http://alexpopow.com/english Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:07:34 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-and-the-ferrari-challenge-usa http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-and-the-ferrari-challenge-usa#comments Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:56:27 +0000 MasterAlex1 http://alexpopow.com/english/?p=1101 Continue Reading]]>
Round one was in the beutiful St. Petersburg Florida street circuit and the weather did not dissappoint none of the over 50,000 people who attended this weekend of racing. Ferrari was at the St. Pete street course with the Indy Racing League, Star Mazda and the USF 2000 Series as well as some other support events.

This weekend the Venezuelan driver has demonstrated that it makes no difference whether it is his first time in the race car or the first time at the track, Alex Popow continue to show that he is proving his professional driver qualities one event at a time. Despite his recent success, Alex continues to be the humble, fast and aggressive driver that he was when he started racing as a child in Venezuela. He was quoted in stating “All I want to do is win every race I compete in” and so far this year he seems to be on the right track. Alex is currently attemping to secure additional sponsorship to compete in a full year of Ferrari Challenge, in additon to his American Le Mans Series and Grand Am Campaign.

Alex Popow currently leads the American Le Mans Series Chamiponship in LMPC, leads the Ferrari North America Ferrari Challenge Chamiponship and is second in the Grand Am Rolex Daytona Prototype Chamiponship. Alex’s next round will be the 2nd stop in the Grand Am Championship at Barber Motosport Park this coming weekend. Alex will be driving the Starworks Ford Powered Riley Daytona Prototype and is very excited about his chances of acheiving a good result at the demanding Barber Motorsport Park.

As always Alex continues to thank all his fans and supporters for making the 2012 season such a great success so far. He went on to state that he is greatful for the support he has received from his team members at Starworks, CORE Autosport, Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale and Paragon Global Marketing as well as his friends and family. For any additional information or interest regarding Alex Popow Racing please contact info@alexpopow.com or info@paragonglobalmarketing.com.]]> http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-and-the-ferrari-challenge-usa/feed 0 http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alms-5-questions-with-alex-popow http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alms-5-questions-with-alex-popow#comments Tue, 13 Mar 2012 02:52:54 +0000 MasterAlex1 http://alexpopow.com/english/?p=1095 Continue Reading]]>
The American Le Mans Series PC class gained further momentum last week when CORE autosport announced that Alex Popow has been signed to drive the team’s No. 06 Oreca FLM09 for the ten-round championship, including this weekend’s 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Popow, who has already kicked off 2012 with podium finishes at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi, will be a busy driver this year, as the Venezuelan will also compete in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series with Starworks Motorsport and will also run select Ferrari Challenge and NASCAR Nationwide Series races.

SPEED.com caught up with Popow prior to taking part in today’s official ALMS/FIA WEC test at Sebring in advance of Saturday’s season-opener where he’ll join fellow countryman EJ Viso and American Burt Frisselle in last year’s championship-winning PC entry.

DAGYS: How did the deal with CORE autosport come about?

POPOW: Originally, I was going to be in the WEC program with Enzo [Potolicchio] until after Abu Dhabi [in mid-January]. We then decided to do two separate programs and get diversified in different classes. So I had the opportunity to go to a different [program] and what better to go to ALMS with the best team?

I spoke to [Starworks team owner] Peter Baron and he’s good friends with [CORE autosport team manager] Morgan Brady and [CORE autosport team owner] Jon Bennett. He got me in touch with them and we started the deal. I’m very glad we’re on it now.

DAGYS: The PC class has been extremely competitive, with even more entries this year. Are you looking forward to the challenge?

POPOW: Last year we went with a team that didn’t have as much [past experience] and we helped Starworks grow into what the team is now. At CORE, it’s not really that way. I’m going into a championship-winning team that won the drivers’ and teams’ championship last year.

It will be a challenge for me because they will have the speed, the car and the crew to win races. Now it’s up to me driving and getting it onto the podium.

DAGYS: Have you driven the Oreca FLM09 yet or will today’s testing at Sebring be your first experience?

