Tweet
I had a conversation with young Tom Milner of Rahal Letterman Racing on Saturday @ the ALMS race in Lime Rock Park and he confirmed that his fathers team PTG will be racing the Abruzzi next year!
-
-
Is it still looking like they may run at Petit Le mans?Originally posted by PanozGTLM View Post -
Abruzzi to race at Petit Le Mans
Since the road car’s official launch at Le Mans in June, some had questioned whether the Panoz Abruzzi ‘Spirit of Le Mans’ would make its planned debut in the season-ending Petit Le Mans.
Despite internet rumors and speculation, the Abruzzi program is still on track, according to company founder Don Panoz. Panoz confirmed to SPEED.com that the car will indeed make its debut in the 1,000-mile/10-hour enduro in October.
“We were a couple of weeks late starting on the race car, but that was simply because we wanted to be sure and be comfortable that the road car, the ‘mule’ car as we have it, would get through the [homologation] process,” Panoz explained. “If you’re not sure about that, you can’t start building the race car.”
With the road-going super car not expected to be homologated until the end of the year, the Abruzzi will race unclassified, alongside Porsche’s 911 GT3 R Hybrid in the season-ending American Le Mans Series round.
Despite the ambitious project announced only two months ago, Panoz is confident of seeing the Abruzzi's debut at the next ALMS round. (John Dagys)
Panoz Auto Developments delivered the road-going chassis to Tom Milner’s PTG squad two weeks ago, with it now undergoing the modifications needed to make it race-ready at the squad’s Virginia shop.
Aside from differences in the roll cage, gearbox, electronics and other components, Panoz says the Abruzzi GT2 car won’t be very much different from its production counterpart.
“The car might not be built to all of the things we’d like to see in a car that would race at Sebring [next year],” Panoz said. “There will be things between now and Sebring that we’ll probably change in it, but this will tell us the things that we have to look at.”
The Abruzzi’s Corvette ZR1-based Chevrolet LS9 power plant will remain relatively stock as well. Panoz says the road car engine and block will be used in the race version. An air restrictor will limit the horsepower to around 500, compared to the street car’s 612 horspower.
Drivers for the PTG effort are expected to be announced in mid-September, and Panoz has set realistic expectations for the car’s debut race. Especially considering the team’s planned assault on the 2011 ALMS GT championship, every extra mile of development will be crucial to program.
“With it being a brand-new car, it’s going to have very little testing,” Panoz said. “We want to show it to people, but we’re not going to try to be competitive right out of the box. We realize that we have a lot to learn about.”Comment
-
Abruzzi at Petit LeMans
Goes like lightning, sounds like thunder' – under this motto sportscars built by Don Panoz acquired a legendary reputation over the last 15 years. At the first weekend of October, Panoz starts into a whole new era with the new Panoz Abruzzi 'Spirit of Le Mans', built for the GT2-class. When the new American Supercar starts into his first race on the 2. October, the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, Benjamin Leuenberger returns behind the steering wheel of a Panoz and will drive the Abruzzi in the 10-hour endurance race. The Swiss sportscar specialist will share driving duties in the Panoz Abruzzi with Britain’s Ian James.
The première race of the Panoz Abruzzi is a return of Benjamin Leuenberger to Panoz after seven years. Back in 2003, Leuenberger drove the famous Batmobile, the marvellous Panoz LMP1 Roadster in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and the 24h of Le Mans. "I’m really happy and also very proud to be back at Panoz," Leuenberger says. "Don Panoz brought me into sportscar racing seven years ago and also my first start at the 24h of Le Mans was in a Panoz. Seven years ago, I was the last driver who raced the LMP1 and I finished fourth overall at the Petit Le Mans. This year I will be the first driver to race with the new GT2-Panoz, also at the Petit Le Mans. With the new Abruzzi 'Spirit of Le Mans', a dream of Don Panoz will come true and it feels great that I will be a part of it."
The Panoz Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" was introduced at this year’s 24h of Le Mans event in June. From 2011 onwards, a limited series of only 81 cars will be produced. 'The car has a fantastic look. The front has the typical Panoz 'Batmobile' style, while the silhouette and the rear end is a tribute to the legendary French sportscar from the pre-war era.' The Panoz Abruzzi GT2 is currently under construction with Panoz Team PTG, the racecar will be powered by a 6,2 litre V8-engine. "PTG works at full speed to built the Panoz Abruzzi, I’m really looking forward to work with Tom Milner and his team. Our first race at Road Atlanta will be a test for the 2011 season. Road Atlanta is a great track, it has a complete different character then most tracks in Europe. I have some great memories to that track. When I drove for Panoz seven years ago I lived not fare from there. It’s also the home track of Don Panoz, the road going version of the Abruzzi will be built there."
