all Ford Racing; in '69 the car caught the victory at Sebring.

It's almost here... LeMans baby!!!!

Hands down the best annual racing event of the year is about to happen... 24 Hours of LeMans goodness!

New SCX Peugeot 908 coming

New Slot It GT40

From Slot It:

CA18a, Ford GT40 - #24 Sebring 1966
Drivers: G.Hill, J.Stewart

The GT40 was a famous sport-prototype car created by Ford, from 1964 to 1969, to beat the Ferrari. It won four times consecutively the 24h of Le Mans, from 1966 to 1969.

In 1966, Alan Mann Racing engaged two lightweight version of Ford GT40. On these cars, the original steel semi-monocoque chassis was modified by using light alloy. Aluminium was used to build roof structures and doors; also body panels were in light alloy, instead of the original made of fibreglass. They were fitted with the 7 litres V8 engine also used on new MKIIs, and can be distinguished from other GT40s by the brake scoops perched on the rear decking.

The number 24 AM car raced the Sebring 12 Hours driven by Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart. It qualified third fastest, and Hill led the race for a while, but finally the car had to retire because of an engine trouble.

Another proof of this car potential was the Le Mans Test, where Jackie Stewart set the third fastest time; anyway, the car was not used in the race

New SCX Corvette C6.R

Intercontinental LeMans Series Schedule

BRASELTON, GA (Monday, November 29, 2010) -- The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) today confirmed that the two premier races on the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón 2011 schedule would be featured as part of the prestigious Intercontinental Le Mans Cup championship next season.

The Series’ season-opener -- the 59th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida (March 19) -- will be the first race of the 2011 ILMC championship and Petit Le Mans (October 1) will be the sixth race of the seven event global championship format.

“Having our two showcase events – the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans – as key components to the prestigious Intercontinental Le Mans Cup will raise these two great races even further in stature on the global stage,” said Scott Atherton, President and CEO of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. “We look forward to the many corporate partner opportunities and renowned race teams that these events will attract as we play a vital role in establishing the ILMC as one of the premier motorsport competitions in the world.”

The 2011 six-race 2011 ILMC calendar includes:

1. Sebring 12 Hours (Florida USA) March 19
2. Spa-Francorchamps 6 Hours (BEL) May 8
3. Le Mans 24 Hours (FRA) June 11-12
4. Imola 6 Hours (ITA) July 3
5. Silverstone 6 Hours (GBR) September 11
6. Petit Le Mans (Georgia, USA) October 1
7. 6-Hours race to be organized in China (name defined in relation to circuit) November 12

The inaugural 2010 ILMC season included one race from each of the ACO sanctioned Le Mans series’ - Silverstone (Europe); Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans (North America); and Zuhai, China (Asia). Petit Le Mans with record race week crowd in excess of 124,000 saw Peugeot’s Team Total claim the 10-hour/1,000 mile endurance title among a diverse and prestigious international grid.

Series teams and factory efforts that competed in at least one Intercontinental Le Mans Cup race last year were Drayson Racing, Jaguar’s RSR, BMW’s Rahal Letterman, Ferrari’s Risi Competizione and Porsche’s Flying Lizard Motorsports. In addition, Flying Lizard regular season drivers Patrick Long and Joerg Bergmeister placed best in GT class at Zuhai in Porsche’s 911 GT3 R Hybrid that ran as unclassified due to its hybrid status. Drayson Racing competed in all three events and placed third overall in the ILMC championship.

Audi Driver Frank Biela wins 24 hour (slot) race!

Now this is just tooooooo cool! Check this item out from the Audi Motorsport newsletter (thanks to slotbrother Dr Vanski for the heads up on this one!)

RCCO: For the second time in succession Frank Biela has won the 24-hour race for slot cars around the Nurburgring-Sudschleife. The five-time Le Mans winner piloted an Audi R8 LMS together with two journalists and the Boss of Slotracing-Werk to a dominant victory. In addition to the Drivers' Championship Audi also won the Manufacturers' Championship in the rallye racing Carrera Cup 2010 (RCCO).

Frank Biela is a slotter... I love it! And for the "second time in succession". Not only does he race but evidently he's good too!

New Racer Alfa's

A pair of Racer Alfa Romeo T33/3's to show today.
RCR53C - Alfa T33/3 #35 - Le Mans 24hrs 1970 - R.Stommelen / N.Galli
RCR53D - Alfa T33/3 #37 - Le Mans 24hrs 1970 - T.Hezemans / M.Gregory

Slot It Silk Cut Jag XJR12

Flying Lizard LeMans blog link

Follow this link to FLMS's blog for LeMans.

Live LeMans link

Peugeot Sport will have a live webcast at this link for 28 hours during LeMans this weekend.

http://lemans.peugeot-sport.com/en/mediacenter.html