[h=2]35 cars set for Sebring IMSA test[/h] Marshall Pruett / Image by Dole/LAT


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IMSA's Feb. 20-23 test at Sebring International Raceway will feature 14 entries in Prototype, eight cars in GT Le Mans, and 13 in GT Daytona.

• Full test entry list

Of the teams in Prototype, 13 are full-season WeatherTech SportsCar Championship regulars; only the British-American United Autosports Ligier JS P217-Gibson entry is a part-time effort with IMSA's North American Endurance Cup program.
In GTLM the full-season count is down by one entry due to Corvette Racing concentrating on a single car at the test for Oliver Gavin, Tommy Milner, and Marcel Fassler. The part-time Risi Competizione Ferrari program has Toni Vilander listed for its 488 GTE.
GTD's 13 cars are light on European entries; more cars, including the Rolex 24 At Daytona-winning GRT Grasser Lamborghini, are expected to return for the race, and have opted to skip the expensive trip to test on the Florida road course.
Among IMSA's regulars, Riley Motorsports' No. 33 Mercedes-AMG for Ben Keating is not listed, but the sister No. 75 Mercedes-AMG for Sun1 Energy Racing does have Keating's teammate Jeroen Bleekemolen nominated in the Riley-run car.


The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring takes place March 13-17.

 

[h=2]United Autosports adds Di Resta for Sebring[/h] Thursday, 15 February 2018


Marshall Pruett / Image by Levitt/LAT


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United Autosports will retain Paul Di Resta for two more rounds with its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign.


The ex-Formula 1 driver former part of UA's impressive driver rotation in January at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and has been tabbed as the third member of the team's Ligier JS P217 Prototype effort for Bruno Senna and Phil Hanson at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and later in the year at Watkins Glen.


"It's great to have Paul back with the team for Sebring and Watkins Glen," said team owner Zak Brown, who will rely on support from Andretti Autosport for UA's North American Endurance Cup campaign. "He did a fantastic job at Daytona and really settled into sports car racing, so to have him racing alongside Bruno and Phil will only strengthen our campaign out in America."


The Scot was understandably pleased to get the nod for two more races with UA.
"I'm massively excited to be taking on some more races in IMSA," he said. "After the success we had in Daytona and what could have been, I've really got the bug for doing more and why not be part of it with United Autosports where it all started. It's a new task for the team racing out in America and there's lots going on, but being part of that back in the car alongside Bruno and Phil is great. There's plenty of work to do and I'm looking forward to undertaking these two races and seeing what it leads to. Hopefully we can have a great result and the team can work together to get the best out of it."

 

[h=2]Unser Jr. named Grand Marshal for Sebring SVRA[/h] Tuesday, 13 February 2018


SVRA / Image by Mark Dill / Illustration by David Story



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Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) today announced that Al Unser Jr. will be its first grand marshal for the 2018 season when the vintage racing organization presents its March 1-4 Sebring Vintage Classic at the iconic airport course. In addition to ceremonial duties, Unser will speak to the SVRA membership at a Saturday night banquet.
Unser competed in three Sebring 12-Hour races, finishing on the podium twice. In 1985 the versatile driver was second overall and followed that up with a third-place finish in 1986.
"Al has been a great friend to SVRA since I joined the organization," said President and CEO Tony Parella. "While he's best known for his great success in the Indianapolis 500, his resume in sports car racing is very stout, including two overall wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona."
"I have many fond memories of racing sports cars and it is always great to return to Sebring," Unser said. "Sebring is one of those rare classic road courses where you can just feel the special history I respect so much. SVRA race events are always great fun. Every time I attend it is an opportunity to catch up with good friends, both new and from my driving days."
Al Unser Jr. is a two-time Indy car champion (1990 and 1994) and the winner of 34 Indy car races including the 1992 and '94 Indianapolis 500s. His 1992 Indianapolis 500 victory is the closest finish in history with a margin of just 43 ten-thousandths of a second over second-place Scott Goodyear. A versatile driver, he was a winner in World of Outlaws sprint car racing, 1982 Can-Am champion, and IROC champion in 1986 and again in 1988. He's also a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1986 and '87. Like his father Al Unser Sr. and Uncle Bobby Unser he enjoyed tremendous success as a star driver for Roger Penske's team, which provided his winning entry for the 1994 "500." Unser is no stranger to SVRA racing, having won the 2014 Brickyard Invitational Indy Legends Charity Pro-Am and returning to the podium there last year.
Unser will join the SVRA's hundreds of vintage racers from across the country at Sebring, where, in 1976 a vintage race was held that laid the groundwork for the formation of the SVRA. Today's professional Trans Am series will share the iconic Sebring venue with SVRA during the weekend. The Hagerty Insurance "Show & Shine" car show will also be part of the speed festival. Owners can register for the Hagerty event at SVRA.com.

