2019 12 Hours of Sebring

The 67th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts was an endurance sports car racing event held at Sebring International Raceway near Sebring, Florida, from 14–16 March 2019. The race was the second round of the 2019 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as well as the second round of the Michelin Endurance Cup. Action Express Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing brought home a Cadillac 1-2-3 finish for the overall honours, with the win going to the No. 31 crew of Eric Curran, Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani, who won the 12 Hour race for a third time in the previous four editions. the #911 Porsche GT Team won in the GTLM class over the No. 66 Ford GT of Chip Ganassi Racing, LMP2 was won by Performance Tech Motorsports, and the Grasser Racing Team took a second straight victory in the GTD class, winning over fellow Lamborghini GTD team Magnus Racing, who came 2nd in only their second start as a Lamborghini team.

Sebring International Raceway

Background

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The FIA World Endurance Championship returned to the venue for the same weekend for the first time since 2012, albeit with a few changes. The World Endurance Championship had a 1,000-mile standalone event of its own on Friday, March 15, 2019, the day before the official 12 Hours of Sebring sanctioned by IMSA, on March 16.[1][2] Despite initial questions raised over whether or not two separate events of the same length could be held on the same weekend, the event was confirmed to be the sixth round of the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship. Select drivers and teams, such as Corvette Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing, competed in both events back-to-back.[3]

International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2019 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2018.[4] It was the sixth consecutive year it was part of the IMSA SCC, and the 67th 12 Hours of Sebring. The 12 Hours of Sebring was the second of twelve scheduled sports car endurance races of 2019 by IMSA, and the second of four races of the Michelin Endurance Cup (MEC).[5] It was held at the 17-turn, 3.741-mile (6.021 km) Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida on March 16, 2019.[6]

On 28 February 2019, IMSA released a technical bulletin regarding the Balance of Performance for the 12-hour race. In the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class, most cars had reductions in power, with the exception of the Cadillac DPi. The Mazda RT24-P was made 10 kilograms heavier, and had fuel capacity reduction. In the GT Le Mans class (GTLM), the Ferrari 488 GTE was made 15 kilograms lighter.[7] Despite being given a break, Ferrari GTLM team Risi Competizione decided to forgo Sebring, for concerns over the adjustment.[8]

Before the race, Jordan Taylor, Renger van der Zande, Fernando Alonso, and Kamui Kobayashi led the DPi Drivers' Championship with 35 points, ahead of Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr, and Eric Curran in second position with 32 points.[9] In LMP2, Sebastián Saavedra, Pastor Maldonado, Ryan Cullen, and Roberto González led the Drivers' Championship with 35 points.[9] The GTLM Drivers' Championship was led by Connor De Phillippi, Philipp Eng, Colton Herta, and Augusto Farfus with 35 points, 3 ahead of James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi, Miguel Molina, and Davide Rigon in second position.[9] With 35 points, Mirko Bortolotti, Rik Breukers, Rolf Ineichen, and Christian Engelhart led the GTD Drivers' Championship.[9] Cadillac, BMW, and Lamborghini were leading their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Konica Minolta Cadillac, DragonSpeed, BMW Team RLL, and GRT Grasser Racing Team each led their own Teams' Championships.[9]

Entries

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A total of 38 cars took part in the event split across 4 classes. There were 11 cars in the DPi class, eight entries in GT Le Mans, 17 in GT Daytona, and a mere two entrants in the LMP2 class. Following the retirement of Christian Fittipaldi, Le Mans winner Brendon Hartley joined the Action Express Racing team in the No. 5 car. Matthieu Vaxivière joined Wayne Taylor Racing in their No. 10 Cadillac, after Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Fernando Alonso were barred from taking part in IMSA's event. In the GT Daytona class, Black Swan Racing, who had confirmed a full endurance-event program for the 2019 IMSA Season, had withdrawn as a result of team owner and driver Tim Pappas sustaining injuries from February's Bathurst 12 Hour event.[10]

