Sebring 12 Hours – Qualifying Report
Acura Takes Pole In Both P1 and P2

Scott Dixon held the fastest time early in the Prototype session, until the diesels claimed their turf, but in a surprise, late in the session, he wheeled the De Ferran Acura to the fastest time, a 1:45.559.  The Acura sweep continued in the P2 class, with Adrian Fernandez qualifying his car at 1:49.686.

In GT1, it was a Corvette sweep – what else could have happened? –  with Oliver Gavin taking the honors, while it was the Farnbacher-Loles Porsche, with Dirk Werner driving, taking pole over a strong competitive class in GT2. 

The diesel bunch looked set to dominate the prototype session, as both Audi and Peugeot waited until the later part of the session before they came out.  Mike Rockenfeller set the fastest lap on his first flying lap in the No.1, only to be bested by Dixon.  Rocky continued, sharing fastest laps with Christian Klien in the No. 07 and Sebastien Bourdais, until Tom Kristensen set the fastest lap.  Then Dixon quite unexpectedly broke through again with only minutes remaining.  By then, nobody had anything left to respond.

Scott - “It is very exciting for Acura and the de Ferran team in their first race with the new Acura LMP1 car.  This car is like nothing I have raced before.  The car just seems to get faster as you drive it.  But you can’t get too aggressive with the Acura like I can with my Indy Car.  This is a big surprise to win the pole. But the 12-hour race will be very hard.”  It also became apparent in the session that the Acura takes a while to get the tires up to optimum running temperature.

T.K. thought he had the pole, and would have been glad to have it, but that is not the ultimate goal.  The team is looking at the race, but even more important to them is Le Mans. "Wow! It would have been really cool to have made a debut pole for the R15 TDI. We had pole but it was snatched away on the last lap of qualifying which was very close and exciting. Our focus is for the race and a successful warm-up for Le Mans but as a driver, of course I wanted the pole. I could have been luckier as it took until my seventh lap before I had a clear lap out of traffic. I had to back off and make space. Thankfully I had enough diesel in the car so I could do the extra laps. Well done to Scott (Dixon). We’re eagerly looking forward to the race."

Allan McNish was sporting a brace on his hand, from a slight strain/over extension in a practice driver change.  It had no bearing on the choice of drivers for qualifying – that was a pre-determined decision.  For this weekend, Brad Kettler is helping out with the No.2 car, as a virus has hit some key members of the team.

From a purely speed perspective, the choices for Peugeot in the session were a bit difficult to understand.  Nothing against Klein or Bourdais, but wouldn’t you want Nic Minassian or Franck Montagny qualifying?  Not really for Peugeot Sport Director Olivier Quesnel.  "Like Le Mans, Sebring is a real endurance race, so starting from pole position wasn't a priority for us. Qualifying was essentially just a chance for us to prepare for the race and we only put in the number of laps we deemed necessary, which means we have spared our tires. We are pleased with our lap times and the main objective comes on Saturday, not before. That said, seeing how qualifying unfolded, with all the LMP1s bunched so close together on the same second, it promises to be a very close race. We have no intention of taking any risks, however. Our goal is to prepare for Le Mans.”

David Brabham had to settle for sixth overall.  That was not where Duncan Dayton wanted the Highcroft team to be, but he was diplomatic about the result, seeing that the other Acura qualified on pole. “David got blocked by one of the slower prototypes on his quickest lap, so I think we could have a little closer to the top.  I am surprised by the results, but I’m thrilled for the de Ferran guys and the Acura program.  Our cookbook on this car is still pretty thin and the Audi guys have so much more time here, it’s quite a long hurdle for us to make up.  But we have had a great test session and I think we have a car we can race hard for 12 hours.”

Adrian Fernandez put forth a strong effort in qualifying and is looking forward to the race.  “It feels good to start the season well. Last year was frustrating that we didn’t ever get a win we deserved. It was always some little stupid things that prevented us. So it’s great to focus on finishing the race. It’s just me and Luis doing the whole race. We know the car, we know the track, and we have the most experience in the car. I think it will be difficult for us because the car is heavier and [has] the smaller engine intake. It takes a whole lap to pass a Corvette and sometimes as long for a GT2.  We have to be very patient and take our time. We are racing against Dyson and Mazda and Dyson is a very experienced team. We raced with them a lot last year but they seemed to finish better than us.”

For Dyson, it was another learning session, as the team sorts out their new cars.  Knowing that they would not likely beat Fernandez for pole, the team decided to concentrate on running the session in race trim.  Butch Leitzinger said, “It was good, we were able to get a lot of running in.  We really did not look at it like qualifying but like another test session.  We ran with a full fuel load, and a harder tire than if we were really going for qualifying speed.  But that’s ok, it should be a good race car.  It’s a great package and it communicates well with the driver. I like it because you can grab it by the throat and put it where you want it, instead of asking it for permission.”

Chris Dyson added, “We’ve had a handling issue all week, too much oversteer.  So we have been unable to maximize the tires.  Thus I don’t think we achieved what this car is capable of as in raw speed.  But we do have a good grasp on the car and what it can do.  Our goal is to get both cars through the race and across the finish line with the championship in mind.”

Chris McMurry took his turn to qualify the Autocon Lola this time, and turned in a 1:51598, splitting the Dyson cars.  Bryan Willman said, “We lost some track time to lots of little issues, but Chris was still able to pretty quickly get the car into the 51’s.  He thinks with a bit more time it can do 49’s and maybe even 48. So we are not going to be as fast as the Audi’s or the Peugeot's, but I think we can pretty quick and reliable. This car is a huge step in the right direction for us. We also made some advances in the crew and support equipment, and got in some winter testing.  So we are experiencing some normal race car problems, but no crazy stuff, so that is reassuring.”

