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Sebring Thursday practice times

Afternoon

Sebastien Bourdais and Action Express Racing picked up right where they left off after winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona by setting the fastest lap Thursday on the opening day of TUDOR United SportsCar Championship testing at Sebring International Raceway.

Bourdais drove the No. 5 Corvette DP around Sebring’s historic 3.74-mile road course in 1:52.480 (119.701 mph), topping Gustavo Yacaman’s No. 42 OAK Racing Morgan/Nissan by 0.724 seconds in the final minutes of the afternoon session. The two-day winter test is preparation for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida on Saturday, March 15, the second round of the Tequila Patr¢n North American Endurance Cup.

“We’re still trying to sort through the balance and the new aero configuration," Bourdais said, “but we just kind of nailed it and were able to put down a really good lap at the end of the session. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going."

If Action Express Racing can indeed build off that momentum and win next month at Sebring, the victory would put the team in elite company.

Only four teams have won overall with the same car at both Daytona and Sebring in the same season, the last coming in 1998 when Moretti Racing won both events with a Ferrari 333SP. The merger between the GRAND-AM Rolex Series and the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patr¢n has resulted in the two events being on the same schedule for the first time since 1997.

Yacaman led the morning session and the majority of the afternoon before Bourdais blistered the field in the closing moments. There are few tracks Yacaman knows better than Sebring and it showed, as he consistently posted times quicker than his P-class counterparts.

“I have close to one million laps on the club circuit here," Yacaman said. "Sebring has always been one of my favorite tracks. Today was my first time driving the full track, and it’s even more amazing than the course I’m used to. It’s very hard, but it’s a lot of fun."

Three cars among two teams took time in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class. Tom Kimber-Smith drove the No. 25 8Star Motorsports ORECA FLM09 to the top spot in the morning session with a lap of 1:55.940 (116.129 mph). That time held up for the remainder of the day over the pair of BAR1 Motorsports entries.

8Star Motorsports co-driver Roberto LaRocca also had an incident at the end of the morning session, but the crew was able to repair the car, allowing Kimber-Smith to also post the top time in the afternoon session at 1:56.561 (115.510 mph).

TUDOR Championship testing concludes Friday with a morning session from 9:30 a.m.-noon ET and an afternoon session from 2:45-5 p.m. ET

Morning

Gustavo Yacaman may have been exaggerating about his “million laps" of experience at Sebring International Raceway, but the Colombian driver backed up that claim on Thursday by turning the fastest lap in the opening session of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship test at the famed circuit. Yacaman turned a lap of 1:53.204 (118.936 mph) in the No. 42 OAK Racing Nissan/Morgan co-driven by Olivier Pla and Ho-Pin Tung to lead the Prototype (P) class. The two-day winter test is in preparation for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida on Saturday, March 15.

“I have close to one million laps on the club circuit here," Yacaman said. "Sebring has always been one of my favorite tracks. Today was my first time driving the full (3.74-mile) track, and it’s even more amazing than the course I’m used to. It’s very hard, but it’s a lot of fun." Scott Pruett, back at Sebring after a long absence – the race was not on the Rolex Sports Car Series schedule during the series’ existence – had a rough welcome back, when he scrubbed the wall in Turn 3 in his first laps driving the No. 01 Telcel Ford EcoBoost Ford/Riley that he shares with Memo Rojas and Scott Dixon.

“A bump caught us out and the car got out from underneath me," admitted Pruett, who won the GTO class at Sebring in 1986, co-driving with Olympian Bruce Jenner for Roush Racing. “Our team hasn’t been here before, and I haven’t raced here since the 1980s. I’ve got thousands of miles on the short course testing Indy cars, but this is my first time here on the latest long-course configuration. It’s driving good, but we need to get our hands around the car control." Jordan Taylor was second in the P class with a lap of 1:53.974 (118.132 mph) in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP co-driven by Max Angelelli and Ricky Taylor, followed by Klaus Graf at 1:54.590 (117.497 mph) in the No. 6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing ORECA/Nissan co-driven by Lucas Luhr.

Coming off a GT Le Mans (GTLM) class victory in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, Porsche Motorsports North America took first and third in the opening session. Joerg Bergmeister led the class with a lap of 2:00.048 (112.155 mph) in the team’s No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR co-driven by Patrick Long and Michael Christensen, while Richard Lietz was third with a lap of 2:01.153 (111.132 mph) in the Daytona-winning No. 911 co-driven by Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet. The meat in the Porsche sandwich was the No. 56 BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE of Dirk Werner, who is testing that car with Andy Priaulx. He ran 2:00.745 (111.508 mph) on the 17-turn layout.

“I tested but didn’t race at Sebring last year, and it feels real good to be back," Bergmeister said. “We had a little bad luck with our car at Daytona, but overall Daytona was a perfect start for our new team. This is a new car, but we’ve tested here quite bit in the past and our setup was perfect right off the truck."

