Sebring 12 Hours 2004

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Sebring 12 hours 2004 Preview

The annual Sebring 12 hours race this year on 20th March marks the real start of the 2004 sportscar calendar. You might argue that surely Daytona kicked off the season but in reality Daytona and Grand Am are now a National "One Make" race series which is sad to see after some of the great 24 hour classics even of the recent past. This may seem a harsh judgement but when the GT3 Porsches have to be so severely restricted to prevent them embarrassing the 'Daytona Prototypes', it is hard to consider the series as a true sportscar series. However the Grand Am has the might of NASCAR behind it, and it will undoubtedly produce tight racing (even if that is engineered) and it is a serious threat to the health of International sportscar racing in the USA. This is a crucial year for the ALMS. Sebring has a 48-car entry of which 36 are potential starters in the rest of the series. A three car Racers Group entry may not run the full series and others may race Sebring as a one-off but t
here are others who may join after Le Mans. So potentially the ALMS has a good entry for the 2004 series. Some of the battles that were highlights of the last few years may be replaced by others this year.

Let us consider the prospects for the 2004 race class by class and also consider the implications for the ALMS over the rest of the year when the 12 "European" entrants return to the LMES.

The LMP 1 class we have 3 Audis, 3 Lola B160, 2 Riley & Scott MKIIIC, 1 Lola B2K/10, 1 Dallara Judd and a GTP Panoz and Lotus Elise. The Audis should still of the rough Sebring track and 12 hours be the class of the field. Champion have a class driver act and huge experience of the ALMS and America on their side but Audi UK have one trump card in Alan McNish. I believe the McNish is perhaps one of the best sports-car drivers ever, whose sportscar career has been interrupted by a fruitless period of F1. In the long term this break may prejudice how history ranks him in the list of all time greats but he has the ability to produce extraordinary performances and is a great team man. The former 675 Lolas may take the race to the Audis particularly in practice but as yet the turbo powered Dyson cars have yet to prove continued longevity. This could be Dyson's season in the ALMS with only one Audi and at last perhaps the development time to add reliability to the established pace.
 

The other 675 Lola is the Intersport Judd powered car which in its two outings last year lacked a little pace but lasted 10 hours at Road Atlanta and 5 at Le Mans without engine problems. If winter development by John Judd has produced the promised extra horses without a loss of reliability this could be the surprise package of the race and season. Intersport seem better prepared at the start of 2004 than they have been for many years and after the trials of 2003 they deserve to reap rewards in 2004. They are also some of the nicest people to work with from our point of view.  Most proven of the rest is the Dallara, an ex Oreca chassis which in testing has shown great promise but it is perhaps too early for team and drivers to excel here.

The Taurus Lola has shown pace and the chassis showed its class as long ago as 2000 when the Olive Garden car was the class of the field at Silverstone. Since then however like many promising Lola designs it has lacked the concerted development of a dedicated factory car, one suspects that the potential of the chassis has still not been fully exploited and can a lone Taurus car without a factory size budget spring a surprise here. The Riley and Scotts can at best be considered class fillers, which may pick up the odd podium in later races by default but here the cream should dominate the podium. The Panoz will enthuse the crowds but I suspect the Lotus will struggle to keep pace with the LMP2 cars.

In LMP2 we have real strength in depth, seven cars of which 6 are Lola B2K/40 variants. The good news is that they should all see out the full ALMS season and this could be the most closely contested class of 2004. The odd one out is the Bucknum Pilbeam MP91 powered by the IES engine. Last season was a learning year for the team, after a great 2002 they upgraded both car and engine and went to Le Mans. They acknowledge this was too much for a small team but this season they expect that a season ascending the learning curve should pay off.

At times in 2003 particularly in Jeff Bucknum's hands the car showed real pace and it is nearer an LMP2 than the 675 it ran as last year. Sheer weight of numbers suggest a good year for Lola but which one. All bar the Intersport car run Nissan engines. Intersport has opted to run the same Judd V8 as the LMP1 car and should have the pace to win in the end. With the car barely on its way to Sebring from the Lola factory this could be too soon in its development. LMP2 could be the saving of the ALMS in 2004 and beyond and maintain Americas place in the International sports-car world.

In GTS in 2003 we had some titanic battles between the factory Corvettes and Prodrive Ferrari 550. This year at least so far the 550 is going to be seen only in Europe and Japan. But Prancing Horse fans need not cry too long, as at Sebring at least, the New Barron Connor Team of John Bosch will represent the Scuderia. They have a strong driver line up and the 575 is reputed to have considerable factory support. The only real opposition to the Corvettes will be the ACEMO factory supported Saleen. The S7R scored a surprise win at Sebring in 2001 but in the following seasons penalties imposed because of limited production blunted its challenge. This year it however competes on a level playing field so expect it to at least keep the Corvettes honest throughout the season. The class really needs some Ferraris in the mix to maintain the entertainment of last year.

In GT Alex Job as in past seasons enters Sebring and the series as hot favourites. However this year the Porsche class opposition looks far stronger and the Risi Ferrari 360 will also attempt to keep Job off at least total domination. The Sebring field also has TVR, Panoz and Morgan to add interest. Towards the end of last year TVR showed real glimpses of progress but this year a new team and drivers may take time to further that progress. After a difficult 2003 the Le Mans 1000km showed that the Morgan was developing in the right direction and hopefully both TVR and Morgan will feature at Le Mans this year. There seems to be some suggestions that all is not well with the Panoz programme but one hopes this is unfounded, as the series needs the variety once TVR and Morgan return to Europe.

With perhaps a smaller European entry than recent years Sebring should be a good pointer to the rest of the ALMS season. LMP2 and GT will be the most fiercely contested classes of 2004 but if the little Lolas can show reliability to match their undoubted pace LMP1 could light up the front of the field. GTS needs a couple of Ferrari's to add weight to the class and support ACEMO in its lone battle against the might of GM.

