Race Day

53rd Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring

Our day began at 5 am this morning with a 10 mile drive to the track. Its sunny and clear, temps are in the low 70s.  Just a slight chill in the air a perfect day for racing. Estimates are the crowd is over 10,0,000 again this year. From the tower we can look out across the paddock, parts of the track, and the green park or as the locals call the zoo.

Our coverage this year will include updates on the race every three hours and as many of Lisa's pictures as we can cram on this page. So stand by for NEWS as we get ready to  start Americas premier Sports Cars Race.

Thanks for reading and please check out Lisa's photo gallery. 

First Three Hours by Kate Shaw

SEBRING, Florida (March 19, 2005) – Welcome to the first three-hour report of the 12 Hours of Sebring, the first race of the ALMS season for 2005.  The sun is shining and the sky is blue, and everyone is ready for a wonderful time.  We’ll be updating you every three hours, so be sure to check back frequently.

Two cars had to start from the pitlane – the No. 15 Binnie Motorsports Lola and the No. 47 Spyker – but both got going as Emanuele Pirro (No. 2 Champion Audi) took the lead going into Turn 1; all other pole sitters continued in their respective P1s.  An early kafuffle by Peter Kox in the No. 58 Aston Martin led to a spin and recovery; the No. 44 Flying Lizard stopped on track to avoid him and also continued unharmed. 

The No. 20 Dyson Lola was not so lucky; they suffered an immediate right rear puncture on the first lap and Guy Smith had to bring it in; a few minutes later he was back in with a left front puncture.  Once the tires were all in order, Guy Smith set out to make up the time, setting the fastest lap times in the process. 

Trouble came early for the No. 37 Intersport Lola; Jon Field pulled off the track at the 13 minute mark and stopped, handing the lead to Jeff Bucknum in the No. 10 Miracle Motorsports machine.  Fortunately the 37’s problem proved to be no worse than a sudden eruption of the fire extinguisher!  Again, if it had to happen it was good to have it early; this very fast new car may be able to make it up over the duration of the race.

The first full course caution was thrown at the 30 minute mark when the No. 15 Binnie Motorsports Lola lost electrical power and stopped on course.  The car had alternator problems before the race (hence the start from pit lane) and apparently it has now given up.  The car was later excluded from the race due to a crewman working on the car on course.

Just as the course went yellow, Pirro made a lunge down the inside of Oliver Gavin in the No. 4 Corvette and looped him around, but both cars were able to continue.  The pits opened and both Audis came in for an early top-up and after a race down pitlane, JJ Lehto jumped out ahead of the team car to take the lead.

Racing resumed under the green flag 10 minutes on, and almost immediately Pirro was shown the black flag for a stop and go relative to the contact with Gavin’s Corvette.  This put James Weaver in the No. 16 Dyson Lola into P2, as a rather miffed Pirro came in to serve his time, re-emerging in P5.

The race settled down from that point as everyone found his groove.  Just before noon the No. 47 Spyker Squadron machine pulled off course, near turn 6 with power, but no drive, and the car was officially retired.

After one hour, the class leaders were No. 1 Audi (Lehto); No. 10 Miracle Motorsport (Jeff Bucknum); No. 86 Labre Ferrari (Christophe Bouchet); and No. 23 Alex Job Racing (Timo Bernhard).

Hour 2 began with a full course caution as the No. 67 TRG Porsche lost a wheel due to a broken wheel hub and pulled off the course.  “The wheel broke off putting the brake on the ground,” reported driver Pierre Ehret, “which caused some engine damage.” The car was towed back to the pits and green flag racing resumed after 31 minutes.  The next retirement was the No. 44 Flying Lizard Porsche, which lost an engine and had to be pushed behind the wall.  “We pulled in with a suspicious vibration,” reported driver David Murry, “and found out that we were done for the day.”  Back at the front, Pirro in the No. 2 Champion Audi received another stop-go penalty for hitting Jörg Bergmeister in the No. 31 Petersen/White Lightning Porsche,  and emerged in P3 behind Andy Wallace in the No. 16 Dyson Lola and just ahead of a charging Guy Smith in the No. 20 Dyson car.

