JMB Racing USA Team has announced a driver change in their Ferrari 360-GT Modena car # 29 line up. Roger Scotton (Brazil) who had previously been scheduled to drive at this years 12 hours of Sebring race has decided upon advice from his doctor that he will forgo participation in the event this weekend.

Scotton who has been recovering from a motorcycle accident that occurred January 17 leaving him in intensive care with punctured lungs, broken bones and many other serious injuries was hoping that he would be fully recovered so he could drive.  When Scotton got in the car and was strapped in, the pressure of the seat belt just put too much pressure on his chest making it difficult for him to breath.  After speaking with his physician, who had originally recommended he wait longer until he re-entered the sport, Roger decided to withdraw from this race.  The most important thing for a driver is that they feel comfortable in the car. Sebring being such a long race, it is imperative that he feels at the top of his game before the race starts. Scotton says he looks forward to coming back to racing later this season as soon as his doctors waive the green flag.

Taking over the driver seat for Roger Scotton in car #29 will be the co-owner of the JMB Racing USA Team, Ludovico Manfredi (Italy).  Manfredi will co-drive with Andrea Garbagnati (Italy) and Steve Earle (US) in the 12-hour classic event.

The Veloqx Prodrive Racing team will start Saturday's 12 Hour race from the 11th row of the grid, after claiming 3rd and 4th places in the GTS class during this afternoon's 25 minute qualifying session. They start just behind the Corvette team who claimed the front row of the GTS grid. 

Kelvin Burt of England, driving the Prodrive Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello #80 set a time of 2.00.354. Burt: "Well, that was exciting! There was a lot less grip than this morning and the car was a bit of a handful to drive with more oversteer out of the corners. I definitely had a few 'moments'. 

"I had to abort my first flying lap as one of the Corvettes had a brush with a Porsche and I got out of the way, and then on the second flyer I had a big oversteer. We also lost the gear cut on the car which lost us considerable time. I know we could have gone faster but I'm not sure we could have beaten Ollie's time which was really good." 

Dutch driver Peter Kox, at the wheel of #88, also struggled with the traffic and never felt he achieved a clear enough lap. His best time was 2.00.456. Peter Kox: "To be honest only the last lap was clear and by then I think we had had the best of the tyres. The gaps between the cars seem huge and you think it will be ok but you close up on people so quickly and then never get a full-on 100% lap." 

Team Principal George Howard-Chappell was philosophical after the session finished. "That was a very impressive time for the Corvette team and a not unexpected result for us. I thought they would have the edge on us in qualifying but in the race I know we will be right with them as I'm really confident of our race pace. It's going to be neck and neck on Saturday, and not an easy 12 hours for any of us." 

