AF Corse in GTD contention midway through Sebring 12 Hours

The AF Corse Ferrari ran in contention halfway through the 70th anniversary running of the Twelve Hours of Sebring, although the pole-winning GTD Pro Ferrari fell out of contention for victory with a mechanical issue only two hours into the event.

At the midway point, Simon Mann ran sixth in the No. 21 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 co-driven by Luis Perez Companc and Toni Vilander. The car started seventh, but Mann had the red Ferrari up to second by the end of the first hour.

Daniel Serra started the race on the GTD Pro class pole No. 62 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 he shares with Davide Rigon and Edward Cheever III. Serra led most of the opening hour before his pit stop, prevailing in a terrific scrap with a Lamborghini driver right up until the lap before his stop. 

Rigon ran third throughout his stint before turning the Ferrari over to team newcomer Edward Cheever III. Cheever also worked his way up to third when he pitted and went behind the wall at the 2:15 mark with power steering failure. After a 14-minute stop, Cheever rejoined the race in ninth, losing eight laps. After the two starting drivers drove single stints, Cheever returned to the wheel for the midway point. The team made up three laps but was still ninth, five laps in arrears.

The No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 of Giorgio Sernagiotto, Roberto Lacorte and Antonio Fuoco started fifth. The car was on the lead lap five-hours, 25-minutes into the race when Sernagiotto slid off into a tire barrier exiting Turn 1. He was able to get back to the pits, with the car able to rejoin the race although two laps back.