Hybrid Audi R18 e-tron quattro Takes Pole for 2012 Le Mans

Photo Credit: Audi Motorsport

Considered the most prestigious sports car race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is an event victory equally desired by drivers and auto manufacturers. One of the few venues where greats in auto racing drivers can pilot the newest in automotive technology prepped for motorsports. Bio-fuels, hybrid powerplants, and the radical super-lightweight DeltaWing race car have been brought to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the 2012 edition of the day-long competition. With a unique field of prototype race cars and a slew of diverse GT cars, qualifying for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans would be an interesting occasion to sample who could be the front-runners for the Saturday afternoon through Sunday race.

Claiming the first-ever pole for a hybrid prototype sports car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Audi R18 e-tron quattro was the vehicle that prevailed for the glorious front row starting spot for Saturday's day-long endurance event for LMP1. The #1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro shared by Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer took the top place by a slim 0.291-second advantage over the teammate #3 machine running the conventional TDI only R18 Ultra package.

The lead Audi R18 e-tron quattro was a second faster than the competing LMP1 brand competitor. Returning to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time since 1999, Toyota debuts the TS 030 Hybrid prototype at the Le Mans race in a continuing pursuit for a first overall victory at the French event. The #8 Toyota featuring the driving combination of Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Stéphane Sarrazin will start on the second row of the 24-hour race alongside the second Audi e-tron quattro.

Leading LMP2 in the 14th overall position, the #25 Oreca-Nissan starts 0.417 seconds ahead of the #24 Morgan-Judd. Lighter cars than LMP1 with smaller engines, the LMP2 class is often known to be the most difficult category for competitors to finish making the endurance component of 24 hours very pivotal to the victor of this class.

The most wide open GTE category at the 2012 Le mans 24-hour race features strong professional efforts from Ferrari, Chevrolet, Aston Martin and Porsche. The #59 Luxury Racing Ferrari 458 Italia took pole in the GTE class by 0.477 seconds over the #97 Aston Martin Vantage V8. Little more than half a second off the pace of the fastest Ferrari, the Corvette Racing group's #74 ZR1 sports car has sights set on reclaiming the GT class victory at the Le Mans race.

Running the race as an experimental entrant, the DeltaWing powered by Nissan was 29th fastest in qualifying outpacing four LMP2 cars.

Presenting a 56-car field, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is set to start at 3pm local time.