Peter Radcliffe
Club Arnage

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SEBRING WEDNESDAY 17th MARCH

Morning session

   The weather is warm with a high cloud cover as we arrive at the circuit and the forecast for the rest of the week is dry and warm. Yesterday late morning it rained the proverbial cats and dogs and areas were deep in water for a while. Most of the track dried for the ALMS test session but showers and puddles kept most people from the track. Before the first timed session today I managed to talk to some of the teams.

   Firstly Graham Dale-Jones of IES cleared up the LMP2 engine rules for me and also the IES/JPX differences. The LMP2 engines range from 3litre Nissan to the 3.4 litre Judd that is in the Intersport car and performance is equalised with different restrictor sizes. The three litre Nissan that is in the Pilbeam this weekend has a 42.7 restrictor as opposed the 3.4 IES and Judd engines which run 41.8 restrictors. The IES/JPX engine was designed by IES but the two companies have now gone their separate ways. This year the IES has a new block and sump which is stronger but more importantly easier to change and work on. Dale thought that JPX were planning new cylinder heads on the French engine and that the JPX would be in two Courages and the Bruneau Pilbeam this year in Europe. The Bucknum Pilbeam looks very nice in its new blue and white Racing for Holland style livery.

Also in LMP2 the Intersport Lola B2K/40 Judd is running very well so far. Rick Sutherland said they had managed about 300 miles so far with out problems. The engine is the only common part with the LMP1 car. The car is still in black unpainted carbon body shell at this race. The two LMP1 Intersport cars look very smart on the now familiar blue and red colours.

There are 2 Lola B2K/40 cars running under the American Spirit racing entry but the #10 car is very much a separate operation by Miracle Motorsports. This is the ex Essex car of Jason Workman from last season and Miracle will go their own way after Sebring. The #11 car is the American Spirit car that they will run for the remainder of the season. Tony Dowe said a second car may appear later in the season.

The Lone ACEMO Saleen was engineless this morning, they lost an engine last Friday and the new race engine is due in at noon today. They hope to run a few laps in the afternoon session but are not too concerned as they have completed plenty of testing at Sebring over recent weeks. The two Barron Connor Ferraris look very purposeful but we are yet to see if the on track performance matches the looks. Ron Fellows reported that the Corvettes have taken a major step forward this season much of it as a result of the switch to Michelin rubber. He reckons the experience of the 3 car can match the youthful exuberance of the 4 car! The lone Viper as always looks very smart but is unlikely to feature in the results.
The TVR cars are very smart in their new purple livery, the biggest noticeable difference to the cars since they appeared at Le Mans at the end of the last season is a wider front track and very different front body. The Morgan is in the same Blue as it appeared at the LM 1000km last year and when I spoke to the team yesterday they were just completing a job list from the scrutineers. At Racers group the 66 and 67 cars are new cars and benefit from a new green colour scheme. The 68 car is still in the blue colours from last year for the Ecurie Ecosse team of Donaldson, Fisken and Maserati. Flying Lizard are a new team for this season and their two red Porsche GT3 RSRs will race the full season.

We have two “GT” cars in the LMP1 class here, the Panoz GTP entered by Labre Christophe Bouchut the star driver in this team. This car is much more the open LMP1 car with a roof than the last GTP car which had a shorter wheelbase. The other GTP is the Lotus Elise from Team Elite. This is based on the old Lotus Elise from 1967 vintage but the team hope that as the season develops they will be competitive. The current engine is apparently much improved and they have shed substantial weight. They also have a revised aero package in the pipeline for later events this season and hope to return to Le Mans next year.

The class of the LMP1 field are of course the three Audis but this season particularly after a busy winters testing I would expect to see the Dyson Lolas win more races. Hopefully most of the bugs that plagued the cars last year have been resolved but a rough Sebring circuit would shift the balance towards Audi. The Rollcentre Dallara looks very smart its colours design the same as the car when raced by Oreca just different colours. They liked the original so much they decided to use the layout themselves.

 
 

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Practice session one

The first official practice ended with an Audi 1-2 but Andy Wallace in the first of the Dyson Lolas was less than a second behind. Marco Werner Lead the way for Champion followed by the 28 Audi UK car, the second UK audi was in 4th place followed by the second Dyson Lola which now has Jan Lammers with Chris Dyson and Didier de Radigues. Next up was Jao Barbosa in the Dallara but Rob Barff confirmed that this new team is very much still dialing in drivers and car. Rob is very much enjoying his first sports prototype adventure. The Field Intersport Lola was next up but thay had a frustrating session with several short runs and the time 5 secs away is not representative of the cars potential. In fact earlier this week they posted 1.50 sec laps and yesterday the car was fastest of all through the speed traps. Never trust a driver for information technical, John Judd confirmed that the Judd in the LMP1 Lola is an XV not the KV engine they ran last year. The XV is a much more modern engine originally designed as a CART engine and is more powerful than the KV in the LMP2 car. John Judd also confirmed that Nasamax are now running the 5 litre V10 on bioethanol fuel, he said the initial changes to run on the fuel were very small, they ran the engine on the dyno and re-mapped it for the ethanol and Nasamax had 3 very useful days testing on the Bugatti circuit in November. The Reynard is currently being converted to full LMP1 spec and has had some aero testing at Millbrook. Testing will buildup once an entry to the 24hours is confirmed but the car is likely to be the only car running to the new LMP1 rules in June. Just behind the Intersport Lola is the Taurus Lola in Citgo livery with Milka Duno and Justin Wilson joining Phil Andrews.

   The Corvettes followed youth leading experience, the first of the new 575 Ferraris nearly 4 seconds behind. In fact the Ferraris were split by the Viper. The Saleen will be out this afternoon so we will have the first indications of how close to the Covettes it is, Mowlem and Brabham will share driving duties today.

