Weekend Recap: 'Super Sebring' in the Books
Catch up on Sportscar365's extensive coverage from 12H Sebring, 1000M Sebring and more...
Action Express Wins 12H Sebring After Top Three in GTP Crash Out
Action Express Racing’s Jack Aitken held off Nick Yelloly to win the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring after a late-race pileup that took out the three leading GTP cars in dramatic fashion.
Aitken drove his No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R to a 2.940-second win over Yelloly’s No. 25 Team RLL-run BMW M Hybrid V8 as the two remaining contending GTP entries in a five-minute run to the checkered flag.
It came after a multi-car crash triggered by contact between the No. 6 Penske Porsche 963 of Mathieu Jaminet and Filipe Albuquerque’s No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06 in Turn 3, which sent Albuquerque’s Acura through the grass and into leader Jaminet.
Felipe Nasr, in the third-placed GTP entry, also got collected in the pileup, with the No. 7 car driving over the sister No. 6 Porsche. All three drivers climbed from their cars under their own power.
The accident, with 20 minutes to go, eliminated what had been an enthralling battle between all four LMDh manufacturers for the win in the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.
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Pfaff Gives New Porsche 911 GT3 R Maiden Victory
Pfaff Motorsports took the GTD Pro class victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, benefiting from a well-timed strategy call to take the Type-992 Porsche 911 GT3 R’s first win.
The No. 9 Porsche, piloted by Klaus Bachler, Patrick Pilet and Laurens Vanthoor, finished 2.7 seconds ahead of the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat and Kyle Kirkwood.
Both cars vaulted into the class lead of the race with a well-timed pitstop in the eighth hour, with Bachler and Kirkwood heading for the pits moments before a full course caution triggered by a collision between Wright Motorsports’ Zach Robichon and Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis.
As a result, the Porsche was able to grab the lead and hold on to it through a chaotic final stage of the race that was interrupted by multiple cautions.
It is the first victory for Porsche’s new-for-2023 GT3 challenger, which made its race debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.
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Toyota Beats Hypercar Newcomers to Take Sebring 1-2
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez won the 1000 Miles of Sebring as Toyota Gazoo Racing beat the Hypercar newcomers to take a dominant 1-2 finish.
The Japanese manufacturer opened its FIA World Endurance Championship title defense by seeing off pole-sitter Ferrari AF Corse and the LMDh machinery from Porsche and Cadillac.
Conway finished 2.168 seconds clear of Brendon Hartley who shared the No. 8 Toyota with Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa.
AF Corse achieved an outright podium on the debut of the Ferrari 499P, although the Italian factory team’s No. 50 car driven by Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen ended up two laps behind the winner.
Chip Ganassi Racing took fourth with the sole Cadillac V-Series.R in the field ahead of the two Penske-run Porsche 963s.
Toyota took control of the season-opener in the first hour when Fuoco pitted under a safety car period that was caused by a huge roll at Turn 1 for Luis Perez Companc.
Both Ferraris came in from first and fourth, releasing Toyota into a commanding one-two position that it held until the end.
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Sportscar365’s Sebring Content Recap
More than 100 articles were published during the ‘Super Sebring’ event featuring the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship as well as Michelin Pilot Challenge, Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America and VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.
Click Here to catch up on all of Sportscar365’s content from the event.