Метка: Sebring 12 Hours

Hawksworth “knew it was going to be a battle” for GTD Pro win at Sebring

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Hawksworth started the day on pole in the No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3, but the day quickly derailed after he was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for inadvertently striking a crew member during his first pit stop.

Although the setback was significant, the three drivers were able to methodically march forward. Hawksworth was handed the keys — and an opportunity for redemption — for the final stint.

The 12th and final caution of IMSA’s once-around-the-clock endurance classic featured an intense battle develop between race leader Daniel Serra in Risi Competizione’s Ferrari 296 GT3, Hawksworth, and the No. 3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Daniel Juncadella. Hawksworth and Juncadella went back and forth for second before the former squeezed by and set sights on Serra.

With 20 minutes remaining, Hawksworth and Serra tangled in a furious battle around the 3.74-mile, 17-turn circuit that featured plenty of gritty contact before the Lexus pulled off a bold move down the inside of the Ferrari into Turn 1 and score a 0.121s victory.

“Yeah, it was. We knew it was going to be a battle,” Hawksworth said.

“These long races, you have to do everything perfectly. Everyone has to do their job absolutely perfectly just to be there to even have a chance at the end. Then you just hope that the cards fall your way. We had a tough day. But the team, we made good steps over the off-season. We wanted to come and show what we could do, right? This has been a proper bounce back.

“(Saturday) everyone was perfect. We had the one obviously drive-through early in the race, a wobble there. Other than that, it was rock solid all day. The guys on pit lane were unbelievable all day. Ben and Kyle were absolute monsters out there. Yeah, we ended up in the fight there at the end. Come out on top. I couldn’t be prouder of everybody. Yeah, the last four hours out there were absolutely nuts.”

The victory was the first for the team since Watkins Glen last July, and the second endurance racing victory for Lexus. For Barnicoat and Hawksworth, the defending GTD Pro champions, this result made it podium finishes in 14 of 17 races dating back Lime Rock Park in July 2022.

While it also was a step after last year’s tough runner-up result at Sebring, the outing provided a boost after suffering an early retirement to start the season in the Daytona 24 Hours in January.

“Yeah, it’s huge,” Barnicoat said. “Obviously huge for the organization. All the Lexus racing guys have been grinding, working so hard, looking for perfection year in, year out. I’ve been lucky to step in the program satellite such a good time.

“First year got Atlanta, Petit Le Mans win, which was incredibly huge. Last year we won Watkins Glen and the championship. Now we ticked off Sebring. Just got Daytona left to go.

“We had a real rough start to this season, but that performance (Saturday) showed why we were champions last year. That was definitely a champion’s comeback and got our season well and truly back on track. We’re looking forward to going from here.”

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Joining Vasser Sullivan and Risi Competizione on the podium was the Iron Lynx group in the No. 19 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

Although Juncadella appeared poised for the podium but was knocked out of the race by AO Racing’s Laurens Heinrich in the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R, who was fell from contention after receiving a drive through penalty for his part in the incident.

While there were plenty of hurt feelings after the checkered flag, Hawksworth provided his take on the physicality of the race.

“I mean, everything seemed all right after the race,” Hawksworth said.

“It is what it is. It’s hard racing at the end of the race. You’re racing for the Twelve Hours of Sebring. At the end of the day, we’re racing to win. Nothing beyond the line, if that makes sense. It was rough, hard racing. I got roughed around a bit, lost positions. Other times I won positions.

“Yeah, this is IMSA racing. It’s hard-fought. There’s a bit of rubbish racing, right? This is what we do over here. We come out on top. If people want to cry, they can.”

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Bourdais reveals Cadillac suffered electrical issues in Sebring 12 Hours battle

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The entry, prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing, was a force in IMSA’s once-around-the-clock endurance classic with Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon at the wheel.

Victory appeared to be within reach during the final stint as Bourdais emerged as the frontrunner for the majority of the final hour. However, the Frenchman was caught and passed by Louis Deletraz with less than six minutes to go, before guiding the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06 to the win.

During the post-race press conference, Bourdais admitted the team, which earned its third podium at Sebring in six years, faced some electrical issues during the contest.

“Yeah, I think the whole Cadillac and Ganassi team did a great job,” Bourdais said.

“It was maybe not as straightforward as we would have liked. We had some electronics at some point. You saw the car slowing down. I was really worried this was going to happen again and maybe that’s it.

“It was a little more straightforward than that. Everybody did a really good job. I think the moment where the No. 40 seemingly lost the race, because of the dirty wind stream behind the No. 10, they had to pit early and out of sync. They proved to be too strong for us. Hats off to those guys.

“It was a good day, good points day, but it’s always disappointing to lose the race like that in the closing laps.”

#01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon

#01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

When trying to pinpoint at what point of the race the problems occurred, Bourdais then further explained some of the details the team were enduring and forced to overcome.

“We kind of had an EBS [electronic braking system] failure time and time again,” Bourdais said. “We tried to do some defaults and every time it came back. We cleared it, then the motor stopped coming out of (Turn) 7. That’s where we lost the three spots to the two Acuras and the BMW.

