Sebring 12hrs 2012

[Rob]

Its that time of year again. Go use this thread for the week build up and race news and updates. This years race is going to be amazing, think Audi will take it, but hope for good strong showing for Pescarolo, my second favourite team in sportscars. Toyota are not at Sebring, but the battle behind Audi this weekend should be good with Pesca and Rebellion. As for the ever close GT class, AF Corse was fastest today, but it is so close and hard fighting in the GT class, should be edge of seat racing for the whole 12hrs. Of course AF Corse going to bring it home.


Audis Out Front Early In Sebring Testing

Le Mans-winning trio lead 54-car session Monday morning
Audi Sport’s three Audi R18 TDIs set the pace in the opening test session Monday for the 60tth Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. The trio of Benoit Treluyer, Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler posted a quickest lap of 1:47.545 in a four-hour session at Sebring International Raceway.

The trio, winners last year at the Le Mans 24 Hours, were 1.16 seconds quicker than the team car of Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Loic Duval – a winner at Sebring last year with Team ORECA Matmut. The session marked the first of the week for the combined fields of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón and the new FIA World Endurance Championship.

Fifty-four cars posted times Monday morning. Oak Racing was fourth overall followed by Dyson Racing’s new Lola-Mazda coupe of Chris Dyson, Guy Smith and Steven Kane. Its best lap was a 1:52.338.

Defending ALMS LMP2 champion Level 5 Motorsports led in P2 on Monday morning. The team’s HPD ARX-03b of Scott Tucker, Luis Diaz and Ryan Hunter-Reay set a lap of 1:52.864 for a 0.92-second advantage over Oak Racing’s Morgan-Judd entry of Jacques Nicolet, Matthieu Lahaye and Olivier Pla. The ADR-Delta ORECA03-Nissan of Robbie Kerr, John Martin and Tor Graves sat third, just ahead of the debuting Conquest Racing Morgan-Judd of Martin Plowman, David Heinemeier Hansson and Francesco Dracone.

In the GT ranks, AF Corse’s trio of Giancarlo Fisichella, Gimmi Bruni and Toni Vilander was fastest in their Ferrari F458 Italia at 2:01.817. It was just 0.32 seconds ahead of BMW Team RLL’s BMW M3 GT of Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Jonathan Summerton. The BMW squad finished 1-2 in class last season at Sebring, a result that propelled Hand, Mueller, BMW and BMW Team RLL to the ALMS GT championship.

Luxury Racing’s Ferrari of Jaime Melo, Frederic Makowiecki and Jean-Karl Verney sat third in class.

Defending Prototype Challenge champion CORE autosport opened strong with the top two spots in the class. The team’s first ORECA FLM09 of team owner Jon Bennett, Colin Braun and Eric Lux set a best time of 1:55.600, good enough for a 0.24-second cushion over the second car of Alex Papow, EJ Viso and Burt Friselle.

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ entry of Butch Leitzinger, Ken Dobson and Rudy Junco was third-fastest at 1:56.369.

In GTE Am, the Luxury Racing Ferrari of Pierre Ehret, Dominik Farnbacher and Francois Jakubowski was quickest at 2:03.279. It was 0.06 seconds clear of another Ferrari – this one from AF Corse-Waltrip and drivers Michael Waltrip, Rob Kauffman and Rui Aguas.

NGT Motorsport was the quickest GT Challenge car at 2:07.066. The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup of Sean Edwards, Henrique Cisneros and Carlos Kauffman was a full season up on the JDX Racing Porsche of Chris Cumming, Mark Bullitt and Michael Valiante. Alex Job Racing’s trio of Cooper MacNeil, Leh Keen and LP Dumolin sat third at 2:08.233.

[Rob]

watch here for a quick lap around Sebring on board the Flying Lizard Porsche

http://americanlemans.com/articles/a...r-extravaganza

[Rob]

Aston Martin target top five finish in FIA WEC opener at Sebring
By Tom Mallett Monday, March 12th 2012, 12:15 GMT

Aston Martin Racing managing director John Gaw has targeted a top five finish at the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Sebring.

Gaw expects the GTE class to be highly competitive, with over 20 cars battling against Aston Martin's V8-powered Vantage for class honours.

