2008 Sebring 12 Hours [Archive] - Ultimatecarpage.com forums

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Wouter Melissen

03-09-2008, 05:03 AM

The final entry list was just published with a strong 35 entrants. Especially the LMP2 and GT2 classes promise to be very interesting with a variety of semi-Works teams. GT2 will also see the debut of the Ford GT and Corvette racing cars. In LMP1 the most interesting entry is the diesel powered Radical. And most importantly Audi will finally face a factory backed car in the LMP1 class for the first time in many, many years. At the official test the single Peugeot was quickest, so it promises to be a very exciting race.

Wouter Melissen

03-09-2008, 05:06 AM

Here are more pictures of the Riley built GT2 Corvette:

BADBOYVETTES.COM - GT2 Lou UPDATE (http://www.badboyvettes.com/167)

Wouter Melissen

03-09-2008, 09:13 AM

And here are the shots of the GT2 Ford GT-R:
:: ROBERTSON RACING :: Sebring International Raceway - March 14-17, 2007 (http://www.robertsonrace.com/fordgt-rphotos.html)

RacingManiac

03-09-2008, 10:54 AM

Peugeot is pretty confident for their sole entrant eh? Audi had problem with one R10 in 06 simply because a chunk of rubber got trapped in the cooling duct.....

togos452

03-09-2008, 09:37 PM

Saturday March 15, 2008 on the Speed Channel

9:30AM EDT Live Coverage

My picks

LMP1: # 07 Peugeot Sport, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, drivers Nicolas Minassian, Stéphane Sarrazin, Pedro Lamy

LMP2: # 32 Barazi - Epsilon, Zytek 07S, drivers Juan Barazi and Michael Vergers

GT1: # 3 Corvette Racing, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, drivers Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen, Ron Fellows

GT2: # 62 Risi Competizione, Ferrari F430 GTC, drivers Mika Salo, Jaime Melo, Gianmaria Bruni

New videos on the left of previous ALMS races:

AUTO-RACING - LeMans Series, LeMans Racing, LeMans Results - SPEEDtv.com (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/lemans-alms/)

American Le Mans Series :: World Class (http://www.americanlemans.com/home/ALMSHome.aspx)

A look back to last year's epic battle in GT2 between the # 62 Ferrari of Jaime Melo and Jörg Bergmeister in the # 45 Porsche.

YouTube - Battle - Final lap ALMS Sebring GT2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjWo8VdMb8I)

http://www.americanlemans.com/News/NewsImages/12102007171450656_Image1_Thumb.JPG

Kitdy

03-09-2008, 10:53 PM

What engine is in the LMP1 Radical? What engine is in the GT-R?

Zytek_Fan

03-09-2008, 11:21 PM

What engine is in the LMP1 Radical? What engine is in the GT-R?

Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI

My picks:

LMP1: # 07 Peugeot Sport Peugeot 908 HDi FAP

LMP2: # 9 Highcroft Patron Racing Acura ARX-01b Acura

GT1: # 3 Corvette Racing, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R

GT2: # 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 991 GT3 RSR (how can you bet against a car with Joerg Bergmeister, Wolf Henzler, and Marc Lieb driving?)

Brix

03-10-2008, 02:53 AM

I Hate the fact that Riley, so offen get the credits for making "the first" Corvette Gt2!
because the first Corvette Gt2, deputed last year in the form of Markland Racing
Chevrolet C6 Corvette Z06 GT2 - Ultimatecarpage.com - Images, Specifications and Information (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/3186/Chevrolet-C6-Corvette-Z06-GT2.html)
That my friends is the first Corvette Gt2!

henk4

03-10-2008, 03:01 AM

RacingManiac

03-10-2008, 09:22 AM

My Pick:
P1: #1 Audi Capello/Kristensen/McNish
P2: #6 Porsche Maassen/Long/Briscoe
GT1: #4 Chevorlet Gavin/Beretta/Papis
GT2: #62 Ferrari Melo/Salo/Bruni

Wouter Melissen

03-11-2008, 12:25 AM

Monday testing round up. Peugeot, Porsche, Corvette and Ferrari fastest.

Peugeot picked up where it left off at the American Le Mans Series Winter Test by turning in the fastest time in Monday's first test session for the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. Stephane Sarrazin's unofficial time of 1:43.302 was the quickest in the two sessions at the 3.7-mile, 17-turn circuit.

