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The 12 Hours of Sebring: The Third Quarter
By
Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy Lisa Salazar
 SEBRING,
Florida (March 21, 2009) 4:30-7:30 p.m. – The clouds have sprinkled a
little rain on the front straight, but by and large the track is still dry
as we enter the third quarter of the 12 Hours of Sebring. The No. 7 Peugeot
whips into the pitlane and the team get to work just as the third full
course caution comes out for the race. The yellow was caused when David
Brabham stood on the brakes of the No. 9 Tequila Patrón Highcroft Acura to
avoid a GT2 car at Turn15 and spun backward into the tire wall, stalling the
car in the process. Thinking is that the car has been a handful today.
Everyone is in for regular pit stops and driver changes, including Brabham
who came in for a new rear wing and to hand over the reins to Scott Sharp.
A large number of the GT2 cars were fortunate to get back a lap as they were
waved by the safety car, negating much of the advantage the No. 62 Risi
Ferrari had built up (almost 2 laps on the whole GT2 field.)
After two incidents which
occurred in the first 5 minutes of the 12-hour race, the Lizards have stayed
out of trouble and 6 hours into the race are in P 5 and P 6. The Lizard
drivers are now into their second stints -- Marc Lieb will shortly take the
wheel of the No. 45 for his second stint (following Jörg and Patrick Long)
and Johannes van Overbeek will get in the No. 44 for his second stint
(following Seth Neiman and Darren Law).
 Jörg
Bergmeister in the No. 45 has the fastest GT2 time of the race so far, with
a 2:02.644 as both Lizard cars get back the lost laps.
As the green flag flies, the Peugeot v. Audi battle at the front begins
again – Capello in the No. 2 Audi is only 3 seconds back, and harries
Stephane Sarrazin in the No. 08 Peugeot, giving him no kind of a break.
Other than a different Peugeot leading the parade, there is no change in the
top step of the classes. Minassian in the 07 Peugeot is the fastest car on
the track, however he is 8 laps down and not a factor.
Lucas Luhr briefly takes the lead
as the leaders come in for their pit stops, but he is in shortly thereafter,
and out again without changing tires, the first time Audi have attempted
double-stinting today. The No. 07 Peugeot is still in the lead.
 If
you are a fan of the No. 12 Autocon team, you will be happy to know that
they are back from behind the wall and on the track again. The problem they
had with their car, said Brian Willman, was one that no one had ever seen
before.
Incidentally, the wind is still blowing but the good news is that it has
blown away all those black clouds and there will be no icky weather.
Back at the front, the two Peugeots are working together to frustrate the
No. 2 Audis desire to get past Sarrazin. On the last lap Capello lost
another second to the leader. In GT1, Johnny O’Connell in the No. 3
Corvette (the yellow one) got a little squiggly coming out of the hairpin
but kept the Corvette under control. He leads GT1 by 5.9 seconds over
Olivier Beretta. Robert Bell (#007 Aston Martin Vantage GT2) smoking and
slowing on course; he pulled off on the back straight in a safe position and
parked it as its day is over.
At 6:54 Capello finally made his move, going down the inside to take the
lead and then diving into the pits for new tires and a driver change to
Kristensen. The tires are shredded. It is all to do again. Fortunately
the sister Audi of Lucas Luhr was up to the job and as Sebastien Bourdais in
the No. 07 Peugeot came out on cold tires, the No. 1 Audi whipped around him
for the lead. On the next lap Luhr pulled into the pits and handed the lead
to Audi No. 2.
Adrian Fernandez, leader in class,
brings the No. 15 Acura into the pits. He takes 4 tires, fuel, and driver
Luis Diaz while replacing the rear wing and some rear bodywork. He retains
the lead in class, which is easy for him because he is the last P2 man
standing.
Needless to say, the Peugeot is not taking its demotion lying down, and
Bourdais quickly begins to eat into the Audi lead until Rockenfeller in the
No. 1 car gets past him too. Then Kristensen’s lead stretches out to seven
seconds over the sister car and more than a minute back to the Peugeot.
 In
GT2 the Lizards are up to P4 and P5 in class and still pressing hard to at
least turn aside the No. 21 Panoz from P3. The No. 45 Lizard pulls into the
pits and Bergmeister reels out of the car and makes it as far as the pit
wall; Patrick Long gets in and sets sail to erode the Panoz lead.
And as the sun sets in the West over Sebring International Raceway, thus
ends the third period. The next installment will take you right to the
chequered flag. See you then!