“We got going again. We never heard of it anymore. That was kind of weird. I honestly don’t really remember when it was. It was my second time in the car during my second stint. The rear brakes started to catch on fire, the rear tire pressures took off. It didn’t look pretty for a minute.

“But the guys did a great job. They debugged the problem and found a solution; we got going and are there in the end. That’s all you can ask for.”

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Sebring 12H battle with Bourdais for win “tough but fair”

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A run of multiple cautions in the final hour and 20 minutes threw fuel saving out the window and set up a memorable fight for glory in the endurance classic, which played into the hands of Deletraz.

The 26-year-old Swiss driver sported a set of slightly fresher tires on the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, than Bourdais, who didn’t take on a new set of rubber after their respective final pit stops.

Lining up third, Deletraz made quick work of the Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Penske Porsche 963 and began to stalk the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R of Bourdais. Through multiple restarts after two brief caution periods, the final 15 minutes saw Deletraz inching closer with a clear advantage under braking on corner entry.

With less than six minutes remaining, Deletraz went ‘full send’ into Turn 7 and the two remained tangled as they used up every inch of ground on the track – and each other – in an effort to take control of the race. After making contact on multiple occasions as they went wheel-to-wheel through the narrow section of the 17-turn, 3.74-mile circuit, but it was Deletraz that was able to pull ahead.

Bourdais tried to claw back, but it wasn’t enough as Deletraz surged to victory by 0.891s after 12 hours and 333 laps.

“Every time I got close, there was a yellow pretty much, which is not helping me,” said Deletraz.

“I saw I was strong on braking, especially the low speed, T7, T10. He was close, defending well on the inside. I was on the outside, he squeezed me off. I realized quickly I was never going to make it on the outside, which fair enough. It’s IMSA racing, it’s tough.

#01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon

#01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

“I thought about it, saw a gap in (Turn) 7. I went for it. Bleed off the brake, try to avoid him crossing back. I think we had more contact on the straight. Again, hard racing, but I think fair. We both made it to the flag. I couldn’t have done it by myself. If he didn’t respect me, we’d both be in the wall. Really thankful for that.”

This was only the second time Deletraz was tasked with closing a race, with the first being the Daytona 24 Hours in January. Ultimately, he delivered the first win for Acura, which also stood as the second for Honda Racing Corporation (formerly Honda Performance Development).

Alongside co-drivers Colton Herta and Jordan Taylor, it also marked the first time since 2017 that a Wayne Taylor Racing machine went to Victory Lane.

“It meant a lot,” Deletraz said. “First I want to say a big thank you to the team, Acura, HRC, the two guys right here [Colton and Jordan]. Obviously without them it was not possible.

“The car was really strong in the end. 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 bring points for the championship. I saw I had the opportunity. Seb was tough, but fair, so thanks to him. Yeah, in the end I saw the gap. I went for it, I had more pace and we won. That’s fantastic. I think I’ll remember this one for a long time.”

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Deletraz bests Bourdais to claim victory for Acura

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Deletraz, driving the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti’s No. 40 Acura ARX-06, applied the pressure with less than six minutes to go on Cadillac Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais, who had a firm hold of the lead for much of the final hour. The two tangled with on-track shoves, but it was Deletraz that prevailed with a Turn 10 move around the 17-turn, 3.74-mile circuit to win the 72nd edition of IMSA’s endurance classic.

The Final Four Hours

Maxime Martin’s No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 led the field to the restart, which commenced just five minutes at the conclusion of the eighth hour. Despite the tight push into Turn 1, he was able to hold off Matheiu Jaminet (Porsche Penske Motorsports) and Ricky Taylor (Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti).

It didn’t take long – 20 minutes, to be exact – for Taylor’s No. 10 Acura ARX-06 to work around the No. 6 Porsche 963 of Jaminet.

Taylor then began to close on the lead and got within 0.4s of Martin, who began cutting through traffic and ended up making contact with Matteo Cressoni in Iron Lynx’s No. 60 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 in Turn 15. Cressoni was able to continue on, while Martin saw his lead shrink even more.

As Taylor continued to gain ground, traces of smoke could be seen occasionally trailing his Acura. Regardless of that, though, Taylor’s pace continued, and he caught Martin out in traffic and put on a move to take the lead with 23 minutes remaining in the ninth hour.

A run of pit stops by the leaders soon after saw Taylor hand off to Brendon Hartley, who maintained the top spot, which was now occupied by Renger van der Zande in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R.

Martin handed off to Nick Yelloly, who came out third.

The action was halted for a ninth time after the No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 of Fred Makowiecki, running fourth in GTP and overall, dove under Katherine Legge’s No. 66 Acura NSX GT3 entering Turn 17. The two made contact, which sent Legge into a wild spin briefly before making hard contact into the tire barrier. Makowiecki was able to continue on, while Legge climbed out under her own power.

#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3: Sheena Monk, Katherine Legge, Tatjana Calderon

#66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3: Sheena Monk, Katherine Legge, Tatjana Calderon

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

The caution happened right at the conclusion of the ninth hour.

