We here at Lamborghini Newport Beach are so fortunate to live in an area with great weather year round. It is because of this nearly perfect weather that we are able to enjoy outdoor activities whenever we please. We couldn't think of a better way to enjoy the great outdoors than to celebrate Automobili Lamborghini's 50th Anniversary by organizing our "SoCal Tour".
This past Saturday (May 18th) started out like any other ordinary Saturday in Orange County. As the morning moisture faded away while the sun came out, the howls of V10's and V12's piercing the quiet Saturday morning was not coincidental. With our coffee heated and parking lot emptied, our front lot began to get filled. Coming from every direction was an assortment of Lamborghini's. From the legendary Diablo's to the bulletproof Gallardo's, the ferocious Murcielago's to newcomer Aventador's, all were washed and primed for an exciting weekend trip.
The Lamborghini community is a small but close group of individuals all who share a passion for the aggressive and refined brand. As more and more Lamborghini's started to arrive, the owners began to catch up and see how things have been since they've last seen each other.
When signing in for the event, each participant received a bag with a special Lamborghini Newport Beach 50th Anniversary sport shirt that cannot be bought anywhere. After they received their bag, each participant was invited to sign our poster that will be proudly displayed in our showroom floor.
On site was Lamborghini Club America President, Andrew Romanowski, who was glad to participate and even educate a few fans on what it's like to be a part of the Lamborghini family.
By now all participants we're present so it was time to get the show on the road. First up was a driver's meeting presented by Lamborghini Newport Beach Marketing Director Cedric Davy. The driver's meeting went over what was to be expected and to answer any/all questions from the participants. Followed by the driver's meeting was a photo-op where each car and its pilots were able to snag a personal picture by their car. Just after that, a group picture was taken.
Photos taken, gas tanks filled, route discussed, it was time to get the show on the road… literally.
Immediately after leaving our lot, cell phones and cameras sprouted from nearby onlookers. It was then that we realized… that this event was something special for all of Southern California to see.
The freeway cruise towards the mountains resembled a long string of bright and colorful cars, sometimes being 2 or 3 lanes wide. Lamborghini's had officially hijacked the freeways, and the public acknowledged it as they scooted off to the side once they realized a large army of low-slung skittles-colored cars were on approach.
Finally the real driving began as we entered the twisting roads of Angeles Crest. You didn't need to be going 30, 20, or even 10mph above the speed limit to have fun. But the drivers did have to be awake as the back-to-back twists had a few small rocks sprinkled across the road early on.
Pit stop #1 came as a large turnout which could accommodate the small army was vacant. Immediately as we arrive, motorcyclists and motorists of the road slowed to a crawl around our group as they snapped away pictures. About 15 minutes were spent as drivers and passengers got a chance to stretch and reconfigure their now-scrambled brain for the upcoming twists.
Pit stop #2 came in the form of a gas station off the 15 as V10 and V12 appetites are quite large. Since 47 Lamborghini's needed to fill up, it provided some appreciated down time for drivers to catch up and share their experiences so far with each other. Other motorists were stunned to drive by as entire gas station was filled at every pump with an Italian bull. Even the gas station across the street couldn't escape the flood of hungry Lamborghini's. Gas tanks finally filled, we were on the road again.
Pit stop #3 proved to be quite the scenic stop along the way. The stop was at a turn out just overlooking Lake Arrowhead. The parking lot had lots of space… until our small army of Lamborghini's came and conquered it. Other motorists who had been there before we were immediately knew something epic was about to take place. V10's and V12's were singing along with their throttle-blipped downshifts as they entered the parking lot stunning the onlookers. Even motorists who were behind us had stopped to take a picture of the sight. Finally, we were on our way to the resort.
With the car's engines and suspension systems getting a great workout, we finally arrived at Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa. After everyone was accounted for, we proceeded to our cocktail reception where participants were able to unwind and relax. A few words from Lamborghini Newport Beach's General Manager Pietro Frigerio were said, followed by Lamborghini Club America President Andrew Romanowski, Lamborghini Club Orange County President Kimberly Hoskins, Lamborghini West Coast Sales Manager Gianluca Siciliano, and Lamborghini Newport Beach's Cedric Davy.
