57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

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57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

Post by mlittle » Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:56 am

Since 1952, the stars of the sports car community have traveled to central Florida and Sebring International Raceway for one of the great endurance events on the motorsports calendar, the 12 Hours of Sebring. Winners have included Mario Andretti, Briggs Cunningham, Juan Manuel Fangio, A.J. Foyt, Jacky Ickx, Stirling Moss and Lake Underwood, while several famous marques from Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Jaguar, Cunningham, Audi to big American marques Ford and Chevrolet have found victory on the long and bumpy Sebring circuit.


Event Schedule, 2009 Mobil One 12 Hours of Sebring................
~~17 March 2009
1-1:30pm, Test Session #1(GT1, GT2)
1:30-2:30pm, Test Session #2(all classes)
2:30-3pm, Test Session #3(LMP-1, LMP-2)
~~18 March 2009
10:45-11:50am, Practice Session #1(all classes)
2:40-3:35pm, Practice Session #2(all classes)
~~19 March 2009
10:20-11:15am, Practice Session #3(all classes)
2:45-3:10pm, GT Qualifying Session
3:15-3:40pm, LMP Qualifying Session
7:15-9pm, Night Practice Session(all classes)
~~20 March 2009
9:55-10:55am, Practice Session #4(all classes)
~~21 March 2009
10:30am, 57th Mobil One 12 Hours of Sebring(12 hours)
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Tuesday Test News from Sebring

Post by mlittle » Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:30 pm

(from TU, 17 March 2009)
Tuesday marked the first day of testing/practice for the 12 Hours of Sebring and, from the first minutes of running, the big dogs of LMP-1, Peugeot and Audi, were out in force on the long, bumpy Sebring circuit......

--------Peugeot's Nic Minassian set the unofficial fastest time Tuesday in the final test day prior to the start of the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida, the first race of the 2009 American Le Mans Series. Official practice starts Wednesday with the race set for 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday.

The Frenchman, at Sebring International Raceway for the second straight year with the diesel-powered Peugeot 908 HDi, turned in a best lap of 1:44.555. He is teaming with Pedro Lamy and Christian Klien in one of the two Peugeot factory prototype coupes.

Minassian was 0.259 seconds quicker around the 17-turn, 3.7-mile circuit than Audi Sport Team Joest's Dindo Capello in one of the two brand new Audi R15 TDI prototypes. Making their worldwide event debut, the Audis sat second and third overall with Marco Werner at 1:45.630.



Meanwhile, Acura, which has seen success the past 2 years in LMP-2, showed that they too have speed in their new ARX-02a prototypes as Highcroft Racing and driver Scott Dixon was the fastest of the Acura runners, with a time of 1:45.714 in the #66 Panasonic/ELS DeFerran Motorsports car. Over in LMP-2, Dyson Racing was the fastest of the class, with a 1:51.733 sec. time in their new Lola B09/86-Mazda prototype.



---------Jan Magnussen went quickest in GT1 in Corvette Racing's No. 3 Corvette C6.R. The Dane, defending race and class champion, posted a lap of 1:58.196 in the entry that he will share with seven-time Sebring winner Johnny O'Connell and newcomer Antonio Garcia.

Fellow first-year Corvette Racing pilot Marcel Fassler was 0.886 seconds behind in the Corvette C6.R that he will drive with Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin. This is the last appearance at Sebring for the GT1 Corvette with the team set to move into GT2 in August at Mid-Ohio.

Speaking of which, Ferrari factory driver Gianmaria Bruni was the fastest driver in class for Advanced Engineering/Pecom Racing Team and its Ferrari F430 GT. Bruni, who set a lap of 2:03.163, drove at Sebring last season for Risi Competizione and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008 with the team.

Wolf Henzler was second quickest in GT2 for Farnbacher Loles Racing. The German Porsche factory driver's best time was a 2:03.684 in the team's Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. He is driving with full-season teammate Dirk Werner and Richard Westbrook.

