ALMS: Sebring - Friday Practice Report

By Gary Horrocks
SEBRING, FL – The weather has improved dramatically here. After about three inches of rain on Thursday, Friday broke to be partially cloudy, but most importantly dry. No rain appears to be in sight.

The track conditions appear to be ideal, and this all bodes well for the race tomorrow. In fact, this may be the most interesting session of the event so far. When it all settled out, it was a Dyson one-two, with Guy Smith turning in the fastest time so far with a 1:49.114. If this was actually qualifying, the front of the grid would have a nice symmetrical look, with the two Champion Audis taking the third and fourth-quickest times.

In what bodes well for the future, the new Lola B05/40 in the hands of Intersport Racing has shown tremendous pace all weekend, and if this is any indication, this car could really be a force to be reckoned with and may just change the scene in P2.

GT1 has been the major focus of interest heading into the race, and a new twist in the developing plot has occurred. Fastest in class was a Corvette, but it was neither of the two factory cars. Newcomers Pacific Coast Motorsports put their C5-R at the top of the charts, when Ryan Dalziel bested the factory C6-R by over half a second.

While Porsche is still king in GT2, things may be changing. The Panoz is consistently up there, and after this session, they were right there. The #50 car was consistently in the top three in class, which was again headed by the Petersen/White Lightning Porsche. The progress that the Panoz has made has been impressive.
Even the drivers are quite pleased. Late last night, Bill Auberlen commented that, “We’re fast even when we are not trying.” That is the sign of a good car.

After a terribly boring and tedious Thursday, Friday has brought a new beginning and a new excitement to the race. This promises to be as good as advertised.