12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 11

Final two hours of the season.  So, the #77 Mazda of Olivier Pla has just exstended his lead.  GTLM pit stops for Porsche and the #912 Earl Bamber, Laurens Vanthoor, Neel Jani car.  The Mazda is very fast although the suspension compliance is really a bugaboo on that car.  The Mazda is the most stiffly sprung DPi car.  The Acura's and the Cadillac's are far more compliant over these bumps.  It grabs the race track with the bumps.  Olivier Pla is still leading overall.  Alessandro Balzan and Patrick Long have passed Matt McMurry, but, McMurry and company don't have to win the race. They could win the championship on a tie breaker.  Farnbacher and McMurry still lead GTD points.  

The #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche is in the lane, and Jan Heylen is going to take the car to the end of the motor race.  They don't have to win, but they might just go for it, trying to run down the #63 WeatherTech Ferrari.  The championship has swung back in the favor of the #7 Acura.  Helio Castroneves is finished with Team Penske after this race is over.  They are up by one over Wayne Taylor Racing, and Action Express remains third.  Porsche has to muster up pace to push to catch the BMW.  Renger van der Zande is going to finish the race for the #10 Cadillac, going for a championship, replacing Scott Dixon in the car.

They are five laps down, and just push the car for the love of driving the thing.  An hour and 40 minutes to go.  Anything can happen.  BMW #24 has another pit stop.  Krohn/Edwards/Farfus had troubles earlier going through a brake change.  MSR makes a pit stop and Mario Farnbacher looks like he will finish this race.  Matt McMurry, he won an LMP2 championship in 2019.  Now, he is looking for a GTD title and is an engineer for Honda.  Mario Farnbacher back on track.  Bruno Spengler has another pit stop now and Connor De Philippi, I believe, has gotten back into the automobile for the finish.  We have just over an hour and a half to run in the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Cadillac #31 is in the lane for service.  There's been a lot of pushing and shoving between drivers in this race, because of the prestige of this motor race, championships, and drivers who are looking for drives for the 2021 season.  We have seen a pit stop for the #63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari.  Ah.  What else has been happening?  Not too much at this late stage.  Drivers and teams are just trying to get to the finish and we do have champions to crown yet this evening.  Let's take a ride to the checkered flag.  In DPi and GTD, we are still going to see where things are.

Olivier Pla has been a spectacular driver this evening.  He is suited to high downforce sports cars.  He did well as a Ford factory driver in Europe with Chip Ganassi.  But, he is even more suited to a DPi, a prototype car.  Dave Price, who has run very well in open wheel and sports car racing, Pla raced Ryan Briscoe, Robert Kubica, and Nico Rosberg in Formula 3.  Pla was touted to be wildly fast.  David Price said that Pla was going to be a hot shoe and he sure was.  Still is.  Helio Castroneves, in his final run for Team Penske, Ricky Taylor gets into the car.  An hour and a half left on the board.

Penske won four out of five races in rcent time.  Their #7 car has recovered quite a bit.  They are potential championship winners.  But there is still an hour and 27 minutes remaining.  This race was delayed some 34 weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The motor racing community has lost Jim Pace, a winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Rolex 24, in 1996.  He was headed for being a doctor but wanted to race.  He was from Monticello, Mississippi.  He shared a podium with his brother Will, at the Rolex 24.  Jim Pace, passes away, from the Coronavirus, at age 59.  Jim, pal, we will miss you.  Rest In Peace.

Mazda #77 is in the pit lane.  Olivier Pla and Jonathan Bomarito run 1-2 for Mazda with an hour and 20 minutes left.  The #77 car had a full service.  Oliver Jarvis is going to finish this race.  The #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac has pitted, and Sebastien Bourdais is now in the car, replacing Loic Duval before the end of the race.  Mazda #55 is in the lane now, and Harry Tincknell will finish the race replacing Jonathan Bomarito.  The manufacturer's battle in DPi is going to be between Acura and Cadillac.  So much pressure on drivers who come in as third wheels for the teams in these endurance races.

