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WeatherTech Championship GT Classes Bring High Speed Southern California Traffic Jam

April 4, 2017

Staff Report

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Southern California is legendary for its traffic, and with a 35-car IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship field that includes 25 GT cars on the tight, 1.968-mile Long Beach street circuit, it’s going to be a 100-minute, high-speed traffic jam. Saturday’s BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach will be televised live on FOX at 4 p.m. ET.

The influx of GT machinery at Long Beach this year comes via the addition of the GT Daytona (GTD) class, the largest WeatherTech Championship class, with 16 cars on the Long Beach entry list. GTD replaces the Prototype Challenge (PC) class, which competed in this event last year after two years of Prototypes and GT Le Mans (GTLM) cars only.

Both the GTD and GTLM classes feature makes and models that would be equally at home on the Long Beach street circuit as they would be on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, some 30 miles to the northwest, or on the many scenic and twisty roads throughout Southern California. But make no mistake, the WeatherTech Championship GT cars are full-fledged racing machines, and they mean business.

For evidence of that, look no further than the end of last year’s GTLM race at Long Beach. With only a few minutes remaining, Tommy Milner – who came into the race riding a two-race winning streak with victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida – led the race in the No. 4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R with Frederic Makowiecki right on his tail in the No. 912 Porsche and Nick Tandy in the No. 911 Porsche right behind Makowiecki.

In the famed Long Beach hairpin, Makowiecki attempted a pass but contacted the right rear of Milner’s car, sending the yellow Corvette spinning and leaving his own Porsche with too much damage to continue. Meanwhile, Tandy slipped past both cars, going on to lead the remaining four laps to secure the victory for himself and teammate Patrick Pilet.

Undoubtedly, Milner and co-driver Oliver Gavin – who went on to take the 2016 WeatherTech Championship GTLM title despite the disappointing conclusion to the Long Beach race – will be looking to complete some unfinished business this weekend.

“The kindest thing I can say about last year’s race at Long Beach is that the finish was very unfortunate,” Milner said. “So this weekend is a race I’d very much like to win. It has been a rough start (to the 2017 season) on the No. 4 Corvette side – all chalked up to bad luck – and a good result at Long Beach would help start our turnaround. Oliver and I have complete confidence in the team at Corvette Racing to get us headed in the right direction.”

They’ll have their hands full, however, with a deep and talented field of other GTLM machines, not to mention a stout challenge from their own Corvette Racing teammates, Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen, in the No. 3 Corvette.

Garcia and Magnussen head for Long Beach as GTLM winners last month at Sebring thanks to a stellar final driving stint for Garcia. The No. 3 duo also has been successful on the past at Long Beach, taking GTLM honors together in 2014 in addition to a 2008 American Le Mans Series win for Magnussen.

Pilet, meanwhile, returns to Long Beach with a new, mid-engine Porsche 911 RSR that was introduced to the world last November just up the road at the Los Angeles Auto Show. He also has a new co-driver in the No. 911 Porsche GT Team entry, Dirk Werner, who won the GTLM class at Long Beach two years ago as part of BMW Team RLL. Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor make up the other half of the Porsche GT Team entry in the No. 912.

For many of the first 36 hours of WeatherTech Championship racing this season, one of the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GTs have been running at the head of the GTLM pack. No. 66 Ford GT co-drivers Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand won at Daytona and finished second at Sebring, making them the points leaders heading to Long Beach. They won this event in 2011 together as co-drivers with BMW and Mueller also earned a class win in 2008.

Based on all of that, Hand and Mueller must rate among the favorites this weekend, as do their teammates, Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook in the No. 67 Ford GT.

A recurring theme among the drivers mentioned as previous Long Beach winners is that they’ve done it racing BMWs. And while it’s been a bit of a tough start to the season for the two-car BMW Team RLL program, Long Beach may be just what the doctor ordered.

No. 25 BMW driver Bill Auberlen has been attending the Grand Prix of Long Beach for decades, and the Redondo Beach resident has celebrated a couple of hometown victories, in 2013 and 2015, in addition to GTLM poles each of the past two years. He’ll go for a third win with new co-driver Alexander Sims, while John Edwards and Martin Tomczyk look for a little California love in their own No. 24 BMW.

Realistically, though, the GTLM race is wide open for any of the nine cars to win. The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE finished on the podium at both Daytona and Sebring, and when you add a 2016 season-ending victory at Petit Le Mans to the equation, co-drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander clearly have momentum. Risi has won at Long Beach before too, back in 2007.

If GTLM is a pick ‘em among five different manufacturers, pre-determining a GTD winner among the 16 cars from eight different marques is even tougher in an unpredictable season to date.

Alegra Motorsports opened the year with an improbable victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona. The team originally planned a part-time WeatherTech Championship program this year, but found itself third in the GTD point standings after Sebring.

Based on that – and the fact that the Dream Racing team that originally committed to the full season elected to sit out Long Beach – Alegra’s No. 28 Porsche will be on the grid this Saturday in the hands of Canadian standout Daniel Morad – a 2016 Ultra 94 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama champion – and Danish Porsche works driver Michael Christensen.

They’ll look to close the gap to current GTD points leaders Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen, who earned the first WeatherTech Championship victory in history for Mercedes-AMG in their No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG entry at Sebring. Keating and Bleekemolen represent one third of the Mercedes-AMG attack and are joined by Cooper MacNeil and Gunnar Jeannette in the No. 50 WeatherTech Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the No. 75 SunEnergy1 entry for Frenchman Tristan Vautier and fan favorite Boris Said from Carlsbad, California.

Just behind Alegra in the GTD standings is the No. 57 Stevenson Motorsports team of Lawson Aschenbach and Andrew Davis. Stevenson is the lone GTD team flying the flag for Audi in Long Beach. Also alone in representing their manufacturer in the class is Turner Motorsport with the driving duo of Bret Curtis and Jens Klingmann in the No. 96 BMW M6 GT3 and 2016 GTD champions Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan in the No. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3 for Beverly Hills-based Scuderia Corsa.

Porsche, meanwhile, has four GTD entries in addition to the pair of GTLM race cars, which seems fitting since Porsche Motorsport North America headquarters is just up the road from Long Beach in Carson, California on the same campus as the new Porsche Experience Center that opened last fall. The four Porsche GTD teams include the Alegra program, the No. 54 CORE autosport Porsche 911 GT3 R for Jon Bennett and Colin Braun – winners of the PC class in Long Beach in 2013 – the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche of factory driver Joerg Bergmeister and Santa Barbara, California’s Patrick Lindsey, and the No. 991 TRG Porsche for Wolf Henzler and Jan Heylen.

The BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix field also will include a pair of Lamborghinis, the No. 16 Change Racing machine of Corey Lewis and Jeroen Mul, and the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Huracán GT3 shared by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow.

And two new GTD manufacturers – both with strong Southern California ties – will be making their Long Beach debut. Acura, with U.S. headquarters in Torrance, California, has a pair of Acura NSX GT3 race cars fielded by Michael Shank Racing. The No. 86 Acura will be co-driven by Jeff Segal and Ozz Negri, while Andy Lally and Katherine Legge – who first made a name for herself in the U.S. motorsports landscape by winning an Atlantic Championship race at Long Beach in 2005 – share the No. 93 Acura.

Lexus, which also currently resides in Torrance, has a pair of entries, which is fitting at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The cars are fielded by Michigan’s 3GT Racing and include the No. 15 Lexus RC F GT3 for former IndyCar racer Jack Hawksworth and Los Angeles native Robert Alon, and the No. 14 for rising star Sage Karam and the winningest North American sports car racer of all time, Scott Pruett.

Pruett is a two-time IMSA winner on the streets of Long Beach, taking a Prototype victory in 2014 and a GRAND-AM Daytona Prototype win in 2006. The IndyCar veteran also won the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race in 2001 and a Trans Am race on the streets of Long Beach back in 1987.

On-track activity for the WeatherTech Championship this week begins with a two-hour practice session at 7:40 a.m. PT on Friday, followed by a second practice and qualifying session that runs from 4:45 to 6:15 p.m. local. IMSA.com will offer live streaming of qualifying in addition to IMSA Radio coverage from all on-track sessions.

The green flag flies on the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix Saturday at 1:05 p.m. PT.

