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Le Mans / ALMS
LE MANS: Starworks, Krohn Gunning For WEC Glory
American teams to fly the stars and stripes in FIA World Endurance Championship...
Rolex 24 runner-ups Starworks Motorsport debuts its new HPD ARX-03b this weekend at Sebring. (Photo: John Dagys)
While the majority of American teams at Sebring are here to kick off their American Le Mans Series campaigns, two squads stand apart as they embark on a season-long, globe-trotting tour that will take them to eight countries spread across four continents over the next eight months.
The launch of the FIA World Endurance Championships sees both Starworks Motorsport and Krohn Racing fly the stars and stripes alongside the contingent of European, Asian and South American teams in the first FIA-sanctioned series for sports car endurance racing in two decades.
The ambitious effort has not been without its challenges, especially in the case of the Peter Baron-led Starworks effort, which had been in a race against time to get its new HPD ARX-03b ready for competition in the highly competitive LMP2 ranks in this weekend’s 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
“It's great to represent the United States in the WEC and being an American,” said Baron, a former Le Mans podium finisher. “But it's not without its logistic hindrances. The thing that's hugely beneficial for us is that the first race is here in Sebring.
“If we were doing this in China or Japan, right now, I don't know how we would have got it done. It's nice that we're having these little issues only two hours from our shop in Ft. Lauderdale.”
Baron’s organization are no strangers to success, having been stalwarts of the GRAND-AM Sports Car Series and nearly winning January’s 50th Rolex 24 with its star-studded lineup of Allan McNish, Ryan Dalziel and Lucas Luhr.
Scottish ace Dalziel heads up Starworks’ FIA WEC endeavor, joined by former Peugeot lead driver Stephane Sarrazin and two-time Ferrari Challenge champion Enzo Potolicchio, who brings sponsorship from the Venezuelan tourism bureau to help make the program a reality.
While the team got off to a late start, Baron is bullish about their chances of chasing the LMP2 championship as the lone American prototype team.
“From the onset, our goal has been the championship for sure,” Baron said. “This series and this class looks like it could be some of the world's best racing out there and you have everybody wanting to do it. So competition is way higher.
“I think we've done everything to the best of our abilities in getting drivers signed up, our engineering staff and mechanics. Unfortunately, we've put ourselves in a position that nothing short of a championship is going to satisfy us.”
The situation is a bit different at Krohn Racing, which has a season of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the precursor to the FIA WEC, already under its belt.
Having finished runner-up in the GTE-Am class standings last year with a Ferrari F430 GT, the Braselton, Ga.-based squad upgrades to a 2011-spec Ferrari F458 Italia for this year.
"The World Endurance Championship is a very good opportunity for us to once again travel around the globe and compete on some of the best circuits in the world,” said team owner/driver Tracy Krohn. “We have a very experienced team with many, many years of racing knowledge.
“Being one of only two American teams competing in the new FIA WEC is an excellent opportunity to compete against the best in the world and, hopefully, show we have what it takes to win races and stand on the podium."
The launch of the FIA World Endurance Championships sees both Starworks Motorsport and Krohn Racing fly the stars and stripes alongside the contingent of European, Asian and South American teams in the first FIA-sanctioned series for sports car endurance racing in two decades.
The ambitious effort has not been without its challenges, especially in the case of the Peter Baron-led Starworks effort, which had been in a race against time to get its new HPD ARX-03b ready for competition in the highly competitive LMP2 ranks in this weekend’s 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
“It's great to represent the United States in the WEC and being an American,” said Baron, a former Le Mans podium finisher. “But it's not without its logistic hindrances. The thing that's hugely beneficial for us is that the first race is here in Sebring.
“If we were doing this in China or Japan, right now, I don't know how we would have got it done. It's nice that we're having these little issues only two hours from our shop in Ft. Lauderdale.”
Baron’s organization are no strangers to success, having been stalwarts of the GRAND-AM Sports Car Series and nearly winning January’s 50th Rolex 24 with its star-studded lineup of Allan McNish, Ryan Dalziel and Lucas Luhr.
Scottish ace Dalziel heads up Starworks’ FIA WEC endeavor, joined by former Peugeot lead driver Stephane Sarrazin and two-time Ferrari Challenge champion Enzo Potolicchio, who brings sponsorship from the Venezuelan tourism bureau to help make the program a reality.
While the team got off to a late start, Baron is bullish about their chances of chasing the LMP2 championship as the lone American prototype team.
“From the onset, our goal has been the championship for sure,” Baron said. “This series and this class looks like it could be some of the world's best racing out there and you have everybody wanting to do it. So competition is way higher.
“I think we've done everything to the best of our abilities in getting drivers signed up, our engineering staff and mechanics. Unfortunately, we've put ourselves in a position that nothing short of a championship is going to satisfy us.”
The situation is a bit different at Krohn Racing, which has a season of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the precursor to the FIA WEC, already under its belt.
Having finished runner-up in the GTE-Am class standings last year with a Ferrari F430 GT, the Braselton, Ga.-based squad upgrades to a 2011-spec Ferrari F458 Italia for this year.
"The World Endurance Championship is a very good opportunity for us to once again travel around the globe and compete on some of the best circuits in the world,” said team owner/driver Tracy Krohn. “We have a very experienced team with many, many years of racing knowledge.
“Being one of only two American teams competing in the new FIA WEC is an excellent opportunity to compete against the best in the world and, hopefully, show we have what it takes to win races and stand on the podium."
FIA WEC Six Hours of Spa
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