Overview of the 2015 SCG 003C first racing season

Pont Saint Martin, 3 November 2015 - The all new SCG 003C prototype designed by Podium Engineering makes a successful debut at the Nürburgring, finishing the 43rd ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 hour in 35th place, after qualifying two cars for the Top 30 group, and claiming a second overall place at the VLN 10. The following are excerpts from various Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus press releases, issued during the 2015 racing season: Qualifying race - 12 April 2015 Both cars were qualified for the 24 Hours “Top 30”, while all SCG drivers were qualified to the race that will take place on 16th and 17th May, 2015. The Team Drivers offered a brilliant performance: Lauck, Jahn and Franchitti qualified MacchinaUno in 6th position, while Dobson, Westphal, Mutsch and Mailleux qualified MacchinaDue in 4th position, leaving beyond some prestigious competitors. At the start of the race, Manuel Lauck brought MacchinaUno to 2nd place and was able to keep this position until the car was black flagged as too loud. The noise issue was definitively solved at the pit box, by the fitting of new mufflers. MacchinaUno then advanced from 61th to 13th position and won the SP-X Class. Lap time during the race was always at the level of top cars, confirming the car’s performance and endurance potential. Nürburgring 24 Hours – 16 May 2015 Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus’s brand‐new SCG 003C finished the 43rd ADAC Zurich Nürburgring 24 hour race in 35th place, after relentlessly climbing from 24th to 11th position in the first half of the race, and achieving the 8th best lap time overall in the second half. Two SCG 003C’s were built, and went through the Qualifying Race at the Nürburgring on April 12th, 2015. Both cars made it into the 24 Hours “Top 30”: driver Lauck qualified “MacchinaUno” (Car 1) in 6th position, and Mutsch qualified “MacchinaDue” (car 2) in 4th position. For these exceptional results, just before the race on May 15th the Nürburgring organizers awarded Jim Glickenhaus, the visionary owner of the Scuderia that carries his name, a special trophy for “Extraordinary achievement in engineering and development.” During the Thursday night qualifying round, “MacchinaDue”, owned by Christopher Ruud, suffered a spectacular 120 mph shunt crashing into the guardrails, and the yellow no. 40 Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003C had to withdraw from the race. American driver Ken Dobson, who was behind the wheel at the time, was protected from any injuries by the robust chassis safety structure design. After making it through to the final 30 qualifying round on Friday afternoon (and earning the most distinctive flashing blue light), drivers Marino Franchitti, David Jahn, Manuel Lauck and Franck Mailleux started the black no. 9 Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003C, owned by Jim Glickenhaus himself, at 24th place in the grid. In the first 6 hours of the race, SCG 003C fought her way up from 24th to 15th position, until a second speeding offence in one of the speed‐limit zones at 21h57 hit the team with a 3:32 minute time penalty, which resulted in the car moving down to 18th place. SCG 003C no. 9 picked up the pace again, chasing her way to an astonishing 11th place, when at 3h12, after more than 11 hours of continuous racing, an alternator V belt failed, forcing the car to lose an hour in the pit. After the stop, the car rejoined the race in 29th position. At 07h00 and 85 laps the car was in 26th place, when the alternator V belt idler pulley locked, as a consequence of the previous breakdown, and the car returned to the pit. After losing a second hour to repairs it rejoined the race in 39th place. At 15h15, 45 minutes to the end of the race, after a never‐give‐up comeback to 30th position, and notching the 8th best overall lap time of 8:26.480 on lap 95 at an outstanding average speed of 180.384 km/h, the car was back in the pit. A third alternator belt breakdown caused power steering failure and no battery voltage. At 15h53 the Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus team members succeeded in push‐starting the car with their last bit of strength, so that SCG003C no. 9 was able to cross the chequered flag at 16h03 in 35th place. As the team rejoiced, the entire pit‐lane applauded. VLN 7 - 5 September 2015 Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus has scored its best result to date at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany, at the Opel 6 Stunden ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen. The