At the end of Hour 2, the class leaders were No. 1 Audi (JJ Lehto); No. 27 Kruse Motorsport Lola (Harold Primat); No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette (Olivier Beretta) and No. 23 Alex Job Racing (Romain Dumas).

Early in Hour 3, the 37 John Field Intersport Lola again developed issues and appeared to be stuck in gear as it traveled slowly around the track.  Driver Duncan Dayton reported, “The paddle shift has developed a mind of its own – when it went into second, it stayed there.  Hopefully we will have it on track again soon.”  After adjusting the shifter from automatic to manual, they were on their way again.

Another round of bad luck hit the No. 20 Dyson car, which developed a stuck throttle in the pitlane and spent 26 minutes behind the wall while the problem was corrected.  Chris Dyson rocketed back onto the track in P28 with every intention of repeating the earlier storming drive of teammate Guy Smith.

And just as we reached the 3 hour mark, the No. 83 Graham Nash Saleen suffered a huge blowout and was on the way back to the pits with the whole right front bodywork blown away.

At the end of Hour 3, the class leading cars were the same, with all change among the drivers No. 1 Audi (Marco Werner); No. 27 Kruse Motorsport Lola (Phil Bennet); No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette (Jan Magnusson) and No. 23 Alex Job Racing (Sascha Maassen).

Half Way thru 12 Hours of Sebring

SEBRING, Florida (March 19, 2005) –

Six hours are in the record books and we have reached the halfway point in the 12 Hours of Sebring.  It’s 79 degrees and the sun is shining brightly here in central Florida.

The leader board as we began Hour 4 was unchanged. Early in the hour, the LMP2 class leading No. 27 Kruse Motorsport spun and stopped in Turn 7 and was pushed back onto the track by the corner workers; Bennett had a hard time getting it restarted but finally made it back to the pits for fuel and tires and then out to join the fray still holding down the lead, well ahead of the next car in class.   Marco Werner continues to hold down overall P1 in the No. 1 Champion Audi, relinquishing it only briefly to Andy Wallace in the No. 16 Dyson Lola to pit and coming out again ahead again.

While the No. 16 continued to keep pace with the two Audis, the luckless No. 20 sister car pulled back into the pits with the throttle pedal jammed down and lost 16 laps while the problem was repaired. “I was flat out in 6^th [gear],” reported Guy Smith,” when the throttle jammed down!  I hammered the brakes, locked up the fronts, and was able to slow down enough to kill the engine and free-wheel back to the pits. Maybe a little too much fun for the beginning of the race!” Chris Dyson roared back onto the track to make up the time, but had a rear puncture and came in yet again for an unexpected stop.  

At the 3 hour 40 mark, the GT2 class leading 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche slowed and went off the track; driver Sascha Maassen reported engine failure and the car was retired.  “After winning four times for Alex Job,” said Maassen, “it’s a real disappointment to be out of the race so soon.”  Meanwhile the team car No. 24 returned to the track after a long spell behind the wall to repair the gearbox; but that did not last long, and at the Hour Five mark the car lost 5^th and 6^th gears and was retired, finishing the race day early for 2004 Class champions Alex Job Racing.

At the end of Hour 4, class leaders respectively were No. 1 Champion Audi (Marco Werner); No. 27 Kruse Motorsport (Ian Mitchell); No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette (Ron Fellows); and No. 31 Petersen/White Lightning (Jörg Bergmeister).

