For the first time in three years, the FIA World Endurance Championship returns to the hallowed, bumpy, car breaking, concrete runways of Sebring International Raceway in central Florida, for the 1,000 Miles of Sebring. A WW. II. B-17 and B-25 bomber training base, turned into a race track by entrepreneur Alec Ulmann in the 1950s and host of the 12 Hours of Sebring, which races tomorrow for the IMSA cars, for seven decades. This is the third visit for WEC to Sebring if memory serves me right. They came in 2012 as part of the opening of the championship and ran with the old American Le Mans Series in what was the 60th Sebring 12 Hours and then returned for a "Marco Solo" race in 2019. We see that return, after two years away due to what has or had been going on with the global pandemic.
Many drivers are pulling double duty between today's 1,000 mile event and the 12 Hours of Sebring tomorrow. This is indeed the tenth anniversary season of the World Endurance Championship. It is hot and muggy out there with mixed weather through the Prologue last week and now, the race. Jacky Ickx, is the Grand Marshal, six-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and Formula 1 competitor. We welcome our commentary team of Martin Haven, Graham Goodwin, Anthony Davidson, and Louise Beckett. This track at Sebring is a car breaker. Roger Penske, Hughes de Chaunac, Jim Glickenhaus, all the heavy hitters are here.
Fans and guests on the grid and camping out. We have waited three years to come back to Sebring. We will see the #46 Project 1 Porsche start from the pit lane. The bumps are the challenge here at Sebring and always have been #RespectTheBumps. #BumpyMcBumpFace, from the Turner Motorsports team in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship that will race tomorrow. The biggest news is that every car is now fueled by TotalEnergies renewable racing fuel. So, we are looking at the competition and environmental sustainability.
In GTE-Am, Satoshi Hoshino and Tomonobu Fujii start fifth with teammate Charlie Fagg. Brendon Iribe, Ollie Milroy and Ben Barnicoat are suting up for that team. The #98 Aston Martin Vantage GT has Nicki Thiim and David Pittard. We know David Pittard from racing at the Nurburgring. A new name for the championship is eight time World Rally Champion, Sebastien Ogier, driving the #1 Richard Mille Racing Oreca in an all-French team sharing with Lilou Wadoux and Charles Milesi. He says he enjoys the track and is used to the bumps from his rallying days.
Ogier is the second most successful Sebastien in rallying, along with Sebastien Loeb. Robert Kubica, also a rally driver, is in this motor race. Ferrari, Porsche, and Corvette, for the first time ever in a quarter century, they will have a global season long campaign. The #64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R will have Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy driving. Tandy, a former factory driver for Porsche here in the WEC. The Porsche and Ferrari story will have a new challenger in their book, with the Corvette. Porsche's Alexander Salig says that the Balance of Performance in GTE Pro will be assisted. It is going to be fun and a wild ride out there.
The WEC pit lane is just out of turn 16 before the Ulmann straight. The timing line will be the regular start and finish. Time for the Star Spangled Banner. We have three P-51 Mustangs doing a flyover! Wow! You can split your driver lineups up for this race any way you wish. That will make things interesting. Another new lineup is in the #28 Jota Oreca with Ed Jones, Jonathan Aberdein, and Oliver Rasmussen. We have other teams to look out for as well. We are going to talk a lot about the LMP2 cars. Jacky Ickx goes out for a parade lap in one of the Gulf Ford GT40's, the #11 car. This was the road car of the President of Gulf Oil and he sent it out to race.
The GT40 is the first ever Hypercar to be honest. Jacky Ickx, with his six Le Mans wins is the original "Mr. Le Mans". Paul di Resta, Oliver Jarvis, and Josh Pierson will be driving one of the United Autosport LMP2's. The GT40 is a true icon. It sounds and looks fantastic. The LMP2 cars are ahead of the #7 Toyota, the reigning champions. Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley are joined by Ryo Hirakawa of Japan in that car, a highly rated Toyota protege. They line up in fourth place and the LMP2 cars are splitting up the Hypercar grid. Nicklas Nielsen in the #83 AF Corse LMP2 car. Francois Perrodo and Alessio Rovera share the car. The chrome livery is back for this team with their new LMP2 car.
