gaijin
01-25-2007, 11:05 AM
WALLACE, DYSON PORSCHE FASTEST IN SEBRING TESTING
Andy Wallace really, really likes the Porsche RS Spyder. After Wednesday's third and final session of the third annual American Le Mans Series Winter Test at Sebring International Raceway, who could blame him? The Englishman's time of 1:46.983 in Dyson Racing's new prototype was the fastest of the day and the best of the week.
Wallace was just good enough to beat out Luis Diaz of Lowe's Fernandez Racing and its Acura-powered Lola B05/40. The first-year American Le Mans Series competitor also set his best time in the day's final session at 1:47.006, just 0.23 seconds behind the veteran Wallace.
"Porsche builds a fantastic car and they have been terrific to work with, as have the people from Penske (Motorsports)," Wallace said. "There has been a tremendous amount of sharing back and forth, and we are very appreciative. We have quite a good repertoire of what the car likes for setup. The track will change of course in March but we can deal with that."
Wallace and Diaz knocked Penske's Emmanuel Collard into the third overall position for the three days. The Frenchman's best lap of 1:47.166 around the 3.7-mile, 17-turn circuit came Wednesday morning in one of Penske's Porsche RS Spyders. Two other Acura-powered entries, the Courage LC75s from Andretti Green Racing and Highcroft Racing, were within 1.4 seconds of Wallace and the Dyson Racing Porsche.
Tafel Racing was the quickest GT2 car for the week in its first test with its two new Porsche 997 RSR racers. German Wolf Henzler turned in the best lap of 2:01.678 in Wednesday's early afternoon session to edge out the Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta from defending class champion Risi Competizione. Jaime Melo and Johnny Mowlem shared the driving duties with Melo getting most of the work.
Third fastest in class was the No. 45 Porsche of Flying Lizard Motorsports, also a brand new 997. Johannes van Overbeek and Jorg Bergmeister split time in the car, which produced a top lap of 2:02.446 on Tuesday morning. The top three cars were within 0.7 seconds of each other in a preview of what could be the most competitive class in this year's American Le Mans Series.
The 2007 American Le Mans Series opens with the 55th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 17 at Sebring International Raceway. The green flag will fall shortly after 10 a.m. with SPEED providing live coverage. The race also will be broadcast by American Le Mans Radio with IMSA Live Timing & Scoring available at americanlemans.com.
Andy Wallace, Dyson Racing
Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2)
"I really, really like this car! We more or less just started messing around with a few things and seeing what does what. Porsche builds a fantastic car and they have been terrific to work with, as have the people from Penske. There has been a tremendous amount of sharing back and forth, and we are very appreciative.
"We have quite a good repertoire of what the car likes for setup. The track will change of course in March but we can deal with that."
Johnny Mowlem, Risi Competizione
Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (GT2)
"It was good. I got in a few laps in the last session. We wanted to see how the car did on old tires. The first set was double-stinted and the other was single-stinted. We weren't off the pace by much which is encouraging."
Dario Franchitti, Andretti Green Racing
Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2)
"We're getting there. There still is a long way to go and a lot of work to do. It's an ongoing process in the development of a new program."
Adrian Fernandez, Lowe's Fernandez Racing
Lola B05/40-AER (LMP2)
"There are still some issues we need to work out, like the steering rack. That's definitely something we need to have fixed for the endurance races. Other than that we've been going along well. We're definitely making progress."
Emmanuel Collard, Penske Motorsports
Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2)
"The car is a big improvement over last year. We have been gaining more in the car everywhere. We have done many endurance runs since last year so we are better in that area."
Joey Hand, Panoz Team PTG
Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2)
"It's going good so far. The biggest thing with Panoz is that you have so much power. In the BMW we would be passed easily by the prototypes. Now that's not the case. The handling is something that is different. You sit so far back in the car, just about at the rear axle. But I'm getting used to it."
