ALMS: Sebring 2009

[Plex]

2009 Sebring Winter Test - Day 1 Report

Ten out of fifteen cars took to the track on the first day of the Sebring Winter Test at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida. After three sessions it was an Acura top three, with the brand new LMP1 car setting the fastest lap times.

In the first session on Monday morning the new Acura ARX 02a made its debut in the new 2009 livery as both the de Ferran Motorsports and Patr�n Highcroft Racing teams used the test to get to grips with the car. After the prototypes and GTs had completed their first run of the season it was the #66 Acura that had posted the fastest lap time, a 1:45.876. Seven cars posted a time, the new BMW E92 M3 was seventh.

Just after noon the cars went out again for a two hour session. This time nine teams used the available time to work on the cars. Again it was an Acura on top, although this time the LMP Acura ARX-01b of Lowe�s Fernandez Racing beat its bigger brothers, setting a 1:48.216. The #45 Flying Lizards Porsche was fastest in GT2, with the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team BMW E92 M3 third quickest.

The final hour and a half of the day saw nine cars going out again. The de Ferran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a was quickest again this time clocking the fastest time of the day, a 1:45.053. The Fernandez Acura was second fastest, while the #46 Lizards Porsche was quickest in GT2.

ALMS Test Session 1 Result

1. #66 de Ferran Motorsports, Acura ARX 02a (LMP1), 1:45.876 (125.808 mph)
2. #15 Lowe�s Fernandez Racing, Acura ARX 01b (LMP2), 1:47.559 (123.839 mph)
3. #9 Patr�n Highcroft Racing, Acura ARX 02a (LMP1), 1:47.599 (123.793 mph)
4. #40 Robertson Racing, Doran Ford GT-R (LMGT2), 2:05.026 (106.538 mph)
5. #21 Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante (LMGT2), 2:05.283 (106.319 mph)
6. #28 LG Motorsports, Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (LMGT2), 2:06.661 (105.163 mph)
7. #92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, BMW E92 M3 (LMGT2), 2:07.170 (104.742 mph)

ALMS Test Session 2 Result

1. #15 Lowe�s Fernandez Racing, Acura ARX 01b (LMP2), 1:48.216 (123.087 mph)
2. #66 de Ferran Motorsports, Acura ARX 02a (LMP1), 1:49.345 (121.816 mph)
3. #9 Patr�n Highcroft Racing, Acura ARX 02a (LMP1), 1:50.137 (120.940 mph)
4. #45 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:03.385 (107.955 mph)
5. #40 Robertson Racing, Doran Ford GT-R (LMGT2), 2:04.616 (106.888 mph)
6. #92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, BMW E92 M3 (LMGT2), 2:04.909 (106.638 mph)
7. #21 Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante (LMGT2), 2:05.480 (106.152 mph)
8. #28 LG Motorsports, Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (LMGT2), 2:05.941 (105.764 mph)
9. #46 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:06.150 (105.589 mph)

ALMS Test Session 3 Result

1. #66 de Ferran Motorsports, Acura ARX 02a (LMP1), 1:45.053 (126.793 mph)
2. #15 Lowe�s Fernandez Racing, Acura ARX 01b (LMP2), 1:49.100 (122.090 mph)
3. #9 Patr�n Highcroft Racing, Acura ARX 02a (LMP1), 1:52.603 (118.292 mph)
4. #46 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:03.158 (108.154 mph)
5. #45 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:04.370 (107.100 mph)
6. #28 LG Motorsports, Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (LMGT2), 2:04.646 (106.863 mph)
7. #92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, BMW E92 M3 (LMGT2), 2:04.841 (106.696 mph)
8. #87 Farnbacher Loles Racing, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:04.988 (106.570 mph)
9. #40 Robertson Racing, Doran Ford GT-R (LMGT2), 2:09.990 (102.469 mph)

Planetlemans

[Plex]

Day 2 Report

Day two of the Sebring Winter Test ended with another Acura 1-2-3 as the second session of the day ended at 4:20 pm Florida time. Today thirteen cars used the four hours of track time available for the American Le Mans Series. Acura improved yesterday�s fastest time during the session.