The 12 Hours of Sebring: The First 3 Hours
By
Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy Lisa Salazar
 SEBRING,
Florida (March 21, 2009) – Welcome to Sebring! The sun is shining and
the sky is blue, and according to the weatherman, that is the way it will
stay for the 12 hours of this race. We are looking forward to a great race
today. Starting on pole in its very first race (and what a race for a
debut) is the No. 66 De Ferran Motorsports Acura, a significant achievement
for Scott Dixon who was here with the P2 De Ferran car last year. How will
this play out? Stay tuned. [Caution: these reports may contain the
occasional opinion, which represents the POV of the author only and can be
disregarded at will.]
A few pre-race notes: After heroic efforts that included night qualifying
all six drivers in the 18 car, VICI Racing has reluctantly withdrawn its two
Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs (No. 5 and No. 18) from the race. The team is
regrouping and setting its sights on St. Petersburg for its 2009 debut.
David Brabham’s run in his fathers F1 car, celebrating its 50th
anniversary, was rained out on Thursday evening; he took it out during the
pre-race festivities to show everyone what F1 used to be. He was followed
by the entrance of Dr. Don Panoz in the Budweiser wagon pulled by the famous
Clydesdale Horses (talk about green racing).
But enough of this byplay. It is time to go racing!
As the cars moved off in the
formation lap, the No. 90 BMW sat smoking in its tracks (cue NO SMOKING
chorus) and was hastily pushed back into pitlane, from whence it soon was
retired without firing a shot. As the green flag flew, so did Allan McNish,
easily eclipsing pole man Gil de Ferran in the 66 Acura and demoting him to
P4 behind the 07 Peugeot and the sister Audi, where he settled in to wait
for his next chance. Luis Diaz leads P2 in the No. 15 Lowes Fernandez
Racing Acura, with the two Dyson coupes stretching their legs behind.
 Meanwhile
back in GT2, Jörg Bergmeister (No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche) and David Murry
in the Robertson Racing GT-40 put on a great display of side by side racing
until Murry decided to make it a NASCAR race and bashed his way past the
Lizard, breaking a toe link in the Porsche and sending it to pit lane, where
the 44 Lizard had come in for a look-over too. The 44 quickly rejoined, and
after a long stop for the 45,13 minutes later it too came back on track.
Murry moved up to P3 in class, at least for now. And although forced to
start at the back due to the late arrival of teammate Jaime Melo, Mika Salo
has already moved the No 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari up to P3 and he is not
finished yet.
“The
car is performing perfectly early,” said team director Dick Barbour of
Murray’s performance. “We've already had some tough and hard racing so
far.” Indeed.
After the first half hour, the leaders in class are Allan McNish (Audi No.
2), Luis Diaz (Acura No. 15), Oliver Gavin (Corvette No. 4) and Dirk Werner
(Farnbacher Loles No. 87).
It was at the 46 minute mark when suddenly the No 90 BMW made its appearance
on the track; having solved their starter problems, apparently Bill Auberlen
is out for experience in this brand new car.
First round of pit stops
completed, and there is a lead change as Pedro Lamy in the No. 07 Peugeot
gets by leader Allan McNish in the Audi No. 2. McNish puts on a great
display of intimidation behind him but remains in P2. Waiting his chance,
he continues to harry Lamy until the opportunity presents itself and he
torques around the Peugeot and reassumes the lead, then sets the fastest lap
in the race.
 What
a great run so far for the Autocon Lola. Chris McMurry has picked up two
spots and is running seventh overall and in P1, ahead of class leading Luis
Diaz (#15-P2 Acura ARX-01B). “We've gotten off too a smooth start this
week,” said Chris McMurry, “and we're getting a lot of power from the car.
I've done a little bit of karting in the off season and this is the first
time I've been in the car since Monterey. The car is very easy to drive and
very responsive.”
And in GT2, Mika Salo has completed his run from last to first – he has gone
past the Farnbacher Loles Porsche and assumed the lead in class. In GT1 the
yellow Corvette of Johnny O has taken over the class lead.
It appears the teams have realized it’s a long race as everyone settles down
to wait for good chances to come.
The first full course yellow came
out at 11:55 a.m. as the No. 40 Robertson Racing GT40 and the No. 9 Tequila
Patrón Highcroft Acura have a coming together in the tire wall just in front
of Pit In; both cars get back under way and head for the pits, but they
cannot legally stop until the official Pits Open signal is given. Brabham
continued on, but the GT40 had to stop and was quickly up on jacks.
Everyone comes in for refreshment and driver changes all round once the
pitlane opens. There are five cars still on the lead lap. The Robertson
GT-40 resumes at the back of the GT2 grid.
“One
of the Acuras bumped me,” reported Andrea Robertson, “then he spun. But then
I got collected as he spun. We're doing some extensive repairs on the right
front.”
