Discussion
This event is probably one of the better-kept sportscar racing secrets on the calendar. Given that the 12 Hours of Sebring is the premier event on the ALMS calendar and is hugely popular with US fans, it kind of flys under the radar outside of these shores.
This year is the 59th running of the race, so it certainly has some heritage and that is very evident in the atmosphere around the race weekend.
I've been going to Le Mans since the early 80's and Sebring has a similar vibe to that of La Sarthe back then - very relaxed, easy-going, friendly, accessible, non-corporate and bereft of extensive fortifications/debris fencing. For me, personally, Le Mans has become a bit of a pain in the arse.
It gets more and more expensive (particularly for those of us who travel long-haul to attend), less and less attractive, in terms of a good value experience. I'm opposed to 'exclusivity' in principle, but the hoards of morons who have discovered Le Mans as an opportunity to 'be obnoxious without consequence' has started to affect my enthusiasm for the event.
Most forms of motorsports are far more fan-friendly in the US than in Europe and ALMS is no different. Access to the pit-lane, teams, cars and drivers is a real eye-opener for those used to the horrible alternatives at Le Mans - or any other premier race meeting in Europe for that matter.
If you find yourself growing weary of modern Le Mans, you may find that Sebring is a worthy and affordable alternative. It is possible to buy return flights for around 350 pounds and the circuit is close to Orlando - so getting from the airport to the track is easy. A four day race ticket is $90 and parking/camping is a paltry $25. All of the track facilities (food, drink, access to ice(!), bogs, showers etc.) are better than Le Mans.... and one other small benefit - you actually get to see the race if you are so inclined. Where the ACO seem to have a liking for building razor-wire topped concrete walls between the track and the paying fans, Sebring is open and visible pretty much all the way around. There is debris fence only where it needs to be and all of the UK based friends that I have introduced this race to, have been very impressed about how close to the action the fans get to be.
This year will be my 11th attendance and as with my Le Mans experiences, I've found that the more you 'do' these kind of events, the more you tend to refine them. I have two friends coming over from UK and two more driving down from Indiana. I've rented a 38ft RV for 5 days, for just over $1000 (infield parking $75) and am towing a U-Haul box with my beer fridge, generator and gas grill. We set-up with a group of long-standing American Sebring veterens (some since the 60's) in Turn 10 and just have a fantastic, beer'n'barbecue fueled weekend with (usually) fantastic weather and a 1st class race, taking place right around us (T10 is a 90 degree right-hander, so we have race cars on two sides and a massive party on the other two).
Le Mans will always have it's status as the grand-daddy of sportscar racing - and rightly so, but as a welcoming event for mainstream race fans, it blows, compared to the 12 Hours of Sebring.
This year is the 59th running of the race, so it certainly has some heritage and that is very evident in the atmosphere around the race weekend.
I've been going to Le Mans since the early 80's and Sebring has a similar vibe to that of La Sarthe back then - very relaxed, easy-going, friendly, accessible, non-corporate and bereft of extensive fortifications/debris fencing. For me, personally, Le Mans has become a bit of a pain in the arse.
It gets more and more expensive (particularly for those of us who travel long-haul to attend), less and less attractive, in terms of a good value experience. I'm opposed to 'exclusivity' in principle, but the hoards of morons who have discovered Le Mans as an opportunity to 'be obnoxious without consequence' has started to affect my enthusiasm for the event.
Most forms of motorsports are far more fan-friendly in the US than in Europe and ALMS is no different. Access to the pit-lane, teams, cars and drivers is a real eye-opener for those used to the horrible alternatives at Le Mans - or any other premier race meeting in Europe for that matter.
If you find yourself growing weary of modern Le Mans, you may find that Sebring is a worthy and affordable alternative. It is possible to buy return flights for around 350 pounds and the circuit is close to Orlando - so getting from the airport to the track is easy. A four day race ticket is $90 and parking/camping is a paltry $25. All of the track facilities (food, drink, access to ice(!), bogs, showers etc.) are better than Le Mans.... and one other small benefit - you actually get to see the race if you are so inclined. Where the ACO seem to have a liking for building razor-wire topped concrete walls between the track and the paying fans, Sebring is open and visible pretty much all the way around. There is debris fence only where it needs to be and all of the UK based friends that I have introduced this race to, have been very impressed about how close to the action the fans get to be.
This year will be my 11th attendance and as with my Le Mans experiences, I've found that the more you 'do' these kind of events, the more you tend to refine them. I have two friends coming over from UK and two more driving down from Indiana. I've rented a 38ft RV for 5 days, for just over $1000 (infield parking $75) and am towing a U-Haul box with my beer fridge, generator and gas grill. We set-up with a group of long-standing American Sebring veterens (some since the 60's) in Turn 10 and just have a fantastic, beer'n'barbecue fueled weekend with (usually) fantastic weather and a 1st class race, taking place right around us (T10 is a 90 degree right-hander, so we have race cars on two sides and a massive party on the other two).
Le Mans will always have it's status as the grand-daddy of sportscar racing - and rightly so, but as a welcoming event for mainstream race fans, it blows, compared to the 12 Hours of Sebring.
I was kind of disappointed when I went for the first time last year. Lots of the circuit has RVs parked right up to the fence giving no opportunity to spectate at those spots. I also forgot to take a chair and with no open grandstands and very few raised elevation points, my legs were very tired after 12 hours. Otherwise though it was great, loads of access as stated, though having only MW or SAT broadcasting of Radio Le Mans made following the race tricky (I had FM). Recommended, not an annual pilgrimage like Le Mans though, on a par with Spa 24h though.
