Sebring
12 hours, 15th March 2003
Sebring
Photos
Race
Podium
for Johnny as Bentley takes 3rd and 4th
Team Bentley Press Release, 15th March 2003: Starting
from the back of the field, the Bentley Boys crossed the line
third and fourth, in a fast paced 12-Hours of Sebring.
The
Bentley Speed 8, number 8, driven by Johnny Herbert, David Brabham
and Mark Blundell ran a trouble free race to secure the final
podium position. Team-mates Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo 'Dindo'
Capello and Guy Smith brought their number 7 Bentley home right
behind in fourth place. The
only difference separating the two Speed 8s was slight contact
on lap 75 between Guy Smith and a GT car causing a brief pit
stop to repair the front nose.
Tom
Kristensen set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:49.52
further proving the pace of the Bentley. In
the companion Bentley, David Brabham set that cars fastest lap
with a 1:49.74.
Kristensen,
taking full advantage of his strong Michelin tyres, made a very
competitive pass into turn one on the number 9 Audi of Mika
Salo, further proving the quickness of the car. Designed for
Le Mans, the Speed 8 could not fully utilize its refined aerodynamic
shape or the full power of its 4.0-litre motor to really showcase
its performance on the short straights of Sebring.
Utilizing
the 12-Hours as a full race test in preparation for Le Mans
in June, the team is delighted with the pace and durability
of the Speed 8. Today's race ran from green to chequered flag
with only one caution period. Prior
to its Sebring debut the new Speed 8 hadn't completed a full
race distance in testing.
The
Sebring track, being intensely rough, is unusually hard on cars,
particularly those competing for the first time. To simulate
a 24-hour race the Bentley Boys will return to the track on
Monday to run another 12+ hours in further preparation for Le
Mans.
Quotes
after the race:
Johnny
Herbert, Bentley #8:
"It
was difficult to start from the back of the grid, but it was
a good opportunity to see how the car handles in traffic.
We had a few problems with some minor damage, costing us time
in the pits, otherwise the car ran faultlessly the whole way
through. The pace of the car is there, we have some things
to work on for Monday. I think we have an excellent base for
Le Mans."
Mark
Blundell, Bentley #8: "
My
Sebring was good preparation for Le Mans. I did not get much
time in the car. Johnny and David did a great job to handle
most of the driving. It was little difficult for me, I had
shoulder surgery in December, so I am grateful to the guys
for going the distance. I know Le Mans very well, I am looking
forward to doing more miles in the car without the pressure
of a race and look forward to Le Mans."
David Brabham, Bentley #8:
"We
came here as a test for Le Mans, the cars ran like clock-work
all day long. I am looking forward to improving on the areas
that need improving and go onto Le Mans in June. The Michelin
tyres were great, they never seemed to go away. At Le Mans
we will be a lot closer to the Audis, we have a lot of testing
coming up to fine tune the car."
John
Wickham, team director:
"We
came here with only a couple of days testing in Europe and
looked to this race as a continuation of our testing programme
not having run the car for more than 30 minutes at any one
time before coming to Sebring. Both Bentley Speed 8s have
run faultlessly and we?ve learned a huge amount about the
set-up, characteristics and overall reliability. Both car
crews and mechanics have performed superbly working long,
hard hours in the last nine days. This is just reward for
their extensive efforts."
Brian
Gush, Bentley motorsport director:
"We
came here to prove out our performance and reliability, so
we've achieved what we came for. This has been a major step
forward for Team Bentley - we showed our pace in qualifying
and have now combined that with reliability in the race -
exactly what we hoped for in preparation for Le Mans. We are
particularly pleased with the performance of the Michelin
tyres as they have lasted whole stints without going off -another
major step forward for the Speed 8."
Sebring
Race Results:
1. Biela/Werner/Peter Audi 367 Laps
2. Pirro/Lehto/Johansson Audi 367
3. Herbert/Brabham/Blundell Bentley 363
4. Kristensen/Capello/Smith Bentley 362
5. Beretta/Jeannette/Papis Panoz 352
6. Kane/McCarthy/Salo Audi 351
7. Theys/Leinhard/van de Poele Dallara 336
8. Fellows/O'Connell/Freon Corvette 332
9. Leuenberger/Graham/Maxwell Panoz 324
10. Luhr/Massen Porsche 320
Qualifying
Herbert
takes pole for Bentley - but time disallowed
Autosport,
14th March 2003: Bentley's hopes of taking victory in the
Sebring 12 Hours have suffered a massive blow, after both of
its Speed 8 cars had their qualifying times disallowed due to
technical infractions. Frank Biela had inherited the pole for
the Joest Audi team.
Briton
Johnny Herbert had claimed the pole for Bentley, with Rinaldo
Capello completing a sweep of the front row for the British
marque. However, both cars had their laps disallowed after ALMS
officials found that the rear diffusers of the cars did not
conform to height rules, giving the pole to Biela.
