2009 12 Hours of Sebring

The 2009 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring was the 57th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring and the opening round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at the Sebring International Raceway, Florida on March 21, 2009. Three new cars made their debut at Sebring: Audi's diesel R15 TDI, Acura's first LMP1 entry the ARX-02a, and the return of the BMW M3 to the GT2 category. It was also the last time GT1 category raced at the event.

Track map of the Sebring International Raceway
Tom Kristensen at the wheel of the winning Audi R15 TDI.

Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish, and Rinaldo Capello won, Audi's ninth Sebring victory in eleven attempts, and set several event records in the process. Peugeot fell 22 seconds short of the winning Audi. While Acura's LMP1s failed to survive for twelve hours, their lone LMP2 entry was the sole finisher in the category and earned Fernández Racing their first ALMS victory. The GT1 category was fought amongst only the two Corvette Racing cars, while GT2's battle of manufacturers was won by Ferrari and the Risi Competizione team.

Entry

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For the start of the American Le Mans Series season, 28 cars were officially entered, with the bulk of the entries in LMP1 and GT2. The 2008 race winners, Penske Racing Porsche, did not return to defend their title. Four manufacturers were represented in LMP1, including a duo of R15 TDIs, Audi's latest diesel prototype, being entered by Joest Racing. Peugeot returned once more with their 908 HDi FAP, entering two cars compared to last year's single Sebring entry. Acura made their LMP1 debut with the new ARX-02a being run by de Ferran Motorsport and Highcroft Racing, while the remaining two entries were Lola-AERs entered by Intersport Racing and Autocon Motorsports. LMP2 consisted of two teams entering three cars, with Fernández Racing once again running an Acura and Dyson Racing partnering with Mazda for two Lola coupés.

GT1 was once again left to just Corvette Racing with two cars, while GT2 dominated the entry list with 15 cars. Porsche was represented by two cars each from Flying Lizard Motorsports and VICI Racing, as well as a single entry for Farnbacher-Loles Racing. Ferrari once again aligned with Risi Competizione for two cars, while the Italian-Argentinian Advanced Engineering PeCom team also represents the brand. BMW made their return to the series with two M3 E92s for Rahal Letterman Racing. The rest of the GT2 field was made of a mix of teams and automotive brands, including LG Motorsport's Chevrolet Corvette, PTG's Panoz, Primetime's Dodge Viper, Robertson's Ford GT, and Drayson's Aston Martin.

Report

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Qualifying

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Held on Thursday, March 19, two 15-minute qualifying sessions were held to determine the starting grid. The two GT categories qualified in the first session, led by the two GT1 Corvettes. Only setting a few laps, the #4 Corvette of Oliver Gavin out qualified his teammate, Jan Magnussen. In GT2 Porsche locked in the first two spots on the grid, led by Dirk Werner of Farnbacher-Loles. Advanced Engineering PeCom led Ferrari with a third place spot, while Robertson Racing's Ford GT earned fifth. BMW's debut was hampered by mechanical problems for the #92 car, while the #90 of Bill Auberlen qualified seventh.[1]

In the LMP qualifying session, Acura was able to upset both Audi and Peugeot by earning pole position in their LMP1 debut. De Ferran Motorsports' driver Scott Dixon outpaced Tom Kristensen's Audi by less than a tenth of a second, while Christian Klien led Peugeot to third. Acura earned a second pole position in the session as Fernández Racing led the LMP2 category, nearly two seconds ahead of the fastest Dyson Lola-Mazda.[1]

After qualifying the VICI team, who had one qualifier, withdrew from the event. This decreased the starting grid to 26 cars.[2]

Qualifying result

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Pole position winners in each class are marked in bold.[3]

