Dress rehearsal for Le Mans in Sebring
Following the fiercely fought double victory at the season-opener of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in Dallas/Fort Worth, Team Audi Sport North America now concentrates on defending last year´s win at the ALMS season highlight: the 12 Hours of Sebring. On March 17th, the Audi squad will conduct a dress rehearsal in Florida for the Le Mans 24 Hour race.
Head of Audi Sport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich and his team will attempt to prepare for the enormous Le Mans challenge as best as possible. For Audi, this means that the chequered flag at Sebring on Saturday evening brings only a preliminary halt to the test. "After the finish, we want to drive another 12 hours with one of the two Infineon Audi R8s on the Sebring circuit on Monday," explains Dr. Ullrich. Engine, gearbox and all other components of the racing sportscars will then go through a 24 hour endurance test, with half the distance under racing conditions.
Following the motto "never change a winning team", Frank Biela will share one car with Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro. This trio won in Sebring and Le Mans last year. Sharing the cockpit of the second Infineon Audi R8 are Laurent Aiello, Michele Alboreto and Rinaldo Capello.
Sebring is the oldest long-distance race in the USA and is run this year for the 49th time. Over 100,000 spectators are expected this year, and the enthusiasm is huge. Many of them set up camp in front of the closed gates weeks before the event in the hope of getting the best possible viewpoint, with their makeshift shelters beside the racetrack sometimes quite adventurous. The first of two qualifying sessions takes place on Wednesday after two test days on Monday and Tuesday. To date, more than 40 cars are entered for the race.
The 3.7-mile circuit, with the pits recently receiving extensive modifications, places extreme demands on man and machine. The track surface of the former military airbase is very uneven and provides drivers and engineers with a difficult challenge in finding the best possible set-up. The hard work in Sebring, however, seems to pay off: In the past two years, the winner of the Sebring event has gone on to win the Le Mans race three months later.
Current Points Standings
Drivers
1. Rinaldo Capello (Infineon Audi R8), 27
2. Tom Kristensen (Infineon Audi R8), 26
3. Emanuele Pirro (Infineon Audi R8), 23
4. Frank Biela (Infineon Audi R8), 22
5. David Brabham (Panoz), 20
6. Jan Magnussen (Panoz), 19
7. Andy Wallace (Audi R8), 18
8. Dorsey Schroeder (Audi R8), 17
9. Klaus Graf (Panoz), 16
10. Gualter Salles (Panoz), 15
Manufacturers
1. Audi, 25
2. Panoz, 21
Sebring Timetable
Wednesday, 14 March
09:30 – 10:30 hours free practice
15:10 – 15:30 hours 1st qualifying
Thursday, 15 March
09:15 – 10:15 hours free practice
15:05 – 15:25 hours 2nd qualifying
20:00 – 21:00 hours night practice
Friday, 16 March
09:45 – 10:45 hours free practice
Saturday, 17 March
07:30 – 07:50 hours warm-up
10:40 hours start
All times are local times