The #10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 leads with three hours remaining in the 72nd annual Sebring 12H, just a short time after Pipo Derani and Miguel Molina’s spectacular accident over 90 minutes earlier.
Ricky Taylor drove the black and blue Acura to the front of the field, muscling his way through slower traffic to overtake Maxime Martin in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8. Martin and BMW M Team RLL were actually leading the race in the ensuing cycle of pit stops that followed Derani’s accident and the subsequent Full Course Yellow.
Smoke was spotted coming out of the right bank of the engine – using more oil than expected – but it didn’t diminish the elder Taylor’s pace, and after a round of pit stops, Brendon Hartley took over the #10 Acura.
A Full Course Yellow came out just before the top of the hour following a crash involving the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 of Fred Makowiecki and the #66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 of Katherine Legge, who spun and hit the tyres at Sunset Bend, then walked away.
The #01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, the sole surviving Caddy in the race, runs second with Renger van der Zande aboard, after leaping past the #25 BMW M Team RLL car now driven by Nick Yelloly.
The #6 Porsche of Makowiecki runs fourth now, followed by Colton Herta in the #40 WTRAndretti Acura, and Augusto Farfus in the #24 RLL BMW – pending pit stops and an investigation into the most recent incident.
It’s also worth mentioning that the #63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx SC63 has had a mostly trouble-free race so far, its only major drama occurred in the last hour when the left-side door popped open when Romain Grosjean was at the wheel. Grosjean is currently ninth overall and in GTP.
Understandably, the #31 Whelen Cadillac is now retired after its crash – and joins a second GTP retirement in the #85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche.
The “Banana Boat” had a problem with the left-side driveshaft and despite attempts to repair the issue, its race is now over after being the leading Porsche at stages earlier in the race.
Despite a spin at the exit of turn one, Connor Zilisch now leads LMP2 in the #18 Era Motorsport ORECA 07-Gibson. The 17-year-old wonder kid was able to get back to the top spot by overcutting the #11 TDS Racing ORECA of Mikkel Jensen to take the lead.
All Bronze drivers have cleared their minimum drive times in LMP2 so Jensen runs second, followed by the #2 United Autosports USA ORECA of Ben Hanley in third – and in the #04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA, which lost significant time in the first hour due to a puncture, Colin Braun is running fourth.
Michael Dinan’s tough day aboard the #8 Tower Motorsports ORECA continued when he spun at the exit of Sunset Bend, he gently hit the tyres and drove back to the pits. He was later turned around by the #74 Riley ORECA of Josh Burdon approaching the Hairpin.
The gold #3 Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Alexander Sims is leading GTD Pro at the top of the hour, though the timing of the FCY couldn’t have been worse for the #3 team as they’d yet to stop for routine service.
Just before the FCY, Ben Barnicoat in the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, and Jordan Pepper in the #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 made routine stops.
Now, it’s Michael Christensen aboard “Rexy” – the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R – that runs second in class, with Barnicoat and Pepper third and fourth.
Another Full Course Yellow came out an hour ago after Giammarco Levorato was pushed off at the exit of turn five. As the #55 Proton Competition Ford ran through the grass and sand, the diffuser came apart – spewing debris on the course – and also knocking the boot lid loose.
In GTD, Philip Ellis had just come in from the lead of the class in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, running a solid race so far.
Anders Fjordbach was running second at the time in the #86 MDK Motorsports Porsche, with another Porsche, the #120 Wright Motorsports car of Elliott Skeer, in third.
Legge had crashed out of the top five and Ollie Millroy inherited fourth in the #70 Inception Racing McLaren GT3 Evo, which has recovered remarkably from its first-lap incident.
The #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 has also retired after the damage suffered in the crash between its driver Molina and Derani.
The sun is set to go down over Sebring International Raceway and the complexion of this race may change dramatically in the final quarter!
Feature image © Jack Webster / Dailysportscar.com
