Sebring 12 Hour ***spoiler***

Qualifying certainly was entertaining. Caught some of it on IMSA live timing and wondered why the list was like it was for qualifying . . .here's the answer courtesy of PlanetLeMans> > >

First off -> CONGRATULATIONS TO JAIME AND RISI for another pole!!

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Just after three o’clock in the afternoon in Florida the track went green for the qualifying session for the 56th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The qualifying session was interrupted by a red flag after almost 38 minutes into the session and was not restarted. This meant Peugeot secured the pole on its very first attempt.

LMP1 - Peugeot clinches Sebring pole on first attempt

Lucas Luhr was the first driver to go faster than last years qualifying record as he set a 1:44.291. One lap later McNish improved his team mates lap time but it was the Peugeot of Stéphane Sarrazin that was even quicker, setting a 1:43.117. Moments after the Frenchman had set the provisional pole position the red flag came out when the B-K Motorsport Lola went off at Turn 1.

LMP2 - Crazy qualifying hands Dyson the LMP2 pole

The LMP2 qualifying session was marred by the B-K Motorsport accident. Ben Devlin, who was driving the car at the time of the incident, was groggy but uninjured. At the moment the red flag came out only the two Dyson Racing Porsches, the B-K Lola and the Barazi-Epsilon Zytek had completed a lap and it as Guy Smith who had been quickest at that point, setting a 1:46.145. As a result of the accident the Penske, Andretti-Green, Horag, Highcroft and Fernandez teams did not set a time and will all be starting from the back of the grid.

LMGT1 - Corvette 1-2 once again

Jan Magnussen clinched the pole position in the GT1 category. The Dane took the #3 Corvette C6.R around the circuit in 1:56.539, almost four tenths of a second ahead of team mate Oliver Gavin in the #4 Corvette. The Bell Motorsport Aston Martin DBR9, driven by Antonio Garcia, was third fastest in 2:00.385. Both Corvettes only completed three timed laps which were enough to secure the class pole.

LMGT2 - Risi Competizione on GT2 pole position

As soon as the track went green most cars went out to set a quick time. Bergmeister in the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 997 GT3 RSR was the first driver to go below the existing track record on his first flying lap (2:01.318). His lap time was quickest for about ten minutes, but then it was Jaime Melo in the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT who recorded a 2:00.945. Several others tried to beat his time, but they all fell short. When the checkered flag came out for the GT cars Melo had secured the class pole position, with Richard Lietz (#46 Lizards Porsche) in second place and Dirk Werner (#87 FarnbacherLoles Porsche) in third. Two cars did not set a time. The Robertson Racing Ford GT-R experienced a small fire on board, nothing too serious though luckily, while the Corsa Motorsports Ferrari 430 GT did not take part in qualifying due to tyre problems.

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This will make for a VERY interesting start with the torque of the diesels on the first two rows - a drag race for sure. Even though Jon is over 2 minutes behind the 908, he is one fast driver and will be on row two next to Audi #2. Based on qualifying, I truly believe the GT2 class barring any unforseen circumstances is all Risi #62 and Flying Lizards #45 or #46. All in all, 12 hours is a long time and ANYTHING can happen. Off to Sebring early in the morning.

Carol

It's getting even better now - still not sure but it appears a combo of qualification times will determine grid - someone just reported Dyson on front row. All hell is going to break loose at the start!!! Audi #1 was fastest in most sessions - yipee maybe that will mean Allan and Dindo have the pole.

Here's the reason for the red flag - slightly used Mazda http://www.endurance-info.com/2008_ALMS/01_Sebring/Lola_Mazda_5.jpgand another http://www.endurance-info.com/2008_ALMS/01_Sebring/Lola_Mazda_1.jpg

 

After the accident today the grid was determined based on cumulative times - here's the top ten - it's going to be one heck of a start for sure!!!

