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Dixon, Franchitti Turn Fast Laps On Final Day(Highlands Today Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 30--SEBRING INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY -- Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti are no strangers to taking fast laps at the 3.7-mile Florida circuit, but some laps have been faster than others. Dixon, the reigning Indy 500 and IndyCar champion, turned in the fastest time of 1:46.671 (126.052 miles per hour) in the new Acura ARX-02a LMP1 for de Farran Motorsports on the final day of the American Le Mans Series' annual Winter Test on Wednesday. Teammate Simon Pagenaud had the week's quickest time with 1:44.814 (127.082 mph) from Tuesday morning and will join Dixon and team owner Gil de Ferran for the season opening Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on March. 21. Franchitti wasn't far behind, as he was second in the Patron Highcroft Racing's Acura P1 with a fast lap of 1:46.367 (125.227 mph) in the final session of the day and is set to drive the 12 Hours of Sebring. "It's much harder (than driving the previous Acura P2 car)," Franchitti said. "The weight and the size of the tires make it more physical. We still have a long way to go and some things to work on. But when the car is fully sorted out it will be unbelievable." The battle in the LMP2 class is shaping up to be one of the most exciting, as Adrian Fernandez in the Lowe's Fernandez Racing's Acura ARX-01b was just 0.454 seconds better than Chris Dyson in the Dyson Racing's Mazda-powered Lola B08/86. Fernandez, who is sharing the car with Luis Diaz and Michel Jourdain Jr., set a time of 149.008 (122.193 mph) in the second session while Dyson posted a time of 1:49.462 (121.686 mph) during his final run of the day. Dyson, Butch Leitzinger and Marino Franchitti each got time in the car on Wednesday. BMW Rahal Letterman Racing's E-92 M3, piloted by Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand and Dirk Mueller, continued to improve as the three-day event progressed and posted a time of 2:04.499 (106.989 mph) in the first session of the day. Hand is back at Sebring for the first time in a BMW since 2006. He is part of the full-season lineup for BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team and its two new BMW M3 racers for GT2. "It's been OK. We have been down a little on pace," said Hand, who will drive with Bill Auberlen during the season. "It's hard for us to make good power on the straights because the front of the car is so wide. Through the corners we're still not up to our BMW standards. But it's still early and things will continue to improve." Mueller says that the testing session at Sebring will be invaluable for the team in the coming weeks as they prepare the car for the 12 Hours. "It was nice to be back out on the track here at Sebring and even better to be in a BMW," said Mueller. "You never accomplish everything you want the first few days in a new car, but I think we were able to see what is possible with the new car and we'll continue to log more time in the car until we come back to Sebring." When asked what it's like to work with a team such as Rahal Letterman, Mueller was all smiles. "They're nothing but professional here and we all have a common goal and that's to win the GT2 championship," said Mueller. "Bobby is always there with new insight and you'd be stupid if you didn't tap into his wealth of knowledge." Richard Lietz went fastest in GT2 for Farnbacher Loles Racing and its new 2009-spec Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. A Porsche factory driver, Lietz set a time of 2:02.960 (108.328 mph) in the car that he is driving with full-season partners Dirk Werner and Wolf Henzler. Henzler was second quickest on the day with a lap of 2:02.839 (108.435 mph) in the middle session. Next up was Dominik Farnbacher in the much-improved Panoz Esperante GTLM from Panoz Team PTG. Farnbacher, a four-time winner in GT2 last season, turned in a lap of 2:03.980 (107.437 mph) in the car that he drove with Ian James. ALMS vice president of media Bob Dickinson says that the 2009 Winter Test was one of the best he's seen the five years since it's inception. "From a team perspective, I hope the drivers and owners were able to accomplish what they needed," said Dickinson. "We have to create an atmosphere that lets the teams get a head start on the upcoming ALMS season." On Monday, the biggest news seemed to be who wasn't here and not whose cars were zooming around the circuit. Audi and Peugeot, which will each have two cars in the upcoming 12 Hours of Sebring, were absent from the testing event, but Acura quickly made the largest contingent of media ever for the winter test forget those mighty manufacturers. "There were a lot of key story lines still present, even without the presence of Audi or Peugeot," Dickinson said. "Acura surely turned some heads and of course there was BMW and Mazda. We had a lot changing storylines which is part of the appeal of motorsports. It's not always the same." The American Le Mans Series will open its 11th season with the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 21. For tickets or more information, visit www.sebringraceway.com. FLYING LIZARD DRIVERS MAKE LETHAL COMBINATION IN GT2 Flying Lizard Motorsports drivers Patrick Long and Jörg Bergmeister will never be mistaken for twins. That much is clear. "Physically we're very close," Long said Tuesday with an obvious sarcastic smile. "We can use all the same seats and pedals, steering wheels and all that. Our accents are very compatible." It doesn't take long to get the joke. Bergmeister is a 6-4, blond-headed German. Long is a 5-9, red-headed American. Perhaps the closest thing they have in common is that they are both Porsche factory aces. They also are one of the most successful duos in the American Le Mans Series. They established themselves as a premier pairing in 2005 and 2006 with eight combined GT2 victories and three class championships between them. It gives Flying Lizard an extremely valuable lineup as it attempts to defend its GT2 championship from 2008. "It's nice to be together with my ex-wife again! That's what I call him," Bergmeister said. (Ed note: Long responded, 'I thought I was the husband!') "We are really close friends. It's always good being paired together. I'm looking forward to gaining even more success with the new car." The new car is Porsche's 2009-spec 911 GT3 RSR, an upgrade and update to a car that helped the manufacturer recapture the GT2 championship in arguably the most competitive class of 2008. That's not likely to change this year. "We have as much development to do as anyone else. We'll have to step it up even more again," said team principal and driver Seth Neiman. "Porsche knows how to win championships and develop customer teams. We want to build a team that can last and be competitive every year. To do that you need the stability of a manufacturer like Porsche." FARNBACHER COMFORTABLE IN PANOZ Dominik Farnbacher has gone from one extreme to the others in terms of GT2 cars in the American Le Mans Series. He drove rear-engined Porsches in 2006 and 2007, moved to a mid-engined Ferrari last season and now is in a front-engined Panoz Esperante GTLM for 2008. Farnbacher has tested this week for Panoz Team PTG during the American Le Mans Series' annual Winter Test at Sebring International Raceway. He confirmed that it looks likely that he will contest the full season for Tom Milner's team. "The first session was very different," said Farnbacher, who won in class four times last year with Tafel Racing. "There were some adjustments moving from the Porsche to the Ferrari at the beginning of last year, and this is another one. But things are going really well. The car is pretty soft on the suspension side as it is an older car but that is not a bad thing. We were quickest in one of the sessions Tuesday and the last one Wednesday, and that made everyone happy. "It looks like I will be here for the full season," he added. "This is the Series I want to be in. I want it to be my focal point. It is the place to be." PRIMETIME PROGRESS Primetime Race Group finished fifth in GT2 at Sebring last year with its Dodge Viper Competition Coupe. The team's second day of testing at Sebring on Wednesday left Chris Hall pleased and quietly confident for a similar result this year. "We've already gone faster than we ever did here last year," said Hall, who will drive with team owner Joel Feinberg. "The team has done a lot of work. The engine's performance has improved, we have lowered the car, lowered the engine -- really lowered the entire center of gravity. That has made a huge difference. Last season the car really was tough to handle through the corners. Now it's much, much easier and that's a credit to the effort the team has put in." Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5837 or [email protected]. To see more of Highlands Today or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.highlandstoday.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Highlands Today, Sebring, Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |