Wayne Taylor Racing Wins the 12 Hours of Sebring in Drama Filled Race

The 72nd annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring was a battle down to the end. Louis Deletraz in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 and Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R battle it out in the closing minutes. Deletraz put on a display of perfect race craft after faking a move and subsequently setting himself up for a pass which Bourdais wasn’t able to recover. The closing exchange of the race happened without incident which was in contrast the the multiple car incident that overshadowed 2023’s result.

Deletraz was ecstatic after the race. “Really big thank you to the team, WTRAndretti, Acura and HRC, and the two guys right here,” he said. “Because obviously without them it’s not possible. The car was really strong in the end, and I knew we were in a position to win, which to be fair was a lot of pressure. I’ve never really done that, Daytona was my first time, that’s my second time finishing a race. I just obviously wanted to win and also bring points for the championship, but I saw I had the opportunity. Sebastien was tough but fair, so thanks to him. And in the end, I saw the gap, and I went for it, and I had more pace and I won, and I think I’ll remember this one for a long time.”

Pipo Derani Emerged Unscathed in Crash

Last years winner the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac suffered a devastating off earlier in the race after making contact with the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Miguel Molina. Pipo Derani was driving the No. 31 car and as a result of the contact the No. 31 car flipped over the tire barrier resulted in a full course safety car. Derani appeared to leave the wrecked unharmed despite the car being mangled. “One of those days when things go upside down literally,” Derani said. “Fortunately, everything was all right, the safety crew was there quite quickly. … In general, I didn’t feel any pain, nothing. I think the tire barriers reduced the impact by quite a lot. Thanks for the safety crew as well, for the car and everyone who showed up here to see if I was Ok.”

RLL Racing Misses Out on Podium

The No. 25 RLL BMW M didn’t bring the team the same level of success as last year however the team had some positive takeaways from this years race. Early last season the RLL Racing side struggled with reliability issues with their hybrid batteries. It seems the team has figured those issues out in 2024. Andreas Roos head of BMW M Motorsport said, “The 12 Hours of Sebring were exciting until the end. The places were only decided in the last hour. Our BMW M Hybrid V8 showed during the race that its pace is good. In the end, we were a bit unlucky with the timing of one of the last yellow phases, as it allowed some competitors to come back into the fight for the lead.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for a podium in the end, but it’s good to see that our hard work since Daytona has paid off and we were able to significantly improve both the performance and the reliability of the cars. For that, I thank everyone at BMW M Motorsport and the BMW M Team RLL. In the GTD categories, the BMW M4 GT3 has shown that it can compete for the win here. Overall, we have proven in all classes that the performance is fundamentally right. With a bit more racing luck, we hope to convert that into podium places.”

The Unofficial 12 Hours of Sebring Results are Below

GTP class qualifying for the 12 Hours of Sebring got off to a slow start with many drivers not able to get in flying laps before the session was flagged. With 9 minutes left in the session the No. 06 Porsche Penske 963 spun out and stalled on track after running a bit wide in turn one and coasting out to turn 3 before stalling. The red flag came out and the session was restarted with 3 minutes. Many of the cars hadn’t set flying laps by this point. In the closing seconds of the session it was the No. 31 Cadillac that emerged as the pole sitter in GTP with Pipo Derani at the wheel.

The No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura set the fastest lap of the session but all times were deleted due to the team working on the car during their pitstop under the red flag. Sebastien Bourdais was able to place the No. 01 the Cadillac prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing to second, 0.114s behind. The No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura finished third.

LMP2

AO Racing’s “Spike” topped the LMP2 class setting a 1m52.142s lap during the LMP2 only session. Pj Hyett commented on the amazing run during qualifying by saying to Motorsport.com. “Yeah, I’m kind of speechless about what’s happening here,” Hyatt said. Sebring is one of the greatest tracks in the world, and to get pole in a P2 car is a dream come true. I can’t believe it. I honestly can’t believe it.” The No. 99 ORECA LMP2 07 has become a fan favorite sporting its bright Spyro the Dragon themed livery. Daniel Goldburg and Ben Keating placed the United Autosport No. 2 and No.22 respectively sister cars in 2nd and 3rd.