There is a lead swap again as Nicolas Minassian, now in the 07 Peugeot, gets
the jump on Dindo Capello, now in the No. 2 Audi and assumed the lead, with
Stephane Sarrazin swarming up the back of Capello and looking for a way to
get his 08 Peugeot past.
Brief drama on the track at Turn 5 as Marco Werner (No. 1 Audi) and Lucas
Molo (No. 28 LG Corvette) bump; both cars continue on (no harm no foul, or
so it appears at present.) The Audi driver tried an inside pass and spun the
two cars.
The Audi-Peugeot battle continues at the front; Stephane Sarrazin has three
quick looks and then lunges, taking the position from Dindo Capello.
Remember that Peugeot is running their 2008 car and the Audi R15 is new;
with their improved pit work it looks as if Peugeot has carried some of
their work in the European Le Mans series over as they are looking extremely
racy.
It appears that the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche may have terminal
issues; the car is being pushed from pitlane toward the garage. The 08
Peugeot had a spin and comes into the pitlane to have a look-over, a top-up,
a new drink bottle, and then it is off to the race again, falling in behind
Dindo Capello until the Audi driver came in for his pit stop; when he leap
frogs (oops) his teammate and takes over the lead, leading his teammate by
.7 seconds.
Another full course yellow just as we approach the 3 hour mark, as the No.
37 Intersport Lola pulls off the track, and as tow trucks approach, the No.
1 Audi slides into the pits and all the shell comes off.
After the first three hours, the leaders in class are No. 7 Peugeot
(Minassian), No. 15 Acura (Fernandez), No. 3 (O Connell) and No. 62
(Kaffer). See you again in 3 hours.
Acura Sweep
Prototype Poles at Sebring
De Ferran Motorsport P1, Lowes
Fernandez Racing P2
By
Kate Shaw
Photos
courtesy Keith D. Rizzo
 SEBRING,
Florida (March 19, 2009) — For weeks the speculation in the American Le
Mans Series was “Which will be fastest, the new Audi or the experienced
Peugeot?” Practice sessions this week have not changed the refrain. But
today’s qualifying made rabbit hash out of all that, as Scott Dixon put the
brand new No. 66 De Ferran Motorsport Acura on P1 and overall pole for
Saturday’s race at Sebring International Raceway. “It’s been a mixed
blessing. I came in halfway through the development of the Acura so it’s
great to come back. We teamed up at Petit and it didn’t go like we wanted,
but its great Gil asked me back for the P1. I’ve been here 4 or 5 days and
I’ve done maybe 18 laps. With 3 drivers it’s hard to get good development
time sitting in the car. And with this track it’s hard not to get too
excited and overheat the tires because then you’re done. Overall it’s been a
great week especially to now have Acura on the overall pole. I think from my
point of view it was unexpected. We always shoot for the pole from the
get-go. But realistically only a 3rd or 4th. At the beginning of the week we
were fast but the track has changed a lot The Audi’s were quick out of the
box and laid down a great time. But I think the heat helped us and the
longer you run the Acura on the same set of tires it seems to get better and
better. This car is like nothing else I’ve driven.”
Adrian Fernandez gained the Loews Fernandez P2 Acura its first career ALMS
pole; although he admitted the new regulations have lost the car 2 seconds
over their time last season. “It feels good to start the season well. Last
year was frustrating that we didn’t ever get a win we deserved. It was
always some little stupid things that prevented us. So it’s great to focus
on finishing the race. It’s just me and Luis doing the whole race. We know
the car, we know the track, and we have the most experience in the car. I
think it will be difficult for us because the car is heavier and [has] the
smaller engine intake. It takes a whole lap to pass a Corvette and sometimes
as long for a GT2. We have to be very patient and take our time. We are
racing against Dyson and Mazda and Dyson is a very experienced team. We
raced with them a lot last year but they seemed to finish better than us. “
Commenting that the P1 class is faster and more competitive than last year,
Fernandez inadvertently suggested that the way to handle this and the GT1
cars that are almost as fast as the P2 cars now was to “keep your eyes
closed.” Of course, he amended this and added, “Keep your eyes open and one
on the mirror and one on the track.”
Since the Lowes Fernandez team has elected not to add a third driver for
this 12 hour race, Fernandez emphasized that strategy will be key. For us
the 2 drivers have worked well,” he explained. “Luis and I do a good job.
Last year I got sick during my third stint and just felt horrible, but this
year I am in better health and condition and now we have more experience. It
shouldn’t be like last thing, I thought oh man, is this almost over! I was
in bad shape at the end of last year’s race. It was a fantastic finish but
it is incredible what a driver can do with the adrenaline but as soon as the
race is over you are done! It’s horrible, you are spent.”