1. Frank Biela,Germany;Marco Werner,Germany;Phillip Peter,Austria; Audi R8 (P900), 122.397
2. Emanuele Pirro,Italy;JJ Lehto,Finland;Stefan Johansson,Sweden; Audi R8 (P900), 121.805
3. James Weaver,England;Butch Leitzinger,State College, PA;Andy Wallace,England; Lola EX257/AER MG (P675), 121.798
4. Mika Salo,Finland;Jonny Kane,Ireland;Perry McCarthy,England; Audi R8 (P900), 121.554
5. Hayanari Shimoda,Japan;John Nielsen,Denmark; DBA4-03S/Zytek (P675), 120.178
6. Olivier Beretta,France;Gunnar Jeannette,Palm Beach Gardens, FL;Max Papis,Italy; Panoz LMP01/EPP (P900), 119.134
7. Marc Goosens,Belgium;Jan Magnussen,Denmark;Jim Matthews,Boca Raton, FL; R&S MK III C/Yates (P900), 119.131
8. Didier Theys,Scottsdale, AZ;Eric van de Poele,Belgium;Fredy Lienhard Sr.,Switzerland; Dallara MG (P900), 117.820
9. Phil Andrews,England;Justin Keen,England;Larry Oberto,Seattle, WA; Lola B2K/10/MG (P900), 117.397
10. Scott Maxwell,Canada;Ben Luenberger,Switzerland;John Graham,Canada; Panoz LMP01/EPP (P900), 116.448
11. Didier de Radigues,Belgium;Chris Dyson,Pleasant Valley, NY;Chad Block,York, PA; Lola EX257/AER MG (P675), 115.598
12. Michael Lewis,San Diego, CA;Tomy Drissi,Hollywood, CA;Guy Cosmo,Long Island, NY; R&S MK IIIC/Lincoln (P900), 114.089
13. Clint Field,Dublin, OH;Rick Sutherland,Los Gatos, CA;John Macaluso,Winter Haven, FL; Lola B2K10/MG (P900), 113.495
14. Bryan Herta,Valencia, CA;Romain Dumas,France;Robbie Stirling,Canada; Reynard/Cosworth (P900), 112.900
15. Oliver Gavin,England;Kelly Collins,Corona Del Mar, CA;Andy Pilgrim,Del Ray Beach, FL; Corvette C5-R (GTS), 111.910
16. Ron Fellows,Canada;Johnny O'Connell,Flowery Branch, GA;Franck Freon,France; Corvette C5-R (GTS), 111.504
17. Ian James,England;Allan Ziegelman,Boca Raton, FL;Patrice Roussel,France; Norma M2000-2/Ford (P900), 110.751
18. Darren Turner,England;Kelvin Burt,England;Anthony Davidson,England; Ferrari 550 Maranello (GTS), 110.674
19. Tomas Enge,Czech Republic;Peter Kox,The Netherlands;Jamie Davies,England; Ferrari 550 Maranello (GTS), 110.580
20. Ben Devlin,England;Melanie Paterson,Canada;Jason Workman,Gainesville, GA; Lola B2K/40/Millington (P675), 109.202
21. Franz Konrad,Germany;Toni Seiler,Switzerland;Robert Nearn,England; Saleen S7R (GTS), 108.784
22. Emanuelle Naspetti,Italy;Domenico Schiattarella,Italy;Johnny Alberto Cecotto,Venezuela; Ferrari 550 Maranello (GTS), 108.668
23. Thomas Erdos,England;Pedro Chaves,Portugal;Gavin Pickering,England; Saleen S7R (GTS), 108.644
24. Jean-Philippe Belloc,France;Jeff Altenburg,Cantonville, MD;Tom Weickardt,Whitefish Bay, WI; Dodge Viper GTS-R (GTS), 108.527
25. Mike Hezemans,The Netherlands;Anthony Kumpen,The Netherlands; Pagani Zonda GR (GTS), 106.392
26. Timo Bernhard,Germany;Jorg Bergmeister,Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 105.695
27. Sascha Maassen,Germany;Lucas Luhr,Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 105.506
28. Johnny Mowlem,England;Nic Jonsson,Sweden;Craig Stanton,Long Beach, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 104.378
29. Ralf Kelleners,Germany;Terry Borcheller,Phoenix, AZ;Anthony Lazzaro,Acworth, GA; Ferrari 360 Modena (GT), 103.487
30. Stephane Daoudi,France;Walter Lechner Jr.,Austria;Nikolay Fomenko,Russia; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 103.111
31. Joseph Policastro Sr.,Latrobe, PA;Mike Fitzgerald,Fountain Hills, AZ;J.A. Policastro Jr.,Latrobe, PA; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 103.047