   The Panoz finished the session 12th but the team are really at this stage feeling their way into this new car, the plans for the rest of the season seem fluid at the present, like many the end of the month when Le Mans entries are confirmed seems to hold the answer to the seasons plans. The other GTP the Lotus has yet to run.

   For most of the session Jeff Bucknum in the Pilbeam was fastest but a minor electrical problem ended their session early and Clint field pipped them to fastest class time.

   Fastest in GT was Romain Dumas in the #24 Job Porsche followed by Anthony Lazzaro in the Risi Ferrari 360, the first of the Racers Group Porsches #66 was next before the second Job car so at least at this early stage it is not a Job whitewash.

Hugh Chamberlain was his normal self, a little browned off as his workshop has been broken into twice since he left London on Friday! TVR developments over the winter have involved a major re-engineering of the chassis and an increase of front (substantially) and rear a little, the car is now to maximum class permitted dimensions and very close to the weight limit. He expects the Porsches to Qualify in around the 2.04 second mark and hopes the TVR can lap in 2.06. The 91 TVR was slowest this morning completing one lap before “An electrical fault, the wiring loom broke when a rod came through the side of the engine!” On Le Mans he will be devastated if they do not get an entry and very disappointed if they do not get two. Morgan also hope to be at Le Mans again in June and several sponsorship programmes and the rest of the season plans hinge on the results of the ACO deliberations. The car was 10 seconds off the class pole but they had found themselves very undergeared and were changing the axle ratio when I visited after the session.

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Sebring second practice 17th March

   In most cases times were coming down a little from this morning, there were several complaints that the track was slippery yesterdays rain having washed away some of the rubber laid in testing. The afternoon session was much warmer and this may also have had an effect. The session ended with Audi on top once more but this time it was Audi UK and Jamie Davies who set the fastest time of day. The #16 Lola was second in this session but although they had improved by nearly a second but it was still only the 4th fastest time of the day. The other two Audis were 3rd and 4th in session followed by two more Lolas this session the Field car in front of the second Dyson car. Another Lola followed but this time it was the Taurus car which had improved by a second to displace the Dallara. The Panoz was again 12th OA but slower than this morning and at least the Lotus was seen on the track even if it did not record a time.

In GTS ACEMO posted a warning to the Corvettes being just over a second behind the leading Corvette, again the youthful #4 car but the Ferraris seemed to have gone the wrong way, slower than this morning six seconds off the pace.
   
   The LMP2 class was again lead by Clint Field but generally the class this afternoon was slower Field 3 seconds slower than this morning.

   The #24 Job Porsche remained top of class but it had to improve to stay ahead of the lone Ferrari 360. The second Job car was less than a second behind its team mate but separated from it by 5 cars, it appears that at least so far Porsche is being more even handed. The Morgan was one of the biggest improvers in the afternoon by nearly 4 seconds but it was still nearly 7 seconds off the class mark. One TVR ran but the other was still having its “electrical fault” repaired.

   Tomorrow will see one more practice session before Qualifying so tomorrow we should see the answers to some of the questions from today. The most urgent is can the Ferrari 575 offer any challenge to Corvette.

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Sebring practice 3

Thursday has dawned another perfect day, its like a warm summer English day with blue sky and no wind. Its only the smell off the orange blossom and the flat countryside that reminds one how far from winter in Europe we are.

   Times in this mornings session saw the expected improvements in times, only LMP2 was slower than yesterday. There is more rubber down on the track and teams are nearing an optimum set up. At Sebring because of the bumps it is always something of a compromise on settings and rubber. One driver commented his tyres were “strong” “I am not allowed so say hard!”
 
   LMP1 at least for qualifying is likely to be an Audi dogfight, right at the end of the session Alan McNish set fastest lap of the week so far and first sub 1.50 secs lap of 1.49.419. They were followed by the Champion Audi 0.6 behind and the third Audi nearly 2 seconds back. As in previous sessions the 16 Dyson Lola was next followed by the Intersport Lola which had tried new tyres which did not work and the Dallara which had closed the gap to Audi A big mover was the Autocon Riley and Scott which has improved by about 5 seconds since the start of the week.

   In LMP2 the Intersport Lola has again lead the class but the rest of the class is very close they have so far had very few problems, “just minor new car issues”. The Pilbeam was slow yesterday and this was explained by the team, they were bumped by Duncan Dayton in the Intersport Lola in turn three and this broke a joint in the front suspension. Other than minor problems, a loose gear linkage and a lost tail light on the Sebring bumps they are running better than last year, signs of a return to 2002 reliability are showing. The Rand Racing Lolas are showing consistently at the top of the field as is the American Spirit #11 car. This morning the top five in class were covered by a second and a half which augers well for the race,

   GTS is still Corvette junior in front of Corvette senior then the Saleen less than 2 seconds back. The Ferraris are still stuck in the 2.02 second with the Viper between them but this is in part explained by the fact that this is the first time they have run the car in Le Mans spec. The car as tested so far was in FIA spec and this is really an extended test session for the team. They are building a long list of changes needed for when the cars return to Modena after the race. At least so far the cars have run without mechanical problems.

   The #24 Job Porsche still leads but now the #23 car is second, normal order has returned in GT. The lead GT Porsche is now into the 2.04 bracket as predicted by Hugh Chamberlain yesterday but the lead TVR is down to 2.07.795 almost exactly 3 seconds back. The second TVR is behind the Morgan which lapped in 2.13.196 before a gear linkage broke but at this stage the team are happy with progress. They would like as at Le Mans to split the TVRs in the race and feel that they have considerable development to come before Le Mans.

   The Scottish Racers Group Porsche has had a nightmare start to the week, Piers Maserati (his mothers Scottish, honest) explained that at the start of the week Monday they had a rear end problem, They thought that overnight work had cured it but Tuesday and Wednesday Morning it was still there. At last Yesterday afternoon it was sorted only for Milka Duno in the Taurus Lola to take them off and inflict fron suspension damage. Thus they have each had very few laps in the car, Piers will qualify the car and perhaps they have had their weekends problems over and done with in practice.  

