Sebring Friday Notebook

Photo: Vision Sport Agency

***The No. 4 Corvette C7.R of Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin and Marcel Fassler has been moved to the rear of the GT field after the car was found to have had a ride height infraction in post qualifying tech. It promotes the No. 912 Porsche 911 RSR to third in the GT Le Mans class.

***Qualifying times for the No. 2 Tequila Patron ESM Nissan Onroak DPi were also disallowed, due to an overboost infraction for Pipo Derani. The Brazilian, however, was unable to set a representative time because of the boost issues, pitting immediately after setting the quickest times in two sectors.

***Team owner Scott Sharp told Sportscar365 Derani’s blindingly fast sector times were attributed to the boost-related issue. The team doesn’t expect to be forced to change the engine overnight.

***Qualifying track records were smashed in three of the four classes on Friday. Neel Jani’s overall pole was remarkably 2.974 seconds quicker than Olivier Pla’s pole time set last year, while all ten GT Le Mans class cars were under Bill Auberlen’s previous record of 1:58.402 set last year.

***Colin Braun’s 1:53.404 is the only previous lap record to have held, with Gustavo Yacaman narrowly missing out by 0.102 seconds in his Prototype Challenge pole-sitting BAR1 Motorsports entry.

***Tristan Vautier and Connor de Philippi, the top two qualifiers in GT Daytona, were both Mazda Road to Indy graduates. It marked the Frenchman’s first WeatherTech Championship pole and also the first for both SunEnergy1 Racing and Mercedes-AMG in IMSA competition.

***3GT Racing had both of it Lexus RC F GT3s qualify in the top-five in GTD, with the No. 15 car of Robert Alon qualifying fourth, ahead of team leader Scott Pruett.

***Both of the Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3s were clobbered by Prototype Challenge cars Friday’s final practice, with right-rear damage sustained to the No. 86 car of Ozz Negri and Katherine Legge’s No. 93 car having nose damage, after contact from seperate BAR1 Motorsports entries.

***The pair of Acuras returned to qualify 11th and 14th, qualified by Mark Wilkins and Negri, respectively.

***The No. 16 Change Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3, which qualified third in the hands of Corey Lewis, is a brand-new chassis. The Robby Benton-led team only took delivery of the car last Friday and prepped it in less than four days before leaving for Sebring.

***The Gen. II Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car made its worldwide competition debut in this weekend’s Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series races. Hurley Haywood GT3 Cup Scholarship winner Jake Eidson claimed victory in Race 2, with Scott Hargrove victorious in the opening round on Thursday.

***Porsche’s new Cup car is being made available to both IMSA’s USA and Canada single-make series for the first time in the launch year, alongside the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and Porsche Carrera Cup Germany. All regional single-make series, and other championships will receive the car beginning next year.

***Hurley Haywood has been named Grand Marshal for tomorrow’s race, with NASCAR veteran Kyle Petty serving as the Honorary Starter. Haywood, a two-time Sebring winner, waved the green flag to get the Rolex 24 underway in January.

***The No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini is carrying the name of a fourth co-driver this weekend, in Mila Sellers, daughter to Bryan and FOX Sports’ Jamie Sellers, who was born on Feb. 2.

***Be sure to download Andy Blackmore’s Spotter’s Guide for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, featuring all 46 starters for tomorrow’s race. Click Here to download the guide.

***While TV coverage of the race kicks off at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, the entire race will be streamed live on FOX Sports GO (with FS1 authentication), beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET. IMSA.tv will provide flag-to-flag coverage for international viewers, with IMSA Radio available worldwide.

***European viewers can tune into Motorsport.TV (formerly Motors TV) for full live coverage, in the first major race since the channel’s relaunch under Motorsport Network ownership. Mark Cole, Matt Howson and Chris Parsons will provide the call for English speakers, beginning Saturday at 2:30 p.m. BST. The channel is available on Sky Guide 447 or Virgin Media 54.

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