At 8:00 am the track went green for the first two hour session for all classes. Both Acura ARX 02a cars were out on the track, the de Ferran Motorsports car completing 21 laps and the Patr�n Highcroft Racing car completing 11 laps. At the end of the session it was the #66 de Ferran/Pagenaud driven Acura that had posted the fastest lap time in 1:44.814, quicker than yesterdays fastest time. The Lowe�s Fernandez Racing LMP2 Acura was second quickest.
In GT2 it was Porsche time with the first four all 997 GT3 RSRs. The #45 Flying Lizard car was the quickest ahead of the #87 Farnbacher Loles car and the #44 Lizards Porsche.

In the second session which started at 2:10 pm the fastest lap time of session four was not improved but once again the de Ferrand Motorsports Acura was the quickest of the cars out on the track. Both Acura ARX 02a�s did 41 laps, both set their fastest lap in their 33rd lap.

The Panoz Esperante surprised in GT2, setting the fastest lap time of the session, just over a tenth of a second quicker than the first of five Porsche 997 GT3 RSRs. VICI Racing joined the pack in session five, the Porsche being driven by Richard Westbrook, Marc Basseng and Nicky Pastorelli.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, the third and final day of the Sebring Winter Test will be held and it is then when we should see the Dyson Racing Lola B08/86 Mazda on the track.

ALMS Test Session 4 Result

1. #66 de Ferran Motorsports, Acura ARX 02a (LMP1), 1:44.814 (127.082 mph)
2. #15 Lowe�s Fernandez Racing, Acura ARX 01b (LMP2), 1:46.540 (125.023 mph)
3. #9 Patr�n Highcroft Racing, Acura ARX 02a (LMP1), 1:47.925 (123.419 mph)
4. #45 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:01.866 (109.300 mph)
5. #87 Farnbacher Loles Racing, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:02.082 (109.107 mph)
6. #44 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:02.720 (108.540 mph)
7. #46 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:02.796 (108.473 mph)
8. #21 Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante (LMGT2), 2:03.244 (108.078 mph)
9. #28 LG Motorsports, Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (LMGT2), 2:03.550 (107.811 mph)
10. #92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, BMW E92 M3 (LMGT2), 2:03.654 (107.720 mph)
11. #40 Robertson Racing, Doran Ford GT-R (LMGT2), 2:04.541 (106.953 mph)

ALMS Test Session 5 Result

1. #66 de Ferran Motorsports, Acura ARX 02a (LMP1), 1:45.962 (125.705 mph)
2. #9 Patr�n Highcroft Racing, Acura ARX 02a (LMP1), 1:46.824 (124.691 mph)
3. #15 Lowe�s Fernandez Racing, Acura ARX 01b (LMP2), 1:47.882 (123.468 mph)
4. #21 Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante (LMGT2), 2:02.470 (108.761 mph)
5. #46 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:02.590 (108.655 mph)
6. #87 Farnbacher Loles Racing, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:02.875 (108.403 mph)
7. #5 VICI Racing, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:02.892 (108.388 mph)
8. #45 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:04.061 (107.367 mph)
9. #44 Flying Lizard Motorsport, Porsche 997 GT3 RSR (LMGT2), 2:04.065 (107.363 mph)
10. #40 Robertson Racing, Doran Ford GT-R (LMGT2), 2:04.132 (107.305 mph)
11. #92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, BMW E92 M3 (LMGT2), 2:04.499 (106.989 mph)
12. #28 LG Motorsports, Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (LMGT2), 2:04.796 (106.734 mph)
13. #11 Primetime Race Group, Dodge Viper GT2 (LMGT2), 2:08.412 (103.729 mph)

Planetlemans

[MG Man]

bimmer looks good
_________________

I know it's so, for I told me so

[Plex]

Peugeot to Face Off Against Audi, Acura at Sebring

Peugeot to run two 908 HDi diesel prototypes in LMP1



Peugeot announced it will run a pair of 908 HDi turbodiesel Le Mans prototypes at the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Peugeot, Audi�s main competition in Europe in the Le Mans Series, will continue the contest in America at the Sebring International Raceway, where Acura and Audi will debut their latest LMP-1 designs.

