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Le Mans / ALMS
ALMS: Muscle Milk HPD Ends Sebring Test On Top
Lucas Luhr puts brand-new HPD ARX-03a quickest in car's worldwide debut...
Greg Pickett had the honor of turning the first laps in his team's new HPD ARX-03a. (Photo: John Dagys)
Muscle Milk Pickett Racing had a successful roll-out of its new Honda Performance Development prototype Thursday with the fastest time of the annual Sebring Winter Test for the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón. Lucas Luhr set the fastest time in the HPD ARX-03a with a 1:48.192 at Sebring International Raceway.
Luhr drove with Klaus Graf and Simon Pagenaud. Thursday marked the first time the 2012-spec HPD sports car turned a lap anywhere in the world.
“It’s awesome. This is one of the best Wirth cars I’ve driven,” said Pagenaud, who has driven three previous HPD/Acura prototypes, including last year’s ARX-01e. “It’s such a big evolution from last year’s car. The engine gives us good power, the front splitter gives the car additional downforce and the new tub gives us better efficiency as well. It’s generally the same aero package as the car we ran last year.”
Graf and Luhr will contest the full ALMS season – starting with the 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida – in the Muscle Milk HPD with Pagenaud joining for Sebring. The car already was within two seconds of last year’s P1 pole position time.
Level 5 Motorsports placed an HPD prototype on top in LMP2 as well. The HPD ARX-03b of Christophe Bouchut, Luis Diaz and Scott Tucker set a best lap of 1:51.522 in their No. 055 entry. The No. 95 sister car – that version an ARX-01g from 2011 – was 0.192 seconds behind. Pecom Racing’s ORECA-Nissan of Soheil Ayari, Luis Perez Companc and Pierre Kaffer was just 0.612 seconds behind the lead Level 5 car. The Pecom car was one of three FIA World Endurance Championship entrants testing during the two days.
The Level 5 ARX-03b was more than two seconds under last year’s class pole time.
In the GT ranks, the Ferrari F458 Italia of Olivier Beretta, Gimmi Bruni and Toni Vilander set the fastest time at 2:00.532 (110.510 mph). The trio conducted testing and development runs for the Ferrari factory and turned 63 laps in the afternoon – more than any other car in any other session.
As has been the case the last several years in the class, the times were extremely close throughout. The top six cars were within 0.361 seconds. Ferraris held the top three spots with Extreme Speed Motorsports’ F458 Italia of Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek second at 2:00.598. Krohn Racing’s Ferrari – another FIA WEC entry – was third at 2:00.619.
An astounding 10 cars Thursday were under last year’s qualifying time for the GT class. Four manufacturers – Ferrari, Chevrolet, Porsche and BMW – were among the 10.
Dempsey Racing’s ORECA FLM09 led LMP Challenge with a lap of 1:53.959 (116.884 mph). The car of Dane Cameron, Duncan Ende and Ryan Lewis was 0.785 seconds quicker than PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ ORECA of Rudy Junco and Butch Leitzinger, who was the quickest driver in class Wednesday.
CORE autosport’s entry of Jon Bennett and Colin Braun sat third at 1:55.256 (115.569 mph). Unlike LMP1 and GT, each of the top three fastest times in LMPC came in the Thursday morning session.
In GT Challenge, Green Hornet Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was quickest for the second day in a row. The car of Peter LeSaffre and Damien Faulkner set a best time of 2:07.227. TRG’s Porsche of Rui Aguas, Rob Kauffman, Spencer Pumpelly and two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip was second in class at 2:09.046 (103.219 mph). Both of those times were set in the afternoon period.
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón returns to Sebring for the season-opening 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 17.
RESULTS: Practice 3
PHOTOS: ALMS Sebring Winter Test
Luhr drove with Klaus Graf and Simon Pagenaud. Thursday marked the first time the 2012-spec HPD sports car turned a lap anywhere in the world.
“It’s awesome. This is one of the best Wirth cars I’ve driven,” said Pagenaud, who has driven three previous HPD/Acura prototypes, including last year’s ARX-01e. “It’s such a big evolution from last year’s car. The engine gives us good power, the front splitter gives the car additional downforce and the new tub gives us better efficiency as well. It’s generally the same aero package as the car we ran last year.”
Graf and Luhr will contest the full ALMS season – starting with the 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida – in the Muscle Milk HPD with Pagenaud joining for Sebring. The car already was within two seconds of last year’s P1 pole position time.
Level 5 Motorsports placed an HPD prototype on top in LMP2 as well. The HPD ARX-03b of Christophe Bouchut, Luis Diaz and Scott Tucker set a best lap of 1:51.522 in their No. 055 entry. The No. 95 sister car – that version an ARX-01g from 2011 – was 0.192 seconds behind. Pecom Racing’s ORECA-Nissan of Soheil Ayari, Luis Perez Companc and Pierre Kaffer was just 0.612 seconds behind the lead Level 5 car. The Pecom car was one of three FIA World Endurance Championship entrants testing during the two days.
The Level 5 ARX-03b was more than two seconds under last year’s class pole time.
In the GT ranks, the Ferrari F458 Italia of Olivier Beretta, Gimmi Bruni and Toni Vilander set the fastest time at 2:00.532 (110.510 mph). The trio conducted testing and development runs for the Ferrari factory and turned 63 laps in the afternoon – more than any other car in any other session.
As has been the case the last several years in the class, the times were extremely close throughout. The top six cars were within 0.361 seconds. Ferraris held the top three spots with Extreme Speed Motorsports’ F458 Italia of Scott Sharp and Johannes van Overbeek second at 2:00.598. Krohn Racing’s Ferrari – another FIA WEC entry – was third at 2:00.619.
An astounding 10 cars Thursday were under last year’s qualifying time for the GT class. Four manufacturers – Ferrari, Chevrolet, Porsche and BMW – were among the 10.
Dempsey Racing’s ORECA FLM09 led LMP Challenge with a lap of 1:53.959 (116.884 mph). The car of Dane Cameron, Duncan Ende and Ryan Lewis was 0.785 seconds quicker than PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ ORECA of Rudy Junco and Butch Leitzinger, who was the quickest driver in class Wednesday.
CORE autosport’s entry of Jon Bennett and Colin Braun sat third at 1:55.256 (115.569 mph). Unlike LMP1 and GT, each of the top three fastest times in LMPC came in the Thursday morning session.
In GT Challenge, Green Hornet Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup was quickest for the second day in a row. The car of Peter LeSaffre and Damien Faulkner set a best time of 2:07.227. TRG’s Porsche of Rui Aguas, Rob Kauffman, Spencer Pumpelly and two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip was second in class at 2:09.046 (103.219 mph). Both of those times were set in the afternoon period.
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón returns to Sebring for the season-opening 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 17.
RESULTS: Practice 3
PHOTOS: ALMS Sebring Winter Test
Monterey
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