Sebring 12 Hours – Post Warm Up
Fierce Competition So what about the battles ahead in P2 and GT2? Mark Schomann, engineer on the #61 Risi Ferrari: “We were optimistic after our spring test. Then after the winter test here at Sebring we were very optimistic because we had made gains, especially over the bumps. We didn’t think the Porsche was going to bring as much as it brought. They are very fast -- and all of them are, not just a selected few. So the level of competition this year is going to be even higher than last year, which was aggressive already. There are more cars and some of the new cars that have come in, I think will eventually find their way and make more competitive cars. We’re going to have to do our homework all year. Everybody who ran up front last year that thought they were going to come back and still be up front, it’s not a given anymore. I think everybody is going to have to really do their homework. Even in this race, though it is early on in the year, a lot of the cars that showed up new seem to have accomplished a lot here this week. They might be very competitive for the race, which we didn’t expect. So, I think it is going to be a tough race and the Porsches are definitely going to be right there. And now Tafel Racing (Ferrari team) will make us do our homework even more because we are racing against other Ferraris, not just the Porsches. I look forward to it. I think our team does in general. Heavy competition is really what we’re looking for here and I think what our drivers are looking for.” Dirk Werner, third quickest in qualifying in the Farnbachr-Loles Porshe: “Third was a little bit surprising for us. Theoretically, other teams should have had an advantage over us, because they have had their cars longer, and raced in the ALMS last year. But we have had a good week, and a good test two weeks ago.” Partner Marc Basseng commented that “I’ve not had a chance to compare our car with the 430 – but although the Ferrari is quicker in qualifying, in a race over four hours, the Porsche always has a good chance to win. This track is not the best for the Porsche because the straights are not that long, and the Ferrari is better over the bumps.” Dirk Werner again: “What makes me optimistic is that I think there is more (time) in the car. But the Ferrari is pretty much tested out – I hope!” Marc Basseng (who has a contract as a test driver with Porsche and shakes down all the GT3, GT3 S and RSRs): “The GT3 S is a great improvement on the old GT3. We’ll see how competitive it is.” And the P2 battle ahead – comments from Butch Leitzinger: “Our set up this year is very portable – that’s a Peter Weston word, meaning we can get the car off the truck and go quickly straight away, which wasn’t the case last year. “You’ll see in the race where our strengths are, and where the Acuras are……” Penske’s Pat Long cleared up any confusion there: “It looked like the Acuras were running more downforce.” Timo Bernhard: “We’ll know in T1 about LMP2. The Acuras are very strong but winning P2 is our objective. Can we beat the Audis? This circuit is probably not the place but we won a lot on strategy last year: the Penske strategy has been very strong. We will run our race and see where it takes us.” So the RS Spyders to be faster on the straights? We’ll see. Remember, Paco (below) said Porsche would win P2.. (and he eats bears for breakfast, Tom). Chris Dyson: “On full tanks and worn tyres, we’re good. We didn’t have a proper crack at it in the sessions before qualifying.” All fine at B-K: “We’ve got a race car,” said Ben Devlin, after warm-up. “Everything is brand new, just shaking it down and bedding it in.” (see below) David Robertson on the Doran Ford GT: “This is the car’s seventh day of life today and everything good and bad is coming out. The car is beautiful and handles remarkably well and we can stay wih the Ferraris and Porsches through the slower corners. We’re don a little on horsepower which is obvious under acceleration and we need increased downforce for T1 and the faster corners. None of this is going to be solved today but we’re delighted generally. It’s huge fun but it would be more fun to be running 2:02s. The realistic goal is to finish and to be heading home tonight with good ideas of what to work on next.” Warm Up
In the Friday morning session a total of 23 cars ventured out, with the Peugeot ending up the fastest, with a 1:43.978. In the race warm up, held at “oh my god, why are we here o’clock” in the morning, under gradually lightening skies, all 33 of the cars made it out on track. A track that was freshly cleaned from the usual Friday rains at Sebring. I think between my yawns, I actually saw a couple of the cars yawning too. Michelin reported the air temperature at 63 degrees and a track temperature of 65 at the start of the session. Fastest in the warm up session was Dingo Capello, who pulled off a 1:47.280 on his last lap. That was significantly slower than the 1:44.237 that the car ran roughly 20 hours earlier. Maybe it’s not just the fuel that’s green here at Sebring. Friday is the disposable day at Sebring, as other activities take precedent over on track activities. The cars that do venture out are bedding in brakes, checking things out, or in some instances, adjusting cars that are not quite where the teams would like them. Not going for times. The warm up sessions are not where a race can be won, but it is where a race can be lost. Ask Dale Jr. about that… From all indications, no one tried to win the race this morning, thankfully. The B-K session was cut short due to issues with the front brakes, with reports of lots of smoke and even fire seen in the wheel wells. The Intersport Lola was reported slow on track with a tire that was down. For the race, the #40 Robertson Doran Ford will start from the back of the grid, because a driver failed to achieve minimum laps. Race text to come after 1, 3, 5 etc. hours… we’ll be trying to keep up with everything… | 
