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.

Corvette to Raid Grand Am Daytona Prototype Class in 2012

Photo Credit: General Motors

When the Chevrolet Corvette was first introduced in 1953, the personal sports car struggled through the first few years of existence barely convincing American (let alone the world) the two-seat fiberglass vehicle would be worthy of the 'sport' moniker. It was a young engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov that led the champion for V-8 power unleashing the Corvette's performance potential.

In 1955, the first production years of the eight cylinder powerplant, Duntov led an exhibition to Daytona Beach, Florida demonstrating the Chevrolet Corvette for a two-way mile speed run. Sailing to a 135-mile per hour run on the soft sand of the Daytona in 1955, Duntov himself piloted a specially-outfitted Corvette at an average speed of 150.582 miles per hour a year later. Breaking the 150-mile per hour benchmark Zora Arkus-Duntov wanted to achieve with the Chevrolet Corvette, the motorsport legend of the American sports car was born in Daytona Beach. For the upcoming 2012 Rolex 24 of Daytona race, Corvette will create another chapter in sports car competition history in the origin of their performance foundation.

Photo Credit: General Motors

Bringing the sports character of Corvette to the Grand Am Road Racing Series' top Daytona Prototype class, the wraps were taken off a stylish blue race car on November 15th. Long-time Corvette Racing supplier Pratt and Miller as well as General Motors were involved in bringing the Chevrolet Corvette's persona to the Grand-Am Rolex Series next season.

Conforming with the Daytona Prototype class' cost-saving construction structure, the Corvette Daytona Prototype is shaped with a front-end shaped to the current stock sports car. The 2012 Daytona Prototype car may also hint at the production car styling planned for the seventh-generation Corvette (the C7) due for the 2014 or 2015 model year. A familiar Corvette styling feature despite the fact it was involved on only the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, the split-rear window is incorporated on the Daytona Prototype car shielding the mid-engine chassis configuration. The Corvette's large side louvers also makes an appearance on the Daytona Prototype car incorporated in the functional aerodynamics of the bodywork.

Photo Credit: General Motors

Conducting a track test at the Daytona International Speedway's 3.56-mile road course just a day after its introduction to the public, the Corvette Daytona Prototype racer is already positioned to present a sizable force for the 2012 edition of the 24-hour event. Three of the early race entrants includes the #10 Suntrust Racing, #99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing and the #90 Spirit of Daytona Racing teams that were Chevrolet-powered participants of the concluded 2011 campaign. Along with winning over current Chevrolet teams in the Grand Am Rolex Series, the Corvette body and Chevy engines will also be presented in the Action Express Racing #5 and #9 teams. The 2010 Rolex 24 of Daytona champion Action Express Racing organization had campaigned with Porsche power based off the Cayenne's V-8 engine. Spirit of Daytona Racing owner and manager Troy Flis was an instant supporter of the factory-supported Corvette Daytona Prototype program. “Everyone will immediately recognize it as a Corvette which is different than the original DPs and that is a huge advantage for Chevrolet” said Flis. 

Photo Credit: General Motors

The Daytona International Speedway was the launch pad for the GT class Chevrolet Corvette C5R in 1999 narrowly missing out on a class win. Refining under racing conditions, the Corvette C5R would two years later take overall victory in the 24-hour sports car event. The #2 Corvette Racing car piloted by brand heroes Chris Kneifel, Franck Freon, Johnny O'Connell and Ron Fellows celebrated victory ahead of other major sports car wins including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Competing in the American Le Mans Series, the Corvette Racing C6R sports cars will remain a GT mainstay.  

Contain to be a big draw to the 2012 Grand Am Rolex Series, the Corvette Daytona Prototype will face tough competition on the top-class of the sports car circuit. The Daytona event is slated to be the Chevrolet Corvette's first appearance in the prototype class since the IMSA GTP car fielded by NASCAR's Rick Hendrick in the mid-1980s.