Pipo Derani is not ready to speak about this incident yet that he was involved in with Juan Pablo Montoya.  Juan Pablo Montoya is surprised because they wer saving fuel and knew the #31 car was there, and he blames Pipo Derani for being impatient.  Montoya says that he is not sure which part of the car was affected, but they still have a good amount of speed.  Montoya is philosophical.  Lawson Aschenbach has passed Alessandro Balzan, and the #5 Cadillac is back in the lane to fix a flat tire and replace bodywork after damage with a Porsche.

JDC-Miller Motorsports had been running third, after contact with a Porsche.  An hour and six minutes to go as the #10 Cadillac of Renger van der Zande pits for tires and fuel, one point behind the #7 Acura.  A tap as Sebastien Bourdais made the move from turns 14-16 and he gets biffed by Earl Bamber who thought Bourdais was going to mash the gas, and he didn't, so, contact.  One hour and five minutes to go, and the two championships left to be won are separated by a single point.  Audi #30 in the lane for a driver change, which could be their final driver change of the evennt here at Sebring, and likely will be.

Mazda #55 is chasing Cadillac #10.  We have seen battles in the GTD class as well especially between Acura and Ferrari.

12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 10

Let me correct myself.  Mario Andretti's Sebring wins came in 1967 and '70.  One with Ford and one with Ferrari.  Robby Foley is off the road in the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3.  He lost the rear end and spun in turn three.  The exhaust is glowing bright orange even under the bonnet.  Foley is now back on the road and we stay clean and green.  Lamborghini #11 is in the pit lane fopr service.  This is the car we've mentioned quite a lot today, the Heistand/Schothorst/Perera entry.  We also watch the Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini, car #48.  The Turner Motorsports BMW has made it back to pit lane, and there will be a driver change or so it appears.  Robby Foley out and either Dillon Machavern or Nick Yelloly into the car.  

The championship battle is still down to the #7 and the #31 as well as the #10.  We are closing in on the normal time span of a sprint race, at 2 hours and 40 minutes.  Porsche #912 into the pit lane.  Laurens Vanthoor had the damage and are they going to clip the fender on?  Yes.  The Porsche might be a padiddle, a car with one working headlight.  It may not need the other headlight.  Like The Wallflowers sang, "we can drive it home, with one headlight."  We do ride onboard, around Sebring with the #912 Porsche.  Yours truly just ate dinner and there has been a lot going on.  Porsche has pitted.  Corvette has had more trouble with their wheels on the #3 car.  

We have seen a battle in GT Daytona.  We saw the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW spin and we saw the #86 MSR Acura battling with the #48 and #16 cars.  We saw the Heart of Racing Aston Martin in the fight.  More importantly, more recently, we have seen contact, again, between the #6 and the #31 and Derani has damage to the steering.  Maybe a rod end was broken.  So the pit crew is working on the car and they have dropped a fastener.  This is going to be iffy.  We see a lead change as the #86 Acura has gone around the #63 Ferrari, Matt McMurry passes Alessandro Balzan.

Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry are just ahead of Patrick Long and Ryan Hardwick for the championship in GTD.  Yours truly is a bit confused about what has happened in some of the other classes, with this overall lead battle taking a lot of attention.  The #86 Acura of Matt McMurry is fending off a challenge from Alessandro Balzan.  The #31 is two laps behind now.  So much is happening.  For the #31, they have a long road to hoe as the steering arm, hopefully will work out.  Olivier Pla has gapped Harry Tincknell.  

Simon Pagenaud was really pushing and had an over 3 second lead.  Juan Pablo Montoya was not comfortable in the automobile.  Montoya is in the car.  The #10 Scott Dixon driven WTR Cadillac is in the car and now, Helio Castroneves is getting into the #7 Acura.  He is looking for his first ever championship, is the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner.  Just over two hours to go in the race and the season.  Drive through penalty for the #31 for working on the car while refueling.  Mazda have just pitted the #77 car as well.

Balzan and McMurry continue to scrap for the GT Daytona lead.  We are getting to the end of the tenth hour.  Patrick Long has won a lot of race and is a very cerebral driver.  He needs to win, but how will he do so?  Can he leapfrog the other cars?  Can he do so in pit lane?  So, Jonathan Bomarito and Olivier Pla lead for Mazda.  Balzan and McMurry are really pushing each other for the GTD lead.  Balzan is going to turn under in turn one.  Contact.  Contact again!  Balzan moves past McMurry.  Patrick Long is right in this fight as well, look. 