As in GT class earlier, no records were set or broken today in the Prototype
classes due to the change in regulations. This, however, does not mean that
when the cars take to the track for the race on Saturday, anyone will have
time for a nap! Be sure to meet us back here to see how it all plays out.
Peugeot
sets Fastest Time in First Practice of 2009
New Cars Show their Stuff in P1, P2, GT2
By
Kate Shaw
Photos
courtesy Keith D. Rizzo 2009
 SEBRING,
Florida (March 18, 2009) — We’re racing again at Sebring, Florida, where
the big news for us Canadians is that air temperature is 81 degrees. But on
the track after the first session the margin between the fastest car (the 08
Peugeot commanded by Stephane Sarrazin) and the second fastest (No. 2 Audi
R15 TDI, Tom Kristensen at the wheel) is about 4/100th of a second (1:44.719
over 1:44.933). The Peugeot is the only P1 car that has been here before;
Audi has brought their R15 TDI for its first test in anger, as has Acura
which has stepped up to P1 this year with De Ferran Motorsport and Tequila
Patrón Highcroft, as well as continuing their P2 effort with Lowes Fernandez
Racing. With Sebring being a race of attrition, such close times indicate
that once again experience, bulletproofness and audacity will battle it out
for top honours.
The first session kicked off at
2:40 and only Luis Diaz in the No. 15 Lowes Fernandez Racing Acura made it
past the timing line as the first red flag of the season followed two
minutes later as the No. 11 Primetime Racing Group Viper stopped at Turn 1
with a broken gearbox. However, with typical Sebring dispatch the problem
was quickly resolved and Allan McNish picked up where he left off last
season by setting the fastest time with a 1:44.984, pretty close to the
overall fastest Audi time for the session.
The brand new Dyson Mazda Coupe displayed both its beauty and its speed in
P2 as Guy Smith took the No. 16 to a 1:52.389, and then stalled out in
pitlane apparently out of fuel (So that was his secret…) The coupe makes a
great addition to the field of Spyders and the new green colour scheme
complements the emphasis on Green Racing by the ALMS in 2009.
The session was basically a chance for the drivers to bed the cars in and
stretch their legs, and fortunately that was all the excitement except for a
spin by the No. 28 LG Motorsports Corvette (no harm, no foul).
(1) #08-P1 Peugeot 908 HDI FAP Stephane Sarrazin 25 1:44.719
(2) #2-P1 Audi R15 TDI Tom Kristensen 21 1:44.933
(3) #1-P1 Audi R15 TDI Marco Werner 21 1:45.894
(6) #16-P2 Lola B09 86 Mazda Andy Lally 17 1:50.802
(7) #15-P2 Acura ARX-01B Luis Diaz 18 1:51.148
(10) #3-GT1 Corvette C6-R Jan Magnussen 20 1:56.907
(11) #4-GT1 Corvette C6-R Marcel Fassler 19 1:57.069
(12) #87-GT2 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Dirk Werner 21 2:02.591
(13) #45-GT2 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Patrick Long 17 2:03.258
(14) #62-GT2 Ferrari F430 GT Mika Salo 12 2:03.303
The next session will be tomorrow morning at 10:20 a.m.
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The 12 Hours of Sebring: Finale
By
Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy Lisa Salazar
Photo of Bourdais courtesy Keith D. Rizzo
 SEBRING,
Florida (March 21, 2009): 7:30 – End — The sun has gone down and the
cars are streaking through the darkness with headlights agleam. It is
the finest part of the race as everyone puts the hammer down and runs for
the finish line. The Audi R15 has very distinctive rear lights, as
they are LED powered. Sebastien Bourdais led overall until he came in
for his pit stop, when Tom Kristensen and the No. 2 Audi took over the
position. Since we left you, attrition has struck the field again;
gone are the No. 66 De Ferran Motorsports Acura and the No. 92 Rahal BMW has fallen off the grid
and the No. 12 Autocon car has gone back behind the wall. Shortly after
that announcement, Autocon is officially retired with electrical problems.
At about 7:50 Bourdais streaks in for his pit stop and Kristensen takes back
the lead.
Nine hours into the race, the No.
45 Flying Lizard Porsche is in fourth and the No. 44 is in fifth. Both cars
just came off a scheduled pit stop and are now good for a full stint.
Patrick Long is in the No. 45 and Darren Law in the No. 44 – both on their
third stints. Patrick Long comes in on the same lap as the next closest GT2 car,
the No. 21 Panoz. And his persistence pays off for Mark Lieb, who takes
over for him – in the pit stop rotation the Panoz 21 pulls in and the No. 45
Flying Lizard takes P3. It has been a long, hard slog from 7 laps down and
we hope it will stick.
There are now two hours to go. It doesn’t seem any longer to the drivers
than it seems to us.
