ALMS 12 Hours of Sebring (Mar 20 2010)

Raikkon · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:13 pm

2010 American Le Mans Series - Round 1

58th Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring 2010

Countdown to the race start: You need JavaScript to be activated to be able to use the timer function :flag:

Presenting the opening round of the 2010 American Le Mans Series at Sebring International Raceway!! I don't usually create first posts for LMES events, but it's getting close and it promises to be a good one!! :thumbsup:

TBO Sports wrote:

Twelve Hours of Sebring offers intriguing stories

Aston Martin vs. Peugeot. Gas vs. diesel. Porsche and Honda waiting in the wings for an upset. A historic GT entry. A first-time winner? There is a lot to talk about this year heading into Sebring's 12-hour classic.

A total of 36 cars are expected to take the green flag at this year's Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. And since none of the leading contenders this year have ever scored an overall victory at America's greatest sports car race, it looks like there could be a first-time winner.

"With our biggest field in four years, we are very pleased with the entry and the direction of the Series," stated Tres Stephenson, president and general manager of Sebring International Raceway. "With record corporate sales, strong ticket demand and two exciting new classes, this should be a great year."

Sebring kicks off the 2010 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron, and will likely be the only race in North America that features both Aston Martin and Peugeot racing together.

Peugeot is the overwhelming favorite, entering a pair of diesel-powered prototypes. The defending champions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans are anxious to add Sebring to their list of endurance victories and plan to use Sebring as a key pre-Le Mans test. Peugeot finished second last year at Sebring by a margin of less than 23 seconds. A French manufacturer has never won overall here, so this could be a historic weekend for Peugeot. Drivers for the Peugeot team include Sebastien Bourdais, Pedro Lamy, Nicolas Minassian, Marc Gene, Alexander Wurz and Anthony Davidson.

Aston Martin Racing comes to Sebring with its Lola prototype. They were the fastest non-diesel entry last year at Le Mans, and dominated European races in which there were no diesel (Audi or Peugeot) entries. The Aston Martin Lola will be driven by Adrian Fernandez, Harold Primat and Chris Buncombe. This team dominated testing here a few weeks ago, consistently recording the fastest lap times.

Missing from the field this year is Audi. The nine-time Sebring winner apparently is unable to have its revised version of the R15 ready for the race, although they will be testing here at Sebring after the race. Since being defeated by Peugeot at Le Mans, the German manufacturer has run a limited schedule, and surprisingly is unable to compete in the race.

Theres more to look forward to from the GT cars; Sebring boasts one of its finest GT2 fields ever this year (the class will be known simply as "GT" beginning after Sebring, with the exception of Petit Le Mans). Ten cars in this category have an excellent chance of winning, meaning this will be an all-out battle from start to finish. Remember, the 2007 GT2 class was decided by a margin of less than one second!

Remember, at Sebring, anything can happen!

Read the full article here (its a good read!)

Circuit Information:

Race Distance: 12 Hours Endurance
Course: GP Road Course
Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
Circuit Length: 5.95km / 3.7mile
Turns: 17
Lap Record: 1:43.274 (Bourdais, Peugeot 908 LMP1, 2009)

View the official circuit map here

2010 12 hours of Sebring Entry List:

Code:

    Team                    Car                    Drivers                       Class  Tires
8   Drayson Racing          Lola B09/60 Judd       Drayson/Cocker/Pirro          LMP1   Michelin
12  Autocon Motorsports     Lola B06/10 AER        Wilman/Burgess/Ehret          LMP1   Dunlop
07  Team Peugeot Total      Peugeot 908 HDi FAP    Gene/Wurz/Davidson            LMP1   Michelin
08  Team Peugeot Total      Peugeot 908 HDi FAP    Lamy/Bourdais/Minassian       LMP1   Michelin
009 Aston Martin Racing     Lola-Aston Martin      Fernandez/Buncombe/Primat     LMP1   Michelin

1   Patron Highcroft        HPD ARX-01c            Brabham/Pagenaud/Franchitti   LMP2   Michelin
6   Team Cytosport          Porsche RS Spyder      Pickett/Graf/Maassen          LMP2   Michelin
16  Dyson Racing            Lola B09/86 Mazda      Dyson/Smith/Meyrick           LMP2   Dunlop

