Sebring 12-Hours Set for 58th RunningBy Carl Wagenfohr
Photo by Carl Wagenfohr SEBRING - Central Florida's record breaking winter will be warmed next weekend, March 17-20, by Sports Car racing's version of Spring Break, the 58th running of the Sebring 12-hour endurance race. The top flight LMP1 class, missing the Audi team this year, will be contested by six teams including Peugeot, winners of last year's 24-Hours of Le Mans. New to the field this year is the historic Aston Martin Racing team, campaigning an Aston-powered Lola driven by last year's Sebring LMP2 class winner Adrian Fernandez. Although having only three contestants, the LMP2 class promises to be hotly contested by Highcroft's Acura ARX-01, Cytosport's Porsche RS Spyder, and Dyson's Mazda/Lola. Corvette Racing's ZR1 will make its Sebring GT2 class debut following a long string of GT1 class wins. Corvette will be challenged by five other manufacturers, including Ferrari, Porsche, Ford GT, BMW, and Jaguar. The four-day Sebring event is more than just the American Le Mans sports cars. Track action will be nearly continuous, with open wheel, GT, and historic racing events filling-out the weekend schedule. Open wheel Star Mazda and Skip Barber Mazda are driver development series where the cars are essentially identical and the drivers make all the difference. These events will likely offer the weekend's closest racing. The Prototype Lites Championship, formerly known as IMSA Lites, will also be giving spectators a good look at up and coming racers. A driver development series for the American Le Mans Series, Prototype Lites features two races during the weekend, with cars based on three different specifications battling it out for class wins. Gates open to the public at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, with practice, qualifying and racing starting at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Saturday is reserved for the 12-Hours of Sebring, with the green flag dropping at 10:30 a.m. Tickets are available at the gate, with a full weekend super ticket available for $100, a Friday/Saturday ticket for $90, or a Saturday-only ticket for $80. Car parking is free in the lots outside the track (Gate 4), and ranges from $25 to $75 inside. RV parking is $75 to $95, depending on location.
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