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Sebring Wrap Up

Night pit stop for the Ford GT. [Photo by Jack Webster]

Night pit stop for the Ford GT. [Photo by Jack Webster]

By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine

The 64th Annual running of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh From Florida is now in the history books, and it was certainly one for the books.

It rained for only the 7th time in the history of the 12 hour race, and the rain wasn’t quite as much of an issue as the lightning, which prompted officials to red flag the race for some time due to safety concerns.

Once things got underway again, the rains did not return and we were in for a real sprint to the finish. Under yellow and with only 35 minutes to go in the race, all the leaders stopped for fuel. However, the Tequila patron ESM Ligier piloted by Pipo Derani took on not only fuel, but fresh tires and rejoined the field in fourth place.

At the drop of the green, the race was on and Derani put on quite the show, closing the gap on the leading DP cars and finally taking the lead with fewer than six minutes to go in the race with a couple of incredible passes going into the hairpin.

The Tequila Patron entry not only held on to win but was clearly the quickest car on the track at the checkered flag. The youngster from Brazil put on quite a display of driving excellence, driving with maturity far beyond his 22 years.

At the finish, it was the Tequila Patron ESM Ligier first; followed by the Action Express Corvette DP cars close behind. That makes for a perfect 36 Hours of Florida for the Ed Brown led Tequila Patron squad, as they won the Rolex 24 at Daytona as well.

In GTLM, it was also a barnburner all race, with the Corvette C7.R of Gavin, Milner and Fassler taking first, followed closely by BMW, Porsche and Ferrari. As with the overall winners, the #4 Corvette swept both Daytona and Sebring.

In the LMPC class Core Autosports took top honors, finishing just ahead of the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports entry.
Finally, in GTD, Ferrari took the top spot in the debut race of the new Ferrari 488 GT3, followed closely by BMW, Audi and Porsche.

One cannot overemphasize how close the racing was all day long. For the overall win, 6 prototypes finished on the lead lap, while in GTLM 6 cars finished on the same lap, and in GTD 10 cars finished on the same lap as the class winner. It was that close all day long.

If the first two races of the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech Championship are any indication, this season is going to be exciting and close. Very close.

Next round: Long Beach April 15-16. Be there.

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