Photo Credit: Action Express Racing
After being humbled by the pace of Tequila Patron ESM and star driver Pipo Derani at the Daytona International Speedway in January, Action Express Racing has turned the tables on the FIA World Endurance Championship regulars, posting fast time in each of the three available practice sessions Thursday, on the run up to Saturday’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, Fueled By Fresh From Florida.
Dane Cameron would take the honors as the fastest to traverse the 3.7 mile Sebring International Raceway circuit, posting a one minute, 52.447 second pass on Thursday morning in the No. 31 Whelen-sponsored Chevrolet Corvette DP. Teammate Felipe Albuquerque was second quick on the day, posting the fastest effort during the evening session in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Corvette DP, just under a half second off of Cameron’s run.
Although the Corvette DPs were the rabbits for the most part on Thursday, the rest of the Prototype class field is still within striking range, led by ESM’s Ligier-Honda coupe. Derani fired off the top lap in the No. 2 Tequila Patron-backed prototype, the only other driver to come within a second of Cameron’s run. A second LMP2-eligible machine was next on the list, as SpeedSource Mazda Motorsports continues to show improvement in their second outing with their new gasoline-powered engine. Jonathan Bomarito put the No. 55 Castrol machine in position number four Thursday. Rounding the first five was a third Corvette DP in the hands Wayne Taylor Racing’s Jordan Taylor. After placing second at Daytona, a now 100 percent health-wise younger of the Taylor brothers posted the top time in the No. 10 Konica-Minolta machine in each of the three sessions Thursday.
In the Prototype Challenge, the extra testing of the new components on the ORECA FLM09 vehicles appears to have helped CORE autosport greatly, as lead driver Colin Braun’s one minute, 55.077 second pass on Thursday night, had the remainder of the seven-car PC lineup covered by over a second. The Jon Bennett-run squad is looking to bounce back this weekend at Sebring, after failing to finish in January at Daytona due to engine failure. Braun’s arch rival Tom Kimber-Smith of PR1-Mathiasen Motorsports was second best in PC after three sessions, with the pair of Starworks Motorsport entries claiming the next two places on the timing sheet. After cruising to victory at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the going has been tougher so far for JDC-Miller Motorsports, as Kenton Koch’s top time was only good for fifth in the division on Thursday.
BMW Team Rahal appears to have the fastest machine in the GT Le Mans class at Sebring so far, as its new M6 GTLM fired claimed spots one and two after action concluded on Thursday. The No. 100 entry of Lucas Luhr posted the day’s best lap during the night running at one minute, 59. 270 seconds, just under a tenth of a second up on the sister No. 25 machine’s quick lap set in the morning efforts by Dirk Werner. Porsche North America posted third and fourth best times on Thursday, with Risi Competizione’s Giancarlo Fisichella closing out the fast five in his Ferrari 488. After finishing 1-2 in photo finish fashion at Daytona, the going at Sebring has been difficult for Corvette Racing so far. The best lap by a C7.R in the hands of Antonio Garcia was only seventh fastest in GTLM after three sessions of action.
Finally in GT Daytona, the V-10 monster engine in the Viper Exchange-Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper GT3-R appears to have an edge on the straightaways at the 3.7 mile Sebring layout. Jeroen Bleekemolen was best in class Thursday at two minutes, 2.901 seconds, yet only one hundredth of a second clear of Andy Lally’s Magnus Racing Audi R8 LMS. Lally and the Magnus squad are looking to backup their victory in January at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Two more GTD entries found the 2:02.9 bracket on Thursday with Jorg Bergmeister placing the Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3-R third on the list, while a second Audi in the hands of Stevenson Motorsports’ Robin Liddell took fourth on the speed chart. Rounding out the fast five in impressive fashion was the older version of the Audi R8 entered by Flying Lizard-Krohn Racing. Pierre Kaffer clicked off the fast lap for the lime-green liveried machine.
While weather conditions will be near perfect for qualifying on Friday afternoon, race day conditions on Saturday could be a different matter. Based on current projections, there is currently a sixty percent chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms on Saturday, according to weather.com
Stay tuned to OnPitRoad.com for continuing coverage of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.
