Sebring: What the drivers said
Ahead of the third practice session at Sebring this afternoon, here’s what some of the drivers had to say about the track here in Florida.
Kamui Kobayashi – No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing, Toyota TS 050 HYBRID
“It is very nice to be in Sebring. We have done a couple of tests and as we know this track is quite a bumpy track but it is one that I enjoy.
“To be here you feel the history and it is a great track but hard for the driver. I even had padding around my body for the bumps so for everyone it is a big challenge to race here in Sebring.”
Gustavo Menezes – Rebellion Racing , Rebellion R13-Gibson
“Racing at home is always special so you always have a good time. Sebring is very challenging as we know and beyond the bumps the consequence for mistakes is a lot higher than most of the circuits you compete at here in WEC.
“I definitely enjoy this circuit more than the cars do!”
Pastor Maldonado – DragonSpeed, Oreca 07-Gibson
“We have been fighting a lot just to put the team together but we have a very strong crew and we are approaching this second part of the season with full attack.
“Actually I have always wanted to discover this kind of racing in the US. I just did Daytona and racing over here is amazing and I am going to really enjoy racing for a proper US team.”
Jan Magnussen – Corvette Racing, Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
“Coming to Sebring every year is one of my favourite races and the track is so unlike anywhere else that we race. It is always a big challenge just to get to the finish.
“In the time that I have done sportscars the cars are stronger now and you can get away with a lot more stuff.
“Just being here with the atmosphere and the crowd with the parties going on is a fantastic feeling. There’s also a great crowd every year.”
Gianmaria Bruni – Porsche GT Team, Porsche 911 RSR
“I think it will be a close race again between all the manufacturers in LMGTE Pro.
“We did two days of testing recently so we got a lot of data and in FP1 it was all good.
“BoP hasn’t changed anything and everyone is close so we are expecting good battles again here especially as we will run for a bit longer in the dark than in the usual 12 Hour race.”
Patrick Lindsay – Team Project 1, Porsche 911 RSR
“First of all there has been a lot of support from the paddock and especially from Porsche.
“It was a big surprise and a shock to everyone as these cars are so bullet proof for the most part so to see one have a catastrophic incident is very rare but fortunately Jorg was ok.
“The car arrived in Atlanta last night and DHL helped tremendously to make that happen.
“We cleared tech checks at around 10am and then we had to fit FIA sensors so we were all legal. We missed FP1 but we are confident we will be out for FP2.”
Matt Campbell – Dempsey Proton Racing, Porsche 911 RSR
“Another new track for me so I am looking forward to it. I’ve had a great start to the year and we were also strong at the end of last year, so the pace we have shown is strong.
“The test last weekend went very well so we are happy at the moment with where we are at. For sure it will be very different and a big challenge for the whole field because we have run in hot conditions and now in FP2 it will be the opposite end of the scale.”
Free Practice 3 will commence at 4:15 pm local time today, while qualifying will begin at 09:30 pm.