Sarrazin's time was 1.672 seconds better than Marco Werner's qualifying record from 2007 in Audi's R10 TDI. Coincidentally, Werner was second quickest Monday at 1:43.784 that turned out to be Audi's best time on the day. Allan McNish had posted the fastest lap of the morning session at 1:44.093.

Sarrazin led all entries at the January Winter Test with a 1:42.801.

Audi has won Sebring's 12-hour classic every year since 2000 including the last two seasons with its diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI. The task grew tougher in February when Peugeot announced its entry into the race with its factory 908, the car that finished second to Audi at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2007.

The top three LMP2 entries were within 0.828 seconds of each other with the No. 7 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder on top at 1:45.147, set by Timo Bernhard in the morning session. The defending class Series co-champion with Romain Dumas was just ahead of last year's P2 race winner Andretti Green Racing (1:45.866 in the morning session) and Dyson Racing's No. 16 Porsche RS Spyder (1:45.975 in the afternoon).

Corvette Racing sat 1-2 in GT1 with Oliver Gavin pacing the works squad with a 1:56.501 in the No. 4 Corvette C6.R during the morning session. His time was 0.978 seconds better than the sister car of Jan Magnussen, Johnny O'Connell and Ron Fellows, a time set in the second period.

All six Corvette drivers boast at least one Sebring victory with O'Connell leading the way with six. That puts him in a tie for most in race history with Phil Hill. O'Connell also can set a record for most consecutive starts with his 18th this weekend.

Bell Motorsports' Aston Martin DBR9 was third in class with Terry Borcheller turning in a time of 1:59.882 in the morning. This will be the first race for the Aston Martin in the hands of the Bell operation, which has a long history of chasing the Corvettes in a Saleen S7R.

The top three in GT2 on Monday looked very much like the final championship standings from 2007. Risi Competizione's Jaime Melo in the No. 62 Ferrari F430 GT was quickest at 2:01.423 that was more than a second better than last year's qualifying record. The Risi squad won its second straight class championship in 2007 and won last year's Sebring race by just 0.202 seconds.

The team it beat was second fastest in class Monday. The No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche of Jörg Bergmeister, Wolf Henzler and Marc Lieb was 0.213 seconds back of the Risi car. Tafel Racing's new No. 71 Ferrari F430 GT was third in class at 2:01.882.

The 2008 American Le Mans Series season opens with the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 15. The race will start at 10 a.m. ET and will be broadcast live by SPEED, which will begin its coverage at 9:30 a.m. MotorsTV, SPEED Latin America and Greenlight Television will provide international coverage as well. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.

Selected quotes
Lucas Luhr, Audi Sport North America
Audi R10 TDI (LMP1)
"You cannot compare a prototype to a GT car. But there is a heavy car with a lot of weight in the back due to the diesel engine. The longer wheelbase doesn't help but it's a very fast car here."

Pedro Lamy, Team Peugeot Total
Peugeot 908 (LMP1)
(On driving Sebring in the Peugeot versus the Aston Martin DBR9 from 2005 and 2006) "This car is much different than the Aston Martin. With the Peugeot, we are the fastest car on the track with the Audis. So we are doing all the passing. So far the car has been pretty good on the track surface. Because the track is very bumpy, this is a very good test for Le Mans. If you can survive 12 hours here, you can compete and finish at Le Mans."

Oliver Gavin, Corvette Racing
Corvette C6.R (GT1)
"This is pretty much the same car we raced since the end of last year. There have been a couple of little modifications with dampers and little things. The team also has worked on the traction control a bit."

(On the Bell Motorsports Aston Martin DBR9 entry): "It's good to have them here with the car to take on a factory team. Maybe we are sometimes a victim of our own success in the American Le Mans Series. But the Aston is a very good package, and they have shown the guts to race. We are looking forward to it."

David Murry, Robertson Racing
Ford GT-R (GT2)
"The car arrived here at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning and we got on the track at about 4 p.m. We're so ecstatic with the car. It has had very little problems. We were working on shock and spring settings, so we're already working on setup. The goal for now is to find out what the car likes. We've made changes to the spring heights and ride heights. The car has no problems getting the power down. It really gives us the platform to be a winner."

Marc Basseng, Farnbacher Loles Racing
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2)
"The first test day was not that good because in the first free practice we had a problem with the flywheel sensor in the car, so we stood still for the whole session. The second session was better. We found something with the car so we have a lot of work to do for tomorrow, to make the car better and better. But the (Porsche) pre-test was good; Dirk (Werner's) lap time was very quick. I'm really happy with the team and my teammates, and I'm sure we can get good race results at Sebring and over the season."