Third quickest was Mika Salo in the Risi Ferrari at 2:03.740. He is teaming with the full-season pairing of Jaime Melo and Pierre Kaffer.
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Tuesday Test Quotes

Post by mlittle » Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:34 pm

~~Dirk Werner, Farnbacher Loles Racing(Porsche 997 RSR),
Things are going OK so far. We are working through our test program. The car was pretty good yesterday and was better today. There are a few challenges. We're still finding out what the car does in certain situations and circumstances. Plus the track is continually changing and we have to adapt to it.
~~Chris Dyson, Dyson Racing(Lola B09/86-Mazda),
It's been going OK. We are waiting on a couple final parts for the second car, which is a little disappointing. Last year we had both cars out by the this time. But once it's out it should be very good. The track is always changing; today it was sunny at the start and now it's a bit more overcast.
~~Oliver Gavin, Corvette Racing(Chevrolet Corvette C-6R),
It's a big event for us with this being the last hurrah here for the GT1 car before we move to GT2 around Mid-Ohio. This car obviously has had tremendous success here and we really want to go out strong, particularly for the fans and the Corvette Corral members who have been so good for us. The goal is still to make the car as quick as possible and continuing to optimize it. We also are looking for directions for the development of the GT2 car.
~~Scott Sharp, Patron Highcroft Racing(Acura ARX-02a),
We are beginning to learn more and more about the car but we could still use some more track time. It was a little short overall today. Dario and I both got some laps today and we made a number of changes. We are making some progress but we need to keep making more. We were in race trim today concentrating on making the car more consistent. I had quite a long run out there this afternoon.
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Post by mlittle » Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:37 pm

Sebring Practice Session #1 Class Leaders........................
~~P1 Sarrazin, Montagny, Bourdais Peugeot 908 HDI FAP 1:45.159(1st overall)
~~P2 Dyson, Smith, Lally Lola B0986/Mazda 1:50.772(5th overall)
~~GT1 Magnussen, O'Connell, Garcia Chevrolet Corvette C6R 1:57.913(9th overall)
~~GT2 Companc, Russo, Bruni Ferrari 430 GT 2:02.897(12th overall)
...from WE, 18 March 2009
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Wednesday Morning Practice Report

Post by mlittle » Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:41 pm

(quoting from multple sources, 18 March 2009)
~~SEBRING WEEK OFF TO FAST START FOR PEUGEOT

Peugeot's Franck Montagny turned the fastest lap in the first official practice session for the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Wednesday as the start to the 2009 American Le Mans Series continued to draw closer.

Driving one of Peugeot's two diesel-powered 908 HDi coupes, the Frenchman posted a best lap of 1:45.159 (126.665 mph) and was 0.586 seconds better than Audi's Lucas Luhr in the German marque's brand new R15 TDI. The last time Peugeot and Audi went head-to-head was last season's Petit Le Mans, an Audi victory by less than five seconds.

Montagny, a two-time class winner last season for Andretti Green Racing and Acura in LMP2, is driving with fellow countrymen Stephane Sarrazin and Sebastien Bourdais. In the Audi, Luhr will team with fellow defending Series P1 champion Marco Werner and Mike Rockenfeller.

Third overall was Allan McNish in the second Audi R15 TDI at 1:45.810 (125.401 mph). He will drive with Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen. The best of Acura's new ARX-02a P1 entries was the Patron Highcroft Racing P1 and sat fourth at 1:46.219 (125.401 mph). David Brabham, Scott Sharp and Dario Franchitti will drive that entry.

Chris Dyson was quickest in LMP2 for Dyson Racing with its new Mazda- powered Lola B09/86 coupe. Smith, who will drive with Guy Smith and Andy Lally, posted a time of 1:50.772 (120.247 mph). He was nearly a second better than the Lowe's Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz.

Corvette Racing newcomer Antonio Garcia was the quickest driver in GT1. In his first race for the team (but third year at Sebring), Garcia turned a lap of 1:57.913 (112.965 mph). The Spaniard will drive with defending class winners and Series champions Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen.

Garcia was a scant 0.073 seconds ahead of the sister car of Marcel Fassler, Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta. This season marks the last of GT1 competition for Corvette Racing, which will transition to GT2 in August.

