We have officially crossed the halfway mark in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2024. Who wins the race off pit lane? It is Corvette Racing with the #3. Kyle Kirkwood and Bryan Sellers were only a lap apart but the #14 is off sequence on their pit stops, the Pro level Vasser Sullivan Lexus. There's a bright red door mirror that a pit marshal is picking up. That was clipped when the tire carrier for Paul Miller Racing runs around the front of the BMW with the tire, doing his job. James Calado clips the tire and flings the passenger side door mirror off the Ferrari, into oblivion. Blimey! That mirror is $7,000 worth of parts! He will need to especially be cautious in the hairpin at turn seven, as well as in turn ten. Calado needs to be very careful. If the mirror attaches to the door, they can and likely will replace the driver's door. Excuse me, the passenger side door.
The outside mirrors on the Ferrari and the Aston Martin specifically, jut out from the side of the body while on the BMW for instance, they align flush right with the doors. You are more vulnerable to be clipped by another car on street courses like Long Beach or Detroit. In the wind tunnel, it is found to be more aerodynamic to move the mirrors outward. But it is a real aerodynamic liability at a flat course like Sebring, or on street courses IMSA runs on such as Long Beach or Detroit as well. With the door, there is a whole lot more money. Bryan Sellers says the car is working out OK but it is different from the past for maintaining car balance.
It over activates the ABS if there is too much pressure on the brake pedal. Shrink the learning curve to nothing. The team is not sure if they need to do a brake change. Sellers just did a double stint. The brake pedal feels fine. They don't have a long brake pedal yet. Maybe they will be stretched to the end if there are these long yellows later in the race. The way the driver's use the ABS, be sensitive to the brake application. Don't bury your braking foot into the firewall. The ABS is not as efficient to optimize performance and adding too much heat in the brakes. Hot, overheated brakes will lead to brake changes.
Kyle Kirkwood and Vasser Sullivan waved off a pit stop as they are 17-18 laps into the stint. The sister #12 GT Daytona class Vasser Sullivan Lexus, Aaron Telitz at the wheel of it, came in for service. The team is also studying the lefthand corner on the front of the car. There is a 2–3-inch hole below the headlight because of the dive plane that had to be removed from the front of the car. That is a dive plane too, that came out of the nose of the #01 Ganassi Racing Cadillac. The nose did not get too damaged. They might be OK.
Just make sure the bodywork does not lift up at high speed. Get out the Bear Bond, the real strong duct tape. There will be much more bumping and boring throughout the race. We will hear soon from Leigh Diffey and Calvin Fish, as the broadcast teams change in and out just like the driver's do. When we get back to green, here is what the GTP top ten will look like. Pole man Pipo Derani in the #31 Whelen Engineering Action Express Cadillac leads ahead of Ricky Taylor in the #10 WTR Andretti Konica Minolta Acura. In third, Felipe Nasr in the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963. Fourth place is held by Sebastien Bourdais in the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac. Rounding out the top five is the sister WTR Andretti Acura, the #40 car in the hands of Louis Deletraz.
Here is sixth through tenth in class. Connor De Philippi is sixth in the #25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8. The sister car is next in line, the #24 BMW with Philipp Eng at the wheel of it. Julien Andlauer is eighth in the #5 Mustang Sampling Proton Competition Porsche 963. Matteo Cairoli is in ninth in the new #63 Lamborghini SC63 for Lamborghini Iron Lynx. Rounding out the top ten is the fourth Porsche 963 in the race, the #85 JDC-Miller Motorsports "banana boat" entry currently with Phil Hanson at the controls.
The dash for the cash towards the end will be wild and we anticipate that. Many drivers aggressively looking for track position. Matteo Cairoli at the controls of the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini, currently. BMW M Motorsports, they have officially licensed Lego sets of two of their cars. There is a Lego BMW M Hybrid V8 GTP car and a Lego BMW M4 GT3 factory race car. I don't know yet if they are available in the United States. They will be soon. But they are surely available in Europe already. So, European BMW fans, check those out.
There is an endurance edition that has lights on it. There is also a Porsche 963 version I believe. I need to check the pricing on those Lego car kits. Everyone is warming up tires and brakes and we are looking forward to a restart. Expect the unexpected in endurance sports car racing. Pipo Derani remains in the lead of the motor race. No love lost between the #31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac team and the #10 WTR Andretti Acura team. A lot of history, passion, feeling, competition. Green flag! Away we go, again!
