Halfway at Sebring
Werner, looking for his third Sebring triumph and driving with Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro, was a lap up on the leading Acura entry from P2, the Andretti Green Racing Acura ARX with Dario Franchitti at the wheel. Acura’s new prototype led twice in the race’s opening half, making it the 30th manufacturer to lead overall at America’s greatest sports car race.
The second Audi of Dindo Capello, Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen lost more than nearly 15 minutes with an ignition issue. The team changed a battery, a starter motor and the entire dashboard before Capello rejoined the race seven laps down.
In P2, Franchitti was up by five laps on Andy Wallace in the first of Dyson Racing’s Porsche RS Spyders. That gap was increasing though as Wallace’s car was stuck in fourth gear, which was repaired. That moved Luis Diaz up to second in class for Lowe’s Fernandez Racing as Acura held the top two spots in LMP2. Highcroft Racing’s Acura ARX underwent electronic repair during a 13-minute stop but was well under way with David Brabham at the wheel.
In GT1, Oliver Gavin led Ron Fellows by 25 seconds in a battle of Corvette Racing’s best. The yellow No. 4 held the lead for about three hours after the Arctic White No. 3 car, a tribute to Fellows in his final race at Sebring behind the wheel, led early.
Risi Competizione’s Ferrari F430 GT led by just 15 seconds in GT2 with Jaime Melo at the wheel. The Brazilian led Marc Lieb in the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche as two of the players from last year’s climatic class finish resumed battle.
Patrick Long was third in class for Tafel Racing and Porsche, just 23 seconds behind Melo.
Hour 5 Standings
Pos Car Cls Drivers Car Laps
1. 1 P1 R.Capello, A.McNish, T.Kristensen Audi R10 TDI 155
2. 2 P1 E.Pirro, M.Werner, F.Biela Audi R10 TDI 155
3. 26 P2 B.Herta, D.Franchitti, T.Kanaan Acura ARX-01a 154
4. 9 P2 D.Brabham, S.Johansson, D.Dayton Acura ARX-01a 153
5. 16 P2 B.Leitzinger, A.Wallace, A.Lally Porsche RS Spyder 150
6. 15 P2 A.Fernandez, L.Diaz, D.Martinez Acura Lola BO6 149
7. 7 P2 R.Dumas, T.Bernhard, H.Castroneves. Porsche RS Spyder 149
8. 27 P2 F.Lienhard, D.Theys, E.Van de Poele Judd Lola B05-40 144
9. 4 GT1 O.Gavin, O.Beretta, M.Papis Corvette C6-R 143
10. 3 GT1 J.O'Connell, J.Magnussen, R.Fellows Corvette C6-R 143
11. 6 P2 S.Maassen, R.Briscoe, E.Collard Porsche RS Spyder 141
12. 63 GT1 A.Garcia, L.Halliday, D.Turner Aston Martin DBR9 140
13. 62 GT2 M.Salo, J.Mowlem, J.Melo Ferrari 430GT 138
14. 45 GT2 J.Van Overbeek, J.Bergmeister, M.Lieb Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 137
15. 37 P1 J.Field, D.Dayton, R.Berry Creation CA06H Judd 137
16. 71 GT2 W.Henzler, R.Liddell, P.Long Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 137
17. 12 P1 M.Lewis, C.McMurry, B.Willman Lola EX257 AER 137
18. 32 GT2 J.Lopez, R.Aguas, M.Mediani Ferrari 430GT 136
19. 86 GT2 P.Kox, J.Janis Spyker C8 135
20. 73 GT2 J.Tafel, D.Farnbacher, I.James Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 135
21. 85 GT2 P.Ehret, L.Nielsen, D.Werner Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 134
22. 21 GT2 B.Auberlen, J.Hand, T.Kimber-Smith Panoz Esperante 133
23. 54 GT2 T.Pappas, T.Borcheller, M.Basseng Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 132
24. 20 P2 C.Dyson, G.Smith Porsche RS Spyder 131
25. 24 GT2 B.Aucott, J.Macari, R.Wilson Ferrari F430GT 125
26. 18 GT2 R.Kelleners, T.Milner, G.Rahal Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 124
27. 77 GT2 M.Konopka, B.McCormick, M.Casadei Porsche 996 RSR 123
28. 10 GT2 P.Collin, A.Hermann, L.Da Silva Porsche 996 RSR 122
29. 31 GT2 T.Bergmeister, T.Enge, M.Gidley Ferrari 430GT 112
30. 61 GT2 T.Krohn, N.Jonsson, C.Braun Ferrari 430GT 106
31. 22 GT2 S.Maxell, R.Smith, B.Sellers Panoz Esperante 103
32. 8 P2 J.Bach, B.Devlin, R.Matos Mazda Lola B07-40 95
33. 44 GT2 L.Pechnik, S.Neiman, D.Law Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 88
34. 53 GT2 D.Robertson, A.Robertson, A.Luyendyk Jr Panoz Esperante GTLM 64