Nicklas Nielsen absolutely bish, bash, boshed it in qualifying yesterday. Olivier Pla shares the #708 Glickenhaus with Romain Dumas and Ryan Briscoe. Toyota qualified fourth and seventh. Alpine are your polesitters in the #36 car with Andre Negrao, Matthieu Vaxiviere, and Matthieu Vaxiviere. This is the farewell for an Alpine LMP1 car before the cavalry arrive for Hypercar next year. Alpine and Signatech will build a Hypercar, an LMDh for 2024. Peugeot will be entering probably after the 24 Hours of Le Mans and so we have that wild creation to look forward to seeing later in the year.
Tomorrow, the 70th 12 Hours of Sebring, one of the all-time great races. Excited to bring that one to you, too. Great to have WEC back at Sebring and we are getting ready to go. We will have eight hours of clock time in this race. We will see a full formation lap and then get the motor race underway. Cristiano Massedo is the new FIA WEC Performance Director. Jacky Ickx is still the king of cool. Under one minute before the formation lap. Clear the grid, immediately. Edoardo Freitas is still the Race Director for World Endurance and now with Formula 1, too.
We are set for the formation lap as Jacky Ickx waves the green flag. Tickets for WEC at Spa started on sale this week. There will be no spectator restrictions for the 6 Hours of Spa in Belgium, the next race on the calendar. Excited for that one. We welcome Anthony Davidson to the booth, 2014 WEC Driver's Champion. One of the Porsche's still in the lane. That is the #46 Project 1 Porsche 911 RSR-19. Matteo Cairoli, Nicki Leutwiler, and Mikkel Pedersen. The Toyota hybrid drive has been moved up to a 190 kilometer per hour threshold. They can only deploy it in the first or last corner. So, they are pegged back to the level of LMP2's and they won't have their four wheel drive as much anymore.
So, that boosting situation will be something to watch. Sebring is a medium speed track. It is different from the Alpine and the Glickenhaus who do not use hybrid boost. #46 has to hustle. They do not even have tires on that car. Come on, chaps. Get ready to rumble. Speaking of rumbling, we are set now for a start of this motor race. Safety car to the lane. The Alpine and the Glickenhaus bring them down for a start. The stars and stripes fly! We're underway! Into the lead, the Alpine over the Glickenhaus. Filipe Albuquerque moves up to second right past the Glickenhaus, look.
Nicklas Nielsen the meat in the Toyota sandwich. That was a big move for both Toyota's to go around the AF Corse LMP2 car into the hairpin for the first time and here too is the United Autosport entry. 268 laps scheduled for this race to be truthful. Felipe Nasr had problems with the auto start on the Penske LMP2 car, the #5. But that is cleared up now. We can see the Glickenhaus pressing it's way past the LMP2 cars. They have lost some power and some of the aero aids. Fabio Scherer for Intereuropol, started caboose on the field. Matthieu Vaxiviere leads and they could very well dominate today. We'll see.
Now, Ben Keating is being monstered by the other two, and the Ferrari's are ahead in GTE Pro. TF Sport and AMR. Brendon Iribe has started the #56 Project 1 Inception Racing Porsche. That car is very similar in livery to the factory cars. #46 has started the race, the sister Project 1 entry. The Iron Dames #85 Ferrari is in the fight, Sarah Bovy at the wheel of it. 3.1 seconds now the gap between Matty Vaxiviere and Olivier Pla. Sebastien Buemi is zeroing in on Pla. So the Toyota's are going to be at the sharp end soon and they will be scrapping with the Glickenhaus and the Alpine, both.
Ferrari action here, look. Thomas Flohr in the #54 Am class car and Simon Mann from the United States, this is his first start in WEC competition. Mann in one of the AF Corse entries. Mann ran two years of racing in Italian GT with AF Corse. Franck Desoteux for Spirit of Race is also in this fight. The Toyota's now run third and fourth, with #8 ahead of #7. The Alpine of Vaxiviere leads the Glickenhaus of Olivier Pla at this moment by four or so seconds. This is the final year of GTE Pro racing. Next year, in WEC, there will be a new GT class and more Hypercars, too. We have more Hypercars and possibly some LMDh entries coming in but it will be hard to say.
