2012 12 Hours of Sebring

Preview The 2012 12 Hours of Sebring was the opening round of both the 2012 American Le Mans Series (ten races) and the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship (eight races), as well as the race's 60th running. It was the first and only event involving both the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the only North American round of the WEC season, and the series' debut race. On March 17, 2012, the round was held at the 17-turn Sebring International Raceway road course in Sebring, Florida. The event was sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), with officials from both the ALMS and the WEC on site. Entry list The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) track homologation meant that the event had a 64-car entry limit. Only full-season ALMS and WEC entries were permitted to compete, and no one-time entries were permitted due to the combined ALMS and WEC field. Audi Sport Team Joest (the only factory LMP1 manufacturer after Peugeot's withdrawal) fielded three one-year-old R18 TDI cars, while Rebellion Racing entered two 2011 Lola B11/60s. OAK Racing and Pescarolo Team each entered a 2011 Pescarolo 01, while JRM, Muscle Milk Pickett Racing and Strakka Racing each entered one HPD ARX-03a. Toyota did not enter its TS030 Hybrid car due to time constraints. LMP2 had 13 teams from five different manufacturers. OAK Racing and Conquest Endurance each entered a single Morgan LMP2 car. including two from CORE Autosport. PR1 Mathiasen Racing, Muscle Milk Pickett Racing, Performance Tech Motorsports, RSR Racing, and Dempsey Racing each ran one car. AF Corse was the only two-car team in LMGTE Pro, with two Ferrari 458 Italias, while Luxury Racing had one. There was one Aston Martin Vantage GTE from Aston Martin Racing and one Porsche 997 GT3-RSR from Team Felbermayr-Proton. Ferrari had three cars in LMGTE Am, with one 458 Italia entered by Krohn Racing, Luxury Racing, and AF-Corse-Waltrip. Larbre Compétition fielded two Chevrolet Corvette C6.Rs, and JWA-Avila and Felbermayr-Proton each fielded one Porsche 997 GT3-RSR. Risi Competizione missed Sebring due to the economic climate and the resulting lack of preparation. The one-make GTC class included nine Porsche 997 GT3 Cup cars. Alex Job Racing (AJR) and NGT Motorsports had two cars and one each by Green Hornet Racing, JDX Racing, Competition Motorsports, GMG Racing, and TRG. Balance of performance changes The balance of performance goal for both the ALMS and the WEC was to achieve parity in all classes. The Audi R18 TDi's performance was lowered because its air restrictor was 7% smaller, its turbocharger boost was reduced, and it lost in fuel capacity. The GT-category Chevrolet Corvette C6.R received a larger air restrictor and more flexibility in its rear wing placement, as did the Aston Martin Vantage GTE and the BMW M3 GT2. The WEC LMGTE Am-class Porsche 997 GTE-RSR lost of ballast, while the Black Swan Lola B11/80 gained of ballast, affecting their handling. == Testing ==

The teams had two four-hour test sessions on March 12 and two one-hour test sessions the next day. On the first day, 61 of the 64 entered cars competed, with Audi leading with a 1:47.187 lap set by Allan McNish's No. 2 car. During the afternoon session, McNish's co-driver Tom Kristensen damaged the No. 2 car's front-left corner in a collision with Romain Dumas' sister No. 3 vehicle. The No. 1 Audi was four-tenths of a second faster than the No. 3 entry, which was more than a second slower. The highest-placed petrol-powered car was the No. 6 Muscle Milk HPD entry in fourth. Level 5's No. 95 car led LMP2 in the afternoon session with a time of 1:52.055, almost 1.5 seconds faster than the sister No. 055 entry. On the bumpy turn 17, OAK team owner Jacques Nicolet lost control of the No. 24 Morgan car, which incurred severe damage in a high-speed accident. Luxury's No. 59 Ferrari set the quickest afternoon session lap at 2:00.830. The No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche was 0.325 seconds slower, while Dominik Farnbacher's No. 58 Luxury Ferrari led LMGTE Am with a 2:02.893 lap time. Dempsey Racing topped LMPC with a 1:55.540 lap time from PR1 Mathiasen Racing, while Green Hornet's No. 34 car led the GTC class with a time of 2:06.899 from NGT Motorsport's No. 30 car. Testing's second day saw all 64 cars compete, and Audi again led with Kristensen's lap of 1:48.138, 0.272 seconds quicker than Timo Bernhard's No. 3 car. The No. 1 Audi was third after a lap by Marcel Fässler and the highest-placed ALMS LMP1 entry was the fourth-placed Muscle Milk HPD car. Soheil Ayari's No. 49 Pecom Oreca car led LMP2 with a 1:53.527 lap in the afternoon session. After a lap by João Barbosa, the No. 055 Level 5 car was second and the top ALMS LMP2 entry, and Ryan Dalziel's No. 44 Starworks HPD entry was third, the top three LMP2 cars were within 0.362 seconds of each other. Giancarlo Fisichella's No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari led GT with a 2:01.097 lap, 0.043 seconds faster than Jaime Melo's No. 59 Luxury car. The top ALMS GT entry was Flying Lizard's No. 45 Porsche. Krohn's No. 57 Ferrari led LMGTE Am with a 2:02.991 lap time from Niclas Jönsson. Colin Braun lapped quickest in the LMPC-class CORE entry at 1:55.473, while Sean Edwards's No. 30 NGT car set the fastest GTC lap at 2:07.841. == Practice ==

