If it’s the third weekend in March it must be time for the 12 Hours of Sebring.
The road course
Originally established as Hendricks Field, an Army airfield during World War II, the racetrack at Sebring, Florida hosted its first race on December 31, 1950. Since that time, the track has seen the likes of Mario Andretti, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, Jim Hall, Sir Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio, John Surtees, Hurley Haywood, Peter Gregg and Geoff Brabham (just to name a few).
Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder
Manufacturers that have competed and claimed victory in the 12 hour endurance race include Cunningham, Jaguar, Ferrari, Maserati, Ford, BMW, Nissan, Audi and current overall defending champion, Porsche. Audi, in particular, has recently dominated the series, winning the LM1 class from 2000 until 2008, while Penske racing captured the overall top spot last year in the Porsche RS Spyder.
Classes
Entrants in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) are currently divided up into four classes consisting of two prototype classes (LMP1 and LMP2) as well as two Grand Touring (modified production sports car) classes (GT1 and GT2). The LMP1 class generally included manufacturers while the LMP2 class is intended for privateers. GT1 cars are production-based highly modified cars such as the Aston Martin DB9, Ferrari 550 and Saleen S7R with horsepower ratings in the 550-600 range while GT2 cars are production-based and only slightly modified such as Porsche and the Ferrari Modena 360. Horsepower capacities of these vehicles can exceed 450.
Acura ARX-02a
2009
This year’s race will begin on Saturday March 21st at 10:30 am. The LMP1 pole position was won on Thursday by Scott Dixon, who will drive alongside team owner Gil de Ferran and Simon Pagenaud in the first race for the new Acura ARX-02a. Second place is occupied by the new Audi R15 TDI, set to make its racing debut (Kristensen/McNish/Capello) as well, while Peugeot was in third place with its 908 HDi (Klein/Minassian/Lamay).
Meanwhile, LMP2 qualifying saw Adrian Fernandez in the new Acura ARX-01b take the fastest time while Guy Smith, in a Mazda-powered Lola B09/86 coupe qualified just behind the Acura.
Rahal/Letterman BMW M3
GT1 saw a pair of Corvette C6’s in the top two spots, while in GT2, a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Patrick Long took the top spot. Meanwhile, newcomer BMW and the Rahal/Letterman Racing M3 placed in the top half of the GT2 class for the team’s debut race.
Tags: 12 hours of sebring, acura arx02a, alms, american le mans series, audi, audi r15 tdi, BMW, ferrari, Ford, gt1, gt2, jaguar, lmp1, lmp2, maserati, Nissan, porsche, porsche rs spyder, rahal letterman, sebring
Posted in Car | Post a Comment | RSS Feed