Peugeot entered a single 908 in last year�s Sebring 12 Hours, finishing eleventh. Peugeot also raced against Audi at the 2008 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, finishing second.

Peugeot competes directly with Audi in Europe, the only other major auto manufacturer to field a factory LMP1 team there. Audi has consistently defeated Peugeot at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the continent�s premier road-racing event. This year, Peugeot wants to establish itself as the fastest and most reliable car in the series.

Peugeot�s 908HDi, with its 5.5 liter, 700 bhp, all-aluminum, twin-turbo V-12, was often faster than Audi last season, but the Audi R10 proved more reliable.

The addition of two Peugeot�s to Sebring�s starting lineup adds a lot of excitement, as the top three Le Mans Prototype factory teams will all be competing in what will be a preview of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Sebring Will Be Audi�s Only U.S. Appearance



Audi will race in only one American Le Mans Series event in North America, choosing instead to focus its attention on Europe. Its new prototype, the R15 TDI, represents a major investment in maintaining dominance in the European Le Mans series.

Audi chose the 12 Hours of Sebring because it offers exactly the kind of international competition, the addition of the two Peugeot cars represent. Audi sees Sebring as test-run for the Le mans 24 Hours in June.

Audi has won at Sebring for the last eight years. This year, with a brand new car and brand-new competition, its reign will be challenged.

Audi has a long string of Le Mans wins wit its R8 and R10 prototypes. But Peugeot, runner up all too often, and Acura, new to the LMP1 ranks, both want to show that their engineering and competition skills are first-rank. Victory at Sebring will be a huge boost to whoever wins it.

Audi will bring a pair of its new prototypes to Sebring, where it will face the two Peugeots and two new Acuras in the battle for LMP1 honors.

Audi�s R15 is powered by a 5.5 liter V-10, assumed to use twin turbochargers; however, official data has yet to be released.

Acura Joins the Big Boys



Acura, who had some success with its LMP2 prototypes in the 2008 ALMS series, introduced its LMP1 entry, the ARX-02a at Sebring�s Winter Test days in late January.

The new Acura, powered by a normally-aspirated, gasoline-fueled 4-liter version of its LMP2 V-8, makes considerably less horsepower than the turbodiesels. But the new Acura showed competitive speed in testing. Simon Pagenaud�s Acura ran a fast lap of 1:44:814, averaging 126.723 mph around Sebring, beating Marco Werner's standing qualifying record, set in 2007 in an Audi R10 TDI.

Acura also showed it could win overall with its less-powerful LMP2 cars as it did at Lime Rock in 2008.

With a fast car and a reputation for reliability, Acura stands well placed to win LMP1 honors at Sebring, despite the tough competition.

The American Le Mans Series will kick off its eleventh season with the 57th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, on Saturday, March 21. The event will mark the one-hundredth race for the American le Mans Series.

The American Le Mans Series will celebrate its 100th race and open its 11th season with the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 21.

Theepochtimes

[Plex]

Peugeot play down Sebring chances

Peugeot Sport have insisted that their Sebring 12 Hours entry is purely in preparation for Le Mans and that they will not push flat-out for victory in Florida.

The team will run two 908 HDi FAPs in the American Le Mans Series opener on 20 March. Last year's Peugeot sole car led the early stages of the race before encountering hydraulic problems.

But team boss Olivier Quesnel says their priority for Sebring this year is just to gather pre-Le Mans mileage and that the drivers will not take any risks.

"Our mission is very clear," he said. "Our objective is to prepare for Le Mans. We won't be out to start from pole or set the fastest race lap at all costs by taking unconsidered risks. We need to progress on the technical, human and strategic fronts."

He didn't rule out the possibility of winning the event.

"That said, we won't refuse victory if it comes our way," said Quesnel.

Technical director Bruno Famin pointed out that Sebring was an ideal way to test the cars for Le Mans.

"There's a great deal about Sebring that makes it a key fixture and, as a circuit, it is representative of what we will find at Le Mans," he said.

"With the exception of the French event, it is also the longest race of the calendar, which makes it a first class chance to see how a car stands up to the grime and punishment over a long period of time.

