Sebring test week

This past Monday and Tuesday were the official test days for the 12 hours of Sebring, and it was the first time we would be able to catch a glimpse of how this year's ALMS series is shaping up thus far. Early indications are quite good. A record number of 28 cars were on the track, and if the testing times are to be believed, 2010 is going to be a real battle.



The top two classes of P1 and P2 were obviously at the top of the heap in terms of lap times, with the Lolo Aston Martin turning in the fastest lap (before finding the crash barriers anyway), but the top two classes are a little spread out in term of times. It will most definitely be a great race come March 20th, but for closest racing you've got to look at my personal favorite, the GT2 class.



GT2 has the highest number of entries, and the field is packed tighter than a brick of freeze dried coffee. The top time was posted by the Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT, turning in a 202.9 with Jamie Melo behind the wheel, but the rest of the field was not far behind. The new-ish kids on the block, Team Falken Tire had their 2010 911 RSR right behind, just three tenths back. The rest of the field, including Flying Lizard, RLR, Extreme Speed (who's Tequila Patron Ferrari looks fantastic), and Black Swan were covered by just two seconds, with the Ford GT of Robertson Racing just behind them. The GT2 class is truly going to be anyone's game. The Corvettes were not there, so maybe they'll show up and knock everyone down a peg, but even so they won't have an easy time of it even if they do manage a class pole. There is a real possibility that people were sandbagging, as any good poker player will never show tip their hand that early in the game, but this is the rather obvious class to watch. It usually is...



Finally there is the addition of the LMPC class, which has done a remarkable job of bringing cars to the field. A total of 35 cars is scheduled to take the green flag, which is respectable if not record breaking. The LMPC are spec racers, with a limited number of options for set up, identical chassis, aero and engines. These great looking little race cars slotted right in between the P1 / P2 times and GT2. Primetime Race Group moves to the head of the class for their embracing of Youtube to help promote their efforts this year, and already have a clip up of their LMPC putting in a few laps. It's a great little video, and gives you a real sense of the speed of the course, and the remarkably rough surface these drivers will be dealing with. It also shows that these LMPCs sound really good. I'm usually more of a flat-six guy, but the rumble from the V8 is pretty intoxicating.


For more pics, go check out Speed TV, which has as a couple of galleries up, but for the real experience you have to go to Motorsport.com. They've got a huge number of pics, including many not pictured in Speed's two galleries.

We'll have more to come from Sebring, as Josh and I have our credentials lined up and a couple of connections with some GT2 teams, so should be able to bring a nice inside view of the race. Perhaps not of the entire experience, but at least from the perspective of a couple of the teams duking it out for top spot in GT2. For tickets check out SebringRaceway.com.

_WRS