Evosport-MBBS Racing Debuts Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK63 Black Series

Craig Stanton To Drive Black Series at Sonoma Raceway at the Pirelli World Challenge Final

One of the most ambitious projects in the Pirelli World Challenge Series will race for the first time at the Cadillac Sonoma Grand Prix, the season finale of the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge Championship.

With sports car veteran Craig Stanton at the wheel, the no. 24 MBBS – Evosport Engineering AMG CLK63 Black Series will compete for the first time in the Pirelli World Challenge’s headlining GT class. Doing battle with race-prepared Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Audi R8 LMS, Cadillac CTS-V, Chevrolet Corvettes, and Nissan GT-R’s that race in the GT class, the no. 24 MBBS-Evosport CLK63 Black Series will be the only Mercedes-Benz to be raced professionally in North America. The team will compete full-time in Pirelli World Challenge in the 2013 season.

The car, which began life as an Evosport-tuned AMG CLK63 Black Series street car, is the culmination of a years’ worth of development, fabrication, testing, and refinement by Evosport Engineering. The bespoke components created and developed by Evosport Engineering for the Pirelli World Challenge race car will be available to customers for a variety of Mercedes Benz/AMG street car models, adding to an already long list of leading performance parts Evosport has sold since 1999.

Stanton, from Long Beach, Calif., has one World Challenge start – and one victory – on his resume, winning at Long Beach in 2009. He is known as one of the fittest and fastest sports car drivers in North America. A former champion in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the Rolex Sports Car Series, he is a multi-time class winner in the American Le Mans Series including a win at Petit Le Mans.

“It has been a long road to get here, but I am very excited that we get to finally take our AMG CLK63 Black Series racing,” said Stanton. “The car is absolutely gorgeous and I can’t wait for the racing world to see what the guys at Evosport Engineering have been working on this year. It is a work of art, and in my experience, cars that look fast ARE fast. I’m so proud of our build team. They have taken a true street car – a car that that was registered, insured, everything – and turned into a World Challenge race car. I can’t wait to show everyone what it can do. World Challenge is very exciting – sprint races, standing starts, and lots of action with multiple classes. I can’t wait!”

Team crew chief Chris Willis, who previously engineered ACS Express Racing to a World Challenge GT championship, is equally enthused about the debut of the no. 24 MBBS – Evosport Engineering AMG CLK63 Black Series.

“We have done a number of things that haven’t been done before, including the development of a stand-alone ECU for the AMG M156 engine,” said Willis. “Functionality in concert with exceptional fit & finish were key in this development. We are approaching Sonoma with eyes wide open, as the car is still under development. From my experience in this series, the competition in the Pirelli World Challenge GT class is incredibly tough, and we are coming to it with a new build. Our goals are modest; to finish out the weekend in solid fashion and to show the reliability and potential of the car. We certainly have the right guy in the car.”

The Cadillac Sonoma Grand Prix will be streamed live online at www.world-challengetv.com on Saturday, August 25, at 3:00 PM ET and Sunday, August 26, at 3:00 PM ET. The television broadcast on NBC Sports will be shown on Sunday, September 9th at 3:30 PM ET.

Evosport-MBBS Racing To Run Mercedes-Benz in World Challenge GT 2012

Stanton will be acting as the development driver for Evosport for their full range of products for Mercedes-Benz automobiles

MBBS Racing and its affiliate Evosport Engineering announced this month that they have named veteran GT driver Craig Stanton as lead driver and team development manager. MBBS Racing is developing a Mercedes AMG Black Series car for the 2012 World Challenge GT Series.

Stanton will be overseeing all racing operations and acting as the development driver for Evosport Engineering in further development of their full range of performance products for Mercedes-Benz automobiles.

Craig is very uniquely qualified for this new role, having won numerous pro titles in addition to years of testing for manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz AMG, Porsche, Michelin, Nissan, Infiniti, Yokohama, Continental, Chevrolet, Ford, and Subaru.

“I was contacted by the principals of MBBS several months ago with the concept, and everything fell into line” said Stanton. “In the racing world, sometimes being in the right place at the right time is key. This AMG Black Series is going to be one remarkable racecar. I’m thrilled to be leading the charge for MBBS and representing the Evosport brand.”

For those of you not familiar, Evosport has been a leader in performance products for the European car market since 1999, specializing in race car prep, street car service, and the highest-quality performance parts for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche and Ferrari vehicles. Noteworthy is the fact that Evosport has touched more Black Series vehicles than anyone else save Mercedes-Benz themselves. MBBS Racing is the road racing arm of the company, and strives to push product development that directly results from the team’s experience on the track. Situated in Huntington Beach, California, Evosport Engineering and MBBS Racing maintain one of the premier operations in the industry.

Evosport Releases Rear Stability Kit and Lightweight Performance Brake Rotors

Evosport releases a suspension upgrade for Mercedes-Benz vehicles along with their performance lightweight 2-piece brake rotors

Evosport has released their first suspension upgrade for Mercedes-Benz vehicles, starting with a rear stability and toe adjustment kit for the E, CLS and SL models. According to Evosport, one of the weak points in the chassis of current high performance Mercedes-Benz vehicles is the lack of or extreme limitation in rear toe adjustment. This results in an undesired “toe out” condition when the rear of the vehicle is loaded up or on throttle – the effect of which is a very unstable or unplanted rear end with excessive over-steer that does not seem to want to grip.

This is even more noticeable on modified vehicles where high levels of torque to the rear wheels is realized in low gears and in the low rev range. Because there is no practical toe adjustment in the factory suspension components, even the best alignment is unable to mitigate this issue.

The Evosport Rear Stability Kit (RSK) or adjustable rear toe kit serves to address these issues. Installing the RSK offers the ability to easily and properly adjust the rear toe during alignment to mitigate the “toe out” situation and provide added stability and safety to the vehicle. The chassis will feel much more planted and controllable, especially during heavy acceleration.

Included in the kit are left and right stability arms and mounting hardware, and it’s designed to work with the following Mercedes-Benz vehicles: W211 E-Class (all), W219 CLS-Class (all), R230 SL-Class (all, except SL65 Black Series).

Key Features:

  • Lightweight adjustable arms
  • High quality heim joint design for length adjustment
  • Black powder-coated chromoly shaft provides high strength to weight ratio
  • Jam nuts allows for easy lock/unlock of adjustment mechanism; relieves stress on shaft during adjustment
  • Black anodized billet mounting bracket

Benefits:

  • Easy to install and adjust
  • Allows for precise and accurate adjustment of rear toe during alignment
  • Provides stability and more control during acceleration and cornering at all speeds
  • Added safety to reduce over-steer and increase rear control
  • Decreases wear on rear tires by providing more rear end stability
  • Improved performance during acceleration and cornering

Evosport Inc. announces the release of their performance lightweight 2-piece brake rotors for the most popular current AMG model vehicles.

Designed as a direct replacement for the OE 1-piece or 2-piece AMG brake rotors, the Evosport brake rotors will easily bolt directly to the car and work with the factory brake calipers without any modifications. Not only will the upgraded multi-piece rotor design help mitigate brake fade, but they are lighter than stock and can reduce unsprung weight by up to 40-lbs. on all four corners. The weight saving equates to improved vehicle acceleration, braking and cornering. In addition, the customer is able to retain the factory Mercedes-Benz brake calipers without going to a more expensive solution that requires replacing them.

The Evosport rotors are offered in a drilled/slotted design to match the factory rotor. In addition, a slotted only option is available for those who track their vehicles more frequently. The rotor assembly includes a lightweight hard anodized aluminum hat and a disc that, unlike the factory rotor, offers proper venting for left and right application. Compared to the more expensive factory 2-piece rotors which must be purchased in pairs, the Evosport option offers a much more attractive price point as well as the ability to replace just the worn disc without having to purchase the entire rotor.

Available in pairs or as a complete package, Evosport offers these rotors for the following Mercedes-Benz applications: C63 AMG, CLK63 AMG (including Black Series), SL55 AMG, SL63 AMG, E55 AMG, E63 AMG (W211), CLS55 AMG and CLS63 AMG.

Benefits:

  • Direct bolt-on design requires no modifications
  • Works with OE AMG calipers
  • Lightweight design (up to 40-lbs unsprung weight savings over stock; 26-lbs weight savings on
    vehicles equipped with 2-piece OE front rotors)
  • Better value and cost of ownership over OE
  • Unique Left/Right application for proper venting/airflow, unlike OE
  • Replaceable discs and hardware
  • Better heat dissipation and less brake fade
  • Improved acceleration, braking and cornering