Some of the field took another opportunity for service in the pits, with most of the attention focused on the No. 10 Acura of Hartley as the crew investigated for the source of the occasional omitting smoke.

By opting not to pit, Makowiecki inherited the lead, with Gianmaria Bruni running second in the No. 5 Porsche 963 for Proton Competition. Matt Campbell, piloting the Porsche Penske Motorsports’ No. 7 GTP machine, rose to third.

Cadillac Racing’s van der Zande sat fourth, ahead of Yelloly. Hartley ended up falling to ninth, behind Romain Grosjean, who was listed a lap down in Iron Lynx’s Lamborghini SC63.

The race resumed 13 minutes after the conclusion of the ninth hour, with Makowiecki getting a clean start and accelerating away from Campbell, who managed to climb to second.

Moments later, Makowiecki lost the lead after his right-rear tire exploded and he was forced to nurse back to the pits. This propelled his team-mate, Campbell, to the lead and the Cadillac of van der Zande to third.

Through all of the drama of GTP, there was still a tight fight in LMP2 as Nico Pino (United Autosports USA) held a narrow lead of two tenths of a second over Hunter McElrea (TDS Racing). Paul Di Resta (United Autosports USA) quietly assumed third at 1.7s back.

Ben Barnicoat returned for another stint behind the wheel of Vasser Sullivan’s No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 and served up a GTD Pro lead of 4.4s over Chistopher Mies in the Ford Mustang GT3.

#14 VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3: Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat, Kyle Kirkwood, #12 VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3: Frankie Montecalvo, Parker Thompson, Aaron Telitz, #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2: Franck Perera, Jordan Pepper, Mirko Bortolotti, #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3: Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen

#14 VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3: Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat, Kyle Kirkwood, #12 VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3: Frankie Montecalvo, Parker Thompson, Aaron Telitz, #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2: Franck Perera, Jordan Pepper, Mirko Bortolotti, #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3: Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

Meanwhile, Indy Dontje, driving the No. 57 Mercedes AMG GT for Winward Racing, sported a 9s advantage over Parker Thompson in Vasser Sullivan’s GTD entry.

With 20 minutes left in Hour 10, Campbell continued to hold a lead of four tenths of a second over van der Zande. Yelloly held third at 1s back, while Colton Herta, driving the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, in fourth a 2.5s behind.

Only five minutes later Herta managed to close on the back of Yelloly to challenge for third, which he cycled up to seconds later after Campbell elected to dive to the pits. Although van der Zande was handed the lead with Campbell pitting, it would only be momentarily as he pitted the next lap and gave the lead to Yelloly. The stop for van der Zande saw him hand off to Sebastien Bourdais.

During this stretch, Herta was able to manage the traffic and push to the lead by Yelloly and pull a 2s gap with only eight minutes remaining in the hour.

At this point, Pino dove to pit road and gave up the class lead in LMP2, vaulting McElrea to the top spot.

With two hours to go, Herta stretched his lead to over 6s on Yelloly, who was only 3s ahead of BMW team-mate Augusto Farfus in third.

Herta gave up his stranglehold on the lead dove to the pits just five minutes into Hour 11, swapping places with co-driver Jordan Taylor. With Yelloly pitting two laps prior – and making way for Connor De Phillippi to take over, Bruni took the lead briefly before eventually giving way to Bourdais.

#40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06: Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta

#40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06: Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

While the top spot was a revolving door due to pit strategy sequences, LMP2’s fight was heating up once again as McElrea managed to catch Pino as they hit traffic. Even though the pair went side-by-side and split an GTD car in the sequence, it was McElrea coming out with the lead. From there, Toby Sowery (Crowdstrike Racing by APR) closed heavily on Pino and was able to secure the runner-up position moments later. Despite the stout pace in the stint, Sowery was held in check by 2s by McElrea.

GTD Pro saw Barnicoat trade his seat with co-driver Jack Hawksworth, who maintained a lead by 1.5s out of the pits. However, AO Racing’s Laurens Heinrich closed to within four tenths of a second before caution came out for the 10th time for debris in Turn 16.

The halt in action also wiped away a stout lead of over 8s by Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis – in for Dontje – in GTD.

Back to GTP, Bourdais pitted from the lead moments before the caution, which elevated Jordan Taylor up the leaderboard.

A cycle of pit stops happened once again and Louis Deletraz swapped with Jordan Taylor as the closer of the final run to the finish. De Phillippi and Philipp Eng, in the No. 24 BMW, followed Deletraz off pit lane.

This exchange allowed Bourdais to vault into the lead, with Felipe Nasr behind in the No. 7 Penske Porsche 963, followed by Deletraz, De Phillippi and Eng.

The caution also shook up the standings in LMP2 as DragonSpeed’s Mikkel Jakobsen catapulted to the top spot, ahead of TDS Racing’s Mikkel Jensen – in for McElrea – and Colin Braun, who took over for Sowery.

Despite leading going into the pits, Hawksworth came out second in GTD Pro behind Daniel Juncadella in the No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R. And Winward Racing was also tossed off the top spot in GTD with Ellis restarting second to Andy Lally in the No. 44 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo for Magnus Racing.

