The 2024 Sebring 12 Hours got the finale it deserved. After a flurry of cautions late in the race, this one came down to a dramatic battle between Louis Deletraz and Sebastien Bourdais in the final minutes.
For a long time, it appeared that this would be Cadillac’s day. The #31 V-Series.R from Whelen Cadillac Racing had the outright pace and led at the halfway mark, but Pipo Derani crashed out heavily, ending his ‘drive for five’ overall wins in the race.
This left Ganassi’s #01 example to hoist the flag for GM. And even into the final hour, when FCYs ensured the #01 was no longer out of sync and held the lead, it looked like Cadillac would score its sixth Sebring win in eight years. This time though, it wasn’t to be.
Deletraz, in the #40 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06 he shares with Jordan Taylor and Colton Herta, fought his way past Bourdais after the final restart with a brave move into the Turn 7 hairpin.
“I came close lots of times, but he defended very well on the inside and I was on the outside and he squeezed me off,” explained Deletraz. “I realised I couldn’t make a pass on the outside, I thought about it, saw a gap at Turn 7 and just went for it and tried to stop him crossing back.
“I think there was some more contact on the straight, but it was hard and fair racing to the flag. If he didn’t respect me we’d both be in the wall.”
After making the move, Deletraz managed to hold Bourdais at bay. The Frenchman briefly tried to retake the lead but couldn’t find a way back through, crossing the line nine-tenths behibd the Acura.
“I feel so fortunate to come to these races and do the endurance races, they’re different to what I’m used to,” a delighted Colton Herta, said. “I almost won in 2020 with BMW but got taken out with five minutes to go. I can’t say enough about what Louis did in that last stint to bring it home, perform and make a spicy move on Seb.
It was a historic win for WRTAndretti and Acura. The first for Acura overall at Sebring and WTR’s first win in the GTP era in only its second race as a two-car GTP team. It was, however, the second for Honda Racing Corp. U.S., following a Honda-badged win in 2016 with ESM.
“We knew we had a good car,” added Taylor. “I think it was a big race on track position. In the heat of the day it was about survival when we double-stinted tyres, we didn’t take risks, then when the eight-hour mark passed the race really began. Once we were in the top three, we were off sync and it meant the yellow reset us, we knew Louis needed to fight for it.
“Everyone seemed to struggle to make a move on pure pace, but Louis showed if you time it right, you can make it work.”
On the other side of the fence, it was a tough finale for Bourdais, who fought so hard to secure himself, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon a memorable victory after overcoming an electrical issue mid-race.
“I gave it all I had,” Bourdais said after the race. “The 40 car was out of sync and they put new tyres on at the last stop and we didn’t because we didn’t have time for that and they just came like a rocket at the end.
“I’m a little disappointed that it turned into a bumper car contest at the end. I didn’t try to make any contact, but he sure banged us left, right and centre. I’m glad we got out of it because we could have picked up four or five punctures along the way.
“Obviously I am disappointed for the whole group and Cadillac because we had a really strong day. It was not as straightforward as we wanted but up front most of it. It always hurts to get done like this in the closing laps. But it’s racing.”
In the other classes, it was a remarkable night for Era Motorsport in LMP2 and Winward Racing in GTD, who both have Rolex and Sebring wins to start the season.
“It’s an honour for the team to trust me and show what I have at the end. It was so tough to pass out there, so whoever could get track position and the lead was going to win it,” summarised Connor Zilisch, who brought the Era ORECA home.
“With an hour to go we were running in a train and I think I was seventh. I knew I couldn’t pass them so I started saving fuel for the last pit stop. I saved enough to get back to the lead. It was unreal.”
It was a tense finale for Philip Ellis in the Winward Mercedes too.
“It was definitely not comfortable!” He said. “I was actually hoping for the safety car to come out when I saw the Corvette standing in turn three.
“Initially I battled with Elliott (Skeer) a lot as well in the (third place Wright) Porsche in the restarts. He seemed to be fast as well. At that point, we were trying to save fuel because we wouldn’t have made it to the end on green flag racing. It was actually tough to keep the pack behind you and save as much fuel as you can.
“That was a bit of a different ballgame compared to the last two restarts. I had the Ferrari behind me. Initially, I thought I could pull a little bit of a gap on him, but probably the last 10 laps or so in the race he was pulling back on me.
“I really didn’t know how much else he had. Maybe he could have gotten to me. We certainly saw that we were a bit weaker in certain corners compared to other cars, which makes it a little bit vulnerable when fighting.
“I think it helped with the GTPs coming through as well, opened up a bigger gap for me. I think it was a great fight with Elliott and Antonio (Fuoco, in the second-place Cetilar Ferrari). Happy I didn’t have to go too much side to side with them.”
And finally, the GTD Pro result. It was astonishing. Vasser Sullivan continues to prove that it doesn’t matter how old your car is in GT3 racing; if you execute, you can still win races.
Ben Barnicoat, Jack Hawksworth and Kyle Kirkwood bossed the Pro field, with Hawksworth barging his way past the #3 Corvette and #62 Risi Ferrari en route to the win in the closing minutes.
For Hawksworth, it was a ‘hard but fair’ conclusion to the race, which saw bodywork flying at practically every turn as the train of GT teams scrapped for podium places at the end.
“You’re racing for the Twelve Hours of Sebring. At the end of the day we’re racing to win,” he told the press. “Nothing was beyond the line if that makes sense. It was rough, hard racing. I got roughed around a bit, and lost positions. Other times I won positions.
“This is IMSA racing. It’s hard-fought. There’s a bit of rubbish racing, right? This is what we do over here. We come out on top. If people want to cry, they can.”
The RC F GT3 is somewhat of an ageless wonder. Eight years on from its IMSA debut, it continues to claim race wins. Does this level of success mean Vasser Sullivan feels it doesn’t need the forthcoming GT3 car from Toyota at this point?
“We just know this car inside and out, we can get the maximum out of it,” Barnicoat told DSC. “But no. It doesn’t mean we can’t improve and move forward. We definitely do need a new car!”
Images courtesy of IMSA