GTD Pro/GTD

The Vasser Sullivan’s No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 claimed pole for the GTD Pro class. Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis led the GTD class in the No. 57 Mercedes AMG GT3. The Winward racing car later lost pole position due to a post qualifying technical inspection. The disqualification promoted No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 of Antonio Fuoco to the class pole for Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. Racing kicks off at 9:40am ET tomorrow.

Sebring International Raceway was established in 1950 on the site of a former WWII airbase, Hendricks Army Airfield. It was originally built for use as an airport racing circuit and has since evolved into one of the most iconic road racing tracks in the world.

First held in 1952, the 12 Hours of Sebring is one of the oldest and most prestigious endurance races in North America. The event has been a part of many different competitions. This year it’s the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship that returns for its second installment of the 2024 season. The race will feature all 4 WeatherTech championship classes including the new SC63 GTP car from Iron Lynx Lamborghini which has been undergoing testing for the past few months.

Sebring is known for its challenging conditions, including its bumpy surface which puts immense stress and wear on both the drivers and cars. The track features a mix of fast straights, tight corners, and technical sections, making it a favorite among drivers and fans alike. One of the best aspects of the race is the fan access. Fans can enjoy views during the race up close and personal with many of the campgrounds being positions along the track.

Last years race ended in dramatic fashion with the race being decided in the closing minutes.

The 12 Hours of Sebring will be streamed on the NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com and Peacock, which will have coverage of the event from flag to flag beginning at 9:30 a.m. on March 16. USA Network also will have coverage of the race from 4-10 p.m EST.

IMSA has released the BoP for the 2024 12 Hours of Sebring. Here are the adjustments.

The Cadillac V-Series.R sees the most dramatic penalty in the minimum weight category. Whelan Engineering secured the win in 2023 after a dramatic finish that saw the top of the GTP class crumble in the closing stages of the race. The minimum weight for the V-Series.R increased by 22 kg over last years minimum weight. The Least effected were the BMW M Hybrid V8 who weren’t handed any adjustments for this weekends race. A summary of the changes for the GTP class can be found here:

GTP Class Balance of Performance Changes

For GTD Pro and GTD, given the number of changes the details can be found in the bulletin below.

Chip Ganassi Racing and Cadillac are set to part way at the conclusion of the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech season. The partnership between Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) and Cadillac began with Chip Ganassi Racing fielding Cadillac DPi-V.R prototypes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s Prototype class. This move marked Cadillac’s return to top-level prototype racing after a 14-year hiatus.

The two quickly found success with Cadillac and CGR winning the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona in both 2017 and 2018 with their DPi-V.R prototype. This success helped solidify their presence in IMSA racing where they’ve made challenges for top contention in the years to follow. In a statement from Jim Campbell, GM’s U.S. Vice President of performance and motorsports said, “Our GM divisions have had successful partnerships with Chip Ganassi Racing across multiple series – NASCAR, IndyCar, Extreme E, IMSA and FIA WEC – over the years. Together we have won numerous races and have had great success. We remain committed to winning races and championships together in IMSA and FIA WEC this year.”

Ferrari and BMW were docked all of their GT championship points for having performance in excess of IMSA determined thresholds. The decision is based on IMSA’s differentiated approach to the 24 Hours of Daytona. The process required a series of homologation testing sessions to set standard for a more competitive field. As a result of the violations, both Ferrari and BMW received a $25,000 USD fine. Both were also docked all manufacturers’ points earned in both the WeatherTech Championship and Endurance Cup being removed. This means that Ferrari loses 350 points in GTD Pro and 320 in GTD for the championship race. BMW will lose 300 and 250 points for GTD Pro and GTD, respectively. They will also lose 15 Endurance Cup points in GTD Pro and 9 in GTD.

According to the notice sent to Ferrari: “The IMSA Technical Committee and the IMSA supervisory officials have unanimously determined that Ferrari’s demonstrated performance in the Daytona 24-hour race exceeded IMSA’s expectations as shared in the GT Manufacturers Technical Working Groups. The goal was to ensure the demonstrated performance of the best example of each manufacturer’s car model would be within a targeted performance window — allowing for competitive equivalency.” The notice for BMW was simar in content and reprimand.

The teams cannot protest as IMSA has final say on these matters. Opinions on the decision are mixed on social media.