Gianmaria Bruni continued Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing Team's strong weekend with the fastest time in GT2. The Italian, who drove at Sebring last year for Risi Competizione, set a fast lap of 2:02.897 (108.383 mph) in the car he is sharing with Luis Companc and Mathias Russo. Bruni edged out Farnbacher Loles Racing's Richard Lietz in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR that he will drive with Wolf Henzler and Dirk Werner.

Joey Hand was third in class for BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team in one of its two new BMW M3 that he will share with Bill Auberlen. Hand's best lap was a 2:03.749 (107.637 mph).

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Post by mlittle » Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:44 pm

Sebring Practice Session #2 Class Leaders
~~P1 Sarrazin, Montagny, Bourdais Peugeot 908 HDI FAP 1:44.719(1st overall)
~~P2 Dyson, Smith, Lally Lola B0986 Mazda 1:50.802(6th overall)
~~GT1 Magnussen, O'Connell, Garcia Chevrolet Corvette C6R 1:56.907(10th overall)
~~GT2 Henzler, Werner, Lietz Porsche 997
RSR 2:02.591(12th overall)
......from WE, 18 March 2009
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Wednesday Afternoon Practice Report

Post by mlittle » Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:46 pm

~~SARRAZIN ROARS TO FRONT IN SEBRING PRACTICE

Peugeot's Stephane Sarrazin set the fastest lap of the day at Sebring International Raceway on Wednesday, the first official day of practice for the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. The Frenchman toured the 3.7-mile, 17-turn circuit in 1:44.719 (127.198 mph) in the day's second practice session.

Driving one of Peugeot's diesel-powered 908 HDi factory coupes with Franck Montagny and Sebastien Bourdais, Sarrazin sat 0.214 seconds ahead of Audi Sport's Tom Kristensen in the new R15 TDI, also a factory diesel entry. Kristensen is teaming with Allan McNish and Dindo Capello, and the same trio won last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The last time Peugeot and Audi went head-to-head was last season's Petit Le Mans, an Audi victory by less than five seconds. Sarrazin was the overall pole-winner, however.

A second Audi prototype sat third with the entry of Mike Rockenfeller, Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner posting a best time of 1:45.894 (125.786 mph), a little more than a half second better than Scott Dixon in de Ferran Motorsports' Acura ARX-02a.

Guy Smith kept Dyson Racing on top in LMP2 for the second straight session. The Brit, driving with Chris Dyson and Andy Lally, set his quickest lap with a 1:50.802 (120.214 mph) pass in Dyson Racing's new Mazda-powered Lola B09/86 coupe. It was good enough for a 0.346-second gap back to Lowe's Fernandez Racing's Acura ARX-01b of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz.

In GT1, Jan Magnussen kept the No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R out front for the second straight session. After teammate Antonio Garcia went quickest in the morning, Magunssen's bettered that time in the afternoon was a 1:56.907 (113.937 mph) in the entry that Johnny O'Connell also will drive. The sister Corvette of Olivier Beretta, Oliver Gavin and Marcel Fässler was second in class at 1:57.069 (113.779 mph).

Dirk Werner put Farnbacher Loles Racing's Porsche 911 GT3 RSR on top in GT2 with a lap of 2:02.591, also the best time in class on the day. Werner, who will drive with Porsche factory drivers Wolf Henzler and Richard Lietz, was 0.667 seconds better than the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche of Patrick Long, Jörg Bergmeister and Marc Lieb. Risi Competizione's Ferrari F430 of Mika Salo and Pierre Kaffer sat third in class at 2:03.303 (108.027 mph).

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The Great Dane..........

