AO Racing Wins GTD Pro at Sebring, Winward Racing Leads GTD Class

Fan favorite “Rexy” the No. 77 Porsche GT3R won the in class GTD Pro race at Sebring after 12 hours of har racing. Similarly to the other classes the end of the race wasn’t very eventful as the leaders with 15 minutes ont he clock held their positions and ultimately claimed glory. “We finally won something together really big,” said driver Klaus Bachler. “The Twelve Hours of Sebring in GTD PRO! I won it two years ago, but I’m so happy that we managed this today again. And I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”

The No. 77 car led the class for the majority of the day. The drivers were able to navigate multiple yellow flags and on track incidents which propelled them in the closing stages of the race. AO racing won the class by almot 5 seconds in the race; never being threatened in the closing minutes of the race.

Winward Racing Stake Claim in GTD

Swiss driver Phillip Ellis pulled off the move of a century; most importantly, without penalty. With less than 15 minutes in the race Ellis utilized the old bump and run stretagy against the leading No. 13 Lexus driven by Jack Hawksworth. After the move was made the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes took off and never looked back. The No. 57 took advantage of heavy track patterns and tire management in the closing stages of the race. The team won by a margin of 3.265 seconds.

Ellis commented on the bump and run move saying, “I mean, it was just a good battle I think with the Ferrari and the Lexus for probably the last two hours. Was very tough, but that’s what this racing is, especially in IMSA. I think the drivers like it, I think the spectators like it. I think that’s what we should keep doing, as well. Obviously there was some rubbing here and there. That’s part of good racing. Nothing was over the limit. Just used whatever I had to use.”

Race Results ; 12 Hours of Sebring

Porsche Penske does it again after 12 hours of racing at Sebring International Raceway. The No. 07 led the 1-2 effort as Porsche Penske finished on top again after an already dominant start to the season at the Rolex 24. Felipe Nasr led the closing stint where he was never really challenged. Unlike the drama that has ensured over the past two years in the closing minutes of the 12 hours of Sebring; This year’s ending was mostly uneventful. Porsche had dominated the race and held the lead for the majority of the final 25% of the race. When the clock read 30 minutes left Porsche was in maintenance mode. The goal; take care of the car and bring it home.

Based on final pit stop strategy and tire management under a flurry of yellow flags. Porsche was able to extend its race stints and maximize performance when track temperature dropped in the evening. Of note, Nick Tandy joined a collective of legends as he finally has etched his name into the record books as the 10th driver to win the “triple crown”. That is wins at the Rolex 24, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 hours of Le Mans. While the wins did not occur in the same year, (yet). However, the achievement is one of the most coveted in the history of motorsports.

“Congratulations to the whole team for a flawless performance,” commented Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. “As expected, the 12 Hours of Sebring delivered some fierce competition. Drivers, mechanics, and engineers – everyone did an absolutely perfect job today. It couldn’t have gone better. The Porsche 963 has again upheld its reputation as the most successful LMDh car since the regulations were introduced. This is something we can all be very proud of. Thanks to everyone who contributed to these successes. I’d also like to congratulate our customer team AO Racing. They scored a well-deserved class victory with the Porsche 911 GT3 R.”

Inter Europol Wins LMP2

The No. 43 Inter Europol LMP2 car held on to the lead in the closing stages of the race. The team played the long game never taking unnecessary risks which left them poised to maintain their lead in the closing stages of the race. The car maintained a one second lead at the end of the race but leading up to the final laps, track traffic and overall pace left them in a comfortable position to take the in class win. despite the win the No. 43 only led the race for 12 of the 347 laps

Results from the 12 Hours of Sebring

BMW came to Sebring with a goal and they have achieved that goal by securing pole position for the 12 Hours of Sebring. The No. 25 car led early in the weekend but it was it’s sister car the No. 24 that would find the field leading pace that secured overall pole position. BMW have seemingly stepped into a class of their own. The margin for pole position was 0.025 seconds with the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura having to settle for P2 come race day tomorrow.

In LMP2 TDS Racing continues to show signs of improvement throughout the weekend. The will start at the front for in class pole which may benefit them with a bit more track ahead as the GTP cars pull away.

Ferrari dominated in the GTD and GTD Pro classes with pole positions in both with the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari topping GTD and the No. 81 Car topping the GTD Pro class. Of note the fastest GTD time was also the fastest of all GT cars.

The 12 Hours of Sebring will kick off at 10:10am EDT and will run for 12 hours into the evening.

Qualifying Results

It was seemingly summer time at Sebring International Raceway today as temperatures rose into the mid 70s low 80s this afternoon during practice for the IMSA WeatherTech championship. Sheldon van der Linde set the fastest time of practice in the No. 25 BMW M V8 Hybrid ahead of qualifying tomorrow. He edged the lead out from the No. 60 Acura from Meyer Shank Racing by one tenth of a second.