Wouter Melissen

03-12-2008, 02:13 AM

On Tuesday the Peugeot was fastest again, ahead of an Acura!

Wouter Melissen

03-12-2008, 06:26 AM

It was youngster Marco Andretti, who set that very fast lap. It is quite amazing that the talent has been present in three generations of Andrettis.

baddabang

03-12-2008, 08:10 AM

It was youngster Marco Andretti, who set that very fast lap. It is quite amazing that the talent has been present in three generations of Andrettis.

Haha, Is that the same Andretti Quiggs graduated with?

Wouter Melissen

03-12-2008, 08:17 AM

Haha, Is that the same Andretti Quiggs graduated with?

Then it's safe to say that Quiggs' education is not to blame for his current state.

RacingManiac

03-12-2008, 10:43 AM

I think its very smart of his family and himself to do as many different type of racing as possible....he should definitely be in F1 though....

Dino Scuderia

03-12-2008, 02:51 PM

No ECO Radical for Sebring...they're shipping the car back to England. Some homologation issues due to the LMP2-LMP1 conversion... might be back in the States in April.

The Bell Aston is waiting on new parts to be flown out from the UK.

Quiggs

03-12-2008, 07:13 PM

Haha, Is that the same Andretti Quiggs graduated with?Yes it is.

Then it's safe to say that Quiggs' education is not to blame for his current state.

I hate you. <3

fisetdavid26

03-12-2008, 07:14 PM

I hate you. <3
Dinner's ready.

Dino Scuderia

03-13-2008, 09:39 AM

Audi's Allan McNish got down to serious business Thursday morning at Sebring International Raceway with the quickest time of the week in preparation for the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida. The Scot turned in a time of 1:43.195 (129.076 mph) around the 3.7-mile, 17-turn circuit that will play host to the opening round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series.

McNish's time came on his second-to-last lap of the 55-minute session. The Audi R10 TDI he will share with Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen was a full second quicker than another diesel-powered entry, the Peugeot 908 of Stephane Sarrazin, Pedro Lamy and Nic Minassian. Third overall and in LMP1 was the second Audi of Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller and Marco Werner.

Saturday's race will be the first between Audi and Peugeot since the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans, an Audi victory. Sebring also will mark the first race for Peugeot in North America.

Timo Bernhard was quickest in LMP2 and fourth overall for Penske Racing. His Porsche RS Spyder posted a time of 1:45.220 (126.592 mph), good enough for a 0.7779-second cushion over Ryan Briscoe in the sister Penske machine. Bernhard will team with Romain Dumas and Emmanuel Collard; Briscoe will join Sascha Maassen and Patrick Long.

Porsches held the top three spots with Butch Leitzinger turning in a 1:46.348 (125.249 mph) in the first of Dyson Racing's two RS Spyders. He will drive this weekend with Marino Franchitti and Andy Lally.

Corvette Racing held the top two spots in GT1, paced by Jan Magnussen's lap of 1:56.269 (114.562 mph) in the No. 3 Corvette C6.R. Magnussen will drive with Johnny O'Connell and Ron Fellows in the first factory car. The second Corvette was less than 0.3 seconds behind with Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Max Papis driving.

Bell Motorsports' Aston Martin DBR9 was third in class at 2:00.730 (110.329 mph). Terry Borcheller, Chapman Ducote and Antonio Garcia will drive the car.

Jaime Melo made a late run to grab the top spot in GT2 for Risi Competizione. The defending class winner and season champion was at 2:01.184 (109.916 mph) in the first of Risi's two Ferrari F430 GTs. Melo will team with Mika Salo, with whom he won at Sebring and captured the class championship, and Gianmaria Bruni.

Like Porsche in P2, Ferrari held the top two spots in class. Tafel Racing's Ferrari of Dirk Mueller, Dominik Farnbacher and Rob Bell was second at 2:01.800 (109.360 mph). The first of the Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs was Jörg Bergmeister in the No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports entry at 2:01.831 (109.332 mph). It was Melo and Bergmeister who battled to the finish last year at Sebring with Melo winning for Risi by 0.202 seconds.

The 2008 American Le Mans Series season opens with the 56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 15. The race will start at 10 a.m. ET and will be broadcast live by SPEED, which will begin its coverage at 9:30 a.m. MotorsTV, SPEED Latin America and Greenlight Television will provide international coverage as well. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.

Dino Scuderia

03-13-2008, 12:47 PM

Jaime Melo set GT2 pole with a 2'00.9xx..beating out the Flyin Lizard RSR which had a 2'01.2. Melo is only 6 tenths behind that sorry team that is running the DBR9 this race. Ridiculous.