Pos Class Team Qualifying Driver Lap Time
1 LMP1 #66 de Ferran Motorsports Scott Dixon 1:45.278
2 LMP1 #2 Audi Sport Team Joest Tom Kristensen 1:45.360
3 LMP1 #07 Team Peugeot Total Christian Klien 1:45.462
4 LMP1 #1 Audi Sport North America Mike Rockenfeller 1:45.551
5 LMP1 #08 Team Peugeot Total Sébastien Bourdais 1:45.559
6 LMP1 #9 Patrón Highcroft Racing David Brabham 1:46.504
7 LMP2 #15 Lowe's Fernández Racing Adrian Fernández 1:49.686
8 LMP2 #16 Dyson Racing Team Chris Dyson 1:51.534
9 LMP1 #12 Autocon Motorsports Chris McMurry 1:51.598
10 LMP2 #20 Dyson Racing Team Butch Leitzinger 1:51.840
11 GT1 #4 Corvette Racing Oliver Gavin 1:57.882
12 GT1 #3 Corvette Racing Jan Magnussen 1:58.203
13 GT2 #87 Farnbacher-Loles Racing Dirk Werner 2:03.051
14 GT2 #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Jörg Bergmeister 2:03.433
15 GT2 #95 Advanced Engineering PeCom Gianmaria Bruni 2:03.487
16 GT2 #62 Risi Competizione Mika Salo 2:03.829
17 GT2 #40 Robertson Racing David Murry 2:04.333
18 GT2 #21 Panoz Team PTG Dominik Farnbacher 2:04.437
19 GT2 #90 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Bill Auberlen 2:04.566
20 GT2 #11 Primetime Race Group Chris Hall 2:05.619
21 GT2 #007 Drayson Racing Jonny Cocker 2:05.692
22 GT2 #18 VICI Racing Nicky Pastorelli 2:05.805
23 GT2 #28 LG Motorsports Lou Giglotti 2:06.678
24 GT2 #61 Risi Competizione/Krohn Tracy Krohn 2:08.386
25 GT2 #44 Flying Lizard Motorsports Darren Law 2:10.912
26 LMP1 #37 Intersport Racing Did Not Participate
27 GT2 #92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Did Not Participate

Race

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The field crossed the starting line to begin the 12 Hours of Sebring at 10:30 am EST. Although the de Ferran Acura led from pole position, the lead of the race was quickly taken by Audi before the first turn, followed by Peugeot. The #08 Peugeot started at the tail of the field due to power steering problems forcing it to begin from pit lane. One of the two Rahal Letterman BMW's also suffered problems on the grid and had to be taken to the garage, finally starting the race nearly an hour late. An early on track incident was a collision between the #40 Robertson Ford and the #45 Flying Lizard Porsche, with the Porsche requiring extensive repairs.[4]

During pit stops in the first few hours of the race, Audi changed their Michelin tires at every opportunity while Peugeot opted to change tires at every other pit stop.[4] This allowed Peugeot to take the lead. The Highcroft Acura suffered a spin in the hands of David Brabham, forcing the Robertson Ford to evade the Acura and hit the wall outside Sunset Bend, bringing out the first full-course caution.[5] A second caution was required an hour later to retrieve the Intersport Lola-AER after its engine failed while on the circuit.[6]

While Sébastien Bourdais led the race in Peugeot #08, he suffered a spin on Sunset Bend while diminished his lead by 20 seconds, but he was able to continue. The #07 Peugeot however came to the pits for a lengthy stop to repair an air conditioning fan in the cockpit, dropping it from contention.[7] Meanwhile, the Dyson Racing Team retired their two cars from the event, as did the remaining Rahal Letterman BMW, all due to engine failures.[8]

A third caution period came out when David Brabham once again spun his Highcroft Acura, this time making light contact with a wall.[9] While Peugeot still led in the eighth hour of the race, Audi began to double stint their tires for the first time when Lucas Luhr brought the third place Audi in for a scheduled stop but did not change tires. This aided Audi in retaking the lead from Peugeot during the race's ninth hour.[10] Peugeot #08 then suffered a small leak in a rear tire, requiring the team to make an unscheduled pit stop to replace it.[11] The two LMP1 Acuras meanwhile suffered mechanical problems, eventually leading to the retirement of both de Ferran and Highcroft.

