It’s Audi R18 Diesel 1-2-3 Overall At 2012 Sebring Qualifications

March 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Audi R18 #1 on the circuit. To be driven in the 12 Hours by Lotterer, Treluyer and Fassler. Image Credit: MichelinAlley

Qualifying for Saturday’s 60th Anniversary, Mobil 1, 12 Hours of Sebring was held today and with little surprise in the overall standings, the diesel-powered Audi R18′s took the top three positions with the three fastest times. The cars qualified in car number-badged numerical order, with cars #1, #2 and #3 in grid positions 1, 2 and 3. Andre Lotterer (driving the #1 Audi R18 – pictured), the defending champion at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, showed what pace the cars could achieve with the overall and LMP1 class poles at 1:45.820.

Andre Lotterer (#1-P1 Audi R18) Overall pole winner, “This is my first time to the Sebring race, but not the Sebring track as we have tested here before. It is better to come here during the race weekend. This a little more action and it is great to see so many people. It is a great atmosphere. We were here in December for testing so we knew a little bit about the new front straight wall going into Turn 1. This is the last race for the R18 so it is an emotional car for the drivers as we move to the new Audi. It feels good to come to a legendary race like Sebring to compete with the car one more time. Hopefully the car will finish very nicely tomorrow for us. (On his stop-and-go penalty) I had a little stressful incident with the pit lane penalty. Usually the pit limiter is always on, but it wasn’t that time. That was my mistake for not noticing. It didn’t really make my life more difficult. The car ran great and I was able to get in a good lap. This pole is really nice for the staff as the guys work so hard to prepare for this race. This is a nice reward for the mechanics who work on the car. I wasn’t perfect at turns 13 and 15 so I didn’t think I would be that fast. You usually need a near perfect lap for the pole. Looks like the rest of the lap was better than I expected.”

While the Audi effort was dominating, the rest of the field of 64 cars would care to be mentioned so to that end, the other class poles featured Muscle Milk Pickett Racing (ALMS P1), OAK Racing (WEC LMP2), Level 5 Motorsports (ALMS P2), RSR Racing (ALMS PC), AF Corse (WEC GTE Pro), Corvette Racing (ALMS GT), Luxury Racing (WEC GTE Am) and NGT Motorsport (ALMS GTC).

E.J. Viso captured while in the cockpit (in mirror) with the fender louvers shown in foreground. Image Credit: MichelinAlley

Top three in class (overall position on the grid – in parentheses):

(1) #1-P1 Andre Lotterer (Audi R18) 1:45.820
(2) #2-P1 Tom Kristensen (Audi R18) 1:46.215 (0.395-)
(3) #3-P1 Romain Dumas (Audi R18) 1:46.935 (1.115-)

(11) #24-P2 Olivier Pla (Morgan/Judd) 1:50.467
(12) #44-P2 Stephane Sarrazin (HPD ARX-03b Honda) 1:50.823 (0.356-)
(13) #41-P2 Elton Julian (Zytek Z11SN-Nissan) 1:51.809 (1.342-)

(21) #9-PC Bruno Junqueira (Oreca FLM09) 1:54.510
(22) #06-PC E.J. Viso (Oreca FLM09) 1:54.555 (0.045-)
(24) #025-PC Dane Cameron (Oreca FLM09) 1:54.628 (0.118-)

(31) #51-GT Gianmaria Bruni (Ferrari F458 GT) 1:58.427
(32) #59-GT Jaime Melo (Ferrari F458 Italia) 1:58.723 (0.296-)
(33) #03-GT Jan Magnussen (Corvette C6-ZR1) 1:58.996 (0.569-)

(40) #58-GTE-AM Dominik Farnbacher (Ferrari F458 Italia) 2:00.184
(44) #57-GTE-AM Niclas Jonsson (Ferrari F458 Italia) 2:00.929 (0.745-)
(46) #50-GTE-AM Pedro Lamy (Corvette C6-ZR1) 2:01.640 (1.456-)

(52) #30-GTC Sean Edwards (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) 2:06.674
(53) #34-GTC Damien Faulkner (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) 2:06.697 (0.023-)
(54) #022-GTC Leh Keen (Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) 2:06.711 (0.037-)

Much of the interest surrounded the performance of open-wheel focused drivers crossing over to get broader experience in this international endurance racing event.