Derani getting the tires up to temperature. Taylor defending over the Porsche of Nasr and here comes Bourdais! This is a fair fight at the top of the shop! Deletraz is also right within striking distance! Taylor locks up and Sebastien Bourdais needs no second invitation to move ahead! The GTP restart is hot! What will we see in the final hour? Everyone is up on the wheel! The BMW's of De Philippi and Eng are also right in the fight as well, look. Derani extending his lead over Nasr and Bourdais. More brake lockup on the #10 Acura of Ricky Taylor and this allows Sebastien Bourdais to move back by!
No grip for Taylor under braking. Now, the #10 and #40 are running right together, furiously weaving to put heat and grip into their tires. Get the tires clean, working the brake against the throttle to generate tire temperature. Pipo Derani has a clear road. Wow! A massively wide line from the #5 Mustang Sampling, Proton Competition Porsche 963! Julien Andlauer with a power move on Philipp Eng! Holy cow! Meanwhile, in GTD Pro, the lead scrap resumes with Laurin Heinrich in the #77 "Rexy" the dinosaur liveried Porsche all over the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Kyle Kirkwood, like a cheap suit!
The sister #12 Lexus at Vasser Sullivan is trundling through the lane paying it's penalty for for the incident of the unsafe release between it and the #01 Ganassi Cadillac as Kyle Kirkwood is really defending from Heinrich. Heinrich is beginning to turn it on, and we'll see how Kyle Kirkwood can work out a way to keep his lead. Oh boy! This is dodgy! Kirkwood knows he is there and he says, "Laurin, not now, sunbeam." Wisely, Kirkwood gives him space. But in the process he has fallen straight into the clutches of the #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 with Mirko Bortolotti at the controls.
Bortolotti right on Kirkwood's six! Oh my gosh! No dice. Discretion is the better part of valor there. This phase of the race, he recognizes "Rexy" was literally chomping at his tail. Don't feed the dinosaur. Now, Russell Ward is giving the #3 factory Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Daniel Juncadella a tough run for his money. We saw James Calado also almost lose control of the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari! My heavens! These boys and girls in the GT classes are out for blood today! Settle down. Settle down. Calado like a supercross motorcycle rider! Unbelievable!
Trouble in paradise now for the #4 Chevrolet Corvette, going off the road and indulging in a wee bit of rallycross on the grass. Earl Bamber off track, but again, back on with no obvious damage to the automobile. It is so difficult to coexist in turn ten, Cunningham Corner I believe. Collier Corner, I believe. If you are on Peacock, switch out of part one of the broadcast, and switch into part two. Or, if you are on regular television, change the channel over to the USA Network to watch the rest of this thrilling motor race. We'll see you over there, in mere moments.
Sebring is spring break for adults who love motor racing and sports car racing. We are racing from daylight into the darkness. A wartime airfield turned into a fabulous racetrack. The rock stars are the drivers. The music is the varied engine notes of these wonderful prototype and GT production sports cars, and the rock stars providing the mechanical music are the drivers of these marvelous machines. Grab the stopwatch and reset your countdown on the stopwatch to five hours and change remaining. We have plenty more racing left.
So, the current class leaders include Pipo Derani for Action Express Racing and Cadillac in GTP, Jakub Smiechowski for Inter Europol by PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports in LMP2, Laurin Heinrich for AO Racing in GTD Pro and Russell Ward for Winward Racing in GTD. Pipo Derani and Action Express Cadillac Racing started on pole and have been out front for the majority of the day thus far, after starting the motor race from the pole. Pipo Derani has four overall victories here at the 12 Hours of Sebring, tying him with a couple of legendary Audi drivers Frank Biela and Allan McNish. When you get to the big races, the superstars of our sport step up to the plate.
He has something special does Pipo Derani at this racetrack. These new hybrid GTP cars with 670 horsepower and 180+ mile an hour top speed, they are monsters. We are also looking at a highly competitive LMP2 field with their Oreca and Ligier chassis' along with their 4.2 liter naturally aspirated V8 motors producing 500 brake horsepower and built by Gibson Technologies in England. These cars have as much speed as a GTP car at 190+ miles an hour. The class leader is the #11 TDS Racing entry with current driver, Hunter McElrea of Australia, sharing with American Steven Thomas, and with Danish driver Mikkel Jensen.
Today alone we have seen multiple leaders in LMP2. Hunter McElrea is the leading driver. In GTD Pro, we are looking at the production cars. Grand Touring Daytona Pro is the full class description. These are cars built to the FIA GT3 specifications from a varied number of manufacturers and models from leading brands from America, Europe, and Japan. 550 brake horsepower produced by their varied engines with many configurations, and a top trap speed of 175 miles an hour so. Currently leading the class, "Rexy" the dinosaur, the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3R of Laurin Heinrich, Michael Christensen, and Sebastian Priaulx.
