The Action Express Racing Cadillac #31 won the 12h of Sebring on Saturday, the second round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship which crowned for the first time a V-Series.R in GTP Class.
As usual, the race was to be lived up to the last moments, with repeated accidents and twists and turns that continually shuffled the cards.
There is also glory for Tower Motorsports in the LMP2 class, whose Oreca even ranks third overall, while among the LMP3s Riley’s Ligier wins.
In GTD PRO comes the first triumph for the brand new Porsche of Pfaff Motorsports, in GTD it is the BMW of Paul Miller Racing who stands out, but let’s go in order on the story of this fantastic race.
Departure
Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images
GTP: The Cadillac-AXR saves itself in the final chaos
The affirmation of the AXR Cadilla – equipped with a Dallara chassis – was by no means simple even if the car started from the Pole Position conquered in the chaotic Friday Qualifying.
Pipo Derani/Jack Aitken/Alexander Sims took advantage of an incredible crash that eliminated the three LMDhs in the lead at the time with just 19 minutes to go, managing to avoid the wreckage and win by 2″940 ahead of the BMW M Hybrid V8 #25 of Team RLL (Yelloly/DePhillippi/Van Der Linde) after the final restart.
A surprise ending which therefore also rewarded the Bavarian car – also built on a Dallara chassis – which had a difficult start to the weekend with both BMWs behind in the GTP Class standings, but which gave the first podium to its three competitors, while the #24 sistership of Farfus/Eng/Wittmann retired due to technical problems.
#10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Louis Deletraz
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
But speaking of the final incident, Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing/Andretti Autosport Acura ARX-06 joined Mathieu Jaminet in the #6 Porsche 963, leading the race at the time, hoping to overtake in Turn 3 , when they came across slower GT cars.
Albuquerque ran wide to avoid the Porsche which was also trying to evade another car and contact saw the Acura go off the road, before returning to the track to hit Jaminet’s Porsche. The other Porsche was also hit in the fray. the #7 by Felipe Nasr, in that while third.
None of the drivers were injured and the #6 Porsche was officially placed third in GTP, with Acura-WTR fourth and the #7 Porsche fifth. Meyer Shank Racing/Curb Agajanian’s #60 Acura, winner of the 24h of Daytona, took sixth place in the GTP Class.
On the other hand, the Cadillac of Chip Ganassi Racing did badly, which suddenly raised the white flag when returning to the pits with smoke coming out of the car while it was in the lead due to a fuel distribution problem.
#25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8: Connor De Phillippi, Nick Yelloly, Sheldon van der Linde
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
LMP2: comeback victory for Tower
The key to Tower Motorsports’ victory in LMP2 was having patience for 12 hours. Scott McLaughlin took the Class lead eventually on Full Course Yellow in the #8 Oreca and then held off a fierce Mikkel Jensen in the final four minutes to take the win.
McLaughlin won the series for the first time alongside teammates John Farano (team owner) and Kyffin Simpson, with the latter involved in a mid-race crash returning to the pits for repairs, but the trio managed to bring their 07-Gibson in the lead.
In the final 32′ there was a big tussle between all the cars in the category to regain the lead. At the checkered flag, second place went to the #11 Oreca of TDS Racing, which managed to outwit the #18 of Era Motorsport and the #52 of PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports.
#8 Tower Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07: John Farano, Scott McLaughlin, Kyffin Simpson
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
LMP3: Fraga gives success to Riley
It was the aforementioned final chaos that determined the outcome of the LMP3 Class, which saw the victory of the Riley trio of Gar Robinson/Josh Burdon/Felipe Fraga on the Ligier JS P320 #74.
The #30 Jr III Racing Ligier had built up nearly a full lap lead over the field in the last two hours, but a neutralization allowed Fraga in the #74 to close on Garett Grist with 78′ to go.
Boosted by the new tires fitted to the #74 during a pit stop under FCY conditions, the Brazilian overtook for the lead on the first lap following the restart, then dodging a detached tire from the Rick Ware Racing #51 Oreca.
Grist wasn’t as lucky, catching him full on and destroying the front left of his Ligier out of the race and allowing Fraga to finish a lap ahead of AWA’s #13 Duqueine.
Third place went to the #85 JDC Miller MotorSports Duqueine, followed by the #17 AWA and the #4 Ave Motorsports Ligier.
#74 Riley Ligier JS P320: Gar Robinson, Philip Fraga, Josh Burdon
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
GTD PRO: first hurrah for Porsche-Pfaff
As has often happened in the past, also in 2023 the 12h of Sebring ended in a breathtaking scenario in the GTD PRO Class. A string of cautions handed out across much of the grid in the final hour made fuel strategy the critical factor.
Patrick Pilet and Pfaff Motorsports tuned it to perfection, completing a stunning comeback in the #9 Porsche 911 GT3-R 992 after Klaus Bachler’s crash in qualifying the day before had required 11 hours of work for the repairs and had forced the team to start at the back of the field.
Pilet completed the last 41 laps of the race without stopping for fuel and tires – for a duration of 1h52′ – and climbed to the front in the last 19 laps after darkness had fallen on the International Raceway. At the checkered flag he preceded by 2″706 Jack Hawksworth/Ben Barnicoat/Kyle Kirkwood on the Lexus #14 of Vasser Sullivan, while the Mercedes #79 of WeatherTech Racing (Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon/Maro Engel) finished third at 4″ 326.
There were four race stoppages in the last two hours and this gave Porsche-Pfaff the fuel it needed to get to the checkered flag.
A good fourth place goes to the Lamborghini #63 of the Iron Lynx, followed by the Corvette #3 – which lingered in the final accident between the LMDhs – and the Ferrari 296 GT3 #62 of Risi Competizione, which precedes the BMW #95 of Turner Motorsport.
#9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R: Klaus Bachler, Patrick Pilet, Laurens Vanthoor
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
GTD: party for Paul Miller Racing’s BMW
The Daytona GT Class was also settled by a bet on FCYs with fuel mileage. Madison Snow’s final 40-lap stint in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 secured victory for him and team-mates Bryan Sellers and Corey Lewis.
As in GTD PRO, track position was crucial, as nobody was able to get past Snow in the few remaining laps once the green flag was waved.
Robby Foley came close, completing the BMW one-two with the #96 Turner Motorsport M4 alongside Patrick Gallagher and Michael Dinan, while the third step of the podium was occupied by the #92 Porsche of Kellymoss/Riley.
In the Top5 are the McLaren #70 of Inception Racing and the Lexus #12 of Vasser Sullivan, close to the Top10 are the Iron Dames with the Lamborghini #83, while the best Ferrari is the 296 #21 of AF Corse, 13th in the lot.
#1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3: Bryan Sellers, Madison Snow, Corey Lewis
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Motorsport Images