Report

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Thursday practice

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Due to the World Endurance Championship event taking place on Friday, the first few practice sessions for the 12 Hours of Sebring were held on Thursday. In the first practice session, Felipe Nasr and the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac team were quickest, setting a 1:46.996. They were 0.355 seconds faster than the No. 6 Team Penske Acura. In GT Le Mans, Porsche and Ford were at the top of the leaderboard, with Laurens Vanthoor setting the quickest time for the No. 911 Porsche 911 RSR, setting a 1:56.983. He would be three tenths clear of the times from the Ford GT drivers Richard Westbrook and Joey Hand. In GT Daytona, Mario Farnbacher of the No. 86 Meyer-Shank Racing Acura team set the fastest time of 2:00.793, nearly half a second clear of the No. 73 Park Place Motorsport Porsche, driven by Patrick Long. PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports went fastest in the LMP2 class.[11]

In free practice two, after a low-risk session from Mazda Team Joest, Olivier Pla would give them the fastest time of the weekend so far in the #55 car, a 1:46.834. He would be 0.815 seconds faster than Pipo Derani of the #31 Action Express Racing Cadillac. Acura driver Hélio Castroneves completed the top three in the DPi class. In the GT Le Mans class, Porsche GT Team were fastest once again, with #911 driver Nick Tandy setting a 1:56.991. The team were once again fastest over the two Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GTs. In GT Daytona, Bill Auberlen set the pace in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6, with a 2:00.583. PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports once again set the fastest LMP2 time, with 1:52.149.[12]

Qualifying

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Qualifying results

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Pole positions in each class are indicated in bold and by ‡.

Pos. Class No. Team Driver Time Gap Grid
1 DPi 6   Acura Team Penske   Dane Cameron 1:45.865 1
2 DPi 77   Mazda Team Joest   Tristan Nunez 1:46.011 +0.146 2
3 DPi 7   Acura Team Penske   Hélio Castroneves 1:46.011 +0.146 3
4 DPi 5   Mustang Sampling Racing   Filipe Albuquerque 1:46.238 +0.373 4
5 DPi 31   Whelen Engineering Racing   Pipo Derani 1:46.354 +0.489 5
6 DPi 10   Konica Minolta Cadillac   Jordan Taylor 1:46.530 +0.665 6
7 DPi 55   Mazda Team Joest   Jonathan Bomarito 1:46.832 +0.967 7
8 DPi 84   JDC-Miller Motorsports   Simon Trummer 1:47.086 +1.221 8
9 DPi 85   JDC-Miller Motorsports   Tristan Vautier 1:47.275 +1.410 9
10 DPi 50   Juncos Racing   Will Owen 1:47.478 +1.613 10
11 LMP2 52   PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports   Matt McMurry 1:49.728 +3.863 12
12 LMP2 38   Performance Tech Motorsports   Kyle Masson 1:49.739 +3.874 13
13 DPi 54   CORE Autosport   Jon Bennett 1:50.029 +4.164 11
14 GTLM 911   Porsche GT Team   Patrick Pilet 1:55.899 +10.034 14‡
15 GTLM 912   Porsche GT Team   Laurens Vanthoor 1:56.042 +10.177 211
16 GTLM 3   Corvette Racing   Antonio García 1:56.158 +10.293 15
17 GTLM 67   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Richard Westbrook 1:56.189 +10.324 16
18 GTLM 4   Corvette Racing   Oliver Gavin 1:56.248 +10.383 17
19 GTLM 24   BMW Team RLL   Jesse Krohn 1:56.486 +10.621 18
20 GTLM 25   BMW Team RLL   Tom Blomqvist 1:56.486 +10.621 19
21 GTLM 66   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Dirk Müller 1:56.731 +10.866 20
22 GTD 86   Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian   Trent Hindman 1:59.917 +14.052 22‡
23 GTD 96   Turner Motorsport   Nick Greene 2:00.299 +14.434 23
24 GTD 9   Pfaff Motorsports   Zacharie Robichon 2:00.504 +14.639 24
25 GTD 11   GRT Grasser Racing Team   Rolf Ineichen 2:00.710 +14.845 25
26 GTD 47   Precision Performance Motorsports   Brandon Gdovic 2:00.775 +14.910 26
27 GTD 57   Heinricher Racing w/Meyer Shank Racing   Christina Nielsen 2:00.809 +14.944 27
28 GTD 63   Scuderia Corsa   Cooper MacNeil 2:00.974 +15.109 28
29 GTD 12   AIM Vasser Sullivan   Frankie Montecalvo 2:01.100 +15.235 29
30 GTD 33   Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports   Ben Keating 2:01.184 +15.319 30
31 GTD 29   Montaplast by Land-Motorsport   Daniel Morad 2:01.189 +15.324 31
32 GTD 8   Starworks Motorsport   Ezequiel Pérez Companc 2:01.333 +15.468 32
33 GTD 48   Paul Miller Racing   Ryan Hardwick 2:01.725 +15.860 33
34 GTD 71   P1 Motorsports   JC Perez 2:01.961 +16.096 34
35 GTD 73   Park Place Motorsports   Nicholas Boulle 2:02.150 +16.285 35
36 GTD 44   Magnus Racing   John Potter 2:02.205 +16.340 36
37 GTD 19   Moorespeed   Will Hardeman 2:02.534 +16.669 37
38 GTD 14   AIM Vasser Sullivan Disqualified 38
Sources:[13][14]
  1. ^ Car number 912 was moved to the back of the GTLM field after qualifying after Laurens Vanthoor failed to bring the car to scrutineering immediately after the end of the session.[15]

