A catalog of engine problems stymied the attempts of Elton Julian, Michael Vergers, Juan Barazi, and the Barazi-Epsilon team in their bid for an LMP2-category podium finish at the 54th annual running of the classic Sebring 12 Hours endurance sportscar race on Saturday.
The team’s eventual result of fourth in class and 16th overall evoked a mix of pride and frustration.
Despite the stalwart efforts of the Barazi-Epsilon crew and technicians from engine builders AER, a combination of maladies affecting the spark plugs, turbocharger, and starter motor lost the team more than 25 laps in the pits and a likely third place in the opening round of the 2006 American Le Mans Series held on the legendary central Florida airfield circuit.
The factory LMP2 Penske Porsches (dubbed ‘LMP1-and-a-half’ by more than one pit lane observer) outran all opposition until sidelined by mechanical failure, although one of the yellow and red machines completed enough laps to be classified second in LMP2 and deny Barazi-Epsilon a place on the podium.
Elton scythed through the field during double stints in the daytime and early evening, clawing back three laps to his nearest LMP2 rival in both outings and passing faster LMP2 and LMP1 cars along the way. His best time of the race came before dusk, edging out the winning Intersport Lola on the same lap. Elton’s time was only equalled by teammate Vergers in the cooler conditions of the evening, following a strong stintfrom car owner Barazi. During his final one-hour run to the flag, Elton outpaced the class-leading Intersport and Binnie Motorsports Lolas by as much as seven seconds, and was the fastest driver on the track after Dane Tom Kristensen in the race-winning Audi R10 LMP1.
“The amount of time lost in the pits was hugely frustrating, and just gave us too much to do to finish on the podium” said Julian. “I just can’t thank the team enough for all their hard work and absolute refusal to give up. But the real highlight of the week for me was working with the Gunnar Racing crew who were there providing local support for Barazi-Epsilon, especially my race engineer Mark Schomann and team owner Kevin Jeannette.”
“I also want to thank my sponsors for making it possible for me to drive at Sebring. Rodale, who publish Men’s Health and Best Life magazines, have been incredibly loyal, and I’m also really excited about the support for me coming out of Ecuador now from the national automobile club, ANETA, and Ninacuro,” said Julian.
“With their help, we’re looking to put together a package for the Le Mans 24 Hours as our next race.”
