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Le Mans / ALMS
LE MANS: Sebring Notebook
News and notes on the eve of the FIA WEC season-opening 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring...
Luxury Racing's Ferraris now have a tint of Pescarolo Green in them, following their partnership. (Photo: John Dagys)
PESCAROLO, LUXURY JOIN FORCES — With the FIA World Endurance Championship undoubtedly a massive undertaking for privateers, Pescarolo Team and Luxury Racing, two of France’s top squads, have joined forces for 2012. The alliance between the LMP1 and GTE-class squads will see the two teams share technical and operational resources throughout the eight-round global championship.
“We have been discussing this since December because I am convinced that with the economical situation, the best step for the company is to try to work together,” Henri Pescarolo told SPEED.com.
“At the same time time, they will be helping complete my new car, which will be ready for Spa. We have a mid-term and long-term intention to work together. One company with GT and one with the Prototype... We’re just starting now.”
For Pescarolo, this weekend’s FIA WEC season-opener sees the veteran Frenchman return to Sebring for the first time since 2001, in a race he knows very well. Pescarolo made four starts here as a driver, with a best finish of third in 1971 in an Alfa Romeo T33/3.
“I raced here a very long time ago with Matra, Alfa Romeo and Porsche,” he said. “I very much like Florida and Daytona and Sebring. That was also one of my first races with my new team, in 2001. I’m very, very pleased to be back here.”
TUCKER’S LONG 12 HOURS — The Twelve Hours of Sebring is often regarded as one of the most physically demanding endurance races in the world. With more than 60 cars packed around the 3.7-mile bumpy airfield circuit, it leaves little room for error.
For Scott Tucker, tomorrow’s American Le Mans Series season-opener will be especially challenging, as the defending P2 champion will be driving both of his Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b’s in quest of his third consecutive Sebring class victory.
While no stranger to pulling double duty, a recent IMSA rules change, increasing the minimum drive time for each driver to 3 hours and 15 minutes, means Tucker will have to drive more than half the race between the Nos. 055 and 95 cars.
But for the 49-year-old accomplished racer, who maintains a high fitness level, he’s up for the challenge.
“Our strategy right now is for me to do each one in one sitting,” Tucker explained. “I will start the race in the No. 055 car and do [the 3 hours and 15 minutes], then take the mandatory 2 hour break and then get in and finish up the second round [in the No. 95 car].
“I've never done it before but I think it's more of a mental challenge with all of the traffic and things like that.”
WALTRIP SET FOR SEBRING DASH & RUN— Michael Waltrip, who his making his Twelve Hours of Sebring debut, has a busy schedule over the next 48 hours, as the two-time Daytona 500 winner will dash off to Bristol Motor Speedway immediately following tomorrow’s race to be part of the NASCAR on FOX commentary team in the Food City 500.
“I have to work for a living,” Waltrip told SPEED.com “Working for a living includes my new gig with FOX, that I dearly love. I asked if I can be there first thing Sunday morning, ready to go, and they said yes. I'm really thankful that I got the chance to come here."
“Rob [Kauffman] and I have got an exit strategy to get to the airport as fast as we can. We'll fly to Bristol tomorrow night. The bus is there, so we'll just go to the racetrack. We think we can be in bed by 2 a.m. and have a meeting at 8 a.m., so that's six hours. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully we'll have a good time tomorrow in the race.”
The NASCAR star, who has already made starts in the 24-hour races in Le Mans, Spa and Dubai, will again team with MWR co-owner Rob Kauffman and Rui Aguas in AF-Waltrip’s Ferrari F458 Italia this weekend.
While the GTE-Am class Ferrari is a full-season FIA WEC entrant, Waltrip says he’ll be forced to miss Le Mans this year due to his TV commitments but hopes to participate in additional rounds this year, including the Six Hours of Silverstone in August.
“We have been discussing this since December because I am convinced that with the economical situation, the best step for the company is to try to work together,” Henri Pescarolo told SPEED.com.
“At the same time time, they will be helping complete my new car, which will be ready for Spa. We have a mid-term and long-term intention to work together. One company with GT and one with the Prototype... We’re just starting now.”
For Pescarolo, this weekend’s FIA WEC season-opener sees the veteran Frenchman return to Sebring for the first time since 2001, in a race he knows very well. Pescarolo made four starts here as a driver, with a best finish of third in 1971 in an Alfa Romeo T33/3.
“I raced here a very long time ago with Matra, Alfa Romeo and Porsche,” he said. “I very much like Florida and Daytona and Sebring. That was also one of my first races with my new team, in 2001. I’m very, very pleased to be back here.”
TUCKER’S LONG 12 HOURS — The Twelve Hours of Sebring is often regarded as one of the most physically demanding endurance races in the world. With more than 60 cars packed around the 3.7-mile bumpy airfield circuit, it leaves little room for error.
For Scott Tucker, tomorrow’s American Le Mans Series season-opener will be especially challenging, as the defending P2 champion will be driving both of his Level 5 Motorsports HPD ARX-03b’s in quest of his third consecutive Sebring class victory.
While no stranger to pulling double duty, a recent IMSA rules change, increasing the minimum drive time for each driver to 3 hours and 15 minutes, means Tucker will have to drive more than half the race between the Nos. 055 and 95 cars.
But for the 49-year-old accomplished racer, who maintains a high fitness level, he’s up for the challenge.
“Our strategy right now is for me to do each one in one sitting,” Tucker explained. “I will start the race in the No. 055 car and do [the 3 hours and 15 minutes], then take the mandatory 2 hour break and then get in and finish up the second round [in the No. 95 car].
“I've never done it before but I think it's more of a mental challenge with all of the traffic and things like that.”
WALTRIP SET FOR SEBRING DASH & RUN— Michael Waltrip, who his making his Twelve Hours of Sebring debut, has a busy schedule over the next 48 hours, as the two-time Daytona 500 winner will dash off to Bristol Motor Speedway immediately following tomorrow’s race to be part of the NASCAR on FOX commentary team in the Food City 500.
“I have to work for a living,” Waltrip told SPEED.com “Working for a living includes my new gig with FOX, that I dearly love. I asked if I can be there first thing Sunday morning, ready to go, and they said yes. I'm really thankful that I got the chance to come here."
“Rob [Kauffman] and I have got an exit strategy to get to the airport as fast as we can. We'll fly to Bristol tomorrow night. The bus is there, so we'll just go to the racetrack. We think we can be in bed by 2 a.m. and have a meeting at 8 a.m., so that's six hours. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully we'll have a good time tomorrow in the race.”
The NASCAR star, who has already made starts in the 24-hour races in Le Mans, Spa and Dubai, will again team with MWR co-owner Rob Kauffman and Rui Aguas in AF-Waltrip’s Ferrari F458 Italia this weekend.
While the GTE-Am class Ferrari is a full-season FIA WEC entrant, Waltrip says he’ll be forced to miss Le Mans this year due to his TV commitments but hopes to participate in additional rounds this year, including the Six Hours of Silverstone in August.
Monterey
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