Dino Scuderia

03-13-2008, 02:01 PM

Qualifying abandoned due to force majeure. Provisional grid will be set using combined fast time from Practice 1, 2, & 3.:mad:

Dino Scuderia

03-14-2008, 05:25 AM

56th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
presented by Fresh from Florida
Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Fla.
Saturday's lineup
1. Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Tom Kristensen, Denmark; Allan McNish, Scotland; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:43.195, 129.076
2. Nicola Minassian, England; Stephane Sarrazin, France; Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Peugeot 908 (P1), 1:44.271, 127.744
3. Lucas Luhr, Germany; Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG R10/TDI (P1), 1:45.090, 126.749
4. Timo Bernhard, Germany; Romain Dumas, France; Emmanuel Collard, France; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:45.220, 126.592
5. Sascha Maassen, Germany; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:45.999, 125.662
6. Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:46.029, 125.626
7. Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:46.348, 125.249
8. Bryan Herta, Valencia, CA; Christian Fittipaldi, Miami, FL; Marco Andretti, Nazareth, PA; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:46.632, 124.916
9. Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:47.358, 124.071
10. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:47.567, 123.830
11. David Brabham, Australia; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Acura ARX-01B (P2), 1:47.819, 123.540
12. Fredy Lienhard Sr., Switzerland; Didier Theys, Belgium; Jan Lammers, The Netherlands; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:48.522, 122.740
13. Juan Barazi, Switzerland; Michael Vergers, England; Jean Ravier, France; Zytek 07S (P2), 1:49.820, 121.289
14. Ben Devlin, England; Gerardo Bonilla, Orlando, FL; Raphael Matos, Brazil; Lola B07 46 Mazda (P2), 1:49.966, 121.128
15. Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Tony Burgess, Canada; Creation CA07-002 Judd (P1), 1:53.851, 116.995
16. Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:56.269, 114.562
17. Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Oliver Gavin, England; Max Papis, Italy; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:56.547, 114.289
18. Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Antonio Garcia, Spain; Aston Martin DBR9 (GT1), 2:00.730, 110.329
19. Jaime Melo, Brazil; Mika Salo, Finland; Gianmaria Bruni, Italy; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 2:01.184, 109.916
20. Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Dirk Müller, Germany; Robert Bell, UK; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 2:01.800, 109.360
21. Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:01.831, 109.332
22. Allan Simonsen, Australia; Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Pierre Ehret, Santa Rosa, CA; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 2:02.227, 108.987
23. Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Patrick Pilet, France; Richard Lietz, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.238, 108.968
24. Dirk Werner, Germany; Marc Basseng, Germany; Bryce Miller, Hoboken, NJ; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.594, 108.651
25. Lou Gigliotti, Dallas, TX; Doug Peterson, Bonita Springs, FL; Marc Goosens, Belgium; Chevrolet Riley Corvette C6 (GT2), 2:03.630, 107.741
26. Uwe Alzen, Germany; Craig Stanton, Long Beach, CA; Nathan Swartzbaugh, La Habra Heights, LA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:03.861, 107.540
27. Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Tom Sutherland, Los Gatos, CA; Panoz Esperante Ford (GT2), 2:03.931, 107.479
28. Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Alex Davison, Australia; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:04.081, 107.349
29. Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Eric van de Poele, Belgium; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 2:04.933, 106.617
30. Paul Drayson, London, UK; Jonny Cocker, UK; Tim Sudgen, England; Aston Martin DBRS9 (GT2), 2:04.938, 106.613
31. Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Johnny Mowlem, England; Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (GT2), 2:05.666, 105.995
32. Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chris Hall, Daytona, FL; Dodge Viper Competiton Coupe (GT2), 2:06.004, 105.711
33. Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; David Murry, Cumming, GA; Doran Ford GT-R (GT2), 2:06.527, 105.274
34. Miroslav Konopka, Slovakia; Mauro Casadei, Italy; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:14.059, 99.359

Dino Scuderia

03-14-2008, 03:23 PM

The Corsa Ferrari Team decided not to race because the Hankook tires need more testing.

togos452

03-14-2008, 10:24 PM

Corsa and Hankook tires pull plug for round one

3-14-2008

Corsa Motorsports (http://www.430gt.com)

Corsa Motorsports plans to add a second F430 GTC in 2008

Engineering shown on the track (http://www.endurance-info.com/static.php?subaction=showfull&id=1205529497&archive=&start_from=&ucat=4&op=communiques_index.txt&npds=1)

http://www.endurance-info.com/2008_ALMS/01_Sebring/th_Mercredi_17.jpg

Bell Motorsports - cracked right-front upper shock mount for # 008 DBR9

Sebring International Raceway not an easy track

Forsythe Performance Research to enter ALMS with Cosworth?

