59th Sebring 12 Hours - Race Preview

Wednesday, 16 March 2011 10:00

Given that there's no Formula One to get excited about until next weekend, Patty will be providing you with some alternative motorsport entertainment prior to the start of the F1 season, with this weekend's Sebring 12 hours.

It's not F1, but it'll do.

With the withdrawal symptoms for the new F1 season 

beginning to cause severe heart palpitations across most of

 the motorsport world's fandom, Patronise F1 will attempt to 

cure its own jitters by randomly covering the 12 Hours of Sebring, the first big sportscar race of the season and a nice 

early acid test ahead of the planned return of our Le Mans 24 Hours coverage in June.

The Sebring race represents the first round of the new American Le Mans Series, as well as the opening event in the new-for-2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, the latest half-hearted effort at a unified sportscar world championship that sees blue riband events across three continents, a number of different series and nine long months confusingly combined into a single championship.

But given that Patty has little inclination to follow that throughout the year, then as far as we're concerned the 12 Hours of Sebring represents another chance for a hectic endurance battle between the two big rivals of the modern sportscar era, Audi and Peugeot. The German marque won Le Mans last year with their troubled but upgraded R15+ car, and will use it again in Sebring before their 2011-spec R18 comes online in time for Le Mans itself. Meanwhile Peugeot dominated this race in 2010, albeit without any real works opposition, and will be looking to score an early win over their rivals with their newly-upgraded 2011-spec 908 coupes.

Behind the manufacturer leviathans, there will be all the usual fun of the support classes, with the ALMS regulars gunning for class glory, especially in the GT class, which features a staggering grid of 33 cars covering 9 different manufacturers, including works-backed efforts from Porsche, BMW, Chevrolet and Ferrari.

So all in all, the race should be a lot of fun, and will hopefully distract you from the continued dearth of Formula One to gawp at as we start to count down the days and hours to the Australian GP.

The Track
Sebring International Raceway
Location: Highlands County, Florida
Length: 5.950 km
Turns: 17
Lap Record: 1:43.274 (Sebastien Bourdais, Peugeot LMP1, 2009)

Imagery ©2011 TerraMetrics, Map data ©2011 Google - Terms of Use

Map

Satellite

Hybrid

Terrain

Earth

2010 Winners
LMP1 - Team Peugeot Total #7 (Marc Gené, Alex Wurz, Anthony Davidson - Peugeot 908 HDi FAP) - 367 Laps
LMP2 - Team Cytosport #6 (Greg Pickett, Klaus Graf, Sascha Maassen - Porsche RS Spyder Evo) - 353 Laps
LMPC - Level 5 Motorsports #55 (Scott Tucker, Christophe Bouchut, Mark Wilkins - Oreca FLM09) - 327 Laps
GT2 - Risi Competizione #62 (Jaime Melo, Gianmaria Bruni, Pierre Kaffer - Ferrari F430 GTE) - 331 Laps
GTC - Alex Job Racing #81 (Butch Leitzinger, Juan González, Leh Keen - Porsche 997 GT3 Cup) - 308 Laps

Entry List - Prototype Classes - 23 Entries
Right then, bear with us, because this gets a little complicated. In the prototype division we have three distinct sub-classes. At the front, there are the frontrunning LMP1 cars, and here we are all set for a whacking great battle between Audi and Peugeot.

Audi have an upgraded version of their R15 here (the mathematically-titled R15+ no less) and can match Peugeot man-for-man on the driver front, especially in their #2 car with their premier Kristensen/Capello/McNish line-up. Peugeot's 908, though, tends to have the edge on Audi performance-wise these days. The French team will have a new pair of 2011-spec 908s and they will start the weekend as favourites, especially with reigning Sebring champions and Who's Who of F1 failures Wurz/Gene/Davidson in the #7 machine.

Should the 'big four' works cars fall foul of the stresses of the 12 hour race, then the outsiders for glory will likely be the privateer Lola Aston Martin of the amusingly-sponsored Muscle Milk Cytosport team, the private year-old Peugeot 908 from Team Oreca, with a driving line-up that features famous ex-F1 midfielder Olivier Panis, and the reigning ALMS champions Highcroft Racing, with their Honda-powered open-top entry and trio of experienced sportscar faces.

Outside of the big top class cars, there is the poorly-supported LMP2 class, in which the Signatech Nissan will probably prove to be strongest of some weak challengers, and the fairly useless LMPC class, formed of a motley selection of Oreca-designed cars from the failed Formula Le Mans series, now largely used to bump up entry numbers in the ALMS.