Autosport,
14th March 2003: Johnny Herbert claimed pole position for
Saturday's Sebring 12 Hours, leading a Bentley sweep of the
front row of the grid for the historic endurance race.
The
British former Formula 1 star, who is sharing his Speed 8 with
Mark Blundell and David Brabham, claimed pole with a fastest
lap of 1m48.108s. Rinaldo
Capello was just 0.21s slower in the second Bentley.
Frank
Biela set the third fastest time in the R8 of former Audi works
squad Joest, with Emanuelle Pirro fourth in Champion Racing's
similar machine.
Fifth
fastest, and top LMP 675 class runner, was James Weaver in Dyson
Racing's Lola-MG, with Johnny Kane putting Audi Sports UK's
R8 into sixth position.
Briton
Oliver Gavin, who has claimed the victory in the GTS category
at Sebring for the past two years, secured the GTS pole in his
works Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, with a track record beating lap
of 1m59.024s.
Practice
Bentley
quickest again
Autosport,
13th March 2003: Rinaldo Capello powered Bentley to the
top of the timesheets in practice for this weekend's Sebring
12 Hours today (Thursday), with the British marque once again
chased by the less powerful Dyson Racing Lola-MG. Capello lapped
the Florida circuit in 1m49.989s, although this was only 0.024s
faster than the best time James Weaver achieved in his LMP 675
class machine.
The
practice times had a familiar feel to them, with Champion Racing's
Audi setting the third quickest time, ahead of the second Bentley
and Joest Racing's R8. The third privateer Audi, run by Audi
Sport UK, was sixth quickest with former F1 driver Mika Salo
at the wheel.
Sebring
12 Hours Thursday practice times:
1 Capello, Kristensen, Smith Bentley Speed 8 LMP 900/GTP 1m49.989s
2 Weaver, Leitzinger, Wallace Dyson Racing Lola EX257-MG LMP
675 1m50.123s
3 Pirro, Lehto, Johansson Champion Racing Audi R8 LMP 900/GTP
1m50.335s
4 Herbert, Blundell, Brabham Bentley Speed 8 LMP 900/GTP
1m50.633s
5 Biela, Werner, Peter Joest Racing Audi R8 LMP 900/GTP 1m51.755s
6 Salo, Kane, McCarthy Audi Sport UK Audi R8 LMP 900/GTP 1m51.755s
7 Goosens, Matthews, Magnussen Riley & Scott Mk III C LMP 900/GTP
1m52.450s
8 Andrews, Keen, Oberto Taurus Sports Lola B2k/10 LMP 900/GTP
1m53.225s
9 Shimoda, Nielsen R.N. Motorsports DBA-403S-Zytek LMP 675 1m53.283s
10 Theys, Lienhard, van de Poele Doran Lista Racing Dallara-MG
1m53.980s The Bent
Bentley
quickest in Wednesday practice
Autosport,
13th March 2003: The Bentley Speed 8 of Tom Kristensen,
Rinaldo Capello and Guy Smith topped the timesheets in practice
for the Sebring 12 Hours yesterday (Wednesday), but it was the
performance of one of the less powerful LMP 675 class cars that
raised eyebrows at the Florida circuit.
Andy
Wallace set the second quickest time of the day in the Dyson
Racing Lola EX257-MG that he shares with James Weaver and Butch
Leitzinger, clocking the fastest time overall in the afternoon
session, becoming the first LMP 675 class car to top the times
in an ALMS practice session.
The
Champion Audi, which had topped the times on the first two days,
set the third quickest time of the day, ahead of the similar
R8 run by former works squad Joest. The second Dyson Lola-MG
set the fifth fastest time of the day.
Sebring
12 Hours Wednesday practice times:
1 Kristensen, Capello, Smith Bentley Speed 8 LMP 900 1m49.980s
2 Weaver, Leitzinger, Wallace Dyson Lola EX257-MG LMP 675 1m51.192s
3 Pirro, Lehto, Johansson Champion Audi R8 LMP 900 1m51.231s
4 Biela, Werner, Peter Joest Audi R8 LMP 900 1m51.884s
5 C. Dyson, de Radigues, Block Dyson Lola EX257-MG LMP 675 1m52.093s
6 Kane, McCarthy, Salo Audi Sport UK Audi R8 LMP 900 1m52.224s
7 Nielsen, Shimoda DBA-03S-Zytek LMP 675 1m52.282s
8 Herbert, Brabham, Blundell Bentley Speed 8 1m53.484s
9 Matthews, Goossens, Magnussen Riley & Scott MkIIIC-Yates LMP
900 1m53.867s
10 Beretta, Jeannette, Papis Panoz LMP01 LMP 900 1m54.218s Em
Testing
Pirro
continues to head times
Autosport,
12th March 2003: Emanuele Pirro continued to head the timesheets
on the second day of official practice for this weekend's Sebring
12 Hours yesterday (Tuesday), setting the pace in Champion Racing's
Audi R8, ahead of the similar machine run by former works team
Joest.