Race

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Start and early hours

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Afternoon

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Sunset to finish

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Post-race

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The final results of DPi kept Jordan Taylor and Renger van der Zande atop the DPi Drivers' Championship with 67 points while Albuquerque and Barbosa advanced from seventh to fourth.[16] Cassels and Masson's victory allowed them to take the lead of the LMP2 Drivers' Championship while the absent Saavedra, Maldonado, Cullen, and González dropped to fourth. McMurry and Aubry jumped to second after being fourth entering Sebring International Raceway.[16] The final results of GTLM kept Eng atop the Drivers' Championship with 63 points while De Phillippi and Herta dropped to third. Race winners Pilet, Tandy, and Makowiecki advanced from fifth to second.[16] With a total of 70 points, Bortolotti, Breukers, and Ineichen's victory allowed them to extend their advantage over Montecalvo, Bell, and Telitz in the GTD Drivers' Championship to 16 points. Lally, Potter, and Pumpelly advanced from tenth to third.[16] Cadillac and Lamborghini continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Porsche took the lead of the GTLM Manufactures' Championship.[16] Konica Minolta Cadillac and GRT Grasser Racing Team kept their respective advantages in their respective of Teams' Championships, while Performance Tech Motorsports and Porsche GT Team became the leaders of their respective class Teams' Championships with ten rounds left in the season.[16]

Race Results

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Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.

