Cadillac Leads With Three Hours to Go Amid Pit Lane Drama

Frederik Vesti got the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R back to the lead in the pits at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with three hours remaining after a prolonged period of green-flag running was interrupted by the race’s sixth caution.

The AXR crew utilized quick work in the pits under yellow to leapfrog Vesti past the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, who had maintained control of the field since before the halfway mark.

The sister No. 6 Porsche with Matt Campbell at the wheel ran third, with Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s Renger van der Zande behind in fourth. Marco Wittmann rounded out the top five.

Pit lane drama ensued when the No. 60 MSR Acura ARX-06 when Tom Blomqvist made contact with the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 while leaving his pit stall, resulting in right-rear damage for Philipp Eng.

Blomqvist’s car, meanwhile, was stricken on pit lane with left-front damage and also went behind the wall in the first multi-car GTP incident to impact the race.

During the race’s sixth caution, Mirko Bortolotti pulled his No. 63 Lamborghini SC63 behind the wall and later retired with floor damage after running just outside of the top-ten.

Prior to the eighth-hour caution, the field has seen four hours and 11 minutes of green flag running before a spin from Casper Stevenson triggered another yellow.

Toby Sowery sat atop the LMP2 standings for CrowdStrike Racing by APR after leading by a significant margin prior to the most recent yellow flag pit stops.

Paul di Resta’s No. 22 United Autosports Oreca 07 Gibson held second position from TDS Racing’s Hunter McElrea.

Despite the No. 11 TDS Oreca controlling the first half of the race, McElrea was hit and spun by Matias Perez Companc at Turn 17. While McElrea dropped down the order, he managed to keep the car on the lead lap. No action was taken by race control on the collision.

Dennis Olsen led in GTD Pro in his off-sequence Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3.

The American squad began an alternative pit strategy in the early stages of the race, helping to elevate the No. 65 Mustang GT3 to the front of the field when other front-runners took to pit lane under yellow.

The class remained hotly-contested, however, with Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ Nico Varrone in second, with challengers from Paul Miller Racing and AO Racing in tow.

Conquest Racing jumped to the top of the GTD field after staying out during the last round of yellow flag stops, with Cedric Sbirrazzuoli leading the No. 12 Vassar-Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Parker Thompson.

A pair of GTD class leaders faded from contention in similar, yet separate fashions, with Kenton Koch first parking his GTD class-leading No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo off track before the start of the seventh hour, reporting a loss of drive.

The race stayed green as Koch was able to park his Mercedes-AMG just in front of the Turn 7 barrier cutout, allowing for swift recovery. However, the car was retired roughly an hour later.

Later in hour eight, Alessandro Pier Guidi stopped his leading No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 on track in the exact same spot as Koch after a previous off at Turn 1 saw him bounce across the runoff area and momentarily lose the lead to The Heart of Racing Team’s Zachary Robichon.