AUTO-RACING - ALMS: Sebring 12 Hours Notebook – Thursday - SPEEDtv.com (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/alms-sebring-12-hours-notebook-thursday//P2/)

Forsythe Championship Racing (http://www.forsythe-racing.com/)

Cosworth (http://www.cosworth.com/)

Glowing rotors at

Motorsport.com: Photos channel (http://motorsport.com/photos/select.asp?S=ALMS&E=Sebring/Thursday_practice_2&Y=2008&O=36)

http://motorsport.com/photos/alms/2008/seb/thumbs/alms-2008-seb-re-0092.jpg

Marshall Pruett's great notes from Wednesday

AUTO-RACING - ALMS: Sebring Wednesday Trackside Blog - SPEEDtv.com (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/alms-sebring-wednesday-trackside-blog/)

Radar: speed of cars at Sebring

nearly 180 mph on the Ullman straight

AUTO-RACING - ALMS: Sebring Radar Speeds and Sector Times - SPEEDtv.com (http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/alms-sebring-radar-speeds-and-sector-times/)

Fantastic pictures from Thursday night

by Laurent Chauveau

Translated version of http://www.endurance-info.com/article.php?sid=5147 (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.endurance-info.com/article.php?sid=5147)

http://www.endurance-info.com/2008_ALMS/01_Sebring/th_Jeudi_nuit_20.jpg

B-K's Lola B07/40 Mazda being rebuilt with new tub

Ben Devlin not hurt after turn one crash on Thursday

Translated version of http://www.endurance-info.com/article.php?sid=5142 (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.endurance-info.com/article.php?sid=5142)

http://www.endurance-info.com/2008_ALMS/01_Sebring/th_Lola_Mazda_5.jpg

Wouter Melissen

03-15-2008, 09:04 AM

The race has started, here is the live timing: IMSA Live Timing and Scoring (http://www.imsaracing.net/2003/lt/ltc.html)

RacingManiac

03-15-2008, 12:17 PM

Peugeot had some hydralic issue and had to do some work on the car, took them 40min to fix, the car is running again. #2 Audi have some handling issue under braking, the car is running in 2nd, but drivers are saying the car is hard to drive.....

faksta

03-15-2008, 12:47 PM

Live streaming anywhere? They don't show it here.

Jack_Bauer

03-15-2008, 12:54 PM

Live streaming anywhere? They don't show it here.

Download a thing caller TVU Player if you don't already have it - TVU networks | Download TVU Player (http://pages.tvunetworks.com/downloads/player.html)

Once downloaded go to the channel "Wheels", number 53060, which is streaming the US Speed TV broadcast of the race. It's a pretty damn good quality stream too! :)

Zytek_Fan

03-15-2008, 01:00 PM

#62 Risi Ferrari out.

The_Canuck

03-15-2008, 01:48 PM

#62 Risi Ferrari out.

Any word on why he smashed into the Farnbacher?

RacingManiac

03-15-2008, 01:51 PM

I am guessing an overly ambitious restart move......

Zytek_Fan

03-15-2008, 04:28 PM

Come on Dyson! Get that overall win!

Zytek_Fan

03-15-2008, 04:55 PM

Second placed Flying Lizard Porsche is developing clutch problems.

Kitdy

03-15-2008, 05:08 PM

Come on Dyson! Get that overall win!

It could well happen, but there would probably have to be problems for the #7 Penske.

Zytek_Fan

03-15-2008, 05:27 PM

Andretti Green Racing Acura is out with overheating issues.

*waits for Quiggs to rejoice*

togos452

03-15-2008, 06:05 PM

Race now in final 90 minutes

Planetlemans.com | Sebring 12 Hours - Ninth and Tenth Hour Report (http://www.planetlemans.com/2008/03/15/sebring-12-hours-ninth-and-tenth-hour-report/)

# 37 Intersport Racing Lola B06/10 AER

http://www.motorsport.com/photos/alms/2008/seb/thumbs/alms-2008-seb-re-0200.jpg

Kitdy

03-15-2008, 06:15 PM

... Dyson is set up for the win if I read things right. Fernandez and Dumas need to stop.

EDIT: Waitasec. Kristensen is on the leading lap - does he need to stop?