32. Spencer Pumpelly,Washington, DC;Andy Lally,New York, NY;Steve Ivankovich,Chicago, IL; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 102.918
33. Kevin Buckler,Sonoma, CA;Jim Pace,Jackson, MS;Eliseo Salazar,Chile; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 102.879
34. Robin Liddel,Scotland;Piers Masarati,England;David Warnock,England; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 102.577
35. David Murry,Cumming, GA;Justin Jackson,Buford, GA;Brian Cunningham,Danville, KY; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 102.519
36. Marino Franchitti,Scotland;Kevin McGarrity,England;Phillip Bennett,England; Ferrari 360 Modena (GT), 102.445
37. Stephane Gregoire,France;Fabio Babini,Italy;Christiano Pescatori,Italy; Ferrari 360 Modena (GT), 102.367
38. Boris Said,Carlsbad, CA;Catesby Jones,New York, NY;Carlos de Quesada,Miami, FL; BMW M3 (GT), 102.349
39. Cort Wagner,Pacific Palisades, CA;Chris Gleason,Johnstown, PA;Marc Bunting,Monkton, MD; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 102.024
40. B.J. Zacharias,Cincinnati, OH;Cass Whitehead,Gainesville, GA;Andrew Davis,Lilburn, GA; Ferrari 360 Modena (GT), 101.953
41. Joe Foster,Lawrenceville, GA;Rick Skelton,Atlanta, GA;Brad Nyberg,Houston, TX; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 101.740
42. Rob Barff,England;Richard Stanton,England;Richard May,England; TVR (GT), 101.230
43. Alex Caffi,Italy;Andrea Chiesa,Italy;Gabrio Rosa,Italy; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 100.882
44. Michael Schrom,Ghent, NY;Pierre Ehret,Santa Rosa, CA;Vic Rice,San Rafael, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 100.766
45. Norman Simon,Germany;Patrick van Schoote,San Diego, CA;John Hugenholtz,The Netherlands; Spyker C8 Double 12 R (GT), 100.513
46. Stephen Earle,Garden Ridge, TX;Andrea Garbagnati,Monaco;Ludovico Manfredi,Key Biscayne, FL; Ferrari 360 Modena (GT), 100.413
47. Ian Donaldson,Scotland;Bart Hayden,England;Gregor Fisken,Scotland; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 99.435
48. Philip Collin,Park Ridge, IL;David Shep,Canada;John Lloyd,Chicago, IL; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 99.276
49. Georges Forgeois,New York, NY;Howard Vance,Lexington, OH; Porsche 911 GT3 R (GT), 98.429
50. Jeff Bucknum,Lake Havasu City, AZ;Bryan Willman,Kirkland, WA;Chris McMurry,Phoenix, AZ; Pilbeam MP91/Willman 6/1EX (P675), 84.826
51. Brent Sherman,Chicago, IL;Nick Longhi,Nyack, NY;Emil Assentato,Locust Valley, NY; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), No time
52. Ronald Meixner,Miami, FL;Joseph Safina,Ft. Lauderdale, FL;Cristiano Piquet,Miami, FL; Lamborghini GT-R (GT), No Time
53. Johnny Herbert,England;David Brabham,Australia;Mark Blundell,England; Bentley Speed 8 (P900), time disallowed (rear diffuser).
54. Tom Kristensen,Denmark;Rinaldo Capello,Italy;Guy Smith,England; Bentley Speed 8 (P900), time disallowed (rear diffuser).
55. Jon Field,Dublin, OH;Duncan Dayton,North Salem, NY;Michael Durand,Wayland, MA; Lola EX257/AER MG (P675), time disallowed (boost monitor).
56. Marc Lieb,Germany;Leo Hindery,New York, NY;Peter Baron,Deerfield Beach, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 RS (GT), 105.556 time disallowed (ride height).
57. Jamie Campbell-Walter,England;Ian McKellar Jr.,England; Lister Storm LMP (P900), No Time.