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GTS and GT Qualifying

   The surprise of this session was in GT but we will come to that later. The session was interrupted early when Kelleners spun the lone Ferrari 360 and stopped in a dangerous place. Before the flag Gavin had been the first below 2 minutes, he was followed by Fellows and Belloc with the Ferraris lagging behind. The #66 Porsche was the early GT class leader.

   After the Green flag was waved the 360 fortunately undamaged and back running, the front of the pack developed into a Corvette battle of honour between youth and maturity. First it was Gavin then Fellows seemed to have stolen a march until the very end when Gavin dropped below 1.57 for the first time this week setting a 1.46.858 just after the chequered flag flew leaving Fellows no time to respond. Belloc remained in third his time of 2.00.971 the surprise of the session in GTS. At Ferrari both cars improved by a second but are still a long way behind the Corvette.

   The surprise was in GT, once the session was underway properly we had a Job one two until four minutes from the end when Mike Rockeenfeller over half a second better than the best either Job car could achieve. The Ferrari ended 6th in class behind the #66 and #45 Porsches. The lead TVR was 12th in class slightly slower than this morning, the second car was 14th just in front of the Morgan and they both set their fastest laps so far.

   The Saleen failed to set a time having spun and flat spotted its tyres on its first lap. As the tyres had to be changed this automatically relegated them to the back of the grid so they remained parked in front of their pit for the rest of the session.  

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LMP1 and LMP2 qualifying

The three Audis lead the field away and Alan McNish was first to set a target with his first flying lap a 1.49.701. The first LMP2 to cross the line was Clint Field but his time only stood for a few seconds before Jeff Bucknum stole class pole with 2.01.715. This time was good enough to retain the position throughout the session. In the end in LMP2 Marino Franchitti came closest in the #8 Rand Racing Lola his time just enough to Demote the Intersport Lola to 3rd. All but one of the LMP2 cars were within three seconds of class pole so prospects in this class for tomorrow are looking very good.

In the LMP1 class there were some nice surprises, initially the Dallara ran 4th behind the Audis before first weaver and then right at the end John Field slipped past. The steady progress of the Dallara has impressed throughout the week especially considering the limited LMP experience of the team and drivers and they are now very much challenging for best of the rest, a podium would not be a surprise. The two Riley and Scotts were almost inseparable throughout the session in class 8th and 9th Intersport just in front of Autocon. The Lotus completed 3 laps but the disappointment was the Taurus Lola which was late out and only completed 5 laps its fastest of 2.02.245 well away from the 1.55 it set on Wednesday in the second practice session, but it’s a long race and we have seen that the car has good potential earlier this week so it is too early to write off the Taurus car.

Tonight there is a night practice session and tomorrow a final practice before the race on Saturday. GTS should on the evidence so far be the only class that is unlikely to feature an intermarque battle as the Corvettes should dominate. LMP1, LMP2 and GT are all likely to produce titanic battles.

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Night practice and post-qualification scrutineering update

   After qualification the times of five cars were disallowed for technical violations. The cars have not been disqualified but will start from the back of the field. They were;

LMP2 the Pilbeam failed its stall test so the #8 Rand Lola inherits pole.

GTS the #4 Corvette has its time disallowed due to wing end plates being out of compliance so Fellows inherits his 14th and the record number of ALMS poles.
The Dodge Viper time is also disallowed due to running with incorrect engine restrictors.

GT the BAM Porsche #43 loses pole as its front splitter was extended to far, the #24 Job Porsche was also disallowed as its front spoiler was to low so the #23 Job car inherits class pole.
The

   The night practice session saw most of the usual suspects at the top, three Audis (McNish fastest) followed by four Lolas, the Taurus car separating the two Dyson cars car from the Intersport car. It was however not all good news for Taurus as the car pulled off after 9 laps only Justin Wilson having driven in the dark session, The regulations state that all drivers must do at least three night laps but both Phil Andrews and Milka Duno have previous night experience so organisers discretion should allow them to run. The #8 Rand Lola with Andy Lally driving was fastest in LMP2 Followed by Intersport and the Pilbeam.

   The Corvettes Gavin again topped GTS with the Saleen in shouting distance and the #26 Ferrari in particular seems to be showing steady improvement, its still about 4 seconds away from the Corvettes but it is a long race as Doug Fehan observed this morning. The Michelins have made a huge difference to the Corvettes, probably at least 2 seconds a lap here since last year.

   Sacha Maassen was fastest in GT followed by the BAM car and the second Job car. Amanda Stretton stopped the #91 TVR on course early in the session but managed to get going again later and the car ended the session fastest of the British specialist cars.                              

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The British Teams at Sebring

Morgan
   
The 2003 season was a tough one for Morgan starting with the non start at Sebring and missing out on the Le Mans 24 hour race and the non start in the FIA race but things started to go in the right direction at Bugatti Circuit for the 1000k. Before the 1000k three new partners joined the team and in two three hour test sessions they made major steps forward. For the first time the engine ran reliably and with Yokohama, KW suspension and Marelli ignitions they found four seconds. The 1000k saw a trouble free run and a finish splitting the TVRs. At Sebring again they have made progress and now are very happy with the braking, which they feel is as good as if not better than the Porsches. They do however lose out on acceleration out of corners and top speed. This is a combination of the shape with which they can do little but also handling, traction, gearing and engine power all of which they have plans to work on. However much depends on gaining a 24hrs entry as this is the key to several sponsorship deals and at present they are scraping the barrel even to be at Sebring. John Wickham helped out at Bugatti because he was there and rather than developments on the car he was able to help on logistics and pit management. The future plans for the season very much hang on the decision of the ACO at the end of this month.

PK Sport

PK Sport are still using the 2003 cars with which they are so familiar and with which they nearly won the class at the LM 1000k. The fastest car is probably the Lidell/Plumb/ Boss car and with some doubts over the new sequential box in the 2004 cars PK may well achieve a good result on the bumps of Sebring.