Dear Journalist:
Early each week, Porsche Cars North America will provide a weekend summary or pre-race event notes package, covering the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Pirelli World Challenge (PWC), the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) or other areas of interest from the world of Porsche Motorsport. Please utilize this resource as needed, and do not hesitate to contact us for additional information.
– Porsche Cars North America Motorsports Public Relations Team

Porsche Motorsports Weekly Event Notes: Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Porsche Motorsport Schedule in North America. Upcoming Event.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Pirelli World Challenge

Porsche Profile.
Event Story Lines.

California Platz. Two Series Bring Together Large Group of GT3-Spec Car at Long Beach.

The Porsche 911 GT3 R debuted in 2016 as the German brand’s offering for customer teams in a variety of series using the international GT3-spec regulations. In North America, both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GT Daytona (GTD) class and Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) GT and GTA classes use the rear-engine machine. This weekend’s Grand Prix of Long Beach brings the two series together for a rare doubleheader that will see the single largest gathering of professionally prepared Porsche 911 GT3 Rs in North America to-date.

This weekend, a total nine of the Porsche Motorsport-produced cars are competing at Long Beach during the Grand Prix of Long Beach across the two series. Four of the 500-horsepower, direct-fuel injection machines are entered in Saturday afternoon’s 100-minute IMSA race. It is the first time the GTD class has been invited to participate in the classic American street race. Leading the group is this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona class winning No. 28 Alegra Motorsports entry with Porsche factory driver Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Porsche Young Driver Academy graduate Daniel Morad (Canada). First-year class entry CORE autosport brings Jon Bennett (Charlotte, North Carolina) and Colin Braun (Harrisburg, North Carolina) – both have raced in the PC class on the street course before. “Works” ace Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) shares the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports entry with co-driver Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, California) while fellow factory driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) returns in the No. 991 TRG 911 GT3 R with Jan Heylen (Tampa, Florida).

Sunday’s 50-minute PWC race brings another five GT3 R’s to the top-class, GT, and identical entries in the GT Amateur (GTA) category. Porsche factory driver and 2011 PWC GT Driver Champion Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California) leads the way in the No. 58 Wright Motorsports entry. Long won one of two races at the season-opening weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida last month. The No. 17 Euroworld Motorsports/GMG Racing Porsche will move-up from the GTA class into GT after Alec Udell (The Woodlands, Texas) swept the “Am” class at St. Pete. GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing will start its second weekend as a Porsche team. The No. 99 is driven by veteran sports car and open wheel racer Jon Fogarty (Bend, Oregon). Two 911 GT3 Rs will lead the fight in the GTA class with veteran PWC pilot and entrant James Sofronas (Villa Park, California) in the No. 14 GMG Racing Porsche and multi-time class winner Michael Schein (Glen Cove, New York) in the No. 16 Wright Motorsports car.

Day at the Beach. Two Porsche 911 RSR to Tackle Shortest IMSA Race Season.

With the long distance classics of the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring checked off the 2017 schedule, next up is the shortest race on IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship calendar on April 8. Round Three on the walled and fenced street circuit in Long Beach, California, is schedule for just 100 minutes and, as such, is the shortest on the schedule. Set against a postcard-perfect backdrop of sun, sea and palm trees, the Porsche GT Team fields two new 911 RSR in the particularly cutthroat GTLM class. Four Porsche customer teams take on the GTD class with the Daytona-winning Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The race on the 1.968-mile Long Beach track, which runs alongside the harbor, where the pits are just a stone’s throw away from where the docked ocean-liner giant “Queen Mary” lies anchored, is a highlight of the season. This race is regarded as America’s equivalent to the Monaco Grand Prix and attracts many celebrities from nearby Hollywood.

Four works drivers tackle the GTLM class with the new Porsche 911 RSR campaigned by the Porsche GT Team. The No. 911 cockpit is shared by Patrick Pilet (France) and Dirk Werner (Germany), who kicked off the season with second-place at Daytona. Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) and Kévin Estre (France) take on the opposition in the No. 912 car. In the GTD class, three works drivers compete for Porsche customer teams with the 911 GT3 R: Jörg Bergmeister (Germany) in the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports entry with co-driver Patrick Lindsey (Santa Barbara, California), Daytona winner Michael Christensen (Denmark) will co-drive with Daniel Morad (Canada) behind the wheel of the No. 28 Alegra Motorsports. Wolf Henzler (Germany) returns in the No. 991 TRG 911 GT3 R with Jan Heylen (Tampa, Florida) while the No. 54 CORE autosports car will be piloted by Jon Bennett (Charlotte, North Carolina) and Colin Braun (Harrisburg, North Carolina).

Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport.

“The opening phase of the IMSA SportsCar Championship throws everything at us. First the long-distance classics of Daytona and Sebring, then the shortest race of the season – they could hardly be more diverse. The very aspect that challenges the drivers and teams is what adds extra thrills and excites the spectators. After the two season-opening races in Florida, we’re now looking forward to showcasing our new 911 RSR to the Porsche fans in California. We’re tackling the Long Beach event as last year’s winners. This is extremely motivating for the entire squad, particularly after our misfortune in Sebring.”

Marco Ujhasi, Director GT Factory Motorsports.

“This race puts the whole team under extreme pressure. Because the race is so short, every second you lose in the pits is two times more painful. We normally do just one pit stop. Refuel, new Michelin tires, change drivers – it has to run like clockwork otherwise you’ve already lost. That’s what makes this race so thrilling for drivers and such a huge spectacle for fans.”

Sebastian Golz, Project Manager GT Customer Motorsport.
“The rubber left on the track between the practice sessions and the race changes the surface characteristics more on a city circuit than on a dedicated racetrack. The very slow hairpins require good traction so that the drivers can get back on the throttle as quickly as possible. Thanks to its vehicle concept, our 911 GT3 R certainly has an advantage in this regard.”

Patrick Pilet, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“The Long Beach city circuit is one of my favorite tracks in the USA. Last year we scored our first win of the season there, and we’d like to do that again with the new 911 RSR. To be permanently at the limit on this track is a fantastic challenge for drivers and makes for a gripping race.”

Dirk Werner, Driver, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“Long Beach is a very special place to go racing. It’s a fantastic city circuit and great fun. The comparison to Monaco is really fitting. The racetrack is tricky and the more rubber that’s left on the track, the faster we become from one practice to the next. You have to stay focused. The special challenge will be to find a perfect setup for our 911 RSR during the short practice session.”

Laurens Vanthoor, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“I like racing on street circuits. I’m not yet familiar with Long Beach. The fact that we drive with the equally as popular IndyCar series on the same weekend will undoubtedly make Long Beach a highlight of the season.”

Kévin Estre, Driver, No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“I love city circuits. They’re something special and a welcome change, particularly for us drivers. You can even overtake in Long Beach, so we’ll definitely witness a riveting race. But it’s not only about that, with its sun and ocean, California is simply fun.”

Michael Christensen, Driver, No, 28 Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.

“Long Beach is a great race. I’m looking forward to driving again with Alegra Motorsports in the 911 GT3 R. It’s a fantastic crew and I hope that we will be as competitive as we’ve been in Daytona.”

Jörg Bergmeister, Driver, No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.

“The Long Beach circuit is as unique as the setting. The city course is one of the world’s most beautiful and is a fantastic challenge. There are virtually no run-off areas. Every mistake has immediate consequences. If you take a corner too fast you hit the wall.”

Wolf Henzler, Driver, No. 991 TRG Porsche 911 GT3 R.

“The race in Long Beach is a real highlight. I enjoy city circuits for practical reasons. The hotels are right next to the track and when you want to go out for dinner there are real restaurants and not just fast food places.”

Street Challenge. Five Porsche 911 GT3 R Take on Long Beach PWC.

Porsche factory driver Patrick Long (Manhattan Beach, California) enters Round 3 of the 2017 Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) Sprint Championship leading the GT class drivers’ point standings. North America’s only Porsche “works” driver took a podium in Round 1 and won Round 2 at St. Petersburg, Florida in the No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R to bring the points’ lead to the Grand Prix of Long Beach, his local track. The 2011 GT class champion is two-points ahead of Alvaro Parente and four ahead of Johnny O’Connell. That trio were the leading contenders in the 2016 title chase as well. Long narrowly lost the championship in the last half of the last lap of the last race last season to finish second in the standings.

