| Sebring International Raceway – Sebring, Fla. November 11 – 14, 2020 Nov. 4, 2020 By Mark Robinson IMSA Wire Service  Fast FactsRace Day/Time: Saturday, November 14 – 10:10 a.m. ET TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 10:05 a.m. IMSA.com/TVLive Live Qualifying Stream: Friday, November 13 – 10:10 a.m. IMSA Radio: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins November 14 at 10 a.m. (Sirius channel 217, XM 202, Internet 972) Circuit Type: 3.74-mile, 17-turn road course Race Length: 12 hours Track Social Media: Twitter/Instagram: @SebringRaceway; Facebook: @SebringInternationalRaceway Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #Sebring12 Entry List (Click Here) WeatherTech Championship Track Records Qualifying: DPi: Dane Cameron, Acura DPi, 1:45.865 / 125.837 mph, March 2019 LMP2: Matt McMurry, ORECA LMP2, 1:49.728 / 121.407 mph, March 2019 GTLM: Jordan Taylor, Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, 1:55.634 / 116.436 mph, July 2020 GTD: Daniel Serra, Ferrari 488 GT3, 1:58.710 / 113.420 mph, March 2018 2019 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts Winners DPi: Felipe Nasr/Eric Curran/Pipo Derani, No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi LMP2: Kyle Masson/Cameron Cassels/Andrew Evans, No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA LMP2 GTLM: Patrick Pilet/Nick Tandy/Frederic Makowiecki, No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR GTD: Rolf Ineichen/Mirko Bortolotti/Rik Breukers, No. 11 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Storylines · Same Great Race, Different Date: For the first time in its illustrious 68-year history, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts will not take place on its traditional early spring date. Due to schedule changes forced by the coronavirus pandemic, the Sebring race was postponed in March and reset as the finale to the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. The race will return to its normal March spot on the 2021 schedule. · DPi Championships on the Line: Important titles are still up for grabs in the Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class at Sebring. No. 7 Acura Team Penske drivers Helio Castroneves and Ricky Taylor have edged into the drivers’ lead on the strength of four wins in their last five races. They are two points up on No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac drivers Ryan Briscoe and Renger van der Zande, and nine ahead of No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac’s Pipo Derani. Cadillac, however, has a one-point edge on Acura in the manufacturer race. · GTD Battle Rages on: In GT Daytona (GTD), Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry regained the class lead by winning Nov. 1 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura duo is seven points up on Patrick Long and Ryan Hardwick (No. 16 Wright Motorsports Porsche) and eight ahead of Aaron Telitz (No. 14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus). Acura is two points ahead of Lexus in the GTD manufacturer standings. · Endurance Cup: In addition to the season-long championships, crowns will also be earned in all four WeatherTech Championship classes for the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. Points are awarded at various intervals throughout the four endurance races on the schedule, including at the four-, eight- and 12-hour marks at Sebring. Current leaders in each class are: the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac in DPi, the No. 52 PRI Mathiasen Motorports ORECA in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), the No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW in GT Le Mans (GTLM) and the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán in GTD. · Talk to the Hand: Joey Hand, an integral part of the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing GTLM team that disbanded after 2019, will make his season debut at Sebring in the No. 57 Heinricher Racing with MSR Curb-Agajanian Acura GTD entry. Hand will partner with Trent Hindman and Misha Goikhberg. · Gabby’s Back: Gabby Chaves returns to the driver lineup of the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi to team with Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr at Sebring. Chaves filled in for Nasr at the IMSA WeatherTech 240 At Daytona in July after Nasr tested positive for COVID-19. Chaves has driven all season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge where he is part of the championship-leading No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai team in the Touring Car (TCR) class. Who’s Hot? · No. 7 Acura Team Penske: As mentioned above, the