12H of Sebring updates

[Kristof]

Weekend preview
http://clubarnage.blogspot.com/2016/03/49-cars-on-grid-for-64th-sebring-12.html

IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship 2016.  64th annual 12 Hours of Sebring by Kristof Vermeulen

Thursday gallery
http://clubarnage.blogspot.com/2016/03/sebring-12-hours-thursday-gallery.html

[smokie]

Oh stop it!! I'm not jealous, oh no, not me, not jealous at all!! 

First time since 2002 that I've not been in Florida at this time of the year. Admittedly I may not have made it to the track on one or maybe two occasions, but I was at least somewhere warm...

Please send my regards to the usual suspects, and have a wonderful time!!

[jimclark]

Qualifying results:

http://imsatiming.com/Results/2016/WeatherTech%20Championship/02-Sebring%2012%20Hour/WeatherTech%20Championship%20Sebring%20Qualifying.pdf

and...

https://livescoring.us/2016/imsa02/scoring.php

...which can be used for live T&S at race time (same addie)

[Boorish Grobian]

Left Sebring 0700 yesterday morning, made it home 0100 this morning, lost two hours just trying to get through Atlanta...Ugh!
Great to catch up with old friends, and meet some new faces.  The weather threw a unpleasant spanner into the works, but as always the company made it a enjoyable experience.
Hope to see some of you again at Indy in a couple month's, and at the Petit in the autumn.
Fax

[jimclark]

What was the problem in Atlanta? On a Sunday? I'll be headed to NY from S FL so is it GA weather?

[Boorish Grobian]

There's construction on the south side of the city on I-75, and then some ding-dongs ran into each other just south of Marietta and blocked a couple lanes.  I was about homicidal by the time we got to Valdosta.
Fax

[Canada Phil]

28 Hours door to door. Took 20 minutes of line up to get out of the track.
Traffic on the top end of hwy 27 and the first part of I4 added 28 minutes of delay according to my GPS.
The visit to A1A from Ormond Beach to St Augustine added 2 hours but included a sandwich / drink on the beach and a walk among the bikinis 

The mini van never missed a beat and seemed not to mind being thrashed up the hills of VA & WV.
Van did need a quart of oil when I had my breakfast this morning. I only managed 1 1/2 hours sleep Weather was clear all the way except for a 5 minute blizzard in NY. Border crossing was fast and beat the rush hour traffic in to home base. 
Good race even if the wrong Corvette won
Great to see so many familiar faces. Good time was had.
Phil

[Boorish Grobian]

Hey Phil,
Glad to hear you had a painless drive home, it was nice to catch up after a few years away.  When we left at 0700 on Sunday morning there were only a handful of people up & about, and leaving the circuit, but we followed the RLL BMW hauler all the way up 27 to the turnpike. It seems to take forever to just get out of Florida.
Hope to see you again this year!
Fax

[Kristof]

Good to see you made it home safely Phil.
@Fax : Nice to finally meet you, although it was pretty short & I was completeley knackered after 3 days. If I knew you were at our camp, I'd left the mediaroom sooner.

We've just had to extend our stay in Florida due to the "events" in Brussels. Flying out on Thursday now instead of today, if the airport will be open again by then.

[Boorish Grobian]

Hi Kristof,
It was great to finally meet you, agreed, it was short but I'm glad we finally had a chance to catch up in person.  You looked pretty tired when you got back to the campsite, I can imagine how three days of hiking around that place with camera gear would leave you wiped out.  I'm not sure I was making much sense when we were shooting the breeze at the end of the evening, during the rain delay we were taking shelter with Matt & Dave Haper, they had a bottle of Makers Mark bourbon that we were using to relieve some of our aggravation with the weather.
Hope they catch the bastards who attacked Brussels and string them up by the short & curlies.
Fax

[Martini...LB]

Hey Phil
You are a travel monster...
Glad you got back ok, but compared to some of your trips it seems pretty uneventful.

You deserve a Pastis when we meet in a green field in 'La Belle France' in June.

Look forward to seeing you and catching up again buddy.

>Martini...LB

[Lawnmower Man]

Enjoy the rest of your extended vacation guys.   I'm at MCO and should be boarding in an hour then home by midday tomorrow.

t

[Canada Phil]

Hey Phil
You are a travel monster...
Glad you got back ok, but compared to some of your trips it seems pretty uneventful.

You deserve a Pastis when we meet in a green field in 'La Belle France' in June.

Look forward to seeing you and catching up again buddy.

>Martini...LB

Hi Martini,
               I look forward to sharing a Pastis with you in a field in France. Must get planning and book my flight.
Phil

[Lawnmower Man]

Hi Guys,

I'm back home. 

Bad News.  I computer seems to be dead.
Good News.  I have had my back dated pension paid so I can get a new one.  :-)
Even Better news.  See my Post in "I hope I'm jumping the gun!".

The trip back was about as good as it gets.   
After Dottore dropped me off at the FoF a had another beer then took the La Quinta Shuttle to the airport.
No Queue at the Bag drop.  Very short queue at the security check. 
Another relaxing beer while I waited for the flight. 
Walked straight on to the Plane.
At Gatwick  only a short queue for Passports. 
By the time I'd brushed my teeth My bag was on the carousel.
Walked straight on to the train home.

t.

[Boorish Grobian]

Glad to hear the good news regarding the health scare, and that all is well.  Also happy to hear your trip home went smoothly.  Very much enjoyed the lively converstion Saturday night, it was a nice way to wrap up the day.
Fax