Joining Long in the GT class for the first time is Alec Udell. The resident of The Woodlands, Texas won the first two rounds of the GT Amateur (GTA) class at St. Petersburg but was moved up to the all-professional driver class earlier this week. The 2016 PWC GT Cup class champion and former Porsche Young Driver Academy graduate will campaign the No. 17 Euroworld Motorsports/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 R in GT class for the remainder of the season. Closing out the Porsche customer contingent in GT class is the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing 911 GT3 R driven by Bend, Oregon’s Jon Fogarty. The No. 99 “Red Dragon” is making its second start in PWC as a Porsche. The championship-winning team made the switch to the German brand in the off-season.

With Udell now in the GT class, GTA is the territory of two 911 GT3 Rs. The No. 14 GMG Racing entry of James Sofronas (Villa Park, California) and the No. 16 Wright Motorsports entry of Michael Schein (Glen Cove, New York). Both drivers are past winners in PWC with Schein taking multiple wins and podiums in 2016. Schein now leads the GTA Drivers’ standings, Sofronas, the owner of GMG which is located in Santa Ana, California, is in third.

Patrick Long, Driver, No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“The Long Beach Grand Prix is one of those iconic events that every driver looks forward to. As a kid I wondered if I’d ever have a chance to compete there and it’s been equally special every time I’ve had the opportunity. I definitely feel confident going in that our Porsche 911 GT3 R is suited to the race track. Coming off a strong start to the season at St. Pete, we’re starting to settle into our groove and a lot of the teams will be continuing to find their pace so it should be a fun one. There’s a little bit of a different approach with this being a single race weekend and also the limited amount of track time. It’s going to be about using every single lap wisely and getting up to speed quickly. I’m also very excited to be racing at home. Having friends and family around always gives me an extra boost of morale so it makes it that much more fun to catch up with old and new faces.”

Alec Udell, Driver, No. 17 Euroworld Motorsports/GMG Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“Going into the Long Beach Grand Prix I’m excited to carry forward the momentum that we had at St. Petersburg. I’m looking forward to getting back in the Euroworld Porsche and show what I’m capable of. It’s also very exciting because it’ll be GMG’s home race, being located just down the road in Santa Ana. We’ll have lots of supporters out there for the even so I’m excited to host and show well for our guests!”

Michael Schein, Driver, No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.
“I’m looking forward to racing in Long Beach with the Wright Motorsports team and our Porsche 911 GT3 R. We had a successful start scoring two second place finishes in the season opener at St. Pete and I hope to build on that success after getting my first taste of racing on a true street course. Having two back to back street course rounds definitely makes it easier. The closeness of the walls is still pretty fresh in my head so that should help me get up to speed quickly. I hope to be able to fight for the win in California.”

World Prologue. Porsche Unveils 2017 Porsche 919 Hybrid at WEC Test.

The Porsche LMP Team is pleased with its performance in Monza. Almost the entire 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) field met for a joint two-day test weekend at the Italian high-speed circuit near Milan. The so-called “Prologue” with 27 cars present, saw the public debut of both the new 919 Hybrid of the world championship title defender Porsche as well as the new Toyota TS050 Hybrid. Both manufacturers ran two cars. The 2017 duel of the two class 1 prototypes is eagerly awaited, especially at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the season’s highlight.

At the Prologue, Toyota set the overall best lap time. Neel Jani (Switzerland) recorded the fastest lap for a Porsche 919 Hybrid on Saturday when lapping the 3.6-mile (5.793 kilometer) long track in one-minute, 31.666-seconds. The reigning world champion shares the 919 Hybrid with Porsche’s newcomer André Lotterer (Germany) and Nick Tandy (Great Britain) who returned to the LMP1 squad inside the Porsche family. Together the trio of the No. 1 car covered 331 laps and 1,184-miles (1,906 kilometers) in two days.

At the wheel of the No. 2 Porsche it was Earl Bamber (New Zealand) who set the fastest lap in 1:31.823 minutes. Just like for the sister car, this was achieved during a qualifying simulation on Saturday evening. Bamber took over Mark Webber’s seat and teams up with Timo Bernhard (Germany) and Brendon Hartley (New Zealand). The No. 2 car crew completed a total of 329 laps during the Prologue in Monza.

Fritz Enzinger, Vice President LMP1.

“Thanks to a great team effort, we look back not only on a pretty tough week but also on a very successful one. In Paul Ricard, we have concluded one of the best endurance tests ever. This was followed by the car unveiling in Monza which resulted in very positive feedback for the car’s new livery. The two test days at the Prologue were excellent and given the close competition spectators can look forward to a thrilling world championship.“

Andreas Seidl, Team Principal.

“We had split the Prologue into two test phases. On Saturday we focused on the car’s set-up and managed to improve it. The rain in the evening was an asset because we could practice quick turnarounds in changing conditions. On Sunday we did race simulations with both cars to investigate tire wear and exercise race-specific routines like pit stops. To meet Toyota for the first time with us and them driving low downforce aero configurations like you’d have in Le Mans was obviously very interesting for both of us. Testing doesn’t allow for proper judgment, but certainly we will see very close competition in every type of track condition. For us as a team it is very important to feel absolutely ready now for the season’s curtain raiser on April 16 in Silverstone.”

Neel Jani, Driver, No. 1 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.

“Practically we have been simulating a race weekend here and this worked out very well, especially as we had to deal with various track conditions. I enjoyed having the Prologue here in Monza. The circuit has a great tradition and special atmosphere and we had lots of fun with the many fans joining us. Another beneficial aspect is that this track doesn’t forgive any mistakes. This gives you an extra thrill.”

André Lotterer, Driver, No. 1 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.

“For me the Prologue was my first public appearance as a Porsche works driver and with the Porsche LMP Team. I have been welcomed by everybody and it was an important next step to experience the first event in conditions similar to a race weekend. I was approached by many fans who wanted to take their first picture of me in my new overalls. I enjoy getting used to it. Porsche is a special brand. I think every racing driver likes to be identified with it. I’m looking forward to an exciting season.”

Nick Tandy, Driver, No. 1 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.

“It is good to have the Prologue as a pre-race preparation. We do lots of testing but you never feel real pressure there. Here in Monza we worked like it was a race weekend. It is good to get into this feeling before the season.”

Earl Bamber, Driver, No. 2 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.

“The guys at Porsche have done great development work to the 919. During the Prologue here in Monza, we have learned a lot again about the car, especially when driving in difficult conditions. During the Saturday night session we had a thunderstorm and it’s very useful to get track time in the rain.”

Timo Bernhard, Driver, No. 2 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.

“It was a very positive Prologue for me. We had been well prepared and now we are ready to race in Silverstone. A few boxes are still on the list to be ticked off, especially regarding improvements for Le Mans. I think all of us really enjoyed these days in Monza very much: a super surrounding, lots of real motorsports and sports car enthusiasts who created a great hype during the autograph session as well – overall, this was a fantastic kick-off event for the new WEC season. Brendon and I know each other like a married couple anyway, and Earl fits in just perfectly. Ready to rumble!“

Brendon Hartley, Driver, No. 2 Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid.

“We felt very ready when we came here. We wish we were lining up for a race rather than for a test because Monza is a great track with a good atmosphere and a lot of fans even on a test day. I hope in the future we can race here. In all conditions it was very close with the Toyotas, so it’s clearly going to be a tough and close fought championship. Also it was good to get used to traffic again as at the previous tests we felt very lonely.”

International Porsche GT Team Debut. New 911 RSR Launches WEC Entry at Monza.

The Porsche GT Team is well prepared for the first race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Silverstone, Great Britain on April 16. At the final rehearsal for the start of the season – the official “Prologue” in the Autodromo Nazionale Monza – the two new Porsche 911 RSR successfully completed a comprehensive test schedule over the weekend. The 911 RSR with the starting number 91, shared by Richard Lietz (Austria) and Frédéric Makowiecki, covered a total of 803 miles (1,292 kilometers). Their team colleagues Michael Christensen (Denmark) and Kévin Estre (France) completed 795 miles (1,280 kilometers).

The Grand Prix circuit in Lombardy not only offered the ideal conditions to work on the tires and the setup, but also threw changing weather conditions at the 27 teams. The cars faced sunshine and rain with the corresponding temperature fluctuations.