In the closing hours, the #45 Porsche, having rebounded from its incident early in the race, was attempting to pass the PTG Panoz for third place in GT2 when the two came into contact at the exit of Sunset Bend. The Porsche, driven by Marc Lieb, was spun into the concrete wall and required extensive repairs while the Panoz continued on.[12] In the closing hours, Peugeot and Audi traded the lead as each team made their respective pit stops. Peugeot #08 led as it came to the pits for its final stop, but Audi needed only a short refuel on their final stop several laps later. This allowed Audi driver Allan McNish to exit the pits after his final stop ahead of Peugeot with only fifteen minutes remaining. By the race finish the margin of victory between the #2 Audi and #08 Peugeot was 22 seconds.[13]

Tom Kristensen earned his record fifth overall win. The #2 Audi covered a distance of 1,417 mi (2,280 km) at an average speed of 117.986 mph (189.880 km/h), both of which were new event records. The Lowe's Fernández Racing Acura was the sole survivor in LMP2, finishing in fourth overall, while Corvette Racing #3 outperformed its teammate in GT1. The GT2 class was won by the Ferrari of Risi Competizione, while the European Advanced Engineering PeCom Ferrari was second. Panoz completed the GT2 class podium. In the Michelin Green X Challenge, the race winning #2 Audi was the most efficient LMP, while the #3 Corvette lead GTs.[13]

Race result

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Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).[14]

