Montecalvo Overturned in Frantic Start to Sebring

An opening-hour crash involving the No. 52 AFS/PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Ligier JS P217 Gibson of Sebastian Saavedra and the No. 64 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 of Frankie Montecalvo has brought out the first full course caution of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Saavedra appeared to lose control of the car in Turn 17 and clip the Ferrari, which sent Montecalvo into the air and then into the tire barrier. The Ferrari ended up upside down but Montecalvo was able to exit the car under his own power.

Saavedra, meanwhile, drove his Ligier back to the pits but the car sustained significant damage.

Tristan Vautier leads overall from pole position in the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R despite contact on the opening lap with Olivier Pla in the No. 2 Tequila Patron ESM Nissan Onroak DPi.

The pair of Frenchmen were battling for the lead going into the first corner moments after taking the green flag when they made contact in the opening corner.

Vautier continued on while Pla went on a lengthy spin and limped back to pit lane with a reported gearbox problem that the team believes was a result of the contact. The car was taken behind the wall for repairs but the car was ultimately retired.

Trouble also found The No. 3 Corvette Racing entry of Antonio Garcia and Daniel Serra in the GT Daytona polesitting No. 51 Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GT3 which both suffered punctures in unrelated incidents.

BMW Team RLL continues to control the GT Le Mans class with the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE out in front, while the No. 86 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 of Katherine Legge is in front in GT Daytona after electing not to pit under yellow.