Post by mlittle » Fri Mar 20, 2009 3:27 pm

In most racing disclipines, there is a benchmark, a standard upon which others are measured against. In American Open-Wheel Racing, the standard is held by Il Commendatore, Mario Andretti.......in the sports-car world, the gold standard is held by Danish racer Tom Kristensen. With 8 overall wins at the 24 Hours of LeMans and 4 wins at Sebring, the Great Dane's racing pedigree matches up to the greats of the motorsports world. During a break in the day's practice/qualifying sessions on Thursday, he gave his thoughts on various items of interest........... 8)

~~What makes Sebring, the 12 Hours and the American LeMans Series as special as they are?
~~Tom Kristensen: The good thing about Sebring is it has stayed the same for so many years. Anyone in motor racing knows about this race and knows that that’s when the season kicks off. It’s tough on the cars, the drivers and the pit crew, so preparing for this race is something everyone looks forward to. The race has so much tradition and the weather is good, especially for us Europeans, to come here and have a race in the same climate close to what we will be at Le Mans in terms of temperatures. But basically over the years how it has evolved means it is definitely a weekend I want to be part of. It’s a great event, great race, great fans and obviously, this week with the Irish day (St Patrick's Day) and spring break, it creates a really great atmosphere. Of course, a lot of things have happened on the cars; we do lap times that are 10 times faster than in those days. But still, the race track is the same. Sebring is a very, very old race track still. In a way, it’s a love-hate relationship about the actual race track because some corners are really great and others are a pain for the driver, especially the bumps and the changes of grip level through corners. But at the end of the day, it’s a challenge, and we all laugh about it and laugh about the experience we have over the years on this course.

~~On winning the first ALMS event in Sebring back in 1999.........
~~TK: I look at pictures and I see there is quite a big difference. I was this curly haired boy; I was relatively young coming here with BMW Schnitzer in 1999. We were close to making the decision to go or not go because we were not sure if we were completely ready. But we did, and we won the race. This was absolutely a great time! Over the years, I think I have matured.

~~Is there any pressure to win with the new R15 as opposed to its' previous incarnations, the R10 and R8?
~~TK: Now we are with a new baby, the new R15 TDI, which Ingolstadt has put a lot of effort and energy into. So far, we are very happy with the speed at this very, very early stage of the car. Especially with a new car, the adrenaline is a little bit higher. You feel a little bit more of the positive pressure, because there’s so much input to this car but you haven't got the output back. When you come here, you have everything - the temperature, wheel loads, cornering speeds, the temperature of the brakes - Sebring is very, very hard. When you get through 12 hours here, you start to look at making the next step in terms of speed.

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Post by mlittle » Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:03 pm

Sebring Practice Session #3 class leaders.............
(from TH, 19 March 2009)

~~P1 Luhr, Rockenfeller, Werner Audi R15 TDI 1:45.678(1st overall)
~~P2 Fernandez, Diaz Acura ARX-01B 1:48.640(7th overall)
~~GT1 Magnussen, O'Connell, Garcia Chevrolet Corvette C6R 1:57.431(12th overall)
~~GT2 Bergmeister, Long, Lieb Porsche 911
RSR 2:02.654(14th overall)

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IndyCar Champ on top at Sebring