POPOW: Monday will be the first chance for me to drive a PC car, and also my first time at Sebring. I’ve been talking with Ryan Dalziel and Lucas Luhr [who have given me some tips].

Lucas is going to be my co-driver in GRAND-AM and he’s also here at Sebring driving the [Muscle Milk] P1 car. So he’s going to help me a lot and will be able to give me a lot of good tips. He’s been testing there and he will be very helpful for me there.

DAGYS: Your fellow countryman, and IndyCar driver, EJ Viso will be joining you for this weekend. Could we see EJ in additional ALMS races?

POPOW: For sure, EJ is going to do the races he can do. He’s not going to be able to do all of them but he wants to drive the most races he can. That will probably be about five races, I think. Let’s see how it goes. I’ve not yet speaking to drivers about the rest of the season for the ones EJ cannot drive but that will be something that will be sorted out this week.

DAGYS: Between full-seasons of ALMS, GRAND-AM as well as some Ferrari Challenge and NASCAR Nationwide races, you’ll be one of the busiest drivers out there this year. Do you feel it will be a challenge jumping back and forth between different cars?

POPOW: It’s something I’m used to because last year was the same thing. I drove Formula 2000 in Mexico and also drove the Supercup there. I also drove GRAND-AM. I’m used to traveling a lot, sleeping in hotels and racing a lot. That’s what we like doing and I’m glad we can do it.

My priorities are ALMS and GRAND-AM for sure. There’s only one conflict between the two and I’ll see which championship is going better at the moment before making a decision on which one [to miss]. But I think we can fight for the championship in the PC class with CORE.

(John Dagys)]]> http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alms-5-questions-with-alex-popow/feed 0 http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-to-headline-06-core-autosport-machine-for-2012-alms-season http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-to-headline-06-core-autosport-machine-for-2012-alms-season#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2012 23:28:35 +0000 MasterAlex1 http://alexpopow.com/english/?p=1091 Continue Reading]]>
Popow, 36, of Lecheria, Venezuela, will debut in the ALMS LMPC class with co-drivers E.J. Viso and Burt Frisselle for the season kickoff, the 60th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring powered by Fresh from Florida on March 17.

Popow started his racing career in 1996 in his father’s old rally car in a 2000cc Venezuelan road racing class, winning the championship as a very green rookie in an expert category – and he did it again in 1997. Further Venezuelan championships include the Palio Cup (1998, 1999), Mustang Cup (2000, 2002) and the 2000 Venezuela Championship (2005).

His career progressed beyond Venezuela to Colombia in a renowned six-hour event (second 2002, 2005; third 2004). 2006 saw Popow competing in the Panam-GP Series, which travelled six countries, with good result. Off-road called Popow in 2007 and through 2009 he drove in the AWA 4×4 Rally Championship, reaching a high of third spot in the LUV D-MAX Trophy.

Popow returned to on-road competition in 2010 the Latino American Challenge Formula 2000 Series in Mexico and the U.S., achieving third place in the standings that year and in 2011. Also in 2011, Popow began GRAND-AM competition in the Daytona Prototype class with the then-new Starworks team, as well as placing well in the 2011 Mexican Super Copa Seat Leon championship.

After running events in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in January 2012, Popow was able to score a second-place finish at the rigorous 24 Hours of Daytona, partnered with, among other drivers, CORE autosport alumnus Ryan Dalziel. In addition to running the full ALMS series in 2012, Popow is running GRAND-AM in the DP and Continental Tire classes as well as selected Ferrari Challenge events.

…

Alex Popow, lead driver, #06 Soloson Import ORECA FLM09: I originally was planning to do the WEC season, but plans changed and I wanted to run in ALMS instead. I was looking for the best team, so I contacted some of the people I know best to ask their opinion – Peter Baron, Starworks team owner and Ryan Dalziel, who is a good friend of mine. Peter is good friends with Jon Bennett (CORE autosport team owner) and Morgan Brady (CORE autosport team manager) and of course Ryan drove for the team in 2011. They told me that CORE had a car available, a winning car that could fight for the championship with the right co-driver.

“So here I am now with CORE autosport this year, which I think is one of the best teams in ALMS. I’m going to try to do a good job, earn the respect of the team and other competitors, win races and go for the championship.