Bourdais vs. Deletraz

The green flag returned with 58 minutes left in the running as Bourdais led the field into Turn 1. The 45-year-old Frenchman got a strong launch, pulling 3s on Nasr and 3.5s on Deletraz over the following two laps.

During this, Hawksworth managed to get around Juncadella to retake the lead in GTD Pro, with Elllis also reclaiming the GTD lead.

The yellow flag returned after multiple cars were stopped on course in Turn 9, which proved to be a brief hiatus until the race resumed.

Although Bourdais once again kept the lead, the LMP2 order changed with Braun surging forward with Conor Zilsch in the No. 18 for Era Motorsport.

Then yellow flag came out once more for debris in Turns 15-16, setting up only 35 minutes left in the running.

During this caution, Filipe Albuquerque, running the No. 10 Acura ARX-06 for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, opted to pit for fresh tires and charge in an all-out effort to go full rich to the end. He returned to the running order eighth.

Daniel Serra, in the No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3 for Risi Competizione, was able to swing to the lead in GTD Pro, with Hawksworth in tow and Juncadella in third. Meanwhile, Ellis was still out front in GTD as the clock under caution continued to tick down to 25 minutes left.

The race restarted with 23 minutes to go as Bourdais took the green, but it was Deletraz under attack by Nasr. Despite the effort, Nasr failed to push by and the fight allowed a chance to Bourdais to stretch a lead of nearly 2s.

The battle for the lead in GTD Pro began to get physical as Hawkworth made a move on Serra, but was then hit slightly by his rival. Then, the two went side-by-side and began to lean on each other, which resulted in Serra falling from the contention and dropping to third. Juncadella moved up to second behind Hawksworth.

Braun’s fight for the win went away after colliding with the Riley of Felipe Fraga, which prompted Zillisch out front by four tenths of a second as Braun dropped to 10th in class.

Meanwhile, the battle in GTP began to tighten as Deletraz closed to within 0.6s of Bourdais with 15 minutes remaining. At this time, Nasr fell to 4s behind in third.

#01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon

#01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Ellis’s lead in GTD became unsafe as Antonio Fuoco’s No. 47 Ferrari 296 GT3 clawed to within six tenths of a second with 13 minutes remaining.

Back at GTP, Deletraz continued to stalk Bourdais and remained within 0.4s of the leader and appeared to be stronger under braking.

Bourdais came under heavy attack approaching traffic from Deletraz as they went side-by-side through traffic and into Turn 10 with eight minutes to go.

The other battles in LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD remained the same, but it was the GTP battle that continued to tighten up as Deletraz and Bourdais came together and continued to make contact over the next several turns. The two exchanged contact multiple times as Deletraz pulled off a double move and completed the pass in Turn 10 with less than five minutes to go.

Bourdais attempted to fight back but the chance was stalled as he came up on traffic in the form of Hawkworth, which allowed Deletraz to pull a gap of 0.7s.

As Deletraz continued to push through traffic, it was now Bourdais clawing back in the fight to pull within 0.5s on the penultimate lap.

The Victors

Deletraz took the white flag with 1.2s up on Bourdais, Nasr remains a distant third at over 7s behind.

And the thriller belonged to Acura, Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, and Deletraz as he took the checkered flag over Bourdais. Nasr took the final step on the podium, ahead of De Phillippi in fourth.

Zilisch maintained his composure and outlasted Jensen and Paul Di Resta (United Autosports USA) to claim the LMP2 class win.

The GTD Pro class went to Hawksworth, who bested Serra Iron Lynx’s Mirko Bortolotti. Ellis collected the GTD win over Fuoco and Wright Motorsports’Elliott Skeer.

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Martin puts BMW out front after eight hours following Derani’s shunt

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Following the fourth hour, a series of pitstops and several driver changes during the fourth caution resulted in Nick Yelloly cycling up into the lead in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 (BMW Team RLL).

Filipe Albuquerque, in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06, progressed to second ahead of Matt Campbell in the #7 Penske Porsche 963.

The restart came 17 minutes after the conclusion of the fourth hour and featured an instant lead change as Albuquerque moved right and then darted left to make an inside pass on Yelloly entering Turn 1.

At this moment, Renger van der Zande, who took over from Scott Dixon in the #01 machine for Cadillac Racing, rose to fourth and began applying pressure to Campbell.

After an earlier lock-up that dropped him down the running order in LMP2, Ben Keating (United Autosports) rebounded back to the lead, 4.4 seconds ahead of Nick Boulle (Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports).

But there was soon a shake-up in LMP2 after Keating went wide and off course briefly before getting back on track, losing the lead in the process to Boulle as he fell to fifth in class. Riley’s Josh Burdon took over second, with Daniel Goldburg (United Autosports) assuming third.

#2 United Autosports ORECA LMP2-Gibson: Ben Keating, Nico Pino, Ben Hanley

#2 United Autosports ORECA LMP2-Gibson: Ben Keating, Nico Pino, Ben Hanley

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

The GTD Pro battle also tightened with Ben Barnicoat, in Vasser Sullivan’s #14 Lexus RC F GT3, holding an advantage of six tenths of a second over Laurin Heinrich’s #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) for AO Racing.