Class	Team	Car	No	Driver 1	Driver 2	Driver 3
LMP1	Audi Team Joest	Audi R15+ TDi	1	Timo Bernhard	Romain Dumas	Mike Rockenfeller
LMP1	Audi Team Joest	Audi R15+ TDi	2	Dindo Capello	Tom Kristensen	Allan McNish
LMP1	Peugeot Sport Total	Peugeot 908	7	Alexander Wurz	Marc Gene	Anthony Davidson
LMP1	Peugeot Sport Total	Peugeot 908	8	Franck Montagny	Stephane Sarrazin	Pedro Lamy
LMP1	Team Oreca Matmut	Peugeot 908	10	Nicolas Lapierre	Loic Duval	Olivier Panis
LMP1	Rebellion Racing	Lola B10/60-Toyota	12	Nicolas Prost	Neel Jani	Jeroen Bleekemolen
LMP1	OAK Racing	OAK Pescorolo	15	Matthieu Lahaye	Guillaume Moreau	Pierre Ragues
LMP1	OAK Racing	OAK Pescorolo	24	Jacques Nicolet	Richard Hein	Jean-Francois Yvon
LMP1	Highcroft Racing	HPD ARX-01e	01	David Brabham	Marino Franchitti	Simon Pagenaud
LMP1	Muscle Milk AMR	Lola-Aston Martin	06	Greg Pickett	Klaus Graf	Lucas Luhr
LMP1	Dyson Racing	Lola-Mazda	016	Chris Dyson	Guy Smith	Jay Cochran
LMP2	Signatech Nissan	Oreca 03-Nissan	26	Franck Mailleux	Lucas Ordonez	Soheil Ayari
LMP2	Level 5 Motorsports	Lola-Honda	33	Scott Tucker	Christophe Bouchut	Joao Barbosa
LMP2	OAK Racing	Pescarolo 01-Judd	35	Andrea Barlesi	Frederic La Rocha	Patrick Lafargue
LMP2	Level 5 Motorsports	Lola-Honda	095	Scott Tucker	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Luis Diaz
LMPC	Performance Tech	Oreca FLM	018	Anthony Nicolosi	Jarrett Boon	Jan-Dirk Lueders
LMPC	Genoa Racing	Oreca FLM	036	Jens Petersen	Dane Cameron	Michael Guasch
LMPC	Iconik Energy Drinks	Oreca FLM	038	Luca Moro	Johnny Mowlem	Olivier Lombard
LMPC	PR1 Motorsports	Oreca FLM	052	Henri Richard	Ken Dobson	Ryan Lewis
LMPC	Genoa Racing	Oreca FLM	063	Eric Lux	Elton Julian	Christian Zugel
LMPC	Intersport Racing	Oreca FLM	089	Kyle Marcelli	Tomy Drissi	Rusty Mitchell
LMPC	Core Autosport	Oreca FLM	005	Jon Bennett	Frankie Montecalvo	Ryan Dalziel
LMPC	Core Autosport	Oreca FLM	006	Gunnar Jeanette	Ricardo Gonzalez	Rudy Junco

Entry List - GT Classes - 33 Entries
The GT field is similarly split into a baffling array of different classes, though the main GT class promises to be the main one to watch throughout the 12 hours of racing. With strong works entries from BMW and Chevrolet joining the usual ranks of highly-competitive Ferrari and Porsche privateers and random Jaguar, Panoz, Ford and Lamborghini entries, it is a bustling madness of a class.
Last year saw the Flying Lizard Porsche team triumph in the championship over the Risi Ferrari and the BMWs, but the whole muddle is too close to call given the length of this particular race. It should be lots of fun to follow, not to mention annoyingly close for all the prototypes trying to thread their way through the carnage.

For sportscar-watching rookies, there are plenty of famous names to look out for, with ex-F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella driving the #51 Ferrari, multiple-WTCC champion Andy Priaulx at the wheel of the #56 BMW and a nostalgic ex-Champ Car trio of Junqueira/da Matta/Servia sharing driving duties in the #099 Jaguar. And if that isn't enough, watch out for some awe-inspiring cameo stints from none other than Jean-Denis Deletraz.

Further back, there is a new-for-2011 GTE AM class for largely amateur teams and drivers, which looks a bit rubbish, and the GTC invitational class, featuring spec Porsche 911s and brilliantly-named drivers such as Bill Sweedler, Chris Cumming and Spencer Pumpelly.

