One slip up, one extra minute in the pits and the story might be different. Yet it's a familiar story with a familiar ending - Audi debuts a new car with a victory at Sebring. The German marque posted win No. 1 for the Audi R15 TDI on Saturday as Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen beat Peugeot at the 57th Twelve Hours of Sebring.
McNish crossed the finish line 22.279 seconds ahead of Peugeot's Franck Montagny in an epic battle between sports car racing's two diesel powers. The two prototypes stayed on the same lap throughout the 12 hours. McNish took the lead for good at the 42-minute mark when Montagny made his final fuel-only stop. McNish clicked off fast lap after fast lap to build up enough of a gap to make a late splash for fuel with 14 minutes remaining and maintain his lead. McNish re-entered the track while Montagny was just entering the backstretch. The race also set records for fastest average speed (117.986 mph), distance covered (1,417 miles) and laps completed under the current 3.7-mile, 17-turn configuration (383). The second Audi of Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller and Marco Werner finished third. It led four times in the race. Lowe's Fernandez Racing captured its long-awaited first LMP2 victory for Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz. The pairing's Acura ARX-01b ran a strong and consistent race. Corvette Racing's Johnny O'Connell and Jan Magnussen scored their second straight GT1 victory as they teamed with Antonio Garcia in the final race for the GT1 version of the Corvette C6.R at Sebring. Magnussen crossed the finish line a lap ahead of Oliver Gavin, who teamed with Olivier Beretta and Marcel Fässler. In GT2, Mika Salo took the checkered flag in Risi's Ferrari F430 GT that he drove with Pierre Kaffer and Jaime Melo by two laps. Gianmaria Bruni, Mathias Russo and Luis Companc placed second for Ferrari's first 1-2 GT2 finish at Sebring. The next race for the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg from the St. Petersburg street circuit. The green flag is scheduled for 1:20 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 4. 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring 1. (2) Allan McNish, Scotland; Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Tom Kristensen, Denmark; Audi R15 TDI (1, P1), 383. 2. (5) Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Sebastien Bourdais, France; Stephane Sarrazin, France; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (2, P1), 383. 3. (4) Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Lucas Luhr, Germany; Audi R15 TDI (3, P1), 381. 4. (7) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Acura ARX-01B (1, P2), 360. 5. (3) Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Christian Klien, Austria; Nicolas Minassian, England; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (4, P1), 356. 6. (12) Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Antonio Garcia, Spain; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Corvette C6.R (1, GT1), 349. 7. (11) Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Marcel Fässler, Switzerland; Corvette C6.R (2, GT1), 348. 8. (27) Mika Salo, Finland; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Ferrari F430 GT (1, GT2), 332. 9. (15) Gianmaria Bruni, Italy; Mathias Russo, Argentina; Luis Companc, Argentina; Ferrari 430 GT (2, GT2), 330. 10. (17) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Ian James, England; Panoz Esperante GTLM Ford (3, GT2), 329. 11. (14) Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (4, GT2), 326. ... 28. (28) Richard Westbrook, England; Marc Basseng, Germany; Lance David, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (15, GT2), 0, Withdrawn.
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