The Sebring race itself was marred by too many full-course cautions. There were 11 safety-car periods and 1 red-flag period. In 2013 there were only 4 full-course cautions. The final safety-car period determined the outcome of the overall (and prototype class) winner. The #01 Gnassi Riley-Ford DP's last pit-stop came immediately before that last yellow, and had there not been a safety car period just then, it would have had to make an additional stop for fuel, which would have taken them out of contention. Meanwhile, the #1 Extreme Speed Oreca-Nissan LMP2 pitted later and would have been able to see the checker without an additional stop had the race remained green until the end. Unfortunately for the Extreme Speed team, that final yellow meant that the #01 DP would not have to make any further stops, and the frustratingly long (28min) safety car period did not leave enough green flag racing to catch Marino Franchitti in the #01. In trying to catch the leader, Ryan Dalziel in the #1 set the fastest lap of the race. But that is endurance racing; luck always plays a role.
My take on the DP vs. LMP2 race is that the LMP2 cars did much better the longer the green-flag stint. In the first half of the race, there were barely any full-stint green flag periods. The DPs gained an advantage from the abbreviated stints and from the re-starts that accompanied them; their greater torque meant better acceleration, which also helped in traffic. In the latter stages of the race things calmed down somewhat with regard to caution periods and the greater green-flag running allowed the LMP2 cars to show their stuff and they traded leading the race.
The playlist (pre-race show, race broadcast in 3 parts, and short highlight video) of the official TUSC Sebring race is on YouTube. My screenshot of the timing screen at the finish can be seen here.
Records?
According to the unofficial results of the Sebring race, a new track record was set by Ryan Dalziel in the #1 HPD prototype. Well, I guess since this is the first race of the TUSC series at that track, it is a record. But let's look at some other lap times to see where that time fits in:
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| Fastest Race Lap Times |
The LMP1 class is no longer included in the 12 Hours of Sebring, so I guess that time could be excluded. In 2008, the LMP2 cars were not cost-capped and ran racing engines, so they can be excluded too. Finally last year's LMP2 car, running to the same basic regulations as 2014, was just beaten out by Ryan in the HPD, so yes it is a new record. This is pretty remarkable, since last year LMP2 ran an open tire formula (though with Dunlop having pulled out of the ALMS, the teams were stuck with off-the-shelf Michelins), while this year for the first time they ran on Continental spec tires. There were some restrictor breaks given to the LMP2-derived prototypes.
The Problem with Caution Periods
Beyond affecting the outcome of the race, numerous caution periods also frustrate teams and the enthusiasm of the fans. They also make bad video and the on-air commentators run out of things to talk about. There is no doubt that caution periods often are needed to assure the safety of drivers, corner workers, and fans. But other organizers and other tracks have found ways to reduce the impact on races and reduce the duration of these safety periods.
By designing and equipping strategic run-off areas with "snatch-tractors" or winches, an otherwise undamaged or slightly damaged car can be retrieved and returned to the track under a local yellow, no need for a safety car if a competitor spins or otherwise gets trapped in the kitty litter.
Another more radical innovation in safety periods has a name: Code 60. This was pioneered by the Creventic organization, which sponsors a series of 12 and 24 hour endurance races worldwide. Code 60 has also been adopted by VLN the organizers of the Nurburgring 24 and other races. Under Code 60 purple flags (and/or lights) are deployed and cars must slow to 60km/h (37mph) no matter where they are on the track, and no passing is allowed. This is the same speed that the pit-lane speed-limiters are set for, so maintaining that rate is simple. With no safety-car, the pits open sooner and there is no need for the elaborate "wave by" before the end of the safety period; their duration is shortened considerably. Had Code 60 been in place at Sebring, the time spent under caution would have been substantially reduced. We still would have needed at least 3 safety car periods and the red-flag period; repairs to the track and removal of extensive debris would require it. Purple flags don't stop fires.
Not too long ago the European Le Mans Series went for an entire season (5 6-hour races) without a full course caution. Of course, this was partly due to high driving standards as well as doing more under local yellows.
The Prototype Challenge class was involved in the major collisions of the race. One collision in particular pointed out the need for greater discretion among the drivers. The #87 PC car of Gaston Kearby made the most dangerous track re-entry from a spin I have seen in quite a while. It was "t-boned" by the #08 PC of Alex Tagliani at speed. Once the bad decision to re-enter the track was made, Alex could do nothing to avoid the collision. I'm curious about the fallout, if any, from this incident. This and another high-speed collision of PC cars proved the safety of the carbon-fiber tubs of the FLM09 chassis the hard way; all four drivers walked away from those collisions. Beyond the two collisions, it seemed that every time the race went green, another PC car was spinning off the track and were sometimes the cause of the safety-car periods when they became stuck in the runoff areas and had to be towed out.
Media Coverage
Prior to the race weekend it looked like U.S. coverage of the race would be restricted to 3 hours at the start of the race to live TV coverage on Fox Sports, with the remaining 9 hours streamed on IMSA.com for those outside the Fox coverage areas. On March 12th, there was an announcement on the IMSA web site that a new site had been established (http://www.fanschoice.tv/schedule) that would stream live video of some of the TUSC races, including Sebring. At the time it was unclear what restrictions there might be (geoblocked?). As it turned out, there seemed to be a last minute decision to stream the entire 12 hours of Sebring live from the IMSA.com web site, and there didn't appear to be any geoblocking. The stream was clean, solid and supported up to 720p HD resolution. My only real complaint is that IMSA should have made this decision earlier and advertised it more widely. Oh yes, that new site did not appear to actually stream the race. I appreciate the improved streaming coverage, but the way it came about confused many fans.
The audio coverage of the Daytona race on MRN was, to be kind, disappointing. For the remainder of the TUSC season, MRN has added Greg Creamer and Ryan Eversley to the broadcast team. This is a major improvement and a step in the right direction. The problem was that in a 12 hour race, you need more than one competent team of commentators. For the shorter TUSC races (all but Watkins Glen and Petite Le Mans), this new team should prove a big win for MRN. I still miss the coverage we used to have from Radiolemans.com however.
These two steps (expanded streaming coverage and upgraded commentary) shows that IMSA is trying to make things better for the fans. They need to keep up the good work and do a better job of keeping everyone informed of the changes in a timely manner.
Officiating
I don't have the heart to discuss the officiating. I don't think anyone has expressed the problem better than Graham Goodwin of DailySportscar.com: http://www.dailysportscar.com/?p=25310
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