TVR

TVR like Morgan is untapped potential, they have a full LMES season planned plus they hope two Le Mans entries. Over the off season development has centred on what was basically a road car converted to race and now the car is race engineered and far more race than road. The track has been increased particularly at the front and the chassis is to racecar tolerances. They have made a big improvement on last year’s times here but like most teams any first race of the season is too soon. Asked if they came back next year where would they expect to see times, the response was if we came back next month we would turn in Porsche times. The first stage has been chassis and suspension but there is more to come in both and also in installation of engine and ancillaries to make life easier in a 24-hour race and optimise weight distribution. At present they are a little down on 2004 Porsche power but developments currently in hand at TVR should remedy that. The team have the experience of Hugh Chamberlain who has probably forgotten more than most team managers have learned plus good Factory and engineering experience. I would suggest that all they lack is a driver team with real development experience and pace to accelerate their progress.    
 

Rollcentre Dallara
This team are really enjoying themselves, they are like kids who have found the keys to the sweetie factory. They put the race engine Gearbox and rear suspension on the car on Wednesday, a late night for the crew, 4.30AM but over the week they have gradually made the car more and more comfortable to drive. Martin Short admitted that it was only this morning that he felt comfortable in the car, as up until this morning the car had been very bouncy over the bumps. Now the car is very easy over the entire track and Martin feels that Jao should manage a 51 and Rob and he should be not far behind. Jao will start the car tomorrow and remember that when Oreca ran the Dallara at Le Mans in 2002 all three finished. No Lola MG has finished a 24-hour race so far so if one of the Audis fails I expect the Dallara to be best of the rest. Where the team may well lose out is in the pits, they are still at the bottom of a learning curve, Martin said they had the chance to bring in experienced help but that he felt would have just made his team comfortable, “to learn you have to get on the curve and we have already made some mistakes this week but they have educated us”. Today they put on they bedded in brakes and when I saw them they were completing the race prep installing new front suspension components.      


Taurus Lola

One almost feels that this race is a week too soon for the team as on Wednesday the team make a major announcement re their plans for 2004. The car here is the ex Intersport Lola and not the very well developed car they have in Europe. The car was only taken over two weeks ago and three of the team have stripped and rebuilt the car for this race. Yesterday they had gearbox problems in qualification and then last night a drive shaft flange failed but although both Duno and Andrews did not do the requisite night laps they have sufficient night experience for the organisers to waive the rule. They hope to be back in the ALMS for Sonoma at Sears Point with two cars for Petit and Laguna and a full LMES season. They have two entries for Le Mans and drivers mentioned are Larry Oberto in ALMS, Didier Andre for Le Mans Phil Andrews, Justin Wilson if they can keep him, Benjamin Luenberger and several others are in the frame. The CITGO deal so far is a one off for this race but I got the impression that it may be extended.    

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Final practice

On Friday there was a single timed practice session and we saw the Audis once more claim the top three places in the order Smith, Pirro and Kaffer. The Taurus Lola perhaps had something to prove after the troubles of yesterday and was 4th quickest with a 1.53.124. John Field in the only little Lola to run was next, followed by the Dallara. Both Dyson Lolas sat out the session and will have their final pre-race run in tomorrows warm up session. The Lotus did not run either as it was having an engine change. Andy Wallace and Frank Biela could become third time overall winners a feat only previously achieved by Phil Hill. Andy Wallace will be going for his 10th podium and Audi be going for its 5th straight win which has only previously been achieved by Porsche.

Clint Field, Bucknum and Rand lead the LMP2 class so practice form suggests that the Intersport and Rand Lolas will run at the front with the lone Pilbeam somewhere amongst them. Spencer Pumpelly has been officially withdrawn from the #19 Lola so the team will run with only two drivers Gunnar and Eric Van der Steur.

In GTS once more Magnussen upheld the #4 car record followed by Papis and Mowlem. If Johnny O’Connell wins for Corvette he will become the first driver in Sebring history to have six class wins. One of his GT wins in 1994 was also an overall win

The GT times were lead by the Job cars of Luhr and Bergmeister followed by Bobbi in the Ferrari. If Luhr wins GT he will become the first driver to score five consecutive class wins. The #52 Seikel Porsche which was damaged arrived back from the bodyshop at about 4 this morning but should be repaired in time for tomorrows warm up session.

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Race morning

Warm up

The race day has again dawned dry and warm and warm up was fairly uneventful, Biela led the Audi steamroller and the #11 Lola B2K/40 led LMP2. Magnussen led GTS in the #4 car from Papis and John Fogarty in #45 was fastest GT. The Saleen lost a wheel and the #19 Lola had an oil leak while the #10 Lola stopped with a suspected loose wheel. The #24 Porsche had changed its rear wing support and had to go through tech inspection so missed the session.

Race builds up

Lonnie Pechnik #44 Porsche failed to make the grid in time, Romeo Kapudija #78 Porsche, Danny Sullivan #25 Ferrari and Gunnar Van der Steur will all start from the pit lane. Michael Durand #33 Riley and Scott will start late having had to change a clutch.

The First Hour

At 1031 the green flag flew and JJ Lehto lead the first lap closely followed by the McNish Audi and Weaver in the Lola. The second UK Audi was fourth followed by the Dallara and then Field, Chris Dyson and the Taurus Lola. The cars that started at the rear of the grid were soon charging through, Gavin up to 15th after one lap having made up 18 places on his first lap and before many laps have finished he is just behind his teammate. Belloc is the first to have problems going off in turn 17 and having to make a long stop with damage to the left rear of the car. Marino Franchitti is the early leader of LMP2 until Clint Field passed and pulled away steadily. The Pilbeam was soon up to 5th place later 4th when the Franchitti Lola became the first LMP2 retirement with broken transmission. The early GT leader was Bernhard from Long and the TVRs and Morgan were running line astern towards the middle of the class. The first retirement was the lotus after 20 minutes with broken transmission.

