ArticleAston Martin fastest on first day of Sebring test
Aston Martin Racing ended the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr�n's annual winter test at the top of the time sheets, but the team has a lot of work to do for the 2010 season opener on March 20 after a heavy crash.
The factory Aston Martin-powered Lola B09/60 LMP1 coupe set the fastest time on Tuesday, the final day of the two-day test, with a lap of 1 minute, 46.894 seconds (124.609 mph) at Sebring International Raceway in Florida. AMR was also fastest overall on day one.
Adrian Fernandez, Chris Buncombe and Harold Primat will drive the Lola-Aston Martin coupe in the 58th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. But Primat suffered a heavy crash in turn one during the afternoon session and slammed hard into the wall. Primat was transported to a local hospital for observation but was released later in the evening.
Intersport Racing's Lola B06/10-AER of Jon and Clint Field was second fastest with a lap of 1:47.925 (123.419 mph) around the 3.7-mile, 17-turn circuit, not far off of Aston Martin's the pace.
Patr�n Highcroft Racing was third overall and first in LMP2 with its HPD ARX-01c. The car--driven by David Brabham, Simon Pagenaud and Marino Franchitti--set a best time of 1:48.153 (123.159 mph). Highcroft won the ALMS LMP1 championship last year and is running an updated version of the 2008 car that won four races.
Less than 0.4 second behind was Dyson Racing's Mazda-powered Lola B09/86 coupe of Chris Dyson and Guy Smith. They set a best time of 1:48.496 (122.770 mph).
Muscle Milk Team Cytosport and its Porsche RS Spyder sat third in LMP2 with a lap of 1:49.318 (121.846 mph) in the morning. Team owner Greg Pickett and Klaus Graf did the bulk of the time in the car over the two days, with Sascha Maassen on hand as well.
In GT2, Risi Competizione's Ferrari F430 GT was quickest in both of Tuesday's sessions. The car of Jaime Melo and Gianmaria Bruni set a best lap of 2:02.559 (108.682 mph). Risi is the two-time and reigning class winner at Le Mans and hasn't lost an endurance race since Sebring in 2008.
A pair of Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs were close behind. The entry of Darren Law and Seth Neiman sat second with a lap of 2:02.929 (108.355 mph). Porsche factory drivers J�rg Bergmeister and Patrick Long, last year's GT2 class champions, were third at 2:03.021 (108.274 mph).
All told, the eight fastest cars on Tuesday were within one second of each other.
The test marked the debut of the Le Mans Prototype Challenge class and the Oreca FLM09 car. Genoa Racing's Larry Connor was credited with the fastest lap in class, a 1:56.753 (114.087 mph). He was less than 0.2 second quicker than Green Earth Team Gunnar's entry of Gunnar Jeannette, Christian Zugel and Elton Julian.
Level 5 Motorsports was fifth in class at 1:57.054 (113.794 mph) with Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut driving.
In the GT Challenge class for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, Rob Walton went quickest for Kelly Moss Racing. His lap of 2:07.795 (104.229 mph) gave him a near half-second advantage over Darrell Carlisle in another Kelly Moss entry. GMG Racing's Brent Holden was third in class at 2:08.412 (103.729 mph).
To read more visit the AutoWeek ALMS racing news and reports section.
This article was last updated on: 02/24/10, 10:42 et
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