The first nine hours of round two of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season were contested under blue skies and high temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius. All teams in the top GTP class opted for the same strategy: to conserve tyres for the crucial stints at the end of the race.

#40 Acura ARX-06 to the first overall win for the Acura brand at Sebring

After 12 hours of hard-fought IMSA endurance racing it was Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Global on top, with the #40 Acura ARX-06 taking the honors in the 2024 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. #40 Acura ARX-06

Starting third, the #40 crew of Louis Deletraz, Jordan Taylor and Colton Herta led just 18 laps en route to victory, but a thrilling late-race pass in GT traffic when Louis saw a gap in T7 with just four laps to go was all they needed to catapult themselves to the win.

On the way to said victory, Louis Deletraz also set the fastest lap time in the IMSA GTP class of 1:49.497. With tonight’s win, Acura moves into an early-season three-way tie for the IMSA GTP Manufacturers’ Championship; while drivers Deletraz, Jordan Taylor and Herta are tied for first in the drivers’ title chase.

Louis Delétraz, first win in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition: “I can’t believe it. It was a long [final] hour, to be honest. I caught Sebastien [Bourdais, race leader], but we all know he is a hard racer and I didn’t want to take too much of a risk initially. But at the end I had to send it because it was now or never. I saw a gap and went for it. We had a few contacts, but we won, and that’s what matters. We really wanted to win this. It means a lot to the team. Colton [Herta, co-driver] and Jordan [Taylor, co-driver] both were amazing. The car was perfect, our pit stops were excellent, everything was perfect.”

Colton Herta: “To win this race, and to win it overall, is just incredible. I’m really fortunate to be a part of this [WTRAndretti] group, and Louis [Delétraz] did everything tonight. He got us in position to win with his moves. You wouldn’t want anyone else in the car in that situation.”

Jordan Taylor: “We were up and down throughout the day, but Louis was awesome. You could tell even back when we were testing here last month that he was the guy for the job. It was an unbelievably respectful battle for the lead. They both kept it clean, and it is a great night for the team, for the Dex Imaging Acura and for HRC.” Source: Acura

Cadillac claims 2nd runner-up of season

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. #01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R

The #01 Cadillac V-Series.R, whose prospects for victory were dashed the past two years by not going the distance after starting on the front row, challenged for the victory to the checkered flag Saturday night.

Drivers Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Dixon, the Chip Ganassi Racing team and Cadillac Racing engineers combined to lead the Cadillac V-Series.R #01 to second place at Sebring International Raceway. It is the second runner-up finish for Cadillac in 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. #7 Porsche 963 ahead of #40 Acura ARX-06

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. #6 Porsche 963 ahead of #40 Acura ARX-06

Bourdais drove the final 2 hours, 12 minutes, holding off GTP challengers on three restarts but was overtaken by the #40 Acura on newer tires with 5 minutes left. The cars bumped several times, with the #40 going on to win by 0.891 seconds and end Cadillac’s three-year hold on the overall trophy.

Sebastien Bourdais: “I gave it all I had. The 40 car was out of sync and they put new tires on at the last stop and we didn’t because we didn’t have time for that and they just came like a rocket at the end. I’m a little disappointed that it turned into a bumper car contest at the end. I’m glad we got out of it because we could have picked up four or five punctures along the way. Obviously disappointed for the whole group and Cadillac because we had a really strong day. It was not as straightforward as we wanted, but up front most of it. It always hurts to get done like this in the closing laps. But it’s racing.”

Renger: van der Zande: “The battle there at the end is good for the show. I thought with six minutes to go, we were in a good position to get that win. I am obviously disappointed but at the same time very proud of the team and Cadillac. We’ll continue to be in the hunt to win other races this year, but this one for now stings. Second place in my 100th IMSA start is not bad.”

Scott Dixon: “It's always an action-packed race. I had a ton of run out there. It was definitely up and down. We had an electronic issue that we were trying to debug. We got that sorted after falling back and clawed our way back up to second and then took the lead. The car had good speed. You never know; you always think you’re in this race and it can change quickly. You’re never out of it until you’re out of it. Glad Pipo (Derani) is OK. That’s a testament to the safety of these cars.” Source: Cadillac Racing

Porsche defends championship lead with podium finish in Sebring

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. #7 Porsche 963.

After the first quarter of the 12-hour endurance classic, Dane Cameron moved into the lead for the first time at the wheel of the #7 Porsche 963. However, during an additional pit stop due to a faulty seat insert, the team lost ground again.

