17TH BMW ‘ART CAR’ BY JEFF KOONS RUNS AT LE MANS!
In 1975 BMW began the series of Art Cars by the likes of Andy Warhol(1979), David Hockney(1995) and the 3.0 CSL by Alexander Calder to name a few of the most notable. The commission for the 17th in a series was
awarded to the celebrated contemporary American artist Jeff Koons. The linear expression of light and color sweeps the BMW M3 as if it had been
painted in a wind tunnel. Unveiled at the Centre Pompidou in Paris just days before, the Koon M3 made its debut at the 24H du Le Mans in the GT2 category.
EXCLUSIVE FLM PROTOTYPES FOR THE 2010 PANAM!
The 2010 Panam Plafit Championship will be the first international running of the new Formula Lemans Prototypes.
Thanks to the talented hands and mind of Nick de Wachter, the master molds are now completed and the first carbon laminated bodies have
started production. We are putting the FLM development story and pictures on the Panam web site, here is the link. If all goes according to plan the FLM bodies will be released to all racers in October of this year. The 2010 Panam platform will also include a new carbon modified
Plafit SLP2 chassis.
KRANER RACING WINS THE PRESTIGIOUS 2010 DPM!
From pole position with a qualifying time of 7,240s, Kraner Racing has won the 2010 DPM and the 2010 PWS Sprint Championship. Team mates Stephan Bolz, Andreas Laufenberg and Nick de Wachter exchanged the lead at several points during the race with second and third
place teams Plastikquäler and ACR Racing. Nick de Wachter drove the last leg of the race in Lane 2 (White) from 3 laps
down! Congratulations to all the racers and especially to Kurt Petri for a truly masterful race organization. Here’s the link to the DPM page for all the race results.
2010 PANAM -- REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
The 2010 Panam Plafit Championship will be run on October 9th and 10th at Mid America Raceway in Chicago as the official ‘closer’ to the 2010 ISRA Worlds that begin on October 2nd. The 2010 Panam will be a
Team Endurance race contested with carbon laminated Formula Lemans Prototypes fitted with the new Plafit SLP2 chassis supplied at no cost to each team. Check the 2010 Panam page for more info or click here to register. The grid is limited to 16 teams and 48 racers so don’t wait too long.
NEW SCALEAUTO PORSCHE CARS FOR SPRINT IN TRIER
We have now confirmed that the World Sprint Championships at the 2010 Trier Worlds will be contested with the new Scaleauto Porsche GT3 RSR cars. The cars are just now being released and the Rule Set will be posted and Registration will open on May 1st. More to come on the 2010 Trier Worlds page.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TO TRIER, GERMANY IN 2010
The 3rd and final round of the 2010 OEPS [Open European Prototype Series] will
also serve as the 2010 World Endurance Championship. The 2010 WEC will see the International Teams join the roster of European
Teams at the Renn-Center Trier in Germany on September 4th and 5th for this
thrilling finalé to the season. At the request of the teams, we are discussing with our host, Martin Bartelmes
for the 2010 World Sprint Championship to be run the same weekend in Trier. A race schedule for the 2010 Trier Worlds
will be posted later next month.
PIT SCHWAAR ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT
In the German Forum today an announcement by Pit Schwaar that he will retire his
production of Phoenix Racecars at the end of 2009. Master model builder and racer, Schwaar’s work has been a benchmark for all others, contributing a long list of
resin-cast kits and complete cars to slot racers around the world. There are
probably very few DSC racers that have not built one of Pit Schwaar’s kit, his passion for the Canam era and notably one of it’s predecessors, the Lotus 19. Phoenix Racecars will continue to take orders for
kits until October 31st. Last call!
SWEDISH MASTERS TRACK FOR OEPS COPENHAGEN
Lars Harrysson and The Swedish Masters (2005-2009) have quickly found their
place on the ‘Big List of Most Memorable Events in Slot Racing’ and a legacy that will only become richer with time! The 2004 ISRA Worlds track
that was also used for the Swedish Masters has now moved to Denmark for what
will continue as The Scandanavian Masters starting in 2010. Racers at the
Copenhagen Round of the 2010 OEPS - Open European Prototype Series will also
face off on this fast but technically challenging circuit built by Lars
Harrysson.
HASSE NILSSON’S MTT TRACK GOES TO DETROIT
The last remaining original MTT track of the 1989 Chicago Worlds will complete
its restoration and pass to Bill and Sarah Curtis of TSS Hobbies of Detroit,
Michigan. With this latest addition, we will now have MTT tracks in Seattle,
Detroit and Toronto and of course the ‘Mid West Monster’ at Mid America Raceway in Chicago. Bill has a growing group of model car racers
in the Detroit area and has expressed a strong interest in hosting one of the
rounds of the 2010 American Endurance Championship. A nod to Andy Smith for
helping to put faces and places together.
MATTHIAS PARKE & DIETER JENS JOIN THE RACE
Word today that Werkes Boss, Matthias Parke will join long time racing associate
Kai Kivekas on Team Scuderia Kaitserrari for the Copenhagen Round of the 2010 OEPS Series. This news comes on the heals of Dieter Jens announcement to race with
his son Alex Jens and Mark Campbell for Team MAD Racing. Parke and Jens, both
veteran Pro racers are cornerstones of Model Car Racing world and add to a
growing list of top entrants at the Open European Prototype Series and World
Endurance Championship in 2010. It’s shaping up to be a great year!
2009 TORONTO WORLDS ‘POST RACE’ REPORT
We definitely missed a few of our friends on the line due to the struggling
world economy, but it was a great week of racing and the stage is now set for
the 2010 World Endurance Championship in Trier, Germany. A special word of
thanks to all the international racers that travelled to Toronto to make it
happen! Click here for Official Post Race Report on the results, the controversies and everything
in between.
PORSCHE CUP CARS PREVIEW IN TORONTO
Ivan Basas was kind enough to send first samples to Toronto of the new Scaleauto 1/24
Porsche GT3 Cup and Porsche 911 GT3 RSR cars. All of the racers were extremely
impressed with the prototypes and negotiations are underway for the Porsche Cup
cars to enter the 2010 World Sprint Championship next September in Trier, Germany. It has become clear in recent months that a
new era of international cooperation has begun and we would like to take this
opportunity to thank Ivan Basas, Kurt Petri and Nori Ono for their continued support.