No. 7 is on fire with four wins and a second-place finish in the last five races. Joining Ricky Taylor and Helio Castroneves behind the wheel for the endurance race, as usual for this year, is 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi. · Porsche GT Team: What had been a very disappointing GTLM season has turned somewhat for Porsche, whose cars have won the last two races. The No. 911 entry won at Motul Petit Le Mans last month and the No. 912 was victorious at WeatherTech Raceway on Nov. 1. Pair that with the fact that the Porsches have won the last two Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring events and it sets up well for a winning finish to the season. · Acura in GTD: Acuras took two of the three GTD podium spots in the most recent race at WeatherTech Raceway. The No. 86 won, with the No. 57 finishing third for its first podium of the season. Who’s Good Here? · Oliver Gavin: The longtime Corvette driver, who will be entering his final race as a full-time driver with the team, has six wins at Sebring, starting in 2001 and most recently as 2016. He and co-driver Tommy Milner collected their lone victory of the season to date in the July race at Sebring that was 2 hours, 40 minutes long. · Pipo Derani and No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac: This car is the defending Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring overall and DPi champion as well as winner of the Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring in July, when it led all but two of the 83 laps. Derani has won the Sebring 12-hour race three of the last four years. · Porsche, Porsche, Porsche: The famous German brand has 96 total wins at Sebring, more than double the nearest manufacturer. With entries competing in GTLM – where it is the two-time defending champion – and GTD, Porsche seeks to add to that number on Nov. 14. Previous Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts Winners in 2020 Field (29) Oliver Gavin (6) – GTS – 2001, 2002; GT1 – 2006, 2007; GT – 2013; GTLM – 2016 Bill Auberlen (3) – GTS-2 – 1995; GTS-3 – 1997; GT3 – 1998 Pipo Derani (3) – P – 2016, 2018; DPi – 2019 Antonio Garcia (3) – GT1 – 2009; GTLM – 2015, 2017 Ian James (3) – P2 – 2004, 2005; GTD – 2015 Sebastien Bourdais (2) – GT2 – 2006; P – 2015 Ryan Briscoe (2) – P2 – 2013; GTLM – 2015 Mario Farnbacher (2) – GTD – 2015, 2017 Marcel Fassler (2) – P1 – 2013; GTLM – 2016 Joey Hand (2) – GT – 2011; ALMS GT – 2012 Patrick Long (2) – GT2 – 2005; GTLM – 2014 Fred Makowiecki (2) – GTLM – 2018, 2019 Tommy Milner (2) – GT – 2013; GTLM – 2016 Nick Tandy (2) – GTLM – 2018, 2019 Alessandro Balzan (1) – GTD – 2016 Townsend Bell (1) – GTC – 2012 Dane Cameron (1) – LMPC – 2011 Loic Duval (1) – P1 – 2011 Ryan Hunter-Reay (1) – P2 – 2011 Oliver Jarvis (1) – P1 – 2013 Andy Lally (1) – GTD – 2014 Corey Lewis (1) – GTD – 2018 Cooper MacNeil (1) – GTC – 2013 Felipe Nasr (1) – DPi – 2019 John Potter (1) – GTD – 2014 Bryan Sellers (1) – GTD – 2018 Madison Snow (1) – GTD – 2018 Jordan Taylor (1) – P – 2017 Ricky Taylor (1) – P – 2017 Previous Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts Pole Winners in 2020 Field (14) Bill Auberlen (4) – GTU – 1994; GTS-3 – 1997; GT3 – 1998; GTLM – 2016 Dane Cameron (3) – LMPC – 2011; GTD – 2014; DPi – 2019 Oliver Gavin (3) – GTS – 2001, 2003; GT1 – 2009 Olivier Pla (3) – WEC P2 – 2012; P – 2015, 2016 Ryan Briscoe (2) – P2 – 2013; GTLM – 2017 Tristan Vautier (2) – GTD – 2017; P – 2018 Sebastien Bourdais (1) – P – 2014 Connor De Phillippi (1) – GTLM – 2018 Scott Dixon (1) P1 – 2009 Marcel Fassler (1) – P1 – 2013 Trent Hindman (1) – GTD – 2019 Andy Lally (1) – GTC – 2013 Fred Makowiecki (1) – GTLM – 2015 Matt McMurry (1) – LMP2 – 2019 Previous Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts Winning Teams in 2020 Field (12) Corvette Racing (11) – GTS – 2002, 2003, 2004; GT1 – 2006, 2007, 2008 2009; GT – 2013; GTLM – 2015, 2016, 2017 Acura Team Penske (4) – PROTO 15 – 1964; GT13 – 1966; TRANS-AM – 1968; P2 – 2008 Porsche GT Team (3) – GTLM – 2014, 2018, 2019 Action Express/Whelen Engineering Racing (2) – P – 2015; DPi – 2019 BMW Team RLL (2) – GT – 2011; ALMS GT – 2012 GRT Magnus (2) – GTD – 2014, 2019 Performance Tech (2) – PC – 2017; LMP2 – 2019 PR1 Mathiasen (2) – LMPC – 2013; PC – 2015 Paul Miler Racing (1) – GTD – 2018 Scuderia Corsa (1) – GTD – 2016 Tower Motorsport by Starworks (1) – WEC P2 – 2012 Konica Minolta/Wayne Taylor Racing (1) – P – 2017 Previous Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts Winning Manufacturers in 2020 Field (10) Porsche – 96 Chevrolet – 40 Ferrari – 37 Mazda – 13 Audi – 12 BMW – 7 Acura – 3 Aston Martin – 3 Cadillac – 2 Lamborghini – 2 |