Although Albuquerque had developed a lead of over 1s over Yelloly, that began to change as the GTP cars hit traffic. Yelloly was able to push to within a tenth of the leader but wasn’t able to make a proper move for the lead and eventually fell back by over 3s.

Patrick Gallagher, piloting Turning Motorsport’s #96 BMW M4 GT3, had quietly built up a 2.5s lead in GTD over Indy Dontje in the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Winward Racing.

By the end of the fifth hour, Albuquerque continued to lead Yelloly by 3s, with Campbell still in third at 10s behind.

Eight minutes after the conclusion of the fifth hour, Yelloly relinquished the runner-up spot to pit, with Albuquerque doing the same with the lead the following lap. As a result, Campbell inherited the lead, with van der Zande moving up to second and only six tenths behind.

Then it became time for Campbell to come into the pits for service, with Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti’s #40 Acura ARX-06 of Jordan Taylor following suit, along with van der Zande.

When everything had cycled, Albuquerque was back out front and with an 8s lead over Tom Blomqvist in the Action Express Racing-prepared machine of the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R. Yelloly fell to fourth, directly behind van der Zande.

#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Brendon Hartley

#10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Brendon Hartley

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Blomqvist continued to claw into Albuquerque’s lead and was within 1s with only 28 minutes remaining to the halfway mark.

PJ Hyatt brought out the sixth caution 13 minutes from halfway after ‘Spike’ – the nickname of AO Racing’s No. 99 ORECA 07 LMP2 machine – ended up in the tire barriers in Turn 11.

During the pitstops, the #12 Lexus RC F GT3 of Aaron Telitz was pulling out of his stall as the #01 Cadillac was coming in and the two made slight contact. The left rear of the Cadillac has some minor visible damage when it pulled in and also swapped van der Zande for Bourdais in the cockpit. The Lexus also had minimal visible damage. Both were able to continue, with Bourdais rejoining fourth in GTP and Telitz 11th in GTD.

“When Seb [Bourdais] got in for the race start he did a really good job, cruising along,” van der Zande said.

“It’s double stinting tires for the first half of the race and that’s really hard because these tires are at the end of their life when you get toward the end of the second stint. It got hotter and hotter in the afternoon, so even more difficult, more wear on the tire.

“Our team-mates are hanging on on old tires. There’s a long way to got and we’re right there. Early on in the race it was a great battle with the two Cadillacs and that’s what I like about this brand. They let us race but just don’t knock out each other.

Through that drama, Pipo Derani tagged in for Blomqvist and vaulted to the lead.

“It’s getting hotter out there and you can really feel it in the car,” Blomqvist said. “We did a good job that last stint to catch the leader and now I turned it over to Pipo at the front.

“Good strategy and we’ll see how the day flows into the night.»

Ricky Taylor traded places with Albuquerque and took over the #10 Acura and lined up second, ahead of the #7 Penske Porsche 963 of Felipe Nasr.

#31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, Tom Blomqvist, #01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, #40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06: Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta, #7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, Matt Campbell

#31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Pipo Derani, Jack Aitken, Tom Blomqvist, #01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.R: Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, #40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06: Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz, Colton Herta, #7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, Matt Campbell

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

Derani made a clean getaway when the race resumed 12 minutes after hitting the halfway mark, but Nasr and Bourdais were able to both get past Taylor and drop him to fourth.

Meanwhile, Jakub Smiechowski (Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen) held the lead in LMP2, ahead of the #11 TDS Racing entry of Hunter McElrea. Moments later, though, McElrea was able to move into the lead and extend a 1.5s gap to his rival.

The tightest battle remained in GTD Pro, with Heinrich pitting from the lead prior to the caution and reassuming from Kyle Kirkwood, who took over from Barnicoat in the Vasser Sullivan entry. Twenty minutes past halfway, Heinrich held a 2s advantage.

The GTD battle changed hands as Russell Ward, tagging in to co-drive for Dontje, moved into the lead and pushed Robby Foley, who took over for Gallagher, into second, 2.5s back.

Roughly 25 minutes after halfway, The No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 with Phil Hanson at the helm slowed off Turn 17 and coasted to pit road.

Four minutes later, Nasr was able to get a run on Derani and make an inside pass for the lead going into Turn 17. Soon after, he built up a gap of nearly six tenths. However, Derani continued to stalk Nasr, constantly hounding the leader and filling his mirrors full of the Cadillac as they weaved in and out of traffic.

Pitstops for the leaders happened as the hour came to a close, with Nasr coming in first and Derani the next lap. After everything sorted, Derani came out with the lead and a 4s advantage over Nasr.

Only 10 minutes into the start of Hour 8 and Derani’s lead extended to nearly 9s on Nasr. Bourdais remained in third at 11s behind, with Ricky Taylor trailing closely in fourth.

McElrea continued to be in control in LMP2, holding a 12s advantage to Felipe Fraga.

Winward Racing held the top spot in GTD as Philip Ellis, who swapped with Ward, roughly 5s ahead of Gallagher.