Toyota Returning to Le Mans with Oreca Partnership

Photo Credit: Toyota Europe

Surging to the top of production car sales during the late 1990s, Japanese automaker Toyota attempted to secure the crown jewel in sports car endurance racing. In the 1997 running of the 24 hours of Le Mans race, Toyota’s GT-One prototype car appeared primed to celebrate motorsport’s greatest staple in durability. However, within 30 minutes of the race's completion, a mechanical problem suffered on the lead car cost the Japanese brand the right to claim a precious manufacturer victory. Attempting two more times to take the Le Mans 24-Hour event, Toyota gave up on their ambition for sports car racing supremacy at the famous French race for 12 years. In 2012, the prototype class will once again have a Toyota branded vehicle competing for top honours.

Displayed as a closed cockpit prototype, the rendering released on the new LMP1 sports car will be built at Toyota's technical and motorsport center in Cologne, Germany. Campaigning in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as select sports car events, the Toyota LMP1 car will be powered by a gasoline engine combined with hybrid technology. Toyota Motor Corporation experience in hybrid gas/electric powertrain technology in road cars will play a part in developing the brand new race car.

Unlike the last time where Toyota Motor Corporation set up a European racing operation (which later became the base for a Toyota Formula 1 program), the Japanese auto company has entered a partnership deal with Groupe Oreca for field cars through the 2012 World Endurance Championship of sports car racing rounds. President of Oreca Hugues de Chaunac boasted “It's a very big day for Oreca.” following the announced collaboration with Toyota. Making a household name of itself when it campaigned the Dodge Viper (known as the Chrysler Viper in European) through GT competition in the late 1990s, Oreca has been consistently involved with the prototype sports car categories. Oreca's most recent landmark triumph on the race track was an overall class victory at the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring where the group competed with a customer Peugeot 908 race car. In the American Le Mans Series' LMPC category, all race chassis structures are sourced from France's Groupe Oreca. Well-seasoned French sports car team Oreca is set to provide the operational support. (similar to the work Team Joest performs for Audi Sport’s Audi R18).

Testing for the new Toyota prototype sports car should be conducted over the winter. Along with more extensive details on the race vehicle, the driver line-up for the 2012 Oreca/Toyota team should be finalized at a later date.

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Triumphs in Stormy Mid-Ohio ALMS Round

Photo Credit: BMW Group USA



 

After the team started the season with a mechanical retirement in the American Le Mans Series opening round, the Muscle Milk Racing Aston Martin powered Lola has mounted an impressive domination in the 2011 LMP1 class. Winning three of the last four ALMS events with overall victory, the pairing of Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr have been a top podium mainstay for a sports car category presenting fewer than a half-dozen runners in most 2011 events. Mounting a serious offensive against the Muscle Milk Aston Martin-Lola has been the Mazda-engined prototype fielded by Dyson Racing. Winning the Lime Rock event, the Dyson Racing car took pole for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge Saturday. In GT class, the Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan Racing #56 BMW M3 GT car driven by Jorg Muller and Joey Hand led over their teammate's vehicle. 

Once the green dropped on the Mid-Ohio Sport Car Challenge for a 2 hour and 45 minute sprint event, the sports cars initially were confronted with a slippery 2.258-mile race course covered with race rubber left by the IZOD INDYCAR Series' Firestone tires. This early grip challenge caused the GT class leading BMW M3 GT to relinquish not just one but two positions as the #4 Chevrolet Corvette C6R ZR1 took over the category lead. At the front of the overall field for the Mid-Ohio event, the #16 Lola-Mazda pulled away to an advantage lasting for 37 laps.   

 

By halfway through the event, on track contact between many cars amounted to a slew of penalties being issued for avoidable contact. One incident of on-track collisions involved the GT class BMW M3s belonging Rahal/Letterman/Lanigan. Entering the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course's Keyhole turn, the teammates made contact resulting in the #56 car spinning. Incidents of contact on track would involve many other GT, Prototype and Challenge class machines. 

 

Shaping into a bizarre race with the high number of penalties, when the first caution flew for a stopped Prototype Challenge machine, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge event for the American Le Mans Series turned comical. During the caution period midway through the event, the Honda S2000 pace car withdrew due to a transmission problem. The Porsche Cayenne medical vehicle needed to fill in as the race's pace car.

