The factory Porsche North America team added victory at the Mobil 1 Sebring 12 Hours to their North American success alongside the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The No.912 Porsche 911 RSR, as seen in the World Endurance Championship and the TUDOR Championship, took victory by 5.296 seconds ahead of the No. 93 SRT Motorsports Viper in the GT Le Mans class, but the German manufacture also took victory in the GT Daytona class with Magnus Racing, after a quick-thinking pit stop before the final caution period meant the No.44 Porsche 911 GT America jumped to first in class, where it stayed until the chequered flag.
“The (final) stint was very exciting,” said Jörg Bergmeister. “The team made a very smart move, we came in very early and as soon as the yellow came out I had a nice cushion of cars between me and the Viper. I tried to relax and told myself just don’t mess it up. ”
One of Bergmeister’s team mates in the No.912 Porsche, Patrick Long, said: “We were really fast all day, but we knew if we got in a different strategy the other guys would have to make their last pits and we could use that to our advantage. We got the final yellow which let us separate from the pack and then we could just play smart.”
Magnus driver Andy Lally, who made the final pit stop in the No.44 GT America, said: We didn’t have it dead away on pace, but we had the right strategy that put us up front. We had a day moving forward and back moving through the pack, but we were so well- handled by the Magnus Racing crew. This Magnus crew is absolutely the best team.”
During the race, however, IMSA officials were under fire after penalising the No. 22 Alex Job Racing GTD Audi instead the No. 911 PNA GTLM Porsche after contact on track with one of the Flying Lizards Audi’s. “We believed this footage provided conclusive evidence of each car’s involvement in incidents,” said Scot Elkins, IMSA vice president, competition and technical regulations. “However, after the penalties were applied, we learned that the footage reviewed was taken from the wrong in-car cameras, as multiple cars were utilizing the same radio frequency. This was a unique situation, but we are unable to retract the penalties once served (stop plus time added). We will review our process and do what’s necessary to ensure such a situation does not occur again.”
