By: Marshall Pruett July 23, 2018 11:24 AM IMSA’s Michelin Encore race weekend will be unlike anything the sanctioning body has offered since its return in 2014.Set for an off-season date of November 9-11 at Sebring International Raceway, the sports car mixer will open the doors to IMSA for any entrants with LMP3, GT3, GT4, and TCR cars. It will also give regular IMSA competitors with those cars a first look at running on the new Michelin tires that will be used exclusively throughout the paddock in 2019.New details of the four-hour race have also been confirmed, with Friday Nov. 9 scheduled as an open test day, three one-hour practice sessions put in place for Saturday, a pair of 20-minute qualifying sessions on Sunday split into LMP3/GT3 and GT4/TCR, and the race itself.With GT3, GT4, and TCR cars proving to be quite popular in the Pirelli World Challenge series and in various championships found throughout the globe, IMSA is hoping to use the Michelin Encore as an open house with an eye to recruiting new participants for its WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the soon-to-be-renamed Continental Tire Series (pictured).“The Michelin Encore event is intended not only to give existing IMSA competitors a unique incremental event, but to also provide an attractive opportunity for non-IMSA teams and drivers to sample what it’s like to participate in an IMSA-sanctioned event,” IMSA president Scott Atherton told RACER.“We believe the combination of a fall event at Sebring International Raceway, featuring the first-ever opportunity to compete with Michelin tires — surrounded by the professionalism of IMSA — will deliver a compelling and rewarding experience for all involved.”A limit of 60 entries has been set, and with four Pro-Am classes defined for the event, driver ratings will be used to ensure only those with Bronze, Silver and Gold status will be permitted. A maximum of one Gold driver and three drivers total per entry will be allowed, and pit stops with three crew members going over the wall to fuel and change tires have also been stipulated.The awarding of prize money and tire credit is another development that has been confirmed. The four winning entries will receive $10,000 from IMSA and $5000 to apply toward Michelin tires at next year’s IMSA events, and for second and third in each class, credits of $3000 and $2000, respectively, will be handed out.Looking beyond the racing in November at Sebring, IMSA’s senior director of technical regulations and compliance wants to showcase the organization’s competition department to a new audience.“Besides having the opportunity to race at Sebring, this event gives these new teams the chance to experience an IMSA-sanctioned weekend, see how we operate and get to know our technical staff,” Geoff Carter said. “We have made it easy for teams to enter and make it part of their schedule. We are looking forward to a competitive weekend and have the chance to get to show them our operation.”

By: David Phillips | 9 hours ago
Word around the Road Atlanta paddock at Petit Le Mans has Corvette Racing entertaining thoughts of running both IMSA’s 67th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 1000k race the weekend of March 13-16, 2019. Corvette had previously confirmed plans to race in WEC’s 6 Hours of Shanghai this November, in what will be Corvette’s first “factory run” race appearance in Asia. However, Corvette officials offered a firm, if congenial, no comment on their plans for a Sebring “double.”“This year as with every year, at the end of the racing season the executive commitee will evaluate future opportunities to showcase Corvette’s engineering, performance and reliability,” said Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing Program Manager. “We won’t know the details of the 2019 program until then.”More IMSA!

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The lure of running both the IMSA and WEC races at Sebring is obvious, given the team will be on hand for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in any case. Looking further ahead, participating in the 1000 km of Sebring could perhaps be another step toward an “expanded” effort in the 2020 WEC with the new mid-engined Corvette CR.8. Then again, piggy-backing Saturday’s Twelve Hours fresh off Friday evening’s 1000-km race would present significant challenges for the team, not least of which would be brutal physical (and mental) challenges for drivers and crew alike.

By: Marshall Pruett December 4, 2018 1:00 PM Above: Alex Zanardi with Nathalie McGloin, president of the FIA Disability and Accessibility CommissionBMW presented Alex Zanardi with the chance to race an M8 GTE at one of the world’s two biggest 24-hour events. As he tells it, the Italian’s response caught BMW Motorsport boss Jens Marquardt by surprise.“In this situation I kept hearing about some of my colleagues taking part to the Daytona 24,” he said. “And that got me curious about this event and I kept a promise to myself down the road if ever I would have the opportunity, that’s the place where I would want to be.

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“So last year at the beginning of the season actually, Jens Marquardt came to me and said, ‘Alex, you know we’re developing this new car, the new M8. We may have the possibility to get you into one of our team for a 24-hour [race], okay? It’s probably now too early to say this but if ever you have the opportunity would you prefer to compete in Daytona or Le Mans?“He probably thought, with me being European, that I would answer with no doubt answer with Le Mans. And I answer instead, with no doubt, Daytona. All the way. All the way.” His wish was granted last December.“So I had to doubt in my mind. I said, ‘Oh yes. Absolutely Daytona,’” he added. “This is the place where it would really be cool for me to be. Sorry, Le Mans would be an interesting offer, but if you say which one you prefer, no doubt, I wanna go to Daytona. So that was that. Then at the end of the year we all went to the Christmas party and he announced that he would have organized a team for me in 2019. Which was nice, but it was also a surprise for me. A very nice one. Here we are.” https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...di3.jpg?w=1000Zanardi will race for BMW Team RLL at Daytona in an M8 GTE fitted with new controls that allow the former CART IndyCar champion to use his hands to operate the twin-turbo V8-powered machine. It’s a welcome upgrade over the previous system that required the paraplegic to use his prosthetic legs to operate some controls.Looking ahead to his Daytona debut, the 52-year-old cites a purity of competition around the 3.56-mile road course and oval as the greatest attraction to the event.“In comparison … don’t get me wrong, Le Mans is a great race,” he continued. “They have a great tradition and whatever. But quite frankly there’s no appeal for me. It has no charisma on me. It’s a race where it’s more a technical exercise among the engineers to give to the drivers the best car because that’s what you take to compete.“Daytona is a completely different ballgame. It’s a field where you need to manage your skill, your driving. Also, it very often into physical situations of traffic. Definitely very busy, turning the wheel many times. So, it’s much more racing, let’s say, than in my view than Le Mans would have been.”Zanardi expects to enjoy having the likes of Fernando Alonso and other big stars in the Rolex 24 field, but the bigger attraction will come from reconnecting with American racing fans after building such a loyal following during his IndyCar years.“This goes on top of everything but the main thing for me is to turn the engine on and take [to] the circuit,” he said. “This is what I care about. This is the most important thing and let me also add that for some reason, when I was competing in Indy cars and I considered United States my home up to the point where I felt a little bit American.“I don’t wanna sound too arrogant in saying this, but I felt very welcome in your country. Not only by the fans, by the people surrounding me but also in the opportunity I was given.”

By: J.J. O'Malley 24 hours ago Ben Keating and Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports will honor Wynn’s in 2019 with a throwback livery.The team’s No. 33 Mercedes-AMG GT3 will carry the multi-color scheme that Hotchkis Racing ran in 1987, when team drivers John Hotchkis, John Hotchkis Jr. and Jim Adams began the season with a fifth-place overall and GTP finish in that year’s SunBank 24 At Daytona, driving a purple Porsche 962 in the Camel GTP class.

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The livery is in honor of the 50th anniversary for Wynn’s, the automotive products technology company celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2019. Wynn’s has entered into a partnership with Keating and Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports for this year’s 50th anniversary IMSA season, and will carry the new scheme beginning with this weekend’s Roar Before the 24 and continuing through the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.The Wynn’s automotive technology products line started in 1939 and continues a heritage of automotive excellence today with an array of products designed to effectively treat and improve a car’s engine.

By: J.J. O'Malley January 3, 2019 2:25 PM After winning championships in World Challenge and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Yokohama, Pfaff Motorsports is ready to make a name for itself in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as it readies for the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 26-27.“This is a really big honor for me, because this is my third season for Pfaff Motorsports and we won the Canadian GT3 Cup Challenge together in 2017, and won the Pirelli World Challenge GT Sprint championship in our first time there last year,” said Scott Hargrove, who will join Zacharie Robichon in contesting the complete 2019 GT Daytona schedule. “Now, here we are in IMSA, ready to take on the big show. We’ve got a great group of guys. It’s going to be a big learning curve, but I think we’re ready for it.”In addition to Robichon and Hargrove, Lars Kern and Dennis Olson are set to co-drive the No. 9 Pfaff Porsche/Castrol Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Daytona endurance classic.
One of the challenges for the team will be learning a brand-new Porsche.“The new Porsche GT3 R is going to be a big learning curve,” Hargrove said. “I think there only about three components that are the same from the old car; otherwise, it’s a completely new car, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.” Hargrove’s only Daytona experience was spectating at the Rolex 24 in 2011 and 2012.“I’ve definitely done my homework,” he said. “I’ve been here awhile ago, and have watched the races on TV since then. I think I’ve got a good grasp of what it’s going to be like, but you never know until you’re on the banks racing with the Prototypes and negotiating with all the different classes. It’s going to be new, but I think I’m well prepared and ready to learn as much as I can.”Robichon captured the 2018 Canadian Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, winning 11 of 12 events for Mark Motors Racing. In addition, he won seven races while contesting the final eight races of the season in the American series.“It’s a very special opportunity for me to be here at Daytona,” Robichon said. “We had a great year in 2018 in Porsche Cup, not only in Canada, but the U.S. as well. We won 18 of 20 of the races that we competed in. I will be looking to use the lessons I learned. But here, it’s such a different game. We’re stepping into endurance racing. And look at all the drivers around us. It’s going to be a completely new challenge, and I’m really looking forward to joining Pfaff Motorsports with the Porsche GT3 R, staying within the Porsche family and having a lot of fun.”