Sebring is great, I went over for the first time last year, Manchester to Orlando, at the track Wed-Sun with a night in a hotel at either end of the trip. True, there aren't many grandstands but I found the viewing mounds fine, and the big advantage over Le Mans or the larger UK tracks was the closeness to the track and the absence of catch fencing.
We camped next to the viewing mound at turn 6 (IIRC, the one before the straight down to the hairpin), so were within 15-20 yards of the cars and could watch from stood next to our tent at quieter times. The atmosphere was very friendly, not as 'crazy' as some would have you believe but with none of the knobs you can encounter at Le Mans.
One thing that did strike me as different to big events over here, when we arrived on the Wednesday lunchtime there were already deckchairs placed around the track, and they were still there on the Sunday night, I wouldn't leave anything unattended at Le Mans or a popular British event for 5 minutes and expect it to still be there when I got back!
I'd love to be in a position to go over every year,as it is a return trip is down the list behind other unfulfilled ambitions, Spa, a Spanish MotoGP, the TT, Bathurst. Just hope we get some decent TV coverage over here this year, we've been spoilt with flag to flag Motors TV in the past, a few hours on Eurosport looks to be the best we can hope for.
We camped next to the viewing mound at turn 6 (IIRC, the one before the straight down to the hairpin), so were within 15-20 yards of the cars and could watch from stood next to our tent at quieter times. The atmosphere was very friendly, not as 'crazy' as some would have you believe but with none of the knobs you can encounter at Le Mans.
One thing that did strike me as different to big events over here, when we arrived on the Wednesday lunchtime there were already deckchairs placed around the track, and they were still there on the Sunday night, I wouldn't leave anything unattended at Le Mans or a popular British event for 5 minutes and expect it to still be there when I got back!
I'd love to be in a position to go over every year,as it is a return trip is down the list behind other unfulfilled ambitions, Spa, a Spanish MotoGP, the TT, Bathurst. Just hope we get some decent TV coverage over here this year, we've been spoilt with flag to flag Motors TV in the past, a few hours on Eurosport looks to be the best we can hope for.
Graham said:
Are you sure thats not the parts delivery van?
I hear you! But we need to get used to it - this is the direction LMP1 has decided is right for the sport - reducing engine size and power (probably a good equalizer in some respects) leads to often bizarre aero.We won't see this car competing until Spa - but they tested it at Sebring recently and will have a static display at the 12 Hours, according to the team that was at the track.
I'm not a massive fan of the prototype classes currently (GT much more real-world, I feel) but the R18 seems to be something of an engineering tour de force - as fast as it's predecessor with around 2000cc less to play with. The fin sucks, but somehow makes the whole areo-package work better.
Frederic - next time, get around to the north end of the track. From The Stumble Inn, through Turn 10 and on to Beertown USA - a lot more lively, shall we say...
Matt Harper said:
I hear you! But we need to get used to it - this is the direction LMP1 has decided is right for the sport - reducing engine size and power (probably a good equalizer in some respects) leads to often bizarre aero.
We won't see this car competing until Spa - but they tested it at Sebring recently and will have a static display at the 12 Hours, according to the team that was at the track.
I'm not a massive fan of the prototype classes currently (GT much more real-world, I feel) but the R18 seems to be something of an engineering tour de force - as fast as it's predecessor with around 2000cc less to play with. The fin sucks, but somehow makes the whole areo-package work better.
Frederic - next time, get around to the north end of the track. From The Stumble Inn, through Turn 10 and on to Beertown USA - a lot more lively, shall we say...
the fin is just there because it has to be, to stop cars taking off when they get sideways, it isn't to do with optimising aero.We won't see this car competing until Spa - but they tested it at Sebring recently and will have a static display at the 12 Hours, according to the team that was at the track.
I'm not a massive fan of the prototype classes currently (GT much more real-world, I feel) but the R18 seems to be something of an engineering tour de force - as fast as it's predecessor with around 2000cc less to play with. The fin sucks, but somehow makes the whole areo-package work better.
Frederic - next time, get around to the north end of the track. From The Stumble Inn, through Turn 10 and on to Beertown USA - a lot more lively, shall we say...
I read that too - never happened very often though, did it? (Getting sideways and flying, as a result,I mean.) I can think of plenty of examples of prototype 'blow-overs' and flying after they've hit something, but not lifting off like an un-flapped Sprint-Cup car.
I also read that this fin had the effect of laterally stabilizing the car on high-speed straights - but having as much knowledge of aerodynamics as Cyril Smith had to hang-gliding, I'm in no position to question your statement.
I also read that this fin had the effect of laterally stabilizing the car on high-speed straights - but having as much knowledge of aerodynamics as Cyril Smith had to hang-gliding, I'm in no position to question your statement.
Matt Harper said:
I read that too - never happened very often though, did it? (Getting sideways and flying, as a result,I mean.) I can think of plenty of examples of prototype 'blow-overs' and flying after they've hit something, but not lifting off like an un-flapped Sprint-Cup car.
I also read that this fin had the effect of laterally stabilizing the car on high-speed straights - but having as much knowledge of aerodynamics as Cyril Smith had to hang-gliding, I'm in no position to question your statement.
There were quite a few incidents or near incidents, but I think the Oreca/Monza/Ortelli one is the most obvious in recent years, I recall an Audi nearly taking off the same season too. Worth a try I suppose, but rather ugly!I also read that this fin had the effect of laterally stabilizing the car on high-speed straights - but having as much knowledge of aerodynamics as Cyril Smith had to hang-gliding, I'm in no position to question your statement.
Matt Harper said:
Didn't he just launch himself off a chicane?
no, he was airborne before the chicane, something broke in the rear end, pitched him sideways, air got under car and that was it. lots of clips on you tube, mainly slow motion, but wheb you see at normal speed it is even more unbelievable
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