ALMS
Sebring: Doran-Lista race report
Doran-Lista Team Has Far Too Short a Day at Sebring Saturday SEBRING, Fla., March 16 - The Doran-Lista Racing team's day ended far too early Saturday at Sebring International Raceway, as a freak brake failure caused the Oreca Dallara Judd ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Doran-Lista Team Has Far Too Short a Day at Sebring Saturday
SEBRING, Fla., March 16 - The Doran-Lista Racing team's day ended far too early Saturday at Sebring International Raceway, as a freak brake failure caused the Oreca Dallara Judd #27 to crash into a tire barrier less than an hour after the start of the 50th annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.
Luckily Didier Theys of Scottsdale, Ariz. was not injured in the violent crash, but the car suffered extensive damage and was done for the day at 11:13 a.m., bringing out the event's first full-course yellow.
His co-drivers, Mauro Baldi of Monte Carlo and Fredy Lienhard of Erlen, Switzerland, didn't even get to drive.
Theys lost his brakes near the end of an extremely fast portion of the track, Ulmann Straight, and crashed at the next turn, turn 17, near the drive-over bridge and the track's skid pad.
"All of a sudden I had no brakes," Theys said when he returned to the team transporter. "I hit hard. I was going about 150 mph, and I hit backwards.
"The front of the car is OK but the rear of the car is pushed all the way back to the gearbox," he reported. "The wing is gone for sure. There is a lot of damage.
"All I know is the headrest is good, because I hit very hard," he added, trying hard to smile.
After qualifying tenth, Theys lost several positions between the start of the race and the accident. "Yes, before that we were having some problems too because we had no grip," he explained. "The car was sliding around a lot. But the brakes were fine before I lost them. I had checked them once right before that and I had brakes, but then all of a sudden my foot went to the floor."
Earlier in the day the Doran-Lista team escaped a bullet when the car's starter failed at 7 a.m., right before the 7:30 a.m. final warm-up session. With team manager Kevin Doran directing, the crew members changed the starter in only 18 minutes and had the car back on the track at the start of the warm-up session.
After the warm-up session Theys said the car was fine and hopes were high, as nothing foreshadowed the brake problems that were to develop so suddenly.
The team's next event is next weekend at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif.
-dlr/lm-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article CHAMPCAR/CART: Sebring honors Dan Gurney with turn name
Next article BUSCH: IRL: Barber alumni have a good weekend
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Mauro Baldi
Ferrari an eleven time winner at Daytona 24
IMSA
IMSA
Daytona 24
Ferrari an eleven time winner at Daytona 24
New special exhibition: "24 Hours for Eternity. Le Mans."
WEC
WEC
New special exhibition: "24 Hours for Eternity. Le Mans."
Bourdais exceeds expectations, wins pole in Daytona-winning Corvette DP for 12 Hours of Sebring
IMSA
IMSA
Bourdais exceeds expectations, wins pole in Daytona-winning Corvette DP for 12 Hours of Sebring
Latest news
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
3 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
4 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
4 h
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Talladega II
4 h
Peterson Racing addresses online abuse after parting ways with Austin Green
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe