The Sebrings
Our rental car was one of those, and sorry, all it did was remind us how much some parts of the auto industry are in trouble. Buzzy, underpowered, ill-handling, poorly engineered, is the Bear leaving anything out? Oh yeah, lousy fuel mileage. Sebring the town was, well, as it has been. Some good places, some not so good. Rampant price gauging, particularly hotels, though the worst we saw was $3.80 (regular) gasoline near our rental car return in Orlando. Phantom wireless internet connections. Sebring the event is never a disappointment. The race was good, though its gotten to be a bit of a habit that the oldest, greatest sports car race in North America can’t put together four solid classes in the same year. As soon as one is up, another is down. The crowd was “about even with last year’s record,” and the rain and cooler than usual weather kept a damper on the celebrations – the local rag reported only 39 arrests, including a DUI – for running into a Sheriff’s cruiser – and a bunch for various other recreational substances (see also Dopey’s Rule, below). Still, the flags were flying, and the 
homesteads – some simple, some not so – were established. The Bear visited friends around the track, including the Coburns and their friends at Turn 13. After fifteen years at Daytona, and nearly every ALMS race since its founding, Murphy tries to tell his friends and acquaintances that Sebring is “different,” but they don’t seem to really get it. I guess it’s just one of those “you gotta be there” things.
At the Watering Hole
The Bear and five friends got out to see Bully at the Watering Hole. Between us we tried sautéed scallops, fried shrimp, a New York strip, and a whole Yellowtail Snapper. We heard no complaints. At that table and at others, Murphy heard a lot of opinions about this 55th Annual 12 Hours of Sebring. In no particular order, here are some. On the evidence at Sebring, the more restricted and less capable LMP2 field at Le Mans won’t be on the same planet as the R10, say nothing of the same lap. The 5% looks quite unnecessary in France. Certain Audi dignitaries (see Doc’s Secret, below) think that will be different on the short, tight tracks coming up on the 
ALMS schedule. Porsche has a faster prototype – when it was running it was clearly the best in class – but the Bear (and many others) had thought that Spyder 2.0 debuted here would primarily address last season’s reliability failings. The gearbox and electrical issues looked strangely familiar to many, though the similarities may be superficial. There was some buzz that R & R were “not amused.” Since the Spyder is likely still a good four-hour racer, it will be tough for Acura to repeat this success. Whether Porsche has done its sums won’t be known until October. There is good racing between the two Corvettes in GT1, but to be honest, regardless of good intentions, it’s hard to focus there, particularly with such a good GT2 field. Only one Porsche – Rahal Letterman Racing’s 997 GT3 – ran on the mandated 10% ethanol. Why? Because they didn’t “trust it,” and wanted to do “more testing.” Bobby knew better. The waivers need to end.
Sibling Rivalry
When have brothers started together on the front row of a class or overall of a major international race. That could have happened if Tim Bergmeister had started Petersen-White Lightning’s Ferrari next to Jörg, who started Flying Lizard Motorsport’s Porsche. Michael and Ralf Schumacher? Bobby and Al Unser?
Tilting at Windmills
Oliver Kuttner was there. He had a tent/booth on vendor’s row behind the pits. There were videos, a book to sign – to show support perhaps – a black-painted chassis, ostensibly of a Ford GT, but not modified for racing in any way that could be seen. A racer from Winter Haven was helping Oliver out – his USA-painted blue-on-white Ford GT was on display in front of the tent. It’s an interesting idea, this Ford GT for racing thing, but Murphy’s wondering again (we’ve seen many of these fantasyland endeavors) why so much effort keeps going into unlikely projects like this one instead of – for instance – fielding a Zytek LMP1, or a good GT1 entry? In English (someone other than the Bear will have to read the French version) it seems clear that an out-of-production car is not eligible for homologation. The “seven year clause” applies to the extension of a previously homologated vehicle. Besides, homologation will require a prototype of the intended racer. At present there is none. Murphy would be as happy as anyone to see some version of the Ford GT make an American Le Mans Series grid. Unfortunately, for now he’ll have to assign this project to the same heap that includes the Zulltec, Shaw, Lotus GT1, Lexus, Titan, Pagani, Pastorini Mercedes, and Panhard. Some of these actually turned a wheel once or twice, but still soaked up loads of cash is an arguably cash-strapped sport. There will always be the Don Quixotes, I guess.