 Down
in P2 the No. 15 Loews Fernandez Acura runs like clockwork, with drivers
Luis Diaz and Adrian Fernandez handling all duties without the usual third
driver. A check with headquarters reveals that the two Dyson entries will
stand on the podium; however,
because they did not finish, they will receive no points. So Fernandez and
Diaz will not be lonely up there at the end of the race. Fernandez has a 144
lap lead over Butch Leitzinger who currently sits second in class. I
venture to guess he will win.
There is another competition taking place alongside the race on the track.
It is called the Michelin® Green X® Challenge, and is a system ranking all
the cars in the race according to average speed and distance covered, along
with the amount of energy used (not counting that used by the drivers
personally), greenhouse gases emitted and petroleum displaced. At present
the leader in LMP is the Audi No. 2 and in GT is the No. 3 Chevrolet
Corvette.
At the front of the race the pit
stops have mixed up the order again. Audi No. 1, under command of Mike
Rockenfeller, currently leads the fray, with Peugeot No. 8 behind and Audi
No. 2 (now commanded by McNish) in P3. It will not be long until McNish
begins to push that Audi toward the front; after all, his Dad has come all
this way to watch him win a race and if it can be done, he will do it.
Remember, this is the man who crashed his car on the formation lap at Road
Atlanta, joined the race three laps down, and after 10 hours led the field
under the chequered flag.
 Attrition
strikes again; the Tequila Patrón Highcroft Acura is being pushed down the
pitlane toward the paddock and it may be game over for them. “Something went
bang in the back, the differential or something,” reported Paul Ryan of the
team, “and we are going to try to get it back out there. The engine is all
right.” Twenty minutes later the car was officially retired with drive line
failure.
On the track the No. 8 Peugeot
(Bourdais) leads the No. 2 Audi (McNish) by two seconds, but the Peugeot has
just dived into the pits and Bourdais dived out of the car like a jack in
the box. It’s full service and away goes Franck Montagny to chase down
McNish who has taken the lead. He tries it just a little too quickly at the
hairpin and all four wheels fly off the track and back he comes in a cloud
of dust to make up those 24 seconds between himself and the Audi.
The other big battle on the grid is between Marc Lieb in the 45 Flying
Lizard Porsche who swarms the No. 21 Panoz for third place. The cars
are line astern with barely a matchbook between them. As Lieb pulls out to pass, he
believes he is far enough by and turns in, spinning himself straight into
the wall. Good thing there are no live microphones in those cars. He gets
back underway with a damaged left rear tire. Just as the car comes into
the last turn, the left rear tire delaminates and rolls merrily through the
corner. Lieb staggers off to the pits to assess his options.
Hara-kiri may occur to him. (Stewards judged this a ‘racing incident’.)
Jörg Bergmeister takes Lieb’s place in the car, and five minutes later he is
back in, where the crew cut a hole in the hood to gain access to the fuel
inlet and removes damage from inside the wheel well. The Lizard cars have
swapped spots, and the 44 is now in P4.
The Panoz ducked into the pits for service and a driver change, which is
smooth until the crew chief raised his hand to signal the car out and
cracked the timing guy right in the face. He was okay, just a little
stunned.
Note: The record for most laps completed on the current 3.7-mile,
17-turn configuration is 370 laps. At the current pace, the winner will have
completed 385 laps.
 While
all this was going on, Allan McNish has added almost a minute to his lead
over Franck Montagny. He dives for the pits and a ten minutes worth
splash of fuel, and gets back out onto the track. Montagny has gone
through, but he had a last pit stop to do as well, and McNish is doing very
fast lap times even with a load of fuel. The Peugeot takes fuel but no
tires and blasts
back onto the track, saving himself 12 seconds and hoping it would be
enough.
Adrian Fernandez comes in for his final stop and exits without incident.
And the 07 Peugeot goes slowly off into the runoff at the hairpin, the
lights still on but going nowhere. It is towed to a safe location and will
be salvaged at the end of the race, now only 30 minutes away.
McNish dashes in for his final pit stop and takes 10 seconds worth of fuel,
which will get him to the end, and no tires which he hopes will get him to
the end. He comes out about 25 seconds ahead of his rival in the Peugeot.
Now 11 minutes to the end and they are likely to feel like days.
One minute 44 seconds to go and Allan McNish has set the fastest lap of the
race so far. Out comes the white flag – last lap – and now nobody will
breathe until the Chequers fly. Can he do it? Can he get his Dad the win?
Down the front straight comes Allan McNish and across the line under the
flag – at the very first race for the Audi R15 TDI, it is once again Total
Domination Ingolstadt.