Nick Tandy, brand new to the Corvette, he is matching the lap times of his old team at Porsche. He was a Porsche factory driver for years. Now then, we can see Matteo Cairoli gaining on and passing the #88 Dempsey Proton yellow and blue Bilstein liveried motorcar. Thomas Flohr is holding up a queue of cars and Nick Tandy reports that the Porsche's cannot get their tire temperature. Tire strategy will be a bear to judge because of mixed weather in both the Prologue and in Free Practice. Three wide. Porsche vs. a couple Ferrari's. Simon Mann, flashing the lights on Thomas Flohr. Flohr slams the door in his face.
Filipe Albuquerque now being monstered by Nicklas Nielsen. United Autosport vs. AF Corse. Nielsen's first LMP2 drive, he is flying right now. LMP2 is a whole different kettle of fish, but he is handling the pressure and showing the way. Fabio Scherer is trying to pass Stephen Thomas. Team managers for both factory Porsche's headed for Race Control. Alexander Selig will have a meeting with Edoardo Freitas. So, now, Paul Dalla Lana has passed Ben Keating. The minimum drive time is two hours and 20 minutes in GTE Am. Dalla Lana surely sold Keating the dummy there, look.
Simon Mann, he has tried to pass but he was out on the dust, out in the clag there through the hairpin and maybe he tweaked the right front corner of the Ferrari 488. Marco Sorensen and Nikki Thiim have been split up. Thiim racing for AMR and Sorensen in the #33 TF Sport entry. Sorensen sharing with KLeating and with Frenchman Florian Latorre. Paul Dalla Lana sharing #98 with David Pittard and Nikki Thiim. Matthieu Vaxiviere is slicing and dicing his way through GTE Am, proceeding with caution. Discretion the better part of valor at this time.
Eight laps now completed. Beginning to lap the backmarkers. Stay out of the pit lane and don't hit stuff. That's the deal with endurance racing. WRT has two cars with two different teams. Sean Gelael now driving for WRT. RealTeam now back with WRT with Rui Andrade at the wheel of it. He was with Algarve Pro last year. So we will have a lot to check in on here. Meanwhile, the battle continues in GTE Am as Olivier Pla now 9.2 seconds behind Matty Vaxiviere. The Alpine top speed was not an issue in 2021 but their fuel capacity was problematic. They've changed their fuel capacity but it has been a bit of Secret Squirrel about that. There's gamesmanship here in the opening race of the year.
We will be keeping a close eye on Le Mans this summer. Kevin Estre is pressing on ahead of both Gianmaria Bruni and Nick Tandy. Tandy is applying the blowtorch to the Porsche boys. Tire strategy will be a major deal. Porsche is not sure what they will do just yet. It is going to get hotter through the day. We will race a wee bit into the darkness but not full darkness I don't think. We have a clash here between a couple LMP2 cars. Jota and Ultimate. Yikes! Three into one in turn one and synchronized spinning! Jeepers creepers! That was a wild one. Matthieu Lahaye wanted to pass Roberto Gonzalez. Gonzalez gets the worst of it, and spins off.
So, we have completed ten laps out of 268 scheduled to make up the 1,000 miles. We will have to see how the hours stack up here. The incident we just saw is now under investigation by the stewards. Ed Jones and Charles Milesi are scrapping for position right now and Roberto Gonzalez is back in the race in 12th spot. The battle continues between the Porsche's and the Corvette. Kevin Estre is worried about the tire degradation of their Michelin's. We will have to see what the strategy is. The tire degradation around here at Sebring is fairly evenly distributed. So, we will have to find out who is going to have to go for new boots when pit stop time comes.
We wonder about the Porsche Race Control call. It looked clean from what we have seen in the replay. Matthieu Vaxiviere running away from the field with 12 laps on the board. He is lapping a second or so quicker than Olivier Pla who is at the wheel of the Glickenhaus of course. Long, long way to go. We are still seeing where the pace is going to go as Sebastien Buemi in the #8 Toyota is closing in on Olivier Pla in the aforementioned Glickenhaus. Toyota has to use consistency, experience, and racecraft, and we know they can do that. #8 won Spa last year over #7 saving a lap of petrol if you remember that event from last spring.