Andreas Roos shared his comments on the race weekend here at Sebring. “Sebring and BMW M Motorsport share a very special bond. This track has played an outstanding role in our history in North America, which now spans half a century. We are excited for the anniversary weekend, and our goal is to add new milestones to those already displayed on the liveries of our BMW M Hybrid V8s. We have already shown at Daytona and at the FIA WEC season opener in Qatar that we have made another significant step forward with our LMDh car. This gives us confidence for a strong performance in the GTP class. Our new BMW M4 GT3 EVO has also immediately demonstrated its winning potential. Celebrating 50 years of BMW of North America with the corresponding results would be fantastic.”

Acura won the 12 Hours of Sebring last year and will look to knock BMW off of the top spot as the teams gear up for qualifying.

LMP2

Nicklas Nielson set the fastest lap in the No. 88 AF Corse ORECA LMP2 07 during practice. The key for the LMP2s will be to navigate traffic in the race as Sebring tends to be unforgiving; especially in the closing stages of the race.

GTD Pro and GTD

“Rexy” the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche set the only sub 2 min time in the GTD Pro class. Korthoff Competition Motors led the GTD class with this No.

Combined Practice Results

Tower Motorsports has been stripped of its LMP2 class victory this past weekend after the IMSA stewards found the team to be in breach of the technical regulations. IMSA has released a statement that the issue is specifically related to the maximum allowable wear to the regulated area of the skid block on the underside of the car which is set at 5mm. Tower Motorsports appealed the decision but the appeal was denied. Unfortunately for Tower Motorsports the winning high was short lived.

Rolex 24 Provisional Race Results

Ford Multimatic Motorsports won the in class 24 hours of Daytona in the GTD Pro class this weekend after a battle of titans at the front which saw multiple cars in the running for the finish down to the last 15 minutes of the race. The battle came down to the No. 65 and No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3 and the No. 3 Corvette of Prat Miller Motorsports. The all American manufacturer finish came at the expense of the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW and the No. 4 Corvette from Pratt Miller Racing. A questionable incident occurred between the lapped No. 48 BMW and the No. 4 Corvette that results in damage that provided to be an ongoing nuisance to the No. 4 car’s lap times. Eventually race control required them to make 2 unplanned pit stops which effectively removed them from contention.

The No. 01 Paul Miller racing BMW held the lead in GTD Pro for the majority of the final 6 hours but came up short after the No. 3 Corvette punted the BMW into turn 1 with 11 minutes ot go in the race. The BMW was not able to recover form the incident. However, the drama behind was good news for the NO. 65 Ford as with the fighting behind the No. 65 Mustang was able to pull away and secure the first Daytona win for the team.

Words from the Ford Multimatic Team

Pascal Zurlinden, Executive Vice President, Multimatic Engineering & MSVO

“This is an incredible result for everyone at Multimatic Motorsports and Ford Performance. Two years ago, when Ford announced the Mustang GT3 programme, the car didn’t exist. To be standing in Victory Lane today is proof that there is no substitute for hard work, whether that is at the race track, the race shop or during long days and nights in the simulator. It is an honour for us to take a car as iconic as Mustang and turn it into a Daytona winner. May we, and Ford’s customers, have many more victories ahead of us.”

Christopher Mies, No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3

“It’s unbelievable. One year ago we came here with a brand new car, finished the race with no real issues but obviously we were lacking pace. So some small things on the bodywork which sent us back and now coming back exactly one year later and winning the race. I can’t thank Ford and Multimatic enough. To my teammates, it’s just been incredible. I didn’t expect that. What a difference a year makes. It was definitely our strategy in the end. We gambled. My motto is life is a gamble. We have Bruno Couprie with us, the best strategist in the whole paddock and it paid off. It’s unreal and paid off!”

GTD

The No. 13 AWA racing Corvette won the GTD class in a much less dramatic but still close fighting fashion. After what seemed like an early end for the No. 13 Corvette the team bounced back and was able to make up time overnight to find themselves in contention at the end stages of the race. The No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) and the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo tried to hold on for the fight for the top spot in class but ultimately fell short. AWA Racing won the class race by a half second.

Rolex 24 Results

The Rolex 24 hours of Daytona has come to an end and the final stint of the race included drama in the GTP class. Felipe Nasr and Matt Campbell led the GTP class toward the final hour of the race but a perfectly timed final pit stop and late charge by the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura left the window open for the No. 60 car to steal away the 1-2 finish Porsche Penske had hoped for. After some in fighting between the No.07 and No.06 Porsche it was clear that tire degradation came into play for the No. 6 car and that degradation plague Campbell in the late stages of the race with no time for a late pit spot for new tires given the margin behind.

Nasr was able to hold off the attacke long enough to secure the win and win consecutive Rolex 24s. He said, “Daytona winners once again, back to back. It feels incredible to have won this race one more time for Porsche Penske Motorsport. Sharing the car with Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor, incredible team-mates, they’ve done an amazing job. Nobody put a foot wrong, just kept the car clean, running, and that finish was something incredible.”

Roger Penske also offered his words, “Terrific job by the whole team, when you think about all the drivers we had, they ran strong all day. And the cars, this Porsche car we have has just been amazing. And to think we did it two years in a row, it’s a credit to all the people here, all the people from Germany and from Porsche and our team here. So we’ve got one organization, and now we’ve been able to say we did it again.”