The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona has come to an end. As the checkered flag waved 4 champions were crowned. After 24 hours of on track action here’s how the weekend shaped up for this year’s Daytona winners.

GTP

The overall win and GTP class win came down to the very end of the race. The No. 07 Porsche Penske Porsche 963 had a 1 second lead over the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R who had been charging late in the race, but started to fall behind due to track traffic. With 3 laps to go the No. 31 Cadillac made a late lunge to attempt to gain ground, but would lose out again this time due to a slower GTD car splitting the pair and holding the No. 31 up just enough for the No. 07 Porsche to pull away. As the cars came around for the final two laps a bit of controversy occurred.

Almost immediately after the two laps to go announcement was made the checkered flag came out right as the drivers were to begin their final lap. The Porsche Penske cross the line first and the race was over. The incident occurred prior to the 24 hour mark being reached. IMSA later released a statement regarding the matter.

IMSA Issues Statement on the Race Finish

“Due to an officiating error in race control, IMSA inadvertently announced and subsequently displayed the white flag with under three minutes remaining in the race.

“At the end of the lap, the race-leading No. 7 GTP car then received the checkered flag with 1 minute, 35.277 seconds still remaining, ending the race short of the planned 24 hours by effectively one lap.

“Based on Article 49 of the 2024 IMSA Sporting Regulations and Standard Supplementary Regulations, should the checkered flag be inadvertently or otherwise displayed before the leading car completes the scheduled number of laps or before the prescribed time has been completed, the race is nevertheless deemed ended when the flag is displayed.”

Whether one more lap could have changed the outcome of the race; we will never know. There doesn’t appear to be any dissent from the teams involved. Thus the No. 07 Porsche Penske, Porsche 963 was crowned the 2024 Rolex 24 GTP Champion!

LMP2

Era Motorsports returned to glory by winning the 2024 LMP2 24 Hours of Daytona Championship. Dwight Merriman, Ryan Dalziel, Connor Zilisch and Christian Rasmussen brought home the win in dominant fashion. The No. 18 drivers led 132 of the final 136 laps. Despite starting 11th the team fought to the front to take the win. Unlike last year’s LMP2 finish that came down to hundredths of a second. The No. 18 took the checkered flag with a 6.8 second advantage over the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing car. The win also made Connor Zilisch the second youngest driver (17 years and 191 days old) to win the Rolex 24. The team had the following words.

Kyle Tilley (Team Owner)

“A second Rolex 24 win!!!! I still can’t believe it. A massive thank you to not only our drivers but also the crew and background staff; every single person played an important part in this victory. Dwight did his best run to date, handing the car over on the lead lap with his drive time done. Ryan was brilliant through the night to secure the lead, and then Connor and Christian were phenomenal.”

“I can’t accurately fit enough praise into one quote, just a weekend where every single person brought their A game, and I can’t thank them enough. A very special result for sure.”

Christian Rasmussen

“It’s been an amazing few weeks here at Daytona with Era Motorsport. The team has done such an amazing job all weekend getting the car in the window. We weren’t always the fastest car and we were really struggling during the ROAR, but hard work and determination from the team got the car in the window, and ultimately that’s what we needed to win the race…We drove a good race, it was pretty problem free. We were on the lead lap for most of the race, and we had the pace to really make a push to the end.”

Connor Zilisch

“I was 17 coming into this weekend, but after all this stress I feel like I’m 35 now! I’m just so proud of the entire Era Motorsport team. They never gave up. Things weren’t always easy, but it’s a long race, and they knew that, and made sure I knew that because I’m a rookie at this stuff.

They were able to talk me out of stuff and talk me into things, and made me feel like I was supported and that I had a team behind me, and that’s important as a driver. It’s an honor to race with Era Motorsport, and I’m so glad we could get a Rolex today.”

GTD Pro

Starting with GTD Pro, it was the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari driven by Daniel Serra, Davide Rigon, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado that took the GTD Pro win as the sole car on the lead lap in class. The No. 77 AO Racing Porsche finish second one lap back with third place finisher the No. 01 Paul Miller Racing BMW finished 3 laps behind the class lead lap. The Risi Competizione Ferrari team had the following words.