At 14 minutes into Hour 5, Bill Auberlen in the No. 50 Panoz had a massive tire blow-out of one of their Pirelli tires, scattering debris everywhere and necessitating a limping trip to the pits to replace the tire and check and replace the right front bodywork.  “I was talking to the pits when it blew,” reported Auberlen.  “I had just told them how well everything was working, too!”  Auberlen was full of praise for the Panoz Esperante, considering its short development time it has been running according to plan. 

That wasn’t the end of the flat tires for this hour; Spencer Pumpelly (No. 34 Hazardous Sports Porsche) and Ian James (No. 10 Miracle Motorsports Courage) also suffered blowouts and had to limp in for a change-and-go.

At the end of Hour 5, the Class leading cars remain the same but the drivers are changed: No. 1 Audi (Tom Kristensen); No 27 Kruse Motorsport (Harold Primat); No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette (Olivier Beretta); and No. 31 Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing (Lucas Luhr).

Sebring After Dark--Kate Shaw

SEBRING, Florida (March 19, 2005 – 9:00 p.m. – Sebring After Dark, and the three-quarter mark of the race. 

 At the beginning of Hour 7, the green flag flew again and the leader board remained the same, although the GT2 leader Petersen/White Lightning was circulating with damage to the right front damper.  This didn’t appear to be holding them back much, as their speed continued to be enough to keep the No. 45 Flying Lizards in P2 behind them.  You will recall that Hour 6 ended with the No. 86 Care Racing-Larbre Ferrari up against the wall at Turn 7; the problem was reported as a gearbox failure and the car was officially retired.

As sunset approached, the Dyson team suffered yet another blow as the No. 16 Dyson Lola, which had been reliable all day, went behind the wall to have the radiator replaced, and the luckless No. 20 soon joined her there, suffering from a blown turbo which they set about replacing.  Meanwhile the No. 1 Audi, which had held the lead all day, went a lap down to Allan McNish, who got his first run in the No. 2 car as Tom Kristensen brought in the No. 1 because he had developed a cramp> He turned the No. 1 car over to JJ Lehto who put both head and foot down and charged in pursuit of P1.

At the other end of the grid, the No. 41 Team Magic TVR, a fragile but beautiful car that put some in mind of the Pagani Zonda of yore, dropped out of the race with turbocharger trouble.  The remaining Spyker, the No. 48, went into the pits and was seen with the laptop plugged into it (they later returned to the track); and the Panoz No. 50 retired with electrical problems.

At the end of Hour 7 the leader board showed only a change at the very top: the No. 2 Audi (Allan McNish); No. 27 Kruse Motorsport Courage (Phil Bennett); No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette (Oliver Gavin); and No. 31 Petersen/White Lightning Porsche (Patrick Long) led their respective classes.  Seven cars show officially retired; one car was officially disqualified. 

At 14 minutes in, the No. 5 Pacific Coast Motorsports Corvette C5-R came into the pits with bad damage at the left front, due to broken left front suspension; fortunately driver Ryan Dalziel didn’t hit anything as he came close to the wall, and was able to bring it in for repairs.  After about 35 minutes in the pits, the car was able to rejoin with Dalziel still at the wheel.

While this was occurring, good news for Dyson fans: the No. 16 Dyson Lola came back onto the grid after 33 minutes behind the wall, and rejoined the fray in P9, just behind the leading P2 car of Kruse Motorsport. They believed they had caught the problem quickly enough so the engine had suffered no damage.  The 20 car came back on at lap 223 with Guy Smith back on board – with all the laps lost to tires earlier added in, the car emerged in P24 overall.

Another moment came just before Hour 8, when the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette with Johnny O’Connell on board went flying backward and sideward into the tire wall at Turn 17– a brake disc disintegrated and the car suffered considerable right front damage but was able to come into the pits and repairs got underway at once.  At the same time, Duncan Dayton in the No. 37 Intersport Lola stopped at Turn 16 (it eventually retired with gearbox failure), and the No. 12 Autocon Racing Riley & Scott went behind the wall with flywheel problems.  Finally the No. 43 BAM Porsche retired with terminal engine problems.