The Intersport team did not make it out on track during the qualifying session – electrical gremlins.

For Gavin, this will be his third time heading the GT1 class at the start at Sebring. “I’m pleased with my time.  My second lap was pretty good, but I think my third lap could have been even better.  Coming into turn one I was looking pretty good and by turn five the data read out on the dash showed I was quicker than the previous lap.  But I got a little too greedy braking into turn seven and ran wide.  Going wide there is notorious for sanding up the tires so after that it was over.  We have had quite a struggle through the earlier practices.  We’ve been battling the car and changing conditions, along with getting both a new Data Engineer and new driver acclimated with the car and team.  Marcel Fassler has done a great job, but has been terribly unlucky.  First he was hit in the rear by the Patron Acura, then a radio failure and finally had a wheel break.  We’ve become our own worst enemies here as no one wants to come to Sebring and take us on.  So it’s just the intra-squad battle again, but this year is different.  It’s the 10th anniversary for Corvette Racing and the swan song for the GT1 here at Sebring, so everyone is desperate to get the last win here.”

Farnbacher-Loles has some unfinished business after their disappointment at Sebring last year and winning pole.  Dirk - “I’m pretty happy and surprised with the result.  I had a weird feeling in the car, the track conditions had changed since practice.  I didn’t think it was going to be good enough for pole, but everyone else was I think having the same trouble with the track. The car is really set up well. It’s comfortable and easy to drive at the limit. We have had a good long week of testing here, and I think it was clear that we could run with the Ferraris. While we didn’t expect to get the pole, we are always going to go for it.  We’re not here to be second or third.”

The Lizards fell short in their challenge, as Jörg Bergmeister ended up over 0.3 seconds back. “It’s not quite what we wanted or expected, but it’s okay as we are on the front row.  The balance of the car changed from practice so I didn’t feel like it was 100%.  That’s when it’s easy to make a mistake so maybe I was a little more cautious.”

For qualifying, Porsche appeared to have the upper hand over Ferrari, but it was close.  Despite their best efforts, neither Gianmaria Bruni nor Mika Salo were able to get past the Porsches.  For the No. 62 Risi, it doesn’t really matter though, as they will be forced to start at the back of the grid, due to Jaime Melo not being at the track today.   Salo - “That was absolutely the maximum for our car today.  We seem to have lost something since yesterday; the car was really good then but Sebring is a funny circuit and the balance is not as good now as it was yesterday.  We worked on set up all day and were happy with it but today in qualifying it’s changed.  We are sure we know what the problem is and we’ve got another session tonight so we can make some changes and try it out.”
 
“Every day at Sebring the track is different and you have to follow it and try and make changes to suit it.  Every year it’s the same and some days things look really bad and some days look really good.  Hopefully our good day will be on Saturday!” 

David Murry put forth an impressive run in the Robertson Ford GT, coming through fifth in class.  The effort bought tears to the eyes of Andrea Robertson.  This team has made great progress over the off season.  David - “I know you always hear this, but this team has really worked incredibly hard on this car, and qualifying was our report card.  I think qualifying showed where this car really stands now.  It’s the closest we’ve ever been to the front, and we are the first of the non-Michelin cars.  We have made a lot of changes throughout the practice session and each one went in the right direction.  The car just kept getting faster and faster.  We have found that our car doesn’t like the rubber laid down by the support race cars.  So that is why we waited so late to make our run in the qualifying to allow the other cars to put down some fresh rubber. From last year, the Dunlop tires have come a long way; the car has tons more grip and handles the bumps much better. Our power is on par with the rest of the class and it’s a dream to drive.  It’s a good race car now.”

Dominic Farnbacher brought the PTG Panoz around for the sixth fastest time, but only 1.5 seconds back.  “We were only a half second off the Ferrari, so that’s pretty good.  I really expected to be a little quicker but it is a bit hotter now than we had hoped.  Earlier practices during warm temperatures caused the front tires a little stress, so cooler is better for us right now. To be in front of the BMWs was our goal, but tonight I think we might sneak into the top three. The team has worked really hard on the car, and the new steering system has made this monster easier to handle.”

For the Rahal BMW team, the session was very much a mixed bag.  Bobby Rahal - “We’ve approached this season very conservatively, so Bill and Joey starting seventh is not unexpected. The failure of the prop shaft in the No. 92 car certainly puts Dirk and Tommy behind at the start, but at Sebring qualifying position has very little to do with finishing position. I believe in the team, the cars, and the drivers so a small problem in qualifying does not ruin our weekend. The prop shaft had more than the race distance on it and had been scheduled to be changed before the race.”

Drayson did not have the session they had hoped, as they were chasing handling issues.  The car just isn’t turning in properly to the right and the team is examining what the cause might be.  Their plan was to run minimal laps in the night session, but that may have to change, depending on what the team finds out.

One of the VICI Porsches did get on track for the session, with Nicky Pastorelli taking the car around for the tenth fastest time in class.

To complicate maters for those competing, a rather significant shower came through not too long after qualifying completed.  The wetness cancelled the scheduled time in which David Brabham was to push his fathers F1 Cooper across the finish line, replicating the finish of the race here in 1959, in which Jack won his first world championship.

GH & RW