Sebring Thursday Notebook

***Hertz has announced a new formal partnership with Porsche North America, which will see sponsorship on the two PNA Nos. 911 and 912 Porsche 911 RSRs. Additionally, Hertz will also sponsor JDX Racing’s IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohoma car, the No. 20 entry driven by Sloan Urry.

***Chevrolet was announced Thursday as IMSA’s newest automotive partner in a multiyear agreement. Chevrolet will be the official car at Sebring, Belle Isle Park in Detroit, and Elkhart Lake’s Road America.

***After testing its Zytek-Nissan LMP2 car here last week as part of a Dunlop ELMS/FIA WEC tire test, four members of Greaves Motorsport, including team manager Jacob Greaves, remained in Florida on an “extended holiday” and are assisting with 8Star Motorsports’ four-car IMSA Prototype Lites program.

***Three of the top four finishing GTD teams from Daytona are either not at Sebring or at Sebring under a different banner. AIM Autosport takes Level 5 Motorsports’ place; Snow Racing has now partnered with Rum Bum Racing and SMP Racing was only entered for Daytona.

***Flying Lizard has made a driver change as Tim Pappas misses this race due to illness. Alessandro Latif shifts from the No. 35 to No. 45 entry to replace Pappas alongside Spencer Pumpelly, Nelson Canache and Markus Winkelhock. The No. 35 will continue with just Dion von Moltke, Seth Neiman and Sebring debutante Felipe Albuquerque.

***Norbert Siedler has shifted to Dempsey Racing’s No. 27 Porsche 911 GT America, after originally being listed first for Park Place Motorsports and then for Muehlner Motorsports America. Siedler, a Gold-rated driver, joins fellow Gold driver Andrew Davis and Joe Foster and Patrick Dempsey, who are Silver and Bronze-rated, respectively.

***Kevin Estre, Patrick Lindsey, Jim Norman and Mike Vess are listed in both Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT Americas, Nos. 71 and 73.

***Earl Bamber and Nico Verdonck (No. 18) and Bamber, Kyle Gimple and former Sebring class winner Ruggero Melgrati (No. 19) will drive Muehlner Motorsports America’s two Porsche 911 GT Americas.

***Other entry list additions include Mirko Venturi as third driver in Spirit of Race’s No. 49 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, and Shane Lewis as fourth driver of Turner Motorsport’s No. 94 BMW Z4 GT3.