The 911 RSR, with which Porsche returns to the WEC this season as a factory team, successfully completed the Prologue without any significant problems. They delivered a strong performance on the storied racetrack, on which Porsche once celebrated many great victories at the famous 1,000-kilometer races. In four of the five practice sessions, Christensen and Estre posted the best time in the LMGTE-Pro class. Their team colleagues Makowiecki and Lietz set second place two times. The Porsche customer teams campaigning the 911 RSR (model year 2016) in the GTE-Am class also did well. Gulf Racing with the all-British driver lineup of Michael Wainwright, Ben Barker and Nicholas Foster as well as Dempsey Proton Racing with Porsche Young Professional Matteo Cairoli (Italy), Christian Ried (Germany) and Marvin Dienst (Germany), also clocked the top times.

Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Head of Porsche Motorsport.

“The dress rehearsal for the season-opener at Silverstone was a success. We were able to complete our test program exactly as we’d anticipated, turning more laps than any other competitor. It was important for us that we were able to prepare for all possible racing situations here. And this worked well. The performance of the 911 RSR is hard to gauge, however the feedback from the drivers was very positive. They’re all pleased with how the car handles. We want to take this good momentum with us to Silverstone. It will definitely be exciting there.”

Marco Ujhasi, Director GT Factory Motorsports.

“Our goal for this Prologue was to generally prepare the driver, car and team for the start of the season in Silverstone. We were able to implement our schedule as planned. During the second session on Sunday we focused on worked specifically on preparing for that first race. We concentrated on important issues such as trying out double stints on one set of tires. In this regard, too, we were able to gain new insights. The pit stops also ran very well. We’re already looking good as a team. We’ll do the final touches in the free practice at Silverstone. We’re ready for the first race.”

Richard Lietz, Driver, No. 91 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“This was a very important test for us. Every team was in racing mode. We tried several different setups for Silverstone and these worked well. Monza was also an ideal opportunity to integrate the many new team members into the squad. Now we look forward to our return as a works team to the WEC and we can hardly wait until the season finally begins at Silverstone.”

Frédéric Makowiecki, Driver, No. 91 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“We’ve gained a better understanding of our new 911 RSR. This test was very positive and brought us a big step forward. And the team has grown even closer over the last two days. I’ve had a year away from the WEC so, of course, I’m excited to be back again. The fact that the first race is contested in Silverstone, on one of my favorite racetracks, just adds to the excitement.”

Michael Christensen, Driver, No. 92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“Monza was a very good test for us. We learned a great deal, for instance, about the balance of our 911 RSR. We are pretty much already in the racing rhythm for Silverstone. Everything ran very well here, so we really should be strong at the season-opening round, as well.”

Kévin Estre, Driver, No. 92 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR.

“These two days of testing yielded a lot for us as a team. The car felt very good and the fact that we set the best times in four sessions is a great motivation as we head into the season. This is the first time Michael and I have worked together under competition conditions. That worked very well and the understanding with the new engineers has become even better. As far as we’re concerned, the season can begin.”

Matteo Cairoli, Driver, No. 77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR.

“It was a great experience that the Prologue for my first WEC season took place on my home turf. Many of my friends were here to support me and wish me luck. I’m proud that Porsche and Dempsey Proton Racing have given me this great chance. I will work hard to repay their trust by achieving good performances.”

Looking West. Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA Ready for Big 2017 Season

Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA will host the opening two races of the 2017 championship next month at Thunderhill Raceway Park. The double-header event is the first of eight race weekends that will comprise the 2017 championship for the growing series, which enters its second decade of operation under Competent Motorsport.

The 2017 season will once again comprise visits to some incredible tracks, including Sonoma Raceway, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Circuit of the Americas, as well as Road America.

The championship features three classes (Diamond for 2014-2016 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup entries, Platinum for 2010-2013 997 GT3 Cup entries, and the very popular Silver for 2016 Cayman GT4 Cup entries), as well as Masters Classes in both Diamond and Silver. Drivers in the championship have different backgrounds, and often, different goals. With a competitive field, but a collegial atmosphere, several of the drivers have enjoyed making the step up to Pirelli GT3 Cup USA from PCA competition.

The series, with the multi-class structure, has also shown to be a strong proving ground for racers with aspirations in professional-level championships.

Russell Ward, who had his first season of racing in 2016 with Pirelli GT3 Cup USA, made his IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge debut at Daytona International Speedway in January and scored a podium finish his first time out for CJ Wilson Racing and Winward Racing. Ward is planning to continue to push his development with another season of Pirelli Cup competition in 2017, along with his IMSA efforts in conjunction.

Greg Franz, president Competent Motorsport.

“After a great 10th anniversary season last year, we are thrilled about our 2017 championship and the schedule that we’ve been able to assemble this year with the feedback from our drivers and teams. We have continued to grow our staff to be able to provide smooth-running events for the competitors, and we are eager to get the season started at Thunderhill!”

Porsche Entries at Long Beach.

Total Car Count. Eleven (11) Porsche Motorsport-produced cars are competing at Long Beach during the Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend across two series: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Pirelli World Challenge.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Total Car Count: Six (6) Porsche entries will be competing in the third round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the BUBBA Burger Sports Car Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Pirelli World Challenge Sprint Championship.

Total Car Count: Five (5) Porsche entries will be competing in the second race weekend, third round, of the Pirelli World Challenge Sprint Championship, Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Where to Watch:

All IMSA Series information, audio and live timing and scoring for each on-track session is additionally available on the IMSA App

All Pirelli World Challenge Series information, audio and live timing and scoring for each on-track session is additionally available at www.world-challenge.com.

Future Porsche Events.
FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)

IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama

Pirelli World Challenge

IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Porsche Motorsport Video News Releases

https://vimeo.com/159661478

Photography:

http://press.porsche.com/media/gallery2/v/photos/motorsports/

Porsche Cars North America Media Site:

http://press.porsche.com/

Porsche Cars North America Motorsports Site:

http://www.porsche.com/usa/eventsandracing/motorsport

Porsche North America Race Team Portal:

porscheusa.com/racing

Porsche Motorsports Media Information:

Current news, images and notes relating to Porsche can be found on our press kit. Please contact Dave Engelman or Tom Moore for the latest Porsche Motorsports media kit. ###

Taylors, Cadillac Carry Momentum to BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach

April 3, 2017

Staff Report

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Saying Jordan and Ricky Taylor and the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R team are carrying momentum into this Saturday’s BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach is an understatement.

With back-to-back victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida to open the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the brothers are off to a perfect start for their father’s Wayne Taylor Racing team. Add in the fact that the Taylor brothers have won each of the last two WeatherTech Championship races on the streets of Long Beach, and “momentum” doesn’t seem like a strong enough word to use, especially when looking beyond this weekend’s race to the next two events on the schedule at Circuit of The Americas on May 6 and Detroit’s Belle Isle Park on June 3.

“(In the last three years at) Long Beach, we were second and then two wins,” said Jordan Taylor following the team’s Sebring victory last month. “Then COTA and Detroit, which we won last year. We go with a lot more momentum than in the past.”

However, Jordan also pointed out that this year’s 100-minute Long Beach race, which will be televised live on FOX network television at 4 p.m. ET, will be different than it has been in the recent past. For starters, this year’s race will see the Prototype Challenge (PC) class replaced by a 16-car GT Daytona (GTD) class field along with nine GT Le Mans (GTLM) entries and 10 Prototypes for a WeatherTech Championship record field of 35 cars.

Secondly, every one of those 10 Prototypes are brand new this season, with a smaller fuel capacity than the previous generation race cars. That places a premium not only on the ability of the drivers, but also the team on pit road.

“Long Beach is cutthroat with one pit stop,” Taylor said. “This year, it might be two because the fuel capacity is so small. It’s so much on the race team to get it done.”

The No. 10 team certainly has gotten it done lately, but they’ve got plenty of competition. Look no further than the other two Cadillac DPis in the field, the No. 31 Whelen Engineering machine shared by defending WeatherTech Championship Prototype champions Dane Cameron and Eric Curran, and the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R of two-time Prototype champions Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, who finished second to the No. 10 team at both Daytona and Sebring. Both teams are primed for victory at any time, and this weekend could be it.

Outside of the Cadillacs – which swept the top-three spots at Sebring – a couple of Gibson V8-powered LM P2 cars showed flashes of brilliance in the first two endurance races to start the year and could be tough to beat in Saturday’s first “sprint” race of the season.

One is the No. 90 Visit Florida Racing Multimatic/Riley shared by Renger van der Zande and Marc Goossens, which opened the year with a third-place run at Daytona. The other is the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports ORECA co-driven by Stephen Simpson and Misha Goikhberg.
Simpson was quickest in the opening practice session at Sebring and the team was in contention for a podium spot for much of the race before finishing fourth.