The first practice session lasted one hour and was held on March 15 in the morning. Barbosa set the quickest LMP2 lap of 1:52.680 for Level 5. John Martin's No. 25 ADR-Delta Oreca was second, 0.404 seconds slower, with the second Level 5 car third. David Heinemeier Hansson spun and stranded the No. 37 Conquest car at turn ten, stopping practice for five minutes. Practice was stopped again when Scott Tucker crashed the No. 055 Level 5 entry into the turn 17 tire barrier. Nine cars came within a second of Oliver Gavin's No. 4 Corvette's quickest GT lap of 2:01.514. The three Audis led, with André Lotterer's No. 1 car fastest in 1:47.761, ahead of Dumas and Rinaldo Capello's No. 2 entry. Guillaume Moreau's No. 15 OAK Pescarolo and Graf were fourth and fifth, respectively. Nick Leventis stopped practice when his No. 21 Strakka car stopped on track before a collision between an unknown Prototype and GT car caused another stoppage. That evening, a single one-hour and 45-minute practice session was scheduled. With a 1:51.824 lap, Stéphane Sarrazin's Starworks HPD vehicle led LMP2 ahead of OAK's No. 24 entry of Olivier Pla and Hunter-Reay. Duval struck Heidfeld's rear, and Duval's rear was then hit by teammate Fässler. The No. 3 Audi missed the rest of the session due to major front and rear-end repairs, but all other drivers returned to the pit lane. Moreau, Belicchi and Lucas Luhr's No. 6 Muscle Milk car occupied second to fourth, respectively. Pla set the LMP2 pace with a time of 1:51.318, a half-second faster than Sarrazin and John Martin. Ferraris were second and third in class with Melo (No. 59 Luxury) ahead of Vilander (No. 51 AF Corse). E. J. Viso's No. 06 CORE entry led in PC after lapping at 1:55.606, ahead of Bruno Junqueira's No. 9 RSR car. Keen paced GTC from Faulkner with a lap of 2:06.365. Kévin Estre's No. 11 JDX car spun and crashed into the turn ten tire barrier, prompting an early end to the session with two minutes to go. ==Qualifying==

A 65-minute qualifying session divided into four 15-minute sessions was held in the afternoon of March 16. Audi led from the start once more, with Lotterer taking Audi's tenth Sebring pole with a lap of 1:45.820 recorded during the closing minutes of qualifying despite serving a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. The time was nearly four-tenths of a second faster than Kristensen's fastest lap in second. Dumas qualified the rebuilt No. 3 Audi third, completing a top three sweep for the manufacturer. Graf's No. 6 Muscle Milk HPD car was the top ALMS qualifier in fourth and Moreau's No. 15 OAK Pescarolo car was the highest-placed WEC petrol-powered entry in fifth. OAK earned the LMP2 pole position with a time of 1:50.467 set by Pla after duelling the second-placed Sarrazin and Greaves Motorsport's third-placed Elton Julian. Bouchut's No. 055 Level 5 car was the fastest ALMS LMP2 entry. He swerved to avoid a car emerging ahead of him from the pit lane exit and collided with both the inside and outside barriers at turn one. He was uninjured; Jönsson qualified the Krohn Ferrari second and Lamy's No. 50 Larbre Corvette was third in class. This driver change demoted the entry to the back of the grid. Gulf No. 29 Lola was excluded from the race for failing to meet the minimum qualifying time due to engine installation issues that limited it to two qualifying laps, dropping the number of race starters to 63. == Warm-up ==

A 25-minute morning warm-up session for drivers to examine their cars before the race began on March 17 under sunny but foggy conditions. McNish was fastest with a lap time of 1:50.804. The session was interrupted when John Martin crashed the ADR-Delta Oreca car into the turn one inside barrier. ==Race==