By: Stephen Kilbey | February 5, 2019 1:57 PM Toyota Gazoo Racing hit the track at Sebring International Raceway today for the first time with its LMP1 class TS050 HYBRIDs as part of a three-day test.The Japanese marque is running at Sebring ahead of the FIA WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring next month, with both its TS050s and all six drivers.Toyota ran exclusively today, though it is set to be joined by multiple teams this week. RACER understands that Ford, AF Corse and Jackie Chan DC Racing are among those expected to test.

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A source told RACER that Toyota wasn’t pushing for times today, although its lap times ran consistently below the best times from IMSA qualifying last March.A Toyota spokesperson confirmed to RACER that Day 1 was for development and testing specific items before it takes on a 30-hour endurance test across the remaining days.Next month’s race will be Toyota’s first at Sebring in LMP1. The team was not present at the inaugural FIA WEC round at the Florida circuit in 2012, the year it made its debut at Le Mans.Today’s track action was also the first for an LMP1 Hybrid at the circuit since Audi’s pre-season test in 2016 ahead of its final FIA WEC LMP1 campaign.

By: Stephen Kilbey | 21 hours ago Former Le Mans winner Brendon Hartley is set to return to racing in LMP1 next month at the FIA WEC’s Sebring 1000 Miles. The New Zealander returns to the championship after a year spent away from competing in sports cars in 2018, racing in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso following the cancellation of Porsche’s LMP1 program.In the race at Sebring, the 2015 and 2017 FIA WEC champion will replace reigning Super GT champion Jenson Button in SMP Racing’s No. 11 BR1 AER, driving alongside Mihail Aleshin and Vitaly Petrov. He will replace Button at Spa too, the Briton unable to make either trip due to racing commitments elsewhere.

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“I’m very pleased to join SMP Racing for the next two WEC races at Sebring and Spa,” Brendon Hartley commented. “The team have all the tools and a great driver roster so I think we have a big opportunity to fight for podiums. It marks my return to the WEC and I’m really looking forward to being back in the paddock among many familiar faces.”This news follows the announcement that Sergey Sirotkin will also join the Russian team to replace Matevos Isaakyan in the team’s No. 17 BR1 to race alongside Stephane Sarrazin and Egor Orudzhev at Sebring.

By: Trans Am | March 2, 2019 8:36 PM Lawrence Loshak captured the TA pole, edging teammate Tomy Drissi and giving Burtin Racing’s gold Chevrolet Camaros a sweep of the front row in qualifying for Sunday’s Trans Am presented by Pirelli 2019 season-opening event at Sebring International Raceway.Loshak toured the historic 3.74-mile circuit in 2m00.427s to grab the pole in the No. 3 Pennzoil/Go Share Camaro, edging Drissi’s No. 8 Axalta Camaro by almost a full second.“It was a dream lap,” Loshak said. “We drivers are always working with the engineers to get that one perfect, impossible lap, and we’re always trying to go faster. In a series like this, the guy behind you is going to pass you if you get complacent.“The guys gave me an incredible car all weekend. We were P-1 in every session, and then they sprinkled a little special sauce on it for qualifying. They have all the confidence in me, and I came through with a dream lap — and an all-gold front row at Sebring.”

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Defending TA champ Ernie Francis Jr. was third in the No. 98 Frameless Shower Doors Ford Mustang, while Chris Dyson — who finished second behind Francis in the 2018 race at Sebring — qualified fourth in the No. 20 Plaid Ford Mustang.“This is Ernie’s home track,” Loshak said. “We might be fast in one lap, but we’re not going to take [the race] lightly. I’m comfortable [here at] Sebring, but I’ve got to be clean and mistake free. I know Ernie, Tomy and Chris aren’t going to make it easy.”Francis Jr., last year’s race winner, will have a great view of the start from third on the grid, and has the last lap rather than the first lap in mind for tomorrow.“I’m not worried about not being on the front row. I think we did a great job for a small team,” said Francis, Jr. “We are running stuff that we work on ourselves. The lap times the leaders turned today will be hard to maintain in the race, and we’ve got a good consistent car for tomorrow.“I know this place well,” Francis continued, “and I think it is going to be a good race.”

https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...g?w=1000&h=667TA2: Defending champion Rafa Matos led TA2 powered by AEM qualifying with a lap of 2m08.269s in the No. 88 3Dimensional Services Group Chevrolet Camaro.“[In qualifying], the track was very different from the morning’s practice, so I was expecting to be a little bit quicker,” Matos said. “It was very hot and the track was slippery, but I had a good enough pace. “Our car feels very good and balanced, and I think we will have a real good race car for tomorrow.”Tony Buffomante was close behind, clocking the second-fastest TA2 lap time in the No. 34 Mike Cope Racing Ford Mustang, with Marc Miller third in the Prefix/Miller Racing Dodge Challenger, a new-to-him car. Last year, Miller passed Matos with two laps remaining to win the Trans Am opener at Sebring.Super GT/ GT: The SGT and GT classes will race concurrently with TA in Sunday afternoon’s event. Mark Boden was fastest in SGT, seeking his fourth career and third-consecutive SGT triumph at Sebring in the No. 46 Beverage Flavors International Porsche 991 GT3 Cup.“The temperature cooled down today, and I was really able to take advantage of the changing conditions,” said Boden, who qualified at 2m09.825s. “We had it set up for a one-shot deal, and I didn’t make any mistakes. Now I’m in front when it goes green.” https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...g?w=1000&h=667Tom Herb made it an all-Fall-Line Motorsports front row, qualifying second in the No. 16 Porsche, followed by Lee Saunders’ V10PWR Racing Dodge Viper.Jeff Courtney led the GT competitors with a best lap of 2m15.536s in the No. 88 Matrix/RecStuff.com/Kendra Maserati GT4, edging Steven Davidson’s Davinci Plastic Surgery Aston Martin Vantage. https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...g?w=1000&h=667“It was an uneventful lap — the way we like it,” said the GT class fastest qualifier. “I was hoping for a clear space and a clean lap, and I got it. I didn’t actually get the tires up to the sweet spot, but we did the lap and now we can save the tires for the race.”

By: Trans Am 5 hours ago A late-race restart proved to be no problem for Lawrence Loshak, who drove to a flag-to-flag victory in the opening race of the 2019 Trans Am presented by Pirelli championship at Sebring International Raceway on Sunday.Defending champion Ernie Francis Jr. pressured Loshak for the opening six laps before pitting with a transmission issue, costing him 12 laps.A late caution set the stage Chris Dyson’s charge in his Plaid Ford Mustang, but Loshak prevailed in the five-lap shootout and won his third career TA class race event by 3.047 seconds.Completing the podium was R.J. Lopez, who wheeled the No. 06 TinaBazucaCraftAle Corvette.“Finally, I won at Sebring! This place has always been bad luck for me,” said Loshak, driver of Burtin Racing’s Pennzoil/GoShare Chevrolet Camaro. “We’ve been fast all weekend, but we’ve been fast here before, only to have some gremlins take us out. “To start the season with a win — well, that’s what this team deserves.”

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Memories of his past misfortune at the historic but bumpy 3.74-mile circuit came flooding back when the late-race full-course caution cost him his advantage.“It’s always nerve-wracking when you build up a lead, dial back into conserve mode, and then have to start all over again,” said the Milwaukee driver. “Especially with [Chris] Dyson in P-2! Who has more laps and experience at Sebring than Chris? “I knew he was coming, so it was all about not making mistakes. I made a handful out there, but they weren’t big ones.“Hey, it was tough for everybody out there today, but we were able to bring the Axalta gold car home for the gold,” a happy Loshak exclaimed. Dyson started fifth but charged up to second early on, closing his day out with a podium start to his 2019 Trans Am campaign.“We struggled with the car until qualifying, to be honest,” Dyson said. “We missed it a little bit in the race, but we kept digging out there. We were starting to make up ground, but those darn yellows … They were a bit quicker on the restarts than we were.“This shows you that the racing in this series is tremendous, along with the quality of the cars that are coming out. We’re absolutely fighting at it tooth and nail out there.” The race featured three classes in action, with SGT and GT class entries also doing battle on Sunday.The second of two full-course cautions proved to be the key for Lee Saunders, who scored a come-from-behind victory in the SGT class driving the No. 84 V10PWR Racing Dodge Viper.Polewinner Mark Boden lost his advantage to Saunders at the start, but managed to work his Beverage Flavors International Porsche 911 GT3 Cup back into the lead by lap 18 – shortly before the caution gave Saunders another opportunity.“It was a good, clean, amazing race,” Saunders said. “My hat’s off to Mark [Boden]. He had a flying car, but we were just a little stronger on the restarts. On the long runs, he was definitely faster, so we probably got a little lucky at the end with the restart. “This win is for my crew: They did a heroic rear-end swap just before qualifying.”Jeff Courtney’s Matrix/RecStuff.com/Kendra Maserati GT4 took the GT victory, besting Steven Davison’s Davinci Plastic Surgery Aston Martin Vantage.“Actually, there was more drama out there than I expected,” Courtney said. “I thought Steven jumped the restart after the first caution [on lap 10]. Then, on the next caution, he kind of overcooked it in Turn 17. Kind of a give-back, but I would rather have raced for it.“We were catching him, but I had to go to the dirt to avoid two TA cars. I got a lot of debris on the tires, but then I was able to click off a few good laps.”Kerry Hitt won the Masters award in the TA class following a 10th-place finish in the Advanced Composite Products Inc. Cadillac CTSV, while Milton Grant won SGT Masters, placing fifth in the SentrySelfStorage/Fairfield Inn Porsche 991 GT3 Cup. The Coolshirt Cool Move of the race went to Jon Leavy.

