12 Hours of Sebring Qualifying

IMSA

Mar 17

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📷 © Luc Warnotte. Pipo Derani with #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac V-LMDh at **12 Hours of Sebring qualifying** 2023.

Both Cadillac V-Series.R will start from front row the 12 Hours of Sebring tomorrow at 10am as Pipo Derani with Whelen Endineering Racing Cadillac #31 clinched pole today during 12 Hours of Sebring qualifying. Sebastien Bourdais, second with Cadillac Racing #01 (0.087 sec. slower than Derani), will also start from first row.

Pipo Derani ( Cadillac V-Series.R #31): "I think we’ve been having a fantastic weekend since the beginning. It seems we rolled out onto the track with a very competitive car, so the changes have been very small from practice to practice and therefore we keep improving with better lap times; I wanted to say thank you to the whole Action Express Whelen Engineering team and Cadillac for its continued support, the relentless work and hours behind closed doors to try to make this program the best it can be."

📷 © Luc Warnotte. Sebastien Bourdais with #01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-LMDh at **12 Hours of Sebring qualifying** 2023.

Sebastien Bourdais (Cadillac Racing #01): "It was a great day for Cadillac. We had just a tiny bit of understeer, but I think it was very close with the laps times and everything. We've got a really solid race car, so we're all looking forward to the grueling 12 hours ahead. Obviously, a lot of it will be about keeping your nose clean, making sure that you execute and don't run into any trouble. This Cadillac and Chip Ganassi Racing team is excited, and we'll see where we end up."

📷 © Luc Warnotte. Matt Campbell spin at T1 with #7 Porsche 963 at 12 Hours of Sebring qualifying 2023.

The GTP qualifying session was shortened as Matt Campbell buried his #7 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 in the Turn 1 tire wall.

📷 © Luc Warnotte. Ricky Taylor with #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06 at **12 Hours of Sebring qualifying** 2023.

Ricky Taylor with Wayne Taylor Racing Acura ARX-06 #10 will start third as his best lap was 0.264 sec. away from pole.

Ricky Taylor (#10 Wayne Taylor Racing ARX-06): “The Sebring weekend is always hectic, and the car is constantly changing with the track conditions. Our WTR/Andretti guys have been mainly focusing on the race car, but the guys did a very good job [setting up the car] for qualifying. We went for two sets [of Michelin tires], others made it happen on their first set. I think we had a car [capable] of the pole, and I think we can take that speed into the race. I think we have the best car and teammates, so I’m very confident of what we can do tomorrow.”

Mathieu Jaminet with #6 Porsche was 4th and will start from second row aside of Acura #10.

Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #6): “Fourth place was the best we could do today. I made a minor error on my flying lap, although it didn’t make much difference. The car did better in qualifying than in the free practices, and our team did a great job there. We’re not yet where we want to be because we’re still a bit behind but we’re making progress. This was evident in the qualifying session. It’s great to see our IMSA and FIA WEC teams working closely together and sharing so much information. It’s a shame about Matt’s accident.”

Rolex 24 pole-winner Blomqvist with Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 #60 did set the fifth fastest lap and will start from third row aside of BMW M Hybrid of Augusto Farfus who was still within 1 sec. from the qualifying benchmark.

Tom Blomqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06): “We definitely didn't get the most out of that session, especially with the untimely red flag. I don't think we had the pace for pole, but we were definitely getting close to it. It’s not super important really where you start for a 12-hour race. We just need to keep chipping away and finding more ways to improve, but I’m confident we can get to a place where we have a solid race car for tomorrow.”

Porsche 963 #7 of Matt Campbell and BMW M Hybrid #25 of Connor De Phillippi will start from fourth row.

Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #7): “That was far from ideal. I made a small mistake in Turn 1 which unfortunately had a big impact. I’m really sorry for the team. The car doesn’t seem to be too badly damaged. Our guys will fix it before the start of the race – then we’ll attack.”

LMP2

Ben Keating with #52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca LMP2 07 did set the benchmark for LMP2 class, 0.120 sec. ahead of F Heriau with TDS Racing #35 and S. Thomas with #11, the second Oreca LMP2 07 from TDS Racing.

12 Hours of Sebring Qualifying

Hypercars

LMP2

12 Hours of Sebring qualifying: GTD and GTD PRO

1000 Miles of Sebring: Qualifying