Alba AR6

Last updated

The Alba AR6 was a Group C2 sports car prototype, designed, developed and built by Italian manufacturer Alba Engineering in 1985, to compete in the World Sportscar Championship, and used in sports car racing until 1990. A variant of the car, called the Alba AR8, was used in the IMSA GTP Championship. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Development history and technology

In the development history of Alba, the typology of racing cars is confusing. In the short period from 1983 to 1985, five vehicle types were created, beginning with the AR2. The fifth in this series was the AR6, which was built in the spring of 1985 according to Group C2 technical regulations. The order to build it came from Martino Finotto, who wanted to replace his two AR2s with another new design. The 4-cylinder turbo engine developed in Finotto's and Carlo Facetti's joint venture CARMA was again used as the engine, the displacement of which was increased to 1.9 liters.

In the AR6, which was driven in the North American IMSA GTP series from 1986, there was an interesting engine variant. In 1981, Facetti and Finotto drove a Group 5 Ferrari 308GTB in the World Sportscar Championship. The powerplant, a 3-liter V8, was revised and carried over by Alba designer Giorgio Stirano into the IMSA car, which also had a longer wheelbase. It was evolved in 1987, into the Alba AR8. Designed to Jim Mullen's commission, it was equipped with a Buick V6 twin-turbo powertrain, which made a good 700 hp (520 kW), and drove the rear wheels through a five-speed Hewland VGC manual gearbox. [4]

Racing history

1985

The Finotto/Facetti AR6 had its first racing use at the 1000 km race in Monza. Their long-term partner Guido Daccò joined Finotto and Facetti in the team. In practice, the trio achieved the 13th time with 1:42.220 minutes and thus the fastest of all C2 vehicles. Riccardo Patrese's pole position time in the Lancia LC2/85 was twelve seconds short. The race ended prematurely due to a defective turbocharger. The first finish was in May 1985 at the Silverstone 1000 km with 17th place overall. The trio Finotto/Facetti/Daccò was at the wheel again. That was just seventh in the C2 class, 29 laps behind class winners Ray Mallock and Mike Wilds in the Ecosse C285. Finotto was extremely dissatisfied with the new car, but teammates Loris Kessel, Almo Coppelli, and Jean-Pierre Frey in the three-year-old AR2 did not finish 18th either, so that one had to hope for further development of the car. [5] [6]

At the fifth race of the season, after extensive testing, there were signs of improvement. The 1000 km race at Hockenheim ended with tenth place overall and third place in class. [7]

The team achieved its best placing of the season at the Brands Hatch 1000 km race with eighth place overall and second place in the class rankings. [8]

1986-1990

In 1986, in addition to the sports car world championship, an AR6 used by Gaston Andrey Racing was also used in the IMSA GTP series. From 1987, the AR6 with chassis number 005 was the only car of this racing type to compete in sports car racing, and that exclusively in North America. Best finishes that year were fifth place in the 1986 Road America 500 (Finotto and Ruggero Melgrati), sixth place in the 1987 Watkins Glen 500 km (Finotto and Daccò), and seventh place in the West Palm Beach 3-hour race in 1986 (Facetti and Melgarti). [9]

Between 1986 and 1990 the AR6 entered by the Gaston Andrey Racing team in the IMSA GTP Lights won several races including the Palm Beach 1'GP and the Road America 500 miles in 1986 and other significant ones such as the Miami GP in 1988. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlo Facetti</span> Italian racing driver

Carlo Giovanni Facetti is a former racing driver from Italy, mainly known for his success in touring car and sports car racing. In his single attempt at Formula One he failed to qualify for the 1974 Italian Grand Prix with a Brabham BT42 run by the Scuderia Finotto team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porsche 962</span> Prototype racing car

The Porsche 962 is a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with IMSA's GTP regulations, although it would later compete in the European Group C formula as the 956 had. The 962 was introduced at the end of 1984, from which it quickly became successful through private owners while having a remarkably long-lived career, with some examples still proving competitive into the mid-1990s. The vehicle was later replaced by the Porsche WSC-95.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Group C</span> Race car class

Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with Group A for touring cars and Group B for GTs.

John Lee Paul Jr. was an American racing driver. He competed in CART and the Indy Racing League competitions, but primarily in IMSA GT Championship, winning the title in 1982.

The 1984 World Sportscar Championship season was the 32nd season of FIA "World Sportscar Championship" motor racing. It featured the 1984 FIA World Endurance Championship, which was open to FIA Group C1, Group C2 and Group B cars and to IMSA GTP, GTX, GTO and GTU cars. The championship was contested over an eleven race series which ran from 23 April to 2 December 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet Corvette GTP</span>

The Chevrolet Corvette GTP was an American Grand Touring Prototype-class sports prototype racing car which successfully participated in the IMSA Camel GT from 1984 until 1989. The car was professionally fielded in competition as General Motors' Chevrolet Corvette C4 official factory team effort in the IMSA GTP class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo</span>

The Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo was a series of racing cars developed for Nissan Motors by Electramotive Engineering to compete in the IMSA GT Championship. Running from 1985 to 1990, they were known for being the first car to defeat the Porsche 962 which had dominated IMSA's premiere GTP category. This led to Nissan winning the constructor's championship and 12 Hours of Sebring in 1989 and 1990. During 1990, the GTP ZX-Turbo was replaced by the newer NPT-90.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaguar XJR-6</span>

The Jaguar XJR-6 is a Group C sports prototype race car, designed, developed and built by TWR, with the aim of competing, from 1985, in the World Sportscar Championship. A total of six Jaguar XJR-6s were built and they contested in the World Sportscar Championship until 1986, before Jaguar replaced them with the Jaguar XJR-8.