“I’ve never driven an LMPC car and I’ve never driven at Sebring. It’s going to be a challenge, but I have driven all types of cars all over the world – in 2012 I have already done two 24 hour events and one 12 hour – so I think it shouldn’t be a problem. “My co-drivers are going to be great. EJ Viso is a very good friend of mine and I drove with him at the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona. I know he can run up front with the right car. And Burt Frisselle is a great driver. We are just going to have to see how this race goes to figure out who will be my co-driver for the rest of the year.

“I’m looking forward to Sebring and for each race in the 2012 ALMS schedule. I’m excited about driving this car and going for it. In the past I’ve been with very small teams in their field, but this time I’m starting out with a team that’s the best in the class that just won two championships. I want to make sure to keep the team running up front!”

(www.coreautosport.com) ]]> http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-to-headline-06-core-autosport-machine-for-2012-alms-season/feed 0 http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/a-star-is-born-in-daytona http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/a-star-is-born-in-daytona#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:33:47 +0000 MasterAlex1 http://alexpopow.com/english/?p=1062 Continue Reading]]>
The Hamilton star snatched pole position on Thursday, then drove stunningly quick laps to keep them at the front of the field.

Despite the best efforts of Dalziel, Dumfries ace ALLAN McNISH, Venezuelans ALEX POPOW and ENZO POTOLICCHIO and German LUCAS LUHR, they missed out on victory by just five seconds after 24 gruelling hours.

But Dalziel insisted: “It is disappointing. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. We were the car to beat and it was nice to lead so many laps, but leading so many laps sometimes makes it feel worse when you don’t take the chequered flag.

“On the plus side, it was an amazing race and the perfect way to mark the 50th running for Daytona. Starworks did an awesome job. PETER BARON put together an amazing crew and we will now focus on the rest of the year.

“To win this race it takes an incredible car — and we had that.”

Potolicchio and Popow reckon they have a real star in Dalziel — and that could be the catalyst for them to take on the big guns in the Grand-Am championship.

He said: “We are really proud of all the people Peter has put together. It is amazing how it has all come together. And I am delighted to have Ryan as a team-mate.

“Ryan is also my coach. Last year we learned a lot about how to drive these very difficult cars.” Popow added: “It is a big turnaround for Starworks. We have a two-car team and that will last all season. We are going to fight for the championship. Last year we were rookies, this year we are saying we can try for the championship and we are going for it.”

The title charge has taken some of the bitterness out of missing out on the big prize to Michael Shank Racing’s AJ ALLMENDINGER, JOHN PEW, JUSTIN WILSON and OZZ NEGRI.

Dalziel insisted: “I have never been in such a dominant position before and not won the race. We were the dominant car and that is the hardest thing to take.

“Second place is great. We’ll probably appreciate it a bit more after a little time.”

McNish was given permission from Audi to take part in the race, and he admitted he’d had a ball.

He said: “I did get into it. The cars are certainly extremely different to the Audi R18.

“The racing was hard, it was cut and thrust and it was the way racing should be and I enjoyed that. The fact it came down to five seconds of a difference between first and second is a good example of that.”

IndyCar champ DARIO FRANCHITTI just missed out on a podium as the Ganassi car came in fourth.

Franchitti, JAMIE McMURRAY, JUAN PABLO MONTOYA and SCOTT DIXON had struggled for speed throughout the race.

But the Bathgate ace admitted times were so tough that he was even pushed on to grass by his brother MARINO in his GT car.

He laughed: “We seemed to be in the car at the same time during the night so we had some interesting moments together. I was one side of him, another DP was the other and just kept driving into him and he put me on the grass. I gave him a hard time about that.

“But we were down on straight line speed so that made it very tough.”

(By. Jon Doran | www.thesun.co.uk)]]> http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/a-star-is-born-in-daytona/feed 0 http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/starworks%e2%80%99-sensational-second-in-the-rolex http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/starworks%e2%80%99-sensational-second-in-the-rolex#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:44:34 +0000 MasterAlex1 http://alexpopow.com/english/?p=1065 Continue Reading]]>
The Fort Lauderdale-based team turned up a sensational effort against the odds to make the second step of the podium in Florida.