Class	Team	Car	No	Driver 1	Driver 2	Driver 3
GT	AF Corse	Ferrari F430	51	Giancarlo Fisichella	Gianmaria Bruni	Pierre Kaffer
GT	BMW Motorsport	BMW M3 GT	55	Augusto Farfus	Bill Auberlen	Dirk Werner
GT	BMW Motorsport	BMW M3 GT	56	Andy Priaulx	Dirk Muller	Joey Hand
GT	Luxury Racing	Ferrari F458 Italia	59	Stephane Ortelli	Fred Makowiecki	J-D Deletraz
GT	Corvette Racing	Chevrolet Corvette	03	Olivier Beretta	Tommy Milner	Antonio Garcia
GT	Corvette Racing	Chevrolet Corvette	04	Oliver Gavin	Jan Magnussen	Richard Westbrook
GT	Team Falken	Porsche 911 GT3	017	Bryan Sellers	Wolf Henzler	Martin Ragginger
GT	Robertson Racing	Doran Ford GT	040	David Robertson	Andrea Robertson	Boris Said
GT	Flying Lizard	Porsche 911 GT3	044	Darren Law	Seth Neiman	Marco Holzer
GT	Flying Lizard	Porsche 911 GT3	045	Jorg Bergmeister	Patrick Long	Marc Lieb
GT	Paul Miller Racing	Porsche 911 GT3	048	Bryce Miller	Rene Rast	Sascha Maassen
GT	Panoz Racing	Panoz Abruzzi	050	Ian James	Ben Leuenberger
GT	Risi Competizion	Ferrari F458 Italia	062	Jaime Melo	Tony Vilander	Mika Salo
GT	Jaguar RSR	Jaguar XKR	098	PJ Jones	Paul Gentilozzi
GT	Jaguar RSR	Jaguar XKR	099	Bruno Junqueira	Cristiano d'Matta	Oriol Servia
GT	Extreme Speed	Ferrari F458 Italia	001	Scott Sharp	Jo v Overbeek	Dominik Farnbacher
GT	Extreme Speed	Ferrari F458 Italia	002	Ed Brown	Guy Cosmo	Rob Bell
GT	Robertson	Doran Ford GT	004	David Murry	Anthony Lazzaro	Colin Braun
GT	West Yokohama	Lamborghini Gallardo	008	Nicky Pastorelli	Dominik Schwager
GT AM	Larbre Comp	Chevrolet Corvette	50	Patrick Bornhauser	Julien Canal	Gabriele Gardel
GT AM	Krohn Racing	Ferrari F430	57	Tracy Krohn	Niclas Jonsson	Michele Rugolo
GT AM	Gulf AMR ME	Aston Vantage	60	Fabien Giroix	Roald Goethe	Michael Wainwright
GT AM	CRS Racing	Ferrari F430	62	Pierre Ehret	Shaun Lynn	Roger Willis
GT AM	Proton Comp	Porsche 911 RSR	63	Richard Lietz	Gianluca Roda	Christian Ried
GTC	JDX Racing	Porsche 911 Cup	011	Nick Ham	Scott Blackett	Chris Cumming
GTC	Alex Job Racing	Porsche 911 Cup	023	Bill Sweedler	Leh Keen	Brian Wong
GTC	NGT Motorsports	Porsche 911 Cup	030	Henrique Cisneros	Carlos Kaufmann	Sean Edwards
GTC	Spectra/GMG	Porsche 911 Cup	032	Bret Curtis	James Sofronas	Jan Seyffarth
GTC	Kelly Moss	Porsche 911 Cup	034	Peter LeSaffre	Andrew Davis	Bob Faieta
GTC	Black Swan	Porsche 911 Cup	054	Tim Pappas	Seb Bleekemolen	Damien Faulkner
GTC	TRG	Porsche 911 Cup	066	Duncan Ende	Spencer Pumpelly	Alain Li
GTC	TRG	Porsche 911 Cup	068	Dion von Moltke	TBA	TBA
GTC	Magnus Racing	Porsche 911 Cup	077	John Potter	Craig Stanton	Matthew Marsh

On Patronise F1
Yes, to try and make you all feel better about the continued lack of Formula One following Bahrain's cancellation, Patty will be priming its favourite typing finger for a live text report on the whole of the Sebring 12 hours, if you're into that sort of thing.
The action and entertainment will commence from 13.45 GMT on Saturday, continuing well into the small hours of Sunday morning, so do please keep us company if you can.