1000 Miles of Sebring Entries in LMGTE AM
Let us review the 14 LMGTE AM of the 1000 Miles of Sebring entries. Read here who are our favorites among those 14 teams and why.
📷 © Luc Warnotte and Courtesy of Iron Dames. 5 teams with victory predictions.
In the LMGTE AM class, three major factors are of major influence getting the best package:
the car: four manufacturers are present at 1000 Miles of Sebring: Aston Martin, who made first and second in last year's championship; Ferrari, who won in 2019-2020 and 2021 with Af Corse #83 also finishing third in 2023 with Iron Dames; Porsche, who have been very close to Ferrari in LMGTE PRO during the three last years, and Corvette, who is a newcomer in AM but was very competitive in LMGTE PRO.
the Bronze driver: for the qualifying session, the mandatory timed laps must be completed by a Bronze driver. During an 8-hour race, the minimum driving time for Silver and Bronze drivers in LMGTE Am will be 2h20. The performance of the Bronze driver is critical for the position on the grid AND the driving time. In that game, Ben Keating, Sarah Bovy and Al Harthy are on top.
the team: TF Sport has demonstrated consistency to be on top of class with a P2 for championships 2019-2020 and 2021 and a win last year. AF Corse won in 2019-2020 and 2021.
When you mix those three factors, you get #33 Corvette Racing, ORT by TF #25, Northwest AMR #98, Richard Mille AF Corse #83 and Iron Dames #85 as favorites for the 1000 Miles of Sebring.
The qualifying session will not be decisive as the Silver drivers have also a minimum driving time of 2h20’ and will be an important part of the equation for victory. So we’ll have to wait until the end of the 1,000 Miles of Sebring to get a flavor of what this new championship will be about in LMGTE AM.
All this is subject to a BoP that does not change the game.
#33 Corvette Racing
📷 © Courtesy of Corvette Racing.
Ben Keating is definitively the most experienced Bronze driver and one of the fastest. He did 3 poles in Sebring, Spa and Fuji. He also won the championship with 2 wins in Le Mans and Fuji.
Remember his comments after testing the Corvette in Bahrain? "Those first laps were really good. The feel of this car is significantly different from the Aston Martin that I've been driving for the last two years and the last three days. I don't know how many laps I did... maybe 10 laps this morning, and I'm still learning a lot about the car. It's very impressive. It's fun for me as a driver. I think I've driven almost every single GTE car now, and they're all a little bit different in the way you find speed. Obviously, the Corvette is no different. You have to learn where to find the speed and how to work the car. It's been really interesting. When looking at the data, and as an example, I was one gear too low in every single corner; I was over-slowing the car in every single corner compared to what was needed because my brain isn't calibrated to how quickly the Corvette can go through a corner. That's just an example of the things I need to learn, and I'm excited to do that.”
📷 © Luc Warnotte. Corvette Racing won the 6 Hours of Monza 2022.
As Ben says, he drove most of the GTE cars. When you read his reaction to the Corvette’s agility in corners, one can bet on Corvette Racing to be on top at Sebring because corners … there are at Sebring.
His teammate, Nicolas Varrone was also dithyrambic about the Corvette: "It's just an amazing car... a pure racecar that I enjoyed driving. It's really fun. The brakes surprised me. The braking efficiency is really amazing. There was a learning experience because I'm used to other cars, but the team helped me a lot during the day to try new things and improve every time I went on track. It was good and I enjoyed it a lot."
With Nicky Catsburg as PRO in the team, his experience with the Corvette will be another asset.
Also bear in mind that Corvette Racing is the only factory team in the class. Last season in LMGTE PRO, they won at Monza and stroke several podiums during the season. The car is very competitive.
Aston Martin Vantage
Both Aston Martin made first and second in last year's Championship. The Vantage is fast and reliable.
📷 © Luc Warnotte. TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage #33 won last year LMGTE AM championship.
TF Sport puts his crown back in play with a new lineup: Al Harthy is the bronze driver coming from the ELMS championship, where he did 2 poles with a win in Imola, Charlie Eastwood recently who won the Asian Le Mans Series championship, and Michael Dinan.
📷 © Luc Warnotte. Northwest AMR #98 at Monza 2022.
Northwest AMR #98 renew both drivers Paul Dalla Lana and Nicky Thiim who won Sebring last year, were second at Le Mans and third in Bahrain.
Porsche with Iron Dames
📷 © Courtesy of Iron Dames. Sarah Bovy, Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey to drive Porsche 911 RSR-19 for WEC Championship in LMGTE AM class.
Sarah Bovy scored two poles last year at Monza and Bahrain. The Iron dames ended last season with two P2 at Monza and Fuji and one P3 at Bahrain. This is quite significant about their rise in charge. Listening to Rahel Frey’s comments the move from Ferrari to Porsche in WEC is certainly not a disadvantage; the Porsche 011 RSR-19 is fun to drive!
Ferrari with AF Corse
📷 © Luc Warnotte. AF Core Ferrari 488 LMGTE Evo at Spa in 2021. They won LMGTE AM trophy in 2019-2020 and 2021.
Despite winning the two previous championships, AF Corse Ferrari was not at the party last year. But the team is one of the most experienced and they won the PRO class during the last two seasons demonstrating that the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo has the level of performance of a winning car. With Lilou Wadoux and Alessio Rovera, #83 AF Corse Ferrari has a fast tandem of drivers. Let us see what Luis Perez Companec does in qualifying.
LMGTE AM entries at Sebring
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