They finished just 5.1 seconds behind Michael Shank Racing. But they had been in the running for a magnificent win for most of the 24 hours.

After epic stints from Allan McNish and Venezuelans Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow, the team changed the strategy at the 22-hour mark. While their rivals kept their drivers in the car, Starworks put in Lucas Luhr so that Ryan Dalziel would be kept fresh for the final charge. He gave it everything, but eventually the team had to settle for second.

The #2 car, with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Michael Valiante and Marco Andretti, finished in tenth place. THE QUOTES: Team owner Peter Baron: “It is an immense bitter-sweet feeling. We got a car two weeks ago and it was almost a build up from scratch. The team did an awesome job, fielding two cars that ran perfectly. The #2 car had a driveshaft failure that wasn’t their fault and the new car did not have one installation fault. It ran like clockwork.

“I have never been so confident midway through a race, thinking this is ours – but I guess it wasn’t.” Ryan Dalziel, Orlando – originally from Lanarkshire in Scotland: “It is disappointing. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. We were the car to beat and it was nice to lead so many laps, but leading so many laps sometimes makes it feel worse when you don’t take the checkered flag.

“On the plus side, it was an amazing race and the perfect way to mark the 50th running for Daytona. Starworks did an awesome job. Peter put together an amazing crew and we will now focus on the rest of the year.”

Enzo Potolicchio, Venezuela: “We have all worked really hard since the end of last season. We hired the right people, so you can see how the team has grown. We are really proud of all the people Peter has put together. It is amazing how it has all come together. And I am delighted to have Ryan as a team-mate. “Ryan is also my coach. Last year was our first year in DPs and we learned a lot about driving these difficult cars. But with all the work we have done in the off-season, we can show others now we are one of the teams to beat.”

Alex Popow, Venezuela: “I did a good job. Enzo and I were doing good lap times. We can go out there and hang with the other guys, but we didn’t have the experience to fight at the end and we didn’t want to risk it. It is the 50th running of the Daytona 24 and we wanted to win.

“We have done such a good job – not just for this race, but since last year. It is a big turnaround for Starworks. We have a two-car team and that will last all season. We are going to fight for the championship. Last year we were rookies, this year we are saying we can try for the championship and we are going for it.”

Lucas Luhr, Germany: “I really had to push hard in the final stint. I knew I was only doing a single stint because our strategy was to put Ryan in at the end against drivers who had been in a long time. The car was solid and I just pushed as hard as I could.”

Allan McNish, Dumfries, Scotland: “It is never smooth in 24-hour racing. The important thing is to stay in there fighting and wait on it coming back to you. The car ran very well, without any mechanical issues. It has been fast. I never thought it would be fun because it is a job and these Daytona Prototype cars are so different from what I am used to.

“I said to Peter that he should be very proud of what he has put together and the performance of the whole team because I am proud of what he has put together. He has a shoestring budget compared with the Ganassis and the other big boys, so what he has done is quite sensational.”

(motorsport.com – Photo by: Eric Gilbert)]]> http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/starworks%e2%80%99-sensational-second-in-the-rolex/feed 0 http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/2012-daytona-24-grand-am-official-12-hour-recap http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/2012-daytona-24-grand-am-official-12-hour-recap#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:20:51 +0000 MasterAlex1 http://alexpopow.com/english/?p=1060 Continue Reading]]>
At the 12-hour mark, nine different leaders had paced the field with the defending race and series champion No. 01 TELMEX BMW/Riley Daytona Prototype of Chip Ganassi Racing and its sister No. 02 Target BMW/Riley dominating large portions.

Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Graham Rahal and Joey Hand piloted the No. 01 while Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon, Jamie McMurray and Dario Franchitti wheeled the No. 02. However, at 2:44 a.m. the No. 02 with Dixon at the wheel went to the garage to repair a broken shifter. The repair took only five minutes but the car returned to the speedway in ninth place, three laps down. It went down a fourth lap before completing one circuit.