After 25 minutes McNish passed Lehto and slowly pulled away, the Second UK Audi was up to 3rd followed by the Weaver Lola and the Dallara The first three were fairly close with 4th and 5th well spaced but there was a real battle behind the Dallara between the Field, Dyson and Taurus Lolas. After 33 minutes Johannes van Overbeek took the GT class lead and 5 minutes later Gavin sets fastest GTS lap.

After 41 minutes the class positions were;
LMP1 #28 McNish, #38 Lehto and #88 Herbert on 22 laps
LMP2 #30 Clint Field 20 laps, #10 Ian James and #7 Fitzgerald
GTS  #4 Gavin 20 laps, #3 Fellows and #63 Borcheller
GT #45 van Overbeek 19 laps, #23 Bernhard and #66 Long

The first front runner to stop was the John Field Lola for tyres fuel and driver change however they incurred a 20 sec penalty for in incorrectly attired fueler and then compounded the penalty by exiting 11kph too fast so incurring a stop go! The Dallara stopped after 46 minutes and took fuel only, Joao Barbosa stayed at the wheel. The next to fall foul of the officials was Justin Wilson when the team incurred a 20 second penalty for using the wrong fuel apparatus. After 49 minutes the #19 Lola B2K/40 was the second LMP2 to retire when a CV joint failed Jason Workman managed to stop in the wrong pit and incur a stop go penalty. After 52 minutes Gavin stopped for tyres, fuel and to hand over to Beretta so Fellows assumed the class lead until after 57 minutes he stopped allowing his team mate back into the class lead, the Corvettes are well clear of the Saleen but at the one hour mark Beretta serves a stop go for running over an air line.

The one hour positions were
LMP1 #28, 38 and 88
LMP2 #30, 10 and 7
GTS  #4, 3 and 63
GT #45, 23 and 24
One minute after the hour the #92 TVR with Michael Caine was pushed behind the wall.

After 1 hr 9 mins. McNish completed the 1500th lap consecutive lap lead at Sebring by Michelin Tyres.
At 11:49 the class positions were;
LMP1 #28 McNish 41 laps, #38 Lehto and #88 Herbert
LMP2 #30 Binnie 37 laps, #7 Gue and #10 James
GTS  #3 O’Connell 38 laps, #4 Beretta and #63 Brabham
GT #23 Maassen 36 laps, #24 Dumas and #43 Baron

The #92 TVR rejoined the race at 12 am after 28 minutes behind the wall

After 1 hr 37 min The Dallara makes its second fuel stop and changes tyres as well, Rob Barff takes over soon to have a couple of Corvette moments. The Taurus Lola stops for tyres and fuel after 1hr 44 and Phil Andrews takes over. Soon after the second and third place Audis stop for fuel tyres and driver changes, Werner and Davies take over. McNish stops 5 mins later and Biela takes over, let’s hope he remembers when to stop at the end of his stint! He resumes in the lead but loses the place to Werner 4 minutes before the end of the second hour. A minute later Wallace goes behind the wall the #16 car smoking from the right rear. After 2 hours the #10 James Lola passes Sutherland to take the LMP2 lead. Wallace rejoins after 8 minutes, a loose oil line has been replaced.

After 2 hrs 12 mins. the class positions are;
LMP1 #38 Werner 69 laps, #28 Biela and #88 Davies
LMP2 #10 James 61 laps, #30 Binnie and #11 Sak
GTS #3 Papis 64 lap, #4 Magnussen and #25 Biagi Ferrari
GT #23 Maassen 61 laps, #24 Dumas and #35 Lazzaro Ferrari    

[Grand_Fromage]

The Race into the third hour

Early in the third hour the #30 Lola retook the LMP2 class lead when the #10 car stopped for fuel then 2hrs 23 mins. Jeff Bucknum took over the Pilbeam from Bryan Willman, the car has run faultlessly so far and steadily worked its way up the field, so far the decision to use the 3-litre engine has been justified.

After 3 and a half hours the order was;
LMP1 #38 Werner 79 laps, #28 Biela and #88 Davies
LMP2 #30 Binnie 69 laps, #11 Bradley and #10 Borkowski
GTS #3 Papis 73 laps, #4 Magnussen and #25 Biagi
GT #43 Baron 69 laps, #23 Bernhard and #24 Lucas

In LMP1 the #20 Dyson Lola is in 4th followed by the Dallara and the Taurus Lola is moving back up after its penalty delays. Both TVRs, the Morgan, both PK Porsches are all running well at the moment.
 
Soon after Magnussen goes off at turn 16 when Barff dives underneath him, the Corvette continues at speed and Barff incurs a penalty. The John Field Lola has lost its paddle shift change and manual shifting is causing blisters, they also have tried softer tyres as the temperature as eased but they did not work. The #52 Porsche retires after 2hrs 50 mins. and a minute later Gavin stops on course in the hairpin, he removes the rear body and attempts to repair something in the back axle area, the car is in a dangerous position and a full course yellow is flown. It looks like the Corvettes race is run. After the restart Werner is wild, Davies gets past Biela and then as Werner goes off on cold tyres Davies takes the lead and pulls away leaving Biela to close on Werner who appears to be struggling. The Corvette is retired with clutch problems. Martin Short takes over the Dallara.

After 3 hr 40 min Jim Mathews spins into the tyres at turn one, it appears a Dyson Lola helped him on his way, he makes it back to the pits with rear end damage. The #20 Dyson Lola with de Radigues at the wheel stops at turn 13 with engine problems and Werner in the Champion Audi side swipes Cunningham in the #79 Porsche. The Audi has side damage and will need a long stop to replace a radiator.