Mazda Motorsports also is riding some top-five momentum from Sebring to Long Beach. The team claimed a fifth-place result in the Twelve Hours with its No. 55 Mazda DPi shared by full-time co-drivers Tristan Nunez and Jonathan Bomarito – who were joined by IndyCar racer Spencer Pigot for the race. The team also has strong Southern California ties.

From a driver perspective, Joel Miller – who co-drives the No. 70 Mazda DPi with Tom Long – is a native of the “Inland Empire” and earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California Riverside.

Mazda North American Operations is based in Irvine, California and includes the Mazda Research and Development Studio, where the Mazda DPi race car – dubbed the RT24-P – was designed. The car made its worldwide debut last November at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Based on that, there will be plenty of interested onlookers at the track this weekend, which adds to the demanding nature of racing at Long Beach.

“It’s a real mental challenge,” said Nunez of racing on the tight, 1.968-mile street circuit. “There is no room for error. There are no run-off areas, so if you make a mistake, you’re into a concrete barrier. It’s a very demanding track and, as a street circuit, the surface is very bumpy. So, that makes it very technical for a driver. The new car is much more physical to drive, and you have to be sure your concentration or your body doesn’t give out.”

Long Beach represents a shot at redemption for the pair of Nissan DPi entries from the Tequila Patrón ESM team and the LM P2 car from PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports. While they’ve shown a fair amount of speed through the first two races – and the No. 2 Tequila Patrón car shared by full-season drivers Scott Sharp and Ryan Dalziel did finish fourth at Daytona – neither the No. 2 nor the No. 22 co-driven by Ed Brown and Johannes van Overbeek were running at the finish in Sebring.

The No. 52 PR1/Mathiasen Ligier LM P2 also had a DNF at Sebring. The Fresno, California-based team is hoping to turn its luck around in a home-state race and will do so with new driver Will Owen sharing the controls with team veteran Tom Kimber-Smith.

A compressed street-circuit schedule for the WeatherTech Championship at Long Beach includes a two-hour practice session beginning at 7:40 a.m. PT on Friday, followed by a second practice and qualifying session that runs from 4:45 to 6:15 p.m. local. IMSA.com will offer live streaming of qualifying in addition to IMSA Radio coverage from all on-track sessions.

The BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix gets the green flag Saturday at 1:05 p.m. PT.

Sebring Post-Race Notebook

Notebook items include:

• Garcia Reaches Superman Status at Sebring
• Cadillacs Rule
• Performance Tech Continues Perfect Season with Win at Home
• A Strong Start for Mercedes

March 23, 2016

Steven Cole Smith

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – When Jan Magnussen, certainly no slouch at sports car endurance racing, called him “Superman” in a post-race interview, it’s a safe bet that teammate Antonio Garcia must have put in a long day, and most of a long night, behind the wheel of the No. 3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R that Garcia drove to the checkered flag at the 65th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida.

“I have to give most of the credit to Antonio. That was a Superman drive,” said Magnussen. “It was a lot longer in the car than any one of us would want!”

That’s taking nothing away from Magnussen and Mike Rockenfeller, the German driver, DTM champion and class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans who helped the team out at Sebring. But Garcia’s final stint of two hours and 53 minutes behind the wheel was stellar.

“If you aren’t watching Antonio Garcia right now,” tweeted Tommy Milner, co-driver of the defending-champion No. 4 Corvette, which fell out early with overheating issues, “you’re missing out on what could be the greatest drive of his career. Unreal.”

As for Garcia, the 36-year-old Spaniard looked and sounded absolutely whipped after the race.

He had climbed into the car in fifth place, behind the Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE – generally considered the hardest car in the series to pass – and all three Ford GTs, including the No. 66, driven by the same trio that took a class win at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona, and was now looking to score a hat trick at the three most prestigious endurance races in the world.

Garcia passed everybody but the No. 66 on the track, and then stellar pit work got him out in front of that car, and driver Joey Hand. Afterwards it was a matter of staying out of trouble and keeping his competitors behind him, including the fast-approaching Patrick Pilet in the new mid-engine No. 911 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR. Garcia crossed the finish line 4.453 seconds ahead of the second-place No. 66 Ford GT.

Three days later, Garcia still sounded a little tired, but insisted he wasn’t.

“You definitely feel it,” he said. “I do a lot of training – especially a lot of running, usually 50 or 60 miles a week. But a race on a track like Sebring, as rough as it is, will wear you out. The next morning, I only ran for a half an hour with Ollie Gavin [his teammate on the No. 4 Corvette] because I just felt like I needed to clean my body out.” The interior of the Corvette “is very cramped,” he said. “It’s good to go for a slow run and stretch your body out.”

Of course, winning does tend to make those muscles feel a bit less sore. “For sure,” Garcia said. “If I had been running at the back, I probably would have asked my team for a driver change!”

Also different depending on how you are running, Garcia added, “is how the time goes by. When you are up front, time just flies. It went by super-fast.” Except for caution periods, that is – “They can let you think too much. And if you are tired, you think about that. But you just have to stay focused.”

Next up for Garcia, the Corvettes and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach April 7-8, run on the extremely tight 1.968-mile street course, after two races at Daytona International Speedway (3.56 miles) and Sebring International Raceway (3.74 miles). Last year, Garcia and Magnussen finished 10th in class, while the No. 4 team Corvette finished second.

“Long Beach is very intense,” Garcia said. “It’s only 100 minutes long – very short, but a lot is going on. Qualifying is very important, as are pit stops – if you catch a yellow flag in the wrong spot, you can quickly go from the lead, to halfway down in the field. It’s a very tricky race.”

The GT Le Mans points lead is still held by Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Sebastien Bourdais, drivers of the No. 66 Ford GT, who lead Garcia, Magnussen and Rockenfeller by four points.

Actually, Bourdais heads to Long Beach leading two different championships. He won the season-opening Verizon IndyCar Series race at St. Petersburg the week before Sebring. He returns to his full-time job of driving the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing IndyCar in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

CADILLACS RULE: Just two races into the 2017 season, the new Cadillac DPi-V.R prototypes are dominating – the three Cadillacs took all three of the podium spots at Sebring, and two of the three at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, with the No. 10 Konica Minolta car winning both races.

Long Beach, though, is a different animal, especially since the No. 10 car seems to come alive late in the race. Since Long Beach is only one hour and 40 minutes long, drivers Ricky Taylor and Jordan Taylor will have to come out of the box strong.

Not that they can’t do that – the No. 10 Taylor car won Long Beach last year, just ahead of the No. 5 and No. 31 Cadillac teammates.

Then, all three were Chevrolet Corvette DPs, and now all three are Cadillac DPi-V-Rs. Has anything changed? We’ll find out April 8.

But don’t count on it. “We’re looking to be really strong at Long Beach,” said Eric Curran, driver of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R.

PERFORMANCE TECH CONTINUES PERFECT SEASON WITH WIN AT HOME: It was Performance Tech Motorsports’ second win of the season but first win at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida at their home track, Sebring International Raceway.

The young driver lineup of James French, Patricio O’Ward and Kyle Masson started on the front row of Prototype Challenge (PC) after French qualified the No. 38 car second. Within the first hour, he passed Gustavo Yacaman for the PC lead and the team never looked back.

The Brent O’Neill-led team held the lead through all 12 hours of the race and finished a lap ahead of second place, finishing fifth overall.

“They’re three just great drivers,” O’Neill said. “They all could have big careers in the racing industry. It was pretty exciting for all of us and we had a great time.”

For French, things couldn’t possibly be going better.

“To have won the two biggest races you’d ever want to win in this series back to back is really special,” said French. “It’s a great way to start the championship, having pretty much all the points possible at this point. It’s awesome, an amazing job by everyone on the team, especially by Pato (O’Ward) and Kyle. They’re driving is way beyond their years.”

A STRONG START FOR MERCEDES: The Rolex 24 At Daytona season opener saw three new manufacturers in the GT Daytona field – Mercedes-AMG, Acura and Lexus. Of the three, Mercedes-AMG has been the strongest, but that’s no surprise – the Lexus and Acura cars are brand-new, while the Mercedes-AMG has been raced with success elsewhere, mostly in Europe.

The No. 33 Riley Motorsports team of Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Mario Farnbacher was third at Daytona, and first in GTD at Sebring, and take the points lead to Long Beach.