2012 FIA World Endurance Championship
24 Hours of  Le Mans
Le Mans, France
Qualifying Results

	Car #	Class	Drivers	Race Car
1	1	LMP1	Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer	Audi R18 e-tron quattro
2	3	LMP1	Romain Dumas, Loic Duval, Marc Gené	Audi R18 Ultra
3	8	LMP1	Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Stéphane Sarrazin	Toyota TS 030 - Hybrid
4	2	LMP1	Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish	Audi R18 e-tron quattro
5	7	LMP1	Alexander Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre, Kazuki Nakajima	Toyota TS 030 - Hybrid
6	4	LMP1	Marco Bonanomi, Oliver Jarvis, Mike Rockenfeller	Audi R18 Ultra
7	21	LMP1	Nick Leventis, Danny Watts, Jonny Kane	HPD ARX 03a - Honda
8	12	LMP1	Nicolas Prost, Neel Jani, Nick Heidfeld	Lola B12/60 Coupe - Toyota
9	13	LMP1	Andrea Belicchi, Harold Primat, Jeroen Bleekemolen	Lola B12/60 Coupe - Toyota
10	17	LMP1	Sébastien Bourdais, Nicolas Minassian, Seiji Ara	Dome - Judd
11	22	LMP1	David Brabham, Karun Chandhok, Peter Dumbreck	HPD ARX 03a - Honda
12	15	LMP1	Franck Montagny, Bertrand Baguette, Dominik Kraihamer	Oak Pescarolo - Judd
13	16	LMP1	Emmanuel Collard, Jean-Christophe Boullion, Stuart Hall	Pescarolo 03 - Judd
14	25	LMP2	John Martin, Jan Charouz, Tor Graves	Oreca 03 - Nissan
15	24	LMP2	Jacques Nicolet, Matthieu Lahaye, Olivier Pla	Morgan - Judd
16	26	LMP2	Nelson Panciatici, Pierre Ragues, Roman Rusinov	Oreca 03 - Nissan
17	46	LMP2	Mathias Beche, Pierre Thiriet, Christophe Tinseau	Oreca 03 - Nissan
18	49	LMP2	Luis Perez Companc, Soheil Ayari, Pierre Kaffer	Oreca 03 - Nissan
19	48	LMP2	Jody Firth, Warren Hughes, Brendon Hartley	Oreca 03 - Nissan
20	35	LMP2	David Heinemeier Hansson, Bas Leinders, Maxime Martin	Morgan - Nissan
21	30	LMP2	Alexander Sims, Yelmer Buurman, Romain Ianneta	Lola - Judd
22	44	LMP2	Vincente Potolicchio, Ryan Dalziel, Thomas Kimber-Smith	HPD ARX 03b - Honda
23	45	LMP2	Bastien Briere, Jens Petersen, Shinji Nakano	Oreca 03 - Nissan
24	42	LMP2	Lucas Ordoñez, Martin Brundle, Alex Brundle	Zytek Z11SN - Nissan
25	38	LMP2	Simon Dolan, Sam Hancock, Haruki Kurosawa	Zytek Z11SN - Nissan
26	23	LMP2	Franck Mailleux, Olivier Lombard, Jordan Tresson	Oreca 03 - Nissan
27	33	LMP2	Scott Tucker, Christophe Bouchut, Luis Diaz	HPD ARX 03b - Honda
28	41	LMP2	Christian Zugel, Ricardo Gonzalez, Elton Julian	Zytek Z11SN - Nissan
29	0	CDNT	Marino Franchitti, Michael Krumm, Satoshi Motoyama	DeltaWing Nissan
30	40	LMP2	Michel Frey, Jonathan Hirschi, Ralph Meichtry	Oreca 03 - Judd
31	31	LMP2	Thomas Holzer, Mirco Schultis, Luca Moro	Lola B12/80 Coupe - Lotus
32	28	LMP2	Fabien Giroix, Stefan Johansson, Ludovic Badey	Lola B12/80 Coupe - Nissan
33	43	LMP2	Fabien Rosier, Philippe Thirion, Philippe Haezebrouck	Norma MP 2000 - Judd
34	59	LMGTE Pro	Frédéric Makowiecki, Jaime Melo, Dominik Farnbacher	Ferrari 458 Italia
35	97	LMGTE Pro	Adrian Fernandez, Stefan Mücke, Darren Turner	Aston Martin Vantage V8
36	74	LMGTE Pro	Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, Richard Westbrook	Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1
37	71	LMGTE Pro	Andrea Bertolini, Olivier Beretta, Marco Cioci	Ferrari 458 Italia
38	73	LMGTE Pro	Jordan Taylor, Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen	Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1
39	79	LMGTE Am	Seth Neiman, Patrick Pilet, Spencer Pumpelly	Porsche 911 RSR (997)
40	77	LMGTE Pro	Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz, Wolf Henzler	Porsche 911 RSR (997)
41	75	LMGTE Am	Abdulaziz Alfaisal, Bret Curtis, Sean Edwards	Porsche 911 RSR (997)
42	80	LMGTE Pro	Jörg Bergmeister, Patrick Long, Marco Holzer	Porsche 911 RSR (997)
43	99	LMGTE Am	Allan Simonsen, Christoffer Nygaard, Kristian Poulsen	Aston Martin Vantage V8
44	58	LMGTE Am	Pierre Ehret, Franck Montecalvo, Gunnar Jeannette	Ferrari 458 Italia
45	29	LMP2	Jean-Denis Deletraz, Keiko Ihara, Marc Rostan	Lola B12/80 Coupe - Nissan
46	88	LMGTE Am	Christian Ried, Gianluca Roda, Paolo Ruberti	Porsche 911 RSR (997)
47	50	LMGTE Am	Patrick Bornhauser, Julien Canal, Pedro Lamy	Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1
48	66	LMGTE Pro	James Walker, Jonny Cocker, Roger Wills	Ferrari 458 Italia
49	51	LMGTE Pro	Giancarlo Fisichella, Gianmaria Bruni, Toni Vilander	Ferrari 458 Italia
50	81	LMGTE Am	Piergiuseppe Perazzini, Nicola Cadei, Matt Griffin	Ferrari 458 Italia
51	67	LMGTE Am	Nicolas Armindo, Raymond Narac, Anthony Pons	Porsche 911 RSR (997)
52	61	LMGTE Am	Robert Kauffman, Rui Aguas, Brian Vickers	Ferrari 458 Italia
53	57	LMGTE Am	Tracy Krohn, Niclas Jonsson, Michele Rugolo	Ferrari 458 Italia
54	83	LMGTE Am	Manuel Rodrigues, Alain Ferte, Philippe Illiano	Ferrari 458 Italia
55	70	LMGTE Am	Jean-Philippe Belloc, Christophe Bourret, Pascal Gibon	Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1
56	55	LMGTE Am	Joël Camathias, Markus Palttala, Paul Daniels	Porsche 911 RSR (997)

Paffett Brands Hometown Pride on Brand Hatch DTM Race

Photo Credit: Daimler AG

The first visit for the 2012 DTM tour ourside of Germany, the field of Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW race cars roared around the British Brands Hatch road course. The third race on the calender, Gary Paffett enters his home country with a win and a second place finish in the early stage of the season. With the two earlier races won by Mercedes-Benz and BMW, the 1.929-kilomter Brands Hatch circuit would be an important barometer to establish the balance of the 2012 DTM schedule.