LMP2

Tower Motorsports held on at the end of the Rolex 24 to secure the win after Spike the No. 99 LMP2 car fell behind after the team discovered a battery charging error with the car. The win marked the first Rolex 24 win for the team. The No. 08 Tower Motorsports car inherited the lead and in the final 10 minutes of the race had a 40 second lead ahead of the No. 22 United Autosports car and the Riley No. 74 in third.

The Tower motorsports car ran a great race and seized the opportunities given to them. It was seemingly going to be a repeat of last year when the No. 18 Era Motorsports car was leading after the No. 99 from AO Racing fell behind. However, Mathias Beche’s No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports’ the No. 18 LMP2 Era car into a spin at Turn 1. Beche’s No. 52 car was assessed a drive-through penalty for incident. The Era Motorsports car was immediately removed from victory contention due to the incident.

Results

All that stands between the drivers and entry into the legacy of legends is 6 hours of racing at the Rolex 24. With 18 hours done the race has settled into to the final leg where the teams will start to decide on their racing closers and final tire strategy. Unfortunately for many suspensions issues appear to be the biggest role player in longevity this year. Many have attributed this to the changes at the Le Mans chicane and drivers not being as familiar with the change in pitch of the curbing. The number of failures may come into question as a post analysis for race control but the important point is that all of the drivers have to management this risk so no one will get special treatment.

Of Note

The No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac returned to the race during this block of racing after what was seemingly a catastrophic amount of damage earlier in the race. Then the car suffered a suspension failure later.

Charles Eastwood’s No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette erupted into flames which was the first major fire of the race.

Despite early trouble the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing car traded for the lead all the way up to the 18 hour mark.

Porsche Penske made up time and is back in the fight for the top spot in the GTP class.

4 more cars retired from the race including the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari (GTD), No. 66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang (GTD), No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari and the No. 43 Inter Europol sole ORECA LMP2.

Class Leaders at 18 Hours

GTP: No. 07 Porsche Penske Porsche 963
LMP2: No. 99 AO Racing ORECA
GTD Pro: No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo
GTD: No. 13 AWA Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R

At the 12 hour mark of the Rolex 24 the field has dwindled due to an incident as the car made their way into the infield after a full course caution. As the care round turn one it was the No. 40 DEX Cadillac that spun out after making contact with the grass due to sliding on cold tires and then a chain reaction impacted multiple cars on track. 7 cars were involved with 5 not continuing the race.

The crash comes as a major disappointment for the No. 40 Cadillac that saw a night time surge by Kamui Koboyashi who dominated the field once track temperatures fell. The retirement was the second GTP car to end their campaign before the half way mark. You can view the incident here provided by Motorsports on NBC Youtube channel.

Later in the race the No. 31 Action Express Cadillac which was touted as a major contender to win the Rolex 24 had a major setback in the race. Rookie Frederic Vesti lost control and crashed into the wall. The car was able to continue but was running almost 60 laps behind the lead lap in the GTP class.

Class Leaders at 12 Hours

GTP: No. 07 Porsche Penske 963
LMP2: No. 22 United Autosports
GTD Pro: No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo
GTD: No. 70 Inception Racing Ferarri 269 GT3

The first 6 hours of the Rolex 24 are now complete with plenty of on track incidents that have swayed the fate of some drivers to defeat. Particularly of note the long SC63 Lamborghini had a terminal failure due to a water pressure issue which ended their race and noted the first retirement of the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona. The drama however didn’t end their for the GTP class.

The No. 24 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 had an uncharacteristic incident in the pit lane. The No. 24 led from the start on pole but after the first stint, received a drive through penalty for using dollies under the car during refueling. The incident occurred after Dries Vanthoor made contact with the pit wall barrier. As a result the car had to be repositioned and without backing the car on the pit lap the team had to utilize dollies. Despite this the No. 24 extended there medium tire stint and recovered after former Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen took the reigns as the driver headed into the night. At the 6 hour mark Magnussen changed seats with Raffaele Maricello, and because the No. 24 pitted before a late caution caused by a failure of the No. 44 GTD Car from Magnus Racing.

Notable Events

INDYCar champion Alex Palou had a catastrophic stent that saw the No. 93 Acura fall behind by over 40 laps due to a suspension failure on the back left axle. The car was still being worked on at the 6 hour mark and it’s not yet known if the car will return.

-No. 75 Express GTD Pro Mercedes AMG GTE suffered from a water pump issue and retired from the race.

-No 57 Winward Racing Mercedes suffered from a throttle spring malfunction that resulted in a stuck throttle but the team has since repaired the car and returned to the track. They were 4 laps behind the in class lead lap.

-The No. 11 TDS Racing LMP2 ORECA had an early off at the western horseshoe and crashed into the barrier.

-Racing legend Andy Lally sees a catastrophic failure which was confirmed to be a blown motor. The incident trigger a full course caution and the car was retired from the race.

The next update will occur at the 12 hour mark of the race.

Class Leaders at 6 Hours

GTP: No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06
LMP2: No. 74 Riley Racing ORECA
GTD Pro: No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo
GTD: No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3