Team News

Jacksonville, FL-- With the 2011A season coming to a close, and the 2011B season fast approaching the engineers at Litchfield Dynamics have been hard at work moving the team into the future. With the change in formula for the 2010C season, the evolution of the LD car has been ongoing and 11B is no exception. The team has recently ended its 5-season long deal with Hyundai, and has partnered with the highly successful Chevrolet for the future. This new partnership has led to a redesigned car focused around improving the handling and driveablity of the car, while still attempting to retain minimal drag and weight.

"This was likely the most challenging car we have had to design," says team owner, Zack Litchfield. "We had a single design point we were working toward, and building the car around that was both exciting and challenging," remarked Mr. Litchfield. Our reports indicate that various more novel options were considered to get the car where the engineers wanted it, including steel brakes, extreme ballast, 4-speed transmissions although how many of these options were used we are unsure of. Extensive testing was done, and Mr. Litchfield seemed confident that the coming car would be one of the best.

Along with the new car in 11B, Litchfield Dynamics will be welcoming two new members into its ranks. Alex du Plessis assisted the team during testing and has joined the team after his stint at M-Sport due to the uncertain nature of the continuance of M-Sport in the wake of team owner Matthew Lewis' semi-retirement. Another M-Sport regular, and 2010B GMWC Champion Anthony Cochrane will also be making his full-time return with Litchfield Dynamics next season and all in GMWC are hoping he can return to championship form. The new members bring the total Litchfield Dynamics drivers to four, including Emmanuel Baako who is hoping to make a more prominent mark in 11B after some time away and owner Zack Litchfield. The enlarged team could now make a prominent run at a team championship hoping to displace MRDC, Rusyn or even SDL atop the GMWC rankings next season.

Sebring, FL- The Bantam Sport and Grand Touring cars of the Grid Motorsports World Cup have decended on the Florida town of Sebring for the 1st Annual 1.2 Hours of Sebring. This extended endurance event is the first for the GMWC this season and will be part of a year long series of special endurance events including the currently scheduled 2.4 Hours of Le Mans in June. The drivers have been preparing for weeks, and the race on Saturday will not only test the skill of the drivers, but their ability to concentrate over a distance which is approximately 60% longer than the average 45 minute length of the standard Grand Prix races.

The race will feature two distinct classes, each with a variety of cars. The Bantam Sport class is kin to the Daytona Prototypes, and the three styles also come with differing engines which allow for many combinations on race day. The Demon, Proton, and Fabcar of the Bantam class should easily lead the time sheets during the race, and also include the overal winner of the race, but anything could happen. They will be joined on track by the slower, but no less exciting Grand Touring class. The GTs have had quite a few seasons of exposure from the now defunct GTCC and the drivers are quite familiar with them. The Corvette, Porche, and Panoz will battle it out as well and for many drivers this is the prefered class.

It will be an exciting race, and many will be tuning in to see how the GP regulars do driving these closed-wheel monsters. The winner of each class will also earn a single seed point towards the GMWC finals, giving some added incentive to drivers to battle it out for the win.

Litchfield Dynamics have unveiled their "new" design, a day after final submissions were taken in by the GMWC. While some items are new for the 2010C season, the car could be more thought of as a upgrade from the current 2010B car. It retains many aspects that made the car a favorite of lead drivers Zack Litchfield and Emmanuel Baako, while changing a few things up.

Team Owner, Zack Litchfield, addressed some of the changes to the car and the ideas behind the design. "With the new mass and drag regulations for 10C, we decided to push the car towards the lowest drag possible, while retaining the minimum weight of 605kg." Other changes were noticed during testing at Monza, including increased braking performance, one of the often cited complaints by LD drivers.

