Sebring (19 DEC '10) - iamINDY.de Series newcomer Ralph Krause benifits from Yang Ou's sustaining losing streak and wins his first race already in his second start. Behind it, Gary Borkenhagen defends successful his second place against Henrik Müller.
 

Race recap

 
After a single car qualification with two flying laps Ou again show his ability to be fast from the start on and posted the quickest lap time in 1:43.219 sec. Positions two and three were held by the German drivers Ralph Krause (+0.446 sec.) and Nico Brandt (+1.165 sec.). Surprisingly far back in 15th position qualified the Slovenian Joze Rozman who showed a great performance four weeks ago at the race at Road Atlanta as well as in the practice sessions today at Sebring. After the race he said that his times were not counted by iRacing due to a wall contact in the first lap and an off-track in the second.
 
This mishap was soon punished again at the start of the race when the field took the green flag Rozman and the following Michael Cooper came together because of a misunderstanding. Cooper on a very good start tried to go by on the outside of Rozman who tried to take it easy on the start. But suddenly Rozman looked for the same piece of real estate and both collided which turned Rozman’s car sharp to the right in the front of Dan Lee Ensch who had no chance to avoid any contact. Coming from behind Andrew Aitken was able to get by the mess with a fast reaction and missed the car of Rozman by just a few inches. Rozman had to retire after his wild ride and did not even cross the start finish line to the first lap. Ensch took a drive through the pit lane and let his car overlook by his crew which sent him out again with a small damage on the front wing and possibly damaged front suspension. This incident made the following 50 laps race a real challenge for Ensch.

Michael Cooper was still on the run and probably didn’t notice his damage as he continued his race. Heading into turn one with a very late braking point the car went loose from a second to another and went off the track into the tire barriers finally ending the race for him.
 
In the front Yang Ou kept the level of competition very high and was able to pull away by almost one second per lap! Everything looked already like an easy victory for the Denmark but first you must the finish line… The race behind the leader was way more exciting. Nico Brandt who started from third was able to keep his front man Ralph Krause in sight for the first laps but then the gap went bigger after some smaller off-tracks. However, Krause had the lighter car of both when he pitted very early already in lap 14 while Brandt had a full tank and came in four laps later. Further back in the field Marty Sponsler had a great qualification as he posted the fifth fastest time. But soon after the start it became clear that his race trim was not that good as his qualification performance so that he first had to let Gary Borkenhagen pull away and from behind Matt Fisch as well as Henrik Müller going by. In the fourth lap Sponsler had bad luck when he the rear of his car overtook him as he headed into the “Gendebien” called turn 15. As Sponsler wanted to go back on track he collided with Niles Anders who was coming from behind which forced Anders to retire.
 
Müller who was now sitting in sixth after his start from ninth was putting pressure on his front man Matt Fisch but didn’t found a way to come close enough to start an attack. After some laps of close “pair flight” Fisch made a small mistake braking for the famous but tricky Sunset Bend at the end of the long backstretch and lost his car. Unfortunate for Fisch an impact into the tire barrier was not avoidable which ended the race for him. The next target on the list for Müller now was the fourth placed Gary Borkenhagen who was just some seconds ahead. Some laps later Müller almost repeated Fisch’s accident twice when he lost control in the Sunset Bend but was able to keep it on track – without damage. After the race he said: “I wanted to safe fuel in order to not lose a lap and to make the stop as scheduled so I lifted very much at the end of the backstretch which made the car very oversteering. The bad thing is I repeated that one and made the mistake twice! That strategy didn’t pay off.”
 
The majority of the drivers pitted in lap 18 – much later than Ralph Krause who came in four laps earlier. After his pit stop Russel Thompson retired. The reasons for that are not known and could be caused by an electric failure rumors say. The big drama happened just four laps after the pit stops as the dominant race leader Ou closed up Roy Spielman and wanted to lap him: in turn three Spielman went wide to let Ou go by on the inside but in the moment as Ou was beside him Spielman lost his car on the very bumpy surface at this place and spun into the race leader who went off track and hit the retaining wall – both had to climb out of their cockpit and end their races. With a huge pitch Yang Ou lost a certain victory and takes a big damper for his championship hopes. Almost at the same time Daniel Olszewski found his race on in the wall on the backstretch: coming out of “Le Mans” turn 16 the car turned sharp right. “The car already had some damage before and probably something was bent. So it just snapped to the right.” was the short description from Olszewski afterwards.
 
Suddenly Ralph Krause was in the lead after he already thought only to able to finish second. Nico Brandt meanwhile had a residue of almost 20 sec. but was able to keep it consistent. Perhaps the victory for Krause was not fixed yet. So Brandt kept pushing as he overdid his attack and went off track coming out of turn five heading into the long “Big Bend” turn 6. Sadly the impact into the tire barriers was too hard and the left side too seriously damaged to continue which forced Brandt to the sidelines now. Müller showed a similar incident some laps earlier but was able to the car mostly undamaged as he got just small front wing damage. But this was not the last action the spectators were able to see in this corner today - there was still more to come.
 
