Team ORECA surprised everyone by winning the 12Hours of Sebring in front of Simon Pagenaud, David Brabham and Marino Franchitti’s Highcroft Racing car on Saturday night.
The two Peugeot 908 factory entry of Franck Montagny, Stéphane Sarrazin, Pedro Lamy and Alexander Wurz, Marc Gene, Anthony Davidson has been on top of the standing for most of the first half of the race. They finished in 3rd and 8th place respectively.
Audi finally took the 4th and 5th place with Allan McNish's (Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen) and Mike Rockenfeller's (Timo Berhard and Romain Dumas) R15. The latest team recovered from an early race-crash which made them fall deep-down in the standing.
Loic Duval needed only a bit of fuel at last to cross the finish line in first position for Team ORECA (Olivier Panis and Nicolas Lapierre), some 31 seconds ahead of Simon Pagenaud's HPD car. The only other car still in the lead lap by then was the first of the two Peugeot 908.
"It’s a historic result for us," said emotional team owner and ORECA founder Hughes de Chaunac. "It’s a race that we built step by step. We avoided any mistakes. It was a perfect job from the team and these three drivers. It was not easy because I asked them to be quick and patient. We won because we did not make any mistakes."
In GT, BMW Motorsport got its first win at Sebring since its overall victory in 1999. Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Andy Priaulx led a 1-2 finish in class for the BMW M3s.
Teammates Augusto Farfus, Dirk Werner and Bill Auberlen took the second place. They were leading until a puncture in the final third of the race pushed them back to third place.
Dirk Werner regained second place by overtaking Tommy Milner's Covertte C6.R with 35 minutes to go in the 12Hours race. Milner finished in third with Olivier Beretta and Antonio Garcia.
Five cars led the GT division and the top-6 cars remained in the lead lap deep into the race.
The next round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series is scheduled for April 16th, 2011, in Long Beach.
Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway
Saturday’s race results:
1. (5) Nicolas Lapierre, France; Loic Duval; Olivier Panis, France; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (1, LMP1), 332.
2. (7) David Brabham, Maidenhead; Marino Franchitti, Edinburgh, Scotland; Simon Pagenaud, Montmorrillon; HPD ARX-01e (2, LMP1), 332.
3. (1) Franck Montagny, Grandvaux; Stephane Sarrazin, Ales; Pedro Lamy, Lisbon; Peugeot 908 (3, LMP1), 332.
4. (4) Allan McNish, Monte Carlo; Dindo Capello, Canelli; Tom Kristensen, Monte Carlo; Audi R15+ TDI (4, LMP1), 327.
5. (2) Mike Rockenfeller, Monte Carlo; Timo Bernhard, Dittweiler; Romain Dumas, Ales; Audi R15+ TDI (5, LMP1), 326.
...8. (3) Alexander Wurz, Monte Carlo; Marc Gene, Barcelona; Anthony Davidson, Brackley, Northamptonshire; Peugeot 908 (8, LMP1), 315.
...10. (25) Dirk Mueller, Monte Carlo; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Andy Priaulx; BMW M3 GT (1, GT), 312.
...12. (24) Dirk Werner, Kissenbrück; Augusto Farfus; Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA; BMW M3 GT (2, GT), 312.
13. (30) Olivier Beretta, Monte Carlo; Tommy Milner, Leesburg, VA; Antonio Garcia, Barcelona; Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (3, GT), 312.
14. (23) Oliver Gavin, Yardley Hastings; Jan Magnussen, Roskilde; Richard Westbrook, London; Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (4, GT), 311.
15. (22) Gianmaria Bruni, Rome; Giancarlo Fisichella , Rome; Pierre Kaffer, Salenstein; Ferrari F430 (5, GT), 311.
Etc.
The two Peugeot 908 factory entry of Franck Montagny, Stéphane Sarrazin, Pedro Lamy and Alexander Wurz, Marc Gene, Anthony Davidson has been on top of the standing for most of the first half of the race. They finished in 3rd and 8th place respectively.
Audi finally took the 4th and 5th place with Allan McNish's (Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen) and Mike Rockenfeller's (Timo Berhard and Romain Dumas) R15. The latest team recovered from an early race-crash which made them fall deep-down in the standing.
Loic Duval needed only a bit of fuel at last to cross the finish line in first position for Team ORECA (Olivier Panis and Nicolas Lapierre), some 31 seconds ahead of Simon Pagenaud's HPD car. The only other car still in the lead lap by then was the first of the two Peugeot 908.
"It’s a historic result for us," said emotional team owner and ORECA founder Hughes de Chaunac. "It’s a race that we built step by step. We avoided any mistakes. It was a perfect job from the team and these three drivers. It was not easy because I asked them to be quick and patient. We won because we did not make any mistakes."
In GT, BMW Motorsport got its first win at Sebring since its overall victory in 1999. Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Andy Priaulx led a 1-2 finish in class for the BMW M3s.
Teammates Augusto Farfus, Dirk Werner and Bill Auberlen took the second place. They were leading until a puncture in the final third of the race pushed them back to third place.
Dirk Werner regained second place by overtaking Tommy Milner's Covertte C6.R with 35 minutes to go in the 12Hours race. Milner finished in third with Olivier Beretta and Antonio Garcia.
Five cars led the GT division and the top-6 cars remained in the lead lap deep into the race.
The next round of the 2011 American Le Mans Series is scheduled for April 16th, 2011, in Long Beach.
Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway
Saturday’s race results:
1. (5) Nicolas Lapierre, France; Loic Duval; Olivier Panis, France; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (1, LMP1), 332.
2. (7) David Brabham, Maidenhead; Marino Franchitti, Edinburgh, Scotland; Simon Pagenaud, Montmorrillon; HPD ARX-01e (2, LMP1), 332.
3. (1) Franck Montagny, Grandvaux; Stephane Sarrazin, Ales; Pedro Lamy, Lisbon; Peugeot 908 (3, LMP1), 332.
4. (4) Allan McNish, Monte Carlo; Dindo Capello, Canelli; Tom Kristensen, Monte Carlo; Audi R15+ TDI (4, LMP1), 327.
5. (2) Mike Rockenfeller, Monte Carlo; Timo Bernhard, Dittweiler; Romain Dumas, Ales; Audi R15+ TDI (5, LMP1), 326.
...8. (3) Alexander Wurz, Monte Carlo; Marc Gene, Barcelona; Anthony Davidson, Brackley, Northamptonshire; Peugeot 908 (8, LMP1), 315.
...10. (25) Dirk Mueller, Monte Carlo; Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Andy Priaulx; BMW M3 GT (1, GT), 312.
...12. (24) Dirk Werner, Kissenbrück; Augusto Farfus; Bill Auberlen, Redondo Beach, CA; BMW M3 GT (2, GT), 312.
13. (30) Olivier Beretta, Monte Carlo; Tommy Milner, Leesburg, VA; Antonio Garcia, Barcelona; Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (3, GT), 312.
14. (23) Oliver Gavin, Yardley Hastings; Jan Magnussen, Roskilde; Richard Westbrook, London; Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (4, GT), 311.
15. (22) Gianmaria Bruni, Rome; Giancarlo Fisichella , Rome; Pierre Kaffer, Salenstein; Ferrari F430 (5, GT), 311.
Etc.