The Lola T616 is a sports prototype built by Lola Cars to the Group C2 and IMSA GTP regulations. It was built with the intention to compete in the IMSA GT Championship and the World Sportscar Championship, and became the second Mazda-powered prototype to score a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans after the 717C triumphed in the same C2 class at the 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Martino Finotto was an Italian racing driver, mainly known for his success in touring car and sports car racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March 86G</span>

The March 86G was a Group C and IMSA GTP sports racing car built by March Engineering. Built as simply a chassis with no engine, it was branded as one of three cars, the BMW GTP, the Buick Hawk or the Nissan R86V depending on which engine was placed in the chassis and which team was running it. There were a number of subtle bodywork changes to reflect the manufacturer which ran the car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LMDh</span> Type of sports prototype race car

An LMDh is a type of sports prototype race car that will compete alongside Le Mans Hypercar entries in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2023. It also competes in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buick Indy V6 engine</span> Motor vehicle engine

The Buick Indy V6 engine is a powerful turbocharged, 3.0–3.4 L (180–210 cu in), V-6, Indy car racing internal combustion engine, designed and produced by Buick for use in the C.A.R.T. PPG Indy Car World Series, and later the IRL IndyCar Series; between 1982 and 1997. It shares the same architecture, and mechanical design, and is based on the Buick V6 road car engine. A slightly destroked 3.0-liter V6 engine was also used in the March 85G and March 86G IMSA GTP sports prototypes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March 85G</span>

The March 85G was a mid-engined IMSA racing sports prototype, designed and developed by March Engineering in 1984 and used in sports car racing until 1988.

The Ford Probe GTP, also sometimes called the Ford Mustang Probe GTP, was an IMSA GTP sports racing car, designed, developed and built by German constructor Zakspeed, and used by the Zakspeed Racing team in the 1985 IMSA GT Championship. It was based on the standard road-going Ford Probe, and was the successor to the Ford Mustang GTP race car.. Unlike the road car, using a conventional front-engined designed, the prototype race car used a mid-engined design. It was powered by the same 2.1 L (130 cu in) turbocharged Cosworth BDA straight-four engine, producing 600 hp (450 kW), which was plenty powerful enough for the lightweight 1,770 lb (800 kg) vehicle. This drove the rear wheels through a five-speed Hewland VG5 manual transmission. Klaus Ludwig, Doc Bundy, Lyn St. James, Scott Pruett, Pete Halsmer, Arie Luyendyk, Tom Gloy, and Chip Robinson all drove the car. Highlights for the car included two second-place podium finishes at Watkins Glen and Sears Point in 1985, and an outright win for Klaus Ludwig at Laguna Seca in 1986.

The Alba AR2 was a Group C junior sports car prototype, designed, developed and built by Italian manufacturer Alba Engineering in 1983, and used in sports car racing until 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royale RP40</span>

The Royale RP40 is an IMSA GTP Lights/Group C2 prototype race car, designed, developed and built by Royale Racing, for competition in the IMSA GT Championship, between 1985 and 1989. It one a single a race, at Miami, in 1986. Its powerplant was either a Buick V6 engine, or a Porsche flat-six engine. It also competed in the British Thundersports series, where it achieved a 3rd-place podium finish.

The Alba AR3, and its derivative, the Alba AR3-001, were a series of ground effect IMSA GTP/Group C junior (C2) sports prototype race car, designed, developed and built by Italian manufacturer and constructor, Alba Engineering in 1984, and used in sports car racing until 1988. Its best result was two 4th-place finishes; first at Lime Rock in 1984, being driven by Gianpiero Moretti, and the second at Kyalami in 1987, being driven by Maurizio Gellini and Ranieri Randaccio. It was powered by a number of different engines, including a naturally-aspirated 4.5 L (270 cu in) Buick V6 engine, a turbocharged 4.0 L (240 cu in) Buick Indy V6 engine, a 1.3 L (79 cu in) Mazda 13B 2-rotor wankel rotary engine, a naturally-aspirated 3.0 L (180 cu in) Ford-Cosworth DFV Formula One engine, and a derived 3.3 L (200 cu in) Ford-Cosworth DFL.

The Alba AR5 was an IMSA GTP sports prototype race car, designed, developed and built by Italian manufacturer Alba Engineering, in 1984. It competed in the IMSA GT Championship sports car racing series until 1988. It was powered by a number of different engines, including Buick/Oldsmobile V6, a Chevrolet V8, and a Ford-Cosworth DFL. Its best race result was a 4th-place finish at Columbus in 1985.

The 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship is a planned motor racing championship, set to be the 53rd racing season sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association, which traces its lineage back to the 1971 IMSA GT Championship. It will also be the tenth season of the IMSA SportsCar Championship since the merger between the American Le Mans Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2014, and the eighth under the sponsorship of WeatherTech. The 2023 season marks an overhaul season for the championship, with a change in class structure and a new race on the season calendar at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The championship will begin with the 24 Hours of Daytona on January 28 and conclude with the Petit Le Mans on October 14 after 11 races.

References

  1. "1986 Alba AR8 GTP". conceptcarz.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  2. "1986 Alba AR6 | Race Car". April 1, 2016. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  3. "Alba AR6". Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  4. "1986 - 1988 Alba AR8 Buick - Images, Specifications and Information". Ultimatecarpage.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  5. "Silverstone 1985". Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  6. "Monza 1985". Archived from the original on 2022-03-22. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  7. "Hockenheim 1985". Archived from the original on 2022-03-22. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. "Brands Hatch 1985". Archived from the original on 2022-03-22. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  9. "Road America 1986". Archived from the original on 2021-05-01. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  10. "Watkins Glen 1987". Archived from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  11. "West Palm Beach 1986". Archived from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved 17 June 2022.