Bob Brannon’s Reflections On The 55th 12 Hours of Sebring

After a very busy Sebring Week and beyond for the dsc crew we close our 2007 coverage of the 12 Hours with the very personal race week diary of Bob Brannon. There are several themes here worthy of note – The Audi politicking (of which more in a dsc editorial in the next few days), the increasing level of ‘shrouding in the ALMS paddock

As the appointed day arrived, I packed up the truck and headed out for Sebring that morning, dreading the 13-hour drive. The drive was uneventful, and as soon as I entered Florida the signs appeared promoting discount tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets. “Great,” I thought, “nothing like some cheap smokes, booze and gambling to liven up the week. Welcome to Florida!”

Driving in the darkness as I neared my destination, I knew I was close when the scent of orange blossoms filled the air. That smell always reminds me of the orange Pixie Stiks from my youth. A Pixie Stik was a sugary, powdered, granular confection sold in striped tubes the size of a straw and I haven‘t seen one in over thirty years. The smell made me smile.

I secured my lodging, got a good night’s sleep and eagerly went to Sebring International Raceway the next morning. After acquiring my credentials, I went straight to the paddock to shoot some photos. I was shocked at the secrecy exhibited by the formerly friendly teams. It seems the P2 expansion has brought on a wave of paranoia. The Penske Porsche team shrouded their rear ends with custom-made tarps, while the Acura-powered teams worked behind up-right blinds on Tuesday. The Audi crew shooed me away within seconds of stepping inside their enclosure. Only the Dyson team was its usual friendly self.

I walked the length of the paddock happily snapping photos of anything and everything, sometimes encountering an unfriendly glare. When I came upon the Michelin tent, a guy picked up a freshly-mounted tire and swung it up onto a stack. As he did, he inadvertently hit a stack of rims, which fell and hit two more stacks, which fell and hit three more and they hit even more. It was like watching a new form of bowling. Rims clanged and banged and went all over the place. I’m not sure how they score it, but I guess the guy threw a “strike.” Unfortunately, I had my camera switched off and missed this comical event.

I went to the media center and renewed old acquaintances and went out to take photos of the ALMS cars on track. At night, or during the day, I downloaded my pics and deleted the undesirables. This was my daily routine and I ended up with 4000 photos of the week’s festivities.

It was an interesting week and the drivers were friendly enough, if, that is, you were lucky enough to find one. The Acura-powered team’s drivers were non-existent, except for when they were actually driving or during the mandatory autograph session. The Audi drivers were easy to find and willing to talk, as were the Dyson and Penske boys. One can only assume that the Indy car teams now participating in the series do their business in a different manner than we are accustomed to in the ALMS. I hope this is not the wave of the future.

The biggest disappointment of the week was when I sat down to read the pretty little 6 x 8.5 inch hardback book supplied to us by Audi in the media center. The book was titled Media Info and was 66 pages in length. It told about the R10, the drivers, the tracks, etc. I came to a standstill when I read page 40. “Artificial class battle” screamed the red header. The last sentence reads, “The organisers of the American Le Mans Series deviate from the ACO’s rules: They’re making concessions to the LM P2 cars, thus turning them into rivals of LM P1 cars.”

Sadly, Audi was already crying before the race had even begun. They’ve been crying for several months now. Afraid of a little competition? One would assume so. Were they crying after they won Sebring for the eighth consecutive time? Ho hum, shut up and race. As this is written, Monday, March 26, Audi has still not officially entered the St. Pete Grand Prix which begins practice on Friday!

I was disappointed that the Penske team has not upped their game since last year, even with the new car. Granted, Dyson Racing is still learning their new cars, but I expected more from Penske. I was pleased to see the new Lola-Mazda (AER) perform as well as it did. I was astounded with the Acura-powered cars’ performance. Second, third and sixth overall and first, second and fourth in P2 in their debut race. Congratulations! Job well done.

Intersport had a tough week and more is expected of them when they become more familiar with the Creation and receive P1-sized wheels and tires. Autocon is Autocon and do as well as they can.

The GT1 battle was as exciting as a two car battle can be. The Corvettes remained on the same lap the entire race and swapped positions several times. The Artic White paint job tribute to Ron Fellows was a welcome addition to the grid. The Team Modena Aston Martin DBR9 finished ten laps down and was just never really in the race against the Corvettes.

GT2 lived up to its hype. Unfortunately, it could have been even better were it not for some on-track contact early in the race which put the Petersen/White Lightning Ferrari too far behind and damaged several other contender’s cars.

Lap records were broken in three classes and the fastest lap record was likewise broken in three classes. The GT1 records remain intact.

Although the crowd was huge, it was a quieter, gentler group of spectators and campers. The police crackdown of the past few years has finally tamed the beast, or at least did this year. This was somewhat of a surprise since the race was held on St. Patrick’s Day, a day known for revelry. Many spectators adorned green for the occasion and shamrocks were painted on the start-finish line. The bikini contest contained a boisterous crowd, as usual.

Even the Turn 10 Gang seemed smaller and less rowdy. Perhaps it was the deluge on Thursday evening and Friday afternoon that subdued the masses. I did finally manage to have one of those chainsaw motor-powered blender margaritas around sunset on race day. It was superb.

As I drove home, I decided to take Mapquest’s advice and drive through Atlanta. They promised I’d save at least an hour off my driving time if I skipped driving through Dothan, Troy and Montgomery. This route may, in fact, work perfectly 364 other days a year, but as I arrived in Atlanta all I saw was bumper-to-bumper traffic. I had forgotten that Nascar’s Goober 500 was on that day and had just ended about an hour before I got there. My “savings” turned into a two-hour deficit. After 14 long hours, I arrived home at midnight.

Those 14 hours were a good time to reflect on all that I had seen and heard during the week. I can’t possibly put it all down here, or you’d be reading a book, which I hope you’ll be doing in a couple of months.

Thanks to Ken Breslauer at SIR and to Malcolm and Graham at DailySportsCar for a wonderful week.

Bob Brannon