The Trans Am presented by Pirelli next travels to Road Atlanta, for the Atlanta SpeedFest Tour event on March 29-31.

By: Trans Am 11 hours ago Rafa Matos enjoyed sweet revenge in Trans Am presented by Pirelli competition at Sebring International Raceway on Sunday, leading flag to flag to win the 25-lap season-opening event in TA2 powered by AEM competition.The race was the first of a double-header Trans Am event at Sebring, with the second race featuring TA, SuperGT, and GT classes set for Sunday afternoon.One year after losing the TA2 race at Sebring to Marc Miller in the closing minutes, Matos kept the field in his rear-view mirror to win in the No. 88 3Dimensional.com Chevrolet Camaro after being chased all the way by Miller’s No. 40 Prefix/Stevens-Miller Racing Dodge Challenger. Miller finished second, with Scott Lagasse coming home in third ahead of two-time Sebring Trans Am winner Doug Peterson, as Tony Buffomante finished fifth in the No. 12 Mike Cope Racing Mustang“Today was a redemption race, definitely,” said Matos, the defending TA2 champion. “I was determined I was not going to lose the race this year. I knew that Marc was saving his tires — he was being smart like he did last year. I did everything I could did in the middle of the race to save my car in case I needed it at the end. And when I needed to push the 3Dimensional car, it responded perfectly. It was a great day for everyone on our team. It’s been an amazing time.”Debuting a new No. 40 machine, numbered to celebrate the 40th anniversary for sponsor partner Prefix, Miller was hoping to replicate his last-lap pass for the victory from 2018 but was still pleased to bring home a podium to start the season.https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...pg?w=800&h=487“When the yellow came out, I was thinking back to last year — and had to laugh thinking that Rafa was thinking the same thing!” said Miller. “But we didn’t have the balance that we needed with the car to get him. It is a new car and we learned a lot this weekend with it, we are just getting everything sorted. I’m really happy with the show we put on — we have a lot of Stevens-Miller guests here from Prefix, Liqui-Moly and Piper Aircraft, which is right up the road. The team did an awesome job with this car!”Lagasse ran fifth in the early laps but worked his way up to third by Lap 10 in the No. 92 SLR/Fields Tacing/M1 Racecars Camaro. He maintained that position the rest of the way for a podium finish.“It was solid; it was what we needed,” said the second-generation driver from St. Augustine, Fla. “I owed it to the guys, because I gave up a little too much too early. That’s my fault, because we were just as good — or better — than anybody at the end. It’s what we needed. Last year, Sebring was hands-down my worst racetrack. I still have some things to work on as a driver, but we did a lot better and I’ll keep working.” https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...pg?w=800&h=533Peterson finished fourth in the No. 87 3Dimensional.com Camaro, improving his position throughout the event to earn Masters honors.“I wasn’t happy with 11th place in qualifying, because the car was better than that,” Peterson said. “I knew I would be able to move up a little bit in the opening laps and I got a good launch. I kept moving up and moving up. Fourth place is amazing, but Sebring is my kind of track. You have to save the tires, and the only driver aids are your right foot and the steering wheel. It was amazing to see my teammate win. Rafa is a racer’s racer.”

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Elias Anderson, a 17-year-old from Driftwood, Texas, finished 11th in his TA2 debut driving the No. 31 AccioData/Sampson/Harris Hill Mustang. The forward progress earned the youngster a new Coolsuit after earning the “Cool Move of the Race” award.“It was pretty cool,” Anderson said. “ It is great to win a Coolsuit, because I had to borrow one for this race! I rented this car, and I couldn’t be happier with the result. Now I need a sponsor so I can continue. My only other time at Sebring was at 2 a.m, in a Porsche 935 (in the Classic 12 Hours), and it’s quite a bit different today driving a front-engined car against such great competition.”B C Race Car driver Misha Goikhberg missed the pre-race grid and was forced to start at the back of the 27-car field in the No. 10 BC Race Cars Camaro. He was up to 10th by the 39-minute mark, when he suddenly slowed in the Gurney Bend on Lap 18 following a puncture.The first full-course caution waved on Lap 20. Three laps after the restart, Curt Vogt had an off course excursion entering the Hairpin in the No. 23 Cobra Automotive Mustang, causing the race to end under caution.While the opening round win puts Matos in the championship lead, that was the last thing on his mind after a champagne shower as he congratulated his teammate Peterson on the Masters win: “We can’t be thinking about the championship, it is way too early to be thinking about that.“It is a long season — there are 13 races. Our approach is race by race, qualifying by qualifying. If you start looking at the big picture you lose your focus. That man (teammate Doug Peterson) is very special — the way he is driving and pushing himself and improving his skills is really impressive,” said Matos.Later today, Lawrence Loshak will start from the pole with Burtin Racing’s Chevrolet Camaros sweeping the front row for the TA/SGT/GT event, which takes the green flag at 3:25 p.m. ET.

TheTransAmSeries

By: Stephen Kilbey 10 hours ago Three-time Le Mans winner and 2013 FIA WEC champion Allan McNish will serve as grand marshal at Sebring, March 13-16, for both the IMSA WeatherTech and FIA World Endurance Championship races.McNish, a four-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring (2004, ’06, ’09 and ’12) enjoyed his last victory at Sebring in 2012 (photo above), the first-ever (and until this year the only other) FIA WEC race at the fabled south Florida circuit.“It’s a great honor to be named grand marshal, and I look forward very much to the entire weekend,” said McNish. “Sebring is a great old-school track with fantastic fans and always-amazing races. I was lucky enough to have won the 12 Hours four times, and have so many memories of great battles through the years.“When you win at Sebring, you know you’ve achieved a significant victory, overcoming many challenges, both technical and physical.”

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Said Gérard Neveu, CEO of the WEC: “There are few drivers who can match Allan’s career as an endurance competitor, not to mention his additional, considerable skills as a commentator and journalist, and now his success as a team boss.“His successes at Sebring makes his return here all the more meaningful to fans and competitors alike, and we are delighted that he has agreed to serve as grand marshal for this great weekend ahead. “We can’t think of anyone better for the role.”Scott Atherton, President of IMSA added: “As part of our IMSA 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2019, the selection of Allan McNish as the grand marshal for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours represents a perfect fit. Allan’s name and accomplishments with Audi are etched in Sebring lore.“As IMSA co-headlines the Super Sebring event with the WEC, Allan is the embodiment of excellence in both championships. And he’s a fan favorite and a genuinely nice guy — the perfect grand marshal for this epic combined weekend.”

By: Marshall Pruett | 4 hours ago The second round of IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship coincides with the first appearance of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Sebring this week for its sixth round, as the WEC goes racing for 1000 miles on Friday and IMSA takes over for its traditional Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday.Be sure to follow @RACERmag and @MarshallPruett for regular updates on Twitter, and RACER.com for photos, videos, session reports and feature stories from the IMSA+WEC weekend, and use the resources below to follow along:IMSA Radio: Click here

Entry list: Click here

Tickets: Click here

Weather: Click here

Spotters guide: Click here

IMSA live timing & scoring: Click here

WEATHERTECH CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT SCHEDULE:

Thursday, March 14 (all times Eastern)

9:45–11:00 a.m., Free Practice 1

2:40—3:40 p.m., Free Practice 2

7:45–9:15 p.m., Free Practice 3

Friday, March 15

8:00—9:25 a.m., Free Practice 4

9:55—11:00 a.m., Qualifying

Saturday, March 16

8:00—8:20 a.m., Warp Up

10:40 a.m.—10:40 p.m., WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Round 2 (14 Hours)

TV tune-in info (all times Eastern)

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FIA WEC

IMSA Radio: Click here

Entry list: Click here

Tickets: Click here

Weather: Click here

WEC live timing & scoring: Click here WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, March 13 (all times Eastern)

3:00—4:30 p.m., Free Practice 1

7:45–9:15 p.m., Free Practice 2

Thursday, March 14

4:15—5:15 p.m., Free Practice 3

9:30–10:20 p.m., Qualifying

Friday, March 15

4 p.m.—12:00 a.m., FIA World Endurance Championship Round 6 (1000 Miles or 8 Hours)

TV tune-in info (all times Eastern)

MotorTrend; coverage starts Friday at 3:30pm.