 

[h=2]Sebring IMSA test notebook, Day 4[/h] Friday, 23 February 2018


IMSA Wire Service


Two years ago, Brazilian driver Pipo Derani achieved superstar status in the world of sports car racing, winning the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona and following it up with a victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts with Tequila Patron ESM teammates Johannes van Overbeek, Scott Sharp and Ed Brown.

"If you're talking about sports car racing, you're talking about Daytona, Sebring, Le Mans, Petit and those races that are known worldwide," said the now 24-year-old Brazilian. "After winning Daytona and immediately coming here at Sebring – which if I'm not wrong, I was the first guy winning both on debut and the first Brazilian, probably to win back-to-back on those two races.
"It definitely changed my career. It opened many doors for myself and I'm really glad that it happened. Nothing comes easy. I'm really glad that ESM gave me the chance in 2016 to be in those races. Two years later, I can't wait to win again."


This week, Derani was back at Sebring International Raceway for two days of testing in preparation for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 17. He will co-drive the No. 22 Tequila Patron ESM Nissan DPi with van Overbeek and Nicolas Lapierre, the only lineup in the field that includes three former overall winners at Sebring (Lapierre won the race in 2011).
While he couldn't point to one specific reason why he and the team won, he remains proud to see the sign on the building behind pit lane at Sebring that signifies the team's victory in 2016 with its Honda-powered Ligier prototype.


"It's a place that's so special," Derani said. "It's such a difficult track that I think not only you have to have a great group of guys working for you to be able to achieve a victory here, but you kind of have to be chosen to win and overcome all the difficulties that this race has. I think we were one of the lucky ones, honestly, to be able to be in a position to fight for this victory.


"When I won here, myself and Johannes, we had to fight really hard for that win. Today, to look up and see our names up there, it's quite special. It's a very difficult race, especially because it beats the hell out of you. You get really tired in the end of the race. It's a special one to win. I can't really point out one single reason why we won the race. It's such a difficult race. You need a great group of people around. I think that's the reason why we won this race."


Derani also was pleased with the team's progress throughout Thursday's full day and night of testing. There were able to take full advantage of 10 hours of available track time.
"It's been going well, better than expected," he said. "Yesterday was a day that we managed to get a lot of information. Most importantly, we ran a lot. We were out on track, and that is really good for us. Hopefully, this work is going to pay off really, really soon."


Corvette Racing has 'good relationship' with Twelve Hours of Sebring
Celebrating its 20th season of competition in 2018, Corvette Racing has enjoyed considerable success at several venues in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. However, there's no place like Sebring International Raceway for the two-car GT Le Mans class team.
The team has won 11 times since its first Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts victory in 2002, when Ron Fellows, Johnny O'Connell and current No. 4 Corvette C7.R driver Oliver Gavin took the GTS class victory.


Next month, the team will be looking for its fourth consecutive Sebring GTLM victory. It won last year with Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller in the No. 3 Corvette C7.R, two years ago with Gavin, Tommy Milner and Marcel Fassler in the No. 4 and in 2015 with the No. 3 co-driven by Garcia, Magnussen and Ryan Briscoe, who now drives the No. 67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT.


"Sebring certainly holds a lot of great memories for Corvette Racing, some very interesting memories, some not so interesting," said Corvette Racing program manager Doug Fehan. "Early on when we started here, this was our Bermuda Triangle. Back in 1999 and 2000, we couldn't do anything right here. No matter what we did, it turned out to be disastrous.


"But as usual, we kept our shoulder to the wheel, heads down and have developed a pretty good relationship with the track right now. The cars like it here. This is a very difficult racetrack from the standpoint of durability and reliability, everybody knows that. If you can win here in 12 hours, you can win anyplace with the car. The drivers like the track because it's fast. It takes a great deal of skill and experience to be able to run the full 12 hours without hitting anything, without breaking anything and without running off the racetrack.

