56th 12 Hours of Sebring

[John Thawley]

A simple poll here.... give us your take on this year's 12 Hours of Sebring.

[Nick Koske]

Kind of disappointed with GT2...its was shaping up up to be a good race...Guess we could blame that on Melo. I'll say it one more time...what a jackass move...How about a little situational awareness...You're LEADING and about to lap the 2nd and 3rd place cars 6 hours into a 12 hour race, with what seems to be the faster GT2 in the field. Maybe wait until the re-start calms down...then start charging. Thats like getting picked off stealling third base, with a tie score in the bottom of the 9th with no outs. Just plain dumb.

Why would you slow down the LMP2s?? The fastest LMP1 Lap was 2% faster than the fastest LMP2 Lap. The LMP1s were lapping consistently in the 1:46-47s the LMP2 were lapping at 1:48-49s. The lead Audi was only 1:07 back from the leader on the same lap at the end. Despite having to change suspension pieces, Brakes, an of course excursion or two, and at least one stop and go penalty that I can recall. Had Audi ran a flawless race...much like last year...they would have won handily. Had Puegeot had a flawless race they would have beat Audi handily. [sarcasm] Maybe the ALMS should mandate 5 tire lugs like the Grand-Am so the LMP2 can't win or make the Porsche and Acuras more fragile so they are more like the LMS LMP2s [\sarcasm]. IMO LMP2s are too slow that they only beat a car that had that many issues by only 1:07. I personally don't want a car winning that spent as much time in the pits as the Audi did...That's what great about endurance racing a slower car that doens't break can still win.

[kwokjk]

I thought it was a great race!

Audi seemed a little antsy with Peugeot there but drama of an early Penske dropping out and the determination of the Acuras left me wanting 12 more hours. I especially love that Intersport Racing beat Peugeot and deeply feel for the Fernandez Racing team.

For me, the GT field was a little under expectation but I still thought it was a great race. Seeing the Viper CC survive was a welcome sight. Farnbacher, Vici, and LG all looked good and promising for the future. Hoping the Ford GT get's into the hands of a faster team and I can't wait to see the Vantage GT2.

[Hallen]

Posted in the race day thread:

Overall, a very good race. Speed's coverage was good... not great, but good. I very much appreciate the full 10 hours of coverage though.

Thoughts on the race:
The 430 is still quick compared to the 911's, but the gap is smaller.
The 911 reliability looked very good.

Lou's Vette retiring was disappointing... but his pace was not too bad at all?

The Ford GT was a surprise. I expected it to retire from mechanical failure. Instead it took a tire wall to do it.

The Pug is fast. The Audi has its work cut out. I think the Pug will survive Le Sarthe just fine. Without some breaks, Audi is toast.

Audi is still having consistency and possibly team problems (in my opinion). Maybe that is because of the hodge podge of teams they have working on it? Maybe Dr. U is too much of a micro-manager?

There were too many wrecks out there. Some of them were quite odd.

The wind and track conditions must have been awful.

The GT1 Aston Martin finished the race. This is a good thing. They need better pace, but finishing Sebring in their first race is a good sign.

The Acuras were impressive. I think they have the pace this year to match the Spyder. What fun that will be.

Marco was quick, very quick. The kid can drive. I think he is the match for his Grandpa. Things do skip generations. It is too bad we won't have him for the full season.

The Panoz disappoints again. More mechanical/engine problems and a lack luster pace.

The M3 looks hot. Can't wait for that. Running earlier than 2009 was not ruled out.


And off we go

[John Thawley]

Originally Posted by Hallen

Posted in the race day thread:

Overall, a very good race. Speed's coverage was good... not great, but good. I very much appreciate the full 10 hours of coverage though.

Thoughts on the race:

Lou's Vette retiring was disappointing... but his pace was not too bad at all?

The Ford GT was a surprise. I expected it to retire from mechanical failure. Instead it took a tire wall to do it.

The Acuras were impressive. I think they have the pace this year to match the Spyder. What fun that will be.

And off we go

That was a tough break for Lou... but, this is top tier racing... an awfully tough track and a long 12 hours. With no testing whatsoever, I'd say they've hit the ground running. I think they'll sort out the reliability ... and then it's going to be up to Kumho to find them another second or two. I thought the car was a rocket.

I'm reserving my opinion on the Ford GT. I guess I'm not as melancholic about the past as others. To me it looks odd out there... and scary slow.

I think by time we see four Acuras on the track they will be a force to reckoned with. I'm not saying Porsche isn't up to the task, but Acura is not going to let them walk away with this thing. I see the potential for a couple of Acura wins this year.

Lastly, I think the E85 people need to step up to the research plate with the same enthusiasm that they've put into the PR side of things. They need to participate in helping teams sort out some of the issues.

JT

[Magical Trevor]

I do wish there was an option, instead of "slow down p2", of "speed up p1"-I think that would be an awesome solution to Audi's whining!
All ya gotta do is open up them restrictors a little...