DSC’s Daily Notebook (14/04/2023)

ShareFacebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Email

Posted in:

14 April 2023, 7:12 AM

Rexy Porsche visits Hot Wheels

Before AO Racing arrived in Long Beach, it visited Mattel, Inc in anticipation of the upcoming Hot Wheel replica of Rexy, the team's Porsche 911 GT3 R. The designers at Hot Wheels were able to get up close and personal with the Tyrannosaurus Rex race car, the toy of which is expected to hit shelves in late 2023 or early 2024.

"We unveiled Rexy to the Hot Wheels team, who will be building it out," said team manager and Driver Gunnar Jeannette. "It's really cool to see all of the people get involved and take a look, and to see their enthusiasm."

At Sebring the car attracted the attention of Hot Wheels Design Manager Dmitriy Shakhmatov, a family friend of the Jeannettes. Before the race started, the two brands had a deal in place to create a toy Hot Wheels car of Rexy the GT3 Rawr.

After surveying and drooling over the car in the morning, the Hot Wheels staff invited Jeannette and team behind the security walls of the design and development centre for a VIP tour of the facility, led by Shakhmatov.

"It's such a cool car that really captivates the audience, and especially the kids," said Shakhmatov. "It provides excitement for all demographics, from three-year-olds to 93-year-olds, as we say. Having so much fun and seeing our partners with AO Racing and Porsche doing a livery that really stands out is something that our brand is all about. We have the vehicle in our lineup, and having the livery will totally make this a nice, appealing toy."

Marshall Pruett Long Beach paddock tours

Join RACER.com's Marshall Pruett on a tour of the IMSA and historic paddocks at this weekend's Long Beach Grand Prix.



Car Collection N24 livery revealed

The colour scheme for the Lionspeed GP X Car Collection Porsche for the 2023 Nürburgring 24 Hours has been revealed.

#lionspeedgp together with #carcollection ready for @24hNBR 🤍💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/GbVthGoTsS

— Berzerkdesign (@berzerkdesign) April 12, 2023

HubAuto returns to World Challenge Asia

HubAuto Racing will make its Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS return this season after revealing a two-car GT3 entry for drivers Morris Chen and Alvaro Parente, and Brian Lee and Hideto Yasuoka.

The team contested all three pre-covid campaigns in 2017-19 and was a GT3 title contender during those final two seasons with Ferrari. Now, four years on, it has switched to the new 992-spec Porsche 911 GT3 R ahead of a full-season regional programme with two Pro-Am entries.

"I’m ecstatic to be back behind the wheel," said Chen. "The thrill of being on track is unbeatable. I’ve missed the rush of adrenaline that comes with racing, and I can't wait to push myself to new limits.

"I am immensely pleased to announce Alvaro Parente as my co-driver in Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia. Alvaro is highly talented in GT cars and it's sensational to welcome him back into the HubAuto Racing team.

"We have always been impressed with Alvaro and his experience. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans we saw that he was particularly fast. What's more, Alvaro is familiar with the team. We’ve had a long relationship with Alvaro, though this is only the second opportunity for him to be racing with us."

Three Audi teams confirmed for DTM

Audi Sport customer racing is set to be represented by three teams with the R8 LMS in the 2023 DTM season.

ABT Sportsline and Tressor Orange1 will each bring a pair of cars to the grid, while touring car regular Liqui Moly Team Engstler adds a fifth car to Audi's fleet for what will be its first season in GT3 racing.

ABT Sportsline, a five-time DTM chamionship-winning team, will race with Kelvin van der Linde from South Africa and Swiss Audi Sport driver Ricardo Feller.

Tressor Orange1 meanwhile will compete with two Audi Sport drivers, Swiss Patric Niederhauser and Italian Mattia Drudi.

And Team Engstler will field a car for Luca Engstler, an Audi Sport driver since last year.

"The DTM offers Audi Sport excellent opportunities together with the experienced customer teams," says Head of Audi Motorsport Rolf Michl. "We can pursue exciting motorsport in the important performance market Germany with the Audi R8 LMS in competition with first-class rivals."

Images courtesy of HubAuto & AO Racing

Tagged with: Stephen Kilbey

ShareFacebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Email

See more

Posted in:

by Stephen Kilbey 7 June 2023 0 Comments

Posted in:

by RJ O’Connell 7 June 2023 0 Comments