ProtoSports debutante, Mark Laucke has taken out the first round of the 2008 ProtoSports Championship, driving a WEST WR1000.

Laucke, who had not previously raced the WEST, made his first appearance in the Australian Motor Racing Championships at Goulburn's Wakefield Park. Consistently the quickest of the ProtoSports, Laucke headed a field made up of two other WESTs, a Prosport, a Radical and a Saker. Also making his debut in the category was Shane Otten, driving a 2003 Prosport, and joined by his father, Rick Otten in a Radical.

The No. 30 Corvette of Eric Curran leads No. 31 Sonny Whelen

OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. (March 3, 2008) - After winning 40 percent of the SPEED GT races in 2007, Eric Curran and Sonny Whelen are preparing for even greater success in 2008. Whelen Engineering has announced their return to the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT Championship with the Drivers’ Championship as their sole focus.

Farnbacher Loles Racing will carry its championship form to the American Le Mans Series this season, combining forces with champion drivers Dirk Werner and Marc Basseng. Farnbacher Loles and Werner won the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series GT team and driver titles in 2007. Basseng adds a European championship. They hope to match that success in the ALMS this year.

The Houston round of the ALMS became a casualty of the open wheel reunification

HOUSTON, March 3, 2008 - The Grand Prix of Houston announced today that the 2008 event, originally scheduled for April 25-27 at Reliant Park, has been cancelled. Grand Prix officials made the determination that after the unexpected unification of the Champ Car World Series and Indy Racing League and the resulting exclusion of Houston from the schedule, it was not possible to stage the event in 2008. However, Grand Prix officials are already in discussions about the possibility of holding the Grand Prix of Houston in 2009 with the American Le Mans Series and Indy Racing League.

Tom Milner has been round the game for a long time

"I'm probably one of the oldest original IMSA members that are still running in the Series," Tom Milner boasts. "That was in 1969, and our first race was in Pocono, Pa. Not many people remember that." But for those who have followed the American Le Mans Series, Milner and his Team PTG (Prototype Technology Group) are iconic figures after taking the Series' first GT championship in 1999. After winning five times with BMW, Milner and PTG are preparing for their second season with the Panoz Esperante GTLM in the Series' 10th season.

The FIA GT should have a good grid for 2008

With full-season entries now having closed for the 2008 season of its international series, SRO Motorsports Group, promoter of the FIA GT Championship, the FIA GT3 European Championship and the GT4 European Cup, is delighted with this year’s entry.

The Speedy Spyker was badly burnt in testing. Fortunately the driver, Andrea Cheisa did not suffer serious injury

Morning Session

Monday 9:00 AM-1:00 PM

Without Audi cars, whose times both remained the best, the session resumes at 9:00 AM. Weather conditions are once again excellent (16°C at 9:00 AM, over 20°C at 1:00 PM under a clear blue sky). The only car running this night, the Courage-Oreca n°6, had to stays in his box for three hours due to a mechanical problem, spoiling their 24H live simulation.

Audi Sport Team Joest dominates test day of Le Mans Series

Ingolstadt/Le Castellet – Audi Sport Team Joest clearly set the pace at the official tests of the Le Mans Series (LMS) at Le Castellet (Southern France). At the end of the first test day both Audi R10 TDI cars had a commanding lead in the sportscar field. The fastest time was set by Allan McNish. The Scot was the only driver on Sunday to break the sound barrier of 1.40 minutes.

The IMSA Porsche's in testing

Stuttgart. At the official test of the Le Mans Series (LMS) in Le Castellet
(France), the Porsche RS Spyder celebrated its European premiere. Here, the
two sports prototypes of the Team Essex (Denmark) and Van Merksteijn
Motorsport (Netherlands) met their opponents in the fiercely-contested LMP2
class for the first time. The Swiss Horag Racing team was not present for
the test as it is already in Florida where it will contest the Sebring 12
hour race on 15 March. The main purpose in southern France was for teams
and drivers to familiarise themselves with the new sports prototype. For
both race teams the RS Spyder represents new territory.