EDIT 2: The announcers seem to think he does.

Zytek_Fan

03-15-2008, 06:20 PM

Dyson made their final stop and Fernandez and Penske need to pit.

I'll hold my congratulations for a bit...

Kitdy

03-15-2008, 06:38 PM

Why the hell did Kristensen take so long in the pits? If I read it correct, he could have had a much better chance of winning had he been slow.

Kitdy

03-15-2008, 06:38 PM

Dyson made their final stop and Fernandez and Penske need to pit.

I'll hold my congratulations for a bit...

If they kept the other faster driver in... Now they don't have big enough of a margin. I think it's between Fernandez and Penske.

Kitdy

03-15-2008, 10:09 PM

Penske/Porsche are the champions. First Porsche win in 20 years.

I am pleased and amused. Peugeot and Audi with reliability difficulties.

Kitdy

03-15-2008, 11:16 PM

Anyone know a good website for pics of this year's Sebring?

Jack_Bauer

03-16-2008, 12:23 AM

Anyone know a good website for pics of this year's Sebring?

Depends if you're looking for hi-res or not.

Motorsport.com always has tons of pics but only in small sizes - Motorsport.com: Photos channel (http://motorsport.com/photos/select.asp?S=ALMS&E=Sebring/Saturday_race&Y=2008)

faksta

03-16-2008, 06:10 AM

Download a thing caller TVU Player if you don't already have it - TVU networks | Download TVU Player (http://pages.tvunetworks.com/downloads/player.html)

Once downloaded go to the channel "Wheels", number 53060, which is streaming the US Speed TV broadcast of the race. It's a pretty damn good quality stream too! :)

Thanks, will do :) Unfortunately, it's already late for Sebring - I wanted to sleep so much :o

Peugeot and Audi with reliability difficulties.

That's strange.

RacingManiac

03-16-2008, 10:02 AM

henk4

03-16-2008, 10:52 AM

Good for Porsche, winning the race finally and not only a class win but overall, and good for Acura to be there pretty much on the same pace.....though clearly they still have some work to do....

Audi have some odd issues to sort out, the brake issue and handling issues are probably not within their expectation. Either a supplier problem, or for the 2008, their new 900 kg R10(which means now the car is built under 900 kg with lots of ballast), has cut too many corners and threw out some robustness....Peugeot's problem is typical Sebring newcomer issue, and that was precisely the reason they went to Sebring, if I were Audi I'll feel quite threatened now for Le Mans, because they'll fix those design problem and have a more reliable car thats already faster than they are....

Not a good day for Ferrari eh....lol

If I were the ACO I would take a good look at the qualifying times of the LMP2 cars. I don't think ACO is interested in an LMP1 field as present in Sebring. Contrary to popular belief I think that the Porsche and Acura appearence in LMP2 is more detrimental for LMP1 than the diesel engined cars. The LMP1 field in Sebring was a mockery and I would hate to see the petrol engined LMS LMP1 cars succumb to the Porsche cowards who are afraid to enter a real LMP1 car. I think the likes of Henri and Hughes would more easily accept to loose against a diesel, than against a cloaked factory LMP2 team.

RacingManiac

03-16-2008, 11:30 AM

ALMS' LMP2 are running different rules to their European counterparts, they do run lighter and thus was able to be challenging P1s(2008 rule I think puts European P2s 25kg heavier than their ALMS counter part, which btw was the rule as ACO wrote in 2007, with equal restrictor on both series). ALMS did this purely because we have a much smaller field than LMS and running more races, without any form of real competition in the premiere classes will do much harm to promoting the series to the fan, which in the end keeps the series going. Audi complain all they want, but in the end they want to be presented in the market and thus they still commit to a full year. If we have a full LMP1 grid as they had in Europe, they would've followed ACO's rule to the letter, but as such they are doing what they can to keep the fan interested....

What I am interested is to see a privateer RS Spyder in Europe and how do they stand against other privateer LMP2s....

The rule is skewed though, as under either rule a petrol P1 cannot possibly race against a diesel, which was the whole reason why Porsche don't want to make a P1 car, and under the initial P2 rule, when built to the letter of the requirement, a P2 can potentially match P1 Diesel over time, due to their fuel tank/consumotion and weight break. ACO adjusted it after as they realized their error, but ALMS ambraced it as it makes for better racing....