Those first two races “are a pretty hard act to follow,” Keating said, “and we’re facing pretty high expectations. But if we keep having flawless races, who knows what can happen for the rest of the season?”

Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup Leaders Parlay

Successful Outings At Sebring Into Points Lead

Post-Daytona Leaders Remain Atop Post-Sebring Standings In Three Of Four

Classes; Mercedes-AMG Team Rides Sebring Win To Top Of Class

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 21, 2017) – While the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship still has 10 of its 12 races to come on the 2017 schedule, we’ve already reached the halfway point in the battle for the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup following last Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida.

The Patrón Endurance Cup rewards top performers in the four WeatherTech Championship endurance races: the Rolex 24 At Daytona, which was contested on Jan. 28-29, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 18, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday, July 2 and the 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans on Saturday Oct. 7. Points are awarded at strategic intervals for each race, with five points going to each class leader at those intervals, followed by four points for second place, three for third, and two points for all others from fourth place onward.

With back-to-back victories in the Rolex 24 and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R team and drivers Jordan and Ricky Taylor appropriately find themselves atop the Patrón Endurance Cup standings with a total of 32 points. In addition to winning both races, the team has earned the maximum five points in five of the seven points-paying segments thus far.

The No. 10 holds a three-point advantage, 32-29, over the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R team of Christian Fittipaldi, Joao Barbosa and Filipe Albuquerque. Fittipaldi, Barbosa and the No. 5 team are three-time defending Patrón Endurance Cup champions, having won the title each year since its inception in 2014. In the battle for Patrón Endurance Cup manufacturer honors, Cadillac leads with a perfect 35 points, followed by Nissan with 23 points and Mazda with 20.

In the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, the No. 911 Porsche GT Team of Patrick Pilet, Dirk Werner and Frederic Makowiecki kept their brand-new Porsche 911 RSR atop the Patrón Endurance Cup standings for the second consecutive race. While the No. 911 team didn’t win either race, it has earned maximum points in three of seven segments and four points in two others.

It’s a narrow, one-point lead, however, as the No. 911 team currently has 27 points, with the No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT trio of Dirk Mueller, Joey Hand and Sebastien Bourdais sitting on 26 markers after Sebring. The No. 66 team won the GTLM class in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona. Ford also leads the Patrón Endurance Cup manufacturer standings by two over Porsche, 30-28.

Three of the four teams leading Patrón Endurance Cup standings after Daytona continued to lead following Sebring. This includes the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA FLM09 squad of James French, Pato O’Ward and Kyle Masson in the Prototype Challenge (PC) class. In fact, the No. 38 team has accomplished something that no team has done in Patrón Endurance Cup history: it has a perfect record of leading every segment through the first three races of the season.

Performance Tech Motorsports leads the No. 26 BAR1 Motorsports team by a healthy, 12-point margin, 35-23, over the No. 26 BAR1 Motorsports team. The No. 8 Starworks Motorsport and No. 20 BAR1 Motorsports teams are tied for third in PC with 20 points apiece.

The lone newcomer to the top of the Patrón Endurance Cup standings comes from the GT Daytona (GTD) class. Following its class victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the No. 33 Riley Motorsports-Team AMG Mercedes-AMG GT3 team of Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Mario Farnbacher now lead the class with 25 points.

The No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 shared by Christina Nielsen, Alessandro Balzan and Matteo Cressoni is second in the Patrón Endurance Cup GTD standings with 22 points, while the No. 86 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3 shared by Ozz Negri, Jeff Segal and Tom Dyer is third with 20 points after leading the standings following the Rolex 24. Mercedes-AMG also leads the Patrón Endurance Cup GTD manufacturer standings by six, 29-23, over Audi, which won last year’s title.

Next up for the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup will be the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on July 2. The next race for the WeatherTech Championship, the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach – featuring the P, GTLM and GTD classes – is scheduled for Saturday, April 8 and will be televised live on FOX at 4 p.m. ET.

Please see attached press release, below is a text-only version.

IMSA Radio Coverage Continues To Deliver In 2017

Radio Show Limited Brings Nonstop Action From Four IMSA-Sanctioned Series At Sebring

SEBRING, Fla. (March 16, 2017) – The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and Radio Show Limited (RSL) – global leaders in motorsport broadcasting – continue their partnership on the IMSA Radio/TV project that delivered increased audiences in 2016.

The streaming audio and audio/video service available through the multi-platform IMSA App and the IMSA.com and Radiolemans.com websites offers live coverage of IMSA events for racing fans in the USA and globally. In 2016, IMSA Radio had 4.6 million connections in 169 territories worldwide.

“The partnership with Radio Show Limited has been tremendously successful,” said David Pettit, IMSA vice president, marketing. “The audience is growing, but what is very impressive is that fans from other parts of the sport are attracted to the quality of the racing and the availability of live and on-demand coverage.”

At this week’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida, IMSA Radio will offer upwards of 30 hours of coverage of four IMSA-sanctioned series: the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda and the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama.

“Maybe RSL should stand for Really Simple Listening,” said RSL Managing Director Eve Hewitt. “The IMSA coverage is platform neutral and once the fans have tuned in, either to the audio or to the streaming video, there’s no need for them to go anywhere else, and they don’t. Most of them stay for everything we broadcast.”

In 2017 IMSA Radio has already broadcast from the 55th Rolex 24 At Daytona and, as well as the main race, included live coverage in sound and vision of the four-hour BMW Endurance Challenge, the first round of the Continental Tire Challenge.

The Continental Tire Challenge has quickly established itself as ‘appointment viewing.’ An impressive 49 percent of the audience for the Friday afternoon race at Daytona, which had full four-hour live, audio and video coverage, was from the USA.

The format for Sebring will follow a standard program schedule to be implemented across 2017. Live broadcasting began Thursday morning with coverage of the first official practice session of the WeatherTech Championship. All WeatherTech Championship sessions will offer live IMSA Radio commentary with the addition of video for qualifying for IMSA.tv viewers everywhere.

Live IMSA Radio commentary of WeatherTech Championship races also is available worldwide. Live video streaming on IMSA.tv, the IMSA App and RadioLeMans.com is available outside of the U.S.

Continental Tire Challenge coverage will see live audio coverage for qualifying with audio and video coverage of all races. IMSA Prototype Challenge and Porsche GT3 Cup USA will have qualifying and races covered live by IMSA Radio in addition to live video streaming of select events.

Manufacturer Battle Resumes As Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Moves to Sebring

Mar. 15, 2017

Steven Cole Smith

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Half as long, but twice as tough?

Yeah, that’s pretty much what most competitors think about Friday’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Sebring 120, the second event in the series’ 2017 race schedule.

The season opener was the BMW Endurance Challenge at the smooth Daytona International Speedway on January 27. It was a four-hour race, much longer than usual for the Continental Tire Challenge competitors.

Friday’s race is just two hours, but given the historically rough surface at Sebring International Raceway – which held its first race in 1950 – and how demanding the 3.74-mile, 17-turn road course is on cars and drivers, success will be dictated by the toughness of driver and machine.

Even so, the teams are prepared, and looking forward to the race, feeling that certain makes and models may be better suited for Sebring’s unique challenges than others.

“Certainly Sebring has been good for many of our BMWs in years past, and hopefully that holds,” said James Clay, team owner and driver of the No. 84 Bimmerworld/Optima Battery BMW 328i, who has raced at Sebring for 20 years. “I think there are enough longer, faster turns that are our forte, as well as the notorious bumpy surface that the BMW platform handles well.”

Multimatic Motorsports drivers Scott Maxwell and Jade Buford are entered in the Sebring 120, but they left the Multimatic car at home in Canada. The two will be driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang for KohR Motorsports, teamed with the No. 59 KohR Mustang driven by Dean Martin and Jack Roush, Jr.

The two Mustangs will be up against eight Porsche Caymans, led by the Daytona- winning team, the No. 12 Bodymotion Racing entry with drivers Cameron Cassels and Trent Hindman. The two Porsche teams owned by former major league baseball pitcher C.J. Wilson finished second and third at Daytona, and both those cars will be racing at Sebring.

So will Wilson, for that matter. His major league contracts prevented him from participating in all but the most benign motorsports competition, but he’s making his racing debut this weekend in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA series, which kicks off its season with a 45-minute sprint race on Thursday evening and the second such race on Friday.