While 8Star Motorsports was fastest in Prototype Challenge (PC), Roberto LaRocca sidelined the No. 25 ORECA FLM09 team with a crash late in the session after turning a lap of 1:55.940 (116.129 mph). The team plans to have the car repaired for the afternoon session, with LaRocca being joined by Tom Kimber-Smith and Eric Lux. BAR1 Motorsports was second and third in the class, with the No. 87 of Gaston Kearby, Moses Smith and Bruce Hamilton, 1:59.009 (113.134 mph) followed by the No. 88 of Doug Bielefeld, 1:59.257 (112.899 mph).

In GT Daytona (GTD), James Davison was fastest at 2:05.655 (107.151 mph) in the No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage co-driven by Al Carter and David Block. Second in GTD was Spencer Pumpelly in the No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Audi R8 LMS with a time of 2:05.719 (107.096 mph), followed by the No. 33 Riley Motorsports SRT Viper GT3-R of Jeroen Bleekemolen, 2:05.737 (107.081 mph). TUDOR Championship testing will continue with a second Thursday session from 2:45-5 p.m.

Practice 2

Pos Class PIC No. Name Time Diff Speed Laps Make
1 P 1 5 Action Express Racing 1:52.480 – 119.701 45 Corvette DP
2 P 2 42 OAK Racing 1:53.267 0.787 118.870 43 Nissan Morgan
3 P 3 90 Spirit of Daytona 1:53.425 0.945 118.704 35 Corvette DP
4 P 4 10 Wayne Taylor Racing 1:54.522 2.042 117.567 40 Corvette DP
5 P 5 01 Chip Ganassi Racing 1:54.686 2.206 117.399 30 Ford Riley DP
6 P 6 1 Extreme Speed Motorsports 1:54.918 2.438 117.162 9 HPD ARX-03b
7 P 7 2 Extreme Speed Motorsports 1:55.184 2.704 116.891 33 HPD ARX-03b
8 P 8 6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing 1:55.190 2.710 116.885 14 Nissan ORECA
9 P 9 60 Michael Shank Racing w/ Curb/Agajanian 1:55.821 3.341 116.248 41 Ford Riley DP
10 P 10 31 Marsh Racing 1:56.096 3.616 115.973 30 Corvette DP
11 PC 1 25 8Star Motorsports 1:56.561 4.081 115.510 4 ORECA FLM09
12 PC 2 88 BAR1 Motorsports 1:58.750 6.270 113.381 16 ORECA FLM09
13 P 11 78 Starworks Motorsports 1:59.023 6.543 113.121 19 Honda Riley DP
14 PC 3 87 BAR1 Motorsports 2:00.060 7.580 112.144 33 ORECA FLM09
15 GTLM 1 911 Porsche North America 2:00.364 7.884 111.861 35 Porsche 911 RSR
16 GTLM 2 93 SRT Motorsports 2:00.496 8.016 111.738 28 SRT Viper GTS-R
17 GTLM 3 912 Porsche North America 2:00.536 8.056 111.701 38 Porsche 911 RSR
18 GTLM 4 3 Corvette Racing 2:00.580 8.100 111.660 17 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
19 GTLM 5 17 Team Falken Tire 2:00.834 8.354 111.426 43 Porsche 911 RSR
20 GTLM 6 57 Krohn Racing 2:00.913 8.433 111.353 26 Ferrari F458 Italia
21 GTLM 7 56 BMW Team RLL 2:00.993 8.513 111.279 40 BMW Z4 GTE
22 GTLM 8 4 Corvette Racing 2:01.000 8.520 111.273 42 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
23 PC 4 8 Starworks Motorsport 2:01.076 8.596 111.203 3 ORECA FLM09
24 P 12 70 SpeedSource 2:01.311 8.831 110.987 40 Mazda SKYACTIV-D
25 GTD 1 94 Turner Motorsport 2:04.487 12.007 108.156 36 BMW Z4
26 GTD 2 73 Park Place Motorsports 2:04.703 12.223 107.969 22 Porsche 911 GT America
27 GTD 3 33 Riley Motorsports 2:04.915 12.435 107.785 22 SRT Viper GT3-R
28 GTD 4 51 Spirit of Race 2:04.987 12.507 107.723 29 Ferrari 458 Italia
29 GTD 5 007 TRG-AMR 2:05.153 12.673 107.580 38 Aston Martin V12 Vantage
30 GTD 6 71 Park Place Motorsports 2:05.527 13.047 107.260 20 Porsche 911 GT America
31 GTD 7 22 Alex Job Racing 2:05.719 13.239 107.096 43 Porsche 911 GT America
32 GTD 8 44 Magnus Racing 2:05.801 13.321 107.026 41 Porsche 911 GT America
33 GTD 9 27 Dempsey Racing 2:06.162 13.682 106.720 40 Porsche 911 GT America
34 GTD 10 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing 2:06.205 13.725 106.684 33 Porsche 911 GT America
35 GTD 11 19 Muehlner Motorsports America 2:06.449 13.969 106.478 22 Porsche 911 GT America
36 GTD 12 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports 2:06.619 14.139 106.335 41 Audi R8 LMS
37 GTD 13 35 Flying Lizard Motorsports 2:06.966 14.486 106.044 43 Audi R8 LMS
38 GTD 14 48 Paul Miller Racing 2:07.191 14.711 105.857 45 Audi R8 LMS
39 GTD 15 46 Fall-Line Motorsports 2:07.585 15.105 105.530 44 Audi R8 LMS
40 GTD 16 28 Dempsey Racing 2:08.086 15.606 105.117 42 Porsche 911 GT America
41 GTD 17 13 Rum Bum Racing/Snow Racing 2:08.286 15.806 104.953 12 Porsche 911 GT America
42 GTD 18 32 GMG Racing 2:08.610 16.130 104.689 32 Audi R8 LMS