The #77 is liveried like a tyrannosaurus Rex. Everyone has been up on the wheel. The GT Daytona class is one that has identical specs to GTD Pro but the drivers are of a different rating. That is the sole difference. Nothing mechanically different with the cars that I just mentioned, with the same top brands from North America, Europe, and Japan, competing against each other. Currently leading the class is the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 with American driver Russell Ward at the wheel, sharing with Dutchman Indy Dontje and with Swiss domiciled and licensed German driver, Philip Ellis.
They actually lost pole in post-qualifying scrutineering, but they are back on the button having also won in class earlier in the year at the Rolex 24. We have Leigh Diffey, Calvin Fish, and Townsend Bell in the broadcast booth of course, as we race from daytime to dark. Some endurance races are six hours. We still have half the race left. Protect the bodywork, focus on the setup, make high percentage moves on your competitors. But remember, this is Sebring, a one-of-a-kind motor race. This is Burning Man meeting and Iron Man competition.
Pipo Derani has a great record here and has the lead of the motor race. He is the current GTP champion with four wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and he won the 2020 sprint race here during the pandemic era. Derani is going for five wins. He has brutal speed, or he can survive late race chaos like Action Express did last year. Other GTP contenders, we look at Porsche Penske Motorsports, the winners of the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January. They are in survival mode. Felipe Nasr is driving. Ricky Taylor is also hanging in there in the #10 WTR Andretti Acura GTP car. So, the GTP battle is far from over.
For 72 years, the fans of sports car racing have come to camp here. It is a melting pot of generations, a saloon with a rooster, a fish tank, the crowd is loving all of it. This is a motorsport festival. At the front, Felipe Nasr has taken the race lead in the #7 Porsche 963 away from Pipo Derani in the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V Series.R. These two are former teammates at Action Express, and may still be good friends off the track, but definite rivals on it.
Porsche have had quite the start to the year both here in the states and abroad in the World Endurance Championship. Nasr misses the apex in turn 14. Porsche are strong on the restart but towards the end of the stint, the tires fall off and the Cadillac manages it's tires better. There is not a racing entity in the world currently with the strength of Penske Motorpsort between IndyCar, NASCAR, IMSA, and FIA World Endurance. You could argue Red Bull in Formula 1. But they focus exclusively on Formula 1. They don't have cars in four different championships like Penske does between IndyCar, NASCAR, IMSA, and FIA World Endurance.
The top five GTP cars right there in the frame. Nasr, Derani, Bourdais, Taylor, Deletraz. Porsche, Cadillac, Cadillac, Acura, Acura. Let's revisit the keys to victory that we talked about before the race began. Manage the body blows. Contact, with other cars, can take your right out of the event. Minimize the contact. You must be cautious. It's hot. Don't melt down, in terms of losing your cool behind the wheel, or having a mechanical problem on the car. Keep things in perspective. The driver will be screaming to the team manager on the radio, "the car is undrivable! This isn't working!" The manager will come back and say, "well, something must be working because you are the fastest driver in the race."
Get ready to fight when we get to the darkness hours. Psych yourself up, and work on setup for the car in anticipation of the cooler temperatures and the nighttime conditions. The #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 is in the pit lane and there will be routine service along with a driver change. Kyle Kirkwood finishes his stint and now, it looks like Jack Hawksworth will indeed get back into the car. Jack Hawksworth adjusts things in the cockpit waiting on the fueled and now, Hawksworth is down and away. One car that has dropped out of contention is the #85 JDC-Miller Motorsports customer Porsche 963.
They have legitimately run in the top five but 15 minutes ago, they lost power. They might be able to get back in the race, but it could also be game over for the "banana boat". They topped one of the time sheets in Free Practice earlier in the weekend. The customer Porsche's are giving the factory Penske cars a run for their money. Currently we have Nasr, Derani, and Bourdais, the top three. Porsche, Cadillac, Cadillac. Bourdais will certainly try going for it. The Penske Porsche's on longer stints, longer runs, might struggle for grip where the Cadillac's are improving.
Felipe Nasr won the British Formula 3 Championship and he raced with Mike Shank Racing in a second car before it was Meyer Shank Racing, then he went to Formula 1 as a reserve and test driver for Williams, and then, went to Sauber, where he was teammates with current IndyCar driver and Indianapolis 500 champion in 2022, Marcus Ericsson. Then, his career path brought him full-time to sports cars for many years and he is now a full-fledged Porsche Penske driver, a factory Porsche driver. His ex-teammate and former co-champion, Pipo Derani is chasing him down.
