Sports Car Racing
In 2001, Arena ran the Gulf branded Audi R8 in the European Le Mans Series and at Le Mans for Johansson Racing. The drivers Stefan Johansson, Patrick Lemarié and Tom Coronel were unsuccessful at Le Mans but the team did win the European Le Mans Series championship that year.
In 2003, Arena chose to enter sports car racing, being chosen to represent Audi Sport UK. The team would run an Audi R8 at the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans. A driving team of Mika Salo, Jonny Kane, and Perry McCarthy were able to take sixth place at Sebring, but the team's fortune at Le Mans turned sour as Frank Biela mistakenly missed his pit stop and ran out of fuel early in the race.
For 2004, Arena initially planned to run a privateer Dome prototype at Le Mans, but the plan did not come together and their entry was withdrawn. A second attempt in 2005 with a new Zytek also did not occur. Finally, in 2007, Arena was able to purchase a Zytek 07S, with plans to enter the full Le Mans Series season as the factory squad in LMP1 with Tom Chilton and Hayanari Shimoda.
Arena's 2007 effort would suffer mechanical setbacks early, with the team struggling to finish races due to throttle cable linkage failures. The team was also forced to withdraw from Le Mans when a heavy accident during testing damage the car so badly that repairs could not be completed in the two weeks prior to the race. Arena was however able to finish in eighth place at the Nürburgring, earning them their first points of the season.
| Le Mans Series results | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | Car | Drivers | Wins | Poles | Fast laps | Points | T.C. |
| 2007 | LMP1 | Zytek 07S-Zytek 2ZG408 4.0L V8 | Tom Chilton Max Chilton Hayanari Shimoda |
0 | 8 | 8th* | ||
| 24 Hours of Le Mans results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | No | Tyres | Car | Drivers | Pole | Fast lap |
Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
| 2003 | LMP900 | 52 | M | Audi R8-Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 with Audi Sport UK |
Frank Biela Perry McCarthy Mika Salo |
no | no | 28 (DNF) |
46th | 15th |
| 12 Hours of Sebring results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | No | Tyres | Car | Drivers | Pole | Fast lap |
Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
| 2003 | LMP900 | 9 | M | Audi R8-Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 with Audi Sport UK |
Mika Salo Jonny Kane Perry McCarthy |
351 | no | no | 6th | 4th |
| European Le Mans Series results | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | Car | Drivers | Wins | Poles | Fast laps | Points | T.C. |
| 2001 | LMP900 | Audi R8-Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 with Johansson Motorsport |
Stefan Johansson Guy Smith |
1 | 2 | 2 | 115 | 1st |
Read more about this topic: Arena Motorsport
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