Post by mlittle » Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:07 pm

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(quoting from multiple sources)
~~~The de Ferran Motorsports new Acura ARX02a has its first Twelve Hours of Sebring pole courtesy of the 2008 IndyCar champion Scott Dixon. The 57th running of the historic event takes place on Saturday, March 21st to open the American Le Mans Series racing season 2009. The IndyCar driver made the best of his final lap in the prototype qualifying session to garner his first career pole with a fast lap of 1:45.278 (126.522 mph) in the new Acura LMP1 car. "I've been here four or five days and I've done maybe 18 laps. With three drivers its hard to get good development time sitting in the car and with this track its hard not to get too excited and overheat the tires because then you're done," said Dixon. "Overall its 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 expected only a third or a fourth."

Dixon, who will start his defense of his IndyCar title at St. Petersburg, admitted his surprise when team owner Gil de Ferran called him to let him know he would be the team's qualifying driver today, instead of de Ferran or Simon Pagenaud.

"When the phone call came from Gil, I could barely hear the news that I was to qualify the car," he said. "We all have had equal amount of time in the car so I don't know why he picked me but in the end any of us could have done it and had the pole."

Last year, de Ferran added the Indy 500 winner to his team for the Petit Le Mans event at Road Atlanta so it was not a surprise to see him invite the Kiwi back for the team's first attempt to win the March classic event with the debut of the LMP1 Acura. It was Dixon's second appearance at Petit having run the event in a Ferrari in 1999. However, this is his first time as a competitor at Sebring International Raceway for the 12 hours; he has tested Indy cars here on the short track.

"The Audis 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," explained Dixon. "This car is like nothing else I've driven. It's hard to compare it to other cars. They've only been developing this car for a few months so its exciting. For an Indy car you're always driving the car on the edge and you know you're there and can react, but this is 80-90% power assist so you can't get too sloppy moving the wheel, and I'm a driver who always seems to be moving the wheel, my tracers go back and forth. It is a lot different from anything I have ever driven."

Prior to Dixon's final flying lap, it appeared that the debut of the Audi R15 TDI would meet with success in the hands of Tom Kristensen. The eight-time Le Mans winner had clocked a time of 1:45.360 (126.424 mph), missing the point position by a mere 0.082 seconds.

"Wow! It would have been really cool to have made a debut pole for the R15 TDI. We had pole but it was snatched away on the last lap of qualifying which was very close and exciting," Kristensen said.

Like Dixon, Kristensen was in the cockpit of the newest P1 entry from the Audi camp. Under the banner of Audi Sport Team Joest for the No. 2 Audi P1, Kristensen and co-drivers, Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello, might have a slight edge heading into the first turn at the start as all three have a lot experience at Sebring while de Ferran, Pagenaud and Dixon, even with their own open-wheel racing talent, are "rookies" for the demanding and very challenging Sebring enduro.

"Our focus is for the race and a successful warm-up for Le Mans but as a driver, of course I wanted the pole," added the Dane. "I could have been luckier as it took until my seventh lap before I had a clear lap out of traffic. I had to back off and make space. Thankfully I had enough diesel in the car so I could do the extra laps. Well done to Scott (Dixon). We're eagerly looking forward to the race."

Both Acura and Audi have brand new P1s out of the box and even with preseason testing, this will be their first race; of course Audi did debut the R10 TDI with a victory here. The team with the known platform with minor tweaks since 2008 is Peugeot.

The French-based manufacturer has gone head-to-head with the German marque but this will be the first time that the Japanese-owned but built and designed at the North American Honda Performance Development Acura team will challenge the two European teams for supremacy in the ALMS P1 class on Saturday. Acura runs on petrol while both Audi and Peugeot run on diesel.

Christian Klien was third-quickest in qualifying in the No. 07 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP with a time of 1:45.462 (126.301 mph). Klien had the top spot until Kristensen knocked him down a slot. The top three are separated by less than two-tenths of a second.

"Sebring is new to me and I haven't had too many chances to drive this week," said Klien. "It is a very difficult, bumpy track, but I feel comfortable with our car. Concentration is likely to be a key factor because there are so many pitfalls here."

~~~ACURA TAKES POINT IN LMP-2
Adding to the exciting day for Acura was Fernandez Racing: Adrian Fernandez landed his first LMP2 pole with a time of 1:49.686 (121.438 mph) in the Acura ARX-01b.

"It feels good to start the season well," said Fernandez. "Our experience helped and we hope to finish very strong in the race, starting on pole is good. 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."

Rule changes in P2 and the addition of Dyson Racing in the class does give Fernandez cause for concern. "It's just me and Luis (Diaz) 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."

Chris Dyson was second fastest in the team's new Lola B09 86 Mazda with a fast lap of 1:51.534 (119.425 mph). While Fernandez and Acura have the same platform as last year, Dyson Racing switched to a new program this year.

Third in P2 is Dyson's No. 20 with Butch Leitzinger clocking a 1:51.840 (119.099 mph).
[continued in next post............]
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Post by mlittle » Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:09 pm

~~~CORVETTE RACING ON POINT FOR FINAL GT-1 APPEARANCE AT SEBRING
-------Corvette Racing is celebrating their 10th anniversary at Sebring and while they own the LMGT1 field as the only competitors, they still have a contest that is a true heated battle. Today it was would Jan Magnussen or Oliver Gavin place the Chevrolet Corvette C6-R on the pole.

Gavin won the battle today but the race is long and Magnussen is looking for his 100th win since he began his racing career covering the different series he has ran. The other side of the coin is Gavin who likes to build on his own personal stats. Add their season-long teammates and the third driver in both cars, plus the No. 3 and No. 4 team crew members leading up to what will be a contest on Saturday.

Gavin turned a 1:57.882 (112.994 mph) to earn the GT1 pole with Magnussen a tad slower at 1:58.203 (112.687 mph). "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," said Gavin.

"It's 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, that seems to be the biggest change on the track this year. If you get off-track and make any mistakes then you're ruined for the next three or four corners," he added, "I think both of us want to go away with the 10th anniversary victory for Corvette."