"We have a busy, well-defined programme to work through, and we should be able to collect a large amount of data because we have entered two cars, compared with just one last year.

"We will notably be able to put the air conditioning system and the new aerodynamics dictated by the 2009 regulations through their paces."

Peugeot will stay on at Sebring to conduct a further two days of testing during the following week.

Autosport

[Plex]

Stuck to make Sebring return

Sportscar legend Hans Stuck is to return to the Sebring 12 Hours this year for the first time since 2001.

The 58-year-old German has been entered in a GT2 class Vici Racing Porsche, alongside his son Johannes Stuck and Vici regular Nicky Pastorelli.

Stuck took outright Sebring victories in 1986 and 1988, and also boasts two Le Mans wins, plus World Sportscar and IMSA titles amongst his career achievements.

He last raced regularly in the American Le Mans Series with the PTG BMW team in 2001, and continues to compete occasionally around his role as a motorsport consultant for Volkswagen.

Vici technical director Roland Wall was delighted to add Stuck to the team's line-up.

"I know Hans Joachim Stuck from Volkswagen Motorsport, when we were developing the brand new Scirocco into a race car for VLN and the Nurburgring 24 Hours, which they won," he said. "Hans Joachim was driving one of the Sciroccos in the 24 Hours with Carlos Sainz and Giniel de Villiers and Dieter Depping. He was very fast, very smooth and as committed as he ever is.

Hans Joachim will bring a huge level of experience to the team and with his success record at Sebring he will be invaluable to the team, it is great for us to be able to get him into the team."

Top Porsche GT driver Richard Westbrook will drive Vici Racing's other car at Sebring, alongside Marc Basseng and Lance David Arnold.

Autosport

[Plex]

De Ferran hopes for Audi U-turn

Gil de Ferran says he hopes Audi reverse their decision not to contest this year's American Le Mans Series and stay on to race against his Acura LMP1 team.

At present Audi - who have won every ALMS LMP1 title since 2000 - are only scheduled to contest the Sebring 12 Hours with their new R15 TDI, having scaled down their prototype programme this season.

Audi's exit comes just as Acura step up from LMP2 to LMP1, giving the Honda-owned brand a clear run at the 2009 title. But de Ferran says he would rather face the competition.

"I'm certainly hoping that Audi will reconsider its decision not to race in ALMS as it would be great to have them as regular competitors beyond Sebring," he said.

De Ferran is optimistic that the new Acura can challenge Audi and fellow one-off visitors Peugeot at Sebring in a fortnight.

"In theory, the rule changes should ensure that our petrol-powered Acura is more competitive with the turbocharged diesel machines that have been dominating sportscar racing in recent years - and that must be a good thing in terms of putting on a close race for different types of car," he said.

"However we won't know until Sebring just how successful these revisions will be."

He added: "We have no control over the performance of our competitors, so our strategy will be to push on with our own development with an 'us versus us' approach. In other words the first challenge is for us to get the most out of what we have.

"That said, we never enter a race with the intent of finishing second or third - we will certainly go for it on the day. We'll have to wait until the curtains open, though, before we know whether we'll be competitive enough to be fighting for the outright win."

Despite Audi and Peugeot departing after Sebring, de Ferran believes there will still be a tough fight between his team and fellow Acura LMP1 squad Highcroft.

"Right now we will probably be competing mostly against Highcroft," he said. "It's a team that has done very well in last year's championship and, running a similar Acura ARX-2a, it will be a formidable competitor at Sebring and thereafter."

Autosport

[Plex]

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.

Peugeot has set the early benchmark in practice speeds at Sebring. Can Audi or Acura catch up in time for tomorrow's qualifying?

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 F�ssler 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, J�rg 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).

Thursday�s first practice session is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. ET with qualifying set for 2:45 p.m.

Speedtv

[Plex]

Dixon gives Acura shock Sebring pole

De Ferran Motorsports' Scott Dixon put the new LMP1 Acura on a shock pole position for the Sebring 12 Hours, beating the diesel Audis and Peugeots.

The IndyCar champion snatched the top spot on the ARX-02a's debut in the final minute of qualifying, usurping Audi's Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen by 0.082 seconds.

