Sebring Preview: LMP1

Photo: John Dagys

Its never too early for predictions and with the entry list for next month's 12 Hours of Sebring being released last week, we figured now is the perfect time to state our predictions. We'll kick things off with the LMP1 category. At the moment, a strong entry of 12 to 13 cars is set to take the green flag and a total of 5 diesels headline the bid for the overall victory.



Audi Sport Team Joest
 With Peugeot set to debut their new Peugeot 908 at Sebring, Audi has opted to delay racing their new challenger, the R18, and will instead race an updated R15. This could be a move for Audi to not show their hand to the competition and possibly face performance restrictions before Le Mans. The R15 struggled to match the pace of the Peugeots over the last two seasons and even with updates, it will most likely struggle again with matching the outright speed of the Peugeots. But Audi cannot be counted out due the car's impressive reliability and two very strong driver lineups behind the wheel.

Verdict: While the outright pace will likely be off the Peugeots, reliability and the strong driver lineups can make up for it.

The R15's will see action one final time

Peugeot Team Total
  Sebring will mark the first race for Peugeot's new 908 prototype and if its anything like its predecessor, speed will not be a problem for the team. However, Sebring's rough surface is notorious for tearing up new race cars and Peugeot experienced this first hand in the 2008 race. The team has completed countless hours of testing, but is the car durable enough to hold up for the full 12 hours? Thats the only question for the Lion.

Verdict: The speed will be there, but will reliability?

Peugeot won at Petit last season, will Sebring be the same?

Team Oreca Matmut

 French privateer team, Oreca will run a 2010 spec Peugeot 908 at Sebring. Having a proven car was important to the team and they should be hot on the heels of the two factory teams with drivers Nicolas Lapierre and Loic Duval sharing the driving duties.

Verdict: Oreca has a fast and proven car on their hands, but will be a longshot for a race win due to restrictions placed on the car.

And the coolest livery goes to Oreca!

Rebellion Racing
Rebellion makes their North American debut with a Toyota powered Lola B10/60 Coupe. The team has been happy with the new Japanese engines and the team has a fast driver lineup in, Nicolas Prost, Neel Jani and Jeroen Bleekemolen who stared for Black Swan Racing last season in the ALMS' GTC category.

Verdict: A strong petrol car with good drivers. Has a chance to be among the top running petrol machines.

Rebellion's Lola Coupe

Oak Racing
Oak Racing have really stepped up their commitment to LMP racing. The team has gained Gulf Oil sponsorship and has entered two Pescarolo Judds in LMP1 and one LMP2 Pescarolo.

Verdict: An ambitious effort, but the team needs more time to seriously contend in such a deep field.

Oak's distinctive pink and black will be replaced by the famous Gulf Oil colors

Aston Martin Racing 
Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner have been confirmed to drive Aston's new LMP1, the Aston Martin AMR-One at Sebring. This car is largely an unknown, as no testing photographs have been released and has not appeareed at any officials tests.

Verdict: A bit early to tell perhaps...

Aston returns with an open-topped roadster

Highcroft Racing
 The defending ALMS LMP champions return to Sebring in LMP1 in HPD's new ARX-01e. While the full details regarding their 2011 program are still a bit murky, team owner Duncan Dayton will surely put together a good driver lineup and HPD has had very few reliability issues with its cars.

Verdict: Should be a front runner among the petrol cars if the HPD engine can deliver enough straight line speed.

Highcroft's new HPD will most likely look much different than the ARX-01c in this picture

Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing
After a successful two years of running a Porsche RS Spyder, Muscle Milk Racing has purchased an Aston Martin DBR1 to campaign in the 2011 ALMS season. The car is known for having massive straight line speed courtesy of its V12 powerplant, but the car will likely be heavily restricted as it is not built to the new 2011 LMP regulations. The team retains its ace, Klaus Graf and team owner, Greg Pickett. The duo will be joined by ex-Audi driver, Lucas Luhr at Sebring.

Verdict: The car has a chance to be among the top petrol running cars, but that depends on how much Pickett wants to drive.

And the best sounding car goes to Muscle Milk!

Dyson Racing
American sports car racing stalwarts, Dyson Racing, make the move up to LMP1 in their Lola B09/86. Chris Dyson, Guy Smith and Jay Cochran will share driving duties. The team has made a lot of progress in their Lola-Mazda pairing, but the engine has been a shortcoming for the team. After two disappointing Sebrings, Dyson is looking for a positive result and most importantly, good points towards the ALMS championship.

Verdict: A good result really relies on the engine. When it works, the car is capable of solid runs, when it doesn't, well...

Dyson has added G-Oil as its main sponsor

Intersport Racing
Jon and Clint Field are back in their Lola B06/10 for a fourth straight season. Although the Lola is long past its prime, the duo showed the old girl still has some speed in her, but reliability of the AER powerplant was a concern all season. The team backed it down a bit at Petit Le Mans and managed a strong fourth place overall finish. However, Sebring has not been kind to them in recent years and AER can prove that it wont blow up every other race, results will be hard to come by for the small Ohio-based squad.

Verdict: A finish would be great for the team, but if they keep their nose clean (and the engine stays in one piece) they can run mid pack with the petrol cars.

Hopefully the AER cooperates for Intersport

All photos courtesy of John Dagys