On the first official day of practice for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the 2006 American Le Mans Series, Audi’s diesel-powered R10 and the Porsche RS Spyder continued to show the pace they displayed during Monday and Tuesday’s tests. It was a common thread through all four classes as once again the fastest times were under the track qualifying records.
Allan McNish in Audi Sport North America’s No. 2 Audi R10 posted the quickest time of Wednesday morning’s one-hour practice session. The 1:47.791 lap at Sebring International Raceway was about a half-second under the LMP1 qualifying record.
It also was 0.863 seconds better than Emmanuel Collard in the No. 6 Penske Racing Porsche RS Spyder. The leading LMP2 entry, one of two Porsche RS Spyders from Penske Racing, was almost a full second ahead of the No. 7 sister Porsche prototype.
Top 5:
1 (1), No. 2 LMP1, Capello/Kristensen/McNish, 1:47.791 (123.572 mph), 25 laps, Audi R10/TDI Power.
2 (1), No. 6 LMP2, Maassen/Luhr/Collard 1:48.654 (122.591 mph), +0.863, 19 laps, Porsche RS Spyder.
3 (2), No. 1 LMP1, Biela/Pirro/Werner, 1:49.210 (121.967 mph), +1.419, 23 laps, Audi R10/TDI Power.
4 (3), No. 16 LMP1, Weaver/Leitzinger/Wallace, 1:49.530 (121.611 mph), +1.739, 24 laps, Lola B06/10/AER
5 (2) No. 7 LMP2, Bernhard/Dumas/Long, 1:49.599 (121.534 mph), +1.808, 25 laps, Porsche RS Spyder.
Other notables:
28 (10) No. 85 LMGT2, Kox/Crevels, 2:05.688 (105.977 mph), +17.897, 19 laps, Spyker C8 Spyder/Audi.
32 (14) No. 86 LMGT2, Bleekemolen/Hezemans, 2:07.337 (104.604 mph), +19.546, 17 laps, Spyker C8 Spyder/Audi.