At Hour 8 the leaders in Class were No. 2 Champion Audi (Emanuele Pirro); No. 27 Kruse Motorsport (Ian Mitchell); No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette (Olivier Beretta); and No. 31 Petersen/White Lightning Racing (Jörg Bergmeister).

Going into Hour 9, Beretta brought the No. 4 Corvette into the pits for a long stop to repair right rear wheel damage, handing over the lead to Stephane Ortelli in the No. 58 Aston Martin DB9, a brand new team at this race.  In GT2 leader Patrick Long, who had taken over from Bergmeister in the 31 Petersen/White Lightning Porsche, came in for a top-up of oil.  Coincidentally (?) the fourth full course yellow was thrown about then because there was oil on the track from Turns 11-13.  The Audis came into the pits during the yellow, and exchanged the lead but ended up with Pirro back in the lead when they were finished.

Next to leave the race was the No. 83 Graham Nash Saleen retired from the effects of an accident, and at about the same time the Flying Lizard No. 45 came in for an extended stop to change brake calipers and a driver change from Law to Fogarty.  And right at the end of Hour 9, the P2 car that had led the class all day, No. 27 Kruse Motorsport, suffered a catastrophic engine failure and was done for the race. Eventually the 10 Miracle Motorsport P2 car -- the last car running in that class -- will catch them up and take over P1 in P2.

As Hour 9 came to an end, the Class leaders were No. 1 Champion Audi (Marco Werner); No. 27 Kruse Motorsport (Ian Mitchell); No. 57 Aston Martin Racing (Stephane Ortelli); and No. 31 Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing (Jörg Bergmeister).

 With 75% of the race gone by, there are 13 official retirements, one disqualification and one withdrawn.

Checkered Flag-53rd Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Over-

Kate Shaw

SEBRING, Florida (March 19, 2005 – The End) – Attrition has taken its toll on the field as Hour 10 began; there were 13 retirements and one or two others behind the wall doing the best they can to keep from being retired. Two more of them gave up the ghost early in Hour 10: the No. 48 Spyker, ending the team’s run early – and the No. 12 Autocon Riley & Scott, which couldn’t be faulted for their amazing work to keep the car on the track almost to the end. As you might expect, both Corvettes have returned to the fray and are nowhere near giving up the victory yet, although Aston Martin is determined to keep them at bay.

But sailing along at the head of the pack is Marco Werner in the No. 1 Champion Audi, the unbreakable, reliable class of the field. Werner had a Moment when the No. 71 Carsport Viper AND the No. 79 J3 Racing Porsche spun side by side in front of him, but he avoided them both and continued on apace.

At the end of Hour 10, No. 1 Champion Audi continues in the lead; P2 is down to one car, Ian James in the No. 10 Miracle Motorsport Courage; GT1 is led by the No. 57 Aston Martin (Darren Turner); and still ahead in GT2 is the 31 Petersen/White Lightning Porsche, with Lucas Luhr at the helm.

Going into Hour 11 there were 16 official retirements and everyone who was still on track was in conservation mode.Now it had truly become an endurance race as each driver had only the ambition to continue to the end.

As the two Champion Audi team cars came in for their final pit stops, Allan McNish in the No. 2 car planned to get out ahead of the No. 1 car by not taking tires – a saving of about 13 seconds. But it was not to be. McNish was held up -- possibly by a clutter of photographers – and Tom Kristensen got out in the No. 1 car ahead of him and re-took the lead of the race.

At the end of Hour 11, No. 1 Champion Audi continues in the lead; Ian James in the No. 10 Miracle Motorsport Courage IS P2; GT1 is led by the No. 57 Aston Martin (David Brabham); and still ahead in GT2 is the 31 Petersen/White Lightning Porsche, with Jörg Bergmeister commanding.