With a much needed rest from the previous day, Sunday morning welcomed a fresh new start with the crystal clear atmosphere and dark blue sky. Luggage packed and bodies revitalized, our trek down the mountain began.
As we entered cities and different freeways, it was the same story with motorists pulling over and snapping away. Before we knew it, we were in the thick of Highway 74 which provided a scenic route through the mountains.
Pacific Coast Highway proved to be a nice change of pace as we sifted through Dana Point, Laguna Beach, and Crystal Cover before pulling into Bayside Restaurant in Newport Beach.
As we entered, onlookers and even restaurant employees poked their heads out to catch a rare sight of 47 Lamborghini's filling up their parking lot.
With stomachs full, it was time for everyone to bid their farewells and continue their own Lamborghini adventure as Sunday noon grew into Sunday afternoon. Until next time...
AUSTIN, Texas (May 19, 2013)- In what has been an unbelievable 2013 Pirelli World Challenge Season, GMG’s James Sofronas took his third victory of the season during this weekend’s fourth and fifth rounds at Circuit of the Americas.
“Wow, what an incredible day,” stated Sofronas. “Yesterday’s race with Johnny showed we knew we had a good car, and once again luck was on our side today. The key to this entire season has been having a reliable and consistent car in the Audi R8 LMS, and a crew that has been relentless in looking over every detail. The support we’ve had from Audi on this program has obviously been instrumental, and the guys have been working non-stop to get us here. I’m glad we can celebrate with all of them.”
Following a successful test at the brand-new Austin, Texas facility, the entire Global Motorsports Group (GMG) came in to this weekend’s rounds of the championship knowing that they had a team capable of victory. With a series-record seven cars entered by the team, five of them being the Audi R8 LMS, Sofronas never lost a step in pursuit of his first series championship.
Starting Saturday’s fourth round from the second position, James’ No. 14 Mobil 1 / Children’s Tumor Foundation Audi R8 LMS had a fairly quiet race. Falling back during the standing start, a spirited battle between Sofronas and the No. 8 Cadillac of Andy Pilgrim as well as GMG teammate Duncan Ende led to race-leader Johnny O’Connell building a healthy lead over the field. While Sofronas would comfortably place himself in second during the later stages of the race, the pace of O’Connell’s No. 3 Cadillac was simply too much, with James finishing second; his fourth straight podium.
During today’s fifth round, however, the race would take a significantly different turn. Starting on the front row, the Audi R8 LMS would fall back to third behind the leading Cadillacs. By lap three, the Cadillac of O’Connell would pull to the side with mechanical gremlins. With Sofronas now in second, the balance over the course of the race for the Audi allowed the No. 14 to gain ground on the now-leading Cadillac of Pilgrim. Over time, the consistency of the No. 14 was simply too much for Pilgrim, with Sofronas taking the lead on lap eight and never looking back.
It would be the third victory in five races for James’ 2013 effort, and the Villa Park, California resident has never been off the podium this season.
For Duncan Ende’s No. 24 STANDD / Merchant Services, Ltd. Audi R8 LMS, a seventh and fifth-place finish were not indicative of the Californian’s overall showing.
After qualifying seventh for Saturday’s round, Ende made immediate work of the field in front of him, eventually finding himself glued to Sofronas’ rear-end during the middle stages of the race. Fighting his teammate hard for a podium position, a late re-start would allow Alex Figge’s No. 9 Volvo to put Ende behind, eventually fading back to seventh in the mix, and literally finishing 0.1 seconds behind Mike Skeen’s No. 2 Corvette in a last lap drag race.
For today’s round, Ende was determined to translate his third starting position into his first career Pirelli World Challenge podium. For much of the race it looked like that would finally materialize. Never losing site of his teammate, Ende pursued Sofronas during the entirety of the race. Finding himself in third after O’Connell’s retirement, Ende would spend a good deal of the middle portion of the race battling with the Cadillac of Andy Pilgrim, eventually making the pass with less than 10 laps to go. Sitting in second, a late-race caution would put Duncan right behind race leader James Sofronas for a three-lap shootout to the end. Unfortunately, a punctured left rear tire prior to the caution would create a handful for Ende, eventually leading to Pilgrim passing him on the re-start. Ende would nurse the car home for the final laps, eventually settling for fifth.