On Saturday, Gary Paffett delighted the British crowd by placing his Thomas Sabo Mercedes AMG C-Coupe on the pole. Outpowering teammate Christian Vietoris by 0.144 seconds and BMW driver Bruno Spengler by 0.194 seconds, Paffett sights were set with a clear path for Sunday's 97-lap main event.

Photo Credit: Daimler AG

Right from the start, Gary Paffett took advantage of his pole position to lead the opening lap of the Brands Hatch race. The front row starting car driven by Christian Vietoris lost race positions at the beginning of the Brands Hatch DTM event as Bruno Spengler was able to navigate his BMW M3 into the second place spot.  By lap 10, Paffett and his Mercedes AMG C-Coupe had a one-second lead on the Spengler.

A racetrack cited as being difficult for passing, drivers at Brands Hatch were offered few opportunities to gain position on the race track. As the race progressed, DTM frontrunners such as Mercedes AMG's Jamie Green and Audi Sport's Mattias Ekström were playing catch-up throughout the 97-lap event. Ekström would finish fifth with his Red Bull Audi A5 while Jamie Green would come across the Brands Hatch start/finish line 8th.

The BMW M3 of Andy Priaulx made an early exit from the race as a result of crash damage early in the event. The second major retirement of the Brands Hatch race was lined to the Audi A5 driven by Timo Scheider. Scheider would be forced out of the race on lap 55 due to an engine misfire after a difficult Sunday race for the German. 

Photo Credit: BMW AG

Spengler's brush with some turn 1 curbing injured the front splitter of his BMW M3 race car. Into the late laps of the Brand Hatch race, Bruno Spengler's attention was devoted to his mirrors in efforts to hold off the Audi A5 of Mike Rockenfeller. Managing to hold off Rockenfeller's charge, Spengler crossed the line 5 seconds behind Gary Paffett who sailed to his second victory of 2012. “I am very happy with this second place. Gary Paffett was very quick, particularly in the first stint. Despite this, I was able to hang on to his coattails. It reminded me of my win at the Lausitzring, but with the roles reversed. It was a tough race." said Spengler in post race.

An error-free Brands Hatch event for Paffett, the Thomas Sabo Mercedes AMG C-Coupe driver explained that "it was a perfect race that we controlled from start to finish". With the early success for Gary Paffett, the British driver holds the overall points lead in DTM by 25 points.

Photo Credit: Daimler AG

With Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi securing a podium spot for the first time in 2012 at Brands Hatch, Martin Tomczyk brought another BMW M3 home 4th ahead of Mattias Ekström.

As one seasoned Canadian has earned a win and a runner-up position in the last two events on the DTM series, the 2012 DTM second driver from Canada had another learning experience with the stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupe. Robert Wickens finished 14th in the Brands Hatch race, you spot behind the BMW M3 of United States driver Joey Hand. "All in all, I'm happy with my third DTM race. My pace was quite decent and my stern AMG Mercedes C-Coupé ran very well. I'm getting better from race to race and gaining experience through working with the team.“ said Wickens continuing to learn the fendered race cars.

The next race for the 2012 DTM series involves a trip to the Austrian Red Bull Ring on June 3rd.



