Racing News: Brian Deegan Takes Gold in RallyCross at X Games 17

 

	Brian Deegan took home the Gold in the X Games 17 RallyCross competition last Sunday in Los Angeles.

Brian Deegan Takes Gold in RallyCross at X Games 17
Metal Mulisha founder Brian “The General” Deegan took Gold in the X Games 17 RallyCross competition last Sunday in Los Angeles, bringing his total X Games medal count to 13 and continuing his streak of competing in every X Games since the competition’s inception. Deegan won his qualifying heat in last Sunday’s RallyCross competition in his Metal Mulisha Rockstar Energy Drink Ford Fiesta, setting him up for the finals. Despite mechanical problems during the practice run, Deegan’s qualifying time put him into great position to later take the top spot on the podium.

At the start of the RallyCross race, Deegan got an early lead by taking the inside line moving into the first corner when teammate Tanner Foust and Liam Doran collided. That lead, which he held onto for the entire race, clocked an official time of 5:02.585 and topped the best drivers in the world.

In Saturday’s Rally event Deegan experienced mechanical difficulties with a broken gear box, giving him just one qualifying lap before heading back to the pits. He got a great start off the line and was going into the first few turns with speed when issues with the car forced him to a stop right before the dirt jump, knocking him out of the event.

While competing in Moto X Step Up last Thursday, Deegan also became the first rider in X Games history to clear 35 ft. with a jump of 35 ft. 6 in. He ended up tying for third with this personal best height this year.

	Legends of Motorsports drivers Eddie Cheever, Stefan Johansson, Mark Blundell and Johnny Herbert.

Legendary Formula One Drivers Put Stefan Johansson Timepieces to the Test
Stefan Johansson and his teammates at United Autosports achieved hard-earned 13th and 19th overall placings—sixth and eighth in the Pro-Am category—in the 63rd running of the Total 24 Hours of Spa, which finished in Belgium on Sunday, July 31, and was won by Audi. The legendary Swedish driver outfitted himself and teammates Johnny Herbert, Eddie Cheever and Arie Luyendyk with Stefan Johansson timepieces that were worn throughout the race. Johansson designs the racing-inspired watches himself and manufactures them in Switzerland to withstand the ultimate test—being worn by a professional driver during an actual racing event.

Each of the drivers who sported a watch has provided his input and feedback to Johansson, who will now use this information as part of his development program going forward. Needless to say, all the watches performed without any problems. Now that the race is wrapped, Johansson plans to engrave each of the watches with the name of the driver who wore it and an outline of the Spa-Francorchamps track. The watches may be sold or auctioned at a later date for collectors who wish to own a commemorative timepiece worn during the event.

Car 60, which ran in partnership with future McLaren customer team VonRyan Racing, impressed as it finished its endurance race debut at Spa-Francorchamps. A team of drivers assembled specifically for the race included Phil Quaife, Adam Christodoulou, Glynn Geddie and Roger Wills. At the hands of Christodoulou, the 12C GT3 achieved a lap time of 2:23.214 on lap 256.

	McLaren MP4-12C GT3 at 24 Hours of Spa.

Debut 24 Hour Race for McLaren GT Successfully Advances 12C GT3 Development Program
The development program for the new McLaren MP4-12C GT3 saw McLaren GT enter three cars into the Total 24 Hours of Spa July 30–31. Impressive lap times, successful integration of a future McLaren GT customer into the team at Spa, and the safety of McLaren GT driver and Project Manager Andrew Kirkaldy following a high-speed incident, mark out a positive result for McLaren GT in its debut 24 Hour endurance race.

Early in the race, Kirkaldy’s No. 59 car was hit by a competitor, forcing the carbon chassis-based 12C GT3 off its trajectory and into the wall at turn 1. Kirkaldy was cleared of any serious injury at a nearby hospital. The car was subsequently placed in Parc Ferme at the circuit and awaits inspection by the McLaren GT team engineers. Car No. 58—the third car in the McLaren GT lineup to enter the Total 24 Hours of Spa—was retired by the team following a thermal incident. The cause of the incident will be investigated once the car is released from Parc Ferme at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit and returned to the United Kingdom.

McLaren GT will continue to develop the MP4-12C GT3 throughout the 2011 season. McLaren GT plans to enter the Blancpain Endurance Series races at Magny-Cours and Silverstone later this year, prior to delivering 20 new MP4-12C GT3 cars to private teams for racing in 2012.