The hours are counting down towards the opening round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series and, for Britain’s Oliver Gavin and the GM Corvette Racing team, the moment the green flag drops on Saturday morning can’t come soon enough. Image Credit: ALMS presented by Tequila Patron2011 ALMS Racing Season Opens In Florida At Sebring This Weekend
Actually, two series in one race start out at the famed 12 hours of Sebring. Specifically, the First Round of American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón and the First Round of Intercontinental Le Mans Cup kick off with points awarded to the best finishers of 56 Entries that take to the airport concrete, pavement, and asphalt tarmac of the Sebring race circuit. 56 entrants are the most at Sebring since 2003 and continues the record-breaking momentum from 2010 when championships in all four classes came down to the final race at Road Atlanta.
A conference call press conference was held with this announcement and a link to the full audio file recorded by The EDJE for your interest.
This excerpted and edited from an email alert sent by the American Le Mans Series -
American Le Mans Series MEDIA ALERT: International Teleconference
11 a.m. to noon ET, TODAY - Wednesday, March 16, 2011!
Conference call conducted by Bob Vice President of Public Relations/Media Services FEATURING:
Anthony Davidson, Peugeot Sport Total
[Defending 2010 Sebring champion]
Tom Kristensen, Audi Sport Team Joest
[Eight-time Le Mans champion; six-time Sebring champion/five overall]
Oliver Gavin, Corvette Racing
[Four-time Le Mans GT1 class champion; four-time Sebring GT1 champion]
Audio file of the conference call - HERE>>.
[after verification code is entered, allow time for file to load for clear audio]
As a backdrop to this conference call, Audi hit the track for Tuesday's practice and bested all other competitors lap times and served notice that they should be included in the premire group of six or so teams that conceviably could win the race on Saturday. Audi Sport Team Joest’s R15 prototype driven by Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller posted a 1:48.450 (122.822 mph) lap in the morning session, more than a second better than the closest challenge from Peugeot. The two diesel powers are set to renew their rivalry Saturday.
The GT category remained incredibly tight with the top seven cars separated by 0.418 seconds and the top nine within a single second. AF Corse’s Ferrari F430 GT of Gianmaria Bruni, Pierre Kaffer and Giancarlo Fisichella led the way with a lap of 2:01.873 (109.294 mph) in the afternoon, just 0.17 seconds clear of Corvette Racing’s Corvette C6.R of Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen and Richard Westbrook; their car set its fastest lap in the morning.
BMW Motorsport’s trio of Bill Auberlen, Augusto Farfus and Dirk Werner had the third fastest lap at 2:02.65 (109.122 mph) with their BMW M3 GT; its best time came in the morning as well.
The first official practice session for America’s greatest sports car race is set for 10:15 a.m. ET on Thursday. Live timing and scoring is available at americanlemans.com
The 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida is set for 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 19. The race will be shown live and in its entirety on ESPN3.com and americanlemans.com starting at 10:15 a.m. ET. ABC will provide coverage from 12:30 to 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 20.
Full broadcast schedule HERE>>(ht: alms)
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UPDATE:
Loic Duval took the checkered flag by 31.868 seconds in his Peugeot 908 HDi FAP over Highcroft Racing’s Simon Pagenaud in a classic fight that saw the top three cars finish on the lead lap. Duval, who won with Nicolas Lapierre and Olivier Panis, took a late splash of fuel to ensure he could make it to the end of the race and the first race of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Image Credit: American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (2011)Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida
Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Fla.
Saturday’s race results / first-in-class highlighted in BOLD (race overview in link)
1. (5) Nicolas Lapierre, France; Loic Duval; Olivier Panis, France; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (1, LMP1), 332.
2. (7) David Brabham, Maidenhead; Marino Franchitti, Edinburgh, Scotland; Simon Pagenaud, Montmorrillon; HPD ARX-01e (2, LMP1), 332.
3. (1) Franck Montagny, Grandvaux; Stephane Sarrazin, Ales; Pedro Lamy, Lisbon; Peugeot 908 (3, LMP1), 332.
4. (4) Allan McNish, Monte Carlo; Dindo Capello, Canelli; Tom Kristensen, Monte Carlo; Audi R15+ TDI (4, LMP1), 327.