2012 DTM
Brands Hatch
Race Results

Pos #	Driver	Nationality	Race Organization	Car Make
1	Gary Paffett	England	THOMAS SABO	Mercedes AMG C-Coupé
2	Bruno Spengler	Canada	BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW M3
3	Mike Rockenfeller	Germany	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi A5
4	Martin Tomczyk	Germany	BMW Team RMG	BMW M3
5	Mattias Ekström	Sweden	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi A5
6	Christian Vietoris	Germany	Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG	Mercedes AMG C-Coupé
7	Miguel Molina	Spain	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi A5
8	Jamie Green	England	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes AMG C-Coupé
9	Edoardo Mortara	Italy	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi A5
10	Filipe Albuquerque	Portugal	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi A5
11	Augusto Farfus	Brazil	BMW Team RBM	BMW M3
12	Adrien Tambay	France	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi A5
13	Joey Hand	United States	BMW Team RMG	BMW M3
14	Robert Wickens	Canada	stern Mercedes AMG	Mercedes AMG C-Coupé
15	David Coulthard	Scotland	DHL Paket Mercedes AMG	Mercedes AMG C-Coupé
16	Dirk Werner	Germany	BMW Team Schnitzer	BMW M3
17	Roberto Merhi	Spain	Junge Sterne Mercedes AMG	Mercedes AMG C-Coupé
18	Rahel Frey	Switzerland	Audi Sport Team Abt	Audi A5
19	Ralf Schumacher	Germany	Mercedes AMG	Mercedes AMG C-Coupé
20	Susie Wolff	Scotland	TV Spielfilm Mercedes AMG	Mercedes AMG C-Coupé
21	Timo Scheider	Germany	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi A5
22	Andy Priaulx	Guernsey (Britain)	BMW Team RBM	BMW M3

Nissan DeltaWing Completes High-Profile Sebring Test

Photo Credit: Nissan

Ahead of the recently wrapped 2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the converted World War Two airport strip turned race track played host to a test for what is the subject for the revolutionary 'Project 56'. A prototype sports car racer, the DeltaWing turned its first public laps around the Sebring International Raceway on March 15th as part of the vehicle's training for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Attracting a sizable crowd, the ultra-lightweight, highly distinctive prototype set for several laps under the momentum of a Nissan powerplant.

In a recently published YouTube clip posted by Nissan, the phrase "incubator for innovation" is an appropriate description for the DeltaWing 'Project 56' sports car racing development. As the race car lapped the Sebring road course, the Nissan DeltaWing's roughly one-half reduction in horsepower over traditional race vehicles coupled with the one-half drop in weight should potentially equate to lap times close to current prototype class cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship. While the Sebring test was mostly exploratory without any official track times, the Nissan DeltaWing showed stability and drivability many critics of the race car were not expecting to see on track. Along with reduced fuel economy, Nissan DeltaWing engineers express that the lighter race vehicle will apply less mechanical stress to components such as tires and brakes. This fact for the Nissan DeltaWing should present some drastically different servicing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Photo Credit: Nissan

Nissan interest in the DeltaWing 'Project 56' initiative stems beyond the race track. The Japanese auto company believes the principles being exercised through the Nissan DeltaWing race car research and development can benefit future production cars for the street. General Manager of Nissan Europe Darren Cox explains, "It's a fantastic project for Nissan." adding "All of the stuff we learn from this project we are going to be able to cross into road car development,".

Included below is the YouTube video log Nissan posted on the DeltaWing chassis being put through its paces at Sebring International Raceway.

60th Running of 2012 Twelve Hours of Sebring Opens and Finishes Big

Photo Credit: DPPI

First held in 1950, the Sebring International Raceway has provided the United States motorsport fans a chance to witness the world’s most awesome sports car operating at the peak of performance. As the American Le Mans Series and the newly formed World Endurance Championship arrived at the Sebring 5.95-kilometer (3.7-mile), the venue was prepared to play host to the 60^th running of their famous 12-hour event. The 2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida recorded a stellar 64-car field starting the event from race team representing countries of Germany, France, the United Kingdom as well as the United States.

A hot day where the sun toasted the asphalt/concrete surface of the Sebring International Raceway at 26 degrees Celsius, the race commenced with the three Audi R18 TDI prototype sports cars storming away through the advantage of the lead track position on the start. Deeper in the field, the traffic of 60-plus cars played a part in a collision between two GT cars as the race was just beginning. The #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR and the #51 Ferrari both sustained serious damage to sports cars requiring extended work in the garage area.

Photo Credit: DPPI

The story of the 60^th anniversary of the 2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida would circulate around a high frequency of caution periods. With the first full course yellow slowing the sports car field at the 13 minute mark for a stopped #61 Ferrari F458 Italia, the 12-hour race proved to be a close one in several of the five categories racing at the track. It was only in the lead LMP1 class that a race car was able to dominate.

The lead prototype category presented the least amount of suspense but still featured a historical performance of the three-car effort that was Audi Sport Team Joest. While the #1 car (consisting of Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler) took pole on Friday, it the #2 Audi R18 would control much of the Sebring race. In the middle of the fifth hour, the #1 Audi R18 TDI suffered an electronic issue in the gearbox shifter. Originally making an unscheduled stop to repair the issue at the end of hour four of the Sebring event, the Audi Sport Team Joest operation realized their #1 car needed extended repairs costing the 2011 driving combination a chance to win.