With three minutes remaining, that same 0.082s margin had covered the top four on the grid, as Audi's Mike Rockenfeller provisionally held first place ahead of Peugeot driver Sebastien Bourdais, Dixon and Kristensen.

Peugeot's Christian Klien had spun at Turn 2 on his first flying lap, but then briefly shot up to pole before Kristensen threw in a 1m45.360s lap seconds later.

That looked good enough for pole until Dixon's incredible last gasp effort on 11-lap-old tyres, with Kristensen abandoning his final run when he realised it would not beat the Acura.

"It was definitely nail-biting," said Dixon. "On the first run you always try to put a time down and they came back and matched that.

"We tried to push as much as we could and luckily this car seems to get quicker and quicker on its tyres."

Klien's No.07 Peugeot stayed third ahead of Rockenfeller's No.1 Audi and the No.08 Peugeot, while David Brabham put the Highcroft Acura sixth on the grid.

Acura took a double pole as Adrian Fernandez led the way in LMP2, two seconds quicker than the still-developing Dyson Lola-Mazdas.

Porsche out-ran Ferrari in GT2 qualifying, with Farnbacher Loles' Dirk Werner heading Flying Lizard's Jorg Bergmeister by 0.382s. Advanced Engineering's Gianmaria Bruni was the best of the Ferrari drivers in third, just 0.054s behind Bergmeister, and 0.342s quicker than Risi's Mika Salo.

The underdog shock of the session came from the Robertson Racing Doran Ford, as veteran David Murry put the car fifth on the GT2 grid, a highly respectable 1.3s away from Werner's pole time.

Bill Auberlen was seventh in the best of the new Rahal Letterman BMWs, but the sister car developed technical problems before it could set a time.

Oliver Gavin beat Jan Magnussen to pole in the all-Corvette GT1 class, as the C6-R makes its final Sebring appearance.

Pos Cl Drivers Car Time
1. LMP1 De Ferran/Pagenaud/Dixon Acura ARX-02a 1:45.278
2. LMP1 Capello/Kristensen/McNish Audi R15 TDI 1:45.360
3. LMP1 Minassian/Lamy/Klien Peugeot 908 HDi FAP 1:45.462
4. LMP1 Luhr/Rockenfeller/Werner Audi R15 TDI 1:45.551
5. LMP1 Montagny/Sarrazin/Bourdais Peugeot 908 HDi FAP 1:45.559
6. LMP1 Brabham/Sharp/Franchitti Acura ARX-02a 1:46.504
7. LMP2 Fernandez/Diaz Acura ARX-01B 1:49.686
8. LMP2 Dyson/Smith/Lally Lola B09 86 Mazda 1:51.534
9. LMP1 McMurry/Willman/Burgess Lola B06/10 AER 1:51.598
10. LMP2 Leitzinger/Franchitti/Devlin Lola B09 86 Mazda 1:51.840
11. GT1 Gavin/Beretta/Fassler Corvette C6.R 1:57.882
12. GT1 O'Connell/Magnussen/Garcia Corvette C6.R 1:58.203
13. GT2 Henzler/Werner/Lietz Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 2:03.051
14. GT2 Bergmeister/Long/Lieb Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 2:03.433
15. GT2 Companc/Russo/Bruni Ferrari 430 GT 2:03.487
16. GT2 Melo/Kaffer/Salo Ferrari 430 GT 2:03.829
17. GT2 Robertson/Robertson/Murry Doran Ford GT MK 7 2:04.333
18. GT2 Farnbacher/James Panoz Esperante GTLM 2:04.437
19. GT2 Hand/Auberlen BMW E92 M3 2:04.566
20. GT2 Feinberg/Hall/Holt Dodge Viper 2:05.619
21. GT2 Drayson/Cocker/Bell Aston Martin 2:05.692
22. GT2 Pastorelli/Stuck/Stuck Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 2:05.805
23. GT2 Gigliotti/Curran/Molo Chevrolet Riley 2:06.678
24. GT2 Krohn/Jonsson/van de Poele Ferrari 430 GT 2:08.386
25. GT2 Law/Neiman/van Overbeek Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 2:10.912
26. GT2 Westbrook/Basseng/Arnold Porsche 911 GT3 RSR No time
27. LMP1 Field/Field/Ducote Lola B06/10 AER No time
28. GT2 Muller/Milner BMW E92 M3 No time

Autosport

[Plex]

Diesel teams play down pole loss

The Audi and Peugeot teams have played down the significance of being beaten to Sebring 12 Hours pole by Acura, insisting that their focus was on race preparation.