What is it like to race against a friend? We're about to find out. Nothing has changed but it is getting spicy! Pipo Derani all over Felipe Nasr. When you are racing a pal, the deal is, I don't think Pipo Derani and Felipe Nasr were friends, but they had to form a bond when they won a championship a few years ago for Action Express Racing. Our mate Calvin Fish, he tells the story of teammate and pal, Tommy Byrne from Ireland. You would not race a true friend in a dirty manner. But you still put your elbows out on track. This is the 12 Hours of Sebring, though. I will pass. Friendships are out. There's a lot of competition.
We have to change the topic. In all fairness, people who you might think are your buddies on the track, they can tuck you up like a kipper if you are not careful. This is an intense battle both for the lead and for the rest of the top places in GTP! Derani has a run, on Nasr who slides in front of the #86 GT Daytona Porsche 911 GT3R! That is the often-mentioned MDK Motorsports Porsche 911! Nasr uses the #86 as a pick! Nasr forces his way through the GT traffic. Don't get caught in the angst with the GT cars in the way. Derani has the speed. The rivalry with Nasr in the Porsche is far more difficult to deal with.
You need a coach on the radio like Action Express has with both Peter Baron and Gary Nelson talking you through the situation. Pipo Derani is not afraid to make a massive power move if he needs to. Meanwhile, Sebastien Bourdais under pressure from Ricky Taylor. Plus, we still have the sister Acura of Louis Deletraz in the fight. Additionally, there is a massive spin that has kicked up a lot of dust, and that is the #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 in GT Daytona! Roberto Lacorte takes it off the road through turn 16 and down the Ulmann straightaway!
Cetilar won this race in GTD a couple of years ago. Louis Deletraz is treading carefully behind teammate Ricky Taylor, the son of the boss, Wayne Taylor. There's a big screech of tires down through Sunset Bend, and that is the #8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 car that has spun off. That is Michael Dinan, who had a massive incident earlier in the day. The green flag remains out as Derani is still slicing through the field and flashing the lights to the traffic ahead. Meanwhile, Nasr, too, has hit this clump of traffic. There are GTD cars everywhere through turn three! Blimey! The leaders are bottled up in this GTD traffic and meanwhile, we see the #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca rotate, again.
Michael Dinan has the car fired up again but must do a multi-point turn to get back on his way. He is right at pit entry, thankfully. So, the team will be able to service the car when he gets into the lane. In Sunset Bend, accelerating over the bumps, Dinan has the car snap away from him under power. Is the car perfectly aligned, or not. Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani are through the traffic. The tire stint advantage goes to Cadillac. Derani right on his gearbox. The beauty of sports car racing is all these different mechanical combinations, as I have explained.
You have a 4.6-liter twin turbocharged V8 Porsche vs. a 5.5 liter naturally aspirated V8 Cadillac. They look, sound, and drive differently, but they are fighting each other for the overall honors at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Nasr and Derani are still at it. We are closing in on the end of another racing hour as the lead battle is hot right now with the cars low on energy in GTP. Nasr picking the right time to pass the slower GT cars. Pipo Derani is pacing himself but will also go for it if he needs to. This will be a great battle to the end. ;
Last year, the Porsche's were nowhere at this point in the race. But now, they really have found something. Teams, drivers, and manufacturers, still trying to understand these cars. THe battles in the other classes are far more spread out. The pressure is truly on at the top of the shop in the premier class. At Lexus and Vasser Sullivan, they have depth, and they have backup crew members for tire changers and tire handlers. If they are hurt, there is a reserve crew member, just like substitute players on a football team for example.
The choreography of the pit stop is always practiced. Porsche Penske are in the pit lane, for the #7 team. Tires changed; fuel added to the tank. That was a 41 second stop for scrubbed Michelin's and Felipe Nasr will do a double stint. Everything on every team is extremely well orchestrated, but especially at Team Penske. Now, the #31 Action Express Cadillac is in the pit lane. Pipo Derani coming into the pit lane, now. Tires changed, and fuel added. Don't worry. Everyone is dealing with the same issues. The focus for everyone is how the car will be in the darkness in the final hour and 45 minutes of this race. Pipo Derani going for win number five. Felipe Nase is in traffic. Derani on cold tires. He is ahead of Nasr, doing the overcut. Good work from Cadillac Racing and Action Express on that strategy.
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