GMS Durango LMP1

Last updated
GMS Durango LMP1
Constructor GMS
Successor Durango PM 02
Technical specifications
Engine 2000–2001: Mader-BMW 4,000 cc (244.1 cu in) naturally aspirated V8, mid engined
2002: Judd GV4 4,000 cc (244.1 cu in) naturally aspirated V10
Tyres Goodyear
Avon
Competition history
Notable entrants Durango
Debut 2000 SportsRacing World Cup Spa
RacesWins
13 (17 entries)1 (2 class)
Teams' Championships0
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

The GMS Durango LMP1 was a Le Mans Prototype built for Durango by GMS in 2000. Initially fitted with a 4-litre BMW V8 engine, which was prepared by Mader, a Judd GV4 V10 was fitted in its place for the 2002 season. [1] Durango replaced the car with their own PM 02 for the 2003 season. The GMS Durango LMP1 was not particularly successful, and had a weak gearbox; but it was able to win one race, the 2002 6 Hours of Vallelunga.

Le Mans Prototype Sportscar endurance racing class

A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The technical requirements for an LMP include bodywork covering all mechanical elements of the car.

Durango Automotive SRL was an Italian auto racing team founded in 1980 by Ivone Pinton and Enrico Magro, which competed in Formula 3000, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the GP2 Series. The team finished racing after withdrawing from the Italian round of the 2009 GP2 Series season, although it was linked to Jacques Villeneuve and his bid to return to Formula One for the 2011 season.

BMW automotive brand, manufacturer, and conglomerate

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly referred to as BMW is a German multinational company which produces automobiles and motorcycles. The company was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, which it produced from 1917 until 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945.

Contents

Racing history

2000

In 2000, Durango commissioned GMS to build a Le Mans Prototype. The car was completed by April, and was first run by Emanuele Naspetti at Vallelunga on 26 April 2000; the Italian gave a positive opinion about the new car. [2] Durango lodged an entry (with Naspetti selected to drive) in the third round of the Sports Racing World Cup, held at Spa-Francorchamps in May, but did not attend the event. [3] Instead, the car made its debut, with Andrea de Lorenzi and Soheil Ayari as its drivers, three months later in round six, held at Brno, and took tenth place overall – and eighth in the SR class. [4] Jean-Philippe Belloc replaced Ayari in the next round, held at Donington Park, and this time Durango finished ninth overall, and sixth in class. [5] Ayari returned for the Nürburgring, but a gearbox failure forced the LMP1 into retirement after 52 laps. [6] The driver lineup was unchanged for Magny-Cours, and a sixth place overall (and in class) duly followed. [7] For Kyalami, local driver Earl Goddard replaced de Lorenzi as Ayari's partner, and the pair managed to take fifth overall and in class. [8] Durango finished the season ranked seventh in the SR Team's championship, with 23 points. [9]

Emanuele Naspetti is a racing driver and entrepreneur from Italy.

ACI Vallelunga Circuit motorsport venue in Italy

The Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi is a racing circuit situated 32 km north of Rome, Italy, near Vallelunga of Campagnano. Vallelunga was built as a sand 1.8 km oval in 1959. From 1963 the circuit held the Rome Grand Prix, and in 1967 a new loop was added when the track became the property of the Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI). Further refurbishment was undertaken in 1971. The track is named for the famous Italian racing driver Piero Taruffi.

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps race track in Spa, Belgium

The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is also referred to as Spa and is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, and the Spa 24 Hours and 1000 km Spa endurance races.

2001

The 2001 season started with Goddard attempting to run himself and Ayari in the 24 Hours of Daytona in February; however, they never competed in the race. [10] It would be another five months before another GMS Durango LMP1 entry was lodged; this time, Durango ran the car (driven by Ayari and de Lorenzi) at the fifth round of the FIA Sportscar Championship, which was the Magny-Cours race. However, the BMW engine turned sour, and the team were unable to start the race. [11] Durango attempted to run the pair in the sixth and eighth rounds of the series, held at Donington Park and Nürburgring respectively, but didn't run in either event. [12] [13] The team then entered the 6 Hours of Vallelunga, a non-championship event; with Gabriele de Bono and Marco Cioci behind the wheel, they won the SR1 class (by virtue of being the only SR1 entrant), and took second overall. [14]

24 Hours of Daytona Sports car endurance race held in Daytona, FL, US

The 24 Hours of Daytona, currently known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) combined road course, utilizing portions of the NASCAR tri-oval and an infield road course. Since its inception, it has been held on the last weekend of January or first weekend of February as part of Speedweeks, and it is the first major automobile race of the year in the United States. It is also the first race of the season for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The FIA Sportscar Championship was a sports car racing series created by John Mangoletsi and was eventually taken control of by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a series similar to the FIA GT Championship, concentrating on two classes of open-cockpit sports prototypes in endurance races mostly around Europe. The series was folded after the 2003 season.

