-
Home
-
Latest Headlines
-
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Games
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
GRAND-AM
SPORTS CAR: 2012 Team Of The Year, Starworks Motorsport
FIA WEC LMP2 & GRAND-AM NAEC champions enjoy storybook season, bag SPEED.com’s Team of the Year honors...
SPEED.com followed the progress (and success) of Starworks Motorsport through the FIA World Endurance Championship season.
As a team owner, you always shoot for the stars. Wins in some of the sport’s iconic races, such as the Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as at the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, would be crowning lifetime achievements for anyone.
But what if a team could win all three in a single year, along with claiming a coveted sports car World Championship and North American endurance crown?
The season one could only dream of turned into reality for Peter Baron and his Starworks Motorsport organization in 2012, which conquered all but one of the major enduros it entered, while also taking home the first FIA World Championship for an American team in more than four decades.
Considered one of the cash-strapped teams in the GRAND-AM paddock just a few years ago, Starworks took on ambitions plans to undertake a dual-season program in the new FIA World Endurance Championship and Rolex Sports Car Series this year, both with brand-new equipment but high hopes.
Thanks to the backing of Venezuelan drivers Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow, the Florida-based team saw a massive transformation, which included the formation of a satellite WEC operation based in Wales as well as the hiring of key personnel for its upgraded Daytona Prototype program, which came off its first win in the 2011 season finale.
Straight off the bat, it was clear the rejuvenated Starworks squad meant business. Ryan Dalziel’s pole at the Rolex 24 nearly translated into a stunning win, but damaged rear bodywork following an off-course excursion by Lucas Luhr in the closing stages saw the Scot and co-drivers Luhr, Potolicchio, Popow and Allan McNish finish an agonizing five seconds behind the overall winners.
While Daytona was the race that got away, it ironically turned out to be the only major enduro Baron and co. didn’t win in 2012.
A race against the clock to build its HPD ARX-03b for the WEC season-opener at Sebring was rewarded with a debut LMP2 class victory in the Florida endurance classic. Dalziel, Potolicchio and Peugeot refugee Stephane Sarrazin recorded an impressive third place overall finish, only trailing the two LMP1 class Audi R18s at the checkered flag.
The highlight of the year, though, came three months later at Le Mans, when Dalziel, Potolicchio and Tom Kimber-Smith peddled their HPD to a stunning class victory, also in the team’s first attempt. While Kimber-Smith earned his third class win in only four starts, team owner Baron revisited the podium, but this time the top step, nearly a decade following his runner-up finish in GT2 as a driver.
Class wins at Sebring, Le Mans as well as the Six Hours of Sao Paulo, helped take Starworks to the FIA WEC LMP2 Teams’ Championship, in a near bullet-proof season that saw only one non-podium finish. It was also of historic precedence as the first World Championship for an American entry since Ford’s WSC title in 1968.
While not enjoying the same level of consistency in GRAND-AM, the team went into the history books as the inaugural winners of the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while also taking home the first-ever North American Endurance Championship, following podium finishes in all three rounds, including the victory at Indy for Popow and Sebastien Bourdais.
With a total of six wins and 16 podium finishes across three series in 2012, it was a storybook season on paper, but one of the most stressful for team boss Baron, who fought adversity on and off the track to keep his squad going.
The former Atlantic driver turned team owner saw his primary backer, Potolicchio, pull out of GRAND-AM mid-year following a controversial incident at Indy that saw Juan Pablo Montoya go unpenalized after knocking Dalziel’s championship-contending DP out of a podium finish under an apparent local yellow.
While Baron got both of his cars to the end of the Rolex Series season, with Dalziel finishing runner-up in the DP championship, there was friction behind the scenes in the team’s WEC program as well, that ultimately saw Potolicchio go his separate way for 2013, despite winning the World Championship together.
Even with some low points and challenging times, it did not detract from the level of success the team achieved, in what was a banner year for one of the sport’s true privateers.
That’s why it was a no-brainer for SPEED.com to award Starworks Motorsport with its "Sports Car Team of the Year” honors for 2012.
What will the New Year bring for Peter Baron and his hard-working gang? A two-car GRAND-AM effort is again in the cards, with the objective of winning the one race that got away, the Rolex 24.
Starworks also plans to continue in the WEC, with a to-be-announced LMP2 program. But it would be hard-hard-pressed to top their world-conquering 2012 season that put the quirky team on the map as one of the best in the world.
PHOTOS: Starworks 2012 Year In Review
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
But what if a team could win all three in a single year, along with claiming a coveted sports car World Championship and North American endurance crown?
The season one could only dream of turned into reality for Peter Baron and his Starworks Motorsport organization in 2012, which conquered all but one of the major enduros it entered, while also taking home the first FIA World Championship for an American team in more than four decades.
