ALMS, Sebring Winter Test - Monday Morning Report
Just Getting Started

And here we are again…

It’s Sebring and for now the weather is glorious. It’s like all of the news of record lows and snow was nothing but fiction. Getting “buzzed” late last night by the space shuttle coming home was interesting, sounding like a large gun of some sorts had gone off.

Anyway, here we are in Sebring and after this short comment, I promise this will a Danica free zone. During breakfast on Sunday, a casual look through the Tampa newspaper brought forth the latest chapter in Danica-mania. The race report not only had her in the headlines for finishing 30-something in the junior NASCAR race, the opening paragraph was about her highness only. The race winner wasn’t mentioned until the second paragraph. Christ, can somebody get a life here??? OK – Danica free from here on out…

It’s a pleasant surprise to see 28 cars entered in the test, after what has been an off season full of rumors and general bad feelings. But here we are, ready to go with a brand new look - possibly a bit more “spec” than most would like, but it’s not all bad.

First off, the Oreca/Courage LMPC cars look the bit. These are proper race cars that should offer a good show during the season. For all of the competitors here this week, it is the first time to be able to play with the new toys. Most were late in arriving and when they did arrive, they were missing vital components that made working on them nearly impossible. One team member was quite visibly upset when handed a “new” price sheet detailing across the board price increases on spares, courtesy of the new distributor. Not a good way to kick things off…

As far as individual teams, Gunnar Jeanette was his usual hyper self, chomping at the bit to get into the car. Andy Wallace is here to help the Genoa team shake down their new Challenge car. It’s going to be a rough week for Andy, as he flies out of Florida Tuesday, arrives in London and drives straight to Silverstone for testing in the RML Lola HPD. Maybe he should have his buddy James Weaver pick him up at the airport – that would likely cut off at least half of the travel time from the airport to the circuit.

One thing to watch over the test is speed differentials on the straights. Some of the LMPC teams fear that they may be the slowest cars on the straights – slower than both of the GT class entries. Even the GT(2) teams are expressing concern that the GTC cars could be faster than them down the straights. This is evident as, while I’m typing, I just witnessed a GTC Porsche keep pace and maybe even gain a bit of ground on one of the Extreme Speed Ferraris down the front straight.

Also a concern for the LMPC teams come race day here at Sebring is durability. These cars have only raced for short sprint races in Europe and they haven’t yet had to endure the pounding of Sebring. While the engine and gearbox should be fine for the race, who knows about some of the other “lesser” but still significant bits.

A major frustration, especially for the prototype teams is the lack of a firm and final set of regulations for the upcoming season. It’s like the teams can’t really properly test, as the final details haven’t yet been resolved as to what the final details are to be. For Highcroft, it appears as if the –C details will be dependent upon what the regs are when they are finally announced.

Aston Martin is indeed here and the car looks good and sounds even better. On Sunday, Adrian Fernandez confirmed that he had not yet driven the car, but soon will know what it’s like. George Howard Chappell also confirmed that for now, the schedule includes Sebring and Long Beach, as well as possibly another race after Le Mans. If there is proper interest, more races may be included, but it’s hard to say as of right now. He did state that work has started on the new future LMP1 Aston, but as of yet, the project has not been approved. He also stated that the Continental Cup holds no interest for Aston Martin at this time.

Robertson Racing has had to build their new car around a new tub, as it was extensively damaged earlier. The team has some new aero bits that they intend to try out over the next couple of days, which they hope will overcome some restrictions placed upon the car for this season – both added weight and a more restrictive restrictor.

The new widebody Ferraris are quite stunning, as is the test livery of the Black Swan Porsche. Satin black with a bit of green makes a nice combination for the current spec Porsche. The Jaguar is ready to go, having undergone further development and testing. In the midst of the current GT runners, it looks big – sort of like an overgrown Trans-Am spec car, which is not surprising, considering Rocketsports' past.

For the Lizards, this test is a continuation of last year. They’re running basically as they were at the end of last season. They’re looking at getting the most out of their Porsches as they try to again defend their championships.

Conspicuous by their absence is Corvette Racing, which appears to be the team that all of the competitors are shooting for.

Today and later tonight sees a series of announcements by the series. Later this evening it is expected that the series will announce that Patron will be announced as the presenting sponsor for the series.