The car later went to the pits for an extended stop shortly before 3 a.m.

That opened things up for the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport Ford/Riley shared by pole-sitter Ryan Dalziel, Enzo Potolicchio, Alex Popow, Lucas Luhr and Allan McNish which spent appreciable time at the point along with the No. 60 Liveon.com Ford/Riley of A.J. Allmendinger, Ozz Negri, John Pew and Justin Wilson, which also saw time at the point.

Leading at halfway the No. 8 Starworks Motorsport team earned five points toward the inaugural North American Endurance Championship presented by VISITFLORIDA.com and is now tied with Spirit of Daytona with seven points.

Points are awarded on a 5-4-3-2 basis. Teams will also earn points at the 18-hour and 24-hour mark of the Rolex 24.

The series continues in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on July 1, and concludes with the Super Weekend at the Brickyard on July 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Based on their lead at the six-hour mark, Oliver Gavin and co-drivers Antonio Garcia, Richard Westbrook and Jan Magnussen held the early advantage. The drivers of the No. 90 Corvette DP earned five points. Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty and Memo Gidley were awarded four points; Joey Hand, Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and Graham Rahal three points; and the remainder of the DP field two points.

Brumos Racing and drivers Andrew Davis, Leh Keen and Marc Lieb led the GT battle at the halfway mark, but Magnus Racing drivers Andy Lally, John Potter, Richard Lietz and Rene Rast currently hold the lead in the North American Endurance Championship in the GT class with eight points as a result of finishing the 6-hour and 12-hour marks in the second position.

(paddocktalk.com)]]> http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/2012-daytona-24-grand-am-official-12-hour-recap/feed 0 http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-dalziel-and-starworks-on-daytona-pole http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-dalziel-and-starworks-on-daytona-pole#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:48:52 +0000 MasterAlex1 http://alexpopow.com/english/?p=1043 Continue Reading]]>
The Scot, who will share his Riley-Ford with Allan McNish, Lucas Luhr, Alex Popow and Enzo Potolicchio, produced a best lap of 1m41.119s to knock Max Angelelli from the top-spot midway through the session.

Despite Angelelli immediately improving his time, the SunTrust Corvette he shares with Ricky Taylor and Ryan Briscoe will line-up second, 0.121s adrift of Dalziel’s benchmark.

Grand-Am heavyweights Chip Ganassi Racing were next up courtesy of their IndyCar frontrunner Scott Dixon, while Corvette DP duo Alex Gurney (Bob Stallings Motorsport) and Antonio Garcia (Spirit of Daytona) completed the top five.

There was drama for last year’s winning Ganassi Riley-BMW which failed to take part in the session after blowing an engine in practice, ensuring that Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, Joey Hand, Graham Rahal face an uphill battle if they’re to retain the 01 car’s crown.

GT proved ultra-competitive with just 0.04sec separating the top three. Brumos Porsche’s Andrew Davis, sharing with Marc Lieb, Leh Keen and Hurley Haywood, ultimately did just enough to take pole ahead of Jeff Segal whose late effort in the AIM Autosport Ferrari dropped Andy Lally’s Magnus Porsche to third.

Catch live Daytona 24 Hours coverage on Motors TV this Saturday and Sunday.

(Tom Hornsby)]]> http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-dalziel-and-starworks-on-daytona-pole/feed 0 http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-abu-dhabi-united-autosports-finishes-third-in-gulf-12h http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-abu-dhabi-united-autosports-finishes-third-in-gulf-12h#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:49:29 +0000 MasterAlex1 http://alexpopow.com/english/?p=1034 Continue Reading]]>
With half an hour of the race left, Dalziel had the lead and was heading for victory until the safety car negated the team’s hard-earned advantage. Once back under the green flags and right on the tail of the Audi R8 LMS, the two Ferraris of Marco Cioci and Philipp Peter just picked him off on the long straights and a frustrated Dalziel took a valiant third just place 9.884s behind the winner after 299 laps and 12 hours of racing.

