After the first two hours of racing in the 54th 12 Hours of Sebring the no 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F430GT has taken the lead of an enthralling battle for advantage in the GT2 class. With 57 laps covered by the two-hour mark Jamie Melo had built up an 8 second advantage in GT2 over the no 50 Multimac Motorsports Panoz Esperante GTLM of Scott Maxwell, with Tim Bergmeister in the no 30 Peterson/White Lightening Porsche 911 GT3 RSR more than a minute and a half adrift of the lead battle.

The race had started two hours ago with a real sting in the tail for Risi Competizione after the no 62 Ferrari F430GT was forced to line up at the tail of the field. However, a stunning opening lap’s driving from Ralf Kelleners saw the German scything through the field to end the first lap fourth in class, and by the end of the opening hour, he had moved up to second place in GT2. “It was a good clean start to the race, no problems, everything is as expected...the car looks very good but we have a long, long way to go...” commented Chief Engineer Rick Mayer after half an hour of race action. With ambient temperatures climbing to 84 degrees, and track temperatures around 105-110 degrees, heat is now starting to become a factor in the race. Jaime Melo took over the car from Kelleners, rejoining on fresh tyres in 8th place in GT2. And by lap 50, after 1 hour and 45 minutes of racing, the Brazilian youngster had snatched the overall class lead from Scott Maxwell’s Panoz, and was under team instructions to start opening up a cushion. Melo has also set the fastest GT2 lap of the race during his stint, a 2:04.238.

After qualifying had taken place on Thursday afternoon and mandatory night practice was held that same evening, yesterday saw no track action for the ALMS teams, allowing them to spend the day making final preparations and adjustments to the cars for the start of the 12-hour race today. Today dawned with thick fog rolling across the historic Sebring circuit, but this quickly lifted and the weather became bright and sunny, ideal racing conditions prevailing. There was a 20-minute track warm-up session for all the ALMS teams this morning from 8:00am.

54th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring: GT2 positions after 2 hours of racing: 1st Jaime Melo (Risi Competizione Ferrari F430GT) 57 laps; 2nd Scott Maxwell (Multimac Motorsports Panoz Esperate GTLM) + 8.354 seconds; 3rd Tim Bergmeister (Petersen/White Lightening Porsche 911 GT3 RSR) + 1 lap; 4th Tom Milner (Multimac Motorsports Panoz Esperate GTLM) + 1 lap; 5th Joey Hand (BMW Team PTG BMW E46 M3) + 1 lap; 6th Johannes Van Overbeek (Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR). Fastest Lap: Melo – 2:04.238.

Sebring 2006 – a true challenge

 Along with the annual 24 Hours at Le Mans and Daytona, Sebring is one of the world’s greatest sportscar races, and this year is no different as a swage of the biggest and most important global carmaking brands challenge for the ultimate kudos of winning this classic race. 12 hours of totally no-holds-barred, highly competitive track action began at 1043 am local time this morning. In the ‘prototype’ LMP1 class Audi are tilting to become the first ever winner using diesel power, having poured a small fortune into the development of their new R10 racer; in LMP2 Porsche Motorsport have created a no-compromise factory-supported ‘prototype’ project; while in GT1 Aston Martin and Chevrolet renew their bitter rivalry as they go head-to-head once more, the US team very anxious to avenge the historic English brand’s debut victory here last year.
 

However, the biggest battle is in the GT2 class where five manufacturers are chasing the top step of the podium – Porsche, Panoz, BMW, Spyker – and Ferrari.

Numerically superior here, Porsche have won the GT2 class at Sebring every year since 1992. “It is a record that really needs straightening out,” commented Giuseppe Risi, Managing Director of Risi Competizione, the Houston, Texas-based team which has been bearing the Prancing Horse standard with much success in North America for more than a decade. “We ended Porsche’s long consecutive race winning streak in the American Le Mans Series with the Ferrari 360GT at Lime Rock in 2004, and I see this challenge being no different. Everyone is very evenly matched here,” he added, “we’re going to see some pretty exciting track action all through the race.”

Risi Competizione only received its brand new Ferrari F430GT just two weeks ago. It is straight ‘out of the box’ and today’s race is its worldwide competitive debut. An intensive week’s testing at Sebring prior to the beginning of official practice on Wednesday has helped the team get to grips with the stunning new Italian machine. “For sure it is a steep learning curve,” comments Risi Competizione’s Chief Engineer Rick Mayer, “but this is a very professional, close-knit team and our staff have all been working together for a long time, so we were into our stride from the moment we unloaded the F430GT. We have been able to carry out a pretty comprehensive development programme, analyze a lot of key data and work with Michelin’s technicians here over the last week to find the right set up for Sebring which is one of the most demanding of US race tracks.”

This year team stalwarts Ralf Kelleners and Anthony Lazzaro are reunited in the driving seat, the pair having previously raced for Risi Competizione in the 2003-04 ALMS series, a partnership that tasted ultimate victory. At Sebring they are being joined by 25-year-old Brazilian Jaime Melo, a Ferrari factory test driver who has been closely involved in the development of the GT2 Ferrari project and thus brings a wealth of knowledge to the team. Giuseppe Rissi commented that “Melo is proving to be very, very quick which is great for the team. He fits in perfectly with Ralf and Anthony. I’m happy with the drivers – I think we have a great combination in place.

Risi Competizione is facing some tough and experienced rivals in GT2 this year. “Local” team Alex Job Racing are seeking a seventh GT2 victory here and have stuffed their cars with Porsche factory contracted drivers in their bid to claim glory. No less than eight Porsche 911 GT3 cars will line up on the grid this morning. Also challenging for honours will be the two Multimac Motorsports-entered Panoz Esperate GTLMs, which boast pilots of the caliber of David Brabham and Scott Maxwell. The two US-built Panoz cars swapped times with the Risi Ferrari F430GT all the way through practice and qualifying, with the Australian driver eventually snatching pole away from Risi Competizione by just 1/20^th of a second. A fourth manufacturer is also in the equation: BMW, expected to be the ‘dark horse in GT2. Always fast and always reliable, the BMWs will be in the hunt, while class variety is being provided by the Dutch Spyder Squadron.

By 1043 pm this evening we will have a new name to add to the roll call of GT2 winners of 12 Hours of Sebring, and Risi Competizione will be battling all the way to the flag to make sure that Ferrari’s name is etched on yet another important trophy, so far its going to plan.