12H Sebring: GT race debut of Neel Jani

IMSA CLASSIC AS FINAL RUN In Porsche's farewell race as a factory team in the USA, Neel Jani makes his debut in the GTLM category on Saturday. There he will meet compatriot Marcel Fässler on Corvette. The 12 Hours of Sebring at the former airfield in the heart of Florida was originally scheduled for mid-March as the second round of the IMSA [...]

Editorial - November 12, 2020

In the GTLM category, a merciless battle always rages between the factory cars from Corvette, Porsche and BMW. At the 2h45 Sebring race in July, the Chevys set the pace (Photos: IMSA Photo).

The 12 Hours of Sebring at the former airfield in the heart of Florida was originally scheduled for mid-March as the second round of the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, it had to be postponed by eight months at very short notice - test drives were already underway.

In terms of the weather, the new date is not a problem, because at this time of year in the sunshine state of the USA there are still usually pleasant late summer temperatures. Although a tropical storm is heading for Florida, at most light rain is expected in Sebring in addition to sunshine, which should not affect the event.

Farewell in US look
The archaic Sebring International Raceway was the stop for the third IMSA championship round in July. Now the oldest endurance race in the U.S. forms the grand season finale on Saturday, even with spectators along the six-kilometer, 17-turn track.It also marks the end of Porsche's factory program in the GTLM class after seven successful years. In the future, the Germans will only be represented by customer teams in GTD (according to FIA GT3).

As a special greeting to the numerous fans and loyal partners in North America, the two factory 911 RSRs appear in eye-catching designs. The special foiling is a very unique interpretation of the US national flag "Stars and Stripes".

The two Porsche 911 RSRs with around 515 hp adorn an adaptation of the U.S. national flag.

Also new for the season finale is the driver line-up. Neel Jani supports the two defending champions Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor in car number #912. Nick Tandy and Frédéric Makowiecki, who won at Sebring in 2018 and 2019, take turns in the identically constructed sister car numbered #911. Bamber is named as the third driver here.

New task on a familiar route
For the Swiss works driver, who has left Porsche's Formula E program, this means his racing debut with a GT sports car from Weissach. The 36-year-old world endurance champion and 2016 Le Mans winner has prepared himself with numerous test kilometers.

Neel Jani: "Nevertheless, it will be a leap in the deep end. I'll have to learn a lot in a very short time. Above all, I'm not familiar with driving in traffic from the perspective of a GT driver. I'm looking forward to the new challenge and want to help Earl and Laurens as much as possible to drive at the top of the GTLM class."

After all, the Biel native is well acquainted with the track. In 2013, Jani was third on the podium with Rebellion Racing, and four years later he took pole position ahead of all the DPi cars with the Swiss LMP2 car, but retired with Sébastien Buemi and Nick Heidfeld as strong partners.

Neel Jani is starting a new chapter in his career. It will be interesting to see how he fares in the GT car.

Fässler still hoping for a podium
Marcel Fässler also has the best memories of the 2013 12-hour race. As the third and so far last Swiss driver after Jo Siffert (1968 on a Porsche) and dual citizen Philipp Peter (2003 on an Audi) who started under the Austrian flag, he captured overall victory at Sebring seven years ago with Audi Sport Team Joest.

Like Jani, he now sets other priorities. With start number #4 on Corvette Racing's new C8.R, he will be a direct competitor to Porsche and Neel Jani in LMP1, as he was years ago at Le Mans.

After the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Petit Le Mans four weeks ago, Sebring is Fässler's third and last race in this exceptional year. The 44-year-old from Schwyz is hoping all the more for a podium in GTLM. In 2016, his first year with Corvette Racing, he stood at the top as class winner, as he did two months earlier at Daytona.

Of the few LMP2 cars, all of them of the Oreca 07 type, that of Mathiasen Motorsports with Patrick Kelly and Simon Trummer was often the fastest.

Simon Trummer ahead of LMP2 runner-up title
The only Swiss driver with ambitions in the overall classification is Simon Trummer. The Thun native has second place in the annual standings in the LMP2 category practically in the bag after his "gift" solo victory (classified as the last car after problems with a huge gap) at the penultimate race in Laguna Seca.

But this result, along with the class win at the 6 Hours of Raof Atlanta in September, was a consolation for the missed triumph at the Petit Le Mans. There, his team stopped 45 minutes before the end of the 10-hour distance - after 395 laps at the head of the class. Race partner Patrick Kelly and P1 Mathiasen Motorsports as a team have their LMP2 titles secure.

Race in livestream
The start of the twelve-hour race will be on Saturday, November 14, at 10.10 a.m. local time (4.10 p.m. CET). In Europe, it will be broadcast live in its entirety on the Motorvision.tv pay TV channel.