Audi motorsport boss Dr Wolfgang Ullrich said that qualifying had not been a priority for his team, which saw driver Tom Kristensen knocked off the top spot by De Ferran Acura's Scott Dixon in the final minute.

"The grip level in qualifying was not at the same level as the previous practice sessions," said Ullrich.

"I would also like to reiterate that we are here to prepare for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Therefore, we have not spent any time setting the car up specifically for qualifying."

Peugeot Sport's Olivier Quesnel said his team had preferred to save tyres for race day rather than chasing pole. Christian Klien was the top Peugeot runner in third on the grid.

"Like Le Mans, Sebring is a real endurance race, so starting from pole position wasn't a priority for us," said Quesnel.

"Qualifying was essentially just a chance for us to prepare for the race and we only put in the number of laps we deemed necessary, which means we have spared our tyres.

"We are pleased with our lap times and the main objective comes on Saturday, not before.

"That said, seeing how qualifying unfolded, with all the LMP1s bunched so close together on the same second, it promises to be a very close race. We have no intention of taking any risks, however. Our goal is to prepare for Le Mans."

But while the teams insisted they had not been interested in pole position, Kristensen admitted that he had done his utmost to beat the Acura.

"It would have been really cool to have made a debut pole for the R15 TDI," he said.

"We had pole but it was snatched away on the last lap of qualifying, which was very close and exciting.

"Our focus is for the race and a successful warm-up for Le Mans but as a driver, of course I wanted the pole."

Autosport

[Plex]

Brabham frustrated after qualifying

David Brabham admitted that he was frustrated not to be part of the pole position battle at Sebring.

The Highcroft Acura was the slowest of the factory prototypes in yesterday's qualifying session, taking sixth on the grid, 1.2 seconds slower than the pole-winning De Ferran Acura.

Brabham reckons his car is a lot quicker than he was able to show in qualifying.

"From our point of view it was a bit of a messy session with traffic and we struggled a little bit with a lack a grip," he said.

"The only time I was really able to push was on my last flying lap but then I ran into traffic again. We never really saw the full potential of our car.

"We're still learning about our car and we had decided early on to treat qualifying as a test session and we tried a number of changes - some things did work, some things didn't - but the most important thing is we now have more knowledge for the race."

Despite his own disappointment, Brabham was pleased by the De Ferran car's performance.

"It is great for the programme that Acura is on pole position," he said.

"We have been working together so much on these cars that we can all share a little bit in that."

Autosport

[Plex]

Sebring 12 Hours - Night Practice Report

After a thrilling qualifying session which saw Acura take pole position for Saturday�s race it was time for the nightly practice session. One hour before the session got underway it started to rain heavily for 30 minutes, which meant the track was still wet when the session got underway.

With the sun setting most of the photographers were waiting at Turn 1 for the cars to get out of the pit and into action. After a couple of minutes they started coming and several drivers immediately found out that the circuit�s surface had become very slippery.

The sun set rapidly and soon after the session had gotten underway the cars were running in full darkness, with only floodlights and the car�s headlights showing the track layout.During the 1 hour and 45 minute long session several teams did longer stints, whilst others only did a handful of laps.

After completing 42 laps the #08 Peugeot 908 HDI FAP was the quickest car in 1:45.920. Only 0.073s behind it was the #2 Audi R15 TDI, though this car had only done 16 laps. The other Peugeot 908 took third place in the night session, more than two seconds behind the two fastest cars.

Dyson Racing�s #16 Lola Mazda was the fastest in LMP2 tonight, taking fifth overall. Its fastest time was over 13 seconds slower than the time set by the #08 car though. Fernandez Racing set the second fastest time in LMP2, seventeenth overall and the #20 Lola Mazda did not get any further than 21st overall and 25 seconds behind the Peugeot.