12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 9

Other GT cars are also taking routine srervice.  It is hard to tell who with the darkness and the headlights piercing the gloom.  We are 2/3rds of the way home here at the 68th 12 Hours of Sebring as the #63 GT Daytona class leading Ferrari pits.  Jeff Westphal is in the car and takes over from Alessandro Balzan.  Alexander Rossi is in the #7 car.  They are still in the championship fight.  Corvette #3 into the pit lane and Jordan Taylor will take over from Antonio Garcia.  Night is much harder here at Sebring because it is harder to see.  There is more space at Sebring than at Road Atlanta.  Both are really tough.  The Porsche and BMW battle in GTLM has been amazing today.  The #48 Lamborghini is in pit lane.

They have clinched the Michelin Endurance Cup in GT Daytona.  Everything in this motor race is still in play.  Cadillac #85 is in the pit lane, the Leist/Simpson/Andrews car.  It is a routine stop for fuel and tires and no driver change.  We also watch the beleaguered #4 Chevrolet Corvette continuing to hang in there.  You just never give up in one of these endurance races.  Again, it is the end of an era for Corvette as Oliver Gavin steps away from full-time driving.  Gavin is not sure he will be back even for the endurance races next year.

He is back in the car, maybe for his final stints as a top driver.  Alexander Rossi brings the #7 Acura into the pit lane and he is back on track.  Cadillac #10 is in the pit lane, for service, five laps down.  They are still in the fight for the championship along with Penske and Action Express.  With three hours and 45 minutes on the board, still, anything can happen.  Penske Acura #6 in the lane for service and Simon Pagenaud will stay in the car for the time being.  Tommy Milner is appreciative of his team mate and will let Oliver Gavin have a good time.  It is about Oliver and letting him have a good time in his final driving stint.

Porsche #911 pits.  Mario Andretti is one of the great drivers, the Grand Marshal, who won three overall races and once in class.  Sebring has the darkest lap in all of racing.  50 years ago, Peter Revson, co-driving with Steve McQueen, battled hard with Mario Andretti, as Mario broke down with two hours to go.  Mario's car was not in good shape.  Revson took the lead with half an hour to go.  In a last ditch effort, Mario was put into the surviving Ferrari after his car broke.  Revson looked to hold on, but Mario absolutely flew to victory.  He took motivation from hearing Steve McQueen's name on the P.A., winning, (Mario), by 23 seconds.

He drove out of his skin, 50 years ago.  Meantime, yellow number eight and poor Oliver Gavin has slammed the wall in turn 17 at Sunset Bend.  He spun and it seems like there was a suspension failure on the car.  The rear end of the car is cattywampus and he will need a flat tow.  It is game over for a legend.  Again, we are under Full Course Yellow.  The pits will open for prototypes as we are in the eighth Full Course Yellow.  The #5 Cadillac is still leading, Tristan Vautier at the controls.  The DPi leaders are all in the lane.  Tristan Vautier will stay in the #5 car.  We also see pit work for the #31 Whelen Cadillac.  Pipo Derani takes over from Felipe Nasr.

The #4 Corvettre is being taken off the rollback and is in the garage.  Again, we are under Full Course Yellow, headlights, piercing the gloom here at Sebring in the pitch darkness of a sweltering, steamy, central Florida Saturday evening.  The GTLM and GTD cars will hit the pit lane in a moment.  BMW leads in GTLM while Mercedes does so in GTD.  Augusto Farfus leads GTLM and Lawson Aschenbach pits from the lead in GTD.  Aschenbach out and itn looks like another driver into the car.  No driver changes for either of the BMW's.  

Simon Pagenaud wins the race off pit lane with Pipo Derani second.  The Corvette team is still moving their #4 entry into the garage.  Now, it is going to be a barn burner to the end as we are going to see a battle between the #6 Acura and the #31 Cadillac.  We are back to green flag racing.  Simon Pagenaud leads the race.  The #5 Cadillac of Tristan Vautier is still in the fight as well.  It is a sea of bright white lights.  The fuel burning on downshifts turn the flame blue as the cars wriggle their way through the esses, that flame, is on the sole remaining Corvette C8.R in this motor race.

