Another win for Audi, the first for Acura and Andretti Green Racing, and the most exciting finish in race history marked the start of the 2007 American Le Mans Series on Saturday. Marco Werner, Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela drove to victory at the 55th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in one of the most thrilling editions of the Florida classic in its history.
It marked the second straight Sebring win and ninth victory in as many races in the short life of the diesel-powered Audi R10 TDI. Werner crossed the finish line after 364 laps for his third victory in five Sebring starts. Biela won for the fourth time in America’s greatest sports car race (tied with Tom Kristensen), and Pirro won for the first time since 2000.
Werner was seven laps up on Bryan Herta in the Andretti Green Racing Acura ARX LMP2 entry that he shared with Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan. The Audi trio came back from a punctured tire, pit lane penalties and a two-lap deficit to win.
“I would have never put money on our car, ” Pirro said. “When you are two laps behind, it’s very tough. I just had to put my foot down and race. We had to believe we were still tough competitors. Today’s race was very demanding, and every car had problems with mechanicals. We never had a mechanical (issue) and that is another reason why I am so proud to be an Audi R10 TDI driver. “
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