“Another crazy weekend, what do I say?” stated Ende. “I was disappointed with Friday’s qualifying, so it was great to come back on Saturday and immediately catch up to James. We didn’t have any mechanical issues and we were finally able to show our ability, but I just caught some bad breaks in traffic and fell back. Today was another great race, we just slipped at the end with the tire. I was really hoping to race James at the end and finally come home with some hardware, but I went wide to avoid crashing into Andy, and from there I was just trying to nurse the car home. It’s disappointing to miss the podium again, but at least we were in contention all weekend and free of mechanical issues.”
For Alex Welch’s No. 08 Spyder / Lasso Audi R8 LMS, a quiet weekend would net two top-10 finishes for the Colorado resident. On Saturday, Welch would run consistent and trouble free to an eventual ninth-place finish. Running one of the fastest laps in the field, Alex was part of a massive mid-field battle, never putting a scratch on the car in the process.
Looking for another top-10 on Sunday, Welch set his fastest lap of the weekend during the race’s third lap, once again fighting hard with the Corvette of Mike Skeen and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Tim Pappas, eventually taking sixth.
“I’m pretty happy with the weekend,” stated Welch. “The strength of James’ and Duncan’s runs showed just how good the program is, and with a little less traffic I think we could have the No. 08 right there. It was great to run clean with Tim and Mike, and I think we found a few things that will help us this season. I definitely have my eyes set on a podium at my next race.”
For Bret Curtis, a mixed weekend was on hand for the Westlake Village, California resident. After showing strong during practice, Curtis showed the potential of the No. 32 Spectra Resources Audi R8 LMS by qualifying the car in fifth on Friday.
Unfortunately, the highlights stopped there as Curtis had a difficult race on Saturday. On lap five, an errant Porsche crashed hard in to the No. 32, causing unrepairable damage to Curtis’ vehicle and retiring in 16th place.
Hoping for better results on Sunday, a hard weekend of car repairs by the GMG crew would give Curtis another great car, however unfortunate luck would rear its head again. On the first turn of the race, another incident would cause damage yet again, this time allowing Curtis to continue on, though wounded, to a quiet ninth.
“We definitely could have used a little better luck out here,” stated Curtis. “I was really pumped after Friday. To qualify in fifth we showed our potential, the guys really gave me a good car. Saturday’s incident was really unfortunate. The other driver’s move was nothing I would have expected, and pretty frustrating. The guys did a great job getting the car turned around. Unfortunately, contact again today before I was out of the first turn kind of ruined any hope of doing well, but at least we were able to get a top-10 out of it. The potential is definitely there for some great results, hopefully it will show soon.”
Running a forgettable weekend was team newcomer Mike Hedlund. Driving the No. 40 Audi R8 LMS, the Woodside, California native showed considerable ability in a car he’d never driven prior to this weekend. Qualifying at a similar time to his teammates, Mike went in to the weekend with high expectations. However, a series of mechanical problems would prove otherwise. During Saturday’s race, an overheating issue while in sixth place would cause Hedlund to retire, eventually credited with 15th. Twenty-four hours later, the driver would retire again with gearbox issues.
“It definitely wasn’t the weekend we had wanted,” stated Hedlund. “It’s part of racing to have mechanical gremlins like this, hopefully it’s all out of the way now for next time. I really appreciate all the effort that the GMG guys put into the car, and it would have been nice to have had some results. Regardless, I appreciate the opportunity, and wish the team the best for the year!”
Finally, Bill Ziegler’s No. 95 Swisher Racing Pontiac would also have a very mixed weekend in the GTS category. Continuing to develop their machine, a promising series of runs in practice and qualifying were unfortunately marred by mechanical retirements on Saturday and Sunday.
“It definitely wasn’t the weekend we’d hoped for,” stated Ziegler. “Development is a big part of this program, and unfortunately it means you can have weekends like this one. I appreciate all the work that the GMG guys did to get us here, and we’ll get them at Detroit.”
