ILMS/ALMS, Twelve Hours Of Sebring - Early Quotes
Direct From Pit Lane

CRS Racing elected not to grid their car pre-race as they found a trace of fuel around the tank after morning practice. They were afraid there was a problem with the tank or a fuel leak from some other source.  To be safe they decided not to grid the car and start the race from pitlane. The crew was unable to locate any problem with the fuel system and they started the race from pit lane.  Pierre Ehret - "We started dead last, and now we are up to 32nd, so we are happy with our pace and the car.  No major problems so far. We are the only pure all amateur team competing in the ILMC GTE.  All the others have at least one pro driver."

PJ Jones - "I was having a good time, I really don't how the contact with the BMW happened. I let him go by on the front straight. Going into turn one, he was outside of me, and in front. I was on the inside near the wall. I didn't think I drove it in too deep. It seemed like he slowed down through the corner and made such a wide arc that when he cut across to complete the corner I was there and we touched and both spun. There was no damage to our car."

Rebellion Racing reported, as they came in for their first full service stop, that the car was ok and they are not going to make any changes.  They were able to double stint the Michelin tires also without any negative effects.

"Teething problems", said a somewhat dejected Ian James about the new Panoz Abruzzi. "We overheated the paddle shifter, now it's behind the wall with either a driveline or engine problem. (Engine was the reason for retirement) We are not going to Long Beach so we can do some more testing.  The is is the most running we've been able to do with the car and we still have a lot of work to do."

Bryce Miller - We had a lot of trouble with the balance during my stint. Almost felt like the sway bar got disconnected. We are also chasing the car with the track temperatures all week.  We tried a different setup this morning. We're newcomers here with this car and the Yokohama tires.  This is a great opportunity for us to test and see where we are compared to the competition."

Greg Pickett -  "We were able to double stint the tires, with no problems.  I was able to keep consistent lap times through the end of my stint. Lucas said I did good, so that's good enough for me. I was able to run with and stay ahead of Chris (Dyson); I was happy about that. There was a lot of traffic to deal with and most of the GT guys let you get by properly, but some make it very difficult. All-in-all I'm very pleased so far. I know we don't have anything for the diesels but we're as quick as everyone else."

Chris Dyson - "It was a tough fight. The car's not bad through the corners despite how trimmed out we have it set up. And the Dunlops are working well. We are just massively down on straight line speed."

Leh Keen - "It's a good car. We double stinted the tires which worked, but it was tough to keep it on the track at the end of my stint. The car is quick and we look good in our class."

Craig Stanton - "It was bitchin'! Sebring it great.  The car was really good and the crew has done a great job this week. The car felt really good in this morning's warm-up, even though I couldn't see the track from all the campfire smoke.  I think I got flashed, not sure. We've been working on nothing but race set-up all week and it shows now. I was able to pass Leh for the lead on the outside. I really tried to keep the pressure on and I think we can wear down the competition. I wanted to show the crew what a great car they had put together."

Nic Jonsson - "Tracy started the race and has done a nice job.  No problems and the car is running good. It's so confusing with all the different classes and the new wave-by rules, but IMSA is doing a good job trying to keep it all straight. We started on a softer compound and I think we were right on the edge of that tires limits.  We will probably move up to a harder compound for the next few stints in the heat of the day."

David Brabham - "I think we are where we should be. We are not as fast as the front runners, but I?m pleased with the our pace so far. The car is fine though, no issues.  The running gear and engine feel good.  The car has lots of potential, but its very new to us. This is the most running we?ve done with it.  It?s also a new tire, P1, for us this year too.  So we have a lot to learn and understand about this car to unlock it's full potential."

Jan Magnussen - "Our car is probably the fastest right there on the track, but we're about 3 laps back.  We need to get some laps back from the yellows that I'm sure will be coming.  As far as the crash, I think Pat was just trying to get the spot back, because I'd just taken it from him.  We need some breaks to get back into it, but I do think the BMW's are just messing with us.  They seem to be able to pull away at will."

RW