The GTD Pro battle also settled in with Christensen – in for Heinrich – out front by 2.6s over Jack Hawksworth, who took over for Kirkwood.

Louis Deletraz, taking over for Jordan Taylor in the #40 Acura ARX-06, put together enough pace to surge up to third.

The seventh caution came out after leader Derani collided with Miguel Molina in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 with just over 30 minutes remaining in the eighth hour. The contact sent Derani off in Turn 10 and full speed into the tire barriers, which then led to momentum carrying him up and into a single flip before coming to a stop upside down on the barriers.

The caution presented a chance for pitstops, with Dane Cameron swapping the seat with Nasr, who was running a distant second to Derani prior to the incident.

Through a run of strategy, Martin, running in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, vaulted to the lead. Although Cameron initially came out second, he returned for additional service and dropped down to ninth.

In the meantime, it allowed Jesse Krohn, in the sister #24, the chance to progress to second, ahead of Mathieu Jaminet in third, driving the #6 Penske Porsche 963.

The fourth and fifth spots in GTP – and overall – were occupied by Deletraz and Ricky Taylor, respectively. Gianmaria Bruni (#5 Proton Competition Porsche 963) stood fifth. Iron Lynx’s #63 Lamborghini SC63, making its GTP debut this weekend, elevated to seventh with Romain Grosjean.

Additionally, Scott Dixon climbed back into the #01 Cadillac in the seat previously occupied by Bourdais and lined up eighth.

After an extended cleanup period, the race restarted with 10 minutes left in hour eight, with Martin getting a clear of the field as Jaminet and Ricky Taylor jumped up to second and third. Krohn endured a dramatic drop down to sixth just moments after. Dixon, though, already charged up to fifth.

However, the gaps were all extinguished after an eighth caution for debris in Turn 1.

At this point, Tom Dillmann had the #52 ORECA 07 in the top spot of LMP2, with Jensen second.

The GTD Pro class continued to feature Christensen out front, with Inception Racing’s Frederik Schandorff leading in the #70 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo in GTD.

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Race leader Derani walks away from airborne crash

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Derani, a multi-time overall winner at Sebring, was leading the 12-hour endurance race in the No. 31 Action Express Cadillac when he attempted to overtake the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari of Miguel Molina through Turns 9 and 10.

In a shocking turn of events, he clipped the left-front of the GTD class Ferrari, sliding off track and directly towards the the blue and white tire pack. The impact was head-on, and the car immediately launched upwards and rolled over, sending tires flying towards spectators. The car came to a rest upside down and on top of the tire barrier.

Thankfully, the Brazilian driver was uninjured and managed to walk away from the crash under his own power. There were no reports of injuries amongst the fans either.

 

Derani had a lead in excess of 11 seconds at the time of the incident. The full-course yellow lasted over 30 minutes as they made repairs to the barriers.

«I’m alright, thank God,» Derani told NBC Sports after being released from the infield care center. «Dallara and Cadillac built a strong car. It’s one of those days when all of sudden, things go upside down — literally. I’m glad I’m okay. Just a shame, because we had a really strong car. The Whelen Engineering V-Series.R was going strong and as you can see there, not much I could have done. The wall came up pretty quick. The moment I was heading to the wall, I knew the race was over.

«Yeah, first time for me flipping a race car. Not the nicest feeling to be upside down until they can turn the car around, but good that I’m racing in 2024 and not in the ’60s.»

Trapped inside the car

Derani also spoke on the feeling of being trapped, having to wait for track workers to pry open the door of his Cadillac.

«It’s just a little annoying when you try to open the door and you can’t,» he said. «You start thinking whether there is fire or anything like that. But luckily, everything was alright. The safety crew was there quickly, so I was giving them signs that I was okay. Once you can see them outside, you realize that everything will be okay.»

He credited the tire pack for absorbing much of the impact, saying he felt no pain afterwards. As for blame, he said of the initial contact: «We overtake thousands and thousands of cars through a race like this. It’s just one of those moments. Maybe he didn’t see, let go a little bit and there I was. Maybe I was just expecting him to hold his line to the right, knowing that I was going to go on the left. It’s just one of those situations where it happens without you having any chance of thinking whether you should have done something different or not. 

«It’s part of multi-class racing.»

Jim Campbell, GM’s Vice President, Performance and Motorsports for U.S. operations, released the following statement on the crash: «First and foremost, we are glad that Pipo was able to walk away from the incident under his own power and has been evaluated and released from the infield care center. That is what is most important.

«The construction of the Cadillac V-Series.R, its safety systems and Sebring’s trackside safety elements all did their job to keep Pipo safe. With the uncertain condition of the engine and hybrid system, we made the decision with the team to retire the No. 31 Cadillac.»

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Aitken leads Cadillac 1-2 after four hours

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With Sebastien Bourdais taking the lead just after the second hour began, he held the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R of Pipo Derani within 0.7-1.5s of a gap.