With the team putting a very strong stamp on the Pirelli World Challenge GT Championship, there is little time to relax as the team prepares for the next round in just two weeks. The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will hold the sixth and seventh rounds of the championship on Saturday, June 1 and Sunday, June 2.
NBC Sports Network will feature television coverage of this weekend’s race at Circuit of the Americas on Sunday, June 16, at 5PM ET.
About GMG
Founded in 2001 by James Sofronas and Fabryce Kutyba, GMG has quickly established itself as North America’s premier performance tuning and racing facility. What began as a small 1200 sq. ft. shop, maintaining two race cars, has grown into a 30,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art performance tuning, racing and service facility located in (Orange County) Santa Ana, California. The staff's experience, attention to detail, and passion are what make GMG the choice of professionals and enthusiasts world wide. Whether you want to maximize the performance of your street car, or race wheel-to-wheel on both amateur and professional racing series across North America, GMG’s reputation for service and quality is unmatched. Learn more at www.gmgracing.com
About Mobil 1
Conventional oil is simply refined crude oil. Mobil 1 synthetic oil, however, is not only refined, but it is also distilled, purified, and broken down into its basic molecules. It is then rebuilt and added to, so that it can better protect against wear, high heat, cold weather and sludge buildup. Ultimately, this process helps your car’s engine run better for longer. You can explore more about these benefits below. Learn more at www.mobiloil.com
About Lasso
Lasso is a request-based, sharing network predicated on a very simple idea: You have something that I want—and you may not even know it until I ask for it. With so much content cluttering our phones, tablets, PCs and social networks, it can be difficult to seek out and find the specific items of interest to you. Friends or colleagues may not share this content with you directly because they’re drowning in data overload themselves. Often, these friends aren’t sure exactly what you want. Lasso makes it easy for you to round up the digital content you want from friends—simply by asking for it. By putting the onus on the requester, instead of the person holding the content, you’ll be in a much better position to actually receive the digital content you’re interested in.
Learn more at www.lasso.me
About Merchant Services Ltd.
In 2001 Merchant Services Ltd. was founded with three basic principles in mind: quality, service, and commitment. Inspired by our racing heritage we pride ourself in providing the highest level of customer service and support 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Merchant Services Ltd. develops long term relationships with both our merchants and banking partners allowing us to have the highest customer retention rate in the industry. Founded by a professional race car driver, innovation and efficiency have always been our core competencies, ensuring that our merchants receive the cutting edge solutions their businesses need.
Learn more at www.merchantservicesltd.com
About Spyder
Spyder was founded by avid skier and outdoor athlete David Jacobs. He rose to world-class rankings as a competitive skier, and stayed connected to the sport he loves by coaching, designing related products, and building one of the most powerful brands in the industry. His dedication to the sport of skiing and the Spyder brand is as inspiring as it is intriguing. Spyder's growth exploded over the turn of the century, and the company is now the largest ski-specialty brand in the world. David has recently discovered the adrenaline rush in racing classic Formula One cars, finding success - not surprisingly - in this new pastime. For a man who's thrived on sports, technology, and professional advancement, the world is sure to see David go a few more times around the track.
Learn more at www.spyder.com
About Spectra Resources
Spectra Resources is a specialized trading company designed for buyers and sellers to purchase and sell steel in any part of the world efficiently and economically.
Learn more at www.spectraresources.com
About STANDD
Stop Texting And Distracted Driving (STANDD) was founded by Diveeta Thompson, whose son Rodney lost his life while driving. There were numerous factors that played a factor - speed, music, and texting. In an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of texting and driving, Diveeta founded STANDD and has been working diligently throughout her home state of Indiana and nationally through Duncan Ende's motorsports program to spread the message of the dangers of distracted driving. STANDD also promotes the Rodney O. Thompson II Scholarship, which was established to help young people fulfill their goal of attending college after high school.
Learn more at www.standd.org
Learn more at www.racersroast.com
About Swisher
The company began in 1861 when David Swisher received a small cigar business in settlement of a debt. Back then, cigars were only a sideline for Swisher and his four sons, just one of many products that they hawked across the Midwest for the “rolling stores” or wagons. Today, Swisher International, Inc. is a leader in the tobacco business, accounting for one-third of the United States' cigar sales and is America’s largest cigar exporter.
