HPD Ready for 12 Hours of Sebring

HPD Racing Report

Friday, March 14, 2014

 

Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Qualifying Report

Circuit:              Sebring International Raceway (3.74-mile road course), Sebring, Fla.

Weather:           Mostly sunny, mild, 72 degrees F

 

Top 10 Qualifying Results:

Ps.	Class	Drivers	Team	Chassis/Engine	Qualifying Time
1.	1. P	Sebastien Bourdais/Joao Barbosa/Christian Fittipaldi	Action Express Racing	Coyote Corvette	1:51.917
2.	2. P	Olivier Pla/Alex Brundle/Gustavo Yacaman	OAK Racing	Morgan Nissan	1;52.086
3.	3. P	Ricky Taylor/Max Angelelli/Jordan Taylor	Wayne Taylor Racing	Dallara Corvette	1:52.544
4.	4. P	Ryan Dalziel/David Brabham/Scott Sharp	Extreme Speed Motorsports	HPD ARX-03b Honda	1:52.662
5.	5. P	Klaus Graf/Lucas Luhr/Jann Mardenborough	Muscle Milk Racing	ORECA 03 Nissan	1;52.667
6.	6. P	Scott Dixon/Tony Kanaan/Sage Karam	Chip Ganassi Racing	Riley Ford	1;53.098
7.	7 P	Richard Westbrook/Mike Rockenfeller/Michael Valiante	Spirit of Daytona	Coyote Corvette	1;53.147
8.	8. P	Johannes van Overbeek/Ed Brown/Simon Pagenaud	Extreme Speed Motorsports	HPD ARX-03b Honda	1:53.393
9.	9 P	Scott Pruett/Marino Franchitti/Memo Rojas	Chip Ganassi Racing	Riley Ford	1;53.867
10.	10. P	Jon Fogarty/Brian Frisselle/Burt Frisselle	Action Express Racing	Coyote Corvette	1:53.893

Other Honda-powered Results:

13.	13. P	Pierre Kaffer/Scott Mayer/Alex Popow/Sebastian Saavedra		Starworks Motorsport	Riley Honda	1:55.081
Qualifying driver in italics

 

HPD Ready for 12-Hour Sebring Contest

 

·       Ryan Dalziel Qualifies Fourth To Lead Honda Prototype Effort

·       Honda Daytona Prototype To Start 13^th in Debut Race

 

Extreme Speed Motorsports led the way for Honda Performance Development in qualifying Friday for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, with Ryan Dalziel posting the fourth-fastest time in his HPD ARX-03b Honda, and teammate Johannes van Overbeek qualifying eighth in the second Extreme Speed HPD. 

 

The single, 15-minute qualifying session featured several changes to the overall order in the final minutes, as former LMP2 and Daytona Prototype machines, which were merged into a single “Prototype” category this season for the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, evenly split the top eight qualifying positions.

 

HPD, the two-time LMP2 defending manufacturer and engine champion in the former American Le Mans Series, is introducing Honda’s first Daytona Prototype this weekend at Sebring, and Pierre Kaffer qualified 13^th in the Starworks Motorsports Honda Riley. 

 

Both HPD-developed Honda engines used in the TUDOR championship are derived from the same Honda “J35” series of production V6 engines and include relevant twin-turbocharger technology, along with the efficiency provided by direct fuel injection. Key production-based components that are utilized include block and heads, crankshaft, direct injection fuel system, valve train components, drive-by-wire throttle, alternator, sensors, fasteners, etc. The engine even utilizes a stock Honda oil filter.   

 

A Video News Release from today’s action at Sebring International Raceway, including both TUDOR United SportsCar Championship qualifying and the 2.5-hour Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race, will shortly be posted on a specially-created “Honda Racing/HPD Trackside” YouTube channel produced the Carolina Productions Group. 

 

Headed by longtime motorsports broadcaster Rick Benjamin, CPG will be providing video highlights packages following tomorrow’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and at future Honda Racing/HPD events.

 

Allen Miller (Project Leader, Honda Performance Development) on Sebring qualifying:  “It was a satisfying qualifying effort from both of our teams.  Both Extreme Speed Motorsports cars qualified solidly in the top eight, and are ready for the race.  We’re continuing to sort through the usual, small, new installation issues with the Daytona Prototype car, and have made steady progress through the weekend.  We’ll continue to work to improve it, and we’re looking forward to an exciting and highly competitive race.”