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Le Mans / ALMS
ALMS: Expect The Unexpected At Sebring
While Audi will be the only LMP1 factory team at Sebring, three HPD entries, Pescarolo, Dyson and Rebellion may have something to say about that...
Team ORECA Matmut pulled off a surprise victory at the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2011. Could another dark horse follow this year? (Photo: LAT)
By Ken Breslauer
At last year’s Sebring 12-hours, Hugues de Chaunac’s ORECA team orchestrated an upset win, finishing ahead of the two factory Audi and Peugeot entries. They were the first Sebring winner in 25 years to win the race after starting outside the first two rows. Not a major upset, but certainly a surprise to most people who thought the factory teams would be impossible to beat.
Experts have already proclaimed Audi will score an easy win at the upcoming 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. With Toyota apparently intimidated by Sebring’s brutal circuit and choosing to debut at Spa instead, Audi will be the only LMP1 factory team. But three HPD entries, Pescarolo, Dyson and Rebellion may have something to say about that.
History can offer some valuable lessons.
In 1954, Lancia brought a four-car factory team to Sebring with a stellar driver lineup that included legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Ascari. They confidently predicted victory. Twelve hours later, three of the four Lancias had dropped out and a little OSCA MT4 owned by Briggs Cunningham won the race, driven by Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd. The newspaper headline the next morning read “OSCA the Giant Killer.”
The Ford GT win in 1969 for John Wyer’s Gulf team was a “mild” Sebring upset. Ferrari and Porsche were the clear favorites, and the aging Ford’s were expected to tool around the 5.2-mile circuit to perhaps a top five finish. Drivers Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver had other ideas, and they ended up in victory lane, thanks in part to some misfortune suffered by the favorites.
Of course, Steve McQueen and Peter Revson came within 24 seconds of a monumental upset the following year.
Sebring’s biggest upset, and perhaps the biggest upset in endurance racing history, came in 1983. A GTO-class Porsche 934, qualifying only 14th on the grid, found itself in the lead in the final minutes, coming back from 11 laps behind thanks to their steady pace and heavy attrition in the prototype class.
With its suspension on the verge of collapse, Wayne Baker guided the battle-scarred Porsche across the finish line for what he thought was a class win. It was only then his crew chief let him know they had won OVERALL. His co-drivers Kees Nierop and Jim Mullen were in disbelief. And when the car was loaded into the transporter after the race, the suspension fell apart!
The following year was an upset of nearly equal proportions as an aging Porsche 935 driven by Stefan Johansson, Hans Heyer and Mauricio DeNarvaez won, starting from 16th on the grid! Once again, the brutal Sebring circuit had taken its toll on the favorites.
Are you listening Audi?
Then again, Audi has the finest record of reliability in the history of the race. They have won Sebring nine times, and they’re bringing three proven R18 TDIs to Sebring for the inaugural FIA World Endurance Championship race. It is likely Audi is well prepared for the unexpected.
At last year’s Sebring 12-hours, Hugues de Chaunac’s ORECA team orchestrated an upset win, finishing ahead of the two factory Audi and Peugeot entries. They were the first Sebring winner in 25 years to win the race after starting outside the first two rows. Not a major upset, but certainly a surprise to most people who thought the factory teams would be impossible to beat.
Experts have already proclaimed Audi will score an easy win at the upcoming 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida. With Toyota apparently intimidated by Sebring’s brutal circuit and choosing to debut at Spa instead, Audi will be the only LMP1 factory team. But three HPD entries, Pescarolo, Dyson and Rebellion may have something to say about that.
History can offer some valuable lessons.
In 1954, Lancia brought a four-car factory team to Sebring with a stellar driver lineup that included legends Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Ascari. They confidently predicted victory. Twelve hours later, three of the four Lancias had dropped out and a little OSCA MT4 owned by Briggs Cunningham won the race, driven by Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd. The newspaper headline the next morning read “OSCA the Giant Killer.”
The Ford GT win in 1969 for John Wyer’s Gulf team was a “mild” Sebring upset. Ferrari and Porsche were the clear favorites, and the aging Ford’s were expected to tool around the 5.2-mile circuit to perhaps a top five finish. Drivers Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver had other ideas, and they ended up in victory lane, thanks in part to some misfortune suffered by the favorites.
Of course, Steve McQueen and Peter Revson came within 24 seconds of a monumental upset the following year.
Sebring’s biggest upset, and perhaps the biggest upset in endurance racing history, came in 1983. A GTO-class Porsche 934, qualifying only 14th on the grid, found itself in the lead in the final minutes, coming back from 11 laps behind thanks to their steady pace and heavy attrition in the prototype class.
With its suspension on the verge of collapse, Wayne Baker guided the battle-scarred Porsche across the finish line for what he thought was a class win. It was only then his crew chief let him know they had won OVERALL. His co-drivers Kees Nierop and Jim Mullen were in disbelief. And when the car was loaded into the transporter after the race, the suspension fell apart!
The following year was an upset of nearly equal proportions as an aging Porsche 935 driven by Stefan Johansson, Hans Heyer and Mauricio DeNarvaez won, starting from 16th on the grid! Once again, the brutal Sebring circuit had taken its toll on the favorites.
Are you listening Audi?
Then again, Audi has the finest record of reliability in the history of the race. They have won Sebring nine times, and they’re bringing three proven R18 TDIs to Sebring for the inaugural FIA World Endurance Championship race. It is likely Audi is well prepared for the unexpected.
Monterey
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