American Le Mans Series

Sebring Test Ends With Fastest Times All Round

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Kyle Marcelli snatched the best LMPC time late in the day (Photo Credit: ALMS)

Klaus Graf ended the American Le Mans Series test at Sebring International Raceway. His lap, in the Friday morning session was more than a second faster than his Muscle Milk Pickett Racing teammate Lucas Luhr had turned to lead Thursday’s running.

“It was a very productive test,” concluded Graf. “We made a lot of changes and went through a big program. We did a lot of miles, and the car was very reliable. It was a very important test for us to go through the updated components and make sure everything works OK and is reliable.”

“A lot of what we did will help us throughout the season as well as for the Sebring race. The track conditions change so much here, and that’s normal, that it’s hard to say how things will be come race week. It depends on so many factors. Overall, it was a very satisfying test and we collected plenty of data for us to look over.”

Reflecting Graf’s pace in the P1 HDP ARX-03c the second day of running at Sebring brought the fastest times in all the classes represented at the test.

Kyle Marcelli wrenched LMPC bragging rights away from the Performance Tech team with a late lap in the #8 BAR 1 Motorsports entry. Also setting his best time late in the afternoon running was Spencer Pumpelly who ran the fastest in time the GTC Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche with a lap of 2:06.061.

“I’m proud of the lap time, but I think what was more important was the work we did to learn more about this car and get it ready for the race and try some things that will be helpful throughout the season,” Pumpelly said. “These guys are new to this car, but they’ve got a ton of experience. I can’t be happier to be a part of this team and this organization, and [co-drivers] Nelson [Canache] and Archie [Hamilton] also did an awesome job. It was a really good test for us and I can’t wait for the season to start.”

In the main GT class Risi Competizione completed a triumphant return to racing by leading the second day of testing as they had done the first. Their best lap – 1:59.862 – came in the afternoon session after their fellow Ferrari squad Extreme Speed Motorsports led the morning session through Anthony Lazarro at the #02 car. Johannes van Overbeek, meanwhile, crashed out of the test in the team’s lead car in the only major incident of the two days’ running.

The American Le Mans Series returns to Sebring International Raceway to begin the racing season with the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 16.

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James is our Diet-Coke fuelled writer and has been with TCF pretty much since day 1, he can be found frequenting twitter at @_JBroomhead
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