Acura, Cadillac and BMW get one car within top 5

IMSA

Mar 17

Porsche #7 and Cadillac #31 dominated the 12 Hours of Sebring with 166 laps in the lead for the winning Porsche 963 and 155 laps for the Cadillac V-Series.R of the 353 laps covered. See our news for the two Porsche Penske Motorsports race.

It wasn't their expected result, but Acura finished on a second podium this season, Cadillac saved its honour with a 4th place and BMW scored points with a 5th place.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Sebring.

Acura snatches podium during last FCY

The #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 with trio of Nick Yelloly, Renger van der Zande and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou claimed the final step of the podium thanks to a good timing entering the pits before the last Full Course Yellow. It enabled the Acura trio to access the podium despite a penalty for a crew member leaving a tyre lying around.

The third-place finish marks a back-to-back podium finishes for the Acura Meyer Shank Racing.

#93 Acura ARX-06 — 📷© Luc Warnotte at Sebring. #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06.

Nick Yelloly : "First podium in red for Acura and Meyer Shank Racing and I'm pretty happy about it. We didn't have quite enough speed for the Porsches in that one unfortunately and it was a straight fight at the end for about 18 to 20 laps. I'm very happy to get my first podium for HRC, Acura, MSR and my teammates Alex [Palou] and Renger [van der Zande]—they drove fantastically all day. I've finished second and third at Sebring and now next year we need to get that win."

Renger van der Zande : "I don't want to say it feels like a victory, but it feels like a victory. It was one of those races where we didn't have the pace or the power to really attack at all. But I think defensively we made it to the podium. The Meyer Shank and Acura guys all together did an amazing job on strategy and that's why we are on the podium. We can be very proud of that and very excited to build from here."

📷© Luc Warnotte at Sebring. #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06.

Alex Palou : "Great day! I'm super happy. It's not a win, but number three is still good! It's my first podium with the Acura MSR team, and the first podium for me in GTP. It's a good result for the #93. We were looking good in Daytona, but we got unlucky there. We had some struggles here as well throughout the day, at some point we were struggling a lot on pace, but everybody at HRC and MSR did a great job working on the car and making sure we were there at the end to fight for the podium. I think it's a great result, it feels like a win. I'll be for sure cheering for these guys while I'm doing my IndyCar races, and I can't wait for the next endurance race." Source: Acura.

Whelen Cadillac leads a good chunk of the race

The #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, which started 13th on the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) grid because of a software issue in qualifications Friday, nonetheless battled its way to the front early in the race and contended for the victory until the final 40 minutes and finished fourth.

Starting 13th, Aitken quickly made up six spots in the first hour and moved to the front for the first time with 10 hours, 21 minutes left. From there, Vesti and Bamber inherited the lead on their first stints and the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R remained in or near the lead through no unforced errors, penalties or contact necessitating repair.

The #6 Porsche 963 overtook Vesti with 2 hours, 7 minutes left.. Bamber lost the podium seat as the #31 Cadillac had to pit under a late yellow with 46 minutes to go.

Bamber made a late-race pass on Neel Jani to finish fourth in the Action Express Cadillac, demoting the #5 Proton Competition Porsche to fifth when the Swiss driver made a pit stop for a splash of energy with two laps to go.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Sebring. #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Jack Aitken: “The race started really well for us today and we managed to stay in those top positions for the majority of the race. Unfortunately, we were just a little bit off sequence to the leading Porsches and it just caught us out a bit at the end when we had to take a splash. I think when they night came around, we didn’t have that extra gear that the others did. We missed out on the podium; it’s tough to take. But there are positives from this – coming from the back to the field is still not a bad result.”

Earl Bamber: “We had to come in for a splash with about 40 minutes left and we tried to take the alternate tire strategy, but we thought it might work but the dirty air was just too much. We just didn’t make our way forward. The car was good, so it is bittersweet that we didn’t get a podium. We’ll just have to roll into Long Beach.”

Frederik Vesti: “IMSA just keeps impressing me with how chaotic and crazy it is to race this year. I really enjoyed my time in the car today. I left everything out on the track and it’s painful not to get the podium. I really felt like we had the car to win or be on the podium today. Really proud of Cadillac Whelen. Having the issue in quali starting out, I think Jack did a great job in stint one to get us in the lead. I enjoyed lots of laps in the lead today and I had a lot of restarts from the lead, which is fun and I learned a lot. We’ll be back. I’m already looking forward to Laguna.” Source: Cadillac Racing

BWM 5th

From P10 on the grid, Sheldon van der Linde, Marco Wittmann, and Robin Frijns in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 consistently moved forward. After a final yellow phase about 45 minutes before the end, Frijns was in sixth place and managed to gain one more position in the closing minutes.

Marco Wittmann (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team RLL, 5th place): “It was a weekend of mixed feelings. On one hand, we were overjoyed after qualifying about the pole position for car number 24. This shows that we have a car that is extremely good in qualifying for one lap. Unfortunately, the race didn't go as well. It looked good for a while, we worked our way back to the front and were on course for a podium. But in the end, it was 'only' fifth place for car number 25. That's somewhat disappointing, as we were good in terms of speed, even though the Porsches were stronger in the end. Now, we need to make the car even faster in the race. It's a bit of a shame because we all had higher hopes after qualifying and thought we might make it to the podium. So the conclusion is that we drivers remained error-free and ended up in fifth place.” Source: BMW Group

Porsche cutomers in P6 and P8

The customer teams in the top GTP class also showcased the prowess of the Porsche 963 at times. Proton Competition finished the race in sixth overall, with JDC-Miller MotorSports’s identical hybrid prototype crossing the finish line in eighth place after being delayed with a brake-related issue while under the race’s second-to-last yellow.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Sebring. Proton Competition Porsche #5.

Tristan Vautier (Porsche 963 #5): “We’re a little disappointed. After some initial setbacks, we managed to fight our way up the field only to have a puncture throw us out of the fight for the top five. Still, in the end, we made it back into a promising position, and we performed particularly well in the dark. However, with just two laps left, we had to refuel again – what a shame, because it prevented us from bringing home the result was wanted.”

In the #85 car, Porsche factory driver Nico Müller celebrated his debut in the Porsche 963. The Swiss driver, who contests Formula E for the Andretti customer team, put in some strong stints.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Sebring. JDC-Miller MotorSports’ #85 POrsche 963

Nico Müller (Porsche 963 #85): “What a fantastic weekend! I had great fun with the team, my teammates, and in the paddock – especially in my first race laps in the Porsche 963. I quickly adapted to the prototype; there was great synergy. At times the performance was super strong. But at the end of the day, the race could have gone a bit better for us. We had to change a brake disc, and we lost a lap in the process. It’s a great honour to get the chance to drive the car over the finish line during the Sebring night.” Source: Porsche