SEBRING, Fla.—The opening day of the American Le Mans Series Winter Tests at Sebring International Speedway Monday dawned damp and gloomy. When the track went hot at 8 a.m. the sky threatened rain. By mid-morning sandstorms turned out to be the real hazard. Hard dry winds whipped across the old airport driving low clouds and walls of dust. [Cup photo galleries coming tomorrow.]
Neither gloom nor intermittent bright sun nor driving winds interfered with the business of the day: ALMS racing teams unveiling the fruits of a winter’s worth of tinkering, and testing their innovations at full speed at North America’s most famous road-racing venue.
Day One was reserved for IMSA’s (International Motor Sports Association, which sanctions ALMS) support series, Cooper Tires Prototypes Lites, and GT3 Cup Challenge. The big guns—ALMS Le Mans prototypes and GTs—start testing Wednesday. That is when the newest ALMS competitors will first be revealed to the public.
Lites and Cup cars managed to create a day of fine racing entertainment, despite being less expensive series. With cars on the track almost constantly from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., there was no shortage of exciting sights and sounds.
Test day results don’t mean much. Teams are trying new parts, different set-ups, breaking in new drivers and crew, experimenting with tiore pressures and fuel loads. Still, teams still care about who goes fastest.
IMSA race director Terry Dale started the day with a team meeting where he reminded everyone that this was testing—there were no prizes. Bumping and banging was strictly forbidden.
While it might be nothing but one night’s bragging rights, the fastest in class in the final session are listed below.
Neither gloom nor intermittent bright sun nor driving winds interfered with the business of the day: ALMS racing teams unveiling the fruits of a winter’s worth of tinkering, and testing their innovations at full speed at North America’s most famous road-racing venue.
Day One was reserved for IMSA’s (International Motor Sports Association, which sanctions ALMS) support series, Cooper Tires Prototypes Lites, and GT3 Cup Challenge. The big guns—ALMS Le Mans prototypes and GTs—start testing Wednesday. That is when the newest ALMS competitors will first be revealed to the public.
Lites and Cup cars managed to create a day of fine racing entertainment, despite being less expensive series. With cars on the track almost constantly from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., there was no shortage of exciting sights and sounds.
Test day results don’t mean much. Teams are trying new parts, different set-ups, breaking in new drivers and crew, experimenting with tiore pressures and fuel loads. Still, teams still care about who goes fastest.
IMSA race director Terry Dale started the day with a team meeting where he reminded everyone that this was testing—there were no prizes. Bumping and banging was strictly forbidden.
While it might be nothing but one night’s bragging rights, the fastest in class in the final session are listed below.
IMSA Lites
IMSA Lites offers semi-pro drivers a place to race, while providing a stepping-stone for drivers and teams hoping to eventually make it to the big leagues: the American Le Mans Series. Teams are allowed to set up the suspensions, but not modify the engines. This keeps series costs down, allowing new teams and drivers a chance to get started.
Lites race in two classes. Lites One runs Elan DP02 chassis and 2.3-liter Mazda MP2 motors. These are advanced racing machines: carbon fiber monocoques, sequential shifters—a good taste of what these teams might find in ALMS.
Lites Twos use a semi-monocoque with tube frame, made by West race cars—either the WX10 or the WR1000s, powered by either Kawasaki or Suzuki 1-liter motorcycle engines, developing 180 hp.
Lites race in two classes. Lites One runs Elan DP02 chassis and 2.3-liter Mazda MP2 motors. These are advanced racing machines: carbon fiber monocoques, sequential shifters—a good taste of what these teams might find in ALMS.
Lites Twos use a semi-monocoque with tube frame, made by West race cars—either the WX10 or the WR1000s, powered by either Kawasaki or Suzuki 1-liter motorcycle engines, developing 180 hp.
IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama
GT3 Cup is nothing but Porsche Cup cars, in two different classes representing a range years, each with its own championship. Platinum includes 2010 and 2011 cars, while Gold spans 2005–2009. All cars are powered by 3.8-liter flat-6 making about 450 bhp.
This class structure allows veterans to keep driving the latest machinery while providing a source of good, affordable cars to up-and-coming drivers.
Cup cars are Porsche 997 GT3 cars set up exclusively for IMSA (though other series allow them.) As with any single-model series, the emphasis is not on what you have (everyone has it) but how you use it. Driver and team make all the difference here. [etssp 219] [etssp 220] [etssp 221]
This class structure allows veterans to keep driving the latest machinery while providing a source of good, affordable cars to up-and-coming drivers.
Cup cars are Porsche 997 GT3 cars set up exclusively for IMSA (though other series allow them.) As with any single-model series, the emphasis is not on what you have (everyone has it) but how you use it. Driver and team make all the difference here. [etssp 219] [etssp 220] [etssp 221]
| Final Practice Results—Sebring Winter Test: Day One | |||||
| # | driver | team | time | speed | make and model |
| IMSA Lites | |||||
| Lites One | |||||
| 33 | Richard Fant | Ferrari of Houston | 2:02.649 | 108.603 | Elan DP02 |
| Lites Two | |||||
| 42 | Jim Garrett | Speed Promo | 2:20.675 | 94.686 | West WR1000 |
| IMSA GT3 Cup | |||||
| Platinum | |||||
| 6 | Mark Bullitt | Muscle Milk Cytosport | 2:08.807 | 103.411 | 2011 GT3 Cup |
| Gold | |||||
| 25 | Andres Cisneros | NGT Motorsports Gold | 2:18.168 | 96.404 | 2009 GT3 Cup |
