13 March 2018
Sebring, 12 March 2018 - Saturday’s 12 Hours of Sebring will see a quartet of Ferrari entries look to extend the rich racing legacy for the brand in one of the continent’s toughest races. Saturday’s race marks the second round of the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as well as the North American Endurance Cup.
Winning tradition. Ferrari has raced with success at the track since taking its first overall victory in 1956 with Eugenio Catellotti and Juan Manuel Fangio teaming in the Ferrari 860 Monza. Since that first victory, Sebring has set the stage for some 21 class wins and 12 overall triumphs for Ferrari. The Sebring event attracts a huge crowd year after year, with the notoriously bumpy 3.7-mile circuit giving racers a challenge at every turn. The airport-based circuit often changes characteristics multiple times during the day as the temperatures soar through the afternoon only to recede as the sun sets behind turn 17 and the event races into the night.
GTLM. Ferrari will target a successful return to the Sebring podium for the no. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GTE of Toni Vilander, James Calado, and Alessandro Pier Guidi in the ultra-competitive GT-Le Mans category. The team fought to a third place finish in the 2017 edition of the Sebring event and will look to add to its winning record at the track with a big performance again this weekend.
GTD. The large GT-Daytona class field will see three Ferrari 488 GT3 machines looking to extend the strong record of success for the model at Sebring, having captured a victory in its 2016 debut at the track and followed that up with a run to second in 2017. The no. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3, which scored pole for the season-opening 24 Hour at Daytona, will be shared by the world champion lineup of Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda, and Paul Dalla Lana. Scuderia Corsa won the 2016 running of the Sebring 12 Hour and will return with two entries for the 2018 event. Bill Sweedler, Townsend Bell, and Frank Montecalvo share the no. 64 entry alongside the no. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3 of Cooper MacNeil, Alessandro Balzan, and Gunnar Jeannette.
Schedule. Saturday’s Sebring 12 Hour will air live FOX Sports 1 starting at 10:30 AM ET before switching to FOX Sports 2 from 11:30 AM ET until 3:40 PM ET, with the coverage resuming at 6:00 PM ET through the victory celebrations ending at 11:00 PM. The race will be streamed for international audiences on IMSA.com, and Friday’s qualifying will also be streamed at IMSA.com beginning at 12:30 PM ET.