3   Corvette Racing         Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Magnussen/O'Connell/Garcia    GT2    Michelin
4   Corvette Racing         Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Beretta/Gavin/Collard         GT2    Michelin
17  Team Falken Tire        Porsche 997 GT3 RSR    Sellers/Henzler/Pilet         GT2    Falken
40  Robertson Racing        Doran Ford GT-R        Robertson/Robertson/Murry     GT2    Dunlop
44  Flying Lizard           Porsche 997 GT3 RSR    Law/Neiman/Lietz              GT2    Michelin
45  Flying Lizard           Porsche 997 GT3 RSR    Bergmeister/Long/Lieb         GT2    Michelin
61  Risi Competizione       Ferrari F430 GT2       Krohn/Jonsson/van de Poele    GT2    Michelin
62  Risi Competizione       Ferrari F430 GT2       Melo/Bruni/Kaffer             GT2    Michelin
75  Rocketsports Racing     Jaguar XKR             Gentilozzi/Goossens/Dalziel   GT2    Yokohama
90  Rahal Letterman Racing  BMW M3 E92             Muller/Hand/Priaulx           GT2    Dunlop
92  Rahal Letterman Racing  BMW M3 E92             Auberlen/Milner/Werner        GT2    Dunlop
01  Extreme Speed           Ferrari F430 GT2       Sharp/Overbeek/Farnbacher     GT2    Michelin
02  Extreme Speed           Ferrari F430 GT2       Cosmo/Brown/Barbosa           GT2    Michelin

11  Primetime Race Group    Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet  Feinberg/Marcelli             LMPC   Michelin
36  Genoa Racing            Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet  Wallace/Hildebrand/Sutherland LMPC   Michelin
55  Level 5 Motorsports     Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet  Tucker/Bouchut/Wilkins        LMPC   Michelin
89  Intersport Racing       Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet  Pagerey/Wong/Ducote           LMPC   Michelin
95  Level 5 Motorsports     Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet  Tucker/Hunter-Reay/Gue        LMPC   Michelin
99  Green Earth Team Gunnar Oreca FLM09 Chevrolet  Jeanette/Zugel/Julian         LMPC   Michelin

23  Alex Job Racing         Porsche 911 GT3 Cup    Sweedler/Kapudija/Lueders     GTC    Yokohama
32  GMG Racing              Porsche 911 GT3 Cup    Sofronas/Curtis/Pilgrim       GTC    Yokohama
63  The Racers Group        Porsche 911 GT3 Cup    Richard/Ende/Lally            GTC    Yokohama
69  P7 Racing               Porsche 911 GT3 Cup    Bieker/Rodriquez/Friedman     GTC    Yokohama
80  Alex Job Racing         Porsche 911 GT3 Cup    Gonzalez/Diaz/Kelly           GTC    Yokohama
81  Alex Job Racing         Porsche 911 GT3 Cup    Gonzalez/Leitzinger/Keen      GTC    Yokohama
88  Velox Racing            Porsche 911 GT3 Cup    Lewis/Vento/Aschenbach        GTC    Yokohama

Total 34 entries. Updated 17/03/10.

View the official entry list here
View the spotter guide here

Weekend Schedule:

US Eastern Time / UK Time

Monday 15th March - Wednesday 17th March - Pre-race test days (no coverage)

Thursday 18th March
10:30-11:30 / 14:30-15:30 1st Practice (All Classes)
14:05-15:05 / 18:05-19:05 2nd Practice (All Classes)
19:15-21:00 / 23:15-01:00 3rd Practice (All Classes)

Friday 19th March
09:40-10:40 / 13:40-14:40 4th Practice (All Classes)
13:50-14:15 / 17:50-18:15 Qualifying (GT2/GTC)
14:25-14:50 / 18:25-18:50 Qualifying (LMP1/LMP2/LMPC)

Saturday 20th March
08:00-08:25 / 12:00-12:25 WarmUp (All Classes)
10:30-22:30 / 14:30-02:30 58th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring

View the complete official schedule here

Television Information:

SPEED Channel - Saturday 20th March 10:00-12:00 & 14:00-23:00 LIVE
MotorsTV providing complete raceday coverage - Saturday 20th March 14:00-03:00 LIVE

Streams & Live Timing
American Le Mans Series Official Site - Online broadcasts details posted here
Radio Le Mans - Live commentary for the whole race, including friday practice & qualifications
IMSA Live Timing - Live timing screens for all ontrack activities at Sebring
ALMS.com Live Timing - Same data from IMSA, compact layout

Sources and links:
American Le Mans Series Official Site
Sebring International Raceway Official Site
Radio Le Mans

With all the changes and new classes, this will potentially be awesome stuff!! :thumbsup:

Andy · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 4:40 pm

Can't wait, its going to be amazing

btw whats is this LMPC class all about?

eddyjay46 · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:08 pm

I'm going to my first 12 hour race. I'm so excited. Does anyone know of good viewing areas at the track

Brendan Kaczmarek · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:11 pm

LMPC and GTC are designed as cost effective variations on endurance racing. Both are spec classes, GTC uses the GT3 Cup Porsche, while LMPC uses the Oreca 09FLM that was used for Formula Le Mans last year in Europe.

