Peugeot set the pace at Sebring........update from qualifying

[Christopher]

From Autosport........

Peugeot set the pace at Sebring

Peugeot proved they intend to give Audi a run for their money in LMP1 honours at this weekend's Sebring 12 Hours as the French factory team set the pace on the first day of unofficial practice on Monday.

Stephane Sarrazin's 1:43.302 lap, running in the sole 908 HDi, was more than 1.6 seconds faster than Marco Werner's 2007 qualifying lap record and more than half a second quicker than Allan McNish could manage in the leading Audi R10 HDI.

The warning signs had been there when Peugeot set the pace in January's winter test at the venue, but the team are hoping that one-lap speed will translate to race pace on Saturday.

"So far the car has been pretty good on the track surface," said Sarrazin's teammate Pedro Lamy, who also shares the car with Frenchman Nicolas Minassian.

"Because the track is very bumpy, this is a very good test for Le Mans. If you can survive 12 hours here, you can compete and finish at Le Mans."

The Penske Porsche RS Spyders were first and second quickest in the LMP2 category with Timo Bernhard leading the way ahead of co-class champion Romain Dumas. Andretti Green were third fastest.

Corvette Racing dominated GT1 with Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen well ahead of the Bell Motorsport's Aston Martin DBR9 in third.

Risi Competizione's Jaime Melo was quickest in GT2.

[pool pugilist]

From Autosport........

Peugeot set the pace at Sebring

Peugeot proved they intend to give Audi a run for their money in LMP1 honours at this weekend's Sebring 12 Hours as the French factory team set the pace on the first day of unofficial practice on Monday.

Stephane Sarrazin's 1:43.302 lap, running in the sole 908 HDi, was more than 1.6 seconds faster than Marco Werner's 2007 qualifying lap record and more than half a second quicker than Allan McNish could manage in the leading Audi R10 HDI.

The warning signs had been there when Peugeot set the pace in January's winter test at the venue, but the team are hoping that one-lap speed will translate to race pace on Saturday.

"So far the car has been pretty good on the track surface," said Sarrazin's teammate Pedro Lamy, who also shares the car with Frenchman Nicolas Minassian.

"Because the track is very bumpy, this is a very good test for Le Mans. If you can survive 12 hours here, you can compete and finish at Le Mans."

Me thinks the German Marque may be sand bagging as at La Sarthe, have a feeling they will dissapear over the horizon come the race, hope not as I'd like to see a good fight, they just have the pedigree at the moment.

[Christopher]

From Autosport.......

Crash curtails Sebring qualifying

The starting grid for the Sebring 12 Hours will be set using combined practice times after qualifying had to be abandoned when Ben Devlin crashed the BK Motorsports Lola-Mazda.

Peugeot's Stephane Sarrazin was fastest in the session prior to the accident, but the Audi of Dindo Capello, Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen is set to claim pole when practice times are considered, having been quickest in third practice. American Le Mans officials have yet to publish a definitive grid.

Initial reports suggested that Devlin escaped injury in the accident on the exit of Turn 1. When the BK driver crashed many leading runners were yet to set a time - including both Penske Porsches and all three Acuras. Had the qualifying session counted, all five cars would have started from the back of the grid.

Sarrazin knocked the No.1 Audi off the top spot just before the red flag, with the Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller and Marco Werner No.2 Audi third fastest at the time.

Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen and Ron Fellows had been quickest for Corvette in the GT1 battle, while Jaime Melo, Mika Salo and Gianmaria Bruni remained on top in GT2 for Risi Ferrari.

[Christopher]

And confirmed postions, from Autosport.........


No.1 Audi awarded Sebring pole

Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen will start the Sebring 12 Hours from pole position thanks to their best practice time after qualifying was declared null and void.

The prototype session had to be red-flagged after just seven minutes when Ben Devlin had a heavy accident in the BK Motorsports Lola-Mazda.

There was insufficient time to clear the debris and restart qualifying, so under American Le Mans Series rules as less than 10 minutes of qualifying had taken place the grid was instead set by combined practice times.

Peugeot's Stephane Sarrazin had just knocked McNish off provisional pole when the session was stopped, but the positions were reversed on the official grid once practice times had been adopted.

Despite being moved up to pole position, McNish was frustrated that the full session had not been possible.

"We were hoping to see qualifying. We didn't really get a fair opportunity to see what the cars could do," McNish said.

"That would be the first time any of us could see the improvements in the Peugeot and new Acura."

Sarrazin and teammates Nicolas Minassian and Pedro Lamy will start second for Peugeot, ahead of Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller and Marco Werner in the No.2 Audi.

