2005 SEBRING 12 HOURS

American Le Mans Series

A battle between the two best sportscar drivers of their generation driving equal machinery produced one of the best ever editions of the Sebring 12 Hours. Tom Kristensen and Allan Mcnish battled right to the end aboard their respective Champion Racing Audi R8s in a race that could have gone either way.

Kristensen, JJ Lehto and Marco Werner ended up winning that year’s American Le Mans Series opener courtesy of a tactical coup from the men on their pitstand – engineer Brad Kettler and Champion team manager Mike Peters – at the penultimate round of stops.

Kristensen was on course to lose the lead to Mcnish, who shared with Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela, because he would need fresh Michelin rubber and Mcnish wouldn’t. The crew of the #1 Audi opted to short-fuel their man, and combined with a split-second delay for Mcnish leaving the pits when he was blocked by an inattentive cameraman, the time gained allowed the leader to just hang on in front.

The Dane pushed like hell on cold rubber – there were no tyre warmers in the ALMS – and was still ahead when the two Audis got to the final corner on his out-lap. Mcnish was right with him, but not quite close enough to try to pass. With his Michelins now up to temperature, Kristensen pulled enough of a gap to see him through the final pitstop and on to a six-second victory.

Mcnish still believes that the events at the second-to-last round of stops cost him and his team-mates the race. “If I’d got ahead I would have been able to take the edge off his new-tyre run,” he says today. “Shortfuelling Tom was crucial. Without that I’m 99.9% sure I would have done him.”