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55th Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring race results

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AUDI, ACURA WINS AND GT2 FINISH HIGHLIGHT SEBRING 2007

Another win for Audi, the first for Acura and Andretti Green Racing, and the most exciting finish in race history marked the start of the 2007 American Le Mans Series on Saturday. Marco Werner, Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela drove to victory at the 55th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in one of the most thrilling editions of the Florida classic in its history.

It marked the second straight Sebring win and ninth victory in as many races in the short life of the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI. Werner crossed the finish line after 364 laps for his third victory in five Sebring starts. Biela won for the fourth time in America's greatest sports car race (tied with Tom Kristensen), and Pirro won for the first time since 2000.

Werner was seven laps up on Bryan Herta in the Andretti Green Racing Acura ARX LMP2 entry that he shared with Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan. The Audi trio came back from a punctured tire, pit lane penalties and a two-lap deficit to win.

"I would have never put money on our car," Pirro said. "When you are two laps behind, it's very tough. I just had to put my foot down and race. We had to believe we were still tough competitors. Today's race was very demanding, and every car had problems with mechanicals. We never had a mechanical (issue) and that is another reason why I am so proud to be an Audi R10 TDI driver."

Werner started on pole position and ran with its sister car of Allan McNish, Rinaldo Capello and Kristensen. That trio led most of the opening five hours after the winning car had its problems. After the five-hour mark, McNish pitted and handed off to Capello, who couldn't get the car rolling. The team replaced a battery, starter motor and electrical dashboard before rejoining the race after a 30-minute stop.

"It was a tough race, the TDI was running good but you never know what will happen," Werner said. "So you have to push all day long and you never feel safe."

The class win for Andretti Green Racing came less than a year after Acura publicly announced its entry into the American Le Mans Series. Herta, Franchitti and Kanaan led overall three different times and finished two laps ahead of the Lowe's Fernandez Racing Lola of Adrian Fernandez, Luis Diaz and David Martinez.

It is quite an accomplishment for an Acura program that hit the track for the first time in late August. But miles and miles of testing, a 12-hour simulation race at Sebring and many months of tireless work paid off.

"I can't put it in words. I would rate it as one of the highest emotional experiences I've had," said Robert Clarke, president of Honda Performance Development. "So much work went into this program. It has been a long road, not just for HPD but for Acura, our teams, sponsors, drivers, everyone who is involved in the program. I couldn't have been so bold as to dream of this result."

The three Acura entries (Highcroft Racing was fourth in class) mostly ran steady throughout the day. Aside from electrical issues with the Highcroft prototype, the Acuras were immune from major problems up until the final hour. The Andretti Green entry made two unscheduled stops in the last 35 minutes to add gear oil as Herta had trouble shifting in the closing moments.

"I really couldn't catalog all the problems from the last hour," Herta said. "Right from the beginning we were having battery voltage problems so we couldn't use a lot of the electronics. Then we had problems with the gearbox and gave us troubles. I think in the last 10 laps the car shut off half a dozen times and re-fired.

"I have to take my hat off to the group," he added. "I have never seen a group that has worked so hard and put in so much effort. You wouldn't believe how many problems we had in testing and it's a testament to bring it here and to bring us this result."

Porsche's four RS Spyders found significantly more trouble. Electrical problems and other maladies set entries from Penske Motorsports and Dyson Racing back in the race's first half. Penske's Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard and Helio Castroneves weathered the storm well enough for a third-place finish in class.

In GT1, Corvette Racing won its class for the fifth time in six years as Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Max Papis took a 17-second victory over their sister car in a race that saw the two Corvettes on the same lap the entire way. Beretta and Gavin won last year with Jan Magnussen, who teamed this year with Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell.

"Like everyone knows, Sebring is a tough track and is a great test for Le Mans," said Beretta, the Series' all-time leader with 29 wins and a three-time winner at Sebring. We worked very well and had fantastic pit stops as usual. The car at the end of the race was like it was on Lap 1. This team knows exactly what to do. We pushed the car because we had strong competition with the No. 3 car. Everything went perfectly."

Saturday also marked the first race for a new production-based air conditioning unit in the Corvette C6.Rs. Like the car and team, the AC unit received a workout Saturday in preparation for Le Mans and came away a winner. Corvette Racing will use the unit at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June and for the full American Le Mans Series season.

"This was a fantastic test for us," said Gavin, now a four-time Sebring winner. "The AC performed so well that we sometimes wanted to turn it off, and that's unusual for a closed car. Nearly every driver who got out of the car was looking fresh and really good. If we can stay focused and sharp and fresh, that will be a really big, big help at Le Mans."