Corvette #3 even beat the #9 Patr�n Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a and ended the session in eighth overall. The second GT1 Corvette was 20th overall, 14 seconds behind its sister car

And finally LM GT2. Once more the Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing Team Ferrari F430 et the fastest time in a practice session. Risi Competizione #62 was seven tenths of a second slower with the #45 Lizards Porsche taking third.

Planetlemans

[Plex]

Audi tops final Sebring practice

Audi led the way in final practice for the Sebring 12 Hours, taking a one-two in the session ahead of the No.8 Peugeot and the pole-sitting De Ferran Acura.

Rinaldo Capello was the quickest of the Audi drivers, setting a time of 1m45.200s in the No.2 car to beat team-mate Mike Rockenfeller by 0.089 seconds.

Capello felt that Audi had taken a step forward since being beaten to pole by Acura yesterday afternoon.

"Yesterday in qualifying we were struggling with the car and the set-up," he said. "After qualifying, before night practice, we found a good set-up, which is exactly the one I was using this morning."

Sebastien Bourdais was the top Peugeot driver in third, with the De Ferran Acura splitting the two 908s. The Highcroft Acura completed the top six.

The Fernandez Acura went quickest in LMP2 again, 0.6s ahead of the best of the Dyson Lola-Mazdas, while Marcel Fassler was the fastest of the Corvette drivers in GT1.

GT2 saw a Porsche one-two-three, with the No.45 and 44 Flying Lizard cars separated by the Farnbacher Loles entry. The latter car, which took class pole in Dirk Werner's hands last night, caused the only red flag of the session when Richard Lietz crashed at Turn 17.

With most of the field having now completed plenty of mileage at Sebring during testing and practice, many teams chose to sit out the session and save tyres for the race, including both of the new Rahal Letterman GT2 BMWs.

Autosport

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Audi wins Sebring on R15's debut

Audi's new R15 TDI took victory on its debut in the Sebring 12 Hours, as Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello came out on top of a spectacular race-long battle with Peugeot.

The result makes Kristensen the first man to win Sebring five times.

Franck Montagny, Sebastien Bourdais and Stephane Sarrazin had to settle for second place in the best of the 908 HDi FAPs, failing to match McNish's pace in the final sprint.

To complete near-perfect start to the R15's career, Mike Rockenfeller, Lucas Luhr and Marco Werner brought the #1 Audi home third.

Apart from a brief period when Bourdais managed to give Peugeot a half-minute lead, the top two cars ran just seconds apart until the Formula 1 driver picked up a puncture when running a close second to Kristensen with three hours to go.

That forced Bourdais to pit out of sequence, rejoining a minute behind. But some blistering lap times in the remainder of his stint turned the pressure back on to Audi, for as the race continued to run under green it became clear that the extra Peugeot stop meant it could make its final pit visit virtually on schedule, whereas the #2 Audi would have to make a late 'splash and dash'.

McNish took over from Kristensen for the Audi's final stint, and was able to lap much more consistently than Montagny as the leaders battled on the timing screens rather than wheel to wheel on the circuit as they had earlier. Montagny rejoined after his last stop 38 seconds behind McNish, who proceeded to out-pace the Peugeot by up to two seconds per lap, pulling out a lead of over a minute before diving into the pits with 13 minutes to go.

He rejoined 25s clear and was able to cruise to the flag and add another accolade to his and Audi's incredible sportscar record.

"It was a really, really tough charge," said McNish. "We knew we had a big uphill struggle in the last hour and a half, and we managed to do it a little bit easier than we thought it was going to be.

"It's a very sweet victory for Audi. We can definitely say the new R15 is ready to race."

Bourdais reckoned McNish had made the key difference when it counted.

"The puncture didn't help but Allan McNish just killed us," said the Frenchman. "I was quite a bit quicker than the Audi when I was on the track, but as soon as Allan turned the heat up, we couldn't do anything.

"It looks like traffic doesn't have any impact on his performance. He seems to be on another planet and there's nothing we can do about it. Franck's been trying like a mad man, but we just didn't have enough."

The #1 Audi gradually drifted away from the leaders as the evening progressed, finishing a lap down in third.