After 3hrs 42 min Jeff Bucknum takes the LMP2 class lead as #10 Lola stops with a transmission problem, it will be a long stop. A full course yellow is flown to move the #20 Lola. The Morgan and the 91 TVR have run faultlessly so far only stopping for tyres fuel and driver changes and the 92 TVR is running well after its earlier problems.

At four hours positions are
LMP1 #88 Davies 123 laps, #28 Kaffer and #22Short 117 laps
LMP2 #56 Bucknum 108 laps, #11 Sak and #30 field 106 laps
GTS  #3 Fellows 115 laps, #63 Borcheller 108 laps and Bosch 107 laps
GT #24 Lieb 110 laps, #23 Bernhard and #355 Kelleners 109 laps

After 4hrs 14min the Mathews Porsche #67 is retired and at 4hrs 20min Blanchemain spins the Panoz in turn 7 an unsafe spot, he cannot find a gear so a yellow is thrown. Amanda Stretton comments “Its very hot out there. Its worse behind the safety car, you can’t get any air in then. Who ever thought of putting a racetrack here needs to have their head examined”

Positions at 4hrs 24min before the pit opens
LMP1 #88 Davies 130 laps, #28 Kaffer and #22 Short 124 laps
LMP2 #56 Bucknum 115 laps, #30Binnie 109 laps and Sak 108 laps
GTS #3 Fellows 122 laps, #63 Borcheller 115 laps and Bosch 113 laps
GT  #24 Lieb 117 laps, #23 Bernhard 116 laps and Kelleners 115 laps

Werner commented; “At the beginning everything was perfect. Very good car. Very good tyres. I was lucky in traffic. But then after the pace car laps I had a problem with my front tyres. No grip in front. Especially on braking and turning. A lot of understeer. I lost a lot of time and Frank pushed me very hard. Then there was a problem overtaking two GT cars. One overtook the other and I followed the first one and then the other came from the outside and hit me from the rear”. Repairs cost them 8 laps

After 4hrs 27min the #30 intersport Lola stops with electrical problems, It will be a long stop and after 4hrs 40min another Lola LMP2 the #11 car is officially retired, a few minutes later James Weaver goes behind the wall with an alternator problem, 14 minutes are lost
 After 4hrs 55min the positions are;
LMP1 #28 Kaffer 142 laps, #88 Smith and Barbosa 137 laps
LMP2 #56 McMurry 126 laps, #10 James 113 laps and #30 Binnie 110 laps
GTS   #3 O’Connell 133 laps, #63 Borcheller 126 laps and #25 Biagi 125 laps
GT #24 Luhr 128 laps, #23 Bernhard 128 laps and #43 Rockenfeller 128 laps

After 5 hours Werner was up to 4th, the Corvette was 5th; the Taurus Lola was now 6th having been delayed by a tyre blow out. The Autocon Riley and Scott lost a lap under a yellow because of a mistake by an official but is 7th in front of the #16 Dyson Lola. The Panoz is 10th and the leading GT #24 is 11th. The #91 TVR is 24th and the Morgan is just out of the top 25. The Morgan was slowed early on as they were going too fast but they so far have been trouble free. The 92 TVR had to have an alternator replaced, Hugh Chamberlain commented that “ we had to take the induction system off, you cant get at the f******* thing” The Scottish Porsche lost a little time when a solenoid came off but is otherwise running well in 23rd The PK Porsches are 19th and 21st.

Bryan Willman’s only complaint was “Drink bottle doesn’t have beer in it, only water.

Rob Barff was rather down hearted as his misdemeanours he felt had offset all he did on the track but all in all this must be considered so far a great debut for the team.

[Grand_Fromage]

Into the second half

After 5hrs 10min the 92 TVR has another alternator failure and goes behind the wall and then after 5hrs 14min the Morgan has its first unscheduled stop to replace a side mirror. The news of the race so far is the performance of the Rollcentre Dallara which with Barbosa at the wheel continues to hold off a charging Champion Audi. The 5th hour is largely uneventful until within 20 minutes of half way the GT class lead changes when Dumas passes his team-mate.

At six hours the positions were;

LMP1 #28Kaffer 177 laps, #88 Smith and Barbosa 171 laps
LMP2 #56 McMurry 157 laps, #10 James 140 laps and #30 Binnie 110 laps
GTS #3 Papis 166 laps, #63 Brabham and #25 Sullivan
GT #24 Dumas 159 laps. #23 Maassen and Lazzaro 158 laps

At 6hrs 19min the Saleen with Brabham at the wheel comes slowly into the pits with an apparent rear end problem. It’s a long stop, they do not leave again until after the 7 hour mark.

Towards the end of the hour the action starts, at 6hr 40 we see smoke pouring from the left rear of the Herbert #88 Audi. It pits and after a quick inspection it goes behind the wall, It seems that a half shaft seal has failed and oil from the gearbox has been pumped out and is burning on the hot parts on the left of the car. Last year it would have been an Audi 3 minute change the whole rear end but under the new rules they have to replace the damaged parts. The car goes behind the wall and Herbert loses 13 laps and he resumes in 5th.

 Then at 6hrs 46min the Pilbeam being driven by Willman loses its left rear bodywork between turn 10 and 11 and the errant body panel takes the rear wing and mountings with it, they inspect in the pit lane before going behind the wall. A yellow to clear the damage helps both the Pilbeam and Audi limit lost laps, The Pilbeam rejoins still in the class lead

The Dallara is back in third but the team are warned that if they have further contact during they race they will incur a long penalty, Barff is now back in the car and immediately after the green has to serve a stop go penalty.

The Taurus Lola is now 6th and the Autocon Riley and Scott is now  benefiting from a steady run. At 7hrs 13min the Pilbeam rejoins still in the class lead but on its second lap out a new right rear tyres fails, probably a shard and the flailing inner wall destroys the oil system on the right side of the car. It happens at turn 1 and a lap with no oil pressure is terminal. The Viper has a huge off at the last turn, Weickardt is out an ok, the car is officially retired a few minutes later.