By: Stephen Kilbey 4 hours ago While the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar teams are yet to arrive at Sebring International Raceway, the FIA World Endurance Championship paddock is a hive of activity ahead of tomorrow’s free practice.All 34 cars are on site, with pit tents set up and ready to go in the new WEC-specific pit lane paralleling the back straight.Tuesday’s big news is that Team Project 1 (photo above) has successfully sourced a new Porsche for race week, its primary 911 RSR having burned to the ground in Sunday pre-event testing.The team told RACER it will use the 911 RSR ordered from Porsche for its European Le Mans Series assault later this year. The car is due to arrive tonight and be should be ready to run tomorrow, although it will almost certainly miss the opening track session as the team must first complete various engine and sensor tasks. While the car is brand new, it was shaken down before being air-freighted to the U.S. from Germany.

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Elsewhere, at least two teams will have new color schemes for the Sebring 1000. Clearwater Racing’s Ferrari will run in black for the sponsors of its returning driver Luis Perez Companc, having removed the chrome Shanghai livery marking the retirement of veteran Weng Sun Mok.Corvette Racing will also fly new colors in central Florida — well, sort of. Out is the silver-black-red the team ran at Shanghai; in is the traditional yellow used in its IMSA program.Corvette’s WEC GTE Pro C7.R will be paddocked in the team’s IMSA WeatherTech space, alongside the pair of GTLM C7.Rs that will compete in Saturday’s 12 Hours.As a side note, a number of Greaves Motorsport personnel, including Jacob Greaves, are in Sebring assisting Corvette Racing with its WEC effort. Greaves’ team bring a wealth of experience, having won the ELMS LMP2 title in 2015 and their class at Le Mans in 2011.The paddocks for both FIA WEC and IMSA WeatherTech entries are located along the back straight, in a long line separated by the massive Michelin tire compound which will service WEC and IMSA, along with all of the latter’s supporting series.On the subject of tires, it will be an interesting week in the ongoing WEC LMP2 tire war. Dunlop will debut the new ‘C’ spec LMP2 tire destined for the 2018/19 FIA WEC ‘Super Season’ and carrying its hopes of securing a 46th consecutive class win.The move comes after Michelin released its ‘C’ spec tire late last year and enjoyed an uptick in performance in the ELMS – particularly on the Ligier JS P217 chassis – prompting some teams to switch ahead of the new season.Dunlop tested its new LMP2 tire alongside its ‘A’ and ‘B’ spec rubber through the offseason at several circuits in Europe and at Sebring with ORECA, Ligier and Dallara chassis, and chose Sebring to debut its new compound, not only because of commercial benefits but also because of the circuit’s uniquely challenging surface.Jackie Chan DC Racing and TDS Racing will field the new Dunlops in Florida, while after completing a back-to-back test of Michelin and Dunlop in preparation for its title defense, 2018 ELMS LMP2 champion G-Drive Racing seems likely to remain on Dunlops. Signatech Alpine, Dragonspeed, Racing Team Netherlands and Larbre Competition will all run Michelins.That means not only will Michelin supply every car in the three IMSA championships this weekend at Sebring, but also 21 of the 24 WEC entries, with Dunlop the only other tire manufacturer represented and supplying just three cars.Official on-track action begins tomorrow for the FIA WEC runners, with the first two practice sessions. The IMSA teams all will hit the track for the first time on Thursday.

By: RACER Staff 6 hours ago AIM Vasser Sullivan has added the experienced Philipp Frommenwiler to the lineup of its No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 for this weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The 29-year-old Swiss joins regulars Jack Hawksworth and Richard Heistand in the GTD-class contender, which finished fifth in last month’s Rolex Daytona 24 Hour.Frommenwiler has considerable Lexus experience, appearing three times in IMSA endurance events last year as a follow-up to a winning 2017 season in Europe’s International GT Open with Emil Frey Racing.“I’m very much looking forward to racing for [AVS] and I’m really excited to be back for the 12 Hours of Sebring,” said Frommenwiler. “It’s my third Sebring race so I have experience at the track, and I look forward to the new partnership.“The Lexus showed good pace last year at Sebring, so if we can repeat that we should be in a good position for the race. The team was really strong at Daytona, so I’m looking forward to being a part of it and being back in IMSA racing.”

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AVS’ pair of Lexus RC F GT3s will be at all 11 rounds of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Hawksworth and Heistand the regulars in the No. 14, and NBC commentator Townsend Bell and Frankie Montecalvo paired in the No. 12 which finished second at Daytona.Aaron Telitz assisted in that runner-up finish, joining Bell and Montecalvo as third driver in the four longer-distance Michelin Endurance Cup events, including Sebring this weekend.“I haven’t raced at Sebring in a long time,” Telitz said, “but I’ve done a lot of testing in Indy Lights and USF2000 cars on the shorter track, and it’s great to be going there with the Lexus. It’s just an exciting track. It’s flat in the middle of Florida, but in my opinion, it’s one of the more exciting tracks in North America.”“Sebring is one of my favorite tracks,” added Bell. “Rough, old school, and a challenge day and night. [Our] team had a very productive test day there, working through a number of items, and we’re ready to go [this weekend].”

By: J.J. O'Malley 8 hours ago Matthieu Vaxiviere knows he has big shoes to fill when he steps into the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R in Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.The team is coming off an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, where regular drivers Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande co-drove with guest stars Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi.“Humungous shoes,” said Wayne Taylor Racing co-owner Max Angelelli, who “discovered” the 24-year-old Frenchman.“Part of my job is keeping my eyes open and looking at what’s going on in the industry,” Angelelli said. “I’m going to races, looking at young up-and-coming drivers with different experience that can complement the drivers that we already have. “A little bit like getting the sauce on top of a nice pasta.”

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Vaxiviere, who raced in various French national series and GP3 before graduating to Le Mans with TDS Racing’s LMP2 team in 2017, was introduced as the team’s driver for the Michelin Endurance Cup races at Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta prior to the Rolex 24, won by the Taylor team for the second time in three years. “I saw Matthieu, I followed him, and I felt he deserved the chance,” Angelelli said.“I can only guess the pressure that he’s under,” Angelelli added. “Especially on our team — we are very demanding in all aspects. It’s not all about speed, it’s about team play and everything. It’s not easy. I’m staying away, I don’t want to increase the pressure.” https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...pg?w=800&h=534Vaxiviere spent time with the team at the Rolex 24 — staying in Jordan Taylor’s spare bedroom — and got to know about its inner workings. Two weeks ago, he had the opportunity to test the No. 10 Cadillac DPi-V.R at Sebring.“This is an amazing team,” Vaxiviere said. “It was the best team in the field at the Rolex, and they’ve been really, really good for a long time. It’s a real pleasure to be here, and I will try to do my best to help them in the long-distance races. There is a nice atmosphere here, and now I’m looking forward to racing with them.“The car was really great in the test at Sebring,” he added. “We learned a lot over the two days, and I really enjoyed working with Renger, Jordan and the team. it’s nice to be here. Fernando and Kamui did really good at Daytona, and I will try to continue the work that they did here.”

By: Stephen Kilbey | March 13, 2019 7:40 PM

By: J.J. O'Malley March 14, 2019 9:46 AM Winning the GT Daytona class in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2015 was a huge boost in the career of Alex Riberas. This weekend, the native of Barcelona is looking to add a second victory here — in his first race as a resident of the United States.“Winning at Sebring with Alex Job was the biggest thing I had done in my career,” Riberas recalled. “It was a massive boom, and thanks to that race, I managed to become professional that year. So I feel I owe a lot of my personal life to this particular circuit, and every time I come here I feel grateful.”Riberas will run the full 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the GTD class, co-driving the No. 19 Moorespeed Bardahl Audi R8 LMS GT3 with Will Hardman. Andrew Davis — set for his 11th attempt at the 12 Hours — completes the line-up.“Sebring is always special, but this edition especially is going to be one of the greatest events in history. It’s an amazing pleasure and a blessing to be even a small part of it,” Riberas added. “It’s going to take a huge amount of factors all working in the right direction to win this race. I heard there’s probably going to be rain coming for Saturday. Strategy-wise and driver-wise, we all need to be on our ‘A’ game in order to win this race.”