Vasser Sullivan’s Jack Hawksworth pitted from the GTD Pro lead five minutes into the second hour with an issue, which was compounded by a drive-through penalty after making contact with a crew member while trying to leave the pitbox. At this time, Alexander Sims, driving Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, assumed the class lead.

At roughly 35 minutes into the second hour, AF Corse’s No. 88 ORECA LMP2 07 of Luis Perez Companc had a major off at the exit of Turn 1 and dropped his right-side wheels over the curbing and into the dirt. From there, the off caused him to cut back across the track, side-slapping the inside wall with the right front and right rear of the car. He was able to continue on, slowly, before getting to back to the pits for repairs.

Moments later, Madison Snow, driving Paul Miller Racing’s No. 1 BMW M4 GT3, was able to finally catch – and pass – Alexander Sims to take the lead in GTD Pro.

Bourdais pitted with 13 minutes remaining in the second hour, handing over to six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon.

“Pipo was kind of holding us in a tempo that was fairly comfortable,” Bourdais said of his stint.

“I felt I had a little bit more grip to use in the stint and when I had the chance to get by I did and felt it was pretty good. The 01 Cadillac is pretty strong and Cadillac in general, so hopefully it holds true the whole time.

“We’re in a bit of a wait-and-see phase of the track, but you still want to be in position. We’ll have to double stint a couple sets of tires, which we’ve already done. Early going, but so far so good.”

Derani came in the following lap and handed over to Aitken. The pressure was on as Aitken appeared to fend off Dixon, but it was only temporarily as they speared side-by-side through Turns 5-11 before making slight contact as Dixon managed to put the Chip Ganassi Racing-prepared Cadillac back into the lead.

The race’s second caution came out with roughly seven minutes left in the second hour after the No. 8 LMP2 machine for Tower Motorsports, driven by Michael Dinan, attempted to get around traffic and dropped the left-side wheels into the dirt approaching Turn 13, which resulted in him losing control and slamming into the tire barriers.

The race resumed eight minutes into the start of hour three, with Dixon leading Aitken and Brendon Hartley, who took over Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 10 Acura ARX-06.

The race began to settle into a groove as Dixon stretched his lead out over Aitken. Meanwhile, Matthew Brabham had AO Racing’s machine out front in LMP2 over Era Motorsport’s Ryan Dalziel. The No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Winward Racing, with Russell Ward behind the wheel, led GTD, while Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ Christopher Mies was out front in GTD Pro.

A third full course caution came out with 13 minutes of the hour remaining after another off in Turn 7 by AF Corse’s No. 88, which ended with Lilou Wadoux, who took over from Companc, getting out of the LMP2 entry.

Through the next series of pitstops, Aitken was able to vault Dixon but the two came out behind the No. 7 Penske Porsche 963 of Dane Cameron.

On the restart – which came eight minutes after the conclusion of the third hour – Cameron took a wide line entering Turn 1, which left the door open for Aitken to push alongside. However, Cameron was able to fend off the move and settle into the lead.

#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, Matt Campbell

#7 Team Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Dane Cameron, Felipe Nasr, Matt Campbell

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images

Roughly 13 minutes later, though, Aitken surged by Cameron with an inside pass through Turn 17. Then, as the GTP class came up on traffic a few minutes later, it allowed Dixon the chance to pull a similar move to claim second and push Cameron down to third.

The No. 18 Era Motorsport machine, with Dwight Merriman taking over from Dalziel, went off course and stalled multiple times in Turn 7, losing valuable time before continuing.

The race began to once again find a rhythm as Aitken established a stout lead of 4.3s over Dixon. TDS Racing’s Mikkel Jensen had a stout 28s lead over DragonSpeed’s Rasmus Lindh in LMP2.

The tightest battle on track is in GTD Pro, with Neil Verhagen (Paul Miller Racing) and Antonio Garcia (Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports) running less than half a second apart.

Indy Dontje, who took over for Ward in Winward Racing’s Mercedes, holds a 3s advantage in GTD over Aaron Telitz in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus.

With 15 minutes remaining until the four-hour mark, Cameron dove to pit lane for service, which propelled Richard Westbrook, driving the No. 85 Porsche 963 for JDC-Miller MotorSports, to third.

Tom Dillmann was able to move up to second in LMP2 and only 5s behind Jensen following pitstops, with Lindh falling to third.

A fourth full course yellow was brought out at the close of the hour after multiple incidents in separate parts of the track. The No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsports LMP2 entry driven by Lance Willsey locked up in Turn 16 and stalled offline. At the same time, Lone Star Racing’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Salih Yoluc behind the wheel was left stranded by the tire barriers in Turn 13.

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Bourdais grabs the lead after the opening hour

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Pole-sitter Pipo Derani got a clean start in the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R to comfortably lead entering Turn 1.

It didn’t take long for trouble to strike behind, though, as the No. 62 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Davide Rigon was involved in contact at the GTD and GTD Pro start and ended up off course in Turn 3. Fortunately, he was able to continue on and the race stayed green.

Only a few moments later Pfaff Motorsports’ No. 9 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO of Oliver Jarvis slowed with a flat tire, which led to an early pit stop only a few minutes later when he made it back around the 17-turn, 3.74-mile circuit.