Keeping up the momentum from the Dubai 24 Hours, United Autosports campaigned a sole Audi R8 LMS for the Duncan Batteries, Taxand and Soloson-sponsored drivers in Abu Dhabi, Dalziel posting a 2m11.976s best lap time for the Anglo-American squad to start third in the race.

There was plenty of action around the 3.45-mile circuit throughout the 12 hours, which started in daylight and finished in the evening under the infamous Yas Island floodlights. The 12 hour race was split into two parts of six hours duration each with a 90 minute break in between.

Dalziel started the race for United Autosports, maintaining his fourth grid slot at the start and successfully fending off an attack by one of the AF Corse cars. Potolicchio brought the car up to third with Popow getting into the driving seat after 81 laps and taking second place following a rapid pit stop by the crew.

A longer stop to change front brake pads with 1hr 37 minutes remaining dropped the Audi back to third and now it was imperative to stay on the same lap as the two Ferraris ahead. Popow, now in the #5 Audi, locked his front bumper onto the leading Ferrari and with eight minutes to run, forged his way past to finish the first six hours in third place and crucially on the same lap as the Ferraris.

Potolicchio was back at the wheel for the start of the second part of the race and was almost immediately in trouble when the #90 AF Corse Ferrari ran straight into him, losing Enzo about 17 seconds to recover from a resulting spin. When the safety car was deployed again, Enzo made his mandatory pit stop handing the reins to Alex, who began to hone in on the #3 Ferrari. Another change to Dalziel and the Audi needed another set of brake pads, which the team changed in record time, exiting the pits just as the safety car was released onto the circuit yet again.

With just over two hours left, Potolicchio was involved in a do-or-die dogfight with the Kessel Ferrari, the Venezuelan snatching second after a riveting performance. The next pit stop coincided perfectly with another safety car period, this time while Popow was in the car, and he was able to hold station in second place behind the #3 Ferrari, which was a pit stop behind.

However, the final half hour was simply nail-biting as the team willed Dalziel to stay ahead to the finish. When the safety car was deployed with 36 minutes left on the clock, his lead was eroded and as the race went green again, he could no longer hold off the two Ferraris which had the pace on the straights and he brought the Audi home in third for a fine podium finish.

“We knew that we were up against the factory Ferrari 458s and United Autosports gave us a really good car,” Dalziel said. “We all drove the wheels off it all day – all the guys did an incredible job. We went a little bit off-strategy, but came out in the lead and everything was going perfectly until the last safety car which was the last thing we wanted.”

Popow said: “This has been a sweet and sour experience; in the beginning we were struggling with trying to go six hours with the brakes and that’s one of the things that didn’t work for us and we lost some time [changing the pads]. But the car was great. Ryan did a good job; the Ferraris were so fast on the straight but we were faster on the slow parts of the track.

Potolicchio added: “The strategy worked really well – I was able to pass the leading Ferrari and held off the other one coming out of the pits which was really good to lead for a while. We actually pulled out a little bit and I handed the car over in the lead. We did some really good stints and kept the car on the lead lap most of the race. It’s unfortunate – we could have had a little bit more luck but unfortunately the luck wasn’t there for us.”

Richard Dean, United Autosports managing director and co-owner said: “It doesn’t get much closer than that; 12 hours racing, three cars covered by nine seconds. I thought we had it there but the safety car that came out with 20 minutes to go cancelled out our lead and putting the three cars together made for quite a race at the end. We had a good strategy on our initial pit stops and it gave us something to play with at the end which put us back into the lead, so credit to all the team on that.”

(auto-racing.speedtv.com | Photo by John Dagys)]]> http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-abu-dhabi-united-autosports-finishes-third-in-gulf-12h/feed 0 http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-abu-dhabis-12hrs http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-abu-dhabis-12hrs#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:30:29 +0000 MasterAlex1 http://alexpopow.com/english/?p=1031 Continue Reading]]>
Ryan Dalziel, Enzo Potolicchio, Alex Popow and United Autosports managing director Richard Dean check in following a hard-fought third place finish in the Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi…