Pos Class No Team Drivers Chassis laps Time/retired
Engine
1 DPi 31   Whelen Engineering Racing   Felipe Nasr
  Eric Curran
  Pipo Derani
Cadillac DPi-V.R 348 12:00:15.925‡
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
2 DPi 10   Konica Minolta Cadillac   Jordan Taylor
  Matthieu Vaxivière
  Renger van der Zande
Cadillac DPi-V.R 348 +1.030
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
3 DPi 5   Mustang Sampling Racing   Brendon Hartley
  Filipe Albuquerque
  João Barbosa
Cadillac DPi-V.R 348 +4.023
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
4 DPi 7   Acura Team Penske   Alexander Rossi
  Hélio Castroneves
  Ricky Taylor
Acura ARX-05 348 +11.331
Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6
5 DPi 54   CORE Autosport   Romain Dumas
  Jon Bennett
  Colin Braun
Nissan DPi 347 +1 Lap
Nissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6
6 DPi 55   Mazda Team Joest   Harry Tincknell
  Olivier Pla
  Jonathan Bomarito
Mazda RT24-P 346 +2 laps
Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L Turbo I4
7 DPi 85   JDC-Miller Motorsports   Juan Piedrahita
  Misha Goikhberg
  Tristan Vautier
Cadillac DPi-V.R 346 +2 laps
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
8 DPi 84   JDC-Miller Motorsports   Simon Trummer
  Chris Miller
  Stephen Simpson
Cadillac DPi-V.R 345 +3 laps
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
9 DPi 6   Acura Team Penske   Juan Pablo Montoya
  Simon Pagenaud
  Dane Cameron
Acura ARX-05 339 +9 laps
Acura AR35TT 3.5 L Turbo V6
10 GTLM 911   Porsche GT Team   Nick Tandy
  Patrick Pilet
  Frédéric Makowiecki
Porsche 911 RSR 330 +18 laps‡
Porsche 4.0 L flat-6
11 GTLM 66   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Sébastien Bourdais
  Joey Hand
  Dirk Müller
Ford GT 330 +18 laps
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6
12 GTLM 3   Corvette Racing   Jan Magnussen
  Antonio García
  Mike Rockenfeller
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 330 +18 laps
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
13 GTLM 24   BMW Team RLL   John Edwards
  Jesse Krohn
  Philipp Eng
BMW M8 GTE 330 +18 laps
BMW S63 4.0 L Twin-turbo V8
14 GTLM 912   Porsche GT Team   Mathieu Jaminet
  Earl Bamber
  Laurens Vanthoor
Porsche 911 RSR 330 +18 laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
15 GTLM 67   Ford Chip Ganassi Racing   Richard Westbrook
  Scott Dixon
  Ryan Briscoe
Ford GT 330 +18 laps
Ford EcoBoost 3.5 L Turbo V6
16 GTLM 25   BMW Team RLL   Colton Herta
  Tom Blomqvist
  Connor De Phillippi
BMW M8 GTE 329 +19 laps
BMW S63 4.0 L Twin-turbo V8
17 LMP2 38   Performance Tech Motorsports   Kyle Masson
  Cameron Cassels
  Andrew Evans
Oreca 07 322 +26 laps‡
Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8
18 GTLM 4   Corvette Racing   Marcel Fässler
  Oliver Gavin
  Tommy Milner
Chevrolet Corvette C7.R 321 +27 laps
Chevrolet LT5.5 5.5 L V8
19 GTD 11   GRT Grasser Racing Team   Mirko Bortolotti
  Rik Breukers
  Rolf Ineichen
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 320 +28 laps‡
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
20 GTD 44   Magnus Racing   Spencer Pumpelly
  John Potter
  Andy Lally
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 320 +28 laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
21 GTD 63   Scuderia Corsa   Toni Vilander
  Cooper MacNeil
  Jeff Westphal
Ferrari 488 GT3 320 +28 laps
Ferrari F154 3.9 L Turbo V8
22 GTD 29   Montaplast by Land-Motorsport   Christopher Mies
  Ricardo Feller
  Daniel Morad
Audi R8 LMS GT3 320 +28 laps
Audi 5.2 L V10
23 GTD 33   Mercedes-AMG Team Riley Motorsports   Jeroen Bleekemolen
  Felipe Fraga
  Ben Keating
Mercedes-AMG GT3 320 +28 laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
24 GTD 73   Park Place Motorsports   Patrick Long
  Nicholas Boulle
  Patrick Lindsey
Porsche 911 GT3 R 320 +28 laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
25 GTD 86   Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian   Mario Farnbacher
  Trent Hindman
  Justin Marks
Acura NSX GT3 Evo 320 +28 laps
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
26 GTD 57   Heinricher Racing w/Meyer Shank Racing   Katherine Legge
  Ana Beatriz
  Christina Nielsen
Acura NSX GT3 Evo 320 +28 laps
Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6
27 GTD 12   AIM Vasser Sullivan   Townsend Bell
  Aaron Telitz
  Frankie Montecalvo
Lexus RC F GT3 318 +30 laps
Lexus 5.0 L V8
28 GTD 9   Pfaff Motorsports   Scott Hargrove
  Lars Kern
  Zacharie Robichon
Porsche 911 GT3 R 318 +30 laps
Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6
29 GTD 71   P1 Motorsports   Maximilian Buhk
  Fabian Schiller
  JC Perez
Mercedes-AMG GT3 315 +33 laps
Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8
30 GTD 47   Precision Performance Motorsports   Lawson Aschenbach
  Brandon Gdovic
  Don Yount
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 311 +37 laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
31