That said, you're absolutely right - the race is going to be a cracker. Unfortunately I think Peugeot will run away with the overall victory, but the racing behind them ought to be good - Aston vs. Drayson, Highcroft vs. Cytosport and Dyson, plus the LMPC battles. GT will be the real race though - Jag vs. Corvette vs. Ferrari vs. BMW vs. Porsche vs. Ford - does it get any better?

I'll be marshalling from Wednesday to Saturday down at turn 17 for this one. The station is right at the first apex to the corner at the end of the backstraight - where the wall first angles towards the bridge. I'm sure you'll see us - I may or may not also have a sign.

Brendan Kaczmarek · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:19 pm

eddyjay46 wrote:

I'm going to my first 12 hour race. I'm so excited. Does anyone know of good viewing areas at the track

Everywhere! You'll want to move around on raceday I'm sure... I've only worked turns 7 and 17 before, but I really enjoyed both of those... Turn 7 is the hairpin which is a lot of fun to watch... I'd suggest getting down to turn 10 and turn 13 as well, perhaps take a wander down towards turn 15 and 16, and definitely go down to 17... The cars are flat out and on the edge of grip and watching them over the bumps is something I could do all day (and probably will)

... I've not ever been to turn 1 but I'm sure that'll be a good place to watch from as well.

hedgey666 · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:36 pm

All live in the UK on Motors TV - really looking forward to this race!

Tommy Vercetti · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:26 pm

No Audi

But I'm watching anyway.

deggis · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:29 pm

Audi's new Darth Vader cars are sitting somewhere in the garage not too far away from the track... just to test there on Monday after the race.

Mattzel89 · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:00 pm

One of the few times where it's worth to have MotorsTV :thumbsup:

Schumifan · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:12 pm

wooo, I'll be watching the whole thing :thumbsup:

deggis · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:20 pm

According to forums hearsay Scott Atherton promised at the Sebring tests that live streaming would be coming (I guess not just the qualifications or online-streaming-only-when-Speedtv-is-on-obligatory-Nascar-break... that wouldn't be news anymore). When and for free and if it's US only... no one knows. I visit alms.com every day and expect to see announcement about it before saturday *optimism*

ellis · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:39 pm

Jon Field has apparently cart-wheeled his car, and is being transfered to the medical centre.

Mattzel89 · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:49 pm

that doesn't sound good

Brendan Kaczmarek · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:37 pm

Car became airborne and cartwheeled several times apparently, Jon has been taken to Highlands Medical Center - no word yet on his condition.

EDIT: Unofficial obviously, but http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/related/C211/ says he was taken for observation - so that is good news. No word on where it happened but I suspect it is turn one as that is really the only place you can cartwheel a car - very difficult to do on pavement where the rest of the track is.

It's a shame too as unofficially, they were the third quickest on track just eight tenths of a second off the quickest Peugeot time.

EDIT2: Crash happened approaching Turn 9, which is nearly on a straightaway...

"During testing at Sebring International Raceway Monday, Jon Field of Dublin, OH, was transported to Highlands Regional Medical Center for observation following a violent accident. Corner workers described the accident: “he was approaching Turn 9 and a gust of wind made the car bobble sideways. The car got airborne and cart wheeled.”

The #40 Doran Ford also crashed in a single car incident, the status of the car is unknown for the weekend. Same applies for the Intersport car - no word on whether or not it will race. There is still plenty of time and I believe they have a second chassis.

Gaara · PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 10:44 pm

Quote:

“he was approaching Turn 9 and a gust of wind made the car bobble sideways. The car got airborne and cart wheeled.”

Not again

Brendan Kaczmarek · PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:19 am

John Dagys from SPEED now reporting that it was more likely a rear wing collapse. The car landed upside down before rolling again. He got out of the car on his own power before collapsing apparently. Hope he's okay, sounds really scary.

Fuelke · PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 12:59 am

Pictures @ http://americanlemans.com/index_news.php?n=14567

Brendan Kaczmarek · PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:20 am

I don't know what it is about this accident but this one seriously has me bothered for some reason... I saw Scott Sharp's at Petit happen right in front of me but for whatever reason this one has got me really bugged. I'm hoping for a safe week and of course a safe race, but I have an awful feeling he won't be the only one this week.

Raikkon · PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:31 am

Wow that is one broken race car.

At least he appears to be okay anyways.

Gaara · PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:40 am

Crap, that's an awful looking crash.

TBK-Light.com

ALMS 12 Hours of Sebring (Mar 20 2010)

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