Pirro
set a best lap of 1m49.819s, shading his former works Audi co-driver
Frank Biela by just 0.005s. However, the surprise of the session
came from the LMP 675 class DBA4-03S-Zytek driven by John Nielsen
and Hayanari Shimoda, which set the third fastest time of the
day.
The
Bentley Speed 8 of David Brabham, Johnny Herbert and Mark Blundell
set the fourth quickest time, ahead of Dyson Racing's LMP 675
class Lola EX257-MG, driven by James Weaver, Butch Leitzinger
and Andy Wallace.
Sebring
12 Hours Tuesday test times:
1 Pirro, Lehto, Johansson Champion Audi R8 LMP900 1m49.819s
2 Biela, Peter, Werner Joest Audi R8 LMP900 1m49.824s
3 Nielsen, Shimoda DBA4-03S-Zytek LMP675 1m50.823s
4 Brabham, Herbert, Blundell Bentley Speed 8 LMP900 1m51.000s
5 Weaver, Wallace, Leitzinger Dyson Lola EX257-MG LMP675 1m51.603s
Champion
Audi heads the Bentleys in first test
Autosport,
11th March 2003: Emanuele Pirro has brought his Audi R8
experience to the ADT Champion Audi team for the Sebring 12
Hours, and that knowledge paid off on Monday as he set the fastest
lap of the day as teams tested for Saturday's race.
The
Italian driver lapped the 3.7-mile Sebring International Raceway
at 1m48.489s in the first of two testing sessions for American
Le Mans Series cars on Monday. A driver for the factory Audi
team the past three seasons, Pirro is joining with fellow ex-Formula
1 pilots JJ Lehto and Stefan Johansson for the privately-owned
Champion team at Sebring.
The
two-car factory Bentley team posted the second and third fastest
laps of the day. The car driven by Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello
and Guy Smith was second at 1m48.550s, with the Johnny Herbert,
David Brabham and Mark Blundell car third at 1m48.649s.
Sebring
12 Hours, Monday test times:
1 Pirro, Lehto, Johansson Champion Audi R8 (LMP 900) 1m48.489s
2 Kristensen, Capello, Smith Bentley Speed 8 (LMP 900) 1m48.580s
3 Brabham, Herbert, Blundell Bentley Speed 8 (LMP 900) 1m48.649s
4 Biela, Werner, Peter Joest Audi R8 (LMP 900) 1m49.235s
5 Kane, McCarthy, Salo Audi UK Audi R8 (LMP 900) 1m50.377s Team
Preview
Team
Bentley returns to racing in the USA after 81 years
 Team
Bentley Press Release, Crewe, 6th March 2003: Team Bentley
returns to racing in the USA for the first time since 1922 at
the Sebring, Florida 12-hour race.
The
latest Bentley Speed 8 prototype, designed to contest this year's
Le Mans 24-hour endurance classic, makes its competition debut
this month in America's most historic long-distance sports car
race. It was 81 years ago that WD Hawkes drove a near-standard
3-litre Bentley at Indianapolis against highly specialised oval
racing cars - the first and last race that Bentley Motors ever
contested in the USA, until now.
The
Sebring 12-hour is one of the world's most challenging motor
races and this year's event is the 51st running of the Florida
race. For the 2003 Sebring race, the first race for the new
Bentley Speed 8, Team Bentley is hoping for much better.
Although
winning would be great, Team Bentley has to be realistic. The
main objective for Sebring is to test the car and get it set
up and ready for Le Mans in June.
'Just
as important as the possibility of winning, is the invaluable
practice we will get for our ultimate goal this year - winning
Le Mans,' says Brian Gush, Bentley's director of motor sport.
'History
has shown that a team that does well in Sebring stands a very
good chance at Le Mans. The USA is also our largest market
- another good reason to return to American soil with a Bentley
racing car.'
For
2003, Team Bentley also has the pleasure in confirming Breitling
as its headline sponsor. The Breitling logo will appear prominently
across both the front and the sides of both Speed 8 prototypes.
Breitling also has collaborated with Bentley Motors on the design
of the clock for its forthcoming Continental GT road car, the
first time a Breitling time-piece has ever been commissioned
for use in a car.
Team
Bentley will be using Michelin tyres for the first time at Sebring.
Michelin has been the most successful tyre constructor in the
sportscar arena for many years, and the team regards its participation
this year as a vital component in the campaign for success on
both sides of the Atlantic.
Though
the rules governing the LM GTP category at Le Mans means the
Bentley Speed 8 runs on narrower tyres than Michelin is accustomed
to supplying, early testing has provided some extremely promising
results.
Team
Bentley will enter two of its latest Speed 8 prototypes at Sebring
- which have been comprehensively redesigned for 2003. Car number
eight will be driven by British Formula One stars Johnny Herbert,
Mark Blundell and David Brabham, while the number seven car
will be piloted by Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo 'Dindo' Capello and
Guy Smith.
Every
effort is made to ensure factual accuracy but no
responsibility is accepted for the information on these pages.
News and photos
from Audi Sport © and from
AmericanLeMans
used by kind permission.
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