I wouldn't start criticizing Acura just yet, their P1 car is definitely coming, and it was their intention to go to Le Mans with it, so the faster they learn the better for them....

henk4

03-16-2008, 11:47 AM

Wouter Melissen

03-16-2008, 02:01 PM

The rule is skewed though, as under either rule a petrol P1 cannot possibly race against a diesel, which was the whole reason why Porsche don't want to make a P1 car, and under the initial P2 rule, when built to the letter of the requirement, a P2 can potentially match P1 Diesel over time, due to their fuel tank/consumotion and weight break. ACO adjusted it after as they realized their error, but ALMS ambraced it as it makes for better racing....

Have you seen the times of the Creation at Paul Ricard? That is a car based on a design dating back 2002 when the cars were built to quite different rules. Nevertheless it was around 2 seconds slower than the Audi, which for more than half can be down to it being a new package and the other half to the fact that it is a privateer team. A factory developed petrol LMP1 should be 2 seconds faster. The Audi R8 was also this much faster than any of the competition.

RacingManiac

03-16-2008, 02:14 PM

I actually have not seen ANY time from Paul Ricard.....couldn't find it anywhere for some reason....

Problem is not just speed though, even with a 9 liter break in fuel tank size, I reckon the petrol LMP1 car are still using more fuel than their diesel counterpart, regardless factory or not, and this is on top of the power and restrictor break the diesel are getting under the ACO rules. At Sebring a LMP2 Porsche can run 3 laps longer per stint than the Audi, because they have a less powerful engine and a lighter car, and that is also the reason why most ALMS races last year the Porsche ended up taking it, because they can stretch one less stop than Audi in most of the shorter races. A petrol LMP1 car can't do that, when they are running with less power and equal to less distance per tank. I am fairly sure that is the reason why Porsche is still shying away from going for a P1 car, because under the current rule package(and I dare say with the 25KG heavier P2 car as well) a P2 has a better chance matching a P1 Diesel car, when it is a solidly run effort from a factory level team, and that although is in violation to the spirit of the LMP2 rules, it is nonetheless the short coming of how the current rule is laid out....

BTW, Dyson team is very much a privateer effort, I have followed this team personally since their R&S MK III days, and the same people you see then are the same people you see now, through the LMP675 Lola, LMP1 Lola, to the current RS Spyder....and they have no Porsche factory hotshoe in their cars neither...

On an aside, I also think from the product performance perspective, a Porsche RS Spyder, or a Acura ARX-01B is a better car than a Lola/Pescarolo/Zytek/Courage + Judd/AER/WhatHaveYou, as most of the latters are product of compromise, where as the formers are fully optimized package. A Porsche or an Acura are designed to work with one engine/gearbox/chassis combo, and everything else are made to work with that. This kind of R&D is much less complicated and less likely to have much of the integration issues when doing it otherwise....

forza_autodelta

03-16-2008, 03:04 PM

I don't think porsche will come in P1 as it's , as Audi , part of the same company... more over they're already very involved in GT2 and I think it's more important for them
will we see them in 2008 at Le Mans in P2?

RacingManiac

03-16-2008, 03:11 PM

2 RS Spyders are entered by 2 European teams....

henk4

03-17-2008, 12:55 AM

I actually have not seen ANY time from Paul Ricard.....couldn't find it anywhere for some reason....

strange, the UCP coverage of the event shows all the cars with all the times achieved during that weekend.....

RacingManiac

03-17-2008, 10:34 AM

strange, the UCP coverage of the event shows all the cars with all the times achieved during that weekend.....

link? Its not in UCP's preview here: http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/feature/18/2008-Le-Mans-Series-Preview.html

Or the LMS HTTT test thread...

faksta

03-17-2008, 10:41 AM

I don't think porsche will come in P1 as it's , as Audi , part of the same company...

Porsche owns a part of VW, but it doesn't mean that Audi and Porsche are parts of the same company :)
Subaru and Suzuki have parts in each other's capitals, too, but still they both run WRC in same category.

Wouter Melissen

03-17-2008, 11:02 AM

link? Its not in UCP's preview here: http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/feature/18/2008-Le-Mans-Series-Preview.html

Or the LMS HTTT test thread...

Click on the slideshow.

Kitdy

03-17-2008, 12:09 PM

[QUOTE=RacingManiac;792174]What I am interested is to see a privateer RS Spyder in Europe and how do they stand against other privateer LMP2s..../QUOTE]

The Spyders crushed the other cars.

The Fernandez Acura was disqualified after the race for not passing inspection, so the Dyson got 2nd and Audi 3rd overall.