Ryan Dalziel, Enzo Potolicchio, Alex Popow and United Autosports managing director Richard Dean check in following a hard-fought third place finish in the Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi. Dalziel held the lead of the around-the-clock marathon for most of the final hour until getting passed by the No. 3 AF Corse Ferrari of Marco Cioci for the lead with 18 minutes remaining. The Scot ended up settling for third, finishing less than 10 seconds from the winning Ferrari. See what the ‘Starworks Trio’ had to say about the end of two weeks of racing in the United Arab Emirates as they now set their focus on next weekend’s 50th Rolex 24 at Daytona.]]> http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/alex-popow-abu-dhabis-12hrs/feed 0 http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/united-autosports-bring-both-audis-to-finish-a-gruelling-dubai-24-hour-encounter http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/united-autosports-bring-both-audis-to-finish-a-gruelling-dubai-24-hour-encounter#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:26:13 +0000 MasterAlex1 http://alexpopow.com/english/?p=1010 Continue Reading]]>
In an event which attracted a massive 80-car entry, the scene was set for a high-profile 24 hour race in the hot and dry conditions. It even featured a late sandstorm which made working conditions for everyone at the Dubai Autodrome extremely challenging.

There were several manufacturer teams amongst the entry, including Mercedes and BMW, and many of the leading teams such as Ferrari’s AF Corse and Lamborghini’s Reiter Engineering. Bernd Schneider, racing for the Mercedes DTM team, and entries from the Lotus/Renault F1 team owners LUX and LOPEZ Racing, as well as a Saudi prince competing, indicated the high calibre of the event.

Scotland’s Ryan Dalziel led his Starworks Motorsport team mates to a hard-fought 19th place finish, and along with Venezuelan duo, Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow, all three pushed the Duncan Batteries, Taxand and Soloson-backed #36 Audi R8 LMS to its limit and ran comfortably inside the top 10. A gearbox change inevitably cost the #36 Audi over an hour and a half in the pits.

In the United Autosports sister car, Matt Bell (UK), Mark Patterson (USA), Frank Yu (HK) and Roger Wills (NZ) looked as if they were on course for an easy top 10 finish until their car too was struck by mechanical gremlins at different times during the round the clock race.

On Thursday, Potolicchio had set the fastest time for the team, the #36 Audi R8 LMS qualifying on the second row to start the seventh running of the Dunlop 24 Hours Dubai in a superb fourth grid position. Meanwhile Patterson snatched the fastest time in the sister #26 car to start seventh.

As the race entered the second half, young Matt Bell produced a series of stunning laps in the Gravity-sponsored Audi, and in the dark hours, the 22-year old was the quickest driver on the track at that time.

Frank Yu had contact with a backmarker in the dark early morning hours, which shot the bonnet up and necessitated another stop to change it and affect other minor repairs from the skirmish. However, later a wishbone failure generated from the earlier contact, required another pit stop and with two hours to the end, it was a question of getting both cars to the finish.

As the 24 hours drew to a close, Dalziel brought the #36 car across the line in 19th place while Wills finished the run for the #26 Audi in 29th.

The team now looks forward to next weekend’s Gulf 12H Abu Dhabi race at the Yas Marina Circuit, where it will be intent on greater reliability and a top finish for the one car entered for the Starworks Motorsport drivers of Dalziel, Potolicchio and Popow .

#26 Audi R8 LMS
Matt Bell (GB), Age 22. Born: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. Lives: Barningham, nr Richmond UK:
“Obviously the first call is to finish and you always like to finish as high as you possibly can but we had a lot of problems during the race, and luck wasn’t on our side in this one which was a great shame. The guys did a brilliant job to get the car out whenever we had a problem so we were just glad to finish and see the car home. Everybody did brilliantly; all the drivers and I’ve got to say well done to Roger, Frank and Mark. I enjoyed my 24 hours of Dubai and luckily for me most of my stints were trouble-free and when I went out I was able to keep my head down, put in some lap times and try and recuperate the time that we’d lost.”