The Penske Porsches and all three Acuras had looked set to start at the back of the grid having failed to set a time before Devlin's crash. But the switch to practice times offered them a reprieve, with the Penske cars moving up to the top of the LMP2 field in fourth and fifth overall.

Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Emmanuel Collard will start from the class pole, while Dyson Racing lose their LMP2 one-two and drop to fourth and sixth in class, behind the Fernandez Acura and split by the Andretti-Green entry.

Devlin had been third in LMP2 and seventh overall when he had his dramatic accident, which ended with the severely damaged Lola-Mazda perched atop the Turn 1 tyre barrier. The British driver escaped injury in the crash and has dropped to 14th on the grid.

The loss of qualifying did not affect the class poles in GT1 or GT2. Jan Magnussen beat Corvette teammate Oliver Gavin to the GT1 top spot in both practice and qualifying, while Jaime Melo's Risi Ferrari remained the car to beat in GT2.

Provisional grid positions:

Pos  Drivers                      Car                     Time
 1.  Capello/McNish/Kristensen    Audi R10 TDI            1:43.195
 2.  Minassian/Sarrazin/Lamy      Peugeot 908 HDi FAP     1:44.271
 3.  Luhr/Werner/Rockenfeller     Audi R10 TDI            1:45.090
 4.  Dumas/Bernhard/Collard       Porsche RS Spyder       1:45.220
 5.  Maassen/Long/Briscoe         Porsche RS Spyder       1:45.999
 6.  Fernandez/Diaz               Acura ARX-01b           1:46.356
 7.  Leitzinger/Franchitti/Lally  Porsche RS Spyder       1:46.348
 8.  Herta/Fittipaldi/Andretti    Acura ARX-01b           1:46.665
 9.  Field/Dayton/Berry           Lola B06/10 AER         1:47.358
10.  Dyson/Smith                  Porsche RS Spyder       1:47.567
11.  Brabham/Sharp/Johansson      Acura ARX-01b           1:47.819
12.  Lienhard/Theys/Lammers       Porsche RS Spyder       1:48.522
13.  Barazi/Vergers/Ravier        Zytek 07S               1:49.820
14.  Bonilla/Devlin/Matos         Mazda Lola B07-46       1:49.966
15.  McMurry/Willman/Burgess      Creation CA06H Judd     1:53.851
16.  O'Connell/Magnussen/Fellows  Corvette C6.R           1:56.269
17.  Gavin/Beretta/Papis          Corvette C6.R           1:56.547
18.  Borcheller/Ducote/Garcia     Aston Martin DBR9       2:00.730
19.  Salo/Melo/Bruni              Ferrari 430 GT          2:01.184
20.  Farnbacher/Muller/Bell       Ferrari 430 GT          2:01.800
21.  Bergmeister/Henzler/Lieb     Porsche 911 GT3 RSR     2:01.831
22.  Tafel/Simonsen/Ehret         Ferrari 430 GT          2:02.227
23.  Van Overbeek/Pilet/Lietz     Porsche 911 GT3 RSR     2:02.238
24.  Werner/Basseng/Miller        Porsche 911 GT3 RSR     2:03.147
25.  Gigliotti/Peterson/Goossens  Riley Corvette C6       2:03.630
26.  Alzen/Swartzbaugh/Stanton    Porsche 911 GT3 RSR     2:03.861
27.  Hand/Milner/Sutherland       Panoz Esperante         2:03.931
28.  Neiman/Law/Davison           Porsche 911 GT3 RSR     2:04.081
29.  Drayson/Cocker/Sugden        Aston Martin DBRS9      2:04.938
30.  Krohn/Jonsson/van de Poele   Ferrari 430 GT          2:05.619
31.  Jeannette/Mowlem/Kelleners   Ferrari 430 GT          2.05.666
32.  Feinberg/Hall                Dodge Viper Comp Coupe  2:07.358
33.  Konopka/Casadei              Porsche 911 GT3 RS      2:14.059
34.  Robertson/Robertson/Murry    Doran Ford GT Mk.VII    2:06.527*

* Failed to achieve minimum number of laps

[Christopher]

I hope the Aston is quicker in race trim, or they will be more worried about keeping the GT2 cars behind them rather than chasing the Corvettes.

[geoffd]

I hope the Aston is quicker in race trim, or they will be more worried about keeping the GT2 cars behind them rather than chasing the Corvettes.

According to DSC the DBR9 is still in 2006 spec, so needs quite a few later updates.  These will come as the season progresses so they should gain some performance, although they'll never be on the pace of the P&M 'Vettes.

Interesting to see that the DBRS9 which is basically a GT3 car with a few updates is mixing it with the slower GT2 cars!