 In the other classes, Fernandez takes P2, Jan Magnussen takes GT1 (the
penultimate run for the Corvette Thunder Lizards) and Mika Salo comes from
the back of the grid to two laps up to take the GT2 win for Risi
Competizione Ferrari. Let us hope this portends a much better season for
that team than they had in 2008.
So with that, we all exhale, and we shall say good night. Tune in tomorrow
for the wrap-up and what the drivers had to say and more great photos too.
And meet us at Sebring in 2010 when we will do it all again.
The 12 Hours of Sebring: Halfway
By
Kate Shaw
Photos courtesy Lisa Salazar
 SEBRING,
Florida (March 21, 2009) 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. — We’re back. When we
left you last, the Intersport 37 was being towed in; that proved to be a
fuel pickup problem and it has been resolved by replacing an oil line. The
No. 1 Audi that was being undressed replaced the rear wing assembly and the
driver, and Lucas Luhr was back underway. There was a brief panic in the
Dyson No. 16 as Guy Smith brought it into the pits reporting throttle
problems. Fortunately it appears that Smith hit the wrong switch and
accidentally cut the engine. No harm, no foul, sighs of relief all round,
and back out he goes. “This is the nature of Sebring,” said Chris Dyson. “We
get all jostled around and beaten around over the course of the race.”
 The
green flag flew at 1:42, and the lead overall remains Peugeot 1-2, Audi 3-4.
Various moves and feints are displayed but the order remains. “At the moment
the Peugeots have a little more pace,” said Ralf Juttner of Audi Sport. “But
things have been changing. The Peugeots have very good straight line speed,
and when we are behind them it is very hard to pass.” Christian Klein takes
the 07 Peugeot for a long spin in a big cloud of dirt at the hairpin and
continues, but gives up the lead to the sister car and Bourdais.
The No. 90 BMW officially retires, the first one of the day, citing
mechanical problems.
On a brighter note, the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche reappeared from the
garage and rejoined the race. Of course it is a long way down the grid, but
Wolf Henzler is at the wheel and that means clear the decks for action.
After their bumpy beginning, the
Lizards have stayed out of trouble and 3 hours into the race are in P 7 and
P 8. In both Lizard Porsches, their third driver is now on his first stint.
Johannes van Overbeek is behind the wheel of the No. 44 (Seth Neiman started
and Darren Law had the second stint).
In the No. 45, Marc Lieb is at the wheel (Jörg Bergmeister started and
Patrick Long was second). The GT2 leader is the No. 62 Risi Competizione
Ferrari, which has a lap on the next GT2 in line, the 92 BMW of Dirk
Mueller.
The No. 45 has the fastest GT2 time of the race so far, with a 2:03.365. In
P1 the fastest time has been set by Tom Kristensen in the Audi 02, behind
Sebastien Bourdais who now commands the No. 8 Peugeot.
In come the Audis and the
Highcroft car for routine pit stops, and in comes the No. 16 Dyson coupe
without a rear wing. They have to salvage the rear diffuser connection to
the air jack before they can attach the new rear wing, and it is not a quick
job.
Having lulled the Peugeots for a
couple of hours, Dindo Capello suddenly appeared in the mirrors of Christian
Klein to be much larger behind and then before, as he slid around three cars
including Klein, taking over P2 and taking off after Bourdais in the No. 8.
Luhr promptly closed the No. 1 up behind Klein in search of P3. Bourdais
responded with a long, sweeping spin coming out of Turn 17, ending in a
stall. He quickly started it up again and did not lose position as he got
back under way, now only 13 seconds ahead of Audi No. 2.
Meanwhile the No. 07 Peugeot pulled in for fuel, tires, Pedro Lamy and
repairs to the air conditioning unit (by regulations the car may not be
higher than 32c inside), right ahead of the pit box where the No. 16 Dyson
Coupe is still undergoing a rear wing transplant. The Peugeots extended pit
stop has promoted the No. 1 Audi to P3 behind teammate Kristensen. “The rule
says we have stay under 32 degrees (C) in the car,” reported Klein. “I was
quite suffering in the car. It was very hot. It started about 10 laps before
I came in.”
Two more retirements were reported: No. 37 Intersport and No. 28 LG
Motorsports Corvette, both listed as mechanical. That brings the total
retirements so far to three.
Meanwhile up at the front Allan
McNish in the No. 2 Audi and Franck Montagny in the No. 08 Peugeot re-enact
the famous fabled Villeneuve-Arnoux Battle of Dijon from 1979, exchanging
the lead twice over a single lap leaving a gnat’s whisker of space between
them. In an inside/outside maneuver that left the crowd applauding, McNish
opened up a .7 second gap as Montagny waited his chance to go another round.
And what makes it even more eye-opening is that McNish did all this on cold
tires.
The repairs to the Dyson Coupe have been effected (splitter, rear wing,
driver door) and the car is back on track.
