American Le Mans Series

Planetlemans analyzes the Sebring 12 Hours

© American Le Mans Series // The winner trio celebrating big time

An old South American saying has it that “there is no ‘tiento’ that cannot be cut or era that does not reach its end”. A significantly hard ‘tiento’ (a sunlight-hardened horse tendon string) was symbolically cut by Penske and Porsche by ending what seemed an endless string of Audi victories and the Diesel domination in long races since the appearance of the R10TDi from Ingolstadt.

But Penske’s victory was enormously significant because of a number of other reasons: Peugeot was on the track, both Audis succumbed to mechanical woes, the LMP2 cars were running under new, restricted rules and more significantly it was a 12 hour race in a circuit historically suiting the LMP1 class. All these made the moment of crossing the line first extra sweet for Romain Dumas, who teamed up again with Timo Bernhard and Emmanuel Collard to deliver optimal performance on the RS Spyder.

But there were other fantastic performances yesterday in Florida: the impressive debut in sportscar racing of Marco Andretti, the Lowe’s Fernández and Dyson performances (the former disqualified afterwards), the achievement of Corvette including the 7th victory of “Mr. Sebring” Johnny O’Connell and a clear Flying Lizard Porsche 1-2 making for an excellent debut of the new 997 in GT2.

The race started promptly at 10:05 and Minassian’s Peugeot immediately took the lead and started pulling away from the Audis with a very quick pace. A few traffic incidents delayed Díaz and Andretti on the Fernández and AGR Acuras but Mario’s grandson started a fantastic race at this stage that would see him shine in his initial triple stint. The Corvettes had a solid start in GT1 while Jaime Melo was clearly in the lead in GT2, an initial battle behind him between the 71 Tafel Ferrari and the 45 Lizard Porsche quickly aborted by a radiator puncture of the 71 car that would lose them 21 laps in the end.

A mistake by Dindo Capello hitting the 46 Flying Lizard’s and ruining its race would see him serving an early penalty and dropping to 10th place as the first full course yellow (FCY) was waved. Just under 10 minutes normal racing was resumed and Andretti led LMP2 chased by the number 7 Porsche driven by Bernhard. The Peugeot had a clear overall lead although its pace became more controlled, also taking into account that the other Audi started having issues braking and was losing time and speed. The VICI Porsche started also to look solid in GT2 with good pace and changing pit stop strategy.

With less than 90 minutes gone the number 6 Penske Porsche would retire with overheating issues while it also was becoming evident that the non-works LMP1 field (Autocon and Intersport) is a few steps below the LMP1 and LMP2 ALMS fields, their performance nothing to write home about. The Barazi Epsilon and Horag cars also were significantly slower than the Acuras and ALMS regular Porsches and were never in contention for any relevant position.

© American Le Mans Series // Unusual sight, a Peugeot leads at the ALMS

At the 2 hour mark Pedro Lamy had continued the Peugeot lead, Andretti was leading LMP2 ahead of Bernhard with the remaining Penske car and GT2 was a good fight 30 seconds behind Salo on the Risi car. At this stage one of the Corvettes (number 4) had a long pit stop and the Bell Aston inherited second in GT1, it would not last as the British car would also have problems of its own delaying them significantly and putting them out of contention in class. On the prototype classes the Audis were still trying to get ahead of the LMP2s chasing the Peugeot while Christian Fittipaldi continued the good job of the Andretti Acura and was fighting Dumas for the class lead. A second FCY was called when the Drayson-Barwell DBRS9 Aston ended its race against the tyre wall.

This will be a key moment in the race as during the 20-minute long caution Peugeot would come into the pits to try and solve hydraulic problems that were affecting their gear shifting. A hose would be changed but soon it would be clear that a much bigger operation was needed. However, the 3 laps lost by the French lion at this stage would already put them out of contention for victory, even when Stéphane Sarrazin was flying on the track to catch up with the leaders. 9 minutes after the green flag had been waved another FCY would be called when debutant Jean-Claude Ravier would have the Barazi-Zytek snap out of his control and hit the tyre wall hard from behind putting it “beyond repair” as the team expressed to Planetlemans onsite.

