Sebring 12 hour race 2009

Tom Kristensen in the victorious Audi R15 TDI in front of the Fangio chicane

Tom Kristensen won the overall classification of the 12-hour race for the fifth time

The 57th Sebring 12 Hours of Sebring , also the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Sebring International Raceway, Sebring , took place on March 21, 2009 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the first race of the 2009 ALMS season .

The race

Another new gave Le Mans prototype of Audi its race debut at Sebring. Even before the end of the 2007 racing season, those responsible at Audi Motorsport and the management of Wolfgang Ullrich were aware that the R10 TDI had only limited options for further development and increased racing performance. As a result, it was decided in autumn 2007 to develop a completely new vehicle. Particular emphasis was placed on aerodynamics . The high nose enables better air flow through the vehicle. This creates less air resistance and more contact pressure than with the predecessor. The new 90 ° V10 TDI engine with 5500 cm³ displacement is lighter and more economical than its 12-cylinder predecessor. It has a maximum torque of 1050  Nm and a maximum effective power of approx. 445 kW (605 PS).

The global economic crisis that broke out in 2007 had also left its mark on motorsport. On the day of the race, only 26 vehicles entered the race, the smallest field since the first racing event in 1952 . The record starting field was 1983 with 84 participants. Still, the 2009 race was one of the records. The winners covered the record distance of 2280.601 kilometers, and with an average speed of 189.880 km / h it was also the fastest race in Sebring history. There were a total of 23 management changes; Both Audi R15 TDI and both Peugeot 908 HDi FAP were in the lead at one point during the course of the race.

The final phase was particularly exciting. The number 08 Peugeot 908 HDi FAP had fallen behind due to a puncture, but in the final phase it came closer to the leading Audi with the number 2. The Peugeots drove according to a different fueling rhythm compared to the Audis. After his last refueling stop, Franck Montagny in the Peugeot was only 36 seconds behind the leading Audi, which was driven by Allan McNish . This lead was not enough for the Audi to stay in the lead after the last stop it needed. However, McNish managed to increase the lead by a further 20 seconds in a very short time, so that the car stayed in the lead even after the stop. When the checkered flag fell, McNish, Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen in the Audi had a lead of 22.279 seconds over the Peugeot of Franck Montagny, Stéphane Sarrazin and Sébastien Bourdais .

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	LMP1	2	Audi Sport Team Joest	Allan McNish Rinaldo Capello Tom Kristensen	Audi R15 TDI	383
2	LMP1	08	Team Peugeot Total	Franck Montagny Stéphane Sarrazin Sébastien Bourdais	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP	383
3	LMP1	1	Audi Sport North America	Mike Rockenfeller Marco Werner Lucas Luhr	Audi R15 TDI	381
4th	LMP2	15th	Lowe's Fernandez Racing	Luis Díaz Adrián Fernández	Acura ARX-01b	360
5	GT1	3	Corvette Racing	Jan Magnussen Johnny O'Connell Antonio García	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	349
6th	GT1	4th	Corvette Racing	Oliver Gavin Olivier Beretta Marcel Fässler	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	348
7th	GT2	62	Risi Competizione	Mika Salo Pierre Kaffer Jaime Melo	Ferrari F430 GTC	332
8th	GT2	95	Advanced Engineering Pecom Racing Team	Gianmaria Bruni Matías Russo Luís Pérez Companc	Ferrari F430 GTC	330
9	GT2	21st	Panoz Team PTG	Dominik Farnbacher Ian James	Panoz Esperante GT-LM	329
10	GT2	45	Flying Lizard Motorsports	Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Long Marc Lieb	Porsche 997 GT3 RSR	326
11	GT2	44	Flying Lizard Motorsports	Seth Neiman Darren Law Johannes van Overbeek	Porsche 997 GT3 RSR	326
12	GT2	61	Risi Competizione	Niclas Jönsson Tracy Krohn Eric van de Poele	Ferrari F430 GTC	325
13	GT2	40	Robertson Racing LLC	David Murry Andrea Robertson David Robertson	Ford GT-R Mk.7	303
14th	GT2	87	Farnbacher Loles Racing	Dirk Werner Wolf Henzler Richard Lietz	Porsche 997 GT3 RS	274
Failed
15th	LMP1	07	Team Peugeot Total	Pedro Lamy Nicolas Minassian Christian Klien	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP	356
16	LMP1	9	Patron Highcroft Racing	David Brabham Scott Sharp Dario Franchitti	Acura ARX-02a	302
17th	GT2	11	Primetime Race Group	Joel Feinberg Chris Hall Ritchie Holt	Dodge Viper Competition Coupe	251
18th	LMP1	66	de Ferran Motorsports	Gil de Ferran Simon Pagenaud Scott Dixon	Acura ARX-02a	246
19th	GT2	007	Drayson Racing	Rob Bell Jonny Cocker Paul Drayson	Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2	204
20th	LMP1	12	Autocon Motorsports	Chris McMurry Tony Burgess Bryan Willman	Lola B06 / 10	151
21st	LMP2	20th	Dyson Racing Team Inc.	Butch Leitzinger Marino Franchitti Ben Devlin	Lola B08 / 86	149
22nd	GT2	92	BMW Rahal Letterman Racing	Dirk Muller Tommy Milner	BMW E92 M3	140
23	LMP2	16	Dyson Racing Team Inc.	Chris Dyson Guy Smith Andy Lally	Lola B09 / 86	127
24	GT2	28	LG Motorsports	Lou Gigliotti Lucas Molo Eric Curran	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	89
25th	LMP1	37	Intersport Racing	Clint Field Chapman Ducote Jon Field	Lola B06 / 10	77
26th	GT2	90	BMW Rahal Letterman Racing	Bill Auberlen Joey Hand	BMW E92 M3	27
Not started
27	GT2	18th	VICI Racing	Nicky Pastorelli Johannes Stuck Hans-Joachim Stuck	Porsche 997 GT3 RSR	1

¹ 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
28	GT2	5	VICI Racing	Richard Westbrook Marc Basseng Lance David Arnold	Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
29	GT2	17th	Team Falken Tire		Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
LMP1	Allan McNish	Rinaldo Capello	Tom Kristensen	Audi R15 TDI	Overall victory
LMP2	Luis Diaz	Adrian Fernandez		Acura ARX-01b	Rank 4
GT1	Jan Magnussen	Johnny O'Connell	Antonio Garcia	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	Rank 5
GT2	Mika Salo	Pierre Kaffer	Jaime Melo	Ferrari F430 GTC	Rank 7

Racing data

• Registered: 29
• Started: 26
• Valued: 14
• Race classes: 4
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: warm, dry and sunny
• Route length: 5.955 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:00: 38.638 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 383
• Total distance of the winning team: 2280.601 km
• Winner's average: 189.880 km / h
• Pole position: Scott Dixon - Acura ARX-02a (# 66) - 1: 45.278 - 203.617 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Sébastien Bourdais - Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP (# 08) - 1: 43.274 - 207.568 km / h
• Racing series: 1st round of the 2009 ALMS season

Web links

Commons : 12 Hours of Sebring 2009  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Race results at Racing Sports Cars
• Race report (German)

Previous race 4 Hours of Laguna Seca 2008

American Le Mans Series

Successor to the 1.55-hour race in St. Petersburg 2009