As the No. 92 Rahal BMW comes into the pits out of P2 in class, a small
engine fire that starts when it comes off the air jacks necessitates it
going behind the wall. Said team owner Bobby Rahal, "It might be the oil
tank. It’s a shame, the car was running really well and the drivers were
doing a great job. It’s a heck of a race to come to for our first race.
Sebring is a tough race to start at.”
Large dark clouds have moved over the track, but the sun is still shining on
the front straight. There is a stiffish wind blowing and it is hoped that
will blow them away. Latest word is that it will go to the north of us.
As we come to the end of the first half, the class leaders are No 08 Peugeot
(Montagny), No. 15 Acura (Diaz), No. 3 (Magnussen) and No. 62 Ferrari
(Melo). The wind is pickup up and the air smells of rain…and there is a good
chance that both Dyson Coupes have retired. See you for the third quarter.
Stay tuned.
Eine Kleine
Nachtmusik
By
Kate Shaw
Photos
courtesy Lisa Salazar 2009
 SEBRING,
Florida (March 20, 2009) — It was a dark and stormy night…well, no, it
was dark when the ALMS cars took to the track for the obligatory 3 laps of
night practice required for each driver who wants to participate. The
“stormy” part occurred about 6:15, which torpedoed Tequila Patrón driver
David Brabham’s planned run in his fathers Cooper F1 car, and soaked the
track, delaying the start of the session for about five minutes while as
much water as possible was removed. The P1 and P2 cars ride so low to the
track that it does not take much water to cause them to aquaplane right off
the tarmac. The teams were also informed where the standing water should be
avoided: driver’s right at Turn 1, apex at Turn 2, water crossing the track
at Turn 15, way left at Turn 17 and driver’s right on the front stretch, as
well as pit exit. Teams that elect not to go out will be sent to the back,
so there is not much chance of stopping out. The Vici Racing Team, whose
second car is still en route, was given a dispensation and all six drivers
will rotate through the No. 18 so they are all right.
Most of the cars began on cut
slicks or intermediate tires; however, after the first hour, the No. 66 De
Ferran Motorsports Acura appeared on full slicks. Apparently they are still
over the moon about their capture of pole position for the race by a full
second over their more experienced brothers at Audi and Peugeot. Fifteen
minutes later Sebastien Bourdais (#08-P1 Peugeot 908 HDI FAP) sets the
fastest lap overall with a 1:49.011. This is over 8 seconds quicker than
anyone else on the track. The question was asked, “Does he know it’s damp,
and dark?” Nicolas Minassian promptly shot the 07 sister car into second
place, joined his teammate at the top of the chart, although still 4.971
seconds slower than the #08. Makes it a Peugeot un, deux! We are fearless,
came the reply. We are Peugeot. Scott Dixon prudently kept the No. 66 Acura
close behind, P3 in class.
 In
P2 all eyes were on the Dyson Racing coupes, by far the most eye-catching
cars on this Sebring grid. The bright green livery stands out especially in
the low light and the cars are surefooting through the field; Marino
Franchitti in the No. 20 leads Guy Smith in the No. 16, with polesitter
Fernandez ahead of both in the No. 15 Lowes Fernandez Acura. Being out front
has its disadvantages when “some kind of animal” that was clearly hard of
hearing attempted to cross in front of him and was sent to its reward,
leaving scattered bits behind. (No damage to the Acura, fortunately.) That
allowed Chris Dyson, now in the No. 16 Dyson coupe, to set the fastest lap
in class.
GT2 changed position frequently
as everyone schooled their night drivers; Giammaria Bruni in the No. 95
Pecom Racing Ferrari took top times, with Marc Lieb in the No. 45 Flying
Lizard Porsche second and Mika Salo in the No. 62 Risi Ferrari comfortable
in P3. All the Vici drivers got their laps in and retired for the evening
looking forward to the arrival of their second car in the morning.
As the session came to an end, Franck Montagny in the No. 8 Peugeot surged
to first overall, his teammate Christian Klein in the 07 in third, with
Allan McNish in the No. 2 Audi R15 TDI sandwiched comfortably between.
And
with that, the teams folded up their trackside tents and retired, some to a
well earned rest and others to the paddock to tweak, frown and decide. The
music of the night goes on. Tomorrow we will see what that has wrought.
NOTE: Jaime Melo (No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari) has arrived in
Sebring, having sorted out his visa problems; his team will start from the
back tomorrow.
Farnbacher
Loles and Corvette 4 take GT poles at Sebring
By
Kate Shaw
Photos
courtesy Lisa Salazar 2009
 SEBRING,
Florida (March 19, 2009) – Changes have been made in the ACO regulations
for 2009, and clearly they suited the No. 87 Farnbacher Loles Porsche and
Dirk Werner very well. The young Porsche driver scored his third class pole
during GT2 qualifying at Sebring this afternoon.
