Peugeot continued its domination in Sebring on Friday, sweeping the front row in prevision of the 12Hours of Sebring this Saturday. Marc Gene and Nic Minassian proved that the tests results were no fools by getting one-two positions on the grid.
Gene, who will be driving with Le Mans 24hrs champion Alexander Wurz and driver Anthony Davidson, registered a lap of 1:45.214, 0.627 second faster than his teammate. Gene attributed his success to... video games!
“I was very worried before coming here because I had heard so much about it,” Gene said. “There were the bumps, the fast curves. I tried to play it on video games but I had to play it so much! Then I moved on to videos and Nic helped me a lot. If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have won pole position.”
Minassian will be driving with Sébastien Bourdais and Pedro Lamy in Sebring today.
Aston Martin took the best of the “other” places with a third position on the grid for Stefan Mück and his co-drivers Adrian Fernandez and Harold Primat.
In LMP2, Marino Franchitti got his second Sebring pole in career. The driver registered a lap of 1:47.684 for the pole. He will drive his Honda with Le Mans and LMP1 champions David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud.
Klaus Graf (Porsche RS Spyder) lost the pole by few with a difference of 0.054 seconds from Franchitti’s time. Guy Smith, Chris Dyson and Andy Meyrick completed the top three in LMP2 with their isobutanol propel Mazda car.
Gunnar Jeannette became the first Le Mans Prototype Challenge pole-sitter Friday. He had the best on Ryan Hunter-Reay by 0.118 second (1:55.279).
Jörg Bergmeister was Sebring's pole-sitter in GT2 class after Dirk Müller's BMW M3 failed the technical inspection after qualification.
Bergmeister registered a lap of 2:01.159 in his Porsche 911 GT3. He will share his ride with Patrick Long and Marc Lieb in Sebring. Jaime Melo, Gimmi Bruni and Pierre Kaffer will share the third place Ferrari F430 GT of Risi Team.
Leh Keen will lead the GT challenger class with a time of 2:05.959 in his Porsche 911 GT3 he shares with Butch Leitzinger and Juan Gonzalez. Patrick Kelly, Richard Gonzalez and Luis Diaz will start second.
12Hours of Sebring, Saturday’s lineup
1. Marc Gene, Spain; Anthony Davidson, England; Alexander Wurz; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (P1), 1:45.214, 126.599
2. Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Sebastien Bourdais, France; Nicolas Minassian, England; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (P1), 1:45.841, 125.849
3. Stefan Mücke, Germany; Harold Primat, Switzerland; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Lola B09 60/Aston Martin (P1), 1:46.079, 125.567
...
5. David Brabham, Australia; Simon Pagenaud, France; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; HPD ARX-01c (P2), 1:47.684, 123.695
6. Greg Pickett, Alamo, CA; Klaus Graf, Germany; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:47.738, 123.633
7. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Andy Meyrick; Lola B09 86/Mazda (P2), 1:47.882, 123.468
...
9. Christian Zugel; Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Elton Julian, Los Angeles, CA; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:55.279, 115.546
10. Scott Tucker; James Gue, Athens, GA; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:55.397, 115.428
11. 12. Scott Tucker; Christophe Bouchut, France; Mark Wilkins, Canada; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:56.101, 114.728
...
13. Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:01.150, 109.946
14. Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Patrick Pilet, France; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:01.201, 109.900
15. Jaime Melo, Brazil; Gianmaria Bruni, Italy; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Ferrari 430 GT (GT2), 2:01.236, 109.868
...
22. Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Leh Keen, Dublin, GA; Juan Gonzalez, Mexico; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 2:05.959, 105.749
...
24. Ricardo Gonzalez, Mexico; Luis Diaz, Mexico; Patrick Kelly, Minnestrista, MN; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 2:07.018, 104.867
25. Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT; Romeo Kapudija, Lincolnwood, IL; Jan-Dirk Lueders; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 2:07.205, 104.713
Etc.