DNF

GTD 96   Turner Motorsport   Bill Auberlen
  Nick Greene
  Dillon Machavern
BMW M6 GT3 309 Suspension
BMW 4.4 L Turbo V8
32 LMP2 52   PR1/ Mathiasen Motorsports   Gabriel Aubry
  Anders Fjorbach
  Matt McMurry
Oreca 07 309 +39 laps
Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8
33 DPi 50   Juncos Racing   Will Owen
  René Binder
  Agustín Canapino
Cadillac DPi-V.R 305 +43 laps
Cadillac 5.5 L V8
34 GTD 8   Starworks Motorsport   Ryan Dalziel
  Ezequiel Pérez Companc
  Parker Chase
Audi R8 LMS GT3 292 +56 laps
Audi 5.2 L V10
35

DNF

GTD 14   AIM Vasser Sullivan   Jack Hawksworth
  Philipp Frommenwiler
  Richard Heistand
Lexus RC F GT3 262 Crash damage
Lexus 5.0 L V8
36 GTD 48   Paul Miller Racing   Bryan Sellers
  Ryan Hardwick
  Corey Lewis
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 249 +99 laps
Lamborghini 5.2 L V10
37 DPi 77   Mazda Team Joest   Tristan Nunez
  Timo Bernhard
  Oliver Jarvis
Mazda RT24-P 233 +115 laps
Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L Turbo I4
38

DNF

GTD 19   Moorespeed   Alex Riberas
  Will Hardeman
  Andrew Davis
Audi R8 LMS GT3 174 Rear end
Audi 5.2 L V10
Sources:[17][18]

Standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for all sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ Dagys, John (21 September 2017). "1500 Miles of Sebring Confirmed". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  2. ^ Watkins, David (4 April 2018). "Sebring WEC race moved to Friday, reduced to 1000 miles". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  3. ^ Kilshaw, Jake (29 January 2019). "Corvette Return Amongst Changes on Sebring Entry List". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  4. ^ Klein, Jamie (August 4, 2018). "IMSA reveals largely unchanged 2019 schedule". motorsport.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  5. ^ Pruett, Marshall (August 3, 2018). "IMSA releases 2019 schedule". racer.com. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  6. ^ "2019 IMSA Schedule Released". dailysportscar.com. August 4, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Dagys, John (28 February 2019). "IMSA Sets Sebring BoP". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  8. ^ Dagys, John (4 March 2019). "Risi to Forgo Sebring; No Firm IMSA Plans". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d e "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. February 1, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  10. ^ Malsher, David (6 March 2019). "38 cars on Sebring 12 Hours entry list". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  11. ^ Kilshaw, Jake (14 March 2019). "Nasr Quickest in Opening Practice at Sebring". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  12. ^ Kilshaw, Jake (14 March 2019). "Pla Leads Practice 2 by Eight-Tenths". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  13. ^ "2019 Twelve Hours of Sebring qualifying results" (PDF).
  14. ^ "00_Grid_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. March 16, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  15. ^ Klein, Jamie (March 16, 2019). "Rain-hit Sebring 12 Hours starts under caution". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "00_Championship Points - Official.pdf" (PDF). results.imsa.com. March 28, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  17. ^ "03_Results_Race_Official.PDF" (PDF). results.imsa.com. March 28, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  18. ^ "2019 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring". racing-reference.info. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
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WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
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