Carsport America introduced their Pagani Zonda GR car that made its debut on Wednesday morning on the historic Sebring International Raceway. The team came together on November 15, 2002 and entered the Sebring 12 Hours. 

Tom Weickardt, former owner of American Viper, joined forces with Toine Hezemans (Carsport Modena) to convince Mr. Pagani to allow them to develop the Zonda GR into a competitive race car. The opening round of the American Le Mans Series will be used mainly as a test and development session. 

"The idea to form and develop the Pagani into a race car was formed a year ago," said co-owner Weickardt. "On November 15th we decided to do it, and we combined our two former team names to form Carsport America. 

"Toine [Hezemans] and his people in Europe have been working 14 hours and more, seven days a week to get this to happen." 

The team plans to continue development over the next months to have a more competitive car at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours. 

"Currently, we have a street Mercedes motor in this car," said Weickardt. Co-owner Hezemans added: "We have only two drivers in the car, both are good development drivers. We will use this race [Sebring] as a long test session and will probably have to change engine in the middle of the race." 

Mike Hezemans and Anthony Kumpen will be the two drivers to sort out the Pagani, while Weickardt will be joined by Jeff Altenberg and Jean Philippe Beloc in the Carsport America Dodge Viper GTS-R. 

"We shall be competitive in Le Mans," said Toine Hezemans. 

The team will compete the full 2003 American Le Mans season. "By the end of this year, we should be as fast as anything on the track," said Weickardt. "The Pagani was designed as a road car, not a race car." 

When asked about competing against the Corvettes in GTS, Toine Hezemans stated, "My background is in racing -- from racing cars to owning teams -- and I built Kart engines and was very successful with podium finishes in Europe." 

"If we are not one or two seconds faster that the Corvettes within two years, I give up [laughter]. Yes, I am sure this will be a possibility, to be competitive with the Corvettes and other teams." 

Team Olive Garden Ferrari announced it has selected Pirelli P Zero racing tires for its attack on the factory Corvette effort in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) GTS championship this year. 

Olive Garden President Drew Madsen lauded the selection. "So much of what we do is inspired by close ties to Italy -- that makes Pirelli a wonderful part of our team. Together with our co-sponsor Coca-Cola, we welcome Pirelli to Team Olive Garden Ferrari and we're thrilled to work with them. Adding their technical support and expertise to the team's resources makes us even more excited about the new compet- itiveness we expect to achieve in the ALMS GTS Championship this year." 

Team leader Gabriele Rafanelli's comments on the announcement reflect increasing confidence on the part of "The Team from Tuscany". "Our evolution model will debut at Sebring on Pirelli P Zeros. We've built great engineering advances into the Team Olive Garden Ferrari 550 Maranello GTS over the winter. Now with Pirelli's expertise and com- mitment to development, I think the payoff will be not only in championship points, but in the cheers of the 'Ferraristi' when the checkered flag falls at North America's ALMS races this season." 

"The Ferrari-Pirelli bond in sports car racing has been particularly strong as can be witnessed by the two winning World Sports Car championships in 1995 and 1998," commented Guy Mannino, President of Pirelli Tire North America. "We also enjoyed our relationship with Olive Garden in the 1999 ALMS season running two Ferrari 333 SPs. Their "Drive Against Hunger" program is one of the great outreach programs associated with the ALMS." Pirelli also won the World Sports Car championship in 1996, as well as four GT Championships in the late 1990s. 

Team Olive Garden has completely revised last year's Ferrari 550 Maranello GTS and created a 2003 evolution model. The V2003 car is both stiffer and lighter and features new diffusers front and rear which substantially improve aerodynamic efficiency. Both front and rear suspensions have been replaced with improved designs with new mounting points, all-new components and sharply improved kinematics. Hewland has provided a lighter evolution gearbox, now with sequential shift. 

Team Olive Garden drivers Emanuele Naspetti and Mimmo Schiattarella scored three podium finishes last year on the way to third place in the IMSA Cup and fourth in the 2002 ALMS GTS team championship. Naspetti was ranked 7th in GTS driver points while Schiattarella placed 9th. Naspetti and Schiattarella will be joined by Johnny Ceccotto at Sebring.