One of the more notable changes, aren't associated with the performance of the cars, but rather the look. The team dropped the more boxy sidepods, opting for something more streamlined to reduce drag. The liveries have also undergone drastic change, dropping the customary White/Blue color combination, for a bolder Yellow/Black combination. Sponsorship has been reduced to just primary sponsor Yuengling, and secondary sponsors Craftsman and Wal-Mart. Special consideration was given to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, with the not-for-profit given space on the front wings of the car. "We decided to help a special cause, and with my personal experiences with the CFF, felt they were a great addition to the car", said Litchfield.

Hopes are again high for the 2010C season. A top ten DC finish for Zack Litchfield last season, even with the loss of four points from Bahrain due to space-time issues (dropped connection), brings even higher hopes for 2010C. Emmanuel Baako is expected to return in full force for most of 2010C, and promising results from early in 2010B boosts hopes of a couple points finishes in 10C. LD looks to be hoping the golden car brings some golden results.

Special Note: If you would like to know more about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and all they do, please visit www.cff.org. Thank You.

Following the debut of GMWC's first female driver, Amanda Yates, Litchfield Dyanmics has unveiled their new prototype car sporting new corporate sponsorship. The car has taken on a distinct look, mixing both a modern nose with the boxier sides and uncovered engine of more classic cars. The white and blue car has a fresh clean look, accented by the new sponsorship from companies such as Craftsman, AAA, Mobil, AT&T, Chik-fil-A, Wal-Mart and Florida company, Publix. These join previous primary sponsors, Sony and Yuengling. It is expected that the cars will receive some personalization from the current roster of drivers, and these liveries will be unveiled at a later date.

When talking with team owner Zack Litchfield, he let on that the car design was a more conservative take than in previous years. "We have ditched the wider rear end, and have taken a more conservative approach to our diffuser and weight design than in 09C. We have retained the low COG, however." According to Mr. Litchfield, the team is still planning on testing the three engines, with #2 driver Emmanuel Baako taking the lead in that department. The team is fully expected to retain the standard induction as shown in our photo here, by passing the up and downsides of the other two inductions.

With the addition of new driver Amanda Yates, the Litchfield Dynamics team has grown to three drivers. With the skills of team owner Zack Litchfield, and #2 Emmanuel Baako growing with each race, and the prospects of a more stable car, expectations are high in the LD garages. While a majority of the team's points have come from the 4th place finish of Zack Litchfield at Silverstone, Emmanuel has racked up finishes in 3 cups and Amanda earned a point in her first race. Rumors abound that the team is searching for a fourth driver, both from within the current GMWC roster and outside it, however, their progress towards this goal is unknown. A 4th driver could allow Litchfield Dynamics to take a run at beating MRDC or RAC in the team championship next season.

Jacksonville, FL-- Litchfield Dynamics has unveiled a shocking new body design for the coming 2010A season. After deciding to abandon the McLaren-esque design of the last two seasons which was shared with competitor Antares, Litchfield Dynamics and team constructor Hyundai, have made the radical decision to go with a "wingless" design based on the Arrows A2 from 1979. The radical design features no front wing, and a shallow rear wing, however to compensate and compete adjustable flaps are installed about 1/4 of the way back which will aid in down-orce. The car has yet to be tested on track with the radical configuration but is expected to compete comparably to the current cars in the field.

Zack Litchfield, team owner and driver, said that the main inspiration behind choosing to design the car around the Arrows A2 was to create variety in the field. Of the eight teams who have scored points this season, five use the modern looking Thebes design, two use a design based on the 88 McLaren and Rusyn is the loner using a design based around the 88 Ferrari. Originally Litchfield Dynamics was looking to join Rusyn in using the 88 Ferrari design, but opted out. "I would encourage the other teams to branch out and create some diversity among the look of the cars," says Mr. Litchfield, "While the different liveries help for variety, different models would be cool as well."

The chassis is still under development, and with the league set to use the popular 027-S engine for a second season, the inner workings of the car are expected to be some what similar to the current car. New sponsorship has been acquired for this year with Yuengling assuming co-sponsorship duties with Sony Corporation. The livery for 2010A on the new body style was provided as a promotional pic for this article by Litchfield Dynamics.