"I
didn’t expect this pole,”
admitted Werner. "While
driving I didn’t feel the time would have been good for pole. The track
changed a lot from this morning. It was very greasy. The team made fun of me
and asked me why I was going so slow. But when I came in I realized that I
was first and was ok. It shows the abilities of the team, we’ve been
fortunate to come back and it shows we are worth the works support. The car
was really good. It was comfortable to drive. It as easy to drive, I didn’t
have to push too good. It was important for us to show our abilities on
behalf of the team, to demonstrate that we deserve Works Support. The car
was easy to drive and we are good for the race.”
Ferrari was very much in the mix this afternoon, as Mika Salo (driving only
for the long races this year) posted a time only a tenth off the pace of the
Porsche. Teammate Jaime Melo (Risi Competizione Ferrari) will arrive at
Sebring tomorrow (Friday) having been absent in the build up to this
weekend’s opening race of the season, frustratingly held up in Italy with
visa problems. Spending days at the US Embassy in Rome – where the Brazilian
is now living – instead of practicing here in Sebring was a less than ideal
start to the season for the driver.
Third in class was the No. 40
Robertson Racing Ford GT-40, an astonishing leap up the charts from last
season. "This field is incredibly competitive and a lot of deep pockets,
“said driver David Murry. “The Robertsons have had a wonderful vision of
running an American car. We got the car the week before the race last year
and the team has done a lot of things to make the car go faster. They are
coming up with a lot of great ideas."
 In
GT1, otherwise known as Corvette Class, it was Oliver Gavin in the No. 4
(that is the black one) taking
his 18th career pole as the GT1
Corvettes look toward their final Hurrah at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “It
seems like with everybody, we were struggling with the track,” said Gavin.
”We were running a Medium tire so it got greasy with the heat increase. It
was nice to come away with a pole on the 10th anniversary of Corvette. And
anytime you can beat Jan in qualifying you know you earned your money. Its
great to be here, great to race the Corvettes and prepare for Le Mans. The
cars feel like they have lost a lot of grip this year, which seems to be the
biggest change for the track this year. If you get off track and make any
mistakes then you’re ruined for the next 3 or 4 corners. It’s important to
prep here. Both cars are very mindful that Le Mans is the goal. But I think
both of us want to go away with the 10th anniversary victory for Corvette.
The best racing we’ve seen is the Aston Martin’s but they’ve moved on and
have some bigger fish to fry in P1. And we’re moving on to GT2 later in the
year and the whole Corvette team is working hard to get that car prepared
concurrently.” Fans are swarming the Corvette paddock this weekend, bidding
farewell to a wonderful car (its last ALMS race will be at Long Beach) and
looking forward to seeing what wonders the new car will provide.
Meanwhile, come
Saturday, we have a 12 Hours Race to run. Meet us back here at 10:00 a.m.
Saturday and follow along to see how it all comes out!
NOTE: Due to the changes in configuration of the cars, no track
records were set today.
Airport Security Fast Lane
News from Dyson Racing
Photos
courtesy Keith D. Rizzo 2009
 SEBRING,
FL (March 19, 2009) -- In the first qualifying session of the season
with their new LMP2 Mazda Lola Coupes, Dyson Racing qualified second and
third in class for Saturday’s 57t h running of the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Running on the remnants of the WWII Hendricks Field, Chris Dyson qualified
the #16 BP sponsored car second in class, followed by Butch Leitzinger in
#20 sister entry.
Andy Lally will join Dyson and Guy Smith for the iconic race on the 3.7 mile
central
Florida course and Ben Devlin partners Leitzinger and Marino Franchitti.
Leitzinger
Franchitti and Lally were second overall last year and Dyson and Smith led
the race four times and finished third in class on the oldest and toughest
road course in America.
Leitzinger is celebrating his 20t h year at Sebring and Dyson Racing first
raced here twenty-two years ago. This is the team’s sixteenth Sebring 12
Hour. “We are pleased to give Mazda their strongest LMP2 Sebring qualifying
effort,” Dyson said. “Their engagement in motorsports is second to none. We
were at MAZDASPEED a couple of weeks ago, and most every Mazda executive
there had their own race cars. Competition on the race track defines their
company.”
The American Le Mans Series celebrates its 100t h race at this year’s 12
Hour. In the last ten years, there have been 23 world-wide events, 161,235
racing miles, and 129 winning drivers. SPEED will televise the race live
from 10 a.m. to noon and 2-11 p.m. ET. Live timing & scoring and ALMS Radio
will be available at americanlemans.com.
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