RacingManiac

03-17-2008, 12:32 PM

Ah I was hoping for a list or a spreadsheet or something...lol

Interestingly the fastest RS Spyder is about 4 sec off Diesel Audi's time at Paul Ricard, and 2 sec off regular P1's time....With Paul Ricard being similar in character to Le Mans and raw horsepower and top speed makes more of a difference(noting at Sebring at the end of the back straight P2 is about 25kph slower than P1 according SpeedTV's site), at the faster European tracks they are less likely to match faster diesel's time, but they might still give the regular P1s a run for their speed in the races...

henk4

03-17-2008, 12:54 PM

Interestingly the fastest RS Spyder is about 4 sec off Diesel Audi's time at Paul Ricard, and 2 sec off regular P1's time....With Paul Ricard being similar in character to Le Mans and raw horsepower and top speed makes more of a difference(noting at Sebring at the end of the back straight P2 is about 25kph slower than P1 according SpeedTV's site), at the faster European tracks they are less likely to match faster diesel's time, but they might still give the regular P1s a run for their speed in the races...
This was the point I was trying to make in post#47:)

The ACO likes to see laptimes of the fastest LMP2s to be about 1.5% slower than the fastest LMP1 cars. (This is stated in their regulations which can be found on the ACO page). With the diesel cars running away from the petrol cars, this 1.5% in relation to the LMP1 petrol cars means in reality that they can come much closer than ACO originally envisaged.

Kitdy

03-17-2008, 03:37 PM

Have you seen the times of the Creation at Paul Ricard? That is a car based on a design dating back 2002 when the cars were built to quite different rules. Nevertheless it was around 2 seconds slower than the Audi, which for more than half can be down to it being a new package and the other half to the fact that it is a privateer team. A factory developed petrol LMP1 should be 2 seconds faster. The Audi R8 was also this much faster than any of the competition.

Maybe, maybe not. I'm no expert but I think it would be hard for them to win with the current rules - they clearly think it is.

RacingManiac

03-17-2008, 03:51 PM

This was the point I was trying to make in post#47:)

The ACO likes to see laptimes of the fastest LMP2s to be about 1.5% slower than the fastest LMP1 cars. (This is stated in their regulations which can be found on the ACO page). With the diesel cars running away from the petrol cars, this 1.5% in relation to the LMP1 petrol cars means in reality that they can come much closer than ACO originally envisaged.

But there is nothing wrong with what Porsche is doing though, because they built a car to the rule of the P2 class, and in reality in the hands of non-Penske team, can indeed match a regular P1 car over a race distance. Its hardly news that each constructor's product is not the same, its just that IMO with a more optimized complete package like an Acura or a Porsche, that they are just simply better product....

Again this is ACO shooting themselves in the foot, like they have done so many times in the past...

Kitdy

03-17-2008, 04:20 PM

I actually sorta think that the diesel/petrol allowance in LMP1 is kinda silly. I highly doubt that a perfect balance between diesel or petrol can ever be achieved and so one will always make more sense for teams that have the money to spend on the more expensive system.

I would just keep it to gasoline.

RacingManiac

03-17-2008, 04:53 PM

The only reason why Diesel costs more now is because its new, and not nearly as much development have been paid to the technology to racing it. In the long run with the big picture in mind this should become more common place...

The diesel/petrol equivilency formula now is only really lacking IMO in the power department, with what diesels are allowed to make given the current restriction they can easily outrun a petrol car, with about the same distance per tank(81 L vs 90 L), if the petrol engine are back to where they were in ~2002's LMP900 rule, they should be able to match diesel's performance, Audi back then with the R8 are quoting to be able to do as much as 14-15 laps per tank around Le Mans, with cars capable of running sub 3:30 lap.....which is pretty much what R10 can do in 2006.....LMP2 curiously at the given formula now can better diesel's range, with a small trade-off in speed, where as petrol LMP1 at the moment are across the board inferior to a diesel LMP1....

BTW, neither Porsche or Acura's engine are direct injection no? If they are then it can further tip the balance in those cars' favor...

Kitdy

03-17-2008, 05:56 PM

BTW, neither Porsche or Acura's engine are direct injection no? That can further tip the balance in those cars' favor...

"Those cars" being the diesels yeah?

Why aren't they direct injection?

RacingManiac

03-17-2008, 06:00 PM

those as in the factory LMP2s.....

Kitdy

03-17-2008, 06:39 PM

those as in the factory LMP2s.....

Wouldn't direct injection be beneficial?

RacingManiac

03-17-2008, 06:51 PM

quite, which is why I am wondering why they are not running it....AFAIK only Mazda's engine is direct injection equipped...