With half an hour to go, the No. 63 ACEMCO Saleen developed a serious oil leak and had to come in, putting their third place podium spot in jeopardy although they had 13 laps on the No. 4 Corvette who was presently in P4. He got the car back onto the course, but the car was limping and it was hardly likely to survive to the end of the race. The car began to smoke badly from the right hand exhaust and they called him back in – with 8 laps between P3 and P4, would it be enough? Sadly, the IMSA officials decreed that unless the oil leak was fixed, the car could not continue. The oil leak could not be fixed, and the car had to be rolled back. “We just can’t go down and spread the track with oil,” was the decision of the team owner. And that ended their day too.

With 15 minutes to go, the only real racing left was between the two Champion Audi cars, as everyone else concentrated on getting their cars to the end. With one lap to go, neither car gave any ground – there were 3.7 miles to go and 7.5 seconds between them (and what about those penalties early in the race? Pirro will never hear the end of that), and the race went on to the last minute of the last lap. Kristensen even offered to make it a photo finish! But at the end of the race it was the No. 1 Champion Audi across the line in P1, and JJ Lehto had his Sebring win at last. In the other positions came the same cars we have known and loved throughout the last four hours: No. 10 Miracle Racing (who made it two in a row); No. 57 Aston Martin – in their first race; and the No. 31 Petersen Motorsport/White Lightning Racing Porsche.

With that we bid you farewell for tonight and will have the wrap-up and quotes from the drivers for you tomorrow. Good night from Sebring for 2005, and hurrah for Champion Audi!

53rd Closest Finish in Sebring History

Sebring, Fla. - In the closest finish in race history, the No. 1 ADT Champion Racing Team Audi R8 beat its No. 2 sister car to win the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, the season-opener for the American Le Mans Series.

The trio of JJ Lehto, Marco Werner and Tom Kristensen gave Champion Racing its first Sebring victory in the closest competitive finish in Sebring's 53-year history. The No. 1 Audi R8 posted a 6.365-second win over the No. 2 car driven by Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Allan McNish.

Biela was trying for a record fourth overall victory in the Sebring race. And he might have gotten it were it not for a pair of stop-and-go penalties early in the race.

Instead, Kristensen won the race for the third time, and Werner and Lehto each won their second Sebring titles. Werner was part of the victorious Audi Sport Team Joest entry in 2003, while Lehto was a winning driver with BMW in 1999.

Ironically, Kristensen and Lehto were part of the previous race record for margin of victory. They teamed with Jorg Mueller in 1999 to win by 9.2 seconds in a BMW V12 LMR.

The victory extended Audi's winning streak at Sebring to six races. The last manufacturer other than Audi to win the historic Florida endurance race was BMW in 1999. Only Porsche has won more consecutive Sebring titles in a row (1976-88).

"This was a great win for the Champion Audi team," Lehto said. "It was tough all the way, we started with a harder compound tire than the No. 2 car which made it very difficult to work, but we were equal all the way. It was a good show for champion, we had tried before and always finished second."

The other big story was the No. 57 Aston Martin Racing DBR9, driven by David Brabham, Peter Kox and Darren Turner. The three gave Aston Martin its first class victory at Sebring since 1956, a span of 49 years. In its ALMS debut, the car outran a pair of Corvette Racing C6-Rs for a one-lap victory over the No. 3 car of Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and Max Papis.

Saturday's race was the first for Aston Martin since 1983, when Reggie Smith, Lynn St. James and Drake Olson placed fifth overall in an Aston Martin Nimrod. Saturday, the Aston Martin crowd got the loudest cheers in the post-race ceremony.

"It was a great race," Brabham said. "It feels so good to beat such strong competition. It's a credit to everybody. We've got a great team, and the Aston Martin is a great car. This was an astonishing finish at such a tough race."

