12 Hours of Sebring: Introduction

69 years of tradition and history.  12 hours.  One lap of the dial.  A quiet dawn greets the competitors as the lovely scent of the nearby orange groves lingers in the air.  Warm, sunny conditions are expected for today's second round of the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.  Now, wait a minute, ladies and gentlemen.  You must be thinking, weren't we just here?  The answer is, yes.  The Sebring 12 Hours was the curtain closer for the 2020 IMSA season, and now it returns to it's rightful mid-March date, on the official first day of spring.  We are one year shy of this great race's 70th anniversary.  So many great marques have raced and have won here.  Porsche has to be the most decorated brand in the winner's circle.  They've won 18 times, followed by Ferrari with a dozen wins overall, Audi with 11 wins, Nissan with five, Ford with three, seven brands with double wins (Toyota, BMW, Peugeot, Cadillac, & Chevrolet), and still more with just a single W in the column.

Among these brands:

Crosley, Frazer-Nash, Cunningham, O.S.C.A., Jaguar, Maserati, the long departed Oldsmobile, Riley, Ligier, and last year's victors, Mazda.  

The drivers with multiple wins here is also a staggering list of champions.  Three-time winners, Pipo Derani, Olivier Gendebien, Mario Andretti, Marco Werner, Hans-Joachim Stuck, and Phil Hill.  Legends of the sport.  You want more legendary drivers?  We have them, on the Sebring roll of honor.   Allan McNish and Frank Biela each drove to victory on four occasions on these rough concrete runways where B-17 and B-25 bombers used to fly during WW. II.  Rinaldo Cappello is a five-time winner here at Sebring, and the undisputed king, is the "Great Dane", Tom Kristensen, with six overall titles in the 12 hours to his name.  The man who has also won the fabled 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, nine times.  All of these drivers drove during the decade plus reign of Audi as the car to have at the 12 hours.

Who will add their name to the Sebring roll of honor, today?  Will there be yet another repeat champion?  Stay tuned to find out.  The 69th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring is coming at you, live!  Next!