Another McLaren, this time Inception Racing’s No. 70 GTD machine driven by Brendan Iribe, suffered a puncture in Turn 13 and needed to pit for service.

Meanwhile, Vasser Sullivan’s two Lexus RC F GT3 entries jumped out to lead both GTD Pro and GTD classes with Jack Hawksworth and Parker Thompson, respectively.

Derani remained out front by roughly 1s over Bourdais in the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R through the opening 20 minutes.

Only a few minutes after the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07 LMP2, driving by George Kurtz, slowed down with a puncture. Once he finally made it around to the pits, the team received a penalty for too many crew members going over the wall.

While the issues were happening for Kurtz, there was a lead change in LMP2 as Ben Keating’s No. 2 United Autosports USA machine propelled by team-mate Daniel Goldburg moved to the front and quickly built up a 4s lead.

It only 30 minutes into the endurance classic for the first retirement as the No. 17 AWA Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R dropped out with apparent alternator issues.

The first full course yellow came out 38 minutes in for debris, which simmered a battle for the overall lead that was heating up between Derani and Bourdais, who had closed to within a tenth as they navigated traffic.

All GTP cars opted to pit, with the No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963, driven by Phil Hanson, receiving a new rear clip. Derani led off pit lane, followed by the Louis Deletraz in the No. 40 Acura ARX-06 for Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti. Bourdais dropped to third.

During the pit stops for LMP2, Nick Boulle was able to come out with the lead in the No. 52 Inter Europole by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA 07. Keating dropped to second, with Goldburg third.

Both of the Vasser Sullivan entries remained in the lead, but Frankie Montecalvo replaced Thompson in the team’s No. 12 machine.

The race finally resumed two minutes shy of the completion of the first hour, and Bourdais was able to quickly get by Deletraz to reclaim second.

Shortly after the end of the opening hour, Bourdais sent his Ganassi-prepared Cadillac up the inside of Derani’s AXR machine to claim the lead of the race for the first time.

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Derani claims pole to lead 1-2 for Cadillac

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The Brazilian skillfully navigated the 17-turn, 3.74-mile circuit and jumped to the top of the leaderboard with a flying lap of 1m48.152s to claim pole in the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R prepared by Action Express Racing.

Sebastien Bourdais was able to propel the Cadillac prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing to second, 0.114s behind.

Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti’s No. 40 Acura ARX-06, which missed Thursday evening’s practice due to an engine change, qualified third at 0.441s behind.. Although Ricky Taylor, in sister WTR Andretti entry, set the fastest time in GTP, he received extra work on the machine during the red flag, which voided his overall time of 1m48.038s.

The No. 7 Porsche Penske 963 of Felipe Nasr was fifth, 1.027s behind.

The No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Philipp Eng seized fourth at only 0.667s. Phil Hanson had the top time of 1m51.441s in the No. 85 Porsche 963 for JDC-Miller MotorSports until a red flag brought the session to a brief stop. Hanson was left collected sixth, 1.106s off the mark.

The No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 of Matheiu Jaminet, who was out on his maiden run, had a significant shunt after his right rear on went over the curbing at the exit of Turn 1, which sent the car into a wild kickout that led to slamming the nose into the barrier. The incident brought out the red flag and left four minutes and four seconds of running the remainder of the segment.

LMP2

PJ Hyett delivered a stout 1m52.142s flyer to take his first-ever pole behind the wheel of ‘Spike’, AO Racing’s No. 99 ORECA LMP2 07.

“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.”

United Autosports USA’s No. 22 ORECA 07 of Daniel Goldburg got close to the top, but ultimately fell 0.171s off Hyatt’s pace-setting time.

After going top briefly with 10 minutes remaining in the class qualifying, Ben Keating pulled off a power slide entering Turn 3 that kicked out the rear of his No. 2 United Autosports USA ORECA 07 and came to a slight halt enough to be lined up with the exit of the corner. He was able to continue and ended up 0.531s in third when the dust settled.

The No. 20 ORECA 07 MKD by High Class Racing, piloted by Dennis Andersen, was stopped on track just offline in Turn 7 to bring out the red flag in the final minute and prematurely ended the segment.

 

GTD and GTD Pro

Jack Hawksworth dropped a flyer of 1m58.714s to claim the GTD Pro pole in Vasser Sullivan’s No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3.

The lap came with roughly six minutes remaining, which was sizably ahead of Heart of Racing Team’s No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Marco Farnbacher by 0.550s.

AO Racing’s Seb Priaulx came away third with the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) in GTD Pro, 0.732s off Hawksworth’s time.

Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis led GTD with a lap of 1m58.778s in the No. 57 Mercedes AMG GT3, which was only 0.064s off the overall GTD class mark set by Hawksworth.

Antonio Fuoco, driving the No. 47 Ferrari 296 GT3 for Cetilar Racing, was 0.236s off of the time set by Ellis to take second in GTD.

Parker Thompson put the GTD entry for Vasser Sullivan third in class in the No. 12 Lexus, ending up 0.365s off Ellis’s time and fifth in overall GTD classes.

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