Learn more at www.swisher.com
About United Steel Supply
United Steel Supply is a leading distributor and processor of steel products dedicated to the metal building industry in the United States. Learn more at www.unitedsteelsupply.com
The customer teams of last year's winner Audi experienced one of the toughest events of the Nürburgring 24 Hours this year. Heavy rain forced race control during the night to interrupt the race for more than nine hours. Numerous accidents caused a treacherous mix of oil, mud and rain water on the track. Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars had accidents in these critical conditions and retired. In the end, Marcel Fässler/Mike Rockenfeller/Frank Stippler/Markus Winkelhock (CH/D/D/D) in fifth place were the best Audi drivers.
For the first time since the 24-hour Nürburgring debut of the racing version of the R8 in May 2009, there was no trophy for the GT sports car. Four times in succession, the R8 LMS won the GT3 class. In addition, Audi celebrated overall victory a year ago. Following this factory-backed commitment, customer teams exclusively relied on the most recent evolution of the R8 LMS ultra. Five teams put eight race cars on the grid. Frank Stippler (D) started the race weekend for Phoenix Racing by setting the best time in qualifying. From grid position one, last year's winner in car number 4 took the lead at the beginning of the race. Subsequently, the local hero from Bad Münstereifel, who was nominated for two cars, concentrated on his stints in car number 1, the R8 LMS ultra of G-Drive Racing by Phoenix.
Stippler with his team-mates Marcel Fässler, Markus Winkelhock and Mike Rockenfeller, who had directly arrived from Brands Hatch where he won a DTM round, was initially running among the top three teams. Due to an exchange of the oxygen sensor, car number 1 dropped to tenth place on Sunday night. Up to the interruption of the race the team had recovered to fourth place. On Monday, the quartet defended its position in the fiercely competitive field of the front runners as rain was repeatedly setting in again. In the end, they finished in fifth place.
Several Audi customers got to experience the trickiness of the conditions that prevailed after the race was interrupted. Michael Ammermüller (D) was fortunate when after an excursion only the tie rod on his number 4 Audi had to be exchanged. Consequently, together with Ferdinand and Johannes Stuck (A), he managed the leap onto position eight. One position behind them, Frank Biela/Christer Jöns/Luca Ludwig/Roman Rusinov (D/D/D/RUS) in the second car of G-Drive Racing by Phoenix reached the finish.
Almost simultaneously with Ammermüller, Laurens Vanthoor (B) had slipped into the guard rails on an oil leak. The suspension of his number 29 Audi of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was too heavily damaged for a repair. Around 80 minutes later, Christian Mamerow (D) was struck by misfortune. At the ‘Schwedenkreuz' he got off track on a slippery spot. He destroyed the suspension of his number 2 R8 LMS ultra so that Prosperia C. Abt Team Mamerow retired.
Car number 14 of the Audi race experience experienced a smaller accident as well on lapping a rival but Pierre Ehret (D) was able to continue to drive. Piloted by other enthusiastic customers and several professional drivers, the two R8 LMS ultra cars of the Audi race experience otherwise completed their laps in a commanding manner and in the end took positions 18 and 28.
"I've never experienced such a tough event of the 24-hour race since the R8 started running here," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "Still, our customers demonstrated a great fighting spirit. Our congratulations today go to those who finished the race and of course to the overall winners of Mercedes-Benz. I'm sure that our customers will attack again at Spa in July at the next 24-hour race."
Romolo Liebchen, Head of Customer Sport at quattro GmbH, commented, "Every string comes to an end. Since May 2012, the R8 has won four 24-hour races - at the Nürburgring, at Spa, at Zolder plus the class victory at Daytona in January. That the R8 LMS ultra is a reliable and fast endurance race car we saw nonetheless at the Nürburgring in the fierce competition of more than 30 GT3 race cars. Together with our customers, we're already looking forward to the next challenges."
