Race 1 .  Mobil 1 12 hours of Sebring.   Ben gets of to flying start !

The eagerly awaited start to the 2008 season finally arrived  with the 56th running of the 12 hours of Sebring. With new partners BP,  Castrol and Yokohama on board and the car bearing it’s new livery everyone in the team was upbeat and optimistic that 2008 would see further improvement on the development year of 2007. Testing had shown the car was capable of quicker times around the demanding 3.7 mile Sebring circuit than last year, and the week leading up to the race was split between set-up work and driver familiarisation. This was to be Gerrado’s first race for B-K  and he and Ben would also be joined by Rafol Matos.

Throughout the week the drivers struggled to replicate the times the car produced in the January test, however Ben reported the engine felt really strong and the new Advan tires where holding up well and capable of double stinting during the race.

Qualifying was Thursday afternoon and turned out to be a very short affair, brought to an abrupt halt by the massive accident Ben had at turn 1. It was his second flying lap and as he turned into the apex of turn 1 the car was unsettled by one of the many bumps on the Sebring track and the back end stepped out causing the front corner to impact with the wall , this in turn caused the car to lift and as soon as the air got underneath, it flipped onto its roll hoop which then sent the car through a double roll eventually ending on top of the tire barrier on the outside of the track. Fortunately the car was caught by the catch fencing and came to rest the right way up. Ben, to the relief of everyone watching, climbed from the car unscathed albeit disappointed for the team. Ben was taken to the medical centre for a thorough check over while the team were already making steps to build a new car from the spare tub  and a truck load of spare parts. The following morning when the drivers arrived back at the track about 8.00am they were amazed to see a brand new car sat in the B-K awning. It really was a monumental effort by Bob (Bach) and his whole crew, they had done a weeks work in one night. With some final fettling the car was ready for scrutineering, which to everyone's delight, it passed at about 5.30pm. Incredibly they were back in the race. Come race morning Ben was assigned to do some installation laps and systems check on the new car during morning warm up. Everything was OK apart from a minor brake problem which was easily cured. The car was then fuelled up ready for the race and to go out onto the starting grid.  It was the first time the new car had been fully fuelled and, disaster, there was a leak from the fuel cell.  The guys immediately started working on the car in a desperate bid to make the start, however despite all their efforts they were unable to stop the leak and the car was reluctantly withdrawn.

Although the team didn't make the race they had received huge admiration from everyone in the paddock following their mammoth efforts throughout the week. The experience of an all-nighter had galvanised the team and each and every member is looking to the next round to show their true potential. Ben is OK and is looking forward to the challenges of St. Petes.