The LMP2 battle was finished with more than two hours left in the race. The No. 10 Miracle Motorsports Courage C65 AER of Ian James, Chris McMurry and Jeff Bucknum took the lead on lap 238 when the No. 27 Kruse Motorsports Courage C65 Judd lost an engine and had to retire.

The remaining class cars were so far behind at that point that they could not catch James, McMurry and Bucknum in the time remaining. It was the fourth class victory for each member of the Miracle trio. James won his second Sebring class title in a row.

The No. 31 Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, driven by Lucas Luhr, Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister posted a seven-lap victory in GT2. The defending class winners at the 24 Hours of Le Mans placed second last year and became the first privateer GT2 team to win its class at Sebring since 1999 (Kelly Collins and Cort Wagner in a Porsche 911 RSR).

"The race wasn't really that hard physically," Luhr said. "It's usually much, much hotter. I have to mention our team. The guys did a perfect job with the pit stops. We were quicker than the other teams, which is great for a privateer."

The No. 79 J3 Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR of Justin Jackson, Tim Sugden and Nic Jonsson were second in class. It marked the team's highest ALMS finish.

A record crowd was at Sebring International Raceway, one so large that the track cut off access through the main gate at 10:30 a.m., the earliest time in the race's history. An alternate parking area was created off-site to accommodate the overflow crowd.

MOBIL 1 TWELVE HOURS OF SEBRING --UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
1. (1) JJ Lehto, Espoo, Finland; Marco Werner, Germany; Tom Kristensen, Hobro, Denmark; Audi R8 (1, P1), 361.
2. (2) Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Allan McNish, Scotland; Frank Biela, Germany; Audi R8 (2, P1), 361.
3. (4) James Weaver, England; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Andy Wallace, England; Lola EX257 AER (3, P1), 341.
4. (14) Darren Turner, England; Stephane Ortelli, Monaco; David Brabham, Australia; Aston Martin DBR9 (4, GT1), 338.
5. (9) Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Max Papis, Italy; Corvette C6-R (5, GT1), 337.
6. (8) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Corvette C6-R (6, GT1), 323.
7. (20) Jorg Bergmeister, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7, GT2), 321.
8. (11) Johnny Mowlem, England; Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Terry Borcheller, Gainesville, GA; Saleen S7R (8, GT1), 318.
9. (19) Andrea Bertolini, Italy; Fabio Babini, Italy; Fabrizio De Simone, Italy; Maserati MC12 (9, GT1), 316.
10. (15) Ryan Dalziel, Scotland; Alex Figgie, Hollywood, CA; David Empringham, Toronto, Ontario; Corvette C5-R (10, GT1), 315.
11. (29) Tim Sudgen, England; Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Justin Jackson, Buford, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (11, GT2), 314.
12. (6) Jeff Bucknum, Lake Havasu City, AZ; Ian James, England; Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Courage C-65 (12, P2), 311.
13. (23) Jon Fogarty, Palo Alto, CA; Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (13, GT2), 311.
14. (16) Jean-Philippe Belloc, France; Michele Rugulo, Italy; Tom Weickardt, Whitefish Bay, WI; Dodge Viper (14, GT1), 310.
15. (13) Peter Kox, The Netherlands; Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Stephane Sarrazin, France; Aston Martin DBR9 (15, GT1), 303.