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Riberas recently realized a longtime dream when he moved to Austin, Texas, to be closer to the Moorespeed team base and his co-driver.“I want to be part of the Moorespeed project for the long term,” Riberas said. “It’s a brand-new project — we started from scratch — and it takes a lot of work, and I’m very much involved in it. When we ran the Rolex 24 At Daytona, I was still living in Europe. So this is the first time in America where I didn’t come from Europe to race — I came from Austin. It feels like the start of something that will be very special. Will is one of the best gentlemen drivers I’ve seen so far in the paddock, and the fact that we are living so close together gives us a strong opportunity to work hard and train together. Hopefully, we will fight together for big things in the future.”Another advantage of living in Austin is its closeness to America’s lone Formula 1 track.“I’m at COTA all the time,” he said. “I was there for the Ferrari Challenge, the World Challenge, everything. I was there to watch, drive and coach. Everything. It’s only 20 minutes away.“Living in America has been my dream since 2013, when I first came here. I’ve been following this dream, trying to make it happen for all these years. It means a lot to me, so my family supports me.”

By: J.J. O'Malley | 4 hours ago One year ago, the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 came alive during the final hour of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Closing driver Bryan Sellers charged to the front on his closing stint, breaking open a tight battle to win the GT Daytona class by 8.169s.Now, the team is looking to repeat. Sellers returns with Corey Lewis in the No. 48 1st Phorm/Total Lubricants/ Mountain Motorsports/Paul Miller Auto Group Lamborghini, with Ryan Hardwick taking over the seat held by Martin Snow, who was promoted to gold status and left without a ride.“Last year, we obviously figured out what it took to win this race,” Sellers said. “Now, being able to execute that again is going to be difficult. We’re going to give it a shot. We have an idea of what we have to do and where we need to be. Our main focus right now is making sure we have a good, solid race car that drives well.”Sebring was one of two 2018 triumphs for Sellers and Snow, who went on to claim the GTD title. They also won at Lime Rock and scored eight podium finishes — including taking third in the endurance classics at Daytona, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta. Failure to score points in the early rounds cost them the Michelin Endurance Cup, which they lost by only four points.On Thursday, the Paul Miller Racing team flew under the radar, placing 10th through 12th in the three practice sessions in the class. The team picked up the pace in Friday’s final practice, with Sellers posting the third-fastest time.“Right now, we’re not too worried about anything, other than that the car drives well and all three drivers are happy,” Sellers said. “I think our strength last year was we were able to run through all three guys and we were all comfortable with the car. That’s a huge priority when you run for 12 hours.”

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Sellers also knows that there is an unknown factor that may play a role in the outcome of Saturday’s race.“It looks like the weather is going to play a massive part this time around,” he said. “We’re just going to have to be prepared for every condition that might come our way. Rain isn’t unusual at Sebring. This is a tricky place. It’s a tough race with traffic, a lot of cars and a lot of people who don’t normally race with us. It’s also one of the most physically demanding tracks. Twelve hours here definitely takes a toll on you. It’s as difficult — and likely, more difficult — than racing 24 hours at Daytona.”A year ago, Sellers won on the 20th anniversary of his first visit to Sebring with his father. Saturday, he will again be joined by his family at the race.“It’s great being back with Paul Miller Racing and having my family here again this weekend,” Sellers said. “Every weekend I get to bring my kids to the track is a good weekend.”

By: J.J. O'Malley 1 hour ago A late night by the Acura Team Penske paid off with the pole position for Saturday’s 67th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Dane Cameron will lead the field to the green flag after capturing the pole on Friday with a track-record lap of 1m45.865s in the No. 6 Acura Team Penske Acura ARX-05 DPi.“We had to fix an electrical gremlin we had chased throughout the day,” said Cameron, who won his third Sebring pole but first overall. “It was one of those things that was buried in the middle of the car, and you had to pull the whole thing apart to get to it. And we had night practice, so it wasn’t until after 10p.m. that we started getting to it and the guys worked until 2 a.m.”Cameron’s first flying lap proved to be the pole winner.“It’s a little different on the Michelin tires this year,” Cameron said. “Before, it typically took a few laps to get to the sweet spot. But Michelin really comes on quick on a warm day like this, and has a lot of grip on the first two laps. We tried to bang in a good lap early. I made a few mistakes on the first few turns on my second lap, but the first one was good enough – and I was quite surprised.”Tristan Nunez qualified second in the No 77 Mazda Team Joest RT-24P. His lap of 1m46.011s was identical to the time turned in by Helio Castroneves in the No. 7 Penske Acura, with the Mazda taking the front-row position by virtue of having turned the time earlier in competition.Filipe Albuquerque will start fourth in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R, edging Action Express Racing teammate Pipo Derani, fifth in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac, 1m46.354s. The top nine qualifiers beat Tristan Vautier’s year-old DPi track mark of 1m47.432s.Patrick Pilet led a Porsche GT Team sweep of the top two positions in GT Le Mans. Pilet ran a lap of 1m55.899s in the No.911 Porsche 911 RSR, closely followed by Laurens Vanthoor, 1m56.042s in the No. 912.“My last pole was a long time ago at COTA,” said Pilet, whose lone previous pole came in 2015. “My car was well balanced. We were struggling at the beginning of the weekend, but the team made a few adjustments. We improved at every session, and since last night the car works pretty good.” Pilet and co-drivers Nick Tandy and Frederic Makowiecki return as defending GTLM winners at Sebring.“We won here last year and our goal is quite simple – to win here again this year,” Pilet said. “Porsche has a lot of success here (95 total victories), but there’s also a lot of pressure for us also to bring back another victory. We have a good package for success this weekend.”A Corvette and Ford will share row two. Antonio Garcia was third in the No. 3 Corvette Racing C7.R, 1m55.899s, followed by Richard Westbrook in the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Ford GT, 1m56.189s.Trent Hindman captured his first career WeatherTech Championship pole for the GT Daytona class, running a lap of 1m59.917s in the No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing Curb Records Acura NSX GT3.“This is a result of the long hours the team put back in the shop,” Hindman said. “They also put in long hours last night, making changes to the car.”Robby Foley was second, 2m0.299s in the No. 96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3, followed by Zach Robichon, 2m0.505s in the rebuilt No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.Fifth in GTD was Brandon Gdovic in the No. 47 Precision Performance Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 that sustained major damage in a incident during Thursday’s second practice session.Matt McMurry won the LMP2 pole in the No. 52 PR1 Mathisen Motorsports ORECA Gibson, with his lap of 1m49.728s edging No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports driver Kyle Masson by a mere 0.011s. After holding the pole throughout the session, McMurry was beaten by Masson on the final lap. Determined, McMurray managed to come back for his first career pole position in a Prototype.That was Friday’s final WeatherTech Championship on-track activity. Saturday begins with a 20-minute warm-up at 8 a.m., with the green flag set to wave at 10:40 a.m. RESULTS

By: J.J. O'Malley 14 hours ago Harry Tincknell put the No. 55 Mazda atop the timing charts for the second straight session, leading Thursday’s night practice in preparation for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.Tincknell ran 1m46.953s in the Mazda Team Joest Mazda RT-24P. Fastest of the day in the lead IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship class was co-driver Oliver Pla, who ran 1m46.834s in the No. 55.“Night practice at Sebring is really unique and always a fun experience,” Tincknell said after the session. The Mazda RT24-P had really good pace at the start of the session, but the team made some adjustments that helped unlock some more speed. You can’t read too much into what happens in practice, but with the sister car right behind us as well, it’s been a positive day for Mazda Team Joest. Jonathan, Oliver and myself are excited for what the race will bring.”

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Second in the 90-minute night session was Felipe Nasr with a lap of 1m47.165s in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R, a bit slower from his lap of 1m46.996s that led the morning session.Mazda Team Joest also took third, with Timo Bernhard running 1m47.559s in the No. 77. Dane Cameron took third in the No. 6 Acura Team Penske Acura DPi, 1m47.846s, followed by Colin Braun in the No. 54 CORE automotive Nissan DPi at 1m47.857s.Antonio Garcia ran the fastest lap of the day in GT Le Mans, a 1m56.954s in the No. 3 Corvette Racing Corvette C7.R. He was followed by the two Ford Chip Ganassi Ford GTs, Richard Westbrook, 1m57.090s in the No. 67, and Dirk Mueller, 1m57.364s in the No. 66.Andy Lally finished strong to lead GT Daytona, running 2m0.947s in the No. 44 Magnus Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3. Second was Trent Hindman, 2m1.008s in the No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3, followed by Mirko Bortolotti, 2m1.024s in the No. 11 GRT Grasser Racing Team Biocircle/Orange 1 Lamborghini Huracan GT3.Matt McMurry gave PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports a sweep of the three LMP2 sessions, running 1m51.766s in the No. 52 Profound/MEP/Drive Capitol/6eme Sens ORECA Gibson.Friday will be a short day for the WeatherTech Championship competitors. It opens with a one-hour, 25-minute combined session at 8 a.m. ET, shortly followed by 15-minute qualifying groups beginning at 10:20 a.m. The remainder of the day will feature races for the IMSA Pilot Challenge and WEC.There will be a 20-minute warm-up on Saturday morning at 8 a.m., with the 67th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring beginning at 10:40 a.m.RESULTS

By: J.J. O'Malley 4 hours ago Acura Team Penske picked up the pace Friday morning at Sebring International Raceway, taking the top two positions in final practice for Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.Dane Cameron led the 85-minute session with a weekend-best 1m46.643s lap in the No. 6 Acura DPi, only 0.033s faster than teammate Helio Castroneves in the No. 7 Acura.The final session prior to qualifying saw teams set the fastest laps of the weekend in all four classes. The practice will be followed after a 30-minute break by qualifying.Filipe Albuquerque was third, 1m46.799s in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R, followed by the two Mazdas. Tristan Nunez was fourth in the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest RT-24P, 1m46.952s, followed by Jonathan Bomarito, 1m47.074 in the No. 77 entry.