6 Hours of Vallelunga

The 6 Hours of Vallelunga, also called 6 Hours of Rome, is an endurance sports car racing event held annually at the ACI Vallelunga Circuit in Vallelunga, Italy.

2002

Durango made one notable change to the LMP1 for the 2002 season; they replaced the BMW V8 engine with a Judd GV4 V10. [15] This did not have a major impact on the car's performance; Mirko Venturi and Alessandro Battaglin took seventh overall, and sixth in the SR1 category. [16] However, this was not a sign of things to come, as a gearbox failure at Estoril, [17] a marshalling error at Brno (where Belloc had been recalled, in place of Venturi), [18] and another gearbox failure at Magny-Cours (Gianmaria Bruni joined the team for this event) saw the team retire from three races on the trot. [19] The team skipped the fifth round of the series, before returning for the sixth, held at Spa-Francorchamps; this time, Bruni and Battaglin were able to finish fifth overall, and in class, despite having a gearbox failure with just over 30 seconds of the allotted race time remaining. [20] Like 2000, Durango finished the season in seventh place in the SR1 Team's championship, albeit with 14 points on this occasion. [21] However, the car would have one last race, at the 6 Hours of Vallelunga; Bruni was partnered by Leonardo Maddalena and Michele Rugolo, and the trio managed to win the race, although they were once again the only SR1 entrant. [22]

V8 engine piston engine with eight cylinders in vee configuration

A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder V configuration engine with the cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two sets of four, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft. Most banks are set at a right angle (90°) to each other, some at a narrower angle, with 45°, 60°, and 72° most common.

V10 engine piston engine with ten cylinders in vee configuration

A V10 engine is a V engine with 10 cylinders in two banks of five. It is longer than a V8 engine but shorter than a straight-6 engine or V12 engine.

Gianmaria Bruni Formula One and sportscar racing driver, three-time winner of the FIA World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers

Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni is an Italian Porsche factory auto racing driver who drove in the 2004 Formula One World Championship for Minardi. He is a GP2 Series race winner and is now racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, in which he gained the 2013 and 2014 GT Drivers' Titles whilst driving as a factory Ferrari driver. He won the 2008 FIA GT Championship, 2011 Le Mans Series and 2012 International GT Open and took three class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 2008, 2012 and 2014. He also was successful at the 2009 and 2015 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, 2010 12 Hours of Sebring and 2011 Petit Le Mans.

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References

  1. ↑ "GMS Durango LMP1 – Photo Gallery". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Durango Formula takes first laps". Motorsport.com. 28 April 2000. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "SportsRacing World Cup Spa 2000 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "SportsRacing World Cup Brno 2000 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "SportsRacing World Cup Donington 2000 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "SportsRacing World Cup Nürburgring 2000 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "SportsRacing World Cup Magny-Cours 2000 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "SportsRacing World Cup Kyalami 2000 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  9. ↑ "2000 – SportsRacing WORLD CUP (group: SR) – Team's Standings". World Sports Racing Prototypes. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  10. ↑ "Daytona 24 Hours 2001 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "FIA Sportscar Championship Magny-Cours 2001 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "FIA Sportscar Championship Donington 2001 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  13. ↑ "FIA Sportscar Championship Nürburgring 2001 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  14. ↑ "6 Hours of Vallelunga 2001 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  15. ↑ "2 h 30 min Barcelona 2002 – Photo Gallery". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  16. ↑ "2 h 30 min Barcelona 2002 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "FIA Sportscar Championship Estoril 2002 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  18. ↑ "FIA Sportscar Championship Brno 2002 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  19. ↑ "FIA Sportscar Championship Magny-Cours 2002 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  20. ↑ "FIA Sportscar Championship Spa 2002 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  21. ↑ "2002 – FIA Sportscar Championship (group: SR1) – Team's Standings". World Sports Racing Prototypes. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  22. ↑ "6 Hours of Vallelunga 2002 – Race results". Racing Sports Cars. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
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