We have a 5 kilometer, 3.75 mile track we are dealing with here. The LMP2 cars will have a 19-20 lap range. Nobody on the Hypercar side is going to give the game away on their fuel mileage, whether it is Toyota, Alpine, or Glickenhaus. Porsche #92 is being reported to the stewards for creating a gap at the start of the race. The GTE field is started a wee bit behind the prototypes to avoid any demolition derby kind of stuff. We have an overtake as Paul di Resta wants to pass Nicklas Nielsen. He wants it butg Nielsen is keeping the Scotsman at bay. The Porsche's cannot overtake each other, or couldn't at the start.
But there is too large a gap between the prototypes and the GTE cars. 15 laps now run. We can see Fred Poordad making a pass on the #71 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 of Frank Dezoteux, the debuting Frenchman. It is a hot day here at Sebring today. It is 85 degrees Fahrenheit and we are looking at a daytime high of 91 degrees. So, a 29 lap stint calculated by Porsche's strategists in GTE Pro. Sebastien Buemi has brought the tires in and is chasing Olivier Pla. The deal with the Glickenhaus, is that it is a massive bear to drive. The handling on that car is going to be a big deal. The Toyota seems to handle the bumps better.
So, we have seen an off course excursion for one of the Aston Martin's while we were paying attention to the Hypercar scrap. Alpine lead Glickenhaus and Toyota as we are at the 30 minute mark. This race will go for 268 laps and we have completed 17 laps. Matthieu Vaxiviere leads Hypercar. Filipe Albuquerque leads LMP2 over Nicklas Nielsen. A change for second in GTE Pro. Nick Tandy is ahead of Gianmaria Bruni. The United Autosport LMP2 car is there and we also have the #60 Iron Lynx Ferrari currently in the hands of Italian Claudio Schiavoni. That is an all-Italian team with Giancarlo Fisichella and Matteo Cressoni.
Nico Lapierre says that as it is early doors, Matty Vaxiviere is still performing well, but traffic is a tough deal and risks may be necessary. It looks like Toyota are clawing their way back. They might be able to go a lap or two longer than the Alpine according to Nico Lapierre. Vaxiviere leads Pla by 14 seconds and an early pit stop on lap 18 for both United Autosport cars and for AF Corse and Prema. We are also seeing the Team Penske LMP2 car, the #5 Oreca. This is a full field stop. But United and Paul di Resta, WRT and Sean Gelael, and Penske and Felipe Nasr, they are saving fuel.
#28 moved too fast and the Ultimate entry had some trouble on their stop too. That is the car of Francois Heriau, Jean-Baptiste Lahaye, and Matthieu Lahaye, car #35. We have seen the Penske LMP2 in the lane and Felipe Nasr is now back out on track. Nick Tandy and Kevin Estre scrapping in GTE Pro. Tandy reeling in his old team mate, Kevin Estre. The Corvette might not be able to run as long as the Porsche. They will have to strategize their tire deal. Paul di Resta has moved past Nicklas Nielsen in LMP2. He did the overcut. Corvette will know of the stewards decisions being reported for the Porsche boys.
Corvette Racing has done the Sebring 12 Hours for at least half a century or more. Sean Gelael reeling in Charles Milesi. AF Corse lead the Pro-Am portion of LMP2. We have a tightly fought LMP2 scrap. Paul di Resta edges closer to Filipe Albuquerque. The Alpine is not pulling away from the Glickenhaus any longer. Glickenhaus are closing and fast. Oliver Rasmussen passes Sean Gelael. Rasmussen another young Danish driver, Silver rated, making his debut with Jonathan Aberdein from South Africa and Ed Jones from the UAE. D'station run third in GTE-Am with an Aston Martin 1-2-3. Sean Gelael scrapping with Matthieu Lahaye and Nicklas Nielsen. At Glickenhaus, Olivier Pla is being asked about a driver change and it sounds like he is indeed wrestling an alligator. Oh dear. We have a spin for a Porsche. Brendon Iribe loops the #56 car he shares with Ollie Milroy and Ben Barnicoat. Clipping the curb into turn 16 is how he rotated that automobile. Sarah Bovy passes. So, the Glickenhaus will be slicing through lapped traffic and the Toyota is going to be moving in.