Mark Patterson (USA), Age 60. Born: Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Lives: Bronxville, NY, USA:
“When the car was running well everybody felt very, very good. This is a wonderful track, and if you like sand dunes in your living room this is the place to race! I reckon both cars had a good shot at top 10 finishes and if you look at our times in the last two or three hours, with any of our drivers, we were running in the top three for lap times. The cars were good when they went but the errors were more than frustrating. I think on the whole we only had one small contact for Frank but other than that we had clean cars from a contact point of view and very driveable cars.”

Roger Wills (NZ), Age 43. Born: New Zealand. Lives: New Zealand:
“The first 23 hours were great fun but the last hour was very frustrating with this electrical gremlin which kept cutting the power in the car and we just couldn’t run at race pace. So we ended up spending a lot of time in the pits for the last hour and just going out and taking the flag at a reduced pace. The rest of it was fantastic and great fun. The car was brilliant but probably with too many issues. At one point I think we got up to about ninth but after that the race kept going away from us and once that happens it’s hard to keep making time back. It was still a great weekend and just a shame it didn’t run a bit better and get us the result.”

Frank Yu (Hong Kong), Age: 42. Born: Hong Kong. Lives: Hong Kong:
“Finishing the race is important but we had problems basically in all of our pit stops and that wasn’t nice but we finished the race and we all had a great time and probably we’ll come back again next year. I had a small accident around five o’clock in the morning. A lot of the drivers are very tired then so they lose concentration. I was going into the hairpin side by side with another car and it turned in on me and my hood went up and I drove it back to the pits to be repaired. The car was phenomenal, the setup was perfect, it was comfortable to drive and I think the Audi has the best lights at night.”

#36 Audi R8 LMS
Ryan Dalziel (GB), Age 29. Born: Glasgow, Scotland UK. Lives: Orlando, FL, USA:
“It’s a disappointing result but not through hard work from the guys at United Autosports. We had a really tough 24 hours and, I think, mentally and physically for Enzo, myself and Alex it was really tough. I don’t think I’ve ever done a 24 hour race where we’ve only had four hours to recover. That was a little bit unique for us, so it was difficult. We just kept fixing the car until we finished in the top 20. We are going to Abu Dhabi next week and hopefully we’ll get a better result”

Enzo Potolicchio (VE), Age 43. Lives: Caracas, Venezuela:
“We enjoyed the race; we obviously wanted a better result but we had some issues with electrical problems which were a surprise for such a reliable car. Then we had brake issues but I still think we could have finished seventh or even sixth, but in the end the gearbox gave up and that lost us over an hour and a half and the best we could do was 19th. Still it was good training for just three drivers in a 24 hour race and it was challenging. We’re happy that we’ll have a good car for the next race in Abu Dhabi, and we know what it needs to make it reliable again for the 12 hour race.”

Alex Popow (VE), Age 36. Lives: Lecheria, Venezuela: “We were aiming for a top five and we knew we could do it. We had a car with three drivers all doing very similar times. Sadly, there was a problem with the starter and after that at almost every pit stop the car wouldn’t start for maybe 10 or 20 minutes and only when it wanted to start. However, we had a good race, the times were very good and the team did a great job. We also had a gearbox issue and they changed the gearbox in a very good time. Racing in Abu Dhabi next week will be a lot different; here you couldn’t run faster lap times and our engineer at times told us to slow down and that’s strange and new for us. But it was a good experience here in Dubai and let’s hope the team solves all the problems and we have a good race in Abu Dhabi.”

Zak Brown, Co-Owner and CEO of United Autosports:
“The result was definitely not what we hoped for but the drivers did a great job when we weren’t having issues. The cars were fast; the drivers were fast. You always feel bad for the drivers and team when everybody puts in so much effort to get a result but of course it’s always better to have two cars that finish than not, so we did better than some others. However, certainly our expectations were to try and win. We had some electrical gremlins and they were issues that we hadn’t seen before.

“It’s a great event; a little disappointing for us but that’s racing. We’ve got Abu Dhabi next week and then we’re onto Bathurst so we’ve got to make sure we’re on top of everything, and know how we solve these issues. We want to try and win the race in Abu Dhabi.”]]> http://alexpopow.com/english/uncategorized/united-autosports-bring-both-audis-to-finish-a-gruelling-dubai-24-hour-encounter/feed 0