Selected Post Qualifying Quotes:

Simon Pagenaud (#6-P1 HPD ARX-03a) “It was a good day overall. In the end, we placed the Muscle Milk HPD right behind the Audis and that’s very good. However, it was an interesting day trying to make the car work with the track. We tried different things and, by the end of the session, it was very positive. I think we’re heading in the right direction. I’m getting excited now. I think we have our finger on what we need to do and it’s coming together. It’s taking longer than we would like because the sessions are short. There are a lot of cars on track and there were a lot of red flags, which makes it very difficult for the team to get to try what they want to try. It’s especially frustrating for the engineers but everyone is doing a great job and I think we should be good for qualifying and Saturday for the race.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay (#95-P2 HPD ARX-03b) “This has been a driver’s dream week. Just in a race car almost every day. The old quote, “just living the dream” is my motto this week. Saturday and Monday I was here in the LMP2 sports car for Level 5, Tuesday and Wednesday in the IndyCar for Andretti at Barber Motorsports Park, Thursday, Friday and Saturday back at Sebring for practice, qualifying and the race. Next Wednesday, I’ll be at St. Pete for the IndyCar Series opener. I can’t wait to get started in the IndyCars. I feel very fortunate and appreciative that I am able to drive these sports cars as well as the IndyCars. It keeps me sharp in the cockpit. I feel fresh going into St. Pete next week. I love coming back and racing with Level 5. It is a great team. It’s a great environment and it is becoming routine to come to Sebring each year. I really enjoy Sebring. It is my home track and we are looking to defend our win from last year (in LMP2).

Bruno Junqueira (#9-PC Oreca FLM09) Pole winner in PC, “This pole gives our team some good morale for this race. The team told me to be patient and bring the car home and we will be fine. This is the first time I have driven this car. I love it. (Adjusting to PC) On the first lap, I felt the brakes and they were great. They really worked well. So I said, ‘Hey, it’s race time. So let’s go.’ And the car was great. Now, we are ready for the race. It should be exciting. It feels really good and I can’t explain how happy I am to be here with an equal car and chance to fight for pole and today I have to thank our team for giving me the opportunity. Today I knew if I drove good, I would get a shot and every lap I got better. I was very happy.”

E.J. Viso (#06-PC Oreca FLM09) “I’m very excited to be here. This is something that was very last minute. I just got a call last week asking if I wanted to do this race and, of course, I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. I know one part of the track here at Sebring, the back section (from IndyCar testing). The rest of the track was
completely new to me. And racing these cars is also new to me. So far I am having a blast. This race has a great atmosphere here. I have seen a lot of familiar faces from my days of racing in Europe. I am having a lot of fun and I hope this will be the first of many here at Sebring. There are fans and motorhomes everywhere around this track. It is fun to see.”

Jonathon Summerton (#56-GT BMW E92 M3) “It is awesome to be here in this race. The BMW RLL team have been so helpful. I’m very honored to be here with them and hopefully we can go for a win. It’s a great group of guys. Right now, I am running in four ALMS races this year. I’m filling in for Joey (Hand) when he goes to the DMT series. After that, it is wherever BMW North American or BMW Motorsport want me. I want to be affiliated with a manufacturer and BMW is just the best. It is a thrill to be here.”

… notes from The EDJE

 

** Article first published as It’s Audi R18 Diesel 1-2-3 Overall at 2012 Sebring Qualifications on Technorati **

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Post Dan Wheldon Tragedy Reaction Review To Safety On Banked Ovals

October 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A memorial to Dan Wheldon is displayed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the British-born driver was killed in an accident on Sunday [click image to launch video of three-abreast lap salute to Dan Wheldon in his passing at LVMS]. Image Credit: Robert Laberge/Getty Images via guardian.co.uk

Post Dan Wheldon Tragedy Reaction Review To Safety On Banked Ovals

The safety debate centers on the fact that IndyCar Dallara vehicles, which all have the same bodies and engines, can not avoid pack racing at very high speeds on a circuit as small and banked as the Las Vegas track, and this sets up a condition that is dangerous with open-cockpit, Indy-style cars. The wide track bed combined with steep banking and the mushroom shaped vortex wash that comes out from behind the cars, set up a very unstable mix.

Driving the Go Daddy No. 7, Andretti Autosport Dallara, Danica Patrick posted the fastest practice time with a staggering 224.719 mph on Oct. 13. After learning her time, Patrick’s reaction proved prophetic.

“It’s friggin’ fast here,” said Patrick. “Almost a 225 lap is like Indy speeds. The track is nice and smooth and we’ll be three-wide out there, which will be exciting. The race is going to be crazy and the crashes will be spectacular.”

Danica, who will be driving in NASCAR next year, was not the only driver talking up the danger of the course in the days before the race.

“It’s so fast and you’re so close to each other, it’s exciting,” veteran driver, and IMS Radio commentator, Hewlett-Packard sponsored Davey Hamilton told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, also noting that he expected four wide racing. “There’s really no room for error.”