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis Tire Laps
Engine
1 LMP1 2   Audi Sport Team Joest   Allan McNish
  Rinaldo Capello
  Tom Kristensen
Audi R15 TDI M 383
Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V10
(Diesel)
2 LMP1 08   Team Peugeot Total   Franck Montagny
  Stéphane Sarrazin
  Sébastien Bourdais
Peugeot 908 HDi FAP M 383
Peugeot HDI 5.5 L Turbo V12
(Diesel)
3 LMP1 1   Audi Sport North America   Mike Rockenfeller
  Lucas Luhr
  Marco Werner
Audi R15 TDI M 381
Audi TDI 5.5 L Turbo V10
(Diesel)
4 LMP2 15   Lowe's Fernández Racing   Adrian Fernández
  Luis Díaz
Acura ARX-01B M 360
Acura AL7R 3.4 L V8
5 LMP1 07   Team Peugeot Total   Nicolas Minassian
  Pedro Lamy
  Christian Klien
Peugeot 908 HDi FAP M 356
Peugeot HDI 5.5 L Turbo V12
(Diesel)
6 GT1 3   Corvette Racing   Johnny O'Connell
  Jan Magnussen
  Antonio García
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R M 349
Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8
(E85 ethanol)
7 GT1 4   Corvette Racing   Oliver Gavin
  Olivier Beretta
  Marcel Fässler
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R M 348
Chevrolet LS7.R 7.0 L V8
(E85 ethanol)
8 GT2 62   Risi Competizione   Jaime Melo
  Pierre Kaffer
  Mika Salo
Ferrari F430GT M 332
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
9 GT2 95   Advanced Engineering
  PeCom Racing Team
  Gianmaria Bruni
  Matías Russo
  Luís Pérez Companc
Ferrari F430GT M 330
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
10 GT2 21   Panoz Team PTG   Ian James
  Dominik Farnbacher
Panoz Esperante GT-LM Y 329
Ford 5.0 L V8
11 GT2 45   Flying Lizard Motorsports   Patrick Long
  Jörg Bergmeister
  Marc Lieb
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 326
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
12 GT2 44   Flying Lizard Motorsports   Johannes van Overbeek
  Darren Law
  Seth Neiman
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 326
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
13 GT2 61   Risi Competizione
  Krohn Racing
  Tracy Krohn
  Niclas Jönsson
  Eric van de Poele
Ferrari F430GT M 325
Ferrari 4.0 L V8
14 GT2 40   Robertson Racing   David Robertson
  Andrea Robertson
  David Murry
Ford GT-R Mk. VII D 303
Ford 5.0 L V8
15
DNF
LMP1 9   Patrón Highcroft Racing   David Brabham
  Scott Sharp
  Dario Franchitti
Acura ARX-02a M 302
Acura AR7 4.0 L V8
16 GT2 87   Farnbacher-Loles Motorsports   Wolf Henzler
  Dirk Werner
  Richard Lietz
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M 274
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
17
DNF
GT2 11   Primetime Race Group   Joel Feinberg
  Chris Hall
  Ritchie Holt
Dodge Viper Competition Coupe D 251
Dodge 8.3 L V10
18
DNF
LMP1 66   de Ferran Motorsports   Gil de Ferran
  Simon Pagenaud
  Scott Dixon
Acura ARX-02a M 246
Acura AR7 4.0 L V8
19
DNF
GT2 007   Drayson Racing   Paul Drayson
  Jonny Cocker
  Rob Bell
Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 M 204
Aston Martin 4.5 L V8
(E85 ethanol)
20
DNF
LMP1 12   Autocon Motorsports   Chris McMurry
  Bryan Willman
  Tony Burgess
Lola B06/10 D 151
AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8
21
DNF
LMP2 20   Dyson Racing Team   Butch Leitzinger
  Marino Franchitti
  Ben Devlin
Lola B08/86 M 149
Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4
22
DNF
GT2 92   BMW Rahal Letterman Racing   Tommy Milner
  Dirk Müller
BMW M3 GT2 D 140
BMW 4.0 L V8
23
DNF
LMP2 16   Dyson Racing Team   Chris Dyson
  Guy Smith
  Andy Lally
Lola B09/86 M 127
Mazda MZR-R 2.0 L Turbo I4
24
DNF
GT2 28   LG Motorsports   Lou Giglotti
  Eric Curan
  Lucas Molo
Chevrolet Corvette C6 D 89
Chevrolet LS3 6.0 L V8
25
DNF
LMP1 37   Intersport Racing   Jon Field
  Clint Field
  Chapman Ducote
Lola B06/10 D 77
AER P32C 4.0 L Turbo V8
26
DNF
GT2 90   BMW Rahal Letterman Racing   Bill Auberlen
  Joey Hand
BMW M3 GT2 D 27
BMW 4.0 L V8
DNS GT2 18   VICI Racing   Hans-Joachim Stuck
  Johannes Stuck
  Nicky Pastorelli
Porsche 997 GT3-RSR M
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sebring Shocker: Dixon claims Pole for Acura". American Le Mans Series. 2009-03-19. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
  2. ^ Marcel ten Caat (2009-03-21). "Sebring 12 Hours – Warm-Up Report". PlanetLeMans.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  3. ^ "ALMS Qualifying" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 2009-03-19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-19.
  4. ^ a b Marcel ten Caat (2009-03-21). "Sebring 12 Hours – Hour 1 Update". PlanetLeMans.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  5. ^ Marcel ten Caat (2009-03-21). "Sebring 12 Hours – Hour 2 Update". PlanetLeMans.com. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  6. ^ "Peugeots sit 1–2 after three hours of racing". American Le Mans Series. 2009-03-21. Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  7. ^ Marcel ten Caat (2009-03-21). "Sebring 12 Hours – Hour 5 Update". PlanetLeMans.com. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  8. ^ Marcel ten Caat (2009-03-21). "Sebring 12 Hours – Hour 6 Update". PlanetLeMans.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  9. ^ Marcel ten Caat (2009-03-21). "Sebring 12 Hours – Hour 7 Update". PlanetLeMans.com. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  10. ^ Marcel ten Caat (2009-03-21). "Sebring 12 Hours – Hour 9 Update". PlanetLeMans.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  11. ^ "A slow puncture deprives Peugeot of victory". Endurance-Info.com. 2009-03-22. Archived from the original on 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  12. ^ Marcel ten Caat (2009-03-21). "Sebring 12 Hours – Hour 10 Update". PlanetLeMans.com. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  13. ^ a b "Another Debut, Another Audi Victory at Sebring". American Le Mans Series. 2009-03-21. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  14. ^ "ALMS Final Race Report" (PDF). International Motor Sports Association. 2009-03-22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
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