Sebring 12 hour race in 1999

First winning car in the American Le Mans Series , the BMW V12 LMR

Made his racing debut at Sebring in 1999; the Audi R8R

Rear of a Chevrolet Corvette C5-R

The 47th 12 Hours of Sebring , and The 47th Annual Superflo 12 Hours of Sebring predented by The New Dodge, Sebring International Reacewy , found on 20 March 1999 at the Sebring International Raceway place and was the first championship round of the ALMS 1999 season .

Before the race

In 1998 IMSA had to struggle with major problems with its GT series . With the establishment of the United States Road Racing Championship , organizers, teams and prominent drivers were lost. Organizer Don Panoz therefore founded a new series with the support of IMSA. Panoz succeeded in combining a new North American sports car series with the 24 Hours of Le Mans . Panoz took over the sporting and technical regulations of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest for the new American Le Mans Series and thus opened the series for the Le Mans prototypes .

After years of stagnation, new perspectives opened up for Sebring, as many manufacturers and teams now used the race in Florida for a test run for the sports car's highlight of the season in Le Mans.

The race

Schnitzer Motorsport , the BMW team for this year's international sports cars, brought the BMW V12 LMR , the successor to the BMW V12 LM , to Sebring for its first race. The V12 LMR was based on a completely new development, which, however, was based on the engine of the V12 LM, which was used until 1998. The vehicle was specially designed for durability. The development target was to double the Le Mans distance. The development goal was to drive through the race distance without damage and to avoid component changes. The chassis was developed under BMW responsibility in a BMW facility near Oxford and was manufactured at Williams F1 . The tried and tested BMW S70 - 6.1 liter V12 from the McLaren F1 was used as the engine in the BMW V12 LMR . BMW race director Gerhard Berger reported two V12 LMRs , which were driven by the driver teams JJ Lehto / Jörg Müller / Tom Kristensen and Yannick Dalmas / Pierluigi Martini / Joachim Winkelhock .

For Audi , the Sebring 12-hour race in 1999 was the first ever race in motorsport as a works team. In 1997, several plants were active in endurance races, and so those responsible at Audi and the management of Wolfgang Ullrich decided in 1998 to take part from 1999 onwards. R8 was assigned as the code of the project and a V8 turbo engine was developed. Audi commissioned Dallara with the R8R, an open roadster. Michele Alboreto , Rinaldo Capello , Stefan Johansson , Emanuele Pirro , Frank Biela and Perry McCarthy were signed on as drivers .

New was the GTS class, in which Chevrolet came into sports car racing as a works team. General Motors commissioned the Michigan-based company Pratt & Miller to develop and build the new racing car, known as the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R , and also to organize the racing team in preparation for the motorsport debut in 1999. Even Riley & Scott supported the project by initiated a second team for a year. When the team was pressed for time, Pratt & Miller and General Motors used heavily modified road cars to test the engine and other parts that would later be used in the racing car. Later the racing chassis was developed, which only had similarities with the road car in terms of structure. A fire protection wall was placed directly behind the driver's seat in the cockpit, which, however, prevented the view to the rear inside the vehicle. A large diffuser and a rear wing were attached to the rear, while a splitter was attached to the front and openings were made in the bonnet. Furthermore, permanent headlights were installed, which replaced the pop-up headlights of the road vehicle. At the beginning of the 1999 season, the Corvette C5-R had a six-liter V8 engine based on the LS1 engine from the road car. A few months later this was replaced by a seven-liter V8 engine, which remained the standard engine for the rest of the Corvette C5-R's construction period. The engine designed by Katech Engine Development continued to use elements of the LS1 engine from the road car.

The race ended with the closest finish in the history of this race. The winning BMW V12 LMR from Lethe, Kristensen and Müller had a lead of just under 8 seconds over the Riley & Scott Mk III from Butch Leitzinger , Elliot Forbes-Robinson and James Weaver .