16. (34) Michael Cawley, Atlanta, GA; Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Marc Sluszny, Belgium; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (16, GT2), 297.
17. (33) Michael Vergers, England; Andrew Thompson, Scotland; Juan Barazi, Switzerland; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (17, GT2), 278.
18. (37) Andy Lally, New York, NY; Steve Ivankovich, Kingstown, St Vincent; Spencer Pumpelly, Mason Neck, VA; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (18, GT2), 275.
19. (3) Guy Smith, England; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Lola EX257 AER (19, P1), 264.
20. (24) Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Scott Maxwell, Canada; Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Panoz Esperante eGTLM (20, GT2), 239.
21. (7) Harold Primat, Switzerland; Phillip Bennett, England; Ian Mitchell, UK; Courage C-65 Judd (21, P2), 238, Engine.
22. (28) Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Martin Jensen, Denmark; Tony Burgess, Canada; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (22, GT2), 207, Engine.
23. (10) Michael Lewis, San Diego, CA; Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Riley & Scott MRK IIIC (23, P1), 202, Gearbox.
24. (5) Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Duncan Dayton, North Salem, NY; Gregor Fisken, Scotland; Lola B05/40/AER (24, P2), 166, Gearbox.
25. (31) Richard Dean, England; Patrick Pearce, England; Marc Hynes, England; TVR 400R (25, GT2), 157.
26. (17) Christophe Bouchut, France; Fabricio Gollin, France; Sebastien Bourdais, France; Ferrari 550 Maranello (26, GT1), 155, Gearbox.
27. (32) Jonny Kane, Ireland; Lawrence Tomilson, Ireland; Warren Hughes, England; TVR 400R (27, GT2), 136.
28. (12) Joao Barbosa, Portugal; Didier Theys, Belgium; Michael Krumm, Germany; Dallara Nissan (28, P1), 130.
29. (21) Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Robin Liddell, Scotland; Emanuele Naspetti, Italy; Panoz Esperante eGTLM (29, GT2), 121, Electrical.
30. (36) Tom Coronel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Marc Goosens, Belgium; Donny Crevels, The Netherlands; Spyker C-8 Spyder GT2 R (30, GT2), 121, Mechanical.
31. (22) Timo Bernhard, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (31, GT2), 98, Engine.
32. (35) Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Gareth Ridpath, UK; Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Lola B2K/40/Judd (32, P2), 62, Electrical.
33. (25) Randy Pobst, Gainesville, GA; Ian Baas, Noblesville, IN; Brian Cunningham, Danville, KY; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (33, GT2), 62, Transmission.
34. (26) Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; David Murry, Cumming, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (34, GT2), 46, Engine.
35. (27) Pierre Ehret, Santa Rosa, CA; Kevin Buckler, Sonoma, CA; Andrew Davis, Lilburn, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (35, GT2), 21, Wheel.
36. (38) Peter van Merkensteyn, The Netherlands; Frans Munsterhuis, The Netherlands; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Spyker C-8 Spyder GT2 R (36, GT2), 18, Lost Drive.
37. (18) William Binnie, Portsmouth, NH; Adam Sharpe, England; Robert Julien, Canada; Lola B05/42 McLaren (37, P2), 11, Excluded.
38. (30) Nigel Smith, Landau, Germany; Rick Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Rick Cole, Southampton, England; Saleen S7R (38, GT1), 0, Accident.