The second Peugeot had been part of the battle for victory until spending nine laps in the pits having its air conditioning unit repaired. Christian Klien, Pedro Lamy and Nicolas Minassian managed to get back up to fourth, only for the car to come to a halt on the circuit with half an hour to go, leaving it fifth in the classification.

After its shock pole on Thursday, Acura was unable to take the fight to the diesels in the race. The De Ferran car was swiftly shuffled back to fifth in the early laps, and retired with suspension problems eight hours in. The Highcroft Acura was delayed by a couple of incidents in the first half of the race, before eventually being halted by a transmission glitch two hours from the end.

But Acura was still able to celebrate LMP2 victory, as Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz came home fourth overall. The Mexican duo were the only LMP2 finishers, as the rival Dyson Lola-Mazdas were both out within five hours.

Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia won the all-Corvette GT1 battle as the C6-R made its final Sebring appearance. The two cars ran in close company for much of the race before the #3 managed to establish a 30s cushion.

The GT2 battle was decided earlier than expected, as a litany of mechanical problems and incidents saw the Porsche challenge wilt in the opening hours.

Ferrari therefore took a one-two, with Risi's Jaime Melo, Mika Salo and Pierre Kaffer leading home Gianmaria Bruni, Luis Companc and Mattias Russo's Advancing Engineering car by three laps.

The PTG Panoz team finished in a breakthrough third place, but only after a late tangle with Marc Lieb's recovering Flying Lizard Porsche that saw Lieb slewing into the wall as he tried to complete a pass on PTG's Ian James.

The repaired Flying Lizard cars still completed the top five, as both Rahal Letterman BMWs dropped out before half-distance on the new M3's debut.

Pos Cl Drivers Car Time
1. LMP1 Capello/Kristensen/McNish Audi R15 TDI 12h00m38.638s
2. LMP1 Montagny/Sarrazin/Bourdais Peugeot 908 HDi FAP + 22.279s
3. LMP1 Luhr/Rockenfeller/Werner Audi R15 TDI + 2 laps
4. LMP2 Fernandez/Diaz Acura ARX-01B + 23 laps
5. LMP1 Minassian/Lamy/Klien Peugeot 908 HDi FAP + 27 laps
6. GT1 O'Connell/Magnussen/Garcia Corvette C6.R + 34 laps
7. GT1 Gavin/Beretta/Fassler Corvette C6.R + 35 laps
8. GT2 Melo/Kaffer/Salo Ferrari 430 GT + 51 laps
9. GT2 Companc/Russo/Bruni Ferrari 430 GT + 53 laps
10. GT2 Farnbacher/James Panoz Esperante + 54 laps
11. GT2 Bergmeister/Long/Lieb Porsche 911 GT3 + 57 laps
12. GT2 Law/Neiman/van Overbeek Porsche 911 GT3 + 57 laps
13. GT2 Krohn/Jonsson/van de Poele Ferrari 430 GT + 58 laps
14. GT2 Robertson/Robertson/Murry Doran Ford GT MK 7 + 80 laps
15. LMP1 Brabham/Sharp/Franchitti Acura ARX-02a + 81 laps
16. GT2 Henzler/Werner/Lietz Porsche 911 GT3 + 109 laps
17. GT2 Feinberg/Hall/Holt Dodge Viper + 132 laps
18. LMP1 De Ferran/Pagenaud/Dixon Acura ARX-02a + 137 laps
19. GT2 Drayson/Cocker/Bell Aston Martin + 179 laps
20. LMP1 McMurry/Willman/Burgess Lola B06/10 AER + 232 laps
21. LMP2 Leitzinger/Franchitti/Devlin Lola B09 86 Mazda + 234 laps
22. GT2 Muller/Milner BMW E92 M3 + 243 laps
23. LMP2 Dyson/Smith/Lally Lola B09 86 Mazda + 256 laps
24. GT2 Gigliotti/Curran/Molo Chevrolet Riley + 294 laps
25. LMP1 Field/Field/Ducote Lola B06/10 AER + 306 laps
26. GT2 Hand/Auberlen BMW E92 M3 + 356 laps

Autosport

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ALMS 2009 Mobil1 12 Hours of Sebring Race Start