Considered one of the cash-strapped teams in the GRAND-AM paddock just a few years ago, Starworks took on ambitions plans to undertake a dual-season program in the new FIA World Endurance Championship and Rolex Sports Car Series this year, both with brand-new equipment but high hopes.
Thanks to the backing of Venezuelan drivers Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow, the Florida-based team saw a massive transformation, which included the formation of a satellite WEC operation based in Wales as well as the hiring of key personnel for its upgraded Daytona Prototype program, which came off its first win in the 2011 season finale.
Straight off the bat, it was clear the rejuvenated Starworks squad meant business. Ryan Dalziel’s pole at the Rolex 24 nearly translated into a stunning win, but damaged rear bodywork following an off-course excursion by Lucas Luhr in the closing stages saw the Scot and co-drivers Luhr, Potolicchio, Popow and Allan McNish finish an agonizing five seconds behind the overall winners.
While Daytona was the race that got away, it ironically turned out to be the only major enduro Baron and co. didn’t win in 2012.
A race against the clock to build its HPD ARX-03b for the WEC season-opener at Sebring was rewarded with a debut LMP2 class victory in the Florida endurance classic. Dalziel, Potolicchio and Peugeot refugee Stephane Sarrazin recorded an impressive third place overall finish, only trailing the two LMP1 class Audi R18s at the checkered flag.
The highlight of the year, though, came three months later at Le Mans, when Dalziel, Potolicchio and Tom Kimber-Smith peddled their HPD to a stunning class victory, also in the team’s first attempt. While Kimber-Smith earned his third class win in only four starts, team owner Baron revisited the podium, but this time the top step, nearly a decade following his runner-up finish in GT2 as a driver.
Class wins at Sebring, Le Mans as well as the Six Hours of Sao Paulo, helped take Starworks to the FIA WEC LMP2 Teams’ Championship, in a near bullet-proof season that saw only one non-podium finish. It was also of historic precedence as the first World Championship for an American entry since Ford’s WSC title in 1968.
While not enjoying the same level of consistency in GRAND-AM, the team went into the history books as the inaugural winners of the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while also taking home the first-ever North American Endurance Championship, following podium finishes in all three rounds, including the victory at Indy for Popow and Sebastien Bourdais.
With a total of six wins and 16 podium finishes across three series in 2012, it was a storybook season on paper, but one of the most stressful for team boss Baron, who fought adversity on and off the track to keep his squad going.
The former Atlantic driver turned team owner saw his primary backer, Potolicchio, pull out of GRAND-AM mid-year following a controversial incident at Indy that saw Juan Pablo Montoya go unpenalized after knocking Dalziel’s championship-contending DP out of a podium finish under an apparent local yellow.
While Baron got both of his cars to the end of the Rolex Series season, with Dalziel finishing runner-up in the DP championship, there was friction behind the scenes in the team’s WEC program as well, that ultimately saw Potolicchio go his separate way for 2013, despite winning the World Championship together.
Even with some low points and challenging times, it did not detract from the level of success the team achieved, in what was a banner year for one of the sport’s true privateers.
That’s why it was a no-brainer for SPEED.com to award Starworks Motorsport with its "Sports Car Team of the Year” honors for 2012.
What will the New Year bring for Peter Baron and his hard-working gang? A two-car GRAND-AM effort is again in the cards, with the objective of winning the one race that got away, the Rolex 24.
Starworks also plans to continue in the WEC, with a to-be-announced LMP2 program. But it would be hard-hard-pressed to top their world-conquering 2012 season that put the quirky team on the map as one of the best in the world.
PHOTOS: Starworks 2012 Year In Review
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Road Atlanta
LATEST HEADLINES: AUTO-RACING
-
GRAND-AM: Valiante Joins 8Star For Mid-Ohio
Daytona Prototype ace to sub for Stephane Sarrazin in next month's… -
MILLER: My Annual Indy 500 Quiz
It’s time for Robin Miller's annual Indy 500 quiz. -
INDYCAR: Miller's Mailbag, 5.23
It's time for SPEED.com's weekly IndyCar Q&A with Robin Miller's… -
INDYCAR: HIPPINO.com To Sponsor Kanaan At Detroit
Just a few weeks after announcing the KV Racing-SH Racing entry of… -
PHOTOS: Indy 500 Practice & Qualifying 2013
Enjoy a huge collection of photos from practice and qualifying while… -
LE MANS: BoP Adjustments For GTE Announced
GTE-Pro Aston Martins handed extra weight, larger restrictor for… -
LE MANS: Jim France Named LM24 Starter
GRAND-AM founder and NASCAR Vice Chairman to wave tri-colour flag… - More News
