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Corvette DPs at Sebring: first time at the 12 Hours

Historic Florida circuit follows dominant showing at Rolex 24

Edited: Jun 1, 2018, 3:16 PM

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#5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP Chevrolet: Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, Sébastien Bourdais

There’s a first time for everything, the old saying goes. It’s with that in mind that Corvette Daytona Prototype teams head this week to Sebring International Raceway for the second round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring is America’s oldest sports car race but this year marks the first time DP cars race at the historic circuit.

The inaugural season of the TUDOR Championship couldn’t have started much better for the contingent of Corvette DP teams. Action Express Racing’s No. 5 entry led a sweep of the top four positions at the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the year. Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Sebastien Bourdais look to earn a double in Florida with a victory at Sebring. The competition is tough though with 18 cars in the TUDOR Championship’s Prototype class – including four other Corvette Daytona Prototypes.

#5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP Chevrolet: Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi, Sébastien Bourdais

Photo by: Eric Gilbert

Wayne Taylor Racing finished second at the Rolex 24 and stands to contend again at Sebring. Action Express’ No. 9 entry followed with Spirit of Daytona’s Corvette DP in fourth. Throw in Marsh Racing’s No. 31 entry – only the team’s second race with its Corvette DP – and you have a group capable of challenging throughout 12 hours on the rough-and-tumble Florida circuit… and giving Chevrolet its first overall Sebring victory since 1965.

“There aren’t many racing venues in the world that are as demanding on the cars, drivers and teams as Sebring,” said Mark Kent, Chevrolet’s Director of Racing. “It is a circuit full of history and Chevrolet looks forward to returning to this amazing track. Taking the top four finishing positions at the season opening Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race was a monumental moment for Chevrolet and our Corvette Daytona Prototype program. We hope to build upon that success as the season continues with the 12 hour race at Sebring.”

The No. 5 Action Express entry set the quickest time of a two-day open test at Sebring in late February with a 1:52.480 (119.701 mph). Spirit of Daytona’s No. 90 Corvette DP was third.

There may not be two race circuits in North America that are as different as Daytona and Sebring. The former is a combination of high-banked oval and infield road course with smooth surfacing all the way around. That is in short supply around Sebring, which sits on the site of a World War II airbase – Hendricks Field. American B-17s trained there, and now the sound of thousands of horsepower fill the air around Sebring each March. Part of the circuit uses the old concrete runway, which makes up some of the roughest sections of racing surface anywhere in the world. It’s part of what makes Sebring physically the toughest venue in endurance racing.

"There are many unknowns ahead of this race for our Corvette Daytona Prototypes in their 2014 configurations," said Jim Lutz, Chevrolet’s Program Manager for Corvette Daytona Prototypes. "Even that will change with the recent IMSA adjustment of performance - revisions to our downforce package and air restrictor. Our knowledge base for Sebring is limited to the two IMSA test days in February, so there is little to no prior experience of running these cars around the toughest circuit on our schedule. Our competitors running P2 machinery have an advantage in that those cars have run in the 12 Hours numerous times before.

"This race is half as long as Daytona but in many ways it’s twice as difficult on both the teams and equipment," he added. "Reliability will be key, as will getting through and around traffic with nearly 70 cars over an erratic and bumpy surface.”

Camaro Z/28.R set to make Sebring debut
Chevrolet’s newest version of the Camaro also makes its Sebring debut this week. The Z/28.R made its first race start in January at Daytona International Speedway and has undergone additional testing and development since.

Both Stevenson Motorsports and CKS Autosport are fielding the new Camaro Z/28.R in the car’s debut season. For Stevenson, Robin Liddell and Andrew Davis drive the No. 6 Camaro with Andy Lally and Matt Bell in the No. 9. In the CKS camp, Eric Curran and Lawson Aschenbach partner in the No. 01 with Ashley McCalmont and Bob Michaelian sharing in the No. 00.

A GS-class victory at Sebring would be historic on a number of levels. In addition to the first win for the Z/28.R, it would be the first at Sebring for the Camaro brand since 1990 in the IMSA Firehawk Series. In fact, the Firehawk championship was the first street-stock series to race at Sebring in 1985 – a six-hour race won by a Camaro.

“The Daytona weekend was a beneficial one,” said Lisa Talarico, Chevrolet’s Program Manager for the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. “The time between then and now has been equally important with continuing development. Sebring is a difficult challenge on its own. We are confident, along with our partner teams, that the Camaro Z/28.R program will continue showing progress and competitive results.”

Team Chevy Racing

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