It was Corvette Racing’s ninth win at Sebring dating back to 2002 and completed a sweep for Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Ryan Briscoe at Florida’s two Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup classics: the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Running 1-2 with one hour remaining in the race, Porsche North America was looking at a potential double-podium before a pair of mechanical issues knocked its Porsche 911 RSRs out of contention.
First it was Frédéric Makowiecki who pitted the team’s No. 912 entry from the lead with one hour left. Issues with the left rear lug nut forced a second pit stop and then a brief stint in the paddock to repair the left rear upright. That misfortune handed the lead to the team’s No. 911 entry driven by Nick Tandy who shortly later slowed with a transmission issue.
The No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 team of Pierre Kaffer, Giancarlo Fisichella and Andrea Bertolini finished second followed by the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR of Bryan Sellers, Wolf Henzler and Patrick Long.
A wild final 15 minutes gave Alex Job Racing its 10th class win at Sebring in the GT Daytona (GTD) with Ian James, Mario Farnbacher and Alex Riberas co-driving the No. 23 Team Seattle Porsche 911.
Leading with just 12 minutes to go, Farnbacher drove off course in Turn 10 handing the lead to the No. 33 TI Automotive/Riley Motorsports Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R of Jeroen Bleekemolen. Staring at a runner-up finish, Farnbacher suddenly found himself back in the lead when Bleekemolen pitted with five minutes remaining with an engine temperature issue.
The No. 007 TRG-AMR Aston Martin V12 Vantage of Christina Nielsen, James Davison and Brandon Davis finished second, 8.837 seconds back, followed by the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia of Bill Sweedler, Townsend Bell and Anthony Lazzaro.