Alpine, 23 laps on their stint and they are in the lane for service and to have Nico Lapierre take over. Buemi is balked by Miro Konopka in the #44 bright yellow ARC Bratislava car. Four laps for Alpine. Yikes. Tey need pace. That stint was way too short. They need something major. Holy cow. A safety car will kill their momentum. Alpine has to make ten more pit stops. They will be really close towards the end of the race, cutting it razor thin. Now, Glickenhaus lead in the United States! Holy mackerel. It is a virtual lead... no, it isn't. He is the leader is Olivier Pla. Wowzers. Jim Glickenhaus and the boys will be happy about that deal. Sebastien Buemi is coming in a hurry. He got stymied with the traffic through Sunset Bend earlier. Three laps to go on the Toyota stint. So it seems that the Toyota might not have the advantage we first thought.
Buemi is now right on Olivier Pla's six. Lapped traffic ahead. Down the Ulmann straight they come again. Do not pit in traffic. Use the fuel. This is not the same strategy as in F1. A swap for second place between the Aston Martin's. Ben Keating loses out to Tomonobu Fujii. Kamui Kobayashi is coming, and fast. Player/manager Kobayashi knows what he has to do after the Glickenhaus of Pla and the sister Toyota of Sebastien Buemi, he has been pushing. Nico Mulller in the Vector Sport #10 Oreca LMP2 has spun. Rockenfeller has a one-off drive sharing with Ryan Cullen.
Pit stop time at Glickenhaus. A four tire change. New Michelin boots going on that car and now, he is down and away. Romain Dumas stays in the car. He has boatloads of experience and will be able to tame the beast. Team Captain Kamui Kobayashi and Brendon Hartley both come in for Toyota. They are in the lane, in order. Buemi stays in the car. It is so hot here at Sebring. Kobayashi is good t go. Away they go, back on track. Buemi qualified fourth and the #7 Toyota qualified seventh as Alpine resumes in the lead. We need to find the Glickenhaus.
Olivier Pla is now fourth. Nico Lapierre now leads the motor race. The very first stint is always the hardest for the tires. Lapierre leads by 13 seconds over Sebastien Buemi. The pressure is indeed on Alpine to build the advantage up and up and up. Nick Tandy works the gap to the Porsche in LMP2. Gianmaria Bruni is now further behind the battle as Kevin Estre is now leading Nick Tandy. Wholesale changes in the lane for GTE Am now. Paul Dalla Lana continues to lead over Ben Keating. D'station has changed drivers and Satoshi Hoshino will actually take a double stint. We should see a ten stint race for the GTE cars.
Nick Tandy to the lane from second spot. There could have been a driver change for the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin. Rest In Peace, Phil Binks, father of longtime Corvette team boss Dan Binks who just passed away. We send our condolences. Plans were made for cooler weather but have changed now because of the heat. Pit stop time now for the #98 Aston Martin. Northwest AMR, Paul Dalla Lana out and in, David Pittard. Michael Christensen now in the #92 Porsche taking over from Kevin Estre. They will have a 15 second time penalty either now or the next stop. It is now. The factory Porsche team will be praying for a safety car.
They did not take their penalty. Oh dear! Algarve Pro spins, the #45 in the hands of Steven Thomas. Jota vs. Ultimate in LMP2. Ultimate moves up from European Le Mans Series to the World Endurance Championship. Matthieu Lahaye is the most experienced along with younger brother Jean Baptiste Lahaye and Francois Heriau. Fabio Scherer in the #34 Intereuropol car is running well. Alex Brundle came here to race but tested positive for the Coronavirus. He will be back to race at Spa. He is feeling OK but is gutted he cannot race at Sebring. Filipe Albuquerque and Paul di Resta battle each other in the two United Autosport entries.
Nicklas Nielsen remains in third spot. Paul di Resta is keeping an eye on the cars coming up to be lapped. He must be careful, but being a pro, he can manage the traffic. Northwest AMR lead TF Sport and D'station. This is for GTE Am between three Aston Martin's. Finding traffic is luck of the draw, and you just have to deal with it. That is how endurance sports car racing works. Nico Lapierre continues to lead here at Sebring. You have missed nothing at the sharp end. Lapierre leads the Glickenhaus and Romain Dumas by 21.5 seconds.
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