The 2009 Grid Motorsports Oval Championship is now over half way complete, and the competition has been tight. Zack Litchfield has been leading the pack for most of the season, racking up a total of three wins (Daytona, Phoenix, Pocono) and poles in four of the five races this season. He is atop the points as well, with 24 points through the two cups. Sammy Theils has also been close to the top of the field since his opening win at Orchard Lake, putting up 2nd place finishes at Bristol and Pocono. Sammy has yet to capture a pole, but is still in the thick of the chase only 6 points back. Stuart Barge, 3rd in the points with 16, has been absent most of the season but benefited due to the cup-style point system shared by all the Grid Motorsports leagues. Stuarts win at Bristol made him the third winner of the season, and his third place finish at Orchard helped boost him to the front.

Three other drivers have only participated in a single cup this season, placing them further off the pace in the Championship, but still within striking distance if they show to the final cup and final race at Indianapolis. Fourth place driver AJ Weber had a 2nd Place finish at Phoenix and 4th at Bristol. AJ had been the fastest in practice at Pocono, but last minute issues held him out of the race. AJ's single pole has placed him just above 5th place driver Mike Redman who took home a second place finish at Daytona, and has yet make a second start this season. The final driver to make an appearance this season is David Hostetler, who came home 5th at Bristol after a very early crash and exit. He was also fast at Pocono this week, but issues also prevented him from driving.

The top three drivers all have valid and likely shots at the championship, and the final race at Indianapolis is likely to decide the championship. The final four races of the season include: New Hampshire, a tough and flat 1 mile oval; Richmond, a fast d-shaped short track; and Texas, a track which could produce the fastest speeds of the year; and Indianapolis, the home of American open-wheel racing and longest race of the GMOC Season.

Daytona Beach, FL-- Litchfield Dynamics and Hyundai unveiled their new car today at Daytona International Speedway. The newly christened LD09C, took laps around both the Daytona Infield Course, and speed tests around the famous oval itself. Team Owner and Driver, Zack Litchfield, was asked how the car felt navigating the Daytona track, "The car feels great, and ran very well around the Daytona Circuit. Testing has gotten rid of the early touchiness of the engine during acceleration, although we still have the same downshifiting and clutch problems of the current season's car. Hopefully further testing and discussions with the GMWC will yield a solution." 

Times of around 1:32-1:33 were being put up consistently in the car, and a maximum top speed of 215mph was put up momentarily on the back of the oval. The top speed should be very similar to what other teams could put up due to the spec engine, although it will be interesting if other teams can or can not match that speed. It should also be noted that no track on the current schedule can reach these speeds, but team owner Zack Litchfield has shown interest in attempting to start an oval series and the spec engines would help in this endevor.

Litchfield Dynamics are not expected to make a showing at the Le Mans endurance next week, but are preparing to ship both the old and new cars to Nuerburg and begin testing for the next GMWC race.

Jacksonville, FL-- President and owner of Litchfield Dynamics, Zack Litchfield, has announced that with the new regulations being posted for the 2009C Season, Hyundai will be providing engines and some Chassis support for Litchfield Dynamics. The engines, originally intended to be based upon the Hyundai Tau engine, will now be built to spec as ordered by the GMWC. The spec engine is the same as all teams will run, and was generally a well supported move among the teams, including Litchfield Dynamics. Litchfield will maintain the design aspect of the chassis, but will turn over construction to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, in order to keep the construction of the car in America as well as costs down.

Sony has also been in talks with Litchfield Dynamics about sponsorship for the coming season, in response to the Microsoft/Xbox 360 sponsorship of rival team A-Tek. The Litchfield Dynamics livery is expected to carry PS3 logos along with the Blue coloring of this past season. The new car and sponsorship deals are expected to be unveiled in two-to-three weeks at Daytona International Speedway, which is the home track of Litchfield Dynamics.