It wasn't to be. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT's race at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, probably the toughest GT race in the world, ended on Monday morning when the Audi R8 LMS ultra of the Belgian squad suffered an accident after hitting a spot of oil on the track, sustaining heavy damage. Until then, Team WRT had been a win contender and was in fifth position at the moment of the accident. There was frustration among team members and the four drivers (Laurens Vanthoor, Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies and Edward Sandström) but also satisfaction for the competitiveness shown throughout the weekend, in what was only the second participation of the Belgian squad in the landmark race on the Eifel track. This year's edition has matched in excess the epics of the Nordschleife, as the race had to be neutralized during the entire night because of heavy rain and fog. Eventually, Audi could not retain the crown, with the best-placed R8 only in fifth, in an edition dominated by the Mercedes SLS.
Following its positive debut in 2012, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was keen to show its potential in this second outing at the 24 Hours and that happened since the first practice sessions. The car proved well-balanced and fast, and was qualified in an excellent 10th position (out of 175 entrants!) by Edward Sandström.
The race started at 5 pm on Sunday and during the first hours, the Belgian R8 stabilized in the top ten, with very short gaps within the front-runners. Options for a big result remained open even a first alert, when the Battlefield4-livered R8 slightly touched the barriers after going into aquaplaning in the rain. The car could be perfectly repaired and re-prepared as the race was red-flagged around 11 pm. The rain had become heavier and heavier, with visibility made poorer by darkness and spots of fog. The situation went on for the entire night, with the race resuming shortly after 8 am on Monday morning.
The pace of the Belgian squad's car was again excellent and the car charged back to 5th, when, shortly before 10 am, it fell victim of an accident in the fast section of Bergwerk. Laurens Vanthoor was at the wheel at that moment and the young Belgian rookie was surprised by a sudden spot of oil, not flagged by the marshals. The car hit the barriers several times and was too heavily-damaged to continue, but luckily, Laurens escaped unscathed.
Team Principal Vincent Vosse was philosophical in wrapping up the experience: "That's the kind of thing that can happen anytime in a race such as the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, and you have to accept it. This year, things were made even more difficult by the apocalyptic weather conditions. It's a pity, because we proved competitive, we were in the top positions and very often the best-placed Audi, but that's racing. Now we are all trying to lift up Laurens' spirits. He feels a little bit miserable at the moment, and any driver would do so in his position, but there is nothing he should be blaming himself for, what happened would have occurred to anyone at the wheel at that moment. I am happy with what we showed, with the great work done by the team and the drivers, and we are going to turn the page and focus on what comes next".
This will be the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series scheduled on 1st - 2nd June at Silverstone.
The second round of the European Le Mans Series was held last weekend on the Italian circuit of Imola. During the previous race held over 3 hours on the British Silverstone circuit the Dylan Derdaele (B), Raffi Bader (CH), Kuba Giermaziak (PL) trio had claimed a first podium place in the GTC class. Despite the good prospects of clinching a second podium place in a row the Audi R8 LMS of the MOMO-Megatron-DF1 Team experienced a technical problem with its brakes. Everything was running smoothly up until the 60th lap! The front brake lining literally went up in smoke and the American Audi-Team was then confronted with a leaking oil line.
With a starting grid of 28 cars the GTC class was strongly represented with seven top cars. In varying weather conditions the MOMO-Megatron-DF1 Team concentrated on the set-up of the Audi R8 LMS for this difficult circuit. Their efforts were finally rewarded with an excellent third best time in GTC during the qualifying. It was once more to be a challenge for the young Derdaele, Giermaziak and Bader trio.
Raffi Bader: "After Silverstone we experienced a fair amount of bad luck during the race here in Imola. The brake cooling was set at "shortrun". This resulted in the brakes not being ideally cooled".
Kuba Giermaziak: "Unfortunately up against the new Ferrari and Lamborghini our Audi R8 LMS was no match regarding lap times".
Also Dylan Derdaele was not really satisfied with the performance of the Audi R8 LMS as compared to the competition: "There is work to be done. Through some heavy test sessions we need to improve the performance of the Audi R8 LMS before the next round of the ELMS on the Austrian Red Bull Ring in order to take on our rivals ", the fast young Belgian concluded.