Game over for the #4 Corvette C8.R.  Gavin says that the car wasn't quite right and he was getting up to speed, the car wiggled at Sunset Bend, and lost the rear end of the car and it swapped ends.  The left rear suspension failed and the mechanics are fixing it.  Never give up.  That's the whole deal.  In GT Daytona, Andrew Davis is leading the motor race in class for the #30 Hardpoint Audi team.  Intense battles continue in the GT Daytona class.  For the first time, Sebring is the championship decider.  Again, it is Acura Team Penske, Action Express, and Wayne Taylor Racing, who are pushing hard for the championship.

Simon Pagenaud is still leading, and is the fly in the ointment for Pipo Derani at the moment.  Corvette and BMW still battle in GTLM and in GT Daytona, the #86 Acura might be in the pound seats to win back-to-back championships.  We have just a shade over three hours left on the board here at Sebring and in the 2020 IMSA season.  The battle in GT Daytona remains red hot.  It's GRT Grasser and their Lamborghini vs. Wright Motorsports and their Porsche with the MSR Acura at the head of that queue.  Simon Pagenaud continues to lead the motor race, and has gapped Pipo Derani by two seconds.  The gap is extending right now.

Loic Duval, Sebastien Bourdais, and Tristan Vautier are third right now in thr gray #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac.  Laurens Vanthoor makes contact with Corvette #3.  Bang.  Thatnis damage for the Porsche, although Vanthoor has lost a fender.  They are designed to snap on and snap off with clips on the inside.  The team has asked Laurens Vanthoor to stay out to put them in their fuel window.  The battle in GTLM is intense.  Porsche runs fourth and fivfth behind BMW and the leading, sole remaining Corvette.

12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 8

We go onboard for the time being wit the #74 Mercedes and now watch, in the lead, the #5 Mustang Sampling Cadillac for JDC-Miller Motorsports.  The #3 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R is in the pit lane for scheduled service.  These boys are the championship winning team in the GT Le Mans class in the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech Championship.  Sebastien Bourdais leads Olivier Pla by 6.5 seconds.  Simon Trummer leads LMP2 over Patrick Byrne in the #38 Performance Tech Motorsports car.  They may stay in LMP2 or go to LMP3 next year.  David Heinemeier Hanson is third in class.  Tommy Milner, in the #4 Corvette C8.R, his team mate, Oliver Gavin, has had a great run, and is the most successful driver in Corvette Racing history.  It is his final full-time drive.

A banner under the bridge at Sunset Bend, that says Thanks For The Memories, Ollie.  Thanks for the memories indeed, Oliver.  The IMSA paddock won't be the same without you, buddy.  Sebastien Bourdais has done his stint and he needs to cool off after a mega sized stint.  Tristan Vautier is in the #5 Cadillac, the Mustang Sampling car, leading the motor race.  The drivers are spent after their stints because of the heat and humidity at Sebring Raceway.  Physically, Sebastien Bourdais says he is in good shape.  Bourdais won here at Sebring in 2014.  In GT Le Mans, the fight continues.  Nick Tandy and Connor De Philippi stil are pushing.  Meantime, we watch a replay of all this unfolding.  This is indeed a replay of what we saw earlier.

Nothing has been decided yet for the championship in DPi.  One point separates the #7 Acura and the #10 Cadillac, and six points back to the #31 Cadillac.  The sun is beginning to fade, beginning to set, giving the iconic corner at Sebring, Sunset Bend, it's name.  Mazda's are running second and fourth.  We have Tristan Nunez in the #77 and Harry Tincknell in the #55 car.  Harry Tincknell and Jonathan Bomarito are running well.  Their summer was iffy, but lately, they've shown a lot of promise.  Pit stop time for the #85 JDC-Miller Cadillac, "The Banana Boat".  It exits the pit lane and is back on track.

