Again, we are under a weather warning and that has caused the second red flag in this motor race. But now, we hear that in ten minutes, we will restart the event. So, we are still going to see about 45 minutes' worth of motor racing before this deal is done and dusted. Showers are expected. We can race on full wet tires. Andre Negrao, the Brazilian for Alpine, says things might work out. Now, the rain might blow past Sebring. Josh Pierson, on standby in case of a driver change. The strategy of the team at United Autosport won't change. Five minutes before the restart. Pierson says he has gone just fine but has had a hard time with Full Course Yellows and red flags. For a 16-year-old, he is as cool as a cucumber. Restart at 7:15 with low level and then higher-level rain. Porsche may use wet weather tires. So, the 1,000 Miles of Sebring once again comes down to a 30-minute, dash for cash, win it or bin it situation just like in 2019.
This will be somewhere between a short track stock car race and a gunfight at the OK Corral. Ben Barnicoat says there is a window closing of opportunity to change the driver's door to replace the door mirror. This is racing. One minute before the formation lap to end this race. 30 seconds. The race has now resumed behind the safety car. Rain is forecast in seven minutes. The wind is blowing from the east. This will be a light, short shower. It will be kind of like slithering around on a wet floor in your shoes without galoshes. Don't get snookered on wet tires that are going to overheat if there is no moisture present on the road. 40 minutes to go and we have not even started the wave around.
This is going to be a half hour sprint. Everyone will throw caution to the wind. It is a free for all. A Formula Ford race. Quite literally, this will be an all skate. Blimey. Now, we have a couple cars pitting for emergency service. WRT #31 and ARC Bratislava #44. They were nearly dry as a bone on fuel. A splahs and a dash. The Hypercar leader is Alpine #36, in LMP2 it is United Autosport #23, GTE Pro leader is the #92 Porsche and in GTE Am, the #98 Aston Martin. No intermediate tires for LMP2. You can only choose slicks or wets.
Win it or bin it. There are big black clouds overhead. Rain is being pushed back? Nope. It could just start raining. Wait. Red flag again. Electrical storm. Lightning in the air. Could we go for a green, white, checker? We'll have to wait and see. No green, white, checker rule in FIA WEC but so what? We have had the wave around. The sun is setting, and now, the cars are stopped. Gorgeous sunset by the way. The drivers are now out of the cars. Step away from the vehicles. Fans, if you're out there at the track, please take cover. The sky looks like something out of "The Wizard of Oz".
Cars may be covered with a shower coming in. Wind speed, zero miles per hour. Watch out for the hybrid cars, like the Toyota's. Toyota will be well versed in how to take care of the car, but high wattage electrical systems and water, not good. We wait to see if this electrical storm will pass with now 25 minutes left on the board. We may not get much running left here. We have likely had the race called. The skies are getting darker. The engines have fired and the cars are going back out on track. Just over 20 minutes to go.
What will happen? We will just have to see. Anything can happen. Without the marshals and volunteers we would have no motor racing. Thank you all for making it work so that we can race. There will be just a very small window of time remaining before this race ends. Some people are prematurely celebrating. Keep your nose clean. #RespectTheBumps. We are starting to see what the storylines will be for Spa in Belgium for the next race. That will be in the first weekend of May. The circuit cameramen have been called away and it looks like we are having the drivers celebrate, the teams celebrate.
The checkered flag is out. The race is over. Alpine win!
Overall/Hypercar: #36 Negrao/Lapierre/Vaxiviere Alpine A480 Gibson
LMP2: #23 Jarvis/di Resta/Pierson United Autosports Oreca 07 Gibson
LM GTE Pro: #92 Christensen/Estre Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19
LM GTE Am: #98 Dalla Lana/Thiim/Pittard Northwest AMR Aston Martin Vantage AMR
Wind and hail at Sebring as the podium celebrations begin. So, that brings the story of the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for 2022 to a close. The next event on the FIA WEC calendar is the traditional May date, in springtime, for the 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, the first weekend in May. So, the storm has now slowed down but the race is over. A total of 194 laps completed by the winners, 725 and a half miles. Glickenhaus famously score a podium finish in third with the #708 Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH of Ryan Briscoe, Romain Dumas, and Olivier Pla.
Some impressive drives in LMP2 from young drivers like Lorenzo Colombo and Josh Pierson. There were so many great drivers in this race and so this bodes well for the 2022 FIA WEC season as it continues for five more races this season. Corvette Racing were so close but the red flag torpedoed their efforts. They had tires and Porsche had track position. In GTE Am, we had Project 1, TF Sport, and the winners, Northwest AMR. Another WEC debutant, David Pittard wins, and Paul Dalla Lana wins for the first time since the start of the "Super Season" in 2018-2019 at Spa Francorchamps. So, as the podium celebrations begin, we've got to get out of here for now.
There is another massive race tomorrow, and of course we are talking about the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 70th renewal of the great motor race for the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship. We'll see you tomorrow. So long, and take care, everybody.
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