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Patrick Pilet returned Porsche to the top in GT Le Mans, running 1m56.635s in the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR – the best lap of the weekend in the class. He was followed by the Ganassi Racing Ford GTs of Richard Westbrook (1m56.863 in the No. 67) and Dirk Mueller (1m56.957 in the No. 66).Katherine Legge led the GTD competitors, running 2m0.012s in the No. 57 Caterpillar Acura NSX GT3. Next was Mirko Bortolotti, 2m0.029s in the No. 11 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3, and Trent Hindman in the No. 86 Curb Records Acura NSX GT3, 2m0.319s, giving Meyer Shank Racing two of the top three positions.Gabriel Aubry gave PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports the fast lap for the fourth straight LMP2 session, running 1m50.269 in the No. 52 Profound/MEP/Drive Capitol/6eme Sens ORECA Gibson.The No. 47 Precision Performance Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3, which suffered major front-end damage in a session two incident and missed night practice, was repaired and returned to action. Lawson Aschenbach was 14th fastest in the class.UP NEXT: Fifteen-minute qualifying sessions begin at 9:55 a.m. for GTD; 10:20 a.m. for GTLM; and 10:45 a.m. for DPi/LMP2. That will be the final WeatherTech Championship on-track activity of the day, with the Michelin Pilot Challenge and FIA holding 10 hours of racing.Saturday begins with a 20-minute warm-up at 8 a.m., with the 67th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring beginning at 10:40 a.m.

By: J.J. O'Malley 22 hours ago Olivier Pla brought Mazda Team Joest to the top of the charts in Thursday’s second IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.One lap after setting the fastest lap of the day, a 1m46.834s, Pla ran out of gas in the No. 55 Mazda RT-24P and needed a tow, bringing out a short red-flag period.“That was a very positive session for our team,” Pla said. “The Mazda RT-24P is working very well around Sebring, and with the heat we have in the middle of the day, it gives us confidence for the race. I think the car can be competitive here. Of course it is a long race, but we are confident in the pace of the car.”Pipo Derani was second in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R at 1m47.649s, slightly slower than co-driver Felipe Nasr’s lap of 1m46.996s that led the morning session. Jordan Taylor was third, at 1m47.651s in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, followed by Helio Castroneves, 1m47.989s in the No. 7 Team Penske Acura DPi.

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Nick Tandy was fast in GTLM, at 1m56.991s in the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR, followed by Ryan Briscoe’s 1m57.406s in the No. 67 Ford, and Philipp Eng, at 1m57.507s in the No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE.In GT Daytona, Bill Auberlen’s early lap of 2m0.583s led the session in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3. He was followed by Mirko Bortolotti at 2m0.913s in the No. 11 GRT Grasser Team Biocircle Lamborghini Huracan GT3, and Scott Hargrove, with a 2m1.292s in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.Matt McMurry led LMP2, at 1m52.579s in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA Gibson.There was a 12-minute red flag stoppage beginning at the five-minute mark for a front-end impact into the Turn 3 tire barrier by Don Yount in the No. 47 Precision Performance Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3. RESULTS

UP NEXT: Today’s activities conclude with a 90-minute night session beginning at 7:45 p.m. (all times ET).Friday opens with a one-hour, 25-minute combined session at 8 a.m., shortly followed by 15-minute qualifying groups beginning at 10:20 a.m. There will be a 20-minute warm-up on Saturday morning at 8 a.m., with the 67th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring beginning at 10:40 a.m.

By: Stephen Kilbey 19 hours ago In the final WEC practice session ahead of qualifying for the Sebring 1000 Miles, Toyota continued to set the pace.The best time came from Jose Maria Lopez, a 1m41.88s in the No. 7 TS050 HYBRID to better Fernando’s benchmark time in the session by six tenths. The big story of the session, though, wasn’t Toyota’s dominance in the times, but of an incident in GTE Am.Paul Dalla Lana has left the No. 98 Aston Martin Racing mechanics in a race against time, after a big off at Turn 17 into the tires. The Canadian severely damaged the car’s side and rear in the impact. With qualifying just hours away, the crew will be working overtime to repair the Vantage, which was nursed back to the pits after the impact by Dalla Lana.That was the only notable off in the session. There were a few offs for a few cars, though none of them ended with any sort of damage bill.Fastest of the LMP1 privateers for the first time this week was the No. 10 DragonSpeed BR1 AER, Renger van der Zande putting in a late 1m44.156s flyer to put the car ahead of the SMP BR1s and the Rebellion R-13s.More Le Mans/WEC!

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LMP2 meanwhile, was headed up by Gabriel Aubry in the No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA which leads the class standings. His time was just a tenth faster than Andre Negrao in the Signatech Alpine which continues to finish up second in each session this week.Ford led the way in GTE Pro, former Sebring 12 Hours class winner Andy Priaulx putting the No. 67 Ganassi Ford ahead of the No. 51 AF Corse 488 GTE of Alessandro Pier Guidi. The two BMW M8 GTEs, run by MTEK, ended up third and fourth.GTE Am, ended with a Porsche 1-2-3, the No. 77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche after a Matt Campbell flyer top of the sheets ahead of the team’s sister car and the Project 1 example. RESULTS

UP NEXT: Qualifying for the 1000 Miles of Sebring takes place at 9:30 p.m. ET.

By: Marshall Pruett | March 12, 2019 3:48 PM Sebring International Raceway is experiencing an unprecedented run on advance ticket sales for this week’s combination IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship event.With the legendary 3.7-mile road course playing host to IMSA, North America’s premier endurance racing series, and for the first time, the WEC, the top international championship, from Wednesday through Saturday, Sebring president Wayne Estes says the demand for tickets, motorhome spaces, and parking is beyond anything the facility has received in the modern era.

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“Right now, we’re up between 40 and 50 percent, both in dollars, and in units sold, over last year,” he told RACER. The standard Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring already brings in hordes of fans for its Thursday-Saturday action, and with the WEC added on to feature from Wednesday-Friday, culminating in its 1000 Miles of Sebring race, the spike in value has led to a rush on sales. As a result, free space to roam could also be in high demand.“The numbers terrify me, because it changes the logistics needs so tremendously,” he continued. “You want to alert everybody and say, ‘I know you’ve been used to coming to Sebring and having a little bit more elbow room in the past. Not this year’. So we’re having to take some steps to be sure that people stay a little more organized, and don’t spread out quite so much. And we’re encouraging people to recognize that there’s going to be a lot of first-timers here. And we want them to come back.“And be good to your neighbor. And be good to our security people when they say, hey park your car a little closer, so I can get another RV in here. These numbers are really surprising us. And we’re strongly recommending that people allow extra time to get in here both on Friday, and Saturday.”Estes credits the arrival of the WEC for the box office boom.“Clearly the big game-changer here is the WEC, but we were trending up anyway,” he said. “We have had… at a time when not just motorsports events, but sports events, and even entertainment events, have been struggling to stay flat, we’ve had an uptake at least the last three years. We got rain here in ’16. ’17 was a better bounce back, but it’s been a lot of positive things happen here in ’18.“And now this year, with the additions, a lot of in-market promotions… we’ve got some new partners that are doing a lot more in-market; Yuengling, and Pepsi are both new to us. And are both doing a lot of promotions along the coasts. So we have more media activities going on in Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale then we’ve had in recent years. There is that, and then there’s a lot of European fans that are coming.” To accommodate more fans, Sebring’s facilities team have made changes to some of the familiar spectating areas.“We have increased some of the capacities in areas that people have been before,” Estes said. “Not just the viewing mounds, but we’ve flattened out the viewing mounds, so we can put some grandstands on top of them. So instead of having 50, or 60 people on the mound, we can have 500 people on top of the mound.“When we built this new bridge to Green Park in the midway, there was an original plan to landscape these things with palmetto bushes to keep the fans off of them. Heck, you go up there and you say, why wouldn’t we want people to be on these things, because this is the spectator hill we’ve been looking for. Now we’ve got four of them. So we sodded it, instead of putting trees and palmetto bushes on it. And we’re going to let people sit up there, and I’m sure these things will be packed on Friday, and Saturday.”Take the unexpected rise in sales and attendance, plus IMSA’s ongoing restoration as a series, and Estes is feeling bullish about where the event is headed.“IMSA’s product clearly is better since they introduced the DPis, and these last couple years, things have just been going really well,” he said. “They’ve got more manufacturers, they’ve got a very positive image. They’ve been in growth mode, we’ve been in growth mode. And then we had this WEC thing come along. And good heavens though, what they’ve brought here…”

By: MazdaMotorsports.com | 23 hours ago Tristan Nunez qualifies second, Bomarito seventh in Mazda RT24-PsIn the Friday morning qualifying session for the 12 Hours of Sebring, Tristan Nunez drove the No. 77 Mazda RT24-P to a front row starting position for the endurance racing classic.Recording a time of 1:46.011 around the 3.7-mile circuit made up of the runways of the former Hendricks Army Airfield, Nunez’s time put the Mazda RT24-P that he will share with Timo Bernhard and Oliver Jarvis second on the grid. Jonathan Bomarito, who shares the No. 55 Mazda RT24-P with Olivier Pla and Harry Tincknell, qualified in seventh position.The No. 55 Mazda RT24-P topped the second and third practice sessions of the weekend, with Pla setting the fastest lap in practice two and Tincknell setting the fastest lap of night practice.The 12 Hours of Sebring will be broadcast live on Saturday, March 16 starting at 10:30 AM ET on CNBC before continuing on NBC Sports at 3:00 PM ET with coverage concluding at 11:00 PM ET.