Stefan Johansson, Highcroft Racing
Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2)
"We really haven't done much to the car. Neither have we done enough to know how we are on reliability. We'll find out for sure in a few weeks."
Wolf Henzler, Tafel Racing
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2)
"We had a good three days of testing. Tony put together a very good plan that we were able to complete. The car ran strong, no big problems that stopped us from doing our scheduled work. The weather conditions today were very good and the grip level of the track allowed us to do some consistent lap times. I hope the time sheet is a look at things to come for the race in March."
Sascha Maassen, Penske Motorsports
Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2)
"For the drivers there are noticeable differences (with the new-generation RS Spyder). The good thing is that we drove here with last year's car and have transitioned some of those things over. And we also have a full year of development with the previous car.
"The main changes are with the aero and some suspension stuff. It's also not as quick as before with the smaller restrictors. Drivability has been the biggest area of improvement over the past two days. We also hope that means better performance for March."
Dave Robertson, Robertson Racing
Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2)
"We have been fighting some chassis issues but overall we have made a lot of progress. We have the car where it will run in the 2:06s. The rear end is still acting up a little. There are going to be a few fixes to the suspension, then we'll test again to find out where we are."
SESSION 1
1. Penske Motorsports, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.166 (124.293 mph)
2. Lowe's Fernandez Racing, Lola B05/40-Acura, 1:47.282 (124.159 mph)
3. Andretti Green Racing, Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2), 1:47.520 (123.884 mph)
4. Dyson Racing, Porsch RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.885 (123.465 mph)
5. Highcroft Racing, Courage C75-Acura (LMP2), 1:49.071 (122.122 mph)
6. Intersport Racing, Lola B05/40-AER (LMP2), 1:50.032 (121.056 mph)
7. Tafel Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.198 (109.003 mph)
8. Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (GT2), 2:02.492 (108.742 mph)
9. Tafel Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.704 (107.538 mph)
10. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.253 (108.070 mph)
11. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:03.907 (107.500 mph)
12. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:04.917 (107.491 mph)
13. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:04.386 (107.086 mph)
14. Robertson Racing, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:19.792 (100.922 mph)
SESSION 2
1. Lowe's Fernandez Racing, Lola B05/40-Acura (LMP2), 1:47.503 (123.904 mph)
2. Penske Motorsports, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.564 (123.833 mph)
3. Dyson Racing, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:48.045 (123.282 mph)
4. Highcroft Racing, Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2), 1:48.388 (122.89 mph)
5. Andretti Green Racing, Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2), 1:48.537 (122.723 mph)
6. Intersport Racing, Lola B05/40-AER (LMP2), 1:49.826 (121.283 mph)
7. Tafel Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:01.678 (109.469 mph)
8. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.480 (108.752 mph)
9. Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (GT2), 2:02.549 (108.691 mph)
10. Tafel Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.755 (108.509 mph)
11. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.273 (108.053 mph)
12. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:05.079 (106.493 mph)
13. Robertson Racing, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:06.403 (105.377 mph)
14. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:07.432 (104.526 mph)
SESSION 3
1. Dyson Racing, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:46.983 (124.506 mph)
2. Lowe's Fernandez Racing, Lola B05/40-Acura (LMP2), 1:47.006 (124.479 mph)
3. Penske Motorsports, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.314 (124.122 mph)
4. Andretti Green Racing, Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2), 1:47.386 (124.039 mph)
5. Highcroft Racing, Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2), 1:48.438 (122.835 mph)
6. Intersport Racing, Lola B05/40-AER (LMP2), 1:50.456 (120.591 mph)
7. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:03.212 (108.106 mph)
8. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.317 (108.014 mph)
9. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.602 (107.765 mph)
10. Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (GT2), 2:04.171 (107.271 mph)
11. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:04.563 (106.934 mph)
12. Robertson Racing, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:08.943 (103.301 mph)
Andy Wallace really, really likes the Porsche RS Spyder. After Wednesday's third and final session of the third annual American Le Mans Series Winter Test at Sebring International Raceway, who could blame him? The Englishman's time of 1:46.983 in Dyson Racing's new prototype was the fastest of the day and the best of the week.