 

Trummer escapes injury in fast Sebring crash

Friday, 23 February 2018


Marshall Pruett


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JDC-Miller Motorsports driver Simon Trummer (above) was in far better shape than his No.85 ORECA 07-Gibson "Banana Boat" after a head-on impact with the Turn 1 barriers on Friday. The Swiss pilot's crash ended IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship test at Sebring, and according to JDC's Matthias Czabok, the team was fortunate to escape a costlier outcome.

"It looked worse than it was," he told RACER. "The car is more or less OK. We lost the nose and the rear was damaged, but it didn't damage the tub. One corner had a big hit and we feared the tub was damaged, but thankfully, it was not. Simon knocked down the barrier, but he's fine. They took him to medical, but there was not even a bruise."
Trummer's crash followed an earlier incident for BMW Team RLL with its No. 25 M8 GTE which incurred modest damage after backing into the Turn 17 barrier. Mazda Team Joest was another team to suffer during the test as its No.55 RT24-P DPi came to a smoky stop near pit-on on Thursday. The sister No.77 Mazda was on a short testing plan scheduled to end on Thursday while the No.55 was meant to continue through Friday, but with its drivetrain issues, the Georgia-based outfit packed up and departed one day early.

 

[h=2]Sebring 12 Hours broadcast schedule finalized[/h] Friday, 02 March 2018


Marshall Pruett / Image by Levitt/LAT



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A finalized broadcast schedule for the 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring has been set by FOX.
After a few adjustments were made to the original schedule, the second round of IMSA's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series will air on March 17 starting on FOX Sports 1 at 10:30 a.m. ET for the opening two hours of the event before shifting to FOX Sports 2 at 12:30. The race will continue on FS2 until 3:40 p.m.
The middle portion of the event will be carried via live streaming on the FOX Sports Go app through 6 p.m., and the final five hours of the broadcast will be carried on FS2.
IMSA.com will host live onboard camera views and timing and scoring information throughout the race for its U.S. audience, and for international viewers, the entire 12-hour race will be streamed on the series' website.

 

And a little testing just before St Pete GP

[h=2]RLL on top as IndyCar testing wraps at Sebring[/h] Wednesday, 28 February 2018


By Marshall Pruett / Image by RLLR via Twitter


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A long offseason of preparation has come to an end for Verizon IndyCar Series teams as the last major test has reached its conclusion. According to unofficial times that were set during two sessions at a hot and steamy Sebring International Raceway, Takuma Sato led the way in the morning with his Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda (51.64s).

IndyCar rookie Jack Harvey was second in his Michael Shank Racing Honda (51.90s), RLLR's Graham Rahal was third (51.97s), Ed Carpenter Racing's Spencer Pigot and Jordan King were tied for fourth in their Chevy-powered entries (52.00s), and the rest of the early runners – all using Chevys – had Carlin Racing's Max Chilton (52.10s) and Charlie Kimball (52.22s) in sixth and seventh, Harding Racing's Gabby Chaves in eighth (52.32s), and Juncos Racing rookie Rene Binder in ninth (52.92s).

In the afternoon, RLLR's Rahal took over the top position with the fastest lap of the day (51.39s) as Pigot (51.60s) and King (51.79s) jumped to second and third for ECR. Sato and MSR's Harvey set the same lap time (51.81s) to tie for fourth, Carlin's Chilton was sixth (52.10s), Juncos's Binder was seventh (52.19s), Harding's Chaves was eighth again (52.66s) and Chilton's teammate Kimball closed out the list with a 52.87s).
"I feel like we made some good gains with the car," Rahal told RACER. "Takuma and I were all over the board with the car trying different things. I can't say the car was feeling the best at that exact moment, but we were trying things that we hope will work well at other tracks. In general, we're pleased with what we've done here."
The fastest lap set on Tuesday went to Team Penske's Josef Newgarden (51.37s), but as history has shown, comparing lap times from different days at Sebring is a fruitless exercise with the differences in wind, temperature, and grip as more rubber is worked into the surface.
"We found some things, pointed ourselves in a good direction for St. Pete, but we know how much things change from day to day at Sebring," Rahal added. "I tested here Monday for Firestone, and I thought the track was at its best then, at least if I compare it to how it was today. So knowing that, and I wasn't on track like Josef was yesterday, but it feels like the track's gotten slower since Monday, so I've got to be pleased with the 51.39 I turned."
MSR is expected to spend one more day at Sebring early next week to further prepare for its debut, but for the most part, the next time IndyCar drivers will see on track action, it will come Friday morning at St. Petersburg as the 2018 championship gets under way