Tristan Nunez aboard the #77 Mazda is second in the running ordwer behind Tristan Vautier.  Stay fl,at through turn one.  Ease off the throttle through to turn two.  There is a Corvette in the way, and now through the eses.  That's the first half of the lap anyway.  Now, we move to the outside of thre Acura NSX GT3 into the The Tower Turn.  Onto the back straight, the Ulmann Straight, and then into the finnal corner in Sunset Bend.  We see the #7 Acura for Team Penske in the lane.  Helio Castroneves out, and Alexander Rossi into the car.  They are back in the fight.

Rossi is now at the wheel of the #7 Acura and they are going for a championship.  The lights are on, and this is going to be a long night as the darkness is coming.  Four hours and 20 minutes left on the board.  During the commercial, we saw Harry Tincknell give a swipe to Lawson Aschenbach in the #74 Riley Motorsports Mercedes.  Thump.  He didn't realize that the Mazda was there.  Yellow headlights on the GT Daytona cars but white on the prototypes and the GT Le Mans cars.  Felipe Nasr is pushing for the top three.  Nasr wants to pass.  

Night has come, with four hours and 15 minutes left on the board.  Pipo Derani says this race is crazy and the Action Express team, are focused on winning the race, and possibly the championship.  Penske and Wayne Taylor Racing still have a chance to win as well.  It is not over yet.  It is now totally dark at Sebring.  Pitch dark, everywhere.  Felipe Nasr pits the #31 Whelen Cadillac.  The temperature and humidity have been a factor today.  It's still hot and no rain.  The humidity will hang in the air.

The #74 Riley Motorsports Mercedes is also in pit lane.  They could contend in GT Daytona and so will the #86 MSR Acura.  Mario Farnbacher is in the car again now.  We are eight hours now into this motor race with just about four lewft to run.  We see the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin in the lane for service. 

12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 7

TThe fierce battles in GT Daytona, continue.  The same in GTLM.  Corvette #3 gets tangled up with an LMP2 car, the #52 PR1/Mathiasen car.  The #3 car ca, in for new tires.  Nicky Catsburg gets tipped by Patrick Kelly.  Catsburg did not want to give up a place to a car that he wasn't even racing again, and there was almost a collision with the sister #4 Corvette C8.R, Marcel Fassler at the controls.  Full Course Yellow.  No suspension damage to the #3 Corvette C8.R.  Half the race is gone, and the championships are going to come down to the wire.  A lot has gone down in these opening six odd hours.  It sounds like the #7 Acura might be in the fight once again.  We are now back to green.  Mattheus Leist pits the #85 Cadillac as Scott Dixon is being hounded by both Penske Acura's.  Juan Pablo Montoya takes the lead of the motor race.

The surprise of this weekend has been the #5 Mustang Sampling JDC-Miller Cadillac for Sebastien Bourdais, Loic Duval, and Tristan Vautier.  Scott Dixon heads for the pit lane in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Konica Minolta Cadillac.  In GT Daytona, it is a fair fight between Jan Heylen and Corey Lewis in the esses.  Keep digging.  Keep pushing.  Wright Motorsports has not won a race this year, if there was a win count back.  But, the battle is on the road at the moment, look.  Third, is the #63 Scuderia Corsa WeatherTech Ferrari.  

We have just an hour of daylight left, before the darkness falls here at Sebring.  Championships are on the line.  This is going to be a wild race and it still isn't over.  We continue to watch the scrap in GT Daytona.  A drive through penalty has been announced for the #10 Cadillac for passing under yellow.  Renger van der Zande is in the #10 Cadillac.  In GT Daytona, meantime, we see Marc Miller ahead of the GRT Grasser Lamborghini.  But these are not the class leaders.  Corey Lewis, Jan Heylen, and Jeff Westphal, they are the top three in GT Daytona.

Scott Dixon says that he went through a hellish double stint.  There was no way for the #77 Mazda to take the corner, and Dixon got clag all over his tires.  He does not believe it was the fault of the WTR team.  We watch a scrap between the two Mazda's, #55 and #77.  No air conditioning in the #10 Cadillac either.  A pass for position as Gabby Chaves moves around Juan Pablo Montoya.  Dixon is boiling physically, because of losing a cool suit and having the air conditioning not working.  Corey Lewis got loose and Jan Heylen has moved to the lead.  The GT Daytona points between Meyer Shank Racing and Wright Motorsports, are now tied.