Results are not in the focus at the première race of the Panoz Abruzzi in October. "The car will be ready just in time for the start of the race week, but Don Panoz will show it to the Fans at one of the masterpiece events of his American Le Mans Series and will also collect experience for 2011. In the GT2 class of the ALMS, there is an unbelievable strong competition, most of the teams are factory or factory-supported teams. I’m looking forward to the challenge to race in the best GT2-class in the world. As the Panoz Abruzzi is not homologated yet, we will not be classified in the race and will not get points. Our main goal is to gather as much data and experience as possible and to finish the race."
Beside the 'Petit Le Mans', there is also a second race scheduled for Benjamin Leuenberger in the Panoz this year. If the première at Road Atlanta will be successful, Panoz Team PTG will enter the 6 hours of Zhuhai in China (7. November), the second round of the new 'Intercontinental Le Mans Cup', the new world series for sportscars created by the Le Mans-organiser ACO.Comment
-
The Abruzzi is great...the only, and I mean only, thing I don't like are the curved vents in the hood. I think they break up the look of the car. No flames, please.Comment
-
Abruzzi to Race at Sebring
Panoz confirms Sebring debut for race-going Abruzzi GT
October 21, 2010
Five years after its last win at Sebring, Panoz will return to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours with its new Abruzzi “Spirit of Le Mans.” The racing version of Panoz Auto Development Company's newest road-going supercar recently started its test program in advance of its competition debut at the 59th running of the Sebring enduro next March.
“The Sebring 12 Hours has long been considered the litmus test for any racing team and car heading to the 24 Hour of Le Mans,” said Don Panoz, founder of Panoz Motor Sports Group. “The demanding nature of Sebring is the perfect platform for the final evaluation of our development program. Furthermore, it makes sense now that the car's first race shall be the first race of the 2011 American Le Mans Series, and on such hallowed ground as Sebring.”
The Abruzzi “Spirit of Le Mans” is being prepped by Tom Milner's Prototype Technology Group. Ian James and Benjamin Leuenberger will drive the Panoz Team entry in the GT class during the 2011 championship.
Panoz and PTG had hoped to race the car at Petit Le Mans earlier this month, and while it did turn a processional lap prior to the annual 1,000-mile/10-hour event and was the centerpiece of the Panoz display in the main paddock, it was not sufficiently developed to compete.
“It was extremely important for us to unveil the Panoz Abruzzi ‘Spirit of Le Mans' at Petit Le Mans,” Panoz said. “I'm glad we could give the fans what they wanted – a glimpse of the new car. There was so much anticipation with so much support for Panoz out there, and particularly here in Braselton as the factory is just down the road. While we had planned on running in Petit Le Mans as an unclassified entry, we had not done any real testing and did not want to take a chance on adversely affecting the other teams with championship hopes. Hence we decided to do only the pace lap.
“Everyone – from PTG, Panoz Auto Development and Élan Technologies to all of our suppliers and partners – worked tirelessly to have a completed, operating racing car for the unveiling at Petit Le Mans and their efforts were absolutely rewarded,” Panoz added. “The response to the Abruzzi ‘Spirit of Le Mans', both from the fans and within the industry has been overwhelming and everyone involved should be very proud of what they have achieved.
“It was fantastic, too, to be able to have the lineage of the Abruzzi ‘Spirit of Le Mans' on display. The Abruzzi not only pays homage to a time when racers would literally drive their own cars to compete in Le Mans, but the highly successful race- and championship-winning history of Panoz.”
Panoz has 10 class victories – including eight overall – in the American Le Mans Series and the 2002 Trans-Am championship.
“With the Road Atlanta unveiling out of the way, we are concentrating on a full development program to ready the car for its race debut at Sebring next year,” Panoz said. “With a solid winter's testing behind it I'm expecting the ‘Spirit of Le Mans' to be well and truly haunting the GT2 field at Sebring.”Comment
-
No Abruzzi in LMS
Atlas eFX Team have cancelled their deal to run the long-overdue Panoz Abruzzi in this year's Le Mans Series, the German squad has confirmed.
Atlas had signed-up to run the machine - dubbed the 'Spirit of Le Mans' - in this year's LMS but have now backed out of the deal following Panoz's inability to guarantee the car's readiness for the new season. The Abruzzi was supposed to make its track debut at last October's Petit Le Mans but was then pushed back to November's Intercontinental Le Mans Cup event at Zhuhai. The car failed to appear there too and now appears unlikely to make April's 6 Hours of Castellet.
"It is not easy for us, but at some point you have to draw a line," team boss Norbert A. Walchhofer said in a statement. "In recent weeks we received no good news from our partner, Andrew Leberle, who negotiated the deal with Panoz.
"Because of the resulting time delays - we wanted the program to be completed in November of last year - it is not possible for us to guarantee our sponsors, partners and drivers a professional platform.
"Other projects are not affected by this decision, so we are currently continuing to participate in the GTE and LMP1," Walchhofer concluded.
American manufacturer Panoz has made no recent statements regarding the status of the Abruzzi.
James Weeks.Comment
-
-
Comment