Sebring Notes of interest 2001-03-09

The 49th Annual Superflo 12 Hours At Sebring, Presented by Dodge, will be run on Saturday, March 17, at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway. The race is America's oldest sports car race and will be Round Two of the 2001 American Le Mans Series.

FROM THE BROADCAST BOOTH TO BEHIND THE WHEEL -- After spending much of the last two seasons in the broadcast booth, veteran road racer Bill Adam will return to driving when he competes in the Superflo 12 Hours At Sebring next weekend. A two-time class winner in the Sebring classic, Adam will drive in the new LMP 675 class in a Lola B2K/Porsche entered by Gunnar Racing. His co-drivers will be Wayne Jackson and Gunnar Jeannette. The native Canadian served as a color commentator on NBC Sports telecasts of American Le Mans Series races in 1999 and 2000. Sebring will mark his first race in the ALMS, which was formed in 1999. Adam has a long history in road racing, dating back to his days in the Trans-Am Series in the 1970's. He is perhaps best known for several years spent driving the famed Group 44 entries in the old IMSA GT series, including a successful 1983 season in a Group 44 Jaguar XJR-5. He won three IMSA GTP races that season. His Sebring wins came in the old GT1 class in 1980 (for Group 44) and in 1996 (co-driving with Hans Stuck in a Porsche 911 Turbo).

SMITH REUNITES WITH JOHANSSON FOR SEBRING -- Two-time Sebring overall winner Stephan Johansson has named England's Guy Smith as his co-driver for the Sebring event in Johansson's new Gulf-sponsored Audi R8. Though Johansson had originally entered the race without naming a co-driver, his pairing with Smith is not surprising. The two raced together most of the 2000 season in the American Le Mans Series in a Reynard 2KQ , finishing fifth three times. Johansson will field the Audi R8 Prototype in the European Le Mans Series this season. His team is one of only two privateer efforts to run the Audi.

CHANGES FOR SASCHA'S WEBSITE -- Sascha Maassen enters the Sebring race hot off of a victory with co-driver Lucas Luhr in the McKenna Automotive/Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RS in the GT class of last week's ALMS race at Texas Motor Speedway. Race fans visiting Maassen's website (http://www.sascha-maassen.de) will be able to take a quiz on the Sebring race and win prizes in the Fan Club section. The site has a new design in the 2001 section, including a top article and news listing, as well as picture galleries and details about the car and race team.

LOTS OF NUMBERS FOR MICHELIN -- Michelin, which has provided the tires for the past two Sebring winners, will bring more than 3,500 tires to Sebring for use by American Le Mans Series teams in the 12-hour endurance race. That's enough tires to travel more than 700,000 miles, which is equal to more than 180,000 laps around the 3.7-mile Sebring International Raceway, or more than 130 round trips between Sebring and Los Angeles. Shipping the tires from manufacturing plants in France and the United States will require 12 53-foot tractor-trailers.

QUICK NOTES -- Chris Kneifel will compete at Sebring for Team Corvette, his last race for the foreseeable future. He has already begun his new duties as Chief Steward for the CART FedEx Championship Series, a job that will keep him out of the cockpit of race cars .... American Viperacing, a new team in the GTS class of the ALMS, has boosted its program for Sebring with the addition of YSEEK.com as a sponsor for driver Erik Messley .... The media center at Sebring will definitely have an international flavor to it. The ACO, organizer of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is bringing 12 French journalists to Sebring to expose them to the American Le Mans Series ....

- Andy Hall