Dyson Racing’s cars also started catching attention as they were keeping up very well with the class leaders’ pace, this showed the Poughkeepsie team had worked hard during the winter and was having a very good shot at an excellent result. Peugeot was clearly faster than the Audis which were still leading overall but their hopes were gone when the 908 had to be taken behind the wall after 4 hours of race. At this point it looked like an old story: An Audi 1-2 with the LMP2s keeping up pace but not able to attack, a Corvette walk over in GT1 and a comfortable Risi lead in GT2.

But this gruelling race on a very bumpy circuit would as usual be full of changes and difficult moments for the teams. McNish complained of vibrations and the nose was changed on his Audi but the R10s were still clearly in the lead with the Peugeot effectively K.O. behind the wall. The French car would take back to the track 40 minutes later and put some impressive lap times in 1.44 and 1.45 but this would not be enough as consolation, even when the official message was again “we are learning for Le Mans”. A spin by Didier Theys on the Horag porsche would see another FCY which would last for almost an hour when Andretti rightfully protested their position after the safety car had got them a lap behind the leaders during the “wave-by” operation.

With the classification properly restored racing restarted only to see a crucial, mega-mistake by Jaime Melo under braking and throwing away the lead in GT2 destroying the 62 Risi Ferrari and a very good performing Farnbacher Loles Porsche in the process. The 87 Porsche had ben steadily progressing through the ranks and was clearly in contention for a podium finish, big disappointment and a very upset mood after Melo’s manoeuvre which saw him hitting the grass under braking and ruining the race for both cars….

The Lizards would inherit therefore a 1-2 in GT2 that they would carry to the end of the race in a perfect performance with the right pace and without making any mistakes. Actually, all three of their cars would finish despite the 46 long stay at the pits after the early crash caused by Capello. The VICI porsche would also do good even when a puncture later on would see them off the podium which went to Krohn-Risi’s number 61 Ferrari in a much better performance this time by Tracy Krohn and thanks also to Nic Jonsson and Eric van de Poele.

At half race point Audi was still dominating with a good battle in LMP2 between Porsches and Acuras, Fernández and Dyson would take this to the very end in a magnificent display of driving skill and sportive spirit. Just over 6 hours Marco Werner reported “loss of power” in the number 2 Audi and the car would lose precious time being taken behind the wall with turbocharger problems. They would rejoin later but with no chance for victory. Dyson’s cars were starting to challenge on the overall top positions while the number 1 Audi was changing nose again in which would become a pre-announcement of a bigger problem later, the LMP2 battle went on without any quarters also involving a new stint by Marco Andretti whom however would start suffering water pressure problems in the Acura. These would relegate the car to a non top-3 position first and cause a very sad retirement later with less than 2 hours to go.

© Amrican Le Mans Series//The curse is broken, Penske finally wins Sebring

With Penske leading and Audi charging as darkness approached, another key moment happened just after 8 hours of racing: Audi number 1 needed brake discs change and this effectively got them too far behind to attempt an overall victory. Even when McNish and kristensen gave all they had and put on very good lap times they had fallen too far behind to be able to challenge the top 6 in LMP2. A fantastic last few hours saw all tactics being displayed by Penske, Dyson and Fernández with all 4 cars exchanging positions and looking at refuelling strategies up to the very last minutes. Brilliant drives by Dumas, Collard, Díaz, Fernández, Lally, Dyson, Leitzinger, Smith and Franchitti saw a final few hours which were simply some of the best ever seen at Sebring. Audi’s recovery saw them finish 4th with an unprecedented all-LMP2 podium which would b later changed when the Fernández Acura did not pass the final IMSA test (see separate article)

Recapping, a wonderful, well deserved and hard fought victory by Penske, an amazing performance by Dyson showing this season will have them as serious contenders, a very strong show (in spite of the final disappointment) of the Fernández and Andretti Green Acuras to confirm this LMP2 class is stronger and healthier as ever. A very big warning sign for Audi and Peugeot, who would have thought we’d have all 3 Diesels hit by mechanical problems in one race? Yes, Sebring is really tough but I cannot recall such an Audi debacle ever, including this very track. A huge disappointment for Risi and a rock-solid start by Flying Lizard grabbing key points also looking at the championship. And , as usual, a Corvette victory but for them also some red lights here and there in terms of reliability, it was not flawless.

In terms of the series nothing could be more auspicious than such a great first round, the ALMS (now with confirmed Audi participation for the whole season) is looking very strong indeed for 2008, on to St Pete’s!!