In lap 28 the leader Krause made his second pit stop which now made clear that he needed to come in again and that he was together with his team mate Joachim Politzer the only driver in the field who used a three stop strategy. But with a comfortable gap of more than a minute to the followers this wasn’t really a problem. The rest of the field pitted together in lap 35. From that point on the second placed Borkenhagen and Müller had a very intense fight. Both were pushing each other very hard and in the finish they were separated by less than a second – after 185 miles and 90 minutes of road course action. The last victim of the turn 5 today was Jeff York who went off track just eight laps before the finish.
 
After the race the officials decided to warn Michael Cooper for the start incident and found that he was causing the first collision as well as it was dangerous to continue with his damaged car at full speed which resulted into his accident in turn 1.
 

 
Voices after the race

Ralph Krause (P1): “In the qualification I could put my car on position two with a 1:43.655 were I was quiet happy with. The start itself was not very so optimal for me. As pole sitter Yang Ou picked up the speed I slept a bit. So it happened that third placed Nico Brand started an attacked going into turn 1. With highest strain and concentration I was able to defend my position. In lap two I missed my breaking point whereupon Nico Brandt again tried to go by. Leader Yang Ou turned one fastest lap after another. I tried to stay close behind within the first 5 laps but I could keep his speed. The gap to Nico Brandt increased slowly but steadily. It seems that leader Yang Ou had a big problem with lapping in lap 22. Suddenly and unexpected my spotter told me that I was in lead and that my gap to Brandt was more than 18 seconds. Sadly he retired in lap 26 so I was able to bring the race home without any danger from that point on. Conclusion: due to the retirement of Yang Ou I was able to score my first win. Lucky but the happiness is very big! Also my team mate Joachim Politzer rounded up this event with his 5th place. A good result for our team and my sponsor SimSync Pro which will be extensively celebrated.”

 
Gary Borkenhagen (P2): “I feel real lucky to finish in second. I got lucky everyone around me had troubles I really struggled in the middle part of the race, and thankfully Henrik [Müller] was closing fast at the witch made me focus again just enough to get second.”

 
Andrew Aitken (P4): “Thought consistency would be the key to a good result in the Sebring International 185. Although never bargained I would start last because of a crash in qualification. Decided to be extra cautious at the start a few names around me here at the back I did not recognize, poor Dan [Lee Ensch] being the victim of one even before we crossed the line, made the start then settled down to the plan which was working well making my way through the field. Kept meeting up with Henrik [Müller] who was faster but he was making silly mistakes, got in-front of him when I made one myself in the chicane before the back straight cut the track and black flagged when a member of my team had been asking me what time to put the Dinner on! (She has not been reprimanded for her actions.) Managed to get my concentration back to bring the car home 4th very happy with that just behind Henrik and Gary [Borkenhagen] who were having a real battle, thought I might get something from that but they were clean.”

Joachim Politzer (P5): “My goal was to end the race and also hoping for a top-10 finish for my first "real" road race with the Dallara. After, i guess, about 200 laps of training, i felt good and safe with the car and the setup.  The only question was about a two or three stop strategy. After some tests I’ve decided to make a three stop strategy, but after the race I’m not sure, if this was the best decision.... But all in all I’m quite happy with my 5´th place in this race. All drivers I’m in touch with, during the race, were very fair and everything was o.k. One little heart attack moment, when i try to lap someone. I want to wait until the next straight, and he want to let me pass before. I get a little irritation and a half selfspun, but nothing bad happened. At the end of the race i had a comfortable gap of 8 seconds to Marty. But a few laps before the end, I’ve make two little mistakes, which brings him at about two seconds behind me. So my last laps i had to push a little more, and at the end i could hold my place with a gap of 1.2 seconds...  Congratulations to my teammate Ralph for winning the race and all finishers in this race.”

Dan Lee Ensch (P7): “I received a bigger challenge than I was looking for! I was collected in the crash at the start and ended up driving the entire race with left front damage to my wing and suspension. Fortunately the damage caused a push instead of a loose condition, and I was able to continue (although about 3 or 4 seconds per lap slower than usual). Had a bit of a scare on leader lap 33 when I stayed low in the last turn to let Andrew Aiken by, then couldn't decide if I should maintain the same line for Henrik Muller, who was right on Andrew's heels. I stayed to the right down the main straight, which takes you right into the racing line setup for turn one. I was going slower (and Henrik was going faster) than I thought and Henrik nearly nailed me. Thank goodness we can talk to each other and I think I was able to warn him just in the nick of time because he did a great job to avoid me! In the end, my perseverence paid off with a surprising 7th place finish. It was a very difficult but rewarding race!”

Nico Brandt (P9): “I had a good start but I never really couldn’t find my rhythm. Didn’t made any mistakes until that lap 27 when the car just turned left coming out of turn 5. It was too damaged to continue.”

Matt Fisch (P14): “Came up to position five with a good start and the car felt good today. I just was too brave in the last corner and went off track while running out of talent.”
 

 
Championship & Outlook

 
With just three more races to come the fight for the overall championship develops very much for Henrik Müller after Yang Ou’s bad luck today. Ou is now 27 points behind while Tim Doyle drops to fifth and Dan Lee Ensch as well as Daniel Olszewski goes by. With 87 points behind the leader Müller the chances from Ensch are already very minimal. However, the next race at the 2 mile superspeedway of Michigan International Speedway can have a very different outcome since racing is completely different here. Strategy and teamwork with others in the draft is essential.
 

Official iRacing session results          Sebring International 185 image gallary

 
Race results