Wallace was just good enough to beat out Luis Diaz of Lowe's Fernandez Racing and its Acura-powered Lola B05/40. The first-year American Le Mans Series competitor also set his best time in the day's final session at 1:47.006, just 0.23 seconds behind the veteran Wallace.
"Porsche builds a fantastic car and they have been terrific to work with, as have the people from Penske (Motorsports)," Wallace said. "There has been a tremendous amount of sharing back and forth, and we are very appreciative. We have quite a good repertoire of what the car likes for setup. The track will change of course in March but we can deal with that."
Wallace and Diaz knocked Penske's Emmanuel Collard into the third overall position for the three days. The Frenchman's best lap of 1:47.166 around the 3.7-mile, 17-turn circuit came Wednesday morning in one of Penske's Porsche RS Spyders. Two other Acura-powered entries, the Courage LC75s from Andretti Green Racing and Highcroft Racing, were within 1.4 seconds of Wallace and the Dyson Racing Porsche.
Tafel Racing was the quickest GT2 car for the week in its first test with its two new Porsche 997 RSR racers. German Wolf Henzler turned in the best lap of 2:01.678 in Wednesday's early afternoon session to edge out the Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta from defending class champion Risi Competizione. Jaime Melo and Johnny Mowlem shared the driving duties with Melo getting most of the work.
Third fastest in class was the No. 45 Porsche of Flying Lizard Motorsports, also a brand new 997. Johannes van Overbeek and Jorg Bergmeister split time in the car, which produced a top lap of 2:02.446 on Tuesday morning. The top three cars were within 0.7 seconds of each other in a preview of what could be the most competitive class in this year's American Le Mans Series.
The 2007 American Le Mans Series opens with the 55th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 17 at Sebring International Raceway. The green flag will fall shortly after 10 a.m. with SPEED providing live coverage. The race also will be broadcast by American Le Mans Radio with IMSA Live Timing & Scoring available at americanlemans.com.
Andy Wallace, Dyson Racing
Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2)
"I really, really like this car! We more or less just started messing around with a few things and seeing what does what. Porsche builds a fantastic car and they have been terrific to work with, as have the people from Penske. There has been a tremendous amount of sharing back and forth, and we are very appreciative.
"We have quite a good repertoire of what the car likes for setup. The track will change of course in March but we can deal with that."
Johnny Mowlem, Risi Competizione
Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (GT2)
"It was good. I got in a few laps in the last session. We wanted to see how the car did on old tires. The first set was double-stinted and the other was single-stinted. We weren't off the pace by much which is encouraging."
Dario Franchitti, Andretti Green Racing
Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2)
"We're getting there. There still is a long way to go and a lot of work to do. It's an ongoing process in the development of a new program."
Adrian Fernandez, Lowe's Fernandez Racing
Lola B05/40-AER (LMP2)
"There are still some issues we need to work out, like the steering rack. That's definitely something we need to have fixed for the endurance races. Other than that we've been going along well. We're definitely making progress."
Emmanuel Collard, Penske Motorsports
Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2)
"The car is a big improvement over last year. We have been gaining more in the car everywhere. We have done many endurance runs since last year so we are better in that area."
Joey Hand, Panoz Team PTG
Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2)
"It's going good so far. The biggest thing with Panoz is that you have so much power. In the BMW we would be passed easily by the prototypes. Now that's not the case. The handling is something that is different. You sit so far back in the car, just about at the rear axle. But I'm getting used to it."
Stefan Johansson, Highcroft Racing
Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2)
"We really haven't done much to the car. Neither have we done enough to know how we are on reliability. We'll find out for sure in a few weeks."
