American Le Mans Series

2008 Sebring Winter Test - Day 1 Report

© American Le Mans Series

The Sebring Winter Test got underway today at the 3.7 miles long Sebring International Raceway. Before the lunchbreak both the GT and the LMP class had a 30 minute session on the track. With Peugeot sending one car over to Sebring the eyes of most people were focussed on the difference in times between the Audi and Peugeot, as this would be the first time the two teams would be fighting each other since the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2007.

At 9.10 am the GT2 cars were the first to be released during the first official IMSA test of the 2008 season. After they had completed their 30 minutes of testing, with the nr 61 Risi Ferrari 430 of Melo/Salo topping the charts, it was time for the Le Mans Prototypes to hit the track at 9.40 am. When the flag came out to signal the end of the morning session it was the Audi R10 of Capello/McNish/Kristensen/Rockenfeller which had been the fastest around the circuit, lapping the track in a 1:43.821. The Peugeot 908 HDi FAP was 0.153s behind the Audi.

In the second session, taking place between 12.30pm and 2.30 pm, it was once again the Audi that ended on top of the timing sheets. The nr 2 Audi was just over seven tenths of a second slower than in the morning session, setting the fastest time in this session on 1:44.561. Just like in the first session the nr 07 Peugeot got close, this time the French squad was only 0.138s slower than the German team. The Peugeot did not make it to the end of the session however as it stopped out on the track with a yet to be identified problem.

The second session also marked the return of Aston Martin to the ALMS. Although it was not the works Aston Martin Racing team like in 2006, Bell Motorsports entered its privately owned DBR9 in the test in preparation for the 2008 season. Antonio Garcia, Jaime Camara and Chapman Ducote used the second test session to work on their car and were unable to beat the GT2 times.

It was the nr 6 Team Penske Porsche RS Spyder of Maassen/Long that was quickest in session three, beating the Audi by a whisker (0.075s). The Peugeot did not get out on the track, the problem that stopped the car during the second session was not yet solved. In the GT category the Bell Motorsports DBR9 found (the right) pace as it topped the sheets.

ALMS Test Session 1 Result

1. #2 Audi Sport North America, Audi R10 TDi (LMP1), 1:43.821 (128.298 mph)
2. #07 Equipe Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (LMP1), 1:43.974 (128.109 mph)
3. #9 Patron Highcroft Racing, Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 1:45.638 (126.091 mph)
4. #16 Dyson Racing, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.065 (124.410 mph)
5. #15 Lowe’s Fernandez Racing, Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 1:48.578 (122.677 mph)
6. #20 Dyson Racing, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:50.407 (120.645 mph)
7. #37 Intersport Racing, Lola B06/10 (LMP1), 1:51.427 (119.540 mph)
8. #62 Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), 2:02.837 (108.436 mph)
9. #21 Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.801 (107.592 mph)
10. #71 Tafel Racing, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), 2:03.866 (107.536 mph)
11. #48 Corsa Motorsports, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), 2:07.125 (104.779 mph)
12. #8 B-K Motorsports, Lola B07/46 (LMP2), no time
13. #61 Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), no time
14. #6 Team Penske, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), no time
15. #7 Team Penske, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), no time
16. #26 Andretti Green Racing, Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), no time

ALMS Test Session 2

1. #2 Audi Sport North America, Audi R10 TDi (LMP1), 1:44.561 (127.390 mph)
2. #07 Equipe Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (LMP1), 1:44.699 (127.222 mph)
3. #7 Team Penske, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:45.155 (126.670 mph)
4. #9 Patron Highcroft Racing, Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 1:45.801 (125.897 mph)
5. #6 Team Penske, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:45.877 (125.806 mph)
6. #26 Andretti Green Racing, Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 1:45.923 (125.752 mph)
7. #15 Lowe’s Fernandez Racing, Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 1:46.511 (125.058 mph)
8. #16 Dyson Racing, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.235 (124.213 mph)
9. #20 Dyson Racing, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.604 (123.787 mph)
10. #8 B-K Motorsports, Lola B07/46 (LMP2), 1:52.193 (118.724 mph)
11. #62 Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), 2:02.047 (109.138 mph)
12. #71 Tafel Racing, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), 2:02.227 (108.978 mph)
13. #61 Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), 2:03.267 (108.058 mph)
14. #21 Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.310 (108.020 mph)
15. #48 Corsa Motorsports, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), 2:05.784 (105.896 mph)
16. #08 Bell Motorsports, Aston Martin DBR9 (GT1), 2:09.622 (102.760 mph)
17. #37 Intersport Racing, Lola B06/10 (LMP1), no time
18. #21 Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), no time

ALMS Test Session 3

1. #6 Team Penske, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:45.214 (126.599 mph)
2. #2 Audi Sport North America, Audi R10 TDi (LMP1), 1:45.289 (126.509 mph)
3. #7 Team Penske, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:45.876 (125.808 mph)
4. #9 Patron Highcroft Racing, Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 1:46.015 (125.643 mph)
5. #26 Andretti Green Racing, Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 1:46.315 (125.288 mph)
6. #15 Lowe’s Fernandez Racing, Acura ARX-01B (LMP2), 1:46.364 (125.230 mph)
7. #16 Dyson Racing, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.469 (123.943 mph)
8. #8 B-K Motorsports, Lola B07/46 (LMP2), 1:47.986 (123.349 mph)
9. #37 Intersport Racing, Lola B06/10 (LMP1), 1:48.242 (123.058 mph)
10. #20 Dyson Racing, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:48.473 (122.796 mph)
11. #08 Bell Motorsports, Aston Martin DBR9 (GT1), 2:00.148 (110.863 mph)
12. #62 Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), 2:01.192 (109.908 mph)
13. #71 Tafel Racing, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), 2:02.484 (108.749 mph)
14. #21 Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.134 (108.175 mph)
15. #48 Corsa Motorsports, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), 2:06.868 (104.991 mph)
16. #61 Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT2 (GT2), no time
17. #21 Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), no time
18. #07 Equipe Peugeot Total, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP (LMP1), no time