Like clockwork, the remaining two Audi R18 TDI sailed to prototype and overall victory. At the end, the #2 car helmed by Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Dindo Capello took the top honours with a four-lap lead over the #3 car. Finishing in the top-2 overall positions at the 2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida, the Audi R18 TDI executed a near masterful run for this 10^th win in 14 starts at the Florida sports car track.

Photo Credit: Porsche Cars

Third overall, the class-winning P2 entry from Starworks Motorsports found success with the Honda-powered HPD-ARX 03b race machine. The #44 prototype picked up the third overall in the 12-hour event due to a fuel rig failure with the Muscle Milk Pickett Racing #6 car in the race‘s late stage. Vicente Potolicchio, Ryan Delziel and Stephane Sarrazin made up the driving team for the #44 car’s win. The #44 Starworks Motorsports poached the lead from the #055 Level 5 Motorsports operation competing in an identical HPD-ARX 03b P2 sports car by 32.27 seconds. Finishing third in P2 category was the #24 Oak Racing Morgan-Judd. Leading the P2 class early in the event, the Oak Racing Morgan lost touch with the top spot in class partly due to a spin in turn four that resulted in a full course yellow to retrieve the car.

In what proved to be the most competitive class during the entire 12-hour running of the Sebring event, the production car-based GT category ended as a fight among multiple teams. In the first hour of the race, the Ferrari F458 Italia cars were planted in the top three GT class positions. However, as the Sebring event clock continued to tick, the #17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 GT3 RSR took the lead. The #155 BMW M3 car prepped by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing were also in the hunt early but a stop and start penalty on pit road robbed the team of momentum early.
In hour two, the #17 Porsche encountered a vibration that took the victory-contending race machine out of the GT lead pack. With Porsche’s losing a chance to claim the primary GT class victory out, the German sports car maker still only had the GTE-AM sub category and the GT Challenge consisting of all-Porsche 911 Cup cars to cheer.

Photo Credit: Porsche Cars

By hour five in the Sebring 12-Hour race‘s GT contest, the Chevrolet Corvette C6R ZR1 race cars appeared to gain the upper hand. Having won the GT class seven times before at Sebring International Raceway, he Corvette Racing squad were motivated by the performance of both the #03 and #4 car. As night time dawned on the Sebring race, the Chevrolet Corvette C6R ZR1 continued to pace their class until the #56 BMW M3 poured on some serious speed in the final two hours. Setting a class fast lap just above 2-minutes flat, the second Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing BMW M3 car took the lead from the Corvette team cars into the final hour.

In the last hour, the GT class of the 2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida provided a terrific on-track bout where five cars on the lead lap fought. The #56 BMW M3 continued leading while the Corvette Racing squad efforts to keep pace fell short of class victory. One GT with the best chance to spoil the #56 BMW M3 was the #71 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia. Closing from 4.64 to 1.64 seconds within the last minutes of the event, the #71 Ferrari caught the #56 and bravely fought for the GT category victory on the last lap. Almost capturing the lead, the #71 AF Corse Ferrari handled by Oliver Beretta went off course, dramatically costing the team Sebring victory as well as second place as the #03 Corvette C6R ZR1 crept by for second place. The #56 BMW M3 of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing soared to win the GT class for the second straight year at Sebring.

Photo Credit: BMW Motorsports

While each category of racing in the American Le Mans Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship competitions provided their own level of excitement, the 60th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring supplied a memorable, lively sports car event. Topping the 12 hours of on-track racing, the Audi fulfilled their near-duty by capturing overall victory  Due to a multitude of full course yellow flags in the 2012 edition of the Sebring sports car competition, an overall distance of 1,201.6 miles recorded this year was the shortest since the 2000 race.



2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida 
American Le Mans Series/ FIA World Endurance Championship
Race Results

LMP1/P1

1 #2 McNish, Kristensen, Capello, Audi R18
2 #3 Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas,Loic Duval, Audi R18
3 #16 Collard, Boullion, Jousse; Pescarolo Judd
4 #6 Dyson, Smith, Kane Lola B12/60 Mazda
5 #21 Kane, Leventis, Watts; HPD ARX-03a Honda

LMP2/P2

1 #44 Sarrazin, Potolicchio, Dalziel; HPD ARX-03b Honda
2 #055 Tucker; Bouchut, Barbosa, HPD ARX-03b
3 #24 Pla, Nicolet, Lahaye; Morgan/Judd
4 #49 Kaffer, Ayari, Companc; Oreca/Nissan
5 #41 Julian, Zugel, Gonzalez; Zytek Z11SN-Nissan

