ALMS - Mobil 1 Sebring 12 Hours – Night Practice
Major Incident
© Gary Horrocks & Russell Wittenberg

The session was scheduled to start at 7:45, but was delayed multiple times due to standing (laying, sitting and actually running too) water on the track. The session was scheduled to go 90 minutes and was finally started at 8:30.

Some bad news concerning Intersport and the storm that blew through. Word is that one crew member was sent to the care center with cuts on his arm from attempting to hold the awning down in the high winds. Worse off was a crew member who was sent over the awning when it flipped over. He was launched diagonally over the awning and into no-mans land between the concrete walls on the back straight. He got up under his own power, a bit shaken and stirred, but reports are that he will be OK.

An early red was caused when the #22 PTG Panoz lost a wheel out on track, in the turn 11 area. Reason appears to be a lug that was either not tightened properly or was missing to begin with. They were able to return to the track.

The information given indicates that each driver is required to complete 3 laps in this session, with the out laps counting. In the past, drivers have been excluded from racing in the dark hours due to this regulation.

The #32 Corsa/White Lightning did return to the track in this session, after its trip to the bodyshop, looking considerably better than it did yesterday. It did sit in pit lane for quite some time and was still being assembled as it sat.

As of 9:15, pit lane and the front straight was showing some indication of drying, although there is still some standing water off line. The session had been clean and free of incident thus far, and surprisingly, many cars turned laps well in the excess of what is required. All told, 33 cars made it on track, meaning that all of the cars expected to run have gone on track.

The weather satellite indicates that another front is due to move into the area later in the evening/morning, bringing some considerable moisture back into the area. Not a good night to be camping at the track…

Oops, spoke, or typed too soon - at just over an hour into the session, another red session occurred, caused by car #1 going off track. The incident occurred at turn 11, 12, 13 and it sounds like possibly the #53 Robertson Panoz may have been involved. Tom Kristensen was listed on timing and scoring, but reports are now that Dindo Capello was in the car and the reports are that the car is heavily damaged, with all four corners dinged.

Up-date courtesy of Martyn Pass of Audi – 2-3 wheels were ripped off the car. The damage is extensive and it is not know if an adequate supply of 2007 spares is available in which to repair the car and it is not know what supply of 2006 spec. parts exist and even if they are usable on this car. A third car is not here. Dindo was in the car and is OK. Shaken, but OK.

Dindo came across the Panoz, which was moving extremely slowly on the track. In order to avoid contact, he swerved, and got off line, into the wet, and as he was running on slicks at the time, he spun at high speed.

This immediate report turns out to have been incorrect. Explanation here .

The #10 Konrad Porsche, with Philip Collin at the wheel, was unfortunate enough to be on the scene as the Audi accident occurred, a sizeable chunk of debris just missing the screen, making a dent in the roof and damaging the rear screen before breaking the Porsche’s rear wing in two.

Collin brought the car back into the pits, where he was asked by a member of the Audi crew whether he could identify what part of the R10 had hit the car – “A big piece of red!” was the answer from the second man involved to have a lucky escape. The Porsche has already had a replacement wing fitted, with the other superficial damage also being attended to.

Is it possible for Champion to ship up one of the 2006 spec. cars, which is currently being prepared for St. Pete, and enter it for the race?

The track went green with about 10 minutes to go. The #1 car had been the fastest in the session, but they would likely trade that for an undamaged car at this point. Pit lane is almost vacant and only two cars are seen on track. The #54 Team Trans Sport is the winner of the Last Standing award for the session, winning when the #22 PTG Panoz pulled into pit lane.

Quotes
Clint Field (earlier in the day):– “We hope to be going to the full P1 sized tires and rims by St. Pete. New compounds and construction will likely wait until Long Beach. They’re doing a good job and working hard, but it’s just going to take some time.”

Tim Pappas: “It’s going pretty well. The team is experienced at what they are doing and we’re just getting on with the car. We sent it up to Pratt&Miller for a week to have their seat installed in the car. I did it for safety reasons. A fixed seat has to be stronger than a movable seat. I’m very impressed with this series. I could have gone elsewhere, but I’m quite pleased with how we are treated here. In fact, we will be expanding to a second car, either later in the season or for next season. Our plan is to run two pro drivers in one car, and bring in another to run with me in the second car.”

Luis Diaz, #15 Lowes Acura: “This is a test and learning experience for us. This is our first race in this series, at this track, against these other teams; it’s all very new to us. But we are very excited to be here and for the race. The car is running strong with no real problems. Acura has done a fantastic job with the motors. These cars are much faster than the Daytona Prototypes we ran last year, but the experience helps you learn how to prepare for endurance racing and deal with slower traffic. The GT cars here are very quick and hard to pass. You need to be very patient and set up properly for the pass.”

Andrea Robertson , #53 Robertson Panoz: “We’ve had some handling issues. The car was delivered three months late and we really had to crunch our program to get ready. We’ve got an okay set up on the car now, not great, but it’s improving. I’ve actually had plenty of experience in the rain and I’ve also driven here at night before. But we are going to take it easy tonight, get our laps in, and stay out of trouble.”

Ralf Kelleners , #18 Rahal-Letterman Porsche: “I’m not really sure why we are a bit off the pace. We were quicker early this week. It feels a little lazy but we’ve worked on trying to make it more responsive. We’ve tried quite a few different things but just haven’t made any progress. It’s a good racecar. It’s comfortable to drive and very consistent. I know it will be good in the race. I don’t know where we are losing time.”

Patrick Long, #71 Tafel Porsche: “So far I have done seven laps in the dry and three here tonight. But each time in the car it immediately felt comfortable. It feels like a refined 996. Like everything about it is just a little better. The heavier weight and larger tires are noticeable. It’s more of a momentum car now, that rewards the smoother driver that can carry the speed. The 996 needed to be run at the ragged edge to get the most out of it.”

Jorg Bergmeister, #45 Lizard Porsche: “The car is really good but we had a little too much understeer during qualifying. It’s going to be a tough race, the Ferrari is very quick. We’ll just have to run our pace and see it what happens. The new car is definitely better than the 996, but there is still room for improvement. But we are at a point with it now that we won’t find a second in it quickly. It will be little bits at a time. I’m really looking forward to the season with these guys; I fit in great with this team. And as long as I stay ahead of my brother in the #31 car, I’ll be okay.”

On the #44 Porsche the Flying Lizards report that the ride height adjustment was made (it was only 7 mm off, not 10mm as reported earlier) and the car did not improve. The team is concerned that possibly something hidden is broken and they just haven’t been able to locate it yet.