The Lamborghini Super Trofeo one-make series is heading to America this year for the first time in the series’ four-year history.

Dubbed “the ultimate single-make series,” the Lamborghini Super Trofeo first debuted in Europe in 2009 before it expanded to Asia last year. This year, it’ll run six events throughout North America (including Canada) with the International Motor Sport Association (IMSA) as the sanctioning body. The Italian automaker did also announce that it has a long-term agreement to run the series under the same sanctioning body as the newly-announced United SportsCar Racing in the future.

The series is the only single-make, four-wheel drive series in the world and features the Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo powered by a 570-hp, V10 engine. Winners of the U.S. series will be invited to take part in the world final in Italy alongside series winners from Europe and Asia.

SEE ALSO: Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Series Heading to America

The season will kick off on June 15-16 at Mid-Ohio, alongside the Grand-Am event. Next, it’ll team up with ALMS on July 5-6 at Lime Rock before heading back to a Grand-Am event on August 17-18 in Kansas City. The series will then head to Canada at Calabogie with IMSA on September 7-8 before venturing to the east coast at Virginia International Raceway along with the ALMS event taking place on October 5-6. The season will end at Fontana in California with the Indy Car race on October 18-19.

“We’re extremely excited to be bringing the Super Trofeo to the USA,” said Lamborghini America COO Michael Lock. “The Lamborghini marque continues to gain recognition and followers apace in the USA, and motorsport is the perfect way to open the door further on our brand and our technical competence, for both our customers and also our fans.”

Along with a new name being announced today for the merged Grand-Am/ALMS series, sanctioning body IMSA has announced that a total of five classes will form the makeup of the racing organization.

Next year will be the first season for the new United SportsCar Racing series and the classes are as follows: Prototype, Prototype Challenge, GT Daytona, GT Le Mans and GX

The lead Prototype (P) class, will combine GRAND-AM’s Daytona Prototypes with the ALMS’ P2 and DeltaWing cars, while the Prototype Challenge (PC) class will be the same as the current ALMS class structure.

The GT Le Mans (GTLM) will still consist of the ALMS’ current GT class, and the GT Daytona (GTD) class will us GRAND-AM’s current GT class as well as the ALMS’ current GTC class.

Finally the GX class will be the same as the current GRAND-AM structure, allowing for prototype technologies, like the Mazda6 diesels currently in competition.

The American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am have decided on a name for their newly-merged series, United SportsCar Racing, and will become official when the two organizations begin racing together in 2014.

The announcement will come later today at Sebring International Raceway as part of the festivities for this weekend’s 12 Hours of Sebring race. It is believed that the two associations will also announce the official class names and confirmation of its sanctioning body.

SEE ALSO: ALMS, Grand-Am Announce Class Structure for New Series

After 24 hours of grueling racing at the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, history has been made with Audi achieving its first victory at the American endurance classic, not to mention its first ever win in the series.

In the GT class, Alex Job Racing gave the German automaker the win with the number-24 Audi R8 which finished 1.476 seconds faster than the number-52 APR Motorsport Audi. It is Alex Job Racing’s first Rolex 24 win since 1999 and drivers Filipe Albuquerque, Dion von Moltke, Oliver Jarvis, and Edoardo Mortara have been credited with the win.

Napleton Racing became the first winners in the GX class as the number-10 Porsche Cayman had little competition winning by 10 laps. Drivers Jim Norman, Shane Lewis, David Donohue, and Nelson Canache were behind the wheel throughout the 24 hour race.

Lastly, Scott Pruett tied Hurley Haywood’s record with his fifth overall victory at the Rolex 24 Hours when co-driver Juan Pablo Montoya crossed the finish line in the number-01 Ganassi Racing BMW-powered Daytona Prototype.

Discuss this story at R8talk.com

The 51st annual Rolex 24 at Daytona will kick off at 3:30 PM EST on January 26th, and if you’re stuck at home or working, we’ve got you covered with some live streaming links.

The second biggest international endurance event will feature 57 teams with more than 70 champions from more than 25 countries competing. Over 2,000 miles will be driven before the event comes to an end and there is guaranteed to be plenty of action.

So sit back and relax from the comforts of your smartphone, tablet, or computer with the live streaming links below.

VIPBOX.tv

Speed TV

Turner Motorsport Live

Get live timing at scoring at Grand-Am.com

Get full audio coverage at RadioLeMans.com

Porsche fans can also get a unique experience by heading over to a special website which will feed in news, photos, tweets and video about Porsceh at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Check out the web-page here.

Mazda just released the performance specifications for its 2014 race car powered by a modified version of the production 2.2-liter SkyActiv-D diesel engine.

The production version will be available in dealerships later this year, but in competition form the direct-injected turbo diesel motor makes 400 hp and 445 lb-ft of torque. Official power figures on the production version are still unreleased, but are expected to be around 165 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque.

Mazda is aiming for its 24th class win at the Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance race with three of its new race cars. According to the automaker, there are over 250 stock components in the engine. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the move is a big deal for Mazda, a brand known for racing with its rotary engines.

SEE ALSO: 2014 Mazda6 Diesel Racer Revealed in Race-Ready Trim

The cars will compete in the new Grand-Am GX class, which is reserved for new technologies. Racing begins January 26 and runs until 3:30 p.m. eastern time the following day.

Discuss this story at Mazda6Club.com

Last June, Mazda announced that it planned to bring a version of its new twin-turbo diesel engine to Grand Am series racing, and now the brand just released a studio photo of the race car. 

The car will be powered by a 2.2-liter dual-stage diesel engine and will run in the GX class, which was created to allow new technology into the competition. Mazda will debut the car during the Rolex 24 Hours of Dayton next month where the brand will pursue it’s 24th class win in the American endurance classic.