The team boss also expects the Vantage's performance to improve as the season progresses, as he said that everyone in the team was eagerly anticipating the Sebring season-opener.

"Everyone in the team is eager to get back into competition. Indeed, many were at Sebring when Aston Martin Racing won on its debut with the DBR9 back in 2005," Gaw said.

The Vantage GTE will arrive at Sebring on the back of a three day test at the Road Atlanta circuit in Georgia where the team's works drivers, Darren Turner, Stefan Mucke and Adrian Fernandez all covered significant mileage in the new car.

Turner said a strong first impression had left him confident for the year ahead.

"I think everyone has been pleasantly surprised with initial performance and reliability, he explained, "which bodes well for Sebring and the season ahead."

Adrian Fernandez is the only driver from the trio not to have raced a GT car before, but he has raced at Sebring and feels confident that he will be on the pace of his new teammates after the successful test at Road Atlanta.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97987

[Rob]

EXTREME SPEED MOTORSPORTS READY TO CONQUER 12 HOURS OF SEBRING

STUART, FL – March 12, 2012 – The Extreme Speed Motorsports team attacks the 2012 season with a new confidence. After two successful pre-season test sessions, ESM is eager to make its mark on the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón.

The opening round of competition begins this week at the 60th Annual Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida on March 14-17, at Sebring International Raceway.

The ESM Ferrari team will fly the stars and stripes with an all-American driver line-up of series regulars Scott Sharp, Ed Brown, Johannes van Overbeek and Guy Cosmo. For the 12 Hours of Sebring event, ESM added Jeff Segal and Anthony Lazzaro to the mix. ESM team is the only two-car squad with an all-American driver line-up. To mark the occasion, the ESM Ferrari’s will also feature a revised livery with an American flag adorning the rear quarter panel.

Sharp, van Overbeek and Cosmo will be co-driving the No 01 ESM Tequila Patrón Ferrari, while Brown, Segal and Lazzaro will co-pilot the No. 02 ESM Tequila Patrón Ferrari.

Headquartered in Stuart, Florida, the ESM team has maximized their time both on- and off-track since the final laps on the 2011 season. During the off season, ESM crew, along with support from Ferrari and Michelotto, used the off-season to evaluate, modify and improve the No. 01 and No. 02 Tequila Patrón-sponsored machines. Those long hours at the shop and the two pre-season test sessions proved valuable as the team confidently enters race week at Sebring.

The 2012 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila begins with the 60th Annual Mobile 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida on March 14-17. Qualifying takes place on Friday, March 16, at 3:20pm. Green flag for the 60th Running of the 12 Hours of Sebring is on Saturday, March 17, at 10:30am.

[epiclyaddicted]

Really looking forward to this. Hope AF Corse can have a trouble free race, with no reliability problems. Will be very close in the GT class, particularly the BMWs will be strong again.

Sorry if I've missed the obvious Rob, but are there any Porsches and Corvettes running here?

And McNish to win LMP1 please!

[Rob]

yeah they are running here, heres the entry list for this weekend. The BMWs are strong, got alot of top end speed, cannt forget the stalwarts Porsches. Old design of car. They did struggle last year with the speed of the 458s and the BMWs. Vettes, cannt count them out either.

http://www.planetlemans.com/2012/03/...-entry-list-3/

[epiclyaddicted]

yeah they are running here, heres the entry list for this weekend. The BMWs are strong, got alot of top end speed, cannt forget the stalwarts Porsches. Old design of car. They did struggle last year with the speed of the 458s and the BMWs. Vettes, cannt count them out either.

http://www.planetlemans.com/2012/03/...-entry-list-3/

Ok cheers mate.

Yeah I think the Beemers will be our main competitor, but I seem to remember the Vettes were pretty strong at Sebring last year as well.

Should be a fun race.

[Rob]

The 12 Hours of Sebring will mark the opening of the 2012 season of endurance racing, but also the beginning of the new FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The Floridian classic traditionally opens the endurance season, but this year, fans and competitors are even more excited to be entering a new era for the sport.