By: Stephen Kilbey 20 hours ago Sebastien Buemi, Fernando Alonso and Kazuki Nakajima, drivers of the No. 8 Toyota TS050 HYBRID, edged closer to claiming the 2018/19 FIA WEC Drivers’ World Championship tonight, with a comfortable win in the series’ return to Sebring.The trio were able to cruise to victory in the heavy rain that arrived during the final half hour, ahead of their title rivals in the sister Toyota, which lost valuable time in the pits to repair damage following an off for Jose Maria Lopez midway through the race.“It was interesting but tough for me in the end. We knew we had a gap so I didn’t take any risks,” said Nakajima. “The track was so slippy, like ice! On the start straight I couldn’t even go flat. I’m so happy to finish without damage on the car.”https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...pg?w=800&h=534Unfortunately, the sixth round of the ‘Super Season’ was another race with very little competition in the LMP1 ranks, with fans forced to look elsewhere for excitement. Luckily, on a night where both prototype classes left a lot to be desired, the GTE categories delivered the goods, especially at the end when the conditions threw a spanner in the works.Behind the two Toyotas, was the No. 11 SMP Racing BR1, which crossed the line 10 laps back from the winning car after recovering from an early mechanical issue. The No. 3 Rebellion Racing crew looked set to finish third, but faded late in the race with its own mechanical issues.

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While there was a clear gap between the privateer and factory cars in LMP1 on pace, the nature of the grueling Sebring circuit played a huge part in making it a relatively forgettable race; it was a real war of attrition in the non-hybrid ranks.Only four cars finished in LMP1, and two of those were heavily delayed. The other four retired, the No. 17 SMP Racing BR1 crashed out at Turn 1 early in the race after a light shower caught out Igor Orudzhev, and the No. 1 Rebellion R-13 and DragonSpeed BR1’s days came to an end with mechanical issues.While it wasn’t an inspiring run for the non-hybrid runners, it was at the very least a valuable endurance test for the privateers ahead of the Le Mans 24 Hours.https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...pg?w=800&h=534In LMP2, Jackie Chan DC Racing scored its fifth win of the season, and a crucial win for Dunlop over Michelin in the LMP2 tire war. However, the team will be slightly disappointed that the No. 38 crew of Stephane Richelmi, Gabriel Aubry and Ho-Pin Tung didn’t finish first here.It was a disastrous outing for the LMP2 points leaders, leaving the new-look crew of Jordan King, Will Stevens and David Heinemeier Hansson in the No. 37 sister car to fly the flag for the team up front and continue its near-perfect form.“I can retire now with a 100% record in sports car racing!” LMP2 newcomer King said. “Everyone did so well — it was stressful at the end, but we gave Will enough of a buffer.”The aforementioned No. 38 ORECA suffered a major title blow, after having to overcome electrical and transmission issues early in the race, and later a stop to have its driver door replaced. The car finished, but last in the class.While the No. 38’s title rivals in the Signatech Alpine A470 didn’t win, Nicolas Lapierre, Andre Negrao and Pierre Thiriet did collect a strong haul of points by finishing second, and are now leading the standings with two races to go.Completing the podium was the DragonSpeed ORECA, which recovered well after a tough outing. The crew was in the wars throughout, suffering tire issues and losing time due to offs into barriers, but still earned silverware thanks to other runners in the class falling even further back from the winning car.Racing Team Nederland’s Dallara looked likely to take a podium during the first half of the race, but it all unravelled for the Dutch squad after losing 12 minutes in the pits in the final third.GTE Pro on the other hand, provided plenty of action all the way to the end, especially when the rain came down hard…1 2

By: Stephen Kilbey 20 hours ago Cars from BMW, Ford, Ferrari and Porsche were all in the running for the GTE Pro win throughout the race, and after hours of clean, hard racing, the No. 91 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR of Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz took the win ahead of the No. 81 MTEK BMW.The win was secured for Porsche by quick pit work when it mattered most, the No. 91 911 of Gianmaria Bruni leapfrogging the No. 82 BMW of Nicky Catsburg at the final set of stops to take the lead when much of the field came in to change from slicks to wets.https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...pg?w=800&h=534Once Bruni and Catsburg rejoined, they were together on track, just a second apart, but there was no time for Catsburg to reclaim the lead. The TDS Racing ORECA of Loic Duval brought out a safety car with just over 10 minutes to go, after hitting the barriers at Turn 10 hard, which would last until the end of the race, making it a slightly anti-climactic finale.“It was a difficult decision for everyone to change tires because you didn’t want to lose time,” said Patrick Pilet. “But there was too much water so it was the correct choice — the boys changed the tires so quick and we were able to get past the BMW in the pits.”At the Rolex 24 back in January BMW took a dramatic and somewhat lucky win in GTLM when the rain came down at the end; this time the Bavarian brand was on the other end of late-race confusion and a drastic change of weather.The No. 67 Ganassi UK Ford, which led the class for two-thirds of the race, before being passed on track by the aforementioned BMW and Porsche finished third, ahead of the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 which narrowly missed out on a podium.No. 67 drivers Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell and Jonathan Bomarito will head home from Florida wanting more after looking so strong early, the trio despite their best efforts falling back as the temperature dropped and the night hours wore on.The two factories that faded into obscurity, interestingly, were the two that opted to sit out the pre-event test. Corvette Racing’s guest-entered C7.R finished eighth, and the pair of Aston Martin Vantage AMRs crossed the line a distant ninth and 10th. It was a deflating performance for the British team especially, after showing such promise with a breakthrough win last time out at Shanghai.https://racerdigital.files.wordpress...pg?w=800&h=534GTE Am was won by the No. 77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche, Matt Campbell, Christian Reid and Julian Andlauer rising to the top after a race-long battle with the Spirit of Race Ferrari and Team Project 1 Porsche that finished second and third respectively.Spirit of Race’s Ferrari at times looked the class of the field, fighting for the lead early in the race. But it wouldn’t recover after a penalty was handed to the team for Giancarlo Fisichella punting Jorg Bergmeister’s Project 1 Porsche off at Turn 1 in a scrap for the top spot.Project 1, too, was unable to regain control of the class fully after Bergmeister’s off into the barriers. Third is nevertheless a well-deserved result for the crew, who had to overcome real adversity during race week when its original 911 burned to the ground in the pre-event test.The mechanics worked overtime throughout the opening days of the meeting prepping a brand-new 911 RSR that was shipped to the USA from Europe on short notice. A podium will, therefore, serve as a welcome reward for all the effort put in behind the scenes. Next up on the schedule is the second 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps of the 2018/19 ‘Super Season’ in May.

The clock is ticking for the 67th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The race was officially started at 10:42 a.m. — under the yellow flag. Light but steady rain continues to fall, but is forecast to let off early in the afternoon.Dane Cameron started on the pole in the No. 6 Penske Racing Acura ARX-05 DPi.Stay tuned to RACER.com for updates which will be posted shortly after the end of each racing hour, in addition to breaking news.

By: J.J. O'Malley 16 hours ago One hour into the 12 Hours of Sebring, Pipo Derani took the lead in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac, passing Action Express Racing teammate Felipe Albuquerque in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R on Lap 19 at the end of the hour.After 19 minutes of green flag racing, Kyle Masson leads LMP2 in the No. 38 ORECA Gibson; Richard Westbrook leads GTLM in the No. 67 Ford GT; and Trent Hindman leads GTD in the No. 86 Acura NSX GT3.The green flag finally waved at 11:22 a.m., after 41 minutes — 12 laps — running behind the pace car under caution due to wet conditions and poor visibility. Dane Cameron took the lead from the pole, but was passed on the outside in Turn 1 by Tristan Nunez in the No. 77 DPi. Albuquerque took second in the No. 5 Cadillac a few turns later. On the next lap, Albuquerque passed Nunez for the lead in the Hairpin. Both GTLM Porsches fell back; the No. 912 of Laurens Vanthoor pitted on Lap 14 for new rain tires, with Pilet pitting the following lap, also for new tires.Also falling back were both Acura Team Penske entries, to seventh and ninth in class. Pole winner Dane Cameron pitted on lap 16 for new rain tires, with a change of tire pressures.The race officially got underway at 10:42 a.m. with the waving of the yellow flag. Light rain was falling, with plenty of standing water throughout the 3.74-mile circuit.Jordan Taylor pitted the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, to top off the fuel while the team worked on changing tape and cooling the brake ducts. Taylor also returned to the pits at the end of the both sixth and 10 laps under caution — for fuel only.