Mazda took the win in both 2008 and 2010, but not since then. While official information isn’t available yet, the engine is expected to make more than 400 hp while sharing 60 percent of its components with the production engine slated for the Mazda6 later this year.

When the Rolex 24 at Daytona kicks off in 2014, American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and Grand-Am will be running under one banner for the first time in history.

The merger was finalized last year, and the new combined series has announced its class structure that will be effective for the 2014 and 2015 race seasons, taking a “best of both worlds” multi-class approach. Based on a philosophy of inclusion, the new race series has announced that the majority of classes from both race series will be retained except for ALMS’ P1 prototype class.

“This process is not being rushed. We are carefully gathering input from drivers, teams and stakeholders throughout the sports car industry, emphasizing inclusion, as we work toward a simple – but also complex – goal: we want to get it right the first time,” said Grand-Am Managing Director of Competition, Richard Buck.

Though individual names for each class have yet to be determined, information revealed which class from the two series will be combined.

Grand-Am’s DP will be combined with ALMS’ P2 classes and will be the headlining prototype class that will also include the Nissan DeltaWing prototype. Performance of the race cars competing in the class will be balanced in order to maintain close competition.

The ALMS Prototype Challenge (PC) class will continue to run on its own, while both organizations’ production-based GT classes will also continue to run separately. As part of the plan however, ALMS’ GTC cars will join the Grand-Am GTs on the track.

As for Grand-Am’s new GX class, which will debut at the Rolex 24 later this month, it is being explored as a possible addition to the Grand-Am half of the GT mix for the 2014-2015 seasons. The organizations are also considering running the GX as a separate, fifth class.

“… This announcement is only a first step in solidifying our class structure. Our organizations’ respective competition departments are working diligently on balance of performance for the top prototype class, plus overall class specifications across the board,” Buck said.

Specifications for all the classes will be announced later this year.

SEE ALSO: ALMS, Grand-Am to Merge for 2014 Season

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Aston Martin has announced its U.S. plans for the 2013 race season, teaming up with The Racers Group (TRG) to bring 10 new race cars for the upcoming motorsport season.

The British automaker will unleash a new portfolio of cars in North America next season that includes a Vantage GTE, Vantage GT3, and Vantage GT4. The collaboration between Aston Martin Racing (AMR) and TRG will be named TRG-AMR, and together a total of 10 new race cars will be available for 2013.

The team will be competing in various forms of motorsports in North America, including the Grand-Am and American Le Mans Series (ALMS). In addition, TRG-AMR will support with car sales, race parts, engineering, and technical support at races with rebuilds and repairs. First to be unveiled will be the Vantage GTE which will head to Sebring, Florida for the 12 Hours of Sebring while the Vantage GT3 will debut at the Rolex 24 in Daytona.

Currently on schedule for the Vantage GT4 race car is the Continental Tire Challange series.

“Over many seasons, TRG has been a benchmark competitor in both ALMS and Grand-Am, scoring many victories and championships,” said American Le Mans Series President, Scott Atherton. “Today, we’re marking a point in North American motorsport that speaks to the confidence of the world’s premier automotive brands in our unified vision.”

GALLERY: 2013 Aston Martin Race Cars

[Source: Inside Line]

Mazda is no stranger to motorsports, and following the recent unveiling of the Diesel Mazda6, the company announced that it will be taking its midsized diesel sedan to the racetrack during the 2013 Grand-Am series.

News of Mazda bringing its new diesel to the track originated back in June, but now we can finally rest knowing that it will be Mazda’s latest beauty, the Mazda6 that will be representing the brand and diesel power.

The Mazda6 racecar is being developed for the new GRAND-AM GX class, and will debut at the Rolex 24. The GX class is reserved for cars with experimental technologies which have never been entered into a Grand-Am race before. The SkyActiv-D diesel engine will be the first oil burner to ever power a Grand-Am car.

For Mazda, they will be pursuing their 24th class win in the American endurance classic, having most recently won in 2008 and 2010.

The engine is expected to make more than 400-hp and is based on the engine that will be found in the SKYACTIV-D Mazda6, sharing 60 percent of the production vehicles components.

Ferrari has clinched the 2012 Rolex Grand-Am Series Manufacturers’ Championship, Team Championship and Drivers’ Championship behind its 458 Italia race car.

“The race track is truest test of a sports car’s ultimate performance and endurance, and the Ferrari 458 Italia has performed flawlessly in this competition as it does with the rigors of use on the streets,” said Ferrari’s North American CEO Marco Mattiacci.

Driven by the AIM Autosport Team FXXD, this 458 Italia covered over 11,300 track miles and completed every lap this season with eight podium finishes. This is the third manufacturers’ championship for the Italian automaker and reaffirms its position in motorsports as a dominant and reliable force. AIM Autosport was joined by the Scuderia Corsa team to help clinch the GT Manufacturer’s Title for Ferrari.

“Winning the 2012 Rolex Grand-Am Series Manufacturers’ Championship for the third time reminds our clients, fans and competition that nothing brings the passion of racing to everyday driving like a Ferrari,” Mattiacci said.

One of the main concerns with the recent American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and Grand-Am merger was the involvement and relationship with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), which is the organizing entity behind the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That can be put to rest however, as the organizations met with one another to find a way to put it all together.

ACO President, Pierre Fillon, welcomed both Don Panoz and Jim France to Le Mans so that each person could express his vision for the future of endurance racing. The group discussed the future of the new series on North America, the FIA Endurance Championships, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and technical aspects of the series.

More importantly, each one left the initial meeting promising that there will be more. The next one will take place on American soil, where ACO will continue developing its relationship with its American partner.

[Source: LeMans.org]