5. (2) Mike Rockenfeller, Monte Carlo; Timo Bernhard, Dittweiler; Romain Dumas, Ales; Audi R15+ TDI (5, LMP1), 326.
6. (10) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, Bracken, Yorkshire; Jay Cochran, Palm Beach, FL; Lola B09 86/Mazda (6, LMP1), 324.
7. (8) Neel Jani; Jeroen Bleekemolen, Monte Carlo, ; Nicolas Prost; Lola B10/60 Coupe (7, LMP1), 320.
8. (3) Alexander Wurz, Monte Carlo; Marc Gene, Barcelona; Anthony Davidson, Brackley, Northamptonshire; Peugeot 908 (8, LMP1), 315.
9. (12) Michael Guasch, Pleasant Hill, CA; Jens Petersen, Dusseldorf; Dane Cameron, Sonoma, CA; Oreca FLM09 (1, LMPC), 312.
10. (25) Dirk Mueller, Monte Carlo; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Andy Priaulx; BMW M3 GT (1, GT), 312.
11. (13) Frankie Montecalvo, Highlands, NJ; Ryan Dalziel, Orlando, FL; Oreca FLM09 (2, LMPC), 312.
12. (24) Dirk Werner, Kissenbrück; Augusto Farfus; Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA; BMW M3 GT (2, GT), 312.
13. (30) Olivier Beretta, Monte Carlo; Tommy Milner, Leesburg, VA; Antonio Garcia, Barcelona; Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (3, GT), 312.
14. (23) Oliver Gavin, Yardley Hastings; Jan Magnussen, Roskilde; Richard Westbrook, London; Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (4, GT), 311.
15. (22) Gianmaria Bruni, Rome; Giancarlo Fisichella , Rome; Pierre Kaffer, Salenstein; Ferrari F430 (5, GT), 311.
16. (27) Joerg Bergmeister, Langenfield; Patrick Long, Bellaire, FL; Marc Lieb, Ludwigsburg; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (6, GT), 310.
17. (52) Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Seth Neiman, San Francisco, CA; Marco Holzer; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7, GT), 306.
18. (14) Gunnar Jeannette, Salt Lake City, UT; Ricardo Gonzalez, Monterrey; Rudy Junco Jr., Monterrey; Oreca FLM09 (3, LMPC), 305.
19. (36) Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Nic Jonsson, Buford, GA; Michele Rugulo, Italy; Ferrari F430 GT (4, GTE-AM), 302.
20. (17) Luis Diaz, Mexico City; Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Ryan Hunter-Reay, Boca Raton, FL; Lola Honda (5, LMP2), 300.
21. (46) Damien Faulkner, Ireland; Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, Haarlem; Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (1, GTC), 299.
22. (50) Duncan Ende, Los Angeles, CA; Spencer Pumpelly, Mason Neck, VA; Alain Li; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (2, GTC), 299.
23. (56) Sean Edwards; Henrique Cisneros, Miami, FL; Carlos Kauffmann, Miami, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (3, GTC), 296.
24. (51) Nick Ham, Evergreen, CO; Carlos Kauffmann, Miami, FL; Sean Edwards; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (4, GTC), 295.
25. (49) Dion von Moltke, Coral Gables, FL; Jim Norman, Tampa, FL; Peter Ludwig, New Paltz, NY; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (5, GTC), 295.
26. (35) Boris Said, San Diego, CA; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Doran Ford GT/Elan (8, GT), 294.
27. (18) Christian Zugel, Holmdel, NJ; Eric Lux, Jacksonville, FL; Elton Julian, Santa Monica, CA; Oreca FLM09 (6, LMPC), 294.
28. (29) Jean-Denis Deletraz; Stephane Ortelli, Monte Carlo; Frederic Makowiecki; Ferrari F458 Italia (9, GT), 292.
29. (48) Peter Lesaffre, Rye, NH; Andrew Davis, Lilburn, GA; Bob Faieta, Tujunga, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (6, GTC), 291.
30. (11) Franck Mailleux, France; Lucas Ordonez, Spain; Soheil Ayari, Aix-les-Bains; Oreca 03 Nissan (7, LMP2), 290.
31. (21) Andrea Barlesi; Frédéric Da Rocha, Paris; Patrice Lafargue, Nantes; Oak Pescarolo Judd (8, LMP2), 287.