Sebastien Bourdais is the overall race leader at this juncture.  The sunlight is beginning to fade.  The championships are on the line, and it's incredible to see Sebring as the finale, as it is already a blue ribbon event of sports car endurance racing.  Nick Tandy is still leading the motor race in GT Le Mans.  This is their final fling before taking their leave for a good while or so it seems.  The works Porsche team has been around since 2014.  They are based in Rock Hill, South Carolina.  Their livery is beautiful and is called Red, White, and Thank You.  

Connor De Philippi has been a bit miffed with Nick Tandy.  Cadillac #31 in the lane.  A driver changes, and it seems Felipe Nasr will replace Gabby Chaves in the car.  Felipe Nasr is also an avid fisherman.  The shadows lengthen, easing into a central Florida evening.  In the darkness, this motor race will come alive.  Wright Motorsports leads Meyer Shank Racing in GT Daytona by a mere two points.  Juan Pablo Montoya is chasing Sebastien Bourdais for the lead of the motor race.  Olivier Pla, Jonathan Bomarito, and Felipe Nasr, they are the next ones in the serial, in the top five.

Patrick Long is a three-time IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Champion, going for four.  Wright Motorsports is a first-year team in IMSA of course.  Tristan Nunez and Mazda are third with the #77 car, in the hands of Olivier Pla right now.  Sebastien Bourdais, the Florida-based Frenchman is leading the motor race right now.  Porsche #911 is in the lane for service.  What gorgeous weather it has been here at Sebring, even though we are racing here in November instead of March.  Sebastien Bourdais, continues to lead.  We are on the edge of darkness.  Bourdais/Vautier/Duval, that trio, is in front.  They lead Juan Pablo Montoya by 4.5 seconds.

The Cadillac is very suitable for this track.  It is very compliant over the bumps.  The car is more drivable and easier on it's tires, than the other cars.  There is an art to save fuel and also to drive fast.  Again. NBC Sports' A.J. Allmendinger, he is aiming for running with Meyer Shank Racing with one of the Acura ARX-05's next year.  Meantime, the #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche is in the lane for tires, fuel, and a driver change.  Jan Heylen out, and Patrick Long, in.  They were Best Men at each other's weddings, and they also were go karting buddies in Europe.

Darren Turner in the Aston Martin and Marc Miller, in the Aston Martin and the Mercedes, they are scrapping hard for second in the GT Daytona class.  They will step up to LMP3 which will run in 2021 with the rest of the WeatherTech Championship field instead of being exclusively in it's own championship series.  Pit stop time for the #10 WTR Cadillac and the #44 Flexi Box (Flex Box) Magnus Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3.  BMW M8 GTE #25 is also in pit lane.  Also, we can see Nick Tandy in the #911 and the #24 BMW M8 GTE of Jesse Krohn, in a major battle.  Elbows out, and perhaps some argy bargy between these two.  No love lost between Stuttgart and Munich.  The #63 Scuderia Corsa WeatherTech Ferrari in the lane for service and a driver change as Lawson Aschenbach steps into the #74 Riley Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3.

Also, the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3 is in the lane as well.  In 1995, Bill Auberlen won his class here at Sebring, and in 1985, his father Gary Auberlen also won.  He cannot be here as he had the Coronavirus, but then, tested negative for it.  Earl Bamber in the lane for the #912 machine, and he is back into the lane, staying in the car.  They want their third consecutive win after they had a tough year, and have now won in class in GTLM in the last two races.  Jesse Krohn, meantime, has gone around the Porsche.  Krohn makes the pass in Sunset Bend, and there's some contact between the Porsche and the BMW.

Colton Herta came to the BMW to change the water bottle, even though it looked like he'd get in the car.

12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 6

Solid pit stop for the #31 AXR Cadillac.  The #10 team is almost done repairing the busted radiator.  Under yellow, the #10 Cadillac, is getting buttoned up to go back on the road.  Townsend Bell is staying with it, but of course, the AVS Lexus boys have to claw their way back.  The Porsche and Audi are possible GTD winners, and so is the sole remaining Lexus.  We have a lot of things that are still going to play out in the second half of this motor race.  Cadillac #10 back out on track.  Green flag, and the #10 car goes down another lap.  Pipo Derani is flying, trying to get his fourth win at the Sebring 12 Hours.  However, Dane Cameron is flying as well, and he is still pushing, hard.

