Johansson outpaces works Audis in practice
Former F1 star Stefan Johansson upstaged the works Audi squad with his privately-run car in the first unofficial practice session for this weekend's 12 Hours of Sebring
On his first outing in his new Gulf-backed Audi R8, two-time Sebring winner Johansson lapped in 1m50.730s - just 0.005secs quicker than the works machine of Rinaldo Capello, Michele Alboreto and Laurent Aiello. Johansson will share his Johansson Motorsports-run machine with Britain's Guy Smith, who will then switch to the Bentley squad for this year's Le Mans 24 Hours.
Twenty-five cars took to the historic 3.7-mile Florida airfield circuit Monday, and 41 are expected to start Saturday's 12-hour sportscar endurance event.
The second factory Audi, driven by last year's winners Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro and Tom Kristensen, was third fastest on 1m50.856s.
The fastest GTS class car on the day was the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R driven by Ron Fellows, Chris Kneifel and Johnny O'Connell, who lapped in 2m00.269s. Leading GT practice was the BMW M3 driven by Niclas Jonsson, Bill Auberlen and Brian Cunningham on 2m07.900s.
Unofficial practice continues today (Tuesday), with official practice and qualifying starting on Wednesday.
1, Stefan Johansson/Guy Smith, Johansson Audi R8, 1m50.730s
2, Rinaldo Capello/Michele Alboreto/Laurent Aiello, works Audi R8, 1m50.735s.
3, Frank Biela/Emanuele Pirro/Tom Kristensen, works Audi R8, 1m50.856s
4, Dorsey Schroeder/Andy Wallace/Ralf Kelleners, Champion Audi R8, 1m51.674s
5, James Weaver/Butch Leitzinger/Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Riley & Scott Mk3C, 1m53.977s
6, Ron Fellows/Chris Kneifel/Johnny O'Connell, Chevrolet Corvette C5-R, 2m00.269s
7, Jon Field/Duncan Dayton/Rick Sutherland, Lola B2K-Judd, 2m01.199s
8, Niclas Jonsson/Bill Auberlen/Joey Hand, BMW M3, 2m07.900s
9, Hans Stuck/Boris Said/Peter Cunningham, BMW M3, 2m08.007s
10, Dirk Muller/Fredrik Ekblom, BMW M3, 2m08.215s
11, Lucas Luhr/Sascha Maassen/Emmanuel Collard, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 2m08.244s
12, Michael Peterson/Bob Wollek/Johnny Mowlem, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 2m08.720s
13, Randy Pobst/Christian Menzel/Timo Bernhard, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 2m09.086s
14, David Murry/Anthony Lazzaro/Darren Law, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 2m09.413s
15, Rick Polk/Cort Wagner/Vincenzo Sospiri, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 2m09.786s
16, Mel Hawkins/Steven Knight/Claudia Huertgen, Lola B2K-Nissan, 2m10.882s
17, Kevin Buckler/Tom McGlynn/Stephen Earle, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 2m11.436s
18, Leo Hindery/Peter Baron/Gian Luigi Buitoni, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 2m12.635s
19, Tony Burgess/Philip Colin/Andrew Bagnall, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 2m13.635s
20, Kye Wankum/Jeff Pabst/Joe Foster, Porsche 911 GT3 R, 2m14.080s
21, Richard Millman/Tommy Byrne/Tony Kester, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, 2m14.426s
22, Nathaniel Wind/Waymond van der Gaas/'Raggety' Shute, Bigfoot GT3 RS, 2m16.833s
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