Practice 1

Pos Class PIC No. Name Time Diff Speed Laps Make
1 P 1 42 OAK Racing 1:53.204 – 118.936 42 Nissan Morgan
2 P 2 10 Wayne Taylor Racing 1:53.974 0.770 118.132 21 Corvette DP
3 P 3 6 Muscle Milk Pickett Racing 1:54.590 1.386 117.497 24 Nissan ORECA
4 P 4 31 Marsh Racing 1:54.734 1.530 117.350 22 Corvette DP
5 P 5 90 Spirit of Daytona 1:54.768 1.564 117.315 27 Corvette DP
6 P 6 2 Extreme Speed Motorsports 1:55.102 1.898 116.975 23 HPD ARX-03b
7 P 7 60 Michael Shank Racing w/ Curb/Agajanian 1:55.207 2.003 116.868 36 Ford Riley DP
8 P 8 1 Extreme Speed Motorsports 1:55.306 2.102 116.768 32 HPD ARX-03b
9 P 9 01 Chip Ganassi Racing 1:55.527 2.323 116.544 17 Ford Riley DP
10 PC 1 25 8Star Motorsports 1:55.940 2.736 116.129 22 ORECA FLM09
11 PC 2 87 BAR1 Motorsports 1:59.009 5.805 113.134 35 ORECA FLM09
12 PC 3 88 BAR1 Motorsports 1:59.257 6.053 112.899 13 ORECA FLM09
13 GTLM 1 912 Porsche North America 2:00.048 6.844 112.155 31 Porsche 911 RSR
14 GTLM 2 56 BMW Team RLL 2:00.745 7.541 111.508 38 BMW Z4 GTE
15 GTLM 3 911 Porsche North America 2:01.153 7.949 111.132 19 Porsche 911 RSR
16 GTLM 4 57 Krohn Racing 2:01.389 8.185 110.916 14 Ferrari F458 Italia
17 GTLM 5 4 Corvette Racing 2:01.486 8.282 110.828 35 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
18 GTLM 6 3 Corvette Racing 2:01.553 8.349 110.766 39 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
19 P 10 78 Starworks Motorsports 2:01.739 8.535 110.597 7 Honda Riley DP
20 GTLM 7 17 Team Falken Tire 2:02.126 8.922 110.247 29 Porsche 911 RSR
21 GTLM 8 93 SRT Motorsports 2:02.252 9.048 110.133 21 SRT Viper GTS-R
22 P 11 70 SpeedSource 2:04.998 11.794 107.714 32 Mazda SKYACTIV-D
23 GTD 1 007 TRG-AMR 2:05.655 12.451 107.151 27 Aston Martin V12 Vantage
24 GTD 2 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports 2:05.719 12.515 107.096 37 Audi R8 LMS
25 GTD 3 33 Riley Motorsports 2:05.737 12.533 107.081 23 SRT Viper GT3-R
26 GTD 4 44 Magnus Racing 2:06.044 12.840 106.820 33 Porsche 911 GT America
27 GTD 5 94 Turner Motorsport 2:06.173 12.969 106.711 16 BMW Z4
28 GTD 6 27 Dempsey Racing 2:06.434 13.230 106.490 37 Porsche 911 GT America
29 GTD 7 71 Park Place Motorsports 2:06.444 13.240 106.482 34 Porsche 911 GT America
30 GTD 8 22 Alex Job Racing 2:06.505 13.301 106.431 24 Porsche 911 GT America
31 GTD 9 13 Rum Bum Racing/Snow Racing 2:06.633 13.429 106.323 33 Porsche 911 GT America
32 GTD 10 73 Park Place Motorsports 2:06.952 13.748 106.056 29 Porsche 911 GT America
33 GTD 11 35 Flying Lizard Motorsports 2:07.133 13.929 105.905 37 Audi R8 LMS
34 GTD 12 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing 2:07.137 13.933 105.902 29 Porsche 911 GT America
35 GTD 13 51 Spirit of Race 2:07.334 14.130 105.738 32 Ferrari 458 Italia
36 GTD 14 48 Paul Miller Racing 2:08.100 14.896 105.105 41 Audi R8 LMS
37 GTD 15 32 GMG Racing 2:08.408 15.204 104.853 30 Audi R8 LMS
38 GTD 16 46 Fall-Line Motorsports 2:08.500 15.296 104.778 32 Audi R8 LMS
39 GTD 17 28 Dempsey Racing 2:09.474 16.270 103.990 31 Porsche 911 GT America
40 GTD 18 19 Muehlner Motorsports America 2:14.098 20.894 100.404 22 Porsche 911 GT America
41 P 12 5 Action Express Racing – – – – Corvette DP