Tomorrow Wednesday, 14th March will be for photos and television opportunities, the track being devolved to the competitors of support races. Track activities for the main race competitors will begin again on Thursday, March 15th with no less than three free practice sessions. The cars will start at 10:00 for a one hour session, and again 14:50 until 15:50. The night practice session that is mandatory for all drivers will take place, from 19:35 to 21:20.

The festivities will resume on Friday morning March 16th, with a final free practice session of one hour of 9:55 to 10:55 before the qualifying sessions in the afternoon of fifteen minutes each. The LMGTE Am and GTC are first up at 15:20 before giving way to LMGTE Pro at 15:35. After a five-minute break, the LMP2 and LMPC will take the track at 15:55 and LMP1 will close the day at 16:10.

Saturday 17th March will be a long one. The big day will begin with a warmup of 25 minutes at 08:00 followed by pre-grid activity. The famous phrase "gentlemen start your engines" will be delivered a few minutes before the start of the race scheduled at 10:30 for a period of 12 hours.

Motorsport fans can meet their favourite drivers during the autograph session on Friday from 12:00 to 13:00 at the back of service trucks, a friendly event enjoyed by everyone.

The thirty WEC competitors will be joined by those of the American Le Mans Series, which promises to form an exceptional line-up of 64 competitors for a race which will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year.

[Rob]

he trio of Audi R18s continued to dominate the pre event test session for the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida with the nr2 Audi of Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish setting the fastest time of the two sessions with a 1m48.138s, finishing two tenths ahead of the #3 Audi and a further 0.5 seconds ahead of the #1 car.

The #21 Strakka Racing HPD-Honda was 5th overall behind the ALMS entered Dyson Racing Team Lola and 2.479s adrift of the leading Audi.

The fastest FIA WEC entered LMP2 class car was the nr49 Pecom Oreca-Nissan of Luis Perez Companc, Pierre Kaffer and Soheil Ayari with a lap time of 1:53.527 and two places ahead of the nr44 Starworks Motorsport HPD-Honda of Vincente Potoliccho, Ryan Dalziel and Stephane Sarrazin.

The GTE class was headed by the nr51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 of Toni Vilander, Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni in a time of 2:01.097, while the top GTE Am was the #57 Krohn Racing Ferrari of Tracy Krohn, Niclas Jonsson and Michele Rugolo.

Tomorrow will be a rest day, with no track action involving the competitors in the FIA World Championship. On Thursday the event will begin in earnest with the first Practice session due to begin at 10am.

[Rob]

few pictures from yesterday..

[Rob]

[Rob]

[epiclyaddicted]

Lovely pics Rob, thanks for posting.

Those Audis look mean, and the 458s pretty as usual!

[Rob]

OAK Racing begins its 2012 World Endurance Championship assault in America this weekend (Saturday 17 March) at the 60th Anniversary 12 Hours of Sebring hoping to make an instant impression in both the LM P1 and LM P2 classes.

A crown jewel of the sportscar racing calendar, and one that in terms of prestige ranks second only to Le Mans itself, signals the re-launch of an FIA-ratified global endurance series after 20 years of hibernation.

And with no less than 60+ WEC/ALMS entries confirmed, this year’s race is sure to be one of the most congested in its 60-year history. The 5.95km 17-turn Sebring International Raceway in Florida is also the most physically demanding on the calendar with the former US Air Force base’s combination of high humidity and part-asphalt, part concrete surface taking its toll on car and driver alike.

OAK Racing has responded to the challenge of taking on the world’s top LMP manufacturers, teams and drivers with typical gusto by entering a brace of its all-new Onroak Automotive-designed and built prototypes for the full WEC season.

Familiar face and highly regarded Frenchman Guillaume Moreau returns to the OAK Racing fold for a fourth consecutive season to lead the #15 OAK-Pescarolo LM P1 line-up that includes 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 champion and IndyCar driver Bertrand Baguette (Belgium) and young Austrian prototype ace Dominik Kraihamer.

In a premier class expected to be headed by Audi’s all-conquering diesel contingent, OAK Racing has high hopes of spearheading the petrol-powered attack just as it did to score an overall podium finish at the 6 Hours of Silverstone last year. Since then the 2012-spec car, which features a significantly revised aero package and chassis, as well as the now mandatory shark fin and front wing cut outs, has completed over 1000 kilometres of mileage and shown great promise during winter testing.