PC

1 #06 Papow, Viso, Frisselle; Oreca FLM09
2 #52 Leitzinger, Dobson, Junco Jr; Oreca FLM09
3 #05 Bennett, Braun, Lux; Oreca FLM09
4 #7 Sanchez, Ducote, Echeverria; Oreca FLM09
5 #5 Guasch, Gidley, Wills; Oreca FLM09

GT/GTE-PRO

1 #56 Mueller, Summerton; Hand; BMW E92 M3
2 #03 Magnussen, Garcia, Taylor; Corvette C6-ZR1
3 #71 Beretta, Cioci, Bertolini; Ferrari F458 Italia
4 #4 Gavin, Milner, Westbrook; Corvette C6-ZR1
5 #055 Auberlen, Alzen, Muller; BMW E92 M3

GTE-AM

1 #88 Ruberti, Ried, Roda; Porsche 911 RSR 997
2 #70 Belloc, Bourret, Gibon; Corvette C6-ZR1
3 #50 Lamy, Bornhauser, Canal; Corvette C6-ZR1
4 #57 Jonsson, Rugulo, Krohn; Ferrari F458 Italia
5 #55 Camathias, Binnie, Palttala; Porsche 911 RSR 997

GTC

1 #023 Moltke, Sweedler, Bell; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
2 #022 Keen, Dumoulin, MacNeil; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
3 #34 Faulkner, Bleekemolen, Lesaffre; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
4 #66 Di Guida, Bunting, Pumpelly; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
5 #11 Estre, Cumming, Bullitt; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

Audi R18 Takes Pole for 2012 Sebring Sports Car Opener

Photo Credit: Audi AG

The 60th anniversary to the first 12-hour sports car race to be run at the converted airstrip evolving into Sebring International Raceway, the 2012 edition of the prestigious March race prepares to host five classes of premium race vehicles for an event starting late Saturday morning. With 63 cars set to compete at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida race, this historic event is the season opener for the 2012 American Le Mans Series and will also serve as the launch pad for the all-new FIA World Endurance Championship.

Qualifying on the 3.74-mile circuit Friday provided the first meaningful measurements for the caliber of the teams and drivers. Coming as little surprise to spectators, Audi Sport Team Joest mounted a dominating performance in the time trial track sessions with the 2012 R18 RDI prototype sports cars. Convincingly, the three-car Audi R18 TDI vehicles claimed the overall top-three for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. Starting in the order of their car numbers, the Audi Sport Team Joest organization #1 car took pole at a time of 1 minute, 45.820 seconds. The #1 Audi R18 TDI is set to be driven by the 2011 24 Hour Le Mans winning combination of Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer. The #2 Audi R18 TDI was 4/10th of a second slower than the pole-winning #1 car. The #3 car for the Audi Sport Team Joest effort was 1.12 seconds off the pace of the lead car.

The fastest non-Audi runner overall in Sebring sports car qualifying was the #6 Muscle Milk Racing team. Fielding a Honda Racing Development-derived ARX-03a sports car, the #6 Muscle Milk Racing effort was 6/10th of a second slower than the 3rd fastest Audi R18 TDI. With a total of three participants campaigning the HRD ARX-03a vehicle, the prototype matches Audi as well as the Lola in total entrants for the 2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida.

In other prototype categories, the 12-car strong P2 class at the Sebring International Raceway will start with the Morgan making a fantastic return to the sports car track. The Oak Racing backed #24 Morgan powered by a Judd V8 engine posted a 1 minute, 50.467 second time to lead the P2 category participants to green for Saturday's 12-hour race. In the spec American Le Mans Series LMPC category, the #9 RSR Racing car (piloted by open wheel racing veteran Bruno Junqueira in qualifying) outran the Core Autosport #06 to take class honours in Friday's time trials.

Almost 13 seconds slower than the Audi R18 TDI cars, the GT class at Sebring once again features a tight battle between production-based sports cars. The likes of BMW, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin and Chevrolet are set to become one of the most hotly-contested competitions at not only 2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring but throughout the American Le Mans Series and World Endurance Championship season.

Photo Credit: BMW USA

Shooting first blood in Sebring qualifying, the Ferrari F458 Italia race cars sailed around the 3.74-mile course fastest among GT competitors. The #51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia (featuring the pairing of Giancarlo Fischella, Gimmi Bruni and Toni Vilander) took the pole with a 1 minute, 58.427 second lap time ahead of the Luxury Racing team. The Corvette Racing pair of C6R ZR1 race cars inserted into the second row of the GT class with the #03 ahead of the #4 car only 0.66 seconds separates the top-5 cars in the GT category in Sebring qualifying serving as a strong precursor to a wide-open bout for the class victory on Saturday. Also racing at sub-categories of the GT class at the Sebring International Raceway will be the GTE-AM cars and the GT Challenge Porsche 911 GT3 Cup vehicles.

