Earl Bamber and Scott Dixon have got their 2020 Sebring 12 Hour campaigns away with a flying start, the two Kiwis sharing time at the top of the timesheets in their respective classes during today’s Free Practice sessions.
Bamber has the best chance of any driver in the field to win the hallowed event. He will have double duties in both the No.911 and No.912 Porsche GT Le Mans machines.
In their swansong race in the class, the German powerhouse were untouchable across all three of today’s practice sessions. The No.912 was fastest in both the morning and night sessions, while the sister car headed the day’s afternoon session.
In all sessions it was a Porsche 1-2. Laurens Vanthoor set the day’s overall fastest GTLM time at 1m57.975s in the second session, the only car to dip into the 1m57 bracket.
Porsche’s main rivals this season have been the Corvette Racing duo. However, neither were able to match the pace of the 911 RSRs and a trip into the Turn 3 tyre barrier for Oliver Gavin midway through the night session ended a tumultuous day for the American outfit.
Scott Dixon bows out to Wayne Taylor Racing this weekend with the six-time IndyCar champion eyeing a maiden win in the Florida endurance classic.
Partnered with the team’s full-time recruits Ryan Briscoe and Renger van der Zande, Dixon finished each session inside the top-four in the Daytona Prototype class. The trio also set the fastest time of the day en route to topping the afternoon session with a 1m47.478.
Van der Zande was the driver behind the wheel when the time was posted, and the Dutchman is aware how important this weekend is in terms of his championship ambitions.
“Not too bad for a driver without a job,” said van der Zande.
“This is a special weekend, my last race with Wayne Taylor Racing, and it’s fantastic to be in the car with Scott again — every time he shows up we win.
“I think we have a good shot at winning this weekend, that’s our main goal, and the Endurance Championship as well.
“Winning the DPi title would be a dream come true. Today didn’t go so well – we had a gearbox issue – but somehow, we got it fixed just before the beginning of the session. I got in at the end for a new tire run, and I was fastest.”
Dixon has never won the Sebring 12 Hour, let alone stood on the podium. His best result from six starts has been fourth which he has achieved three times.