1 Capello/Kristensen/McNish (Audi R10 TDI), 1m 43.195s
2 Minassian/Sarrazin/Lamy (Peugeot), 1m 44.271s
3 Luhr/Rockenfeller/Werner (Audi R10 TDI), 1m 45.090s
4 Dumas/Bernhard/Collard (Porsche), 1m 45.220s
5 Maassen/Long/Briscoe (Porsche), 1m 45.999s
6 Fernandez/Diaz (Acura/Honda), 1m 46.029s
7 Franchitti/Leitzinger/Lally (Porsche), 1m 46.348s
8 Herta/Fittipaldi/Andretti (Acura/Honda), 1m 46.632s
9 Field/Field/Berry (Lola), 1m 47.358s
10 Smith/Dyson (Porsche), 1m 47.567s

Carol

 

Times ended up being disallowed since the P1 cars had less than 10 minutes in the session. So here it is!

56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
presented by Fresh from Florida
Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Fla.
Saturday's lineup
1. Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Tom Kristensen, Denmark; Allan McNish, Scotland; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:43.195, 129.076
2. Nicola Minassian, England; Stephane Sarrazin, France; Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Peugeot 908 (P1), 1:44.271, 127.744
3. Lucas Luhr, Germany; Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:45.090, 126.749
4. Timo Bernhard, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Emmanuel Collard, France; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:45.220, 126.592
5. Sascha Maassen, Germany; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:45.999, 125.662
6. Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:46.029, 125.626
7. Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:46.348, 125.249
8. Bryan Herta, Valencia, CA; Christian Fittipaldi, Miami, FL; Marco Andretti, Nazareth, PA; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:46.632, 124.916
9. Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:47.358, 124.071
10. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:47.567, 123.830
11. David Brabham, Australia; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:47.819, 123.540
12. Fredy Lienhard Sr., Switzerland; Didier Theys, Belgium; Jan Lammers, The Netherlands; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:48.522, 122.740
13. Juan Barazi, Switzerland; Michael Vergers, England; Jean Ravier, France; Zytek 07S (P2), 1:49.820, 121.289
14. Ben Devlin, England; Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Raphael Matos, Brazil; Lola B07 46 Mazda (P2), 1:49.966, 121.128
15. Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Tony Burgess, Canada; Creation CA07-002 Judd (P1), 1:53.851, 116.995
16. Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:56.269, 114.562
17. Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Oliver Gavin, England; Max Papis, Italy; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:56.547, 114.289
18. Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Antonio Garcia, Spain; Aston Martin DBR9 (GT1), 2:00.730, 110.329
19. Jaime Melo, Brazil; Mika Salo, Finland; Gianmaria Bruni, Italy; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 2:01.184, 109.916
20. Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Müller, Germany; Robert Bell, UK; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 2:01.800, 109.360
21. Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:01.831, 109.332
22. Allan Simonsen, Australia; Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Pierre Ehret, Santa Rosa, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 2:02.227, 108.987
23. Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Patrick Pilet, France; Richard Lietz, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.238, 108.968
24. Dirk Werner, Germany; Marc Basseng, Germany; Bryce Miller, Hoboken, NJ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.594, 108.651
25. Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, TX; Doug Peterson, Bonita Springs, FL; Marc Goosens, Belgium; Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (GT2), 2:03.630, 107.741
26. Uwe Alzen, Germany; Craig Stanton, Long Beach, CA; Nathan Swartzbaugh, La Habra Heights, LA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:03.861, 107.540
27. Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Panoz Esperante Ford (GT2), 2:03.931, 107.479
28. Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Alex Davison, Australia; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:04.081, 107.349
29. Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Eric van de Poele, Belgium; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 2:04.933, 106.617
30. Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Tim Sudgen, England; Aston Martin DBRS9 (GT2), 2:04.938, 106.613
31. Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Johnny Mowlem, England; Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 2:05.666, 105.995
32. Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Competiton Coupe (GT2), 2:06.004, 105.711
33. Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; David Murry, Cumming, GA; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 2:06.527, 105.274
34. Miroslav Konopka, Slovakia; Mauro Casadei, Italy; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:14.059, 99.359