Wolf Henzler, Tafel Racing
Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2)
"We had a good three days of testing. Tony put together a very good plan that we were able to complete. The car ran strong, no big problems that stopped us from doing our scheduled work. The weather conditions today were very good and the grip level of the track allowed us to do some consistent lap times. I hope the time sheet is a look at things to come for the race in March."
Sascha Maassen, Penske Motorsports
Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2)
"For the drivers there are noticeable differences (with the new-generation RS Spyder). The good thing is that we drove here with last year's car and have transitioned some of those things over. And we also have a full year of development with the previous car.
"The main changes are with the aero and some suspension stuff. It's also not as quick as before with the smaller restrictors. Drivability has been the biggest area of improvement over the past two days. We also hope that means better performance for March."
Dave Robertson, Robertson Racing
Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2)
"We have been fighting some chassis issues but overall we have made a lot of progress. We have the car where it will run in the 2:06s. The rear end is still acting up a little. There are going to be a few fixes to the suspension, then we'll test again to find out where we are."
SESSION 1
1. Penske Motorsports, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.166 (124.293 mph)
2. Lowe's Fernandez Racing, Lola B05/40-Acura, 1:47.282 (124.159 mph)
3. Andretti Green Racing, Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2), 1:47.520 (123.884 mph)
4. Dyson Racing, Porsch RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.885 (123.465 mph)
5. Highcroft Racing, Courage C75-Acura (LMP2), 1:49.071 (122.122 mph)
6. Intersport Racing, Lola B05/40-AER (LMP2), 1:50.032 (121.056 mph)
7. Tafel Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.198 (109.003 mph)
8. Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (GT2), 2:02.492 (108.742 mph)
9. Tafel Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.704 (107.538 mph)
10. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.253 (108.070 mph)
11. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:03.907 (107.500 mph)
12. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:04.917 (107.491 mph)
13. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:04.386 (107.086 mph)
14. Robertson Racing, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:19.792 (100.922 mph)
SESSION 2
1. Lowe's Fernandez Racing, Lola B05/40-Acura (LMP2), 1:47.503 (123.904 mph)
2. Penske Motorsports, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.564 (123.833 mph)
3. Dyson Racing, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:48.045 (123.282 mph)
4. Highcroft Racing, Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2), 1:48.388 (122.89 mph)
5. Andretti Green Racing, Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2), 1:48.537 (122.723 mph)
6. Intersport Racing, Lola B05/40-AER (LMP2), 1:49.826 (121.283 mph)
7. Tafel Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:01.678 (109.469 mph)
8. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.480 (108.752 mph)
9. Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (GT2), 2:02.549 (108.691 mph)
10. Tafel Racing, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:02.755 (108.509 mph)
11. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.273 (108.053 mph)
12. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:05.079 (106.493 mph)
13. Robertson Racing, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:06.403 (105.377 mph)
14. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:07.432 (104.526 mph)
SESSION 3
1. Dyson Racing, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:46.983 (124.506 mph)
2. Lowe's Fernandez Racing, Lola B05/40-Acura (LMP2), 1:47.006 (124.479 mph)
3. Penske Motorsports, Porsche RS Spyder (LMP2), 1:47.314 (124.122 mph)
4. Andretti Green Racing, Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2), 1:47.386 (124.039 mph)
5. Highcroft Racing, Courage LC75-Acura (LMP2), 1:48.438 (122.835 mph)
6. Intersport Racing, Lola B05/40-AER (LMP2), 1:50.456 (120.591 mph)
7. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:03.212 (108.106 mph)
8. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.317 (108.014 mph)
9. Panoz Team PTG, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:03.602 (107.765 mph)
10. Risi Competizione, Ferrari 430 GT Berlinetta (GT2), 2:04.171 (107.271 mph)
11. Flying Lizard Motorsports, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:04.563 (106.934 mph)
12. Robertson Racing, Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 2:08.943 (103.301 mph)