 

In the last 40 minutes of the event, rain began to pelt the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course causing some dangerously slick conditions even for sports cars which pitted for wet weather tires. The late stage of the race in inclement weather proved costly for the Corvette Racing team. After first appearing to gain the upper hand by promptly swapping to rain tires, the #3 Corvette C6R ZR1 spun after making contact with a fellow GT competitor. Driven by Olivier Beretta and Tommy Milner, the #3 car had to fight its way back to 6th place in class. As for the #4 piloted by the pairing of Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen, their long-term leading the GT class would not include the important final laps. As the skies opened up to completely drench the circuit, the #4 Corvette briefly fought to retain control. This moment of correction by the #4 car, in the hands of Oliver Gavin, was just enough time for the #17 Team Falken Tires Porsche 911 RSR wheeled by Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler to take lead and the GT victory at Mid-Ohio. Finishing second, the Corvette driver Oliver Gavin later said, "Those last four or five laps were absolutely insane,".  

 

Due to three cars sliding off track in the midst of a major downpour, the American Le Mans Series ended the race under yellow with the #6 Muscle Milk Aston Martin-Lola taking the class victory for the fourth time this season in American Le Mans Series competition. Taking the race's lead for the final time at lap 62, the Aston Martin-powered Muscle Milk Motorsports effort sailed to an almost 1 minute and 10 second lead over the #16 car.  

 

In the LMPC class, a fight between Intersport Racing cars concluded with the #89 machine driven by Tomy Drissi and Kyle Marcelli taking class victory at Mid-Ohio. Spencer Pumpelly and Duncan Ende drove their Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to GT Challenge class victory for the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge. 

 

 

2011 American Le Mans Series

Lexington, Ohio 

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge

Race Results

 

1. 6  LMP1  Klaus Graf/Lucas Luhr AMR/ Lola Coupe B08 62 
2. 16  LMP1  Chris Dyson/ Guy Smith  Lola B09 86/Mazda 
3. 89  LMPC  Kyle Marcelli /Tomy Drissi Oreca FLM09 
4. 37  LMPC  Clint Field/ Jon Field  Oreca FLM09 
5. 52  LMPC  Javier Echeverria  Oreca FLM09 
6. 17  GT  Bryan Sellers/Wolf Henzler  Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 
7. 4  GT  Jan MagnussenOliver Gavin  Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 
8. 55  GT  Bill Auberlen/ Dirk Werner BMW M3 GT 
9. 56  GT  Dirk Mueller/ Joey Hand  BMW M3 GT 
10. 01  GT  Johannes van Overb/ Scott Sharp Ferrari F458 Italia 
11. 3  GT  Olivier Beretta/Tommy Milner  Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 
12. 06  LMPC  Gunnar Jeannette/ Ricardo Gonzalez Oreca FLM09 
13. 04  GT  Anthony Lazzaro/ David Murry Doran Ford GT 
14. 63  LMPC Christian Zugel/ Eric Lux  Oreca FLM09 
15. 48  GT  Bryce Miller/ Sascha Maassen Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 
16. 45  GT  Joerg Bergmeister/Patrick Long  Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 
17. 05  LMPC  Frankie Montecalvo/ Jon Bennett  Oreca FLM09 
18. 44  GT Darren Law/ Seth Neiman  Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 
19. 12  LMP1  Chris McMurry/ Tony Burgess  Lola B06/10 
20. 98  GT PJ Jones/ Rocky Moran  Jaguar XKR 
21. 99  GT  Bruno Junqueira/ Ken Wilden Jaguar XKR 
22. 66  GTC Spencer Pumpelly/ Duncan Ende Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 
23. 54  GTC  Jeroen Bleekemolen/ Tim Pappas Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 
24. 77  GTC  Craig Stanton/ John Potter  Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 
25. 18  LMPC  Anthony Nicolosi/ Jarrett Boon Oreca FLM09 
26. 11  GTC  Chris Cumming/Nick Ham  Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 
27. 62  GT  Jaime Melo/ Toni Vilander  Ferrari F458 Italia 
28. 23  GTC  Leh Keen/ Bill Sweedler  Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 
29. 40  GT Andrea Robinson/ Melanie Snow  Doran Ford GT/Elan 
30. 34  GTC  Andrew Davis/ Peter Lesaffre Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 
31. 68  GTC  Dion von Moltke/ Marc Bunting  Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 
32. 02  GT Ed Brown/ Guy Cosmo Ferrari F458 Italia 
33. 20  LMP1  Humaid Al Masaood/Steven Kane  Lola B09/86 Mazda