Audi took the checkered flag at America’s premier road racing event, the 57th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida.
Allan McNish, Dindo Capello and Tom Kristensen were victorious in the debut of the Audi R15 TDI in a close finish with the French Peugeot team.
The winning team made the R15 TDI Audi’s third prototype to win in its race debut, joining the R8 in 2000 and R10 TDI in 2006.
McNish crossed the finish line 22.279 seconds in front of Franck Montagny in the Peugeot. The two diesel powered LMP-1 prototypes staged an epic sports car battle with the two cars staying on the same lap throughout the 12 hours, renewing their battles from last year’s 24 Hours of Lemans Petit Le Mans.
“This one for me was better than Le Mans, because we came here with a new car and at the end of every stint it was at the maximum for the entire 12 hours,” Capello said. “To come here with a new car really says something for Audi.”
The two Audis and two Peugeot 908 HDis swapped the lead 23 times. With 42 minutes to go in the 12-hour race, McNish took the lead for good when Montagny made his final fuel-only stop.
McNish stepped up the pace and built a big enough gap from the Peugeot to allow time for a quick splash of fuel with 14 minutes to go.
“I knew I had 55 seconds to get in and out with a comfortable gap,” McNish said. “But if a yellow came out after they pitted and prior to our stop, it was all out the window. We were lucky because I think everyone drove exceptionally well until the end.
"The poker aspect is played by the engineers, not by the drivers; the pit strategy is by the guys behind the wall. We are just given instructions to do things and that was drive very, very quickly.”
For teammate Tom Kristensen, this victory was his record fifth overall race at Sebring and also owns a record eight Le Mans victories.
“Coming with such a young car to such a tough race track and make the distance record with three yellows, it was really extraordinary and shows the knowhow from the last three cars: the R8, R10, and now R15,” said Kristensen.
“I was really impressed with what the team did the last few days. This is such a huge team effort. I am humble and proud to be a part of teams like this. Victories like Le Mans and Sebring belong to a lot of people, and that’s what I enjoy is sharing it.”
The race also set records for fastest average speed (117.986 mph), distance covered (1,417 miles) and laps completed under the current 3.7-mile, 17-turn configuration (383).
Montagny along with Sebastien Bourdais and Stephane Sarrazin, lead a combined eight times but had to pit out of sequence with a suspected punctured rear tire. The car replaced its rear tires on the emergency stop, which forced a change of strategy for the rest of the race.
The second Audi of Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller, and Marco Werner finished third. It led four times in the race.
Both of the new Acura LMP-1 cars failed to finish the race dues to mechanical issues. The Patron-Highcroft racing car finished the race in 15th place, and the pole winning De Ferran Motorsports entry ended the day in the 18th spot.
LMP-2
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