Driver comments after the Wheldon tragedy where 15 cars were collected in a fiery mess confirmed the fear of this unstable mix.

“We all know this is part of the sport,” driver Oriol Servia said of the danger. “We all had a bad feeling about this place in particular just because of the high banking and how easy it was to go flat” out on the throttle.

“Within five laps people started to do crazy stuff,” Dario Franchitti said immediately after the accident. “I wanted no part of it. I love hard racing, but that to me is not what it’s about. I said before, this is not a suitable track. You can’t get away from anybody. One small mistake and you have a massive wreck.”

“Now we need to rethink the way we’re doing things,” said Tony Kanaan, who started on the pole.

The Dallara IR-05 was built specifically to be driven in excess of 230 mph and protect its driver in the event of an accident at those speeds. Its carbon fiber chassis was designed to break apart during a collision and absorb the forces of a series of massive impacts while keeping the cockpit surrounding the driver intact.

Since its introduction in 2005, only one driver, Paul Dana, had died behind the wheel of the Dallara before Sunday. In a freak accident during practice for the 2006 season opener in Homestead, Fla., Dana lost control of his car and hit a damaged vehicle that had come to a stop on the track in front of him head-on, at an estimated speed of 176 mph. In a bit of irony, Dan Wheldon went on to win that race. Since then, the cars had been used in 100 races and covered more than 500,000 miles in competition without any loss of life, and few major injuries.

But one thing the vehicles can’t do is prevent an accident like the 15-car pileup that took the 33-year-old Wheldon’s life.

Driver James Jakes, whose car was damaged in the incident, added that “unfortunately, it’s something I think a lot of us thought might happen. We practiced with no more than five or six cars in a group and now we’ve got 34 … there was going to be some trouble.”

During the 15 car collection in turn #2, Wheldon’s car got airborne and came into contact with the catch fence above the wall. The metal mesh fence is designed to keep vehicles and debris from leaving the confines of the track, but can cause additional damage in the process.

“It is one of those things that when you are racing you are always aware that there are risks,” Dan Weldon teammate, Alex Tagliani said. “But you never think it is going to come to that.”

“I am very sad and angry,” expressed Alex. What angered the 38-year-old was that no one listened to the drivers’ fears over the conditions before the race. Tagliani felt that, like NASCAR, when it revolutionized driver safety after the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001 at Daytona International Speedway, IndyCar must look at doing the same in its series.

“If we are going to come back to these (1 1/2-mile banked ovals) we are going to have to change the aero packages to slow the cars down,” continued Alex. “It is just not right that some one has to die to make those changes.”

One thing that Tagliani proposes is that drivers, team owners, track owners and IndyCar bosses get together in the off season to talk about what can be done to make racing both better and safer.

“There is definitely things that need to be discussed and things to look at,” Tagliani concluded. “We for sure have to talk to the series bosses. Right now my mind is so confused. We have to talk about racing these types of cars on these types of race tracks. I don’t think tracks like the mile and a half at Las Vegas is the right thing for us.”

On Friday, IndyCar President and CEO Randy Bernard announced that the series plans to return to Las Vegas for its finale in 2012, and the organization has not yet said if it is reconsidering that decision.

In an interview with Fox Sports in the wake of the crash, former CART/ChampCar driver and current NASCAR star A.J. Allmendinger said, “obviously, with the new car coming in, it needs to be safer, but there are tracks that they don’t need to race at.”

A template situation that IndyCar could have learned from as it relates to high-banked mile and a half ovals happened in 2001. CART/ChampCar, one of the two open-wheel racing series that later combined to form IndyCar, was forced to cancel a race at the Texas Motor Speedwayafter drivers complained in practice about getting dizzy and blacking out from the g-forces created by the high speeds that their cars were capable of on the steeply-banked 1.5-mile oval. In this case the rules were changed to slow the cars down through downforce and engine set-ups at subsequent events held at the track.
(ht: various news services – FoxNews/Huffington Post/Toronto Sun – for quotes and background on the Dallara IR-05)

The two biggest words that stand out the most, if one were to read between the lines, in all of these post Dan Wheldon tragedy driver reactions to safety on banked ovals – Race Control.

Upon reflection … Race Control has been the overriding story (race call miscues effecting championship points standings, recommended car set ups, and venue management) for the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series World Championship season and the last season of the Dallara IR-05.

… notes from The EDJE

 

[Article was first published as Post Dan Wheldon Tragedy Reaction Review To Safety On Banked Ovals at Technorati]

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