Meanwhile, expectations for OAK Racing’s similarly all-new Morgan 2012 LM P2 have been set even higher following last weekend’s fastest time during European Le Mans Series pre-season testing at Paul Ricard in France, which validated the team’s initial confidence over the winter. Those hopes remain high despite Monday’s open test accident that will ensure the car remains sidelined until Thursday.

Aiming for class victory at Sebring is Team Owner and ‘Silver’ grade gentleman racer Jacques Nicolet who is joined at the wheel of the #24 machine by rapid French duo Matthieu Lahaye and Oliver Pla. This will be Lahaye’s fifth straight season with the squad while 2009 LMS champion Pla returns following his successful part-2011 campaign.

A second Onroak Automotive-designed and built Morgan 2012 LM P2 is also scheduled to line-up on Saturday courtesy of Conquest Endurance through their capacity as OAK Racing’s official US importer and distributor. Certainly then this weekend provides an ideal opportunity to showcase the Morgan 2012 LM P2’s credentials.

As part of its official technical partnership with Dunlop, OAK Racing is also excited to see the benefits of improved tyre performance at Sebring where the team helped develop a new range of endurance rubber during the winter.

Sébastien Philippe, Team Principal: “Our objective for the #15 OAK Pescarolo LM P1 is to find a good race set-up as we are looking for performance and consistency during long stints. Qualifying is not our priority. It is important that our drivers gain experience of the circuit. That’s especially true of Bertrand, who has never driven at Sebring, and Dominik.

“Unfortunately, following the LM P2 car’s accident, we do not have one of the necessary spare parts with us. It is being dispatched and will be here by the middle of the week. It is always frustrating to miss out on track time but the performance already demonstrated has been positive. We are fast and the crew knows the circuit well. Come this weekend I’m sure we will be fighting at the front of the pack.”

Bertrand Baguette, #15 OAK-Pescarolo LM P1: “This is the first time that I will have raced at Sebring. It is a great circuit with lots of bumps but quite difficult to learn, especially the last corner which is very fast. It must be taken perfectly and for that it’s important to have a lot of confidence in the car. Happily the initial signs are good. It’s stable despite more work needing to be done.

“The biggest difficulty we’re experiencing involves the heavy traffic, especially as there is a significant difference between the prototype and GT classes. It’s something that we are still getting used to.”

Matthieu Lahaye, #24 Morgan 2012 LM P2: “It was great to get back in the car and out on-track at Sebring. We were on the pace right away and that bodes well for what promises to be a challenging weekend. Between the heat here in Florida and the number of cars competing we’ve got our work cut out, but at least we know that the performance is already there.”

Jean-Félix Bazelin, Dunlop Motorsport Competition Director: “Mutual trust and fluid information exchange between Dunlop’s engineers and those at OAK Racing helped us to continue working effectively together as early as the end of last season. Working closely at the first Sebring test after the final round in Zhuhai, they were able to very quickly define a new range of products that improve both outright performance and consistency over long distances. As this was conducted at the same circuit as the World Championship’s opening round, we have every reason to feel optimistic about how the OAK/Dunlop package will behave at the legendary Sebring circuit. We have worked hard with OAK Racing and are excited to see the tangible results of our three-year technical partnership bear fruit.”

[Tifoso]

1. What do they mean "after a 20 year hibernation"? Don't they race here every year?

2. Ferrari on pole inthe GT (Fisi, etc), right?

3. I don't see it listed on SPEED? Am I missing it?

[Rob]

its been 20 years since there has been World Endurance in sportcars. Is that what you mean Lou?

[Rob]

The paddock awoke this morning to the Florida sunshine and summer temperatures. No track activity today for the competitors of the FIA World Endurance Championship, but that does not mean silence on the circuit, the competitors of support races will be busy with practice sessions.

The drivers of the FIA World Endurance Championship will participate in photo shoots and video recordings while the mechanics are busy around the cars under the awnings of service trucks waiting in turn to bring their cars to scrutineering, which starts from 8 am local time (12:00 UK) until 6pm.

[Rob]

Driver change practice with @tommymilner & @rwestbrook1

[Tifoso]

its been 20 years since there has been World Endurance in sportcars. Is that what you mean Lou?