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	LMP	42	BMW Motorsport	JJ Lehto Jörg Müller Tom Kristensen	BMW V12 LMR	313
2	LMP	20th	Dyson Racing	Butch Leitzinger Elliot Forbes-Robinson James Weaver	Riley & Scott Mk III	313
3	LMP	77	Audi Sport Team Joest	Michele Alboreto Rinaldo Capello Stefan Johansson	Audi R8R	310
4th	LMP	38	Champion Racing	Thierry Boutsen Bob Wollek Dirk Müller	Porsche 911 GT1 Evo	310
5	LMP	78	Audi Sport Team Joest	Emanuele Pirro Frank Biela Perry McCarthy	Audi R8R	304
6th	LMP	12	Doyle-Risi Racing	Alex Caffi Juan Manuel Fangio II Wayne Taylor Max Angelelli	Ferrari 333SP	294
7th	LMP	15th	Hybrid R&D	Ross Bentley Chris Bingham Marc Duez	Riley & Scott Mk III	292
8th	LMP	62	Downing Atlanta	Rich Grupp AJ Smith Dennis Spencer	Kudzu DLM	290
9	GTS	56	Martin Snow Racing	Martin Snow Patrick Huisman Melanie Snow	Porsche 911 GT2	287
10	GTS	48	Freising Motorsport	Wolfgang Kaufmann Michel Ligonnet Lance Stewart	Porsche 911 GT2	285
11	GT	23	Alex Job Racing	Kelly Collins Cort Wagner Darryl Havens	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	284
12	LMP	63	Downing Atlanta	Jim Downing Chris Ronson Steve Pelke	Kudzu DLY	281
13	GT	22nd	Alex Job Racing	Randy Pobst Mike Fitzgerald David MacNeil	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	281
14th	GT	17th	Aasco performance	Mike Conte Bruno Lambert	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	275
15th	GT	33	Gallade	Ulli Richter Karl-Heinz Wlazik Ulrich Gallade	Porsche 993 Carrera RSR	274
16	GTS	61	Konrad Motorsport	Charles Slater Peter Kitchak Mike Hezemans	Porsche 911 GT2	272
17th	GT	07	G&W Motorsports	Sylvain Tremblay Steve Marshall Danny Marshall Darren Law	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	268
18th	LMP	28	Intersport Racing	Jon Field Ryan Jones Chris Goodwin	Lola B98 / 10	268
19th	GT	54	Bell Motorsports	Stu Hayner Tony Kester Tony Kester Matt Drendel	BMW M3	268
20th	LMP	31	Genesis Racing	Rick Fairbanks Dave Dullum Kurt Baumann	Riley & Scott Mk II	267
21st	GT	03	Reiser Callas Racing	Grady Willingham Craig Stanton Joel Reiser	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	262
22nd	GTS	3	Corvette Racing	Ron Fellows John Paul junior Chris Kneifel	Chevrolet Corvette C5-R	262
23	GTS	49	Freising Motorsport	Michael Irmgratz Manfred Jurasz Brad Creger	Porsche 911 GT2	237
24	GTS	04	CJ Motorsport	John Morton John Graham Davy Jones	Porsche 911 GT2	219
25th	LMP	29	Intersport Racing	John Mirro Sam Brown Butch Brickell Andy Petery	Riley & Scott Mk III	199
26th	LMP	44	Autoexe Motorsports	Franck Fréon Yōjirō Terada	Autoexe LMP99	195
27	GT	72	Bell Motorsport	Peter Baron James McCormick Leo Hindery Gian-Luigi Buitoni	BMW M3	190
Failed
28	LMP	8th	Transatlantic Racing	Scott Schubot Henry Camferdam Duncan Dayton	Riley & Scott Mk III	268
29	GT	70	Alegra Motorsport	Scooter fork Carlos DeQuesada Ugo Colombo	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	258
30th	LMP	74	Robinson Racing	Jack Baldwin George Robinson Irv Hoerr	Riley & Scott Mk III	243
31	GT	7th	Prototype Technology Group	Mark Simo Brian Cunningham Johannes van Overbeek	BMW M3	238
32	LMP	16	Dyson Racing	James Weaver Andy Wallace Dorsey Schroeder	Riley & Scott Mk III	218
33	GT	46	Team Transenergy	Sam Shalala Shareef Malnik Andre Toennis Bill Rollwitz	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	206
34	GT	10	Prototype Technology Group	Boris Said III Hans-Joachim Stuck Peter Cunningham	BMW M3	200
35	LMP	2	Panoz Racing	Johnny O'Connell Jan Magnussen John Nielsen	Panoz Esperante GTR-1	198
36	GT	02	Reiser Callas Racing	David Murry Johnny Mowlem	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	197
37	LMP	0	Team Rafanelli SRL	Eric van de Poele David Saelens Tomáš Enge	Riley & Scott Mk III	185
38	GTS	4th	Riley & Scott Inc.	Andy Pilgrim John Heinricy Scott Sharp	Chevrolet Corvette C5-R	157
39	GTS	83	ARBJH Development	Claudia Hürtgen Hubert Haupt Zak Brown	Porsche 911 GT2	149
40	LMP	43	BMW Motorsport	Yannick Dalmas Pierluigi Martini Joachim Winkelhock	BMW V12 LMR	135
41	LMP	26th	Price & Bscher	Bill Auberlen Thomas Bscher Steve Soper	BMW V12 LM	127
42	LMP	5	Whittington Brothers Inc.	Don Whittington Hurley Haywood Dale Whittington	Riley & Scott Mk III	125
43	LMP	50	Head Precision	Kris Wilson Tim Moser	Keiler Kll	122
44	LMP	36	Doran Enterprises	Tom Kendall Jim Matthews Mark Dismore	Ferrari 333SP	118
45	LMP	27	Doran Enterprises	Didier Theys Mauro Baldi Fredy Lienhard	Ferrari 333SP	107
46	LMP	1	Panoz Racing	David Brabham Éric Bernard	Panoz Esperante GTR-1	103
47	GT	39	Broadfoot Racing	Stephen Earle Todd Snyder Allan Ziegelman Chris Mitchum	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	100
48	LMP	95	TRV Motorsport	Jeret Schroeder Pete Halsmer Tom Volk Barry Waddell	Riley & Scott Mk III	87
49	LMP	18th	Dollahite Racing	Mike Davies Bill Dollahite Doc Bundy	Ferrari 333SP	84
50	GT	73	Auto Sport South Inc.	Kevin Wheeler Jack Refenning Brady Refenning Jake Vargo	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	73
51	GT	88	Vanderhoof Racing	Joe Varde Tim Ralston Blaise Alexander	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	71
52	GTS	50	Johnson Autosport	Robert Johnson Mike Hoke Tom McGlynn	Porsche 911 Turbo	70
53	GTS	99	Schumacher Racing	Robert Nearn Larry Schumacher John O'Steen	Porsche 911 GT2	65
54	GTS	55	Saleen Allen Speedlab	Terry Borcheller Ron Johnson Steve Saleen Darren Law	Saleen SR	56
55	LMP	66	Konrad Motorsport	Jan Lammers Franz Konrad Tim Hubman	Lola B98 / 10	48
56	GT	76	Team ARE	Peter Argetsinger Richard Polidori John McCaig	Porsche 993 Carrera RSR	36
57	GTS	71	DM Motorsports	Arthur Pilla Bob Mazzuoccola David Kicak Mark Montgomery	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	32
58	LMP	11	Doyle-Risi Racing	Max Angelelli Didier de Radiguès Anthony Lazzaro	Ferrari 333SP	28
Not started
59	GT	25th	RWS Motorsport	Hans-Jörg Hofer Luca Riccitelli Günther Blieninger Kersten Jodexnis	Porsche 993 Carrera RSR	1
60	LMP	97	Team Cascadia	Ed Zabinski Shane Lewis Vic Rice	Lola B98 / 10	2