There are 17 entries in the lead Continental Tire Grand Sport (GS) class for Sebring, including five McLaren 570S GT4s and a pair of Aston Martin Vantages, so whoever wins the Sebring 120 will have earned it. And at the next race, set for May 6 at Circuit of The Americas in Texas, competition may be even tougher, as the newly approved Chevrolet Camaro GT4 is expected to debut.

In the Street Tuner (ST) class, there are also 17 entries, and crossing the finish line first won’t be any easier for those teams than it will for the GS competitors. First-time winners, the MINI JCW team, operated by Indiana-based LAP Motorsports, has three Mini Coopers entered at Sebring, including the Daytona-winning No. 73 with drivers Mat Pombo and Derek Jones.

But once again, the Porsche Cayman may be a factor – the ST version of the Cayman is less powerful than the Cayman GT4 that runs in the GS class – since there are five Caymans in the ST field, including the No. 56 Murillo Racing car that finished second at Daytona, with drivers Eric Foss and Jeff Mosing.

There are two Bimmerworld BMW 328is, a BMW 228i, four Mazda Miata MX-5s, an Audi S3 and a Nissan Altima entered in the ST class, so we have plenty of cars to watch as Sebring’s abrasive, bumpy surface does its part to help decide the outcome.

The Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Sebring 120 takes the green flag at 3:45 p.m. ET Friday, March 17. The race will be streamed live on IMSA.com with IMSA Radio commentary and will be televised on FS1 at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, March 26.

Sebring Promises Excitement And Intrigue In GT Categories

Mar. 14, 2017

Steven Cole Smith

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For many casual fans of sports car racing, it’s all about the Prototypes – sleek, built-from-the-ground-up racers that are, consequently, the fastest cars on the track. And there will be plenty of Prototypes in Saturday’s 65th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

But veteran fans know that the closest racing often comes in the GT classes, which are cars that look very much like the cars some may drive to the races – assuming your daily driver is, perhaps, a Lamborghini Huracán, a Chevrolet Corvette or a Ferrari 488.

While the more sophisticated GT Le Mans (GTLM) cars are faster, this year it’s the GT Daytona (GTD) class, the largest in the four-class field, that is getting considerable attention. That’s because last year, IMSA, the sanctioning body for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, adopted the global GT3 specifications for the GTD field.

Worldwide, there are dozens of series that use the GT3 specifications, and numbers as large as those have encouraged many manufacturers to build GT3 versions of their street cars. It makes excellent financial sense – companies can design and manufacture race cars that can be sold in multiple markets, bolstered by a readily available supply of parts. For the 2016 season, it helped bring about a significant increase in the GTD field, and for 2017, it drew three additional manufacturers to the WeatherTech Championship.

Those three are Mercedes-AMG, Lexus and Acura. While the sinister-looking Mercedes-AMG GT3 has raced elsewhere, it’s new this year to IMSA. There are three in the Sebring field sporting the familiar three-pointed star logo on the grille: The No. 75 SunEnergy Racing entry, the No. 50 Riley Motorsports/WeatherTech entry, and the No. 33 Riley Motorsports/Team AMG entry.

The No. 75 is brand new to the series. The No. 50 team competed last year in an Alex Job Racing Porsche, and the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG replaces the Dodge Viper that driver and team principal Ben Keating has raced since the inaugural WeatherTech Championship season.

Keating, owner of the world’s largest Viper dealership, had little choice but to make the change – his beloved Viper has ceased production. But after a promising debut at the season-opening 2017 Rolex 24 At Daytona, Keating is pleased with the choice he made.

“We learned a lot about the car at Daytona, and we’re still learning,” said Keating, who will share the No. 33 with regular co-driver Jeroen Bleekemolen, and guest driver Mario Farnbacher. “But there’s a ton of potential in the Mercedes.”

Michael Shank Racing has a solid reputation as a Prototype team, but for 2017, Ohio-based Shank, a former overall winner of the Rolex 24, jumped at the chance to help develop a GT3 racing version of the brand-new Acura NSX.

He has two cars entered in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours – the No. 86, driven by Jeff Segal, Oswaldo Negri, Jr., and Tom Dyer, and the No. 93 driven by Andy Lally, Katherine Legge and Mark Wilkins. Negri is a longtime Shank driver in the Prototype class; Lally is a former IMSA champion and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, and Legge has driven IndyCars, and spent the last couple of season driving the DeltaWing Prototype.

For a brand-new car, team owner Shank was more than pleased with the performance of his Acuras at the Rolex 24.

“Every time we go out, we get a little bit faster, a little bit more reliable,” he said. “All the processes get a little bit smoother. It’s all positive, but we’re still going through the same growing pains that any new car does.”

That also applies to the new Lexus RC F GT3. Last year Lexus delivered what it hoped would be a race-ready car to its U.S. team, 3GT Racing, headed by former Prototype Challenge team owner Paul Gentilozzi, who is also the winningest driver ever in the Trans Am series.

But the car simply wasn’t ready for prime time. It was redesigned, and debuted, like the Mercedes-AMG and Acura, at the 2017 Rolex 24. As at Daytona, there are two 3GT entries for Sebring: The No. 14, driven by Scott Pruett, Sage Karam and Ian James, and the No. 15, driven by Robert Alon, Jack Hawksworth and Austin Cindric. Pruett is a legend in sports car racing, with five overall wins at the Rolex 24, one overall win at Sebring, and a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Karam and Hawksworth move over from IndyCar.

Pruett crashed out of the Rolex 24 with just 52 laps in the books, leaving the developmental work to the team car, which completed 581 laps. Gentilozzi has seen a lot to like about the Lexus in the race and in testing, but as with the Acura, there’s work to be done.

“We have a really strong package in the RCF GT3,” he says, “but we just need more track time to help benchmark it against the other entries in the class. GT Daytona is full of fast cars and talented teams, and I’m confident that we’ll be able to show our own strength very soon.”

It doesn’t hurt that at various times during the Rolex 24, all three manufacturers took a turn at the head of the class. But it should be lost on no one that the winning GTD team was the unheralded Alegra Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, which stayed out of trouble and executed its race plan with precision. That No. 28 team is back for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours, with drivers Michael de Quesada, Daniel Morad, Michael Christensen and the addition of Spencer Pumpelly, who ran strategy for the team during the Rolex.

And don’t forget the six Lamborghini Huracán GT3s, or the three Audi R8 LMS GT3s, or another pair of Porsche 911 GT3 Rs besides the Alegra entry, or a BMW M6 GT3, or a lone Ferrari 488 GT3, fielded by Scuderia Corsa, the defending 2016 WeatherTech Championship GTD champions, and, for that matter, the GTD winner of the 2016 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours. The No. 63 Ferrari, with drivers Alessandro Balzan, Christina Nielsen and Matteo Cressoni, has to be a class favorite.

Unlike GTD, not much has changed in GTLM, except for the pair of Porsche GT Team entries for the brand-new, mid-engine Porsche 911 RSR, which made its world debut at Daytona, and very nearly won its class the first time out.

Of course, that Rolex 24 class victory was taken by the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing No. 66 Ford GT, one of four entered in the 11-car field at Daytona, with that number dropping to three at Sebring: The U.S.-based Nos. 66 and 67 will race at Sebring, as will one of the two European-based Ford GTs, the No. 68.

The Daytona win by the No. 66 came with the same driver lineup that took home an historic class victory at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, on the 50th anniversary of the overall win by the original Ford GT. That same driver lineup is at Sebring – regulars Dirk Mueller and Joey Hand, aided by Sebastien Bourdais, fresh from a last-to-first IndyCar win last weekend at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Bet against this team at your own risk.

But since the No. 911 Porsche finished right behind the winning Ford GT at Daytona, it’s worth keeping an eye on drivers Patrick Pilet, Dirk Werner and Frederic Makowiecki, as well as the No. 912 team car with Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Richard Lietz. The rough-and-tumble Sebring International Raceway has a way of playing into the hands of the typically durable Porsches.

But don’t count out the defending GTLM winner of the race, the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. There are veteran drivers in both Corvettes – Jan Magnussen, Mike Rockenfeller and Antonio Garcia in the No. 3, and in the No. 4, Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler.

Frankly, any team entered in GTLM can win at Sebring, including the pair of BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GTLMs, and the always-competitive Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE, which took third at the Rolex 24 with these same three seasoned drivers – Toni Vilander, James Calado and Giancarlo Fisichella.