Yes. But they have always raced. What is the difference before it was reintroduced and after it was reintroduced?

[Rob]

Yes they have always raced, under different names. But it wasnt till last year (mainly Peagout) teams wanted a World Championship in endurance started again. The FIA worked together with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). They run the Le-Mans 24hrs and the ALMS and ELMS. Got the WEC put together then Peagout pulled out completely from racing. It great for endurance racing that there is now a World Championship again, plus there is a drivers title to win aswell.

[Rob]

The new R18 e-tron quattro, which will be present at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps WEC, and the Cunningham that won the inaugural race of the first FIA World Endurance Championship which took place on the Sebring International circuit in Florida in 1953, met for a photo opportuniy at Sebring.

The German manufacturer will conduct private tests with the new R18 e-tron quattro on the track at Sebring next week.

[Rob]

In 2011, Audi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the tenth time , after one of the tightest races of its history. For the opening of the new FIA World Endurance Championship they aim to achieve the same score at the Sebring 12 Hours.

If you look at the list of Audi winners at Le Mans and Sebring there are astonishing parallels. In 2000 it was the first victory of the German manufacturer both in Florida and La Sarthe, with the same car and same crew: an R8 driven by Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro. Then, in 2006, Sebring and Le Mans were the scene of the first victory of the Audi R10 TDI. At Sebring again with Kristensen, this time with Dindo Capello and Allan McNish, then at Le Mans with Biela and Pirro joined by Marco Werner. Since 2000, Audi has placed all its prototypes in both races: R8, R10 and R15 TDI TDI. Will the R18 TDI join this prestigious line? In this year's 60th anniversary, let's take a look at the impressive record of Audi drivers attending this year at the 12 Hours Sebring:

13 wins : Tom Kristensen (8 at Le Mans, 5 at Sebring… and both records !)
6 wins : Dindo Capello (3 at Le Mans, 3 at Sebring)
5 wins : Allan McNish (2 at Le Mans, 3 at Sebring)
2 wins : Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas (1 at Le Mans, 1 at Sebring)

Team-mate of Bernhard and Dumas in the #2 R18 TDI, Loïc Duval has never won at Le Mans, but won last year at Sebring with Nicolas Lapierre and Olivier Panis, in the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP of Team Oreca Matmut. As for the trio Marcel Fässler / André Lotterer / Benoit Treluyer (Audi R18 TDI #3), winners of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2011, they will attempt to win thier first success at Sebring.

[Rob]

Sebring Through the Decades: The ’10s....

http://americanlemans.com/articles/s...s-%E2%80%9910s

[epiclyaddicted]

I didn't realise this earlier, but Audi running 3 R18 Ultras here, but none of the Quattros?

[Rob]

no they are going to make race debut at Spa in May. Yeah they have 3 Ultras at Sebring, could be Audi 1,2,3.

[Rob]

practice is under way atmo..

Audi Sport ‏ @Audi__Sport
#WEC #Sebring FP1: Audi now holds the top 3 positions. Romain Dumas fastest so far with 1m 48.626s

[Rob]

All day yesterday were the technical and administrative process known as scrutineering or 'tech inspection' in the USA, for all cars and drivers, taking part in the 12 Hours of Sebring, opening round of the 2012 season of FIA World Endurance Championship ​​and the American Le Mans Series. The tests were conducted jointly by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the American Le Mans Series and the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the respective technicians sharing the tasks.

The purpose of this process is to test compliance with the regulations of the equipment and procedures. Administrative checks are the first step: checking that the documentation of drivers and competitors are in order. We must ensure that such drivers have the B international license entitling them to take the start in the FIA World Endurance Championship and that competitors are entered correctly. Then the stickers to be affixed regulations on cars.

This is followed by scrutineering, which has two stages. The first phase is to ensure that the equipment used by drivers meets safety regulations: for example, each helmet must be licensed and comply with standards imposed by the FIA. The second phase concerns the compliance of vehicles with respect to technical regulations.

