Monday, April 02, 2007

12 Hours of Sebring Decided by .2 Seconds

Mobil 1 12 Hours of SebringThe 12 hours of Sebring is the first event in the 2007 American LeMans Series calendar, and is a mainstay of American road racing. Huge names, from Andretti to Foyt to Rahal, have been victorious at the legendary Floridian airport course.
The 2007 field was criticized for thin P1 and GT1 competition, but the P2 and GT2 classes were robust and the action was intense. The 12 hour race had many highlights, including a dramatic Ferrari engine fire, but the grand finale was the GT2 class finish.
Jamie Melo in the Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 had been holding off Jorg Bergmeister in the Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 for hours, but with only a few minutes to go the 911 had fresh tires and a fresh driver to take on the weary Melo and his worn rubber. The two crossed the finish line just ahead of the lead Audi R10 with only half a second between them, the Ferrari leading the charging Porsche. As the Audi crossed the line to take the overall victory, the two most successful marques in Sebring history were set to to do battle for one of the most exciting laps in recent memory. The following video shows the dramatic fight that carried on literally right to the finish line.