¹ not started ² not started

Only in the entry list

Here you will find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race but did not take part for a variety of reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis
61	LMP	06	Multimatic Motorsport	Scott Maxwell Danny Sullivan Harri Toivonen	Lola B98 / 10
62	GTO	13	Wakul Technic	Dale Walriven Mark Walriven	Chevrolet Camaro
63	LMP	32	Genesis Racing	Chuck Goldsborough Jeff Altenburg Rick Fairbanks	Hawk MD3R
64	GTO	40	Rankin Racing Inc.	Hank Scott Toto Lassally Luis Sereix David Rankin	Chevrolet Camaro
65	LMP	69	Spreng Racing	Gustl Spreng Kersten Jodexnis	Spice HC94
66	GTO	82	Greer Racing	Dick Greer John Finger John Fergus	Oldsmobile Cutlass
67	GTO	87	John Annis Racing	John Annis	Chevrolet Camaro
68	GT	89	Broadfoot Racing	Caroline Wright Scott Bove	Porsche 944 Turbo

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
LMP	JJ Lehto	Jörg Müller	Tom Kristensen	BMW V12 LMR	Overall victory
GTS	Martin Snow	Patrick Huisman	Melanie Snow	Porsche 911 GT2	Rank 9
GT	Kelly Collins	Cort Wagner	Darryl Havens	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Rank 11

Racing data

• Registered: 68
• Started: 58
• Valued: 27
• Race classes: 3
• Spectators: 103,000
• Race day weather: warm and windy
• Route length: 5.955 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:00: 59.075 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 313
• Total distance of the winning team: 1863.781 km
• Winner's average: 155.103 km / h
• Pole position: JJ Lehto - BMW V12 LMR (# 42) - 1: 49.850 = 195.143 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Tomáš Enge - Riley & Scott Mk III (# 0) - 1: 51.608 = 192.069 km / h
• Racing series: 1st round of the 1999 ALMS season

literature

• JA Martin and Ken Welles: Prototypes - the History of the IMSA GTP Series . Bull Publishing, Phoenix 2000, ISBN 1-893618-01-3 .

Web links

• Race results at Racing Sports Cars

Previous race: None

American Le Mans Series

Succession Race 2: 45-hour race at Road Atlanta in 1999