~~~~FARNBACHER LOLES FASTEST OF THE GT-2 RUNNERS
Dirk Werner ran the fastest qualifying lap in LMGT2 with a time of 2:03.051 (108.248 mph) in the Farnbacher Loles Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR to earn the pole in the highly-contested class.

"Qualifying went well. 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 okay," smiled Werner. 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 hard."

Porsche locked up the GT2 front row with Jorge Bergmeister clocking a 2:03.433 (107.913 mph) in the Flying Lizard Motorsports 911 GT3 RSR. Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing Team ended third fastest in the hands of Gianmaria Bruni in a Ferrari 430 GT with a time of 2:03.487 (107.866 mph).
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Post by mlittle » Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:13 pm

[quoting ALMS press reports from Sebring, 19 March 2009]
~~~~MONTAGNY QUICKEST IN SEBRING DARKNESS, DAMPNESS

Peugeot's Franck Montagny set the fastest time in the annual Thursday night practice for the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida, a 1:45.920 (125.755 mph) lap around the 3.7-mile, 17-turn circuit in one of the two diesel-powered 908 HDis.

The Frenchman, driving with fellow countrymen Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastien Bourdais was barely ahead of Allan McNish, Audi Sport's Scottish superstar. Driving the brand new R15 TDI, McNish was just 0.073 seconds behind Montagny.

Times were slower than normal at the start following a late afternoon shower that soaked the circuit an hour before the session. Standing water remained on parts of the circuit at the start with the track staying slightly damp in the later periods.

McNish is driving with Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen as the trio looks to win at Sebring after taking victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008. The second Peugeot of Christian Klien, who is driving with Pedro Lamy and Nic Minassian, was third.

The pole-sitting de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a was fourth overall.

In LMP2, Chris Dyson was the fastest driver of the session. He turned a lap of 1:59.032 (111.903 mph) in one of the team's new Mazda-powered Lola B09/86 coupes. He was well ahead of the P2 pole-winning Acura of Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz along with the sister Dyson Lola-Mazda of Butch Leitzinger, Marino Franchitti and Ben Devlin.

All-time Sebring victory leader Johnny O'Connell was the fastest GT1 driver in the final night practice for the Corvette C6.R GT1 car. O'Connell posted a time of 2:01.296 (109.814 mph) in the car that he will share with Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia to outpace the sister entry.

The second 'Vette of Olivier Beretta, pole-winner Oliver Gavin and Marcel Fassler managed a best lap of 2:15.046 (98.633 mph).

In GT2, Gianmaria Bruni continued the impressive showing for Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing and its Ferrari F430 GT. Bruni, in his second straight Sebring 12 Hours, turned in a lap of 2:04.232 (107.219 mph) to outpace Risi Competizione's Ferrari of Pierre Kaffer and Mika Salo by 0.754 seconds.

The lead Flying Lizard Motorsports entry of Jorg Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Marc Lieb was the quickest Porsche 911 GT3 RSR at 2:05.464 (106.166 mph).

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Sebring 12 Hours..................Hour 3

Post by mlittle » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:52 am

~~~PEUGEOTS 1-2 AT 1/4 MARK OF RACE

Nic Minassian led after three hours at the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida as Peugeot held the top two spots over fellow diesel challengers Audi. The Frenchman led by a second over Stephane Sarrazin, who in turn was just ahead of Simon Pagenaud in de Ferran Motorsports' Acura ARX-02a.