 

[h=2]CJ Wilson signs Wittmer for Sebring[/h] Wednesday, 07 March 2018


Marshall Pruett / Image by CJWR


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CJ Wilson Racing has signed 2014 IMSA GT Le Mans champion Kuno Wittmer to drive its Acura NSX GT3 at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The French-Canadian will partner with Marc Miller and Till Bechtolsheimer in the No.36 GT Daytona entry for the second WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round.

"I'm truly excited about this opportunity not only to be back in a GT car but also to be surrounded by such a good team," he said. "The NSX was car was going through the its development stages in 2017 but clearly showed its potential and that has been reflected in the start that the HPD teams have had this year."
Wittmer joins CJWR after stints with factory Dodge and BMW GTLM efforts.
"Coming from a factory program last year and finishing the season on a high note with a victory at Petit Le Mans in GTLM, I really did want to get back into the GT ranks with a proper team and competitive teammates," he added. "Marc and Till are a really strong combination, they have already shown great pace in the car and they are fun to be around and I think we can really create some good chemistry. Just from that aspect alone I think we can develop something really good here."
Familiarity with CJWR team manager Andris Laivins should accelerate Wittmer's learning curve while learning a new car at Sebring.
"We asked Kuno to fill out our driver line-up for Sebring because we needed another steady hand with tons of GT experience who would mesh well with Till and Marc," Laivins said. "I've known Kuno since the mid-2000s racing touring cars. He was in an Acura then, and it'll be fun to get him back in one and go have some fun in Florida."

 

Mazda Team Joest looks toward Sebring

Monday, 12 March 2018



With a new team running the program, a radically changed Mazda RT-24P and a new driver lineup, hopes for Mazda Team Joest were high for the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the first round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Things unfortunately didn't go as planned, but the team has regrouped, continued testing and expects to be ready for the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 17.
"The issues we had at Daytona were unexpected," says John Doonan, Director, Mazda Motorsports. "We tested there for nine days starting in late October, early November, including all the IMSA-sanctioned tests, and we tested at Sebring for three days. In total we had 14 test days between Europe and the States, so the issues we saw at Daytona were very frustrating because they were all new things that we had not seen during testing, which is pretty hard to believe from that standpoint because of how much time we put in.

 

[h=2]Taylor tops final Sebring practice[/h] Friday, 16 March 2018


J.J. O'Malley / Image by Galstad/IMSA



Competitors in all three classes turned in the fastest laps of the weekend in Friday's fourth and final practice session for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Ricky Taylor was fastest, running 1m47.076s in the No. 7 Team Penske Acura ARX-05 DPi, cutting through the early-morning mist and smoke that delayed the start of the one-hour session by seven minutes.

• Results

Johannes van Overbeek was second at 1m47.512s in the No. 22 Tequila Patron ESM Nissan Onroak DPi, followed by Pato O'Ward's 1m47.861s in the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA 07-Gibson.
While Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GTs led all three Thursday sessions in GTLM, BMW and Porsche took the top four slots on Friday. BMW Team RLL ran 1-2, with Connor De Phillippi's 1m56.566s in the No. 25 BMW M8 GTLM followed by Jesse Krohn, 1m56.805s in the No. 24.
Next was the Porsche GT team, with Laurens Vanthoor's 1m56.959s in the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR followed by teammate Nick Tandy in the No. 911, 1m57.031. Sebastien Bourdais – who missed Thursday's practice due to an IndyCar test in Texas – was fifth with a lap of 1m57.125s in the No. 66 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT.
Three GTD competitors broke two minutes for the first time this weekend. Christopher Mies led the session, 1m59.130s in the No. 29 Montaplast Audi R8 LMS GT3. He was followed by Daniel Serra, 1m59.130s in the No. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3, and Trent Hindman, 1m59.889s in the No. 86 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3.