The Peugeots were faster through most of the race, but the Audis kept battling back, finally establishing dominance in the final hour of racing.
The new Audi, the R15 TDI, had never been severely tested prior to running at Sebring; bad weather frustrated endurance testing planned for earlier this year. Still, the car performed flawlessly, its brand-new V10 turbocharged diesel motor never missing a beat. The Peugeot was faster on the straights and got better tire wear, but somehow, in the final laps, the Audi was faster.
The Final Hour
With one hour to go, tires and fuel became key. The Audi probably didn’t have the fuel economy to race flat-out and also finish on one tank of fuel; it would need to come in for a splash of fuel. The Peugeot probably could finish on a single tank, and with soft-compound tires, should have grip equal to the Audi. There was no way ot predict who would win.
Franck Montagny was at the wheel of the leading Peugeot, 22 seconds ahead of Allan McNish in the Audi, with Luca Luhr’s Audi in third.
The battle for third place in GT2, between the Panoz Esperante and the Flying Lizard Porsche, generated quite a bit of excitement. The five-year-old Panoz held off the factory-supported Porsche for several laps, until Porsche driver Marl Lieb pushed his way abreast if Ian James in the Panoz. Lieb squeezed James into the wall, leaving James no choice but to turn into Lieb, spinning the Porsche across the nose of the Panoz and into the wall.
The Patron Highcroft P1 Acura retired with unspecified drivetrain problems, ending Acura’s P1 debut
