Team Corvette reasserted itself as usual, qualifying or practice. (Fastline photo) » More Photos

At least some semblance of sanity prevailed in the GT classes, where the Johnny O’Connell/Jan Magnussen/Ron Fellows Corvette took GT1 pole in the un-abbreviated GT portion of qualifying – and retained that spot based on practice times – and the Risi Competizione Ferrari 430GT of Mika Salo/Jaime Melo/Gianmaria Bruni held down GT2 pole.

GUESSING GAME CONTINUES The decidedly undefinitive outcome of qualifying left most people in the Sebring paddock disappointed and perplexed. Disappointed that the expected battle for LMP1 and LMP2 grid spots never properly materialized, perplexed in that nobody really knows where they stand vis a vis their competition.

“We were hoping to see qualifying,” said Audi’s Allan McNish. “We didn’t really get a fair opportunity to see what the car could do. That would be the first time any of us could see the improvements in the Peugeot and the new Acura. Until you get to qualifying, you don’t know what everybody else is doing. You don’t know who’s driving, how much fuel they have, the tire wear, traffic. You only know what you can see and that only accounts for about 10 percent of the performance. Qualifying is where people get on with it. I have the same questions everyone else does about what everyone else can do. Now we’ll have to wait until Saturday for the answers.?

GT1 COMPETITION OF SORTS Corvette stormed to yet another GT1 1-2 on on the grid today. Nothing new there, especially given the fact that Corvette raced the entire 2007 American Le Mans Series facing only occasional -- and token -- opposition in the class. This after a fierce GT1 battle with Aston Martin in ’06 that, ultimately, went the British automaker’s way.

Aston Martin is back in GT1 this year under the auspices of privateer Jim Bell, albeit with the same DBR9 design that did battle with the ’Vettes in ’06. Bell Racing had a torrid time in Sebring this week, having to sit out much of the pre-race testing after its Aston Martin suffered a crippling mechanical failure on Monday and the team was forced to wait until today to return to the track.

“We tested here back in early February, then took the car back to the shop for service,” explained Bell. “We stripped it down, rebuilt it and came here for testing. We shook it down Monday and everything was mechanically sound, but when we did our post-session check we found the right-front upper shock mount had cracked. So we had to send back for England for the two chassis rails. They didn’t arrive here until yesterday, when we reassembled the car and then ran in practice this morning.

“So we’re three days behind. The car is good, but we don’t have the (larger) air restrictor (for air conditioned cars) and the car wasn’t designed to run on Michelin tires. So we’re 25kgs (55lbs) heavy, lacking the large air restrictor and lacking in track time. But you gotta start somewhere. We’re going to have fun this year.”

As for Sebring, the Bell Racing Aston Martin will start third in GT1 based on practice times, some 4sec off the pace of the two Corvettes

FORSYTHE’S PUZZLER Alex Timmermann, who headed up of Forsythe Championship Racing’s in-house development programs and is now associated with the newly formed Forsythe Performance Research, was making the rounds at Sebring today, paying a visit to ALMS chief operating officer Tim Mayer and several teams in the paddock.

“We’re trying to go in a different direction and not limit ourselves to single seat, open-wheel racing.” Timmermann explained. “We agreed to a technical partnership with Conquest Racing last week that will enable us to keep the Forsythe technical group together and help Conquest get up to speed in the IndyCar Series. Now I’m down here testing the waters in the ALMS to see if we can develop some business opportunities in sports car racing.”

As Timmermann alluded, FPR announced last week that it had entered into an association with Conquest Racing as it prepares to compete in the 2008 IndyCar Series. And according to a news release issued today, “Forsythe Performance Research will offer a wide range of services including but not limited to Diff Dyno & Dampers; Engineering Support & Software Simulation; Car Preparation, Crewing & Sensors; and Design & Manufacture.”

“We’re looking forward to offering our expertise and unique technological tools to help those in motorsports who place a premium on performance,” said Neil Micklewright, vice president of operations for FPR. “Many of our technical and engineering services are simply not available anywhere else in the U.S., and we’re eager to work with teams, corporations and any others involved in racing, whether it’s in the IRL, NASCAR, ALMS, Grand-Am, Atlantics or any other racing series. We’re all about winning, and we’ll do everything we can to remain on the cutting edge of technology with Forsythe Performance Research.”

That may not be the only thing FPR is all about. Coincidentally, Cosworth Racing (which is owned by Gerald Forsythe and former Champ Car partner Kevin Kalkhoven) just so happens to have a viable LMP1 engine in its arsenal -- the Cosworth XH (which is based on the IRL engine developed for Cosworth and, ultimately run by Chevrolet).

When we noted that fact to Timmermann, he smiled.

“Yes, Cosworth does have a sports car engine,” he said. “It would be an excellent platform for an auto manufacturer that was interested in competing in the ALMS to come in and badge that engine. Gerry also owns Pi Systems and, of course, he still owns the race team. When you own all those parts to the puzzle, it gives you a lot of options . . .”