CORE Autosport are looking to continue a strong start to the Tudor United Sportscar Championship season at this weekend’s 12 Hours of Sebring (March 21).
Jon Bennett, Colin Braun and James Gué will once again share the #54 ORECA FLM09 that took CORE Autosport to a narrow class victory in last year’s race.
The reigning Prototype Challenge champions are aiming to bounce back from a disappointing Rolex 24 at Daytona, in which an engine failure in the closing stages denied an almost certain class win.
CORE Autosport currently lead the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup standings despite falling short at Daytona, just four points ahead of the PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports squad.
“Preparing for the 12-hour race at Sebring looks and feels quite similar to preparing for a 24-hour race.” said Bennett. “We use less fuel and tires and require a team of three drivers rather than four. Those are really the only distinctions between the 12-hour race at Sebring and a 24-hour event. In fact, to protect our race car, we will start the Sebring race with more new parts and vibration damping techniques than any race on our calendar.”
“I think the hardest thing about Sebring is how physical it is: on both the driver and the car,” commented Braun, who will be taking part in a charity go-kart race on Sunday organised by Porsche driver Patrick Long. “It’s such a rough race track that it wears everything out. It’s a good test of driver fitness and machine strength because it’s a long track and bumpy. That’s also what makes it enjoyable.”
“For me Sebring ranks right up there as one of the most recognized endurance races in the world,” Gué concluded. “Whenever I think of endurance sportscar racing Daytona and Sebring always come to mind. It’s a very unique track that really puts a huge stress on both driver and car.”
“Everyone knows it can get a bit crazy in the infield. In the drivers’ seat, you usually can’t see it, but around lunch and dinner time you can always smell what’s cooking on all the grills!”
The 2015 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida gets underway on Saturday, March 21 at 14:50 GMT.