Gene, who will be driving with Le Mans 24hrs champion Alexander Wurz and driver Anthony Davidson, registered a lap of 1:45.214, 0.627 second faster than his teammate. Gene attributed his success to... video games!
“I was very worried before coming here because I had heard so much about it,” Gene said. “There were the bumps, the fast curves. I tried to play it on video games but I had to play it so much! Then I moved on to videos and Nic helped me a lot. If it weren’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have won pole position.”
Minassian will be driving with Sébastien Bourdais and Pedro Lamy in Sebring today.
Aston Martin took the best of the “other” places with a third position on the grid for Stefan Mück and his co-drivers Adrian Fernandez and Harold Primat.
In LMP2, Marino Franchitti got his second Sebring pole in career. The driver registered a lap of 1:47.684 for the pole. He will drive his Honda with Le Mans and LMP1 champions David Brabham and Simon Pagenaud.
Klaus Graf (Porsche RS Spyder) lost the pole by few with a difference of 0.054 seconds from Franchitti’s time. Guy Smith, Chris Dyson and Andy Meyrick completed the top three in LMP2 with their isobutanol propel Mazda car.
Gunnar Jeannette became the first Le Mans Prototype Challenge pole-sitter Friday. He had the best on Ryan Hunter-Reay by 0.118 second (1:55.279).
Jörg Bergmeister was Sebring's pole-sitter in GT2 class after Dirk Müller's BMW M3 failed the technical inspection after qualification.
Bergmeister registered a lap of 2:01.159 in his Porsche 911 GT3. He will share his ride with Patrick Long and Marc Lieb in Sebring. Jaime Melo, Gimmi Bruni and Pierre Kaffer will share the third place Ferrari F430 GT of Risi Team.
Leh Keen will lead the GT challenger class with a time of 2:05.959 in his Porsche 911 GT3 he shares with Butch Leitzinger and Juan Gonzalez. Patrick Kelly, Richard Gonzalez and Luis Diaz will start second.
12Hours of Sebring, Saturday’s lineup
1. Marc Gene, Spain; Anthony Davidson, England; Alexander Wurz; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (P1), 1:45.214, 126.599
2. Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Sebastien Bourdais, France; Nicolas Minassian, England; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (P1), 1:45.841, 125.849
3. Stefan Mücke, Germany; Harold Primat, Switzerland; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Lola B09 60/Aston Martin (P1), 1:46.079, 125.567
...
5. David Brabham, Australia; Simon Pagenaud, France; Marino Franchitti, Scotland; HPD ARX-01c (P2), 1:47.684, 123.695
6. Greg Pickett, Alamo, CA; Klaus Graf, Germany; Sascha Maassen, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:47.738, 123.633
7. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Andy Meyrick; Lola B09 86/Mazda (P2), 1:47.882, 123.468
...
9. Christian Zugel; Gunnar Jeannette, Palm Beach Gardens, FL; Elton Julian, Los Angeles, CA; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:55.279, 115.546
10. Scott Tucker; James Gue, Athens, GA; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:55.397, 115.428
11. 12. Scott Tucker; Christophe Bouchut, France; Mark Wilkins, Canada; Oreca FLM09 (LMPC), 1:56.101, 114.728
...
13. Jörg Bergmeister, Germany; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Marc Lieb, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:01.150, 109.946
14. Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Wolf Henzler, Germany; Patrick Pilet, France; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 2:01.201, 109.900
15. Jaime Melo, Brazil; Gianmaria Bruni, Italy; Pierre Kaffer, Germany; Ferrari 430 GT (GT2), 2:01.236, 109.868
...
22. Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Leh Keen, Dublin, GA; Juan Gonzalez, Mexico; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 2:05.959, 105.749
...
24. Ricardo Gonzalez, Mexico; Luis Diaz, Mexico; Patrick Kelly, Minnestrista, MN; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 2:07.018, 104.867
25. Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT; Romeo Kapudija, Lincolnwood, IL; Jan-Dirk Lueders; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (GTC), 2:07.205, 104.713
Etc.