Minassian took the lead on a different fuel strategy in the second hour with all four cars in the same pit window going forward. The top five cars were on the lead lap with Audi's two R15 TDIs sitting fourth and fifth.

Jon Field's Lola-AER stalled with a fuel pickup issue just before the three- hour mark to bring out the race's second yellow-flag period.

Acura also led LMP2 with Adrian Fernandez in the Lowe's Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b holding a one-lap lead over Marino Franchitti in Dyson Racing's lead Mazda-powered Lola B09/86 coupe. Guy Smith was third in the second Dyson prototype which saw an extended stop in the second hour and was two further laps behind.

Jan Magnussen led in GT1 for Corvette Racing in the Corvette C6.R that is making its final appearance at Sebring. Magnussen led Oliver Gavin by nine seconds in the sister Corvette.

Risi Competizione led in GT2 by a full lap with Mika Salo at the wheel of the team's Ferrari F430. The Prancing Horse was first and second with Mathias Russo in the Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing Team.

Tommy Milner sat third for BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team in class in a very promising debut for the team's new BMW M3. He was a lap back of Russo's Ferrari.
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4 Hour Report

Post by mlittle » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:53 am

~~~PEUGEOT, AUDI, ACURA BATTLE AT FOUR HOURS

The No. 8 Peugeot 908 of Sebastien Bourdais led the Audi R15s of Tom Kristensen and Lucas Luhr after four hours in the 57th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring, the opening round of the American Le Mans Series. A second Peugeot, driven by Christian Klien, sat fourth, followed by the pole sitting de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a of Simon Pagenaud. Dario Franchitti rounded out the top-five overall in the Highcroft Racing Acura.

Kristensen's teammate, Allen McNish, seemed to have the car to the car to beat in the early going, but pit stop strategy and straight-line speed handed the lead to the Peugeots at the end of the race's first hour. "At the moment the Peugeots have a little more pace," explained Ralf Juttner, the technical director for Audi Sport Team Joest. "The Peugeots have very good straight line speed, and when we are behind them it is very hard to pass."

Driving an Acura AX-01B, Adrian Fernandez held a four-lap lead over Ben Devlin's Dyson Racing Mazda Lola in the three-car LMP2 class. The second Dyson entry, with Andy Lally behind the wheel, was running third in class. "We have to take care of the car," said Fernandez's teammate, Luis Diaz. "There is a long way to go and we will see where things stand at eight or nine hours."

Johnny O'Connell led teammate Oliver Beretta in the two-car, all Corvette GT1 class.

In the GT2 class, Pierre Kaffer's Risi Ferrari 430 GT held a one-lap lead over the No. 92 Rahal Letterman BMW M3 of Dirk Mueller. Luis Companc lay third in class in a Ferrari 430 GT. The second Rahal Letterman BMW M3 had retired due to mechanical issues and the pole sitting Farnbacher Loles Porsche was a number of laps down to the class leaders.
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Post by mlittle » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:55 am

Sebring Top-10, 6 Hour mark.......................

1. 08 P1 1. S.Sarrazin, F.Montagny, S.Bourdais Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDI FAP 190 laps
2. 2 P1 2. R.Capello, T.Kristensen, A.McNish Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R15 TDI 189 -1 laps
3. 1 P1 3. L.Luhr, M.Rockenfeller, M.Werner Audi Sport North America Audi R15 TDI 189 -1 laps
4. 66 P1 4. G.de Ferran, S.Pagenaud, S.Dixon de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02A 187 -3 laps
5. 9 P1 5. D.Brabham, S.Sharp, D.Franchitti Patron Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02A 186 -4 laps
6. 15 P2 1. A.Fernandez, L.Diaz Lowe's Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01B 180 -10 laps
7. 07 P1 6. N.Minassian, P.Lamy, C.Klien Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDI FAP 180 -10 laps
8. 3 GT1 1. J.Magnussen, J.O'Connell, A.Garcia Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6.R 173 -17 laps
9. 4 GT1 2. O.Beretta, O.Gavin, M.Fassler Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6.R 173 -17 laps
10. 62 GT2 1. J.Melo, P.Kaffer, M.Salo Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT 166 -24 laps


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