We have six hours and 45 minutes left on the board.  Pipo Derani is stretching a margin on the Acura.  Stretching the rubber band out on the Acura.  Felipe Nasr and Gabby Chaves, Pipo Derani's co-driver's.  No problems for the #31 car yet.  Derani leads by three points.  In GT Daytona, meanwhile, Mario Farnbacher moves past the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M6 GT3, Nick Yelloly at the controls, and around goes Mario Farnbacher doing a full 360!  Yikes!  That was close!  Farnbacher is yelling on the radio, "he hit me!  Tell the blokes at Race Control!"  This is Mike Shank's final race as a GTD team owner before stepping back up to prototypes and stepping up to DPi.  

This is the 25th anniversary of Bill Auberlen's first Sebring win.  He is not here, even though he had a negative test for the COVID-19 virus.  So much action and we're not even halfway home yet.  We're 40 minutes away from halfway.  Cadillac #31 leads, still, while Acura #6 is in hot pursuit.  The battle rages on here, look, in GT Daytona.  Cadillac #10 is back in the race, but playing the catch up game.  Pipo Derani leads the motor race.  Mike Shank is very upset about the Acura NSX being rotated.  They have been hit in four of the last five races.  They are in contention for the GT Daytona championship.  Pipo Derani blocks the #6 Acura, with lapped GTD cars, but Dane Cameron is closing.

The gap is half a second between Pipo Derani and Dane Cameron.  John Potter in the #44 Flex Box Lamborghini has picked up an advertising banner after Misha Goikhberg hits the wall, and it seems he has hit a Little Caesar's sign.  Maybe Mr. Potter wants to order a pizza after his driving stint.  Har har har.  This track was an Army base from 1941-'45 during WW. II. and people ask, "why don't they diamond grind the track?"  Well, that would take the character out of it.  This place has boatloads of character.  It is a whole different challenge compared to other tracks, and there's been so much history over the years.  It was an Army airbase for B17 and B24-25 bomber planes during WW. II.  There is an active runway behind the track with planes taking off and landing.  

Yours truly took a quick break to eat lunch and saw GT Daytona take pit stops.  We have 11 minutes to go in this hour.  Cooper MacNeil just went up with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.  How cool is that?!  We go back to green and now, Mattheus Leist leads and here comes Scott Dixon.  He has not made the pass, or has he?  Leist hangs on.  He won't let Dixon get a lap back here.  Yikes.  Leist is on worn Michelin tires.  All the cars behind Dixon have fresh tires.  Ricky Taylor is going to fight to get a lap back around both Scott Dixon and Mattheus Leist.

Another spot of bother for the #8 Tower Motorsports by Starworks LMP2 car.  John Farano spins, and keeps going.  IMSA President John Doonan says that it has been a huge effort to pull off the 2020 IMSA championship with the virus.  When, where, how, how do we change?  Social distancing, face masks etc, in this virus pandemic era.  Some of the championships need to still be decided.  IMSA will be back on track, in 67 days, in 2021.  We have accomplished a bunch in 2020.  IMSA is a NASCAR owned property of course.

We are right at halfway through Sebring.  Wow. 

12 Hours of Sebring: Hour 5

Alessandro Balzan has taken over the GTD lead.  Scott Huffaker leads LMP2 and are the only LMP2 on the lead lap.  Fred Makowiecki leads GTLM and Ryan Briscoe leads DPi.  Green flag waves, and we are back to racing.  Simonn Pagenaud has to push like crazy.  Mazda #77 is chasing the #5 JDC-Miller Mustang Sampling Cadillac and Pipo Derani is now third in the #31 AXR Whelen Cadillac.  #10 stayed out to get the endurance bonus points.  There's almost some argy bargy there, look, with Loic Duval and Ryan Hunter-Reay, the #5 JDC-Miller Cadillac and the #55 red Mazda.  BMW #24 in the pit lane for fuel, tires, and a driver change.  John Edwards is next into the car, replacing Augusto Farfus for the next set of stints.