By: J.J. O'Malley 15 hours ago Hour 2 at Sebring 12 ran under green, with conditions gradually improving near the end of the hour as the rain let up and portions of the track began to dry.The two Action Express Cadillacs led throughout the hour before leader Pipo Derani pitted from the lead at the two-hour mark. His No. 31 Whelen Engineering crew opted to be the first contender to change to slick tires.That gave the lead to teammate Filipe Albuquerque in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling entry, who had a 90-second advantage over the third-place Mazda of Jonathan Bomarito at the time.Richard Westbrook led GTLM in the No. 67 Ford GT; Kyle Masson had a one-lap advantage in LMP2; and Zach Robichon took the GTD lead in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R.Trent Hindman pitted while leading in GTD at the 1h35m mark, with Justin Marks retaining the lead in the No. 86 Acura after the stop. Robichon passed him for the lead two laps later.“The track itself was OK; the biggest problem was the spray,” Hindman said. “I had to be really careful in the event something happened in front of me, but I knew my Meyer Shank Racing Acura would be hooked up in these conditions.”The Team Penske Acuras both struggled in the second hour, falling off the lead lap and all the way down to ninth and 11th in the DPi class. Ricky Taylor spun at the exit of Turn 17 on lap 36, stopping momentarily in mid-track before being able to continue, but losing two full laps.Earlier, both Action Express Racing cars had pitted on lap 27 while running 1-2, Derani’s No. 31 followed by Albuquerque’s No. 5. Derani maintained the lead despite the stop, still trailed by Albuquerque, but Jordan Taylor – who pitted for fuel several times in the early laps under caution – moved up to third in the No. 10 Cadillac. Taylor held the position through his subsequent stop, where he picked up a speeding penalty while exiting the pits.Tristan Nunez spun early in the hour after contact in the Hairpin; he was running third in the No. 77 Mazda.

By: J.J. O'Malley 14 hours ago Three hours into the 12 Hours of Sebring, the No. 31 continues to lead with Felipe Nasr now driving, followed by Tristan Vautier in the No. 85 and Brendan Hartley in the No. 5, as Cadillac DPi’s held the top five positions.Cameron Cassels enjoyed a 15-lap lead in LMP2; Fords were 1-2 in GTLM (Richard Westbrook in the No. 67 pacing Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 66); and Lars Kern led GTD in the No. 9 Porsche.However, contenders in three of the classes fell out of contention during the hour. The string of dramas began at 1 p.m. when Timo Bernhard pulled off course in the sixth-place No. 77 Mazda with an electrical fire traced to a battery issue.The race then went full-course caution (the first since the delayed start) and the leading Action Express pair took advantage to change drivers. Nasr took over for Pipo Derani in the lead No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac, while Hartley jumped into the No. 5 Mustang Sampling entry.The race went back to green on lap 62 after a seven-minute caution, even as the LMP2-class-leading No. 52 ORECA of Anders Fjorback began smoking due to a broken suspension part on lap 60. Fjorback lost the class lead to Cameron Cassels in the No. 38 ORECA on the following lap, and the No. 52 spent the remainder of the hour in the pits.The next contender to experience problems was Tommy Milner, who lost several laps in the pits while the team worked feverishly on the rear end of the No. 4 Corvette C7.R. At the three-hour mark, the car had yet to return to the fray.At the end of the second hour, Derani had been the first competitor to switch to slicks. Others quickly followed, but the No. 31 Whelan Engineering Cadillac had the advantage.“To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure [if I should go to slicks] then,” Derani said. “The track was still wet, but at the same time, I could feel the [wet] tires were starting to go away. It was a really great job by the team to put me on slicks. I couldn’t give them an answer, but they made the right call.”

By: J.J. O'Malley 13 hours ago Felipe Nasr continues to lead the 12 Hours of Sebring in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac, but Olivier Pla has worked his way up to second in the No. 55 Team Joest Mazda. Cadillacs hold the next four positions, with Brendon Hartley in the No. 5 Mustang Sampling entry heading the pack.Fords are still 1-2 in GTLM, with Ryan Briscoe (No. 67) leading Sebastien Bourdais (No. 66).Six different marques hold the top six slots in GTD, paced by the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG of Jeroen Bleekemolen, followed by Rik Breukers in the No. 11 Lamborghini; Toni Vilander in the No. 63 Ferrari; Ana Beatriz in the No. 57 Acura; Lars Kern in the No. 9 Porsche; and Dillon Machavern in the No. 96 BMW.Andrew Evans leads LMP2 by 23 laps in the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA Gibson, although Anders Fjorback has returned to the race in the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA.Racing was clean and green throughout the hour, reaching the one-third mark in dry conditions, although the sky is darkening and additional rain is expected.

By: J.J. O'Malley 12 hours ago Joao Barbosa put the No. 5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac DPi-V.R into the lead at the five-hour mark following a pit stop by Action Express Racing teammate Eric Curran at 4h47m in the No. 31 Whelen Engineering entry.Jonathon Bomarito is now at the wheel of the third-place No. 55 Team Joest Mazda, followed by the lapped No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac of Renger van der Zande.Teammates also continued to dominate in GT Le Mans, with Ford Chip Ganassi Racing’s Ryan Briscoe (No. 67) leading Joey Hand (No. 66) in a pair of Ford GTs. John Edwards is third in the No. 24 Team RLL BMW M8 GTLM.However, not all teamwork was positive during the hour. The two AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3s made contact while battling for 10th in GTD. Frankie Montecalvo had rear-end damage in the No. 12 after contact with the No. 14 of Philipp Frommenwiler, who spun and hit a barrier, sustaining left-front damage.The Swiss driver made two laps after a brief stop, before going to the paddock for repairs.

The No. 33 Wynn’s Mercedes-AMG continued to lead GTD, Ben Keating at the wheel, with nine cars on the lead lap.Four hours marked the end of the first Michelin Endurance Cup segment. The No. 33 Wynn’s Mercedes-AMG entered holding the GTD class lead with 14 points, which they padded with five bonus points. In DPi, the class-leading No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac scored two points for a total of 20, while the second-place No. 31 Whelen’s Engineering Cadillac scored five bonus points for leading the race, and now have 18 points. Action Express Racing has won the four-race competition for five consecutive years.

By: J.J. O'Malley | 11 hours ago
Jonathan Bomarito slid off course at the 5h50m mark in Turn 13 to bring the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring under the caution for the third time.Bomarito, driving the No. 55 Mazda Team Joest RT-24P, was battling Pipo Derani’s No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-V.R for the lead. Bomarito led a lap and was running second at the time under yellow. Once pushed out of the tires, the Mazda went back underway with and was serviced in the pits, losing two laps before Harry Tincknell returned the car to the race.Light rain had just begun to fall prior to the incident.At the halfway point under caution, Derani leads No. 10 Renger van der Zande, No. 5 Joao Barbosa and No. 84 Stephen Simpson as Cadillacs hold the top four positions.Chip Ganassi Ford GTs run 1-2 in GTLM, with Scott Dixon (No. 67) leading Joey Hand (No. 66). Scott Hargrove in the No. 9 Pfaff Porsche led GTD when the caution waved, followed by the No. 33 Mercedes-AMG of Felipe Fraga and the No. 11 Lamborghini of Rik Breukers.More IMSA!

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Starting under yellow due to rain and standing water, the race was been relatively incident free since the green flag waved at the 21-minute mark. Prior to Bomarito’s incident, there was only one additional full-course caution, at the 2h19m mark when Timo Bernhard pulled to the side of the back straight with an electrical fire that eliminated the No. 77 Mazda Team Joest RT-24P.That Mazda led the first full lap under green with Tristan Nunez. The two Action Express Racing Cadillacs have led every lap since then, with the exception of Lap 95 at the 3h40m mark when Misha Goikhberg put the No. 85 JDC-Miller Motorsports Cadillac out front for a lap before pitting, and Bomarito leading Lap 158.Two major contending teams fell back during the rainy opening two hours and have not been a factor: Both the Acura Team Penske and Porsche GT Team — pole winners of the respective DPi and GTLM classes — had both of their cars fall off the lead lap and have yet to get back into contention. However, the ongoing caution for the Bomarito incident and resulting wave-by may work in their favor, with the No. 911 Porsche regaining the lead lap.Only one contender in each class is out of the race or has spent time behind the wall. In addition to the No. 77 Mazda, the No. 4 Corvette lost 11 laps in GTLM; the No. 14 Lexus lost 30 laps in GTD after contact with the team car; and the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA is 20 laps back in LMP2. Additionally, the No. 50 Juncos Racing Cadillac spent time in the paddock and is 21 laps back. The No. 77 Mazda is ready to return to the race after spending four hours in the paddock for repairs.