 ALMS Practice One             

 Team ADT Champion Racing successfully completed its first practice session Wednesday for this weekend's 53rd running of the 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway. While the Audi R8 remained consistent in performance, track conditions deteriorated significantly throughout the day. High winds, dry conditions and blowing dust slowed the pace from the morning session to the afternoon session.   

JJ Lehto, the "Flying Finn", set the fastest time of the day in the morning session with a time of 1:49.723 (121.397 mph) in his No. 1 ADT Champion Racing Audi R8. The sister car, the No. 2 entry, driven by Emanuele Pirro posted the second fastest time at 1:50.055 (121.030 mph) during the same session.

Tom Kristensen (No. 1 car) and Allan McNish (No. 2 car) have yet to have seat time as both Audi "works" drivers arrived from testing in Spain for AUDI AG's involvement in DTM, the German Touring car series.

The 53rd annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will get the green flag at 10:45 a.m. EST on Saturday, March 19, and will be televised live from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. by SPEED Channel.

MASERATI STIRS CONTROVERSY IN GT1 

IMSA CONFIRMS PROTEST BY ASTON MARTIN RACING

IMSA confirmed that Aston Martin is protesting the "validity of an entry" (i.e. –the No. 35 Maserati MC12). The protest was received by Race Director Marty Kauffman at the end of the business day Tuesday. The stewards first will determine if the matter is protestable and has been filed correctly and timely. Should the stewards determine that the matter is protestable and correct in its form, they then will determine a time and place for the protest hearing. IMSA rules state that the stewards have until the end of the event or business day following the protest hearing to issue their decision (which should be no later than end of day Thursday).

The rules for protest can be found in Article 9 of the IMSA code, which can be found at www.imsaracing.net. The stewards or IMSA cannot comment about the specifics of the protest until after a decision is reached.

A SPIRITED BRIEFING

The American Le Mans Series conducted a series of press briefings Wednesday. In light of the above protest, the most spirited session contained the heads of racing for Corvette Racing (Doug Fehan), Prodrives' (David Richards), Maserati Corse (Claudio Berro), Ferrari's Care Racing-Larbre (Jack LeConte), and Dodge Viper's Carsport Racing (Tom Weickhardt).

RICHARDS: "This is not directed at a manufacturer. It is about the protocol in which we go forward in this sport. It's our belief at Aston Martin that we have invested a lot to come here and build the cars and look toward the future of GT1. Today's press conference focusing on the competitiveness of this class is indicative of the interest in GT1. It is very clear that regulations be strictly adhered to because if we keep issuing waivers for different manufacturers, we'll never have stability in the sport. It's very important to establish that from the outset. We welcome the competition, but only on an equal basis. Unless we get stability, we won't attract new manufacturers."

BERRO: "We received an invitation from IMSA to race and we accepted it. The ACO and FIA recently came together for the same rules and regulations and we comply within the FIA regulations. The ACO says there is a 66mm difference between GT1 cars and our car and seven to 10 kilos. We are not concerned about the protest. We will respect IMSA's decision.

FEHAN: "At Corvette and General Motors, we've made it clear to the sanctioning body how important a stable rules base is. I think we've been consoled by them and assured by them that they are going to closely monitor Maserati's performance. The Maserati can't win points until they enter a legal car. Our business plan is to achieve a manufacturers' championship, and we understand the position of the series. I think we have a high level of understanding about why it is. We have a huge contingent of fans. They want to see us race whoever comes along, no matter how hard it is."

In a less-spirited moment, LeConte pointed out that this is his fourth trip to Sebring, all in different cars – Porsche in 2000, Viper in 2002, a Panoz in 2004, and this year with a Ferrari.

ALMS PRACTICE TWO              

Dyson Racing set the standard in afternoon practice, posting a run of 120.817 mph and a lap time of 1:50.249, eclipsing the No. 1 and No. 2 ADT Champion Audi R8s. Earlier in the day during the morning practice session, both Audis fared better than the Dyson team piloted by Chris Dyson and Guy Smith, who drove the fastest lap in the afternoon.

The fastest LMP2 time in the afternoon was a 1:51.752 lap (119.192 mph) posted by Jon Field, Duncan Dayton and Gregor Fisken in Telesis Intersport Racing's Lola B05/40. The fastest GT1 in the afternoon was the No. 4 Corvette Racing C6-R of Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen with a time of 1:57.347 (113.510 mph), surpassing the morning run of the No. 3 Corvette C6-R at 1:57.686 (113.183 mph).

In the GT2 class, the morning run of Patrick Long, Jorg Bergmeister and Lucas Luhr guided the No. 31 Petersen/White Lightning Porsche 911 GT3 RSR to a round of 2:04.960 (106.954 mph), faster than the quickest GT2 afternoon lap set by the No. 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, and Sascha Maassen at 2:05.078 (106.494 mph).

INCIDENT-LY
There were only two incidents at the track on Wednesday. In the morning practice session, Tom Weickardt damaged the left front end of the No. 71 Dodge Viper. In the afternoon session, Ian Mitchell spun out in a braking incident in the No.27 Kruse Motorsport Courage.