Corvette C8.R #4 is stopped at the end of pit lane.  They are in the penalty box.  #4 has served a penalty for entering a closed pit.  They are five laps down after a litany of issues.  The #31 AXR Cadillac is second in points in the Michelin Endurance Cup right now.  The #63 WeatherTech Ferrari earns MEC points, and they are scrapping with the #48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini.  After the Rolex 24, when the COVID-19 virus came, Paul Miller, as an owner of a car dealership, had to furlough his car dealership employees, and he had to shut down the race team while his workers at his car dealers were furloughed.  They are back now and they can win the Michelin Endurance Cup.  Lexus #12 is in the lane for service.

We are a shade over 1/3rd distance here at Sebring, or 1/3rd of the time.  Scott Huffaker leads LMP2 in his first race at Sebring along with Patrick Kelly and Simon Trummer.  Porsche #911 leads GTLM.  Cadillac #10 leads DPi.  They are looking for their third endurance race win and second in a row.  Cooper MacNeil might be next in the #63 car.  He had to get an I.V. drip after being a little dehydrated, but will be back in the car soon.  The overall lead scrap is heating up.  It's being turned on.  Simon Pagenaud is fending off Pipo Derani.  Pipo, wants it.  This is a hot scrap.  

Pipo Derani is catching up.  Six IndyCar drivers are in this field, and four Indianapolis 500 winners.  They step into a sports car to help out the teams they run for.  But they are talented no matter what they drive.  Michael de Quesada in the #12 Lexus is back out, but the #14 car, it is game over for those boys.  The #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche will be the only car that can close in on the #86 MSR Acura NSX GT3.  Simon Pagenaud leads with Pipo Derani right behind.  Points as they run, are tied for the championship lead.  Pipo Derani is hounding Simon Pagenaud.  They are keeping the pressure up with seven and a half hours left on the board.

Good scrap here too, look, with the #55 Mazda and the #5 Cadillac.  Fred Makowiecki is in the lane, pitting for service.  Fred Makowiecki is going to do a triple stint.  Stephen Simpson is now third in the #85 JDC-Miller "Banana Boat" Cadillac.  Simpson sharing with Scott Andrews and Matheus Leist.  They too, are coming to the front of the pack.  Acura #6 in the lane for service.  Simon Pagenaud out and Dane Cameron is getting in.  The team Penske Acura has Alexander Rossi continuing and Pipo Derani will stay in the #31 Cadillac with tires and fuel.

Pipo Derani is pulling away from Dane Cameron.  Cadillac #5 for JDC-Miller Motorsports is in the lane.  Sebastien Bourdais is going to be an IndyCar driver for A.J. Foyt next year. For the Action Express team to win the title, they have to win the race, and have the #10 Cadillac finish fifth or worse and the #7 Penske Acura finish sixth or worse.  Pit stop time for Mazda #55.  Problems for Mazda.  Ryan Hunter-Reay's team had a problem getting the right front tire off the car.  They had to hammer the wheel nut off.  Oliver Jarvis leads the motor race in Mazda #77, but, he must pit which hands the lead back to Cadillac #31.

Marcel Fassler got biffed by the Mazda.  Oliver Jarvis is in the lane.  He will stay at the wheel.  So, tires, fuel, and bish, bash, bosh, he is down and away.  Meantime, here comes Pipo Derani.  Derani takes the lead back.  Pipo Derani is a confident driver and he has won with another tram here as well, not just Action Exporess.  The #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin is in the lane for service and a driver change.  Pipo Derani goes momentarily off the road passing as GTD car but it is nothing serious.  In the dark, it will be pitch everywhere, so, you will see the lap times and the car balance get better even if your reference points just won't be there.

Scott Dixon has had a tire blowout and he has been limping the car around Sebring International Raceway.  Pipo Derani is leading the motor race once again.  There could be rear suspension damage for the #10 Cadillac.  The DPi championship is up for grabs and so is GTD.  Mario Farnbacher and Matt McMurry lead, and we see Ryan Hardwick and Patrick Long, still in with a mathematical chance.  Currently we are under Full Course Yellow.  Scott Dixon is now back in the garage.  There's damage to the suspension and the radiators.

#31 has made a scheduled pit stop.