The 60th running of the 2012 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida will start at 10:30 AM Eastern time. Weather for the 2012 sports car race is forecasted to have sun with clouds through the daytime as temperatures will reside in the 20 degree Celsius range almost throughout the event.

Nissan to Supply Power for DeltaWing Project's 2012 Le Mans Effort

Photo Credit: Nissan

Born as a candidate for the 2012 INDYCAR Series new car, the DeltaWing name and shape came to form in 2010. Of the five potential chassis suppliers vying for the right to represent the 2012 IZOD INDYCAR grid, the super sleek DeltaWing concept car was immediately regarded as most radical race car design.

A vehicle projected to weigh just 1,030 pounds, designers behind the DeltaWing concept estimated the vehicle would only require 300 horsepower to move at speeds up to 235 miles per hour. Besides the performance attributes, the DeltaWing's was effective in drawing motorsport fans to judge the exteme creation. Receiving strong positive and negative critiques from motorsport and non-motorsport observers, the DeltaWing made a distinct impact on the important IZOD INDYCAR Series season rules of 2012.

Photo Credit: Nissan

Ultimately, the INDYCAR sanctioning body elected to go with the more conservative Dallara plans under some modified framework where body kits would alter the race car's outer appearance. While the DeltaWing was praised for its innovation, it was suspected that the vehicle proposal was just too experimental for the open wheel racing series. Following the decision, it would have been likely that the DeltaWing design would be been retired as another concept car that was never meant for the light of day. However, shortly after INDYCAR rejected the DeltaWing race car, a new calling offered to bring the concept to the race track. Instead of competing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the DeltaWing chassis is being primed for the full-day motorsport affair known as the 24-Hour of Le Mans.

Photo Credit: Nissan

Preparing for its race track debut in the 2012 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans event, the DeltaWing's radical shape quickly received support for its road racing effort through 2011 into this year. Today, another major partner joined the experimental DeltaWing effort supplying the race car's engine power. Japanese automaker Nissan has signed onto the program as the engine provider for the innovative DeltaWing project. A 1.6 liter powerplant incorporating direct injection and a turbocharger, the Nissan engine being mated with the DeltaWing chassis features technology similar to the production Nissan Juke crossover vehicle. Nissan estimates 300 horsepower will be produced from the 1.6 liter racing engine. Combined with the DeltaWing's lightweight, the Nissan engine should avail the possibility of top speeds around 200 miles per hour on the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Photo Credit: Nissan

The race car chassis was brought to form by Dan Gurney's All-American Racer company. On a personal note, when I was composing an article for Canadian motorsport publication PRN Magazine on the activities of the INDYCAR chassis selection in 2010, I attempted to contact Dan Gurney knowing he would be a qualified voice to the process. Having been respectfully declined of the opportunity to gain insight from the legendary auto racing driver and engineer by Gurney's assistant, it is quite obvious now he took a liking to the DeltaWing project.

Under the support of experienced American Le Mans Series race team Highcroft Racing, the DeltaWing is now circulating test tracks in preparation for its sports car debut in June. Part of the DeltaWing testing will involve laps at the Sebring International Raceway in Thursday March 15th.  The Nissan powered DeltaWing concept will be invited to occupy Garage 56 reserved for experimental entrants of the Le Mans 24-hour race. While the Highcroft Racing-fielded Nissan DeltaWing will not be officially classified in a race category, the unique race vehicle is destined to receive front-running attention over the full day of on-track action.

Photo Credit: Nissan

Photo Credit: Nissan

Photo Credit: Nissan

Canadian ALMS Racer Kyle Marcelli with Merchant Services Racing in 2012

Photo Credit: John Thawley

With green flag for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh from Florida scheduled in only 10 days, last moment preparations for the 2012 American Le Mans Series' inauguration for some teams included the signage of Canadian sports car standout Kyle Marcelli. A member of driving team in three class victories during the 2011 Le Mans Prototype Challenge-type competition, Marcelli is part of the newly-formed American Le Mans Series team Merchant Services Racing.