The first checks are related to safety, checking the operation of fire extinguishers and lights or the strength of the driver's safety harness. Then comes the most publicly known: the testing of vehicle compliance. Cars are carefully examined and measurements are performed with measuring instruments. Manufacturers must provide all the features of the cars on the forms certifying approval must be sure the car matches the type approval certificate.

Some measures that can be performed by driving the vehicle, an electronic unit that records data is embedded in all cars. Finally, after each practice session or qualifying and after the race, the cars are placed in parc ferme with a ban for the teams to reach the car before further checks are carried out. The classification is provisional until all checks are completed.

[Rob]

Expecting the Unexpected at Sebring
As a TV reporter, this is my fifth 12 Hours of Sebring; as a member of the TV crew, it’s my ninth. In 2004, I had no idea what to expect. There were stories of course and I had been briefed on the history but had no idea what I was getting into. Now, in 2012, I am still looking forward to the unexpected.




Covering a race like Sebring requires an enormous amount of prep-work. With a field of 64 entries and 191 drivers, it’s a lot of homework before race week and a lot of names to remember! Each year, I feel like I’m completely unprepared and won’t have enough to talk about but then the green flag falls. The 12 hours that pass before the checkered flag cannot be scripted, researched or studied beforehand. It’s a period of reaction to the events that unfold and that is the best part.

No one could have predicted that in 2007 Jamie Melo and Jörg Bergmesiter would have an epic battle on the final lap. In 2008, it was certainly a surprise that Porsche’s P2 RS Spyder claimed the top two overall podium positions over the factory P1 entries from Audi and Peugeot. In 2011, the privateer ORECA Matmut Peugeot shocked fans and proved how much they “Love US Racing” by out lasting the factory efforts.

The idea of feeling prepared for the coverage is a bit idealistic, but the excitement of knowing that anything can happen is what keeps people coming back 60 years later. For me, nine years later, I am still looking forward to the unexpected.

http://americanlemans.com/blog/expec...pected-sebring

[Rob]

Dumas Fastest in Opening Sebring Practice for Audi
62 cars set times in busy one-hour session
Romain Dumas got Audi Sport Team Joest started on the right foot in official practice for the 60tth Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. The Frenchman set the fastest time in Thursday’s one-hour session with a lap of 1:48.626 in his Audi R18.

Audi enters Sebring seeking its first victory in America’s greatest sports car race since 2009. Winning would be double-special as the 12 Hours serves as the opening round of both the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón and the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Dumas’ Audi was 1.136 seconds clear of Klaus Graf in Muscle Milk Pickett Racing’s HPD ARX-03a. The quickest of the ALMS regulars had a 0.351-second advantage over the Audi of Marcel Fassler.

Level 5 Motorsports’ Joao Barbosa was the fastest driver in P2. His lap of 1:52.680 in his HPD ARX-03b put him 0.404 seconds ahead of John Martin in the ADR-Delta’s ORECA 03-Nissan prototype. Next up was Luis Diaz in the second Level 5 HPD at 1:53.664.

ALMS teams held the top two spots in GT with Oliver Gavin’s Corvette C6.R setting the fastest lap at 2:01.154. The Corvette Racing veteran was just 0.009 seconds ahead of BMW Team RLL newcomer Jonathan Summerton in his BMW M3 GT. Toni Vilander sat third for AF Corse with a lap of 2:01.610 in his Ferrari F430 GT.

Muscle Milk Pickett Racing’s Memo Gidley was the fastest driver in Prototype Challenge after a lap of 1:55.881 in the team’s ORECA FLM09. Alex Popow had the second-fastest lap at 1:56.018 in CORE autosport’s prototype; he was about 0.7 seconds ahead of Performance Tech’s Ricardo Vera.

Dominik Farnbacher set the pace in GTE Am. His lap of 2:02.988 in Luxury Racing’s Ferrari F430 GT was good enough for a 0.524-second gap back to Paolo Ruberti in Team Felbermayr Proton’s Porsche 911 GT3 RSR.

In GT Challenge, Leh Keen set the fastest time for Alex Job Racing at 2:07.308. His Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was 0.315 seconds clear of NGT Motorsport’s Henrique Cisneros.

[Rob]

3 minutes to go and Bruni is quickest in the GT class, and, Audi 1,2,3

#1 Audi is nearly 2 seconds faster than the next non Audi.