Alessandro Pier Guidi, Driver, Regarding how special it is to win the Rolex 24 with Ferrari and Risi

“Well, it’s amazing. First of all, I think we deserved this victory. We were also trying a lot of times to achieve this victory. We finished twice second, and it’s a long-time partnership between Risi and Ferrari, and between them and with the other drivers we have been very close many times, but never been able to achieve this victory.

“Finally, we get it. If you see in the footage after the checkered flag and the picture is amazing. Everyone was crying, happy, and I went and I gave a big hug to Giuseppe, because all the passion he put in here in this effort, he really deserved this”

Daniel Serra, Driver, Regarding the Rolex 24 victory

“The BMW (competitor) had a problem just before the pits and then it was more about bringing it home for me. Then after the yellow, the Porsche was on our lead lap. You know, it’s never easy. You start to hear some noises in the car, and you think everything is out of control on the last lap. I’m just really happy. This is the race I was missing and really wanted to win. This might be the happiest day in my racing career.”

GTD

After starting 53rd overall and 17th in class on the grid, the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes driven by Russell Ward, Philip Ellis, Indy Dontje and Daniel Morad won the GTD class race. With only two cars finishing on the class lead lap the No. 57 car outpaced the Ferraris behind finished 2.7 seconds ahead of the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari and a whole lap ahead of third place finisher the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari.

The next WeatherTech Championship race is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring set to take place March 16 at Sebring International Raceway just south of Daytona.

The 62nd running of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona festivities have already kicked off. Here we include the schedule for Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s fan events.

Friday

12:00 AM – 12:00 AM Lot 3 Parking Open (24 Hours)
6:00 AM – 9:15 PM Red Line – Lot 6 to/from Infield
8:00 AM Lot 4 Parking Open
8:45 AM Yellow Line – Lot 1 to/from Infield
9:00 AM Lot 1 Parking Open
8:30 AM – 7:00 PM Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Open
8:45 AM – 9:00 AM Corvette Car Corral Parade Laps
9:00 AM Venue Gates Open
9:00 AM Infield Midway Open – Closes 1 Hr Post-Race
9:00 AM – 12:45 PM DJ Austin Performance
9:25 AM – 9:55 AM Practice #3 – Michelin Challenge
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM Paul Miller Racing GTD Pro Driver Q&A (Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen, Sheldon van de Linde)
10:00 AM – 7:00 PM Purple Line – Infield Shuttle Bus
10:15 AM – 11:00 AM Race #2 – Mazda MX-5
11:20 AM – 12:20 PM Practice #4 – WeatherTech Championship (All Classes)
12:45 PM Fan Walk Opens
1:45 PM – 5:45 PM BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge – 4-hours
2:15 PM – 3:15 PM WeatherTech Championship Autograph Session | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone
6:30 PM – 9:00 PM Art of Speed | Victory Circle at ONE DAYTONA

Saturday

12:00 AM – 12:00 AM Lot 3 Parking Open (24 Hours)
5:30 AM Red Line – Lot 6 to/from Infield (Open 24 Hours)
7:30 AM Lot 4 Parking Open
8:15 AM Yellow Line – Lot 1 to/from Infield (Open 24 hours)
8:15 AM Purple Line – Infield Shuttle Bus (Open 24 Hours)
8:30 AM Venue Gates Open (24 Hours)
8:30 AM Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Open (24 Hours)
9:00 AM Lot 1 Parking Open
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM DJ Austin Performance | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
9:00 AM – 8:00 PM Infield Midway Open
9:45 AM – 10:00 AM Studio C School of Dance and Production | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM Grace Conservatory | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
10:15 AM – 10:30 AM Chace Dance Company | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
10:30 AM – 10:50 AM Ford Multimatic Motorsports Driver Appearance | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage 11:15 AM – 11:30 AM Avalon Dance | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
11:15 AM – 1:05 PM Fan Track Access
11:20 AM DJ Bobby Hash Performance | Pre-Race Stage
11:30 AM – 11:45 AM Dance Workz | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
11:45 AM – 12:00 PM All That Jazz Dance Company | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
12:00 PM – 12:15 PM Tersak’s Martial Arts | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
1:30 PM – 1:40 PM WeatherTech Championship – Formation Laps
1:40 PM Start of the 62nd Rolex 24 – IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
3:00 PM – 5:00 PM Stereo FM Live | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM Taste of the 24 (Midway Suites)
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM Dueling Pianos | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
9:30 PM – 11:00 PM Karaoke | Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Stage
10:03 PM Fireworks Show

