New Zealanders Scott Dixon and Hunter McElrea featured on their class podiums in a thrilling finish to IMSA’s 12 Hours of Sebring over the weekend.
Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Cadillac Racing outfit was second overall, having led entering the final 10 minutes but losing out to the Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti #40 of Jordan Taylor, Louis Delatraz and Colton Herta over the final laps.
Delatraz held on to take a 0.891-second victory over Bourdais.
The #7 Porsche Penske 963 of Felipe Nasr, Dane Cameron and Australia’s Matt Campbell completed the podium.
Herta and Taylor were both swift to heap praise upon Deletraz, who put intense pressure on Bourdais and the Cadillac to hit the front at Turn 10 with eight minutes on the clock.
Bourdais had built a two-second advantage off the final restart with 23 minutes to go as Delatraz held off Nasr, but the Acura quickly clawed back the gap for a famous win.
“Incredible – that was all Louis there in the end,” said Herta.
“Louis won for us,” added Taylor. “I think we were third on the last restart and he drove the wheels off that Acura. Fantastic win, and it was clean.”
A crestfallen Bourdais thought it could have been cleaner. “They just came out like a rocket with new tyres at the end,” he said.
“I’m a little disappointed that it turned into a bumper car contest. I didn’t try to make any contact, but he sure banged us left, right and centre.”
In LMP2, McElrea’s TDS Racing, shared with Steven Thomas and Mikkel Jensen, also led long periods of the race, but they were overcome by a strong late challenge from 17-year-old Connor Zilisch in the #18 Era Motorsport Ocreca LMP2 07 over the final stint.
“I really enjoyed the race,” said McElrea. “So magical and challenging. Thanks to the TDS Racing Team for the great car, and Mikkel and Steven for the great job.
“It hurts not to take the win when we deserved it, but I’m happy to get a podium.
Zilisch, a NASCAR development driver with Shane van Gisbergen’s Trackhouse Racing, ran fourth with 40 minutes to go but hit the front when all three cars ahead were forced to come in for fuel. He led from the final restart to bring home a 1.127-second victory for himself, Dwight Merriman, and Ryan Dalziel over TDS Racing.
“It’s an honour for the team to trust me and give me the chance to show them what I have at the end,” Zilisch said. “It was really tough to pass out there and it was kind of whoever could get track position, get to the lead, was going to end up winning. … Pretty unreal to get two wins in my first two WeatherTech starts.”
Brendon Hartley, Ricky Taylor and Felipe Albuquerque’s Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 overcame a rear-of-the-grid start to finish fifth, on the lead lap and only 4.5 seconds off the podium.
The team dropped to eighth under the final caution as they stopped for fuel and tyres, recovering three positions off the ensuing restart to ensure two Acura finished in the top five.
Tom Blomqvist’s search for a maiden 12 Hours of Sebring victory ended after 8 hours when his #31 Action Express Cadillac teammate Pipo Derani crashed out of the lead eight hours in.
Derani, in the hunt for his fifth overall victory at the race, clipped a slower GTD car as he attempted to pass through Turns 9 and 10 and spun nose-first into the tyre wall at speed. The impact sent the car airborne, landing on its roof on top of the tyres.
Derani received assistance from the car and walked away from the accident, but a considerable delay was required to cautiously upright the V-Series.R, remove it and repair the barriers.
The #4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, shared by Earl Bamber, Tommy Milner, and Nicky Catsburg, also had a difficult day in the GTD Pro Class. Due to a post-qualifying technical infraction, it started from the very rear of the 58-car grid.
Clutch issues then cost time early in proceedings, and they would lose laps while working on a repair mid-race.
“To be honest, I think we had pretty good pace and were competitive,” said Catsburg.
“Unfortunately we ran into some issues with the clutch, so we kept losing time at the pit stops, and I had to stop twice on track, the pace is there but we were losing track position. We will keep plugging away at it and hopefully end up with a good result at the next race.”
IMSA returns with the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 19-20, while the next Endurance Cup outing comes on June 20-23 with the Six Hours of the Glen.