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring starts at 10:40 a.m. ET Saturday. FS1 coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET, while FOX Sports GO will stream the race flag to flag beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET when authenticated with FS1. IMSA Radio also will have live coverage throughout practice, qualifying and the race on IMSA.com.

Prototype Battle Set To Escalate For 65th Twelve Hours of Sebring

Mar. 13, 2017

Steven Cole Smith

IMSA Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – So what did we learn about the all-new Prototype field at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona in January?

In brief, that they are good looking, with a purposeful, means-business profile. But they’re also fast. The premier class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was won by the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi V.R, which clocked its fastest lap at 1 minute, 36.394 seconds, which is more than a 132-mph average on the 3.56-mile road course. More impressive still, that wasn’t even the fastest Prototype lap turned during the race.

But how any of this translates to Sebring International Raceway, for the 65th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida endurance race, is anyone’s guess. Only one thing is for sure: A lot of the cars, after 12 hours on one of the roughest, most challenging tracks in the world, won’t be so pretty for long.

Certainly, the No. 10 car, with a driver lineup of Ricky Taylor, his brother Jordan and newcomer Alexander Lynn from Great Britain, has to be a favorite, even minus NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon, who raced with the team at Daytona, and longtime pro Max Angelelli, who retired after the Rolex 24. Most of Lynn’s résumé contains open wheel experience, as a test driver in Formula 1 and as the winner of the GP3 title in 2014. But if team owner Wayne Taylor didn’t think Lynn wouldn’t fit in with his two sons, he wouldn’t be here.

It was lost on few fans at Daytona that the Prototype win went to a new Cadillac DPi, followed by another Cadillac DPi, the No. 5 Mustang Sampling entry of regulars Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, with help from Filipe Albuquerque, who happened to be leading the race until the final few minutes when he and Ricky Taylor made contact in Turn 1, with the No. 5 car getting the worst of it. Those same three drivers are back for Sebring, and you have to wonder what will happen when those two cars are side-by-side.

The other Cadillac team, the No. 31 Whelen Engineering car of regulars Dane Cameron and Eric Curran, with help from Michael Conway and Seb Morris, finished a disappointing 14th at Daytona, but they were often in contention for the lead. All three Cadillacs had fast laps in the 1 minute, 36 second range, the only Prototypes to go that fast.

However, some of the other Prototypes think the tough Sebring race will fall in their favor. The pair of Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan-powered Prototypes will be looking for an improved outing, after finishing fourth and 17th at Daytona, a race they won last year – and then went on to win Sebring, too. The No. 2 car, with Ryan Dalziel, Scott Sharp and Pipo Derani should be strong, as should the No. 22 team car with Ed Brown, Johannes van Overbeek, Bruno Senna and Brendan Hartley.

Needing a good outing at Sebring are the Mazda Prototypes, which were fast at Daytona, but suffered mechanical problems, dropping them to 40th and 46th overall. The cars have the pace, they just need the luck – which has eluded the Mazdas since they dove into the Prototype pond in 2014.

While its lap times weren’t exceptional, the No. 90 Visit Florida Multimatic/Riley P2 car of Marc Goossens, Renger Van der Zande and Rene Rast finished third at Daytona, an example of how just plugging away and not making mistakes can net you a podium finish.

The European team of Rebellion Racing finished just 31st at Daytona, but the team is much faster than such a finish suggests. The No. 13 ORECA P2 car should be fast, especially because co-drivers Sebastien Buemi, Nick Heidfeld and Neel Jani are as good as any Prototype drivers, anywhere. Don’t rule them out.

The two other Prototype teams – the JDC-Miller ORECA and the PR1/Mathiasen Ligier – are still learning, having just stepped up from the Prototype Challenge (PC) class.

And speaking of PC, the class is making its final appearance around the circuit, as it will not be back for 2018. The field, not surprisingly, is smaller than usual, with four entries for Sebring.

There’s no reason not to pick the No. 38 Performance Tech team, as they handily won Daytona by 22 laps. Drivers for Sebring are James French, Patricio O’Ward and Kyle Masson – those last two both broke the record as being the youngest winners for the race in history. A Sebring win definitely would prove Daytona wasn’t a fluke.

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring starts at 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday. FS1 coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET, while FOX Sports GO will stream the race flag to flag beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET when authenticated with FS1. IMSA Radio also will have live coverage throughout practice, qualifying and the race on IMSA.com.

Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled By Fresh From Florida To Feature

46-Car IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Field

Rolex 24-Winning Cadillac, Ford and Porsche Teams Look To Continue Momentum

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 8, 2017) – The 65th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida on Saturday, March 18 will feature a strong, 46-car entry list for the second round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as well as the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.

The race will be streamed live in its entirety in the United States on the FOX Sports GO app with FS1 authentication beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET. Live FS1 television coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET and continues for 9 1/2 consecutive hours, through the checkered flag and post-race interviews.

The field includes 11 Prototype (P) class entries, a 10-car GT Le Mans (GTLM) field, 21 GT Daytona (GTD) entries and four Prototype Challenge (PC) cars. All four cars that won their respective classes in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 28-29 are returning in hopes of repeating what both the Tequila Patrón ESM and Corvette Racing teams accomplished last year – a sweep of the “36 Hours of Florida” in the Prototype and GTLM classes.

The Rolex 24 overall-winning No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R returns with its pair of full-season drivers in brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor. However, they will welcome a new endurance race teammate in 23-year-old Briton Alex Lynn, making his WeatherTech Championship debut and filling a slot vacated by longtime No. 10 driver Max Angelelli, who retired following the Rolex 24 victory but still remains with the team as a co-owner. Four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon also was part of the team’s Rolex 24-winning lineup, but now is focused on his commentary role for FOX Sports’ NASCAR coverage.

“I am delighted to be making my IMSA debut with the Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R team – the racing team and carmaker who both have such an incredible heritage and passionate desire to win,” said Lynn. “I would sincerely like to thank (team owners) Wayne (Taylor) and Max for trusting me to join Ricky and Jordan in this incredible race car. I look forward to learning a lot from the entire team and playing my part in building on the fantastic recent result at Daytona.”

The No. 10 entry is one of three Cadillac Daytona Prototype international (DPi) cars in a Prototype field that also includes a pair of Mazda DPi machines and two Nissan DPis from the Tequila Patrón ESM team that won Sebring last year. The Prototype field is further strengthened by four LM P2 prototypes: two ORECAs, one Ligier and one Multimatic/Riley.

In the GTLM class, the No. 66 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT trio of Joey Hand, Dirk Mueller and Sebastien Bourdais will be looking to make history as the first complete set of co-drivers to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring within a one-year period. They claimed the GTE Pro class victory last June prior to winning GTLM in January at Daytona.

They face stiff competition in the GTLM class, including two more Ford GTs from Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, defending Sebring winners Corvette Racing, which fields its familiar pair of Chevrolet Corvette C7.Rs, two new-for-2017 Porsche 911 RSRs from the Porsche GT Team, two BMW Team RLL entries and a Ferrari 488 GTE from Risi Competizione.

Leading a huge GTD field to Sebring are Rolex 24 winners Alegra Motorsports with the No. 28 Insync Porsche 911 GT3 R. Carlos de Quesada, Michael Christensen and Daniel Morad return as co-drivers from the Rolex 24-winning lineup and will be joined at Sebring by Spencer Pumpelly, a previous Rolex 24 winner and reigning IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Street Tuner (ST) champion. The 21-car field includes eight different manufacturers: Porsche, Lamborghini, Lexus, Audi, Mercedes-AMG, Acura, BMW and Ferrari – which won the Twelve Hours last year with No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 co-drivers Christina Nielsen, Alessandro Balzan and Jeff Segal.

Nielsen and Balzan return in the No. 63 Ferrari with new endurance co-driver Matteo Cressoni. Segal, meanwhile, will look to defend his 2016 Sebring victory aboard the new No. 86 Michael Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3 alongside co-drivers Ozz Negri and Tom Dyer.

The PC field will be led by Rolex 24 winners James French, 17-year-old Mexican driver Patricio “Pato” O’Ward, and Orlando, Florida’s Kyle Masson, who also will be competing in the season-opening rounds of the IMSA Prototype Challenge Presented by Mazda next week at Sebring International Raceway.

Practice for the WeatherTech Championship begins Thursday, March 16, with qualifying set to begin at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, March 17. The 65th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida takes the green flag at 10:40 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 18.
Tickets for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring are available now at SebringRaceway.com.