Grumpy about it
There’s a racer who was on the sidelines and “missing this – a lot” who was “this close” to fielding one of the ex-Dyson Lola LMP1s. But over concerns about performance against this LMP2 field for our racer friend and for potential sponsors, that project died, even though it would have put a pair of very well known open wheel pilots on the grid. “The Bear would have poked fun at us,” he said. It appears that the relative performance of prototypes in this series isn’t sorted out yet. The two gasoline-powered LMP1s did a disappearing act at Sebring. Is that attributable to other circumstances, or have those cars now become the LMP3s of this field?
Doc’s Secret
Ralf Jüttner said hello to Murphy at Chicane’s one evening, and introduced his friend Dr. Ullrich to the Bear. They seemed pleased, and the Bear congratulated them, on the truck’s performance over the first three days of the week. Murphy observed that the best-lap-in-session by car number would read, 1, 1, 1, then 2, 2, 2…you get the idea. “Do you want to know the secret,” asked Ralf? He grabbed the Bear’s little note pad and started 
scribbling. “This is the secret engineering formula for how we do it,” he said proudly, while Herr Doktor Ullrich looked on, grinning from ear to ear. So, as a service to the racing, engineering, and scientific community, and to help save all us critters from global warming (diesel is all about reducing fuel consumption, right?) here is Audi Sport’s secret engineering formula, exactly as written that fateful night in Chicanes. Murphy’s friend Al, who invented the internet, will undoubtedly also be thrilled. And after a less-than-stellar Sebring, Murphy thinks they ought to get right on this at Weissach, too – perhaps assign a committee.
Happy
Chicane’s is always an interesting place, with interesting people, and one of the most interesting people in this business – we’ll call him “Happy” for his frequent friendly smile – stopped by to chat with the Bear. “Three gentlemen drivers.” (On chances for a high finish.) “Sitting in Miami.” (Car arrived too late.) “…called me a week ago.” (Had cars to sell.) “No.” (Answer.) “they…talked to me.” (A GT1 please, or two?) “Need a primary sponsor, I can fill in around that.” (Answer.) “Might be flying right back – or not.” (Possibilities.) “Five.” (How many Happy has.) “Ten.” (How many there are.)
Dopey’s Rule
Bear questions. Who is Luciano da Silva? According to IMSA timing and scoring, he led three laps of Sebring in GT2. Who is Luciano da Moro? He’s on dailysportscar’s Sebring entry. Who is Luca Moro? He’s subject of an FIA memo dated January 22, 2007.
Mickey World
Murphy went to Mickey World after Sebring, had lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack – Bears are big seafood fans – we’re usually are stuck with raw salmon, though, so a lobster fondue was a rare treat. After lunch, the Bear did the grand tour of the Disney World resorts, Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian. Great fun – you can park at any one of them and take the monorail to the others.
Toyota Taking Lessons
Just before leaving for Sebring, Murphy took Toyota to task for poorly placed and planned performance projects. He concluded with a suggestion that, “Toyota Chairman Hiroshi Okuda should ask Honda CEO Takeo Fukui how it’s done.” Perhaps Hiroshi is one of the Bear’s fans. Just five days later, there were representatives of TRD on hand at Sebring to watch Honda’s historic LMP2 win.
Chicken, Cream, Cognac and Champignons
Murphy’s fare has run to the things good for watching races, but he does like to cook other things, too, and occasionally he’ll give Heidi the night off. Some of you will want to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts. However, Gaida, Murphy’s favorite TV chef, would use thighs and leave the skin on. Here’s another note. The Bear’s tested this recipe and others in which the chicken is cooked with other ingredients. That often results in undercooked chicken. So Murphy often separately microwaves his chicken pieces on the side to give them a “head start.” That keeps the other items (the onion and garlic in this case) from overcooking while you’re trying to get the chicken done enough.
2 Chicken breasts (If you do thighs, it will be four.)
1 tbs. Olive oil
1 tbs. Butter
¼ Onion, thinly sliced, then chopped
1 Clove garlic, minced
8 Button mushroom, sliced
½ Cup chicken stock
½ Cup cream (or substitute ¼ cup sour cream)
1 tbs. Cognac
Pinch of chopped cilantro leaves
Salt, Pepper
Heat pan, add oil and butter. Add garlic, onion, and chicken. Cook until onion is browned and chicken is cooked through. Add brandy and cream, then slowly stir in chicken stock. When sauce has reduced a bit, add mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Plate chicken, smother with sauce, sprinkle the cilantro over the top and serve. Long grain and wild rice, and steamed broccoli will make nice sides for this dish.
(Oh, I almost forgot. Champignons are mushrooms.)