Derani Retakes Sebring Lead at Halfway Mark

Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA

Pipo Derani held the lead of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Cadillac at the halfway mark, while under full course caution in the Florida endurance classic.

The 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R retook the top spot through a pit stop sequence just before the yellow, which had the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 of Filipe Albuquerque out front.

The caution was for the No. 99 AO Racing Oreca 07 Gibson of PJ Hyett, who nosed his LMP2 car into the Turn 11 barriers.

Albuquerque took the lead around the No. 25 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 of Nick Yelloly following the restart from the race’s fifth caution for debris in the fifth hour.

It came after the pole-sitting Action Express Cadillac made a series of four trips through the pit lane, the first in an aborted pit stop as the pit lane had been closed, followed by emergency fuel service and then a full pit stop and nose change.

Blomqvist additionally topped up energy in the No. 31 Cadillac one final time while under the yellow early in the fifth hour.

Yelloly passed the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac of Renger van der Zande for third, with the Dutchman appearing to have struggled on double-stinted tires in the car that led at the four-hour Michelin Endurance Cup points-paying segment.

Ricky Taylor, now in the No. 10 WTRAndretti Acura, ran second at the six-hour mark, with the No. 7 Penske Porsche 963 of Feilpe Nasr in third.

There was previous drama for the sister No. 6 Penske Porsche of Nick Tandy, who pitted in the sixth hour with left-rear damage that required a rear deck change and put the Englishman on the tail end of the lead lap while under a stretch of green flag running.

Sebastien Bourdais’ CGR Cadillac was fourth, with Louis Deletraz having completed the top-five in the No. 40 WTRAndretti Acura.

LMP2 was led by the No. 52 Inter Europol by PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca of Kuba Smiechowski, while Kyle Kirkwood paced GTD Pro in the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.

Manny Frano was out front of GTD in his No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, meanwhile.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John