Dusk is falling as we near 7pm  and after 7hrs 53 the #10 Lola takes the LMP2 lead and at 8 hours the positions are;

LMP1 #28 McNish 231 laps, #38 Lehto 225 laps and #22 Barff 222 laps
LMP2 #10 Borkowski 184 laps, #56Bucknum 181 laps (out) and #30 Sutherland 152 laps  
GTS #3 Fellows 218 laps (5th OA), #25 Biagi 205 laps and #63 Mowlem 191 laps.
GT #23 Bernhard 210 laps (10th OA), #24 Luhr 209 laps and #45 Fogarty 207 laps

The #92 TVR is out with an engine problem but the #91 is still running strongly in 24th one place in front of the Morgan.

[Grand_Fromage]

Through to the end.

After 8hrs 30min the top three in each class are
LMP1 #28 Biela 248 laps, #38 Lehto 242 laps and #22 Barff 239 laps
LMP2 #10 Borkowski 198 laps, #56 Bucknum 181 laps  and #30 Field 168 laps.
GTS #3 O’Connell 233 laps, #25 Sullivan 220 laps and #63 Borcheller 206 laps
GT #23 Bernhard 225 laps, #24 Lieb 224 laps and #45 Van Overbeek 222 laps

The Ferrari 360 stops for fuel but will not restart so is pushed behind the wall, The Intersport Riley and Scott goes off with a broken driveshaft and is retired. The 91 TVR is into the pits after 8hrs 37min with a broken steering arm but it is being repaired. At the same time the Saleen comes in for another long stop.

The Morgan continues to run like clockwork and other than a stop go every thing so far is going to plan, it is now up to 22nd  and in front of the remaining TVR which is still stopped and falling down the field. The Taurus Lola has lost its power steering and Milka’s “wrists and arms are hurting”. The 360 resumes after 22 mins behind the wall. The leading Porsche is now a two driver car, Bergmeister who has not been in the car is too sick to drive. Both PK sport cars appear to be out but the Scottish car is running very well.

After 9 hours the order was;

LMP1 #28 Biela 262 laps, #38 Lehto 256 laps and #22 Barff 253 laps
LMP2 #10 Borkowski 210 laps, Bucknum 181 laps and #30 Binnie180 laps
GTS #3 O’Connell 247 laps, #25 Sullivan 232 and #63 Borcheller 208 laps
GT #23 Maassen 237 laps, #24 Lieb 236 laps and van Overbeek 234 laps

The Saleen is back out after repairing a broken drive pin.

There is a yellow after 9hrs 30min as the Cirtek Porsche it seems is in the wall and most of the teams pit, the #88 Audi  with Herbert is now just one lap behind the Dallara which now has Barbosa at the wheel, It would be a very popular result if the Dallara gains a podium.  The Saleen is back in and the brakes appear to be being bled. The TVR is back out running again in 27th now behind the 22nd place Morgan. The driver Mountain is out of the crashed Cirtek Porsche and is reported ok. Just before 10 hours the Dallara loses 3rd place to the Herbert Audi, its Audi  filling the podium at the moment but there is still a Grand Prix to run.

The Taurus Lola is out with a differential failure, it was running 6th at the time and the Dallara is going very slowly, they have had an overheating problem but it appears that the rear wing may be working loose. It turns out a throttle cable has broken and they lose 4th place to the Corvette, the Field Lola is closing but it has a puncture and then they incur a penalty for a fueler having his visor up. The Dallara is away still with two laps in hand over the Intersport Lola. The #16 Lola is still running fast between stops for sundry repairs, it is losing oil somewhere down the side of the gearbox and they have just had a refill.

At 10 hours the class positions were;
LMP1 #28 Biela 287 laps, #38 Werner 282 laps and #88 Audi Herbert 275 laps
LMP2 #10 James 231 laps, #30 Binnie 196 laps and #7 Fitzgerald 195 laps
GTS #3 Papis 270 laps, #25 Sullivan 254 laps and Brabham 218 laps
GT #23 Maassen 261 laps, #24 Dumas 260 laps and #45 Law 257 laps

After 10hr 35mins the Saleen stops again to “dry the brakes” The Morgan is now up to 21st and still running like clockwork and the remaining TVR is still running well.

At 11 hours the class positions were;

LMP1 #28 Kaffer 318 laps, #38 Werner and #88 Davies
LMP2 #10 James, #7 Fitzgerald and #30 Sutherland.
GTS #3 Fellows, #25 Sullivan and #63 Brabham
GT #23 Bernhard, #24 Luhr and #45 Fogarty

With half an hour to go the lead GTS is in 4th OA, Martin Short is probably on the final stint for the Dallara in 5th,  Weaver in the lone remaining Dyson Lola is 6th followed by the Autocon Riley and Scott which has steadily plugged away and benefited as faster more fragile machinery has fallen by the wayside. The Leading GT Porsche is now 8th and the Panoz is 10th. Labre are indicating that they hope to have the car accepted as a GTS car The Scottish Porsche is now running in 19th place and the Morgan on its last stint is now 20th. The remaining TVR continues to circulate the car having run faultlessly its two delays being due to minor accident damage.    

The last few laps sees a final battle between David Murry in the #31 Porsche and a chasing Fogarty in the #45 Porsche for the final podium place.  Murry keeps the place as Audi finish first second and third. McNish restarts his Audi and sportscar career as he left off. The Corvette is 4th and the Rollcentre Dallara impressed all with its 5th  and should have done enough to be at Le Mans, The Taurus Lola also has probably sealed its Le Mans entry. Morgan and TVR finished and I think that both have done enough to be at Le Mans for the 24hrs. The disappointment has perhaps got to be the Dyson Lolas which have flattered once more to deceive.

The Audis now they can no longer use their quick change rear ends are closer to the opposition, they also have shown here a little vulnerability and it opens the chance for Pescarolo, Lammers or of course the Dallara to claim a 24 hour podium.