Freshly 22 years old, Kyle Marcelli ended the 2011 season as one of the fastest drivers in the Le Mans Prototype Challenge (LMPC) category. Racing under contract with Intersport Racing for the past two seasons in ALMS, the young Canadian driver has illuminated to a shining star as the reliability of the Chevrolet-powered Oreca race car became more solid. Recording his first major sports car racing victory at Imola, Italy, the initial entrance into victory lane lit a fire underneath Marcelli's ALMS efforts. During the summer of 2011, Kyle Marcelli co-drove his #89 Intersport car to LMPC class wins at the tredorious Mid-Ohio race and the debut Baltimore street race. Kyle Marcelli's 2011 American Le Mans Series ended with third place in the overall LMPC points standings.   

A brand new LMPC effort, Merchant Services Racing will field two Oreca FLM-09 race cars starting with the Sebring race. President and CEO of Merchant Services Chapman Ducote has made the 2012 team's presence possible. “When given the opportunity, we jumped at the chance to be the title sponsor of Merchant Services Racing,” said Ducote will is also a co-driver of the #7 set to be shared with Javier Acheverria and Pablo Sanchez. Kyle Marcelli will pilot the #8 Merchant Services Racing machine Lucas Downs and Dean Stirling.

In response to joining the new team, Kyle Marcelli said, “Although we’re a new team this year, we have a tremendous amount of combined experience, between our team principals, managers, engineers and drivers. It is not our first rodeo and we have our sights set on the top step of the podium.” Kyle Marcelli already has a professional sports car racing history with the Merchant Services name. Last year, Marcelli drove a #99 JMB Racing/Merchant Services Limited prototype to his first major sports car racing class victory at the Imola six-hour event.

Kyle Marcelli and the whole Merchant Services Racing team will be put to the test at Sebring on March 17th.

Boss Mustang Takes Continental Tire Series Daytona 200 for 2012

Photo Credit: Grand Am

The Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race receives credit for being the annual kick-off for North American motorsports. However, the sensational around-the-clock event is not the first set of vehicles to compete at the Florida race facility. One day before the high-profile 24-hour event, the Grand Am Continental Tire Series christens the Daytona International Speedway with a brief 200-mile sprint race among production-derived race cars.

Composing of the two categories, the BMW Performance at 200 Daytona features the powerful Grand Sport and the smaller Sport Tuning category vehicles, The 2012 season opener for the Grand Am Continental Tire Series allowed the engine notes of the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Porsche 997, Kia Forte and the BMW M3 to hum across the Daytona track for 58 laps.

A first time for many driver and car combinations unite in competition, the The 200-mile event on the 3.56-mile road course proved precarious even before the green flag dropped. Jarrett Andretti (son of NASCAR/INDYCAR winner John Andretti) made contact with the turn 2 retaining barrier. Along with Andretti, the #57 Volkswagen Jetta piloted by Eric Metzger spun in turn 3 minutes later.

When the green flag finally dropped after the chaotic warm-up laps, pole-sitting #10 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302R driven by Shelby Blackstock enjoyed a short-lived time at the front of the GS class. Launching from 4th place in the opening lap, the #01 Chevrolet Camaro of Eric Curran took the lead of the Daytona race. By lap 3, the #55 Aston Martin Vantage was running in second place while the #13 Rum Bum Racing BMW M3 was third. In the Grand Am Continental Tire Series ST category, the Kia Forte Koup driven by Andy Lally led the first 10 laps until the #81 BMW 328i took the class' top position.

Photo Credit: Grand Am

As the race progressed, the front position of both Grand Am Continental Tire Series categories would not be entirely enviable. Consisting of a total of nine lead changes on the front, the BMW Performance 200 at Daytona GS class would end with some pacesetter falling out of the fold. the #01 Camaro early race-leading pace ended with a 22nd place finishing position. The BGB Motorsports Porsche 997 also led mid-way through the event but resulted in the race team settling for 11th place.

Taking the lead on lap 41, the #61 Roush Performance Ford Mustang Boss 302R driven by Billy Johnson and Jack Roush Jr never gave up the top position in the BMW Performance 200 at Daytona. Taking the checkered flag, the 2012 race victory is the first for the Ford Mustang since 2007. In the final results, the Grand Sport category  Ford Mustang Boss 302R and BMW M3 sports cars that covered the top 11 spots. Behind the winning Roush Performance Mustang Boss 302R, three BMW M3s fielded by Fall-Line Motorsports finished 2nd through 4th place.

Narrowing losing the GS class to the Ford Mustang Boss 302R car, the BMW brand's plans for one class victory was also quashed in the ST category. The #31 i-Moto Mazdaspeed3 won the class with the #10 Kinetic/Kia Racing car ahead of the #81 BMW 328i.