32. (45) Craig Stanton, Long Beach, CA; Matthew Marsh, Welwyn; John Potter, Salt Lake City, UT; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (9, GTC), 282.
33. (53) Christophe Bouchut, Paris; Joao Barbosa, Portugal; Scott Tucker, Leawood, KS; Lola Honda (10, LMP2), 280.
34. (44) Leh Keen, Dublin, GA; Brian Wong, Newport Beach, CA; Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (11, GTC), 279.
35. (28) Guy Cosmo, West Palm Beach, FL; Rob Bell, Northamptonshire; Ed Brown, Las Vegas, NV; Ferrari F458 Italia (10, GT), 268.
36. (26) Jaime Melo, Milan; Mika Salo, Monte Carlo; Toni Vilander, Kankaanpaa; Ferrari F458 Italia (11, GT), 266.
37. (34) Anthony Lazzaro, Atlanta, GA; Colin Braun, Ovalo, TX; David Murry, Atlanta, GA; Doran Ford GT (12, GT), 261.
38. (41) PJ Jones, Torrance, CA; Rocky Moran, Ladera Ranch, CA; Kenny Wilden, Burlington Ontario; Jaguar XKR (13, GT), 256.
39. (32) Richard Lietz, Ybbsitz; Christian Ried, Schoeneburg, Germany; Gianluca Roda, Como; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (14, GTE-AM), 252.
40. (54) Jan-Dirk Lueders, Barrington Hills, IL; Anthony Nicolosi, Palm Beach, FL; Jarrett Boon, Phoenix, AZ; Oreca FLM09 (7, LMPC), 246.
41. (42) Bryce Miller, Summit, NJ; Sascha Maassen, Lontzen; Rene Rast, Minde; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (15, GT), 231.
42. (43) Pierre Ehret, Tegernsee; Roger Wills, Timaru; Shaun Lynn; Ferrari F430 (16, GTE-AM), 226.
43. (9) Mattieu Lahaye; Guillaume Moreau; Pierre Ragues; Oak Pescarolo Judd (17, LMP1), 222.
44. (33) Bryan Sellers, Braselton, GA; Wolf Henzler, Nuertingen; Martin Ragginger, Austria; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (18, GT), 220.
45. (19) Johnny Mowlem, London; Olivier Lombard, Poissy; Luca Moro, Amsterdam; Oreca FLM09 (8, LMPC), 203.
46. (15) Ryan Lewis, Indianapolis, IN; Henri Richard, Los Altos Hills, CA; Ken Dobson, Carmel Valley, CA; Oreca FLM09 (9, LMPC), 185.
47. (6) Greg Pickett, Crystal Bay, NV; Klaus Graf, Dornham; Lucas Luhr, Monte Carlo; AMR/ Lola Coupe B08 62 (10, LMP1), 151.
48. (16) Richard Hein; Jean-Francois Yvon, Le Mans; Jacques Nicolet; Oak Pescarolo Judd (11, LMP1), 111.
49. (47) James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA; Jan Seyffarth, Querfurt; Bret Curtis, Valencia, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (12, GTC), 87.
50. (20) Kyle Marcelli, Barrie, ON; Tomy Drissi, Los Angeles, CA; Rusty Mitchell, Midland, TX; Oreca FLM09 (12, LMPC), 86.
51. (31) Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Dominik Farnbacher, Ansbach; Ferrari F458 Italia (19, GT), 49.
52. (40) Gabriele Gardal, Milan; Patrick Bornhauser; Julien Canal, Le Mans; Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (20, GTE-AM), 37.
53. (38) Bruno Junqueira, Brazil; Oriol Servia, Beverly Hills, CA; Cristiano da Matta, Belo, Horizonte; Jaguar XKR (21, GT), 35.
54. (39) Ian James, Phoenix, AZ; Benjamin Leuenberger, Switzerland; Panoz Abruzzi (22, GT), 19.
55. (55) Nicky Pastorelli, Rijswijk; Dominik Schwager, Eisenhofen; Brett Sandberg; Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 (23, GT), 10.
56. (37) Fabien Giroix, Saint-Maur; Michael Wainwright; Roland Goethe; Aston Martin Vantage (24, GTE-AM), 5.
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