Italian-based American squad finished first and third in the SPX class, with a ninth-place finish overall. At one point, the SCG003C was also the quickest car of all out on track. The winning car – MacchinaUno – was driven by Frenchman Franck Mailleux – a former factory driver who has plenty of previous experience of the Nordschleife – together with Sweden’s Andreas Simonsen and Felipe Laser from Germany. The crew staged a fantastic fightback, after starting well down the grid following an unlucky qualifying session influenced by weather and traffic. The other car – MacchinaDue – that finished third in class, was driven by its owner-driver Christopher Ruud, and Jeff Westphal from the United States, as well as experienced German Thomas Mutsch. According to the rules, one driver can swap between the two cars – with Mutsch nominated in this role. VLN 9 – 17 October 2015 Joining the Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus line-up for the first time is renowned British motoring journalist Jethro Bovingdon, who writes for Evo Magazine. Bovingdon has already racked up plenty of experience at the Nurburgring, having taken part in the 24-hour race last year, and regularly tests some of the world’s best cars. Bovingdon did share MacchinaDue with German Nordschleife expert Thomas Mutsch and American racer Jeff Westphal. MacchinaDue was 2nd in its class and 10th overall after four hours of racing. Despite little preparation time, the crew steadily moved up the order from their original 12th on the grid, having faced conditions that included freezing temperatures and fog over the course of the weekend. MacchinaUno, crewed by Germany’s Manuel Lauck, Frenchman Franck Mailleux, and Sweden’s Andreas Simonsen, was not classified after the car stopped in the closing stages, having had repairs lasting nearly an hour following a collision on the opening lap. At one point, MacchinaDue was running as high as second overall in the race, while MacchinaUno had also gone second-fastest overall in the closing stages of qualifying, before being relegated to sixth as track conditions improved for its rivals. These included some prestigious factory entries such as the latest works Porsche 911 – which MacchinaUno beat by a tenth of a second in qualifying over the 25-kilometre circuit. This was the only car to beat the SCG003C in its class, driven by one of this year’s Le Mans winners. Crossing the line for ‘Macchinadue’ on Saturday was Bovingdon, who took the wheel for the final stint and did an excellent job all weekend, despite his unfamiliarity with the car. VLN 10 –31 October 2015 Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus ended the 2015 VLN Series in style by clinching a second place overall finish at the final round of the championship: the best result to date in the team’s history. Conditions were the coldest they have been all year at the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany, with temperatures of just four degrees prior to the qualifying session this morning, which was delayed due to fog. Once the session finally got going, the SCG003C secured its best qualifying position of the season, with local expert Thomas Mutsch setting a stunning time of 8m03.102s around the 25-kilometre circuit to line up second on the grid in MacchinaDue. MacchinaUno lined up 10th on the grid thanks to a time set by Frenchman Franck Mailleux. As usual, three drivers alternated stints in each car during the three-hour race, with Mutsch taking the start for MacchinaDue and immediately securing a top-three position, while Manuel Lauck set off in MacchinaUno to move steadily up the top 10. The progress didn’t stop there. The second stint was completed by SCG’s newest recruits: experienced GT racers Jeroen Bleekemolen from Holland (in MacchinaUno) and Christian Menzel from Germany (in MacchinaDue), another Nordschleife expert who lives just minutes away from the famous Ring. Despite their unfamiliarity with the car, they both quickly found confidence in the challenging conditions to consolidate the excellent start that had been made by their team mates. The all-important third and final stint was carried out by two of SCG’s most experienced drivers, with Mailleux bringing MacchinaUno home in second overall after a brilliant run, while American racer Jeff Westphal sealed ninth place in MacchinaDue. The race came to an end prematurely, when it was red flagged due to worsening weather conditions. Unfortunately, MacchinaDue lost out through this situation as it had made a pit stop shortly before the race was stopped – but this is just a normal part of racing.