Start and early hours The race, which started at 10:30 a.m. local time, FIA president Jean Todt commanded the drivers to start their engines. Following the withdrawal of the No. 29 Gulf Lola, 63 cars were scheduled to start, but the No. 17 Falken Porsche (engine change), No. 22 JRM HPD entry (steering wheel change after a safety car switch problem on another one), and No. 28 Gulf Lola were all in the pit lane. During the second (and final) formation lap, Jörg Bergmeister's No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche and Farnbacher's No. 58 Luxury Ferrari collided entering turn 17. Farnbacher entered the pit lane with frontal damage, while Bergmeister was towed in with his left-rear suspension wheel bent and undertray damage that took 26 laps to repair in the garage. and was retired following an inspection and repairs. The Flying Lizard Porsche returned to the track after spending most of the first hour replaced the damaged suspension. Because it was deemed a "racing incident," no action was taken, and Farnbacher apologized to Flying Lizard in the paddock for the crash. McNish passed Lotterer in the fast turn 17 for the lead at the end of the first lap. Vilander brought the GT leading No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari into the garage for 45 minutes with an alternator failure on lap five; After going off the circuit at turn 10, Keen's No. 22 AJR car suffered a left-rear puncture and wheel damage, handing the GTC class lead to Estre's No. 11 JDX entry. After 23 minutes of caution, racing resumed before a four-car crash involving the No. 01 ESM Ferrari, No. 5 Muscle Milk PC entry, No. 28 Gulf Lola, and the Luxury Ferrari did not necessitate any intervention because all four cars were able to return to the pit lane. The Signatech Oreca and Luxury Ferrari were both retired due to car damage. Benoît Tréluyer slowed on the Ullmann Straight due to an electronic downshift gear selection issue that was traced to the electric motor driving the gearbox's selection mechanism. He briefly brought the No. 1 Audi into the garage to rectify the fault by changing some car components early in the fifth hour. Felbermayr-Proton's No. 88 Porsche spun behind the No. 55 JWA-Avila Porsche at turn four, prompting Tracy Krohn's LMGTE Am leading Krohn Ferrari to spin in avoidance. This moved Patrick Bornhauser's No. 50 Larbre Corvette into the LMGTE Am lead. Duncan Ende lost control of the Dempsey PC car and lightly collided with the turn four tire barrier, causing the fourth full course caution. After racing resumed, Dominik Kraihamer in fifth overall lost control of the No. 15 OAK Pescarolo at the exit of a turn, damaging the car's rear-left gently against the barrier but continuing to drive. In LMP2, Pecom's Ayari led, but he was two seconds slower on one lap, and he was passed by Bouchut and Sarrazin. Fässler's No. 1 Audi slowed on course until it was brought into the garage for several laps due to a recurrence of its gear selection issue. Auberlen's No. 155 RLL BMW took the GT lead from Milner's No. 04 Corvette when racing resumed in the eighth hour. Soon after racing resumed, Henri Richard's Dempsey PC car spun in front of Performance Tech's Anthony Nicolosi, who collided with him in the turn 10 braking zone. The Krohn Ferrari entered the garage for 71 minutes to replace the rear suspension and splitter. Sunset to finish When racing restarted as the sun fell, The engine in Moreau's No. 15 OAK Pescarolo failed, sending smoke rising from the engine cover, prompting the tenth full course caution soon after. Moreau's car stopped at turn seven on the track and had to be extricated to the pit lane. When racing resumed, Luhr's No. 6 Muscle Milk car and JRM's Peter Dumbreck battled for third overall until Dumbreck's rear-right tire punctured. The ensuing collapse of the right-rear suspension, which came after a pit stop to replace the ruptured tire, cost the No. 22 car 15 laps in the garage. When Faulkner spun at the entry to turn 17, his team's hold on second in GTC was lost. Sarrazin's Starworks LMP2 HPD car advanced to third overall after he and Barbosa raced nose-to-tail for the final two hours, exchanging the LMP2 lead several times. Sarrazin passed Barbosa after the final round of pit stops and began to draw away as Barbosa was slower on the soft compound tires. Bernhard's No. 3 Audi was a lap behind the sister No. 2 car when he collided with a GTC-class Porsche, necessitating a pit lane rear end change. Pit stops changed the GT order, making it a duel between BMW and Ferrari. The No. 16 Pescarolo in sixth overall was untroubled and completed the LMP1 class podium. Dyson Racing won ALMS P1 as the category's sole classified finisher, finishing eighth overall. Hand recovered to claim RLL's second consecutive Sebring GT victory by 1.740 seconds over Magnussen's No. 03 Corvette. Beretta's No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari fell behind Magnussen by slowing following his final lap spin but won in WEC LMGTE Pro and was third overall in GT. Felbermayr-Proton won the WEC's LMGTE Am class by one lap over the No. 70 Larbre Corvette. AJR took their eighth Sebring class win and second in succession in GTC with the No. 023 car a lap ahead of the sister No. 022 entry. == Post-race ==

The top three finishes in each of the nine classes appeared on the podium separately before being interviewed. Capello said the win was not easy and added that slower cars were a major issue, "We were careful, we finished with just little scratches on our car, nothing serious. It was one of the keys to our success today." Ruberti called his LMGTE Am win "like a dream" and said he completed the final stint in the last hour with no power steering. ==Championship standings after the race==