The Daytona winners in the #7 Porsche reclaimed the lead. However, as temperatures dropped after dark, performance waned slightly compared to the competition. When the race went green for a final 24-minute sprint after the eleventh safety car phase, Felipe Nasr lost secured third place and added to the team’s points tally from the season-opening victory.

Matt Campbell: “Following our Daytona win now a third place at Sebring, it could hardly get any better. We squeezed the maximum out of what was ultimately a difficult weekend for us. Despite being a little slower than the competition over long stretches today, we still brought home a lot of points. That was a tough piece of work. Given today’s circumstances, third place is a result that we can be proud of.” Source: Porsche

BMW M Team RLL narrowly misses the podium.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. #25 BMW M Hybrid V8

Connor De Phillippi, Nick Yelloly and Maxime Martin in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 stayed at the front of the pack throughout the race distance. They even led the race at times. However, after the last of numerous yellow phases, they just missed out on a podium finish in the final sprint.

Maxime Martin: “We showed good potential, but unfortunately didn't quite make it to the podium. We had a clean race, and it's of course annoying to be the first crew not on the podium. My first Sebring race in the top category was a great experience. It feels good to be able to fight for the overall win in such a race. The track is tough, but I had a lot of fun.” Source: BMW Group

P5 for winning sister Acura #10

Winning sister #10 Acura ARX-06 driven by Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Brendon Hartley led 55 laps on the day before losing a lap in pitlane after the team noticed smoke trailing from the rear of the car. Thankfully, it was a quick fix and the #10 crew was able to continue to the end where they would wind up fifth

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. #10 Acura ARX-06

Ricky Taylor: “Great day for the team. Really happy for WTRAndretti, Acura and HRC for the 40 Car win. Louis, Jordan, and Colton did an amazing job. We had a great car as well. I think we would have definitely been fighting for the win It just wasn’t our day with that oil leak. Had we had the oil leak earlier in the race, we would have been able to recover. But that late in the race, with all the pro drivers in the car, there wasn’t a chance to get a yellow to bounce back. Everyone worked their hearts out and we recovered to the fifth-place finish, which is not so bad. We will go to Long Beach.”

Filipe Albuquerque: “Very frustrating race for us. The pace was amazing and during the first stint I led the whole way. It was very enjoyable. Ricky and Brendon were doing a great job and saving ourselves for the end. And then we had the leak which made us lose a lap. We managed to come back because of yellows which was good in one way. But to attack for the win was impossible. We were at the end of the tail, P9 or something was able to get to P5. That is all we had. Our teammate won which makes it rewarding for the team. Success for all their hard work. In this kind of racing, you have to be fast, you have to be good, and you have to have some luck. We have had bad luck at Daytona, here is qualifying and now in the race. This is just a trend that is going on, but it will go away and we will be ready.”

Brendon Hartley: “Really happy for the entire team, taking the victory. We also were having a very good day on our car. We were leading and then we had to come in to fix a small issue which put us out of sequence. Filipe did a great job at the end getting us back up to fifth place but that was ultimately all we could do coming back from a lap down. The car was great. I have really enjoyed driving it. I have really enjoyed working with the team and happy for the team and their victory but a little bit sad for the No. 10 and that we could not be there to fight for the win in the end.” Source: Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti

Sixth for #24 BMW M Hybrid V8

Jesse Krohn, Philipp Eng and Augusto Farfus in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 were unlucky with a slow puncture and a damaged rear wing. Nevertheless, they scored important points by finishing sixth and even fought their way back from a lap down.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. #24 BMW M Hybrid V8

Jesse Krohn: “We still don't know what was wrong with our car. It felt strange for all drivers, and we couldn't drive the lap times we needed. I had it first, then the problem also occurred with Philipp and Augusto. We now need to analyse this precisely. Nevertheless, we got important points. It could have been much worse.” Source: BMW Group

Lamborghini SC63 survived first IMSA race

Even when small teething issues, including one with a door that led to an unscheduled stop, caused the car to go one lap down, the team kept pushing, making the most of a caution to regain the lead lap. In the closing stages, despite a slightly fading pace with cooler temperatures, Caldarelli was able to attack and crossed the finish line only a few hundredths of a second away from sixth.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Sebring 2024. #63 Lamborghini SC63

Matteo Cairoli: "I didn't expect such a great result and I'm delighted for what we achieved today in our first race with this car. I want to thank the team because they never stopped working as hard as possible. I'm extremely happy to be part of this team. To finish less than 30 seconds away from the lead in a 12-hour race on such a tough track is something I could not believe at the start. We now enjoy the moment, and we will prepare to get back on track even more competitive in the next rounds." Source: Lamborghini Iron Lynx