The race marked the last at Sebring for Corvette Racing pioneer Fellows. He, Magnussen and O'Connell competed in a special Arctic White C6.R as a tribute to Fellows. The two Corvettes finished comfortably ahead of Team Modena's Aston Martin DBR9.

Undoubtedly the highlight of the day was the GT2 class finish. Risi Competizione's Jaime Melo beat Jorg Bergmeister of Flying Lizard Motorsports to the finish line by 0.20 seconds, the closest finish in Sebring's 55-year history and the closest finish ever in the American Le Mans Series' GT2 class.

Melo, who drove with Mika Salo and Johnny Mowlem, led by five seconds with 11 minutes left but by the final lap Bergmeister was tucked right behind his rear bumper. The two cars crossed the start-finish line just before Werner took the checkered flag. So instead of a one-second victory, Melo had to hold off the young Porsche factory driver for another full circuit.

Bergmeister, partnering with Johannes van Overbeek and Marc Lieb, finally caught up with Melo entering Turn 16 and on to the long backstretch. He pulled alongside Melo and barely moved past him as the two headed into the final turn. They remained door-to-door and made contact as Melo edged across the line.

"It was a fantastic last lap," Melo said. "I've never had a finish like that. I had brake problems late and tried to keep it steady. He (Bergmeister) overtook me on the backstraight and I braked a little early. Out of Turn 17 I put in a little more and opened the throttle as soon as possible."

The battle between the Ferrari and Porsche lasted throughout the entire day. The Ferrari survived start from the rear of the grid, a late drama in pit lane with a 20-second penalty and a Turn 17 spin at sunset for the team's fifth win in the last seven events dating back to July of 2006 at Salt Lake City. Tafel Racing's Porsche of Wolf Henzler, Robin Liddell and Patrick Long finished third.

"It was really tight with the No. 45 car," Salo said. "We were absolutely flat out the entire way. The GT2 is the best racing in this Series. It's going to be like this all year, so we have to improve so we don't have any more finishes like this."

"It was just awesome," Mowlem said. "Every time we were out there, we were driving as hard as we could. To finally get to the end and have Jaime drive for two hours like he did and have that kind of final lap, he's my hero. To win is just fantastic."

The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg. The race will start at 5:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 31. SPEED will provide a same-day broadcast event from 8:30 to 10 p.m. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing & Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.