Sunday

12:00 AM – 12:00 AM Parking Open | Lot 1, 3, 4 (24 Hours)
12:00 AM – 12:30 PM Purple Line – Infield Shuttle Bus (Open 24 Hours)
12:00 AM – 12:00 AM Venue Gates Open (24 Hours – End of Race) (Sunoco Ford Guests may enter at 7:00 AM)
12:00 AM – 12:00 AM Hard Rock Bet Fanzone Open (24 Hours – End of Race)
12:00 AM – 5:00 PM Red Line – Lot 6 to/from Infield
8:00 AM – 2:40 PM Infield Midway Open
1:40 PM Finish of the 62nd Rolex 24 – IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
2:00 PM Celebrate with the Rolex 24 Champions in the Hard Rock Bet Fanzone and Ruoff Mortgage Victory Lane

*The schedule is subject to change

Whelen Engineering Cadillac Racing continues to put forth a full effort to keep their car out front as we approach the 62nd Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. The No. 31 GTP car has led the majority of the practice sessions leading up to the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Pipo Derani’s pace in qualifying also secured the team pole position for the race. Whelen finished Thursday’s practice session 3 tenths ahead of the No. 07 Penske Porsche which split the two Cadillac’s of Whelen and Chip Ganassi Racing. The Cadillac have looked extremely strong leading up to the race. Saturday we will determine if they can carry this early success into a solid lead before the half way point in the race.

LMP2

Crowdstrike Racing ran the fastest lap in the third race week practice session. Crowdstrike has been hovering in the top 5 since the start of the ROAR Before the 24; the pre amble to Rolex 24. The LMP2 class should be a tight race considering the top 5 cars are all within less than a second of each other. Tomorrow’s final practice session will be the final shake down for the car before race time. Lap times are expected to improve further as the cars receive their final adjustments and drivers their final debriefs before the race.

The LMP2 finish will be something to look forward to given the dramatic finish. The finish showed race fans how important every decision a team makes and how 24 hours of racing can come down to fractions of a second.

GTD/GTD Pro

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsport pulled a 1-2 in Practice 3 with the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R finishing 0.088 seconds ahead of the sister No. 3 car. Just under one tenth behind was the No. 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

In GTD it was the No. 86 MDK Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) that leads the field into practice 4 tomorrow afternoon.

Action gets started on Friday at 11:20am EST for the final practice session before the race.

It was a Cadillac shoot out in the race for pole position in the GTP class today at the sole qualifying session for the Rolex 24. After trading positions in the practice sessions the No. 31 Whelen Engineering/Action Express Racing Cadillac secured pole position by a marginal 0.071s ahead of the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac Racing V-Series.R.

Pipo Derani started the weekend with the look of determination but the No. 31 car struggled to maintain the top spot in the later practice sessions. However, none of that matters now as Derani sent a message to the entire grid breaking the previous track lap record in qualifying to secure pole. With the finish Cadillac locks out the front row of next weekends race; Rolex 24.

In third Felipe Nasr was able to find the pace to reduce the gap to the cars ahead but the No. 07 Porsche Penske Porsche 963 ran out of time to amount a challenge for pole. Nonetheless the team was able to avoid serious damage to the car early in the session after a turn 5 spin out.

LMP2

Ben Keating starts race week off with a bang. Keating claimed in class pole position after setting a 1m38.501s lap time in No. 02 United Autosports USA ORECA. Nick Boulle in the No. 52 ORECA for Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports finishin one tenth behind Keating to secure second in class ahead of the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR car who finishes in third.

GTD/GTD Pro

AO Racing’s Seb Priaulx secured the top spot in GTD Pro with a class track record with a time of 1m44.382s in the Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). However, the task was not straight forward feat. The No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 fell short just 0.08s behind to secure secure in class. Given the amount of on track traffic. The Lexus will need to navigate the advantage found by the AO Racing Porsche. This may be a point of contention early in the race as the drivers get settled in to their first stents. It was a positive day for the Vasser Sullivan side as they secure P2 in class for GTD Pro and Pole in the GTD class with their No. 12 sister Lexus RC F GT3.

Full Provisional Qualifying Results are Below