55th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Fla.
Saturday's results
1. (1) Frank Biela, Germany; Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG/R10/TDI (1, P1), 364.
2. (6) Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Tony Kanaan, Brazil; Bryan Herta, Valencia, CA; Acura/ARX-01a (2, P2), 358.
3. (8) Luis Diaz, Mexico; David Martinez, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Lola/B06-43/Acura (3, P2), 356.
4. (2) Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Allan McNish, Scotland; Tom Kristensen, Denmark; Audi AG/R10/TDI (4, P1), 353.
5. (3) Timo Bernhard, Germany; Helio Castroneves, Brazil; Romain Dumas, France; Porsche RS Spyder (5, P2), 351.
6. (4) David Brabham, Australia; Stefan Johansson, Sweden; Duncan Dayton, North Salem, NY; Acura/ARX-01a (6, P2), 346.
7. (14) Oliver Gavin, England; Max Papis, Italy; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (7, GT1), 341.
8. (13) Ron Fellows, Canada; Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Corvette C6.R (8, GT1), 341.
9. (5) Andy Wallace, England; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Andy Lally, New York, NY; Porsche RS Spyder (9, P2), 340.
10. (7) Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Porsche RS Spyder (10, P2), 333.
11. (15) Antonio Garcia, Spain; Liz Halliday, Rancho Santa Fe, CA; Darren Turner, England; Aston Martin DBR9 (11, GT1), 331.
12. (16) Jaime Melo, Brazil; Johnny Mowlem, England; Mika Salo, Finland; Ferrari 430GT Berlinetta (12, GT2), 330.
13. (18) Jorg Bergmeister, Germany; Marc Lieb, Germany; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (13, GT2), 330.
14. (33) Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Creation/CA06H/Judd (14, P1), 325.
15. (19) Wolf Henzler, Germany; Robin Liddell, Scotland; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (15, GT2), 322.
16. (24) Dirk Werner, Germany; Pierre Ehret, Santa Rosa, CA; Lars Nielsen, Denmark; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (16, GT2), 316.
17. (20) Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Ian James, England; Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (17, GT2), 314.
18. (23) Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Graham Rahal, New Albany, OH; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (18, GT2), 313.
19. (12) Didier Theys, Belgium; Eric van de Poele, Belgium; Fredy Lienhard, Switzerland; Lola/Bo5-40/Judd (19, P2), 307, Mechanical.
20. (29) Joe Macari, UK; Rob Wilson, England; Ben Aucott, United Kingdom; Ferrari F430 GT (20, GT2), 305.
21. (11) Chris McMurry, Phoenix, AZ; Bryan Willman, Kirkland, WA; Michael Lewis, San Diego, CA; Lola/EX257 AER (21, P1), 303, Suspension.
22. (17) Tomas Enge, Czech Republic; Memo Gidley, San Rafael, CA; Tim Bergmeister, Germany; Ferrari 430GT (22, GT2), 300, Engine Fire.
23. (9) Sascha Maassen, Germany; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Emmanuel Collard, France; Porsche RS Spyder (23, P2), 297.
24. (21) Nic Jonsson, Sweden; Colin Braun, Ovalo, TX; Tracy Krohn, Houston, TX; Ferrari 430GT Berlinetta (24, GT2), 290.
25. (26) Peter Kox, The Netherlands; Jarek Janis, Monaco; Spyker C8 Audi (25, GT2), 286.
26. (22) Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Tom Kimber-Smith, England; Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Panoz Esperante GTLM (26, GT2), 275, Oil Leak.
27. (25) Scott Maxwell, Canada; Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Ross Smith, Plano, TX; Panoz Esperante GTLM (27, GT2), 270.
28. (27) Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Lonnie Pechnik, Pacific Grove, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (28, GT2), 268.
29. (31) Luchiano DaSilva, Italy; Philip Collin, Park Ridge, IL; Antonio Hermann, Brazil; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (29, GT2), 252, Clutch.
30. (28) Terry Borcheller, Gainesville, GA; Marc Basseng, Germany; Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (30, GT2), 235, Suspension.
31. (10) Ben Devlin, England; Raphael Matos, Brazil; Jamie Bach, West Palm Beach, FL; Lola/B07-40/Mazda (31, P2), 224.
32. (34) Maurizio Mediani, Italy; Rui Aguas, Portugal; Jose Maria Lopez, Argentina; Ferrari 430GT (32, GT2), 206, Fire.
33. (32) Miroslav Konopka, Slovakia; Bo McCormick, England; Mauro Casadei, Italy; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (33, GT2), 129, Engine.
34. (30) Arie Luyendyk Jr, Phoenix, AZ; David Robertson, Ray, MI; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; Panoz Esperante GTLM (34, GT2), 64, Engine.


Unofficial Points
LMP1
Frank Biela 26
Emanuele Pirro 26
Marco Werner 26
Rinaldo Capello 22
Tom Kristensen 22
Allan McNish 22
Clint Field 19
Jon Field 19
Richard Berry 19
Bryan Willman 16
Chris McMurry 16
Michael Lewis 16

LMP2
Bryan Herta 26
Dario Franchitti 26
Tony Kanaan 26
Luis Diaz 22
Adrian Fernandez 22
Timo Bernhard 19
Romain Dumas 19
Helio Castroneves 19
David Brabham 16
Duncan Dayton 16
Stefan Johansson 16
Butch Leitzinger 14
Andy Wallace 14
Andy Lally 14
Guy Smith 12
Chris Dyson 12
Eric van de Poele 10
Fredy Lienhard 10
Didier Theys 10
Sascha Maassen 9
Emmanuel Collard 9
Ryan Briscoe 9

GT1
Oliver Gavin 26
Olivier Beretta 26
Max Papis 26
Jan Magnussen 22
Johnny O`Connell 22
Ron Fellows 22
Darren Turner 19
Liz Halliday 19
Antonio Garcia 19

GT2
Johnny Mowlem 26
Mika Salo 26
Jaime Melo 26
Johannes van Overbeek 22
Jorg Bergmeister 22
Marc Lieb 22
Robin Liddell 19
Patrick Long 19
Wolf Henzler 19
Pierre Ehret 16
Lars Nielsen 16
Dirk Werner 16
Ian James 14
Dominik Farnbacher 14
Jim Tafel 14
Ralf Kelleners 12
Graham Rahal 12
Tom Milner 12
Rob Wilson 10
Ben Aucott 10
Joe Macari 10
Tomas Enge 9
Tim Bergmeister 9
Tracy Krohn 8
Colin Braun 8
Nic Jonsson 8
Peter Kox 7
Jarek Janis 7
 
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