Calendar reveal “couldn’t be more helpful”
Today’s surprise 2025 IMSA calendar announcement from President John Doonan has been welcomed by the paddock with open arms.
DSC polled multiple teams and found positivity at every turn. United Autosports co-owner Richard Dean told DSC that it’s a huge help to get the schedule so early in the year, as it allows for plenty of time to plan and put together a programme.
“It couldn’t be more helpful, the sooner it comes out the better,” he told DSC. “What needs to happen now is the other series need to fit in around it. We’ve been lucky that in 2024, ELMS, IMSA and WEC, we only have one conflict which is remarkable. Let’s hope for more of the same next year.
“But this allows us to plan for testing and sponsors. For partners and sponsors, we can start talking now. It’s very difficult to react if we don’t find out until August or September. Now we’ve got no excuse!”
Sims pleased with Corvette progress
This weekend is the second IMSA race and third race globally for Corvette’s new Z06 GT3.R. For factory driver Alex Sims, this week at Sebring has had a different feel to Daytona, where the Pratt Miller team’s focus was principally reliability and getting its cars to the end.
“We’re pretty positive,” he told DSC. “It was incredibly helpful to get so much data in Daytona and understand how the car reacts in a race scenario. Often it’s not until you get into a high pressure situation that you discover all the gremlins.
“Midway through the night (during Rolex) and into the morning it was looking decent but the others clearly had more pace and were in cruise mode. We did well to get through the race with only a few minor issues.
“There’s still more work to do as the customer cars have had some issues. But we are heading in the right direction.”
The #3 Z06 GT3.R he shares with Antonio Garcia and Daniel Juncadella will start the race fourth in GTD Pro.
IMSA return “like coming home” for Cameron
Porsche Penske Motorsport driver Dane Cameron has a smile on his face ahead of the Sebring 12 Hours. The American, who is back in IMSA after a season racing with Porsche in WEC, is bouyed by the improved form of the 963 platform and the team behind the scenes.
After trying his hand in the WEC, he is now back stateside driving the #7 963 and will start seventh on the grid tomorrow for the 12 Hours.
“It’s been nice, I had a lot of ‘welcome backs’ from people at the Roar in Daytona,” he told DSC, “and it just feels nice to be stepping back in. I’ve driven for so many teams here that I just feel comfortable.
“I’m glad I did the WEC thing, it was a goal to have a go at it in a programme like this. But they decided to put me back here and it’s good to be back on familiar ground.”
As for the 963 programme in a wider sense, Cameron is thrilled by the turnaround which has seen Porsche win the Rolex 24 and the first WEC race of the season at Qatar. This weekend, he and his teammates are looking to make it three wins in three races to start the season and score Penske its 100th sportscar racing victory,
“It’s been a huge amount of work to get here after falling short of expectations last year,” he explained. “The WEC was difficult as the two platforms were far away and it took a while to get up there.
“I was so impressed with what they did at Qatar, knowing how hard it was and how much work has gone into it.”
Sebring rededicates Officers Club
As part of Sebring International Raceway’s drive to deepening the link to its storied past as a former military airbase where the racetrack now sits, it has rededicated and renovated the Officers Club.
The freshly revamped Officers Club is housed in the last original building remaining from Hendricks Field, which served as a World War II training base for B-17 bomber crews from 1942-45. Situated near the track’s Midway area and Crosley Valley between Turns 6 and 7, the club includes a bar and indoor seating for 40, patio seating for more than 100 and exclusive trackside deck seating for approximately 40.
Track president Wayne Estes emphasized at the rededication that the club honors the memory of those who trained at Hendricks Field and went on to serve during WWII. By design, the club’s interior motif mimics those of officers’ clubs from back then as well as today.
Estes said an Army staff sergeant recently visited the Sebring club and said, “I’ve been in Army bases all over the country. When you go into the (Sebring) Officers Club, this is what it looks like.”
“It gives you the feeling,” added IMSA President John Doonan as he looked around the club, “that you’re almost back in that era.”
Charcoal drawings from local artist Samantha Zimmerman adorn the walls of the club, depicting images taken from a 1942 Hendricks Field yearbook. One of Zimmerman’s works is of an airbase hangar with the tail of a B-17 protruding out of the hangar door.
The Officers Club renovation follows by a year the ceremony that dedicated the nearby Hendricks Field Memorial Park, a restored greenway centered by a flagpole that was once the literal center of the airbase. IMSA and track officials are collaborating on future projects to further integrate the legacy of Hendricks Field with Sebring International Raceway.
Mazda race goes down to the wire
Today’s Mazda MX-5 Cup race was an absolute thriller, with a photo finish that saw series rookie and Mazda Shootout Scholarship winner Westin Workman (#13 BSI Racing) beat double duty driver Connor Zilisch (#72 BSI Racing) to the line by 0.004 seconds.
Workman started the 45-minute race on the outside of the front row but didn’t get the best start and fell out of the top five. He clawed his way back into the top three before the first of two full-course caution periods.
The opening stages of the race saw Gresham Wagner (#5 McCumbee McAleer Racing) tangle with Thursday’s race winner Tyler Gonzalez (#57 Saito Motorsports Group). Gonzalez continued but Wagner fell to the back of the field.
Gonzalez didn’t continue for long, however. A mechanical issue brought his car to a stop in Turn 15 and a full-course caution was issued. Gonzalez was able to jump out and give his battery a quick fix before continuing on track and into the pits. He returned to the track but struggled and eventually went a lap down.
Returning to green-flag racing, Zilisch led the field followed by Workman and Jared Thomas (#96 JTR Motorsports Engineering). Another full-course yellow came out one lap later to retrieve another stranded car, but after the second restart the race stayed green until the checkered flag.
Workman was able to get around Zilisch with only a few minutes remaining, but that wasn’t exactly where he wanted to be when the white flag came out.
Coming into the final turn, Workman defended the inside from Zilisch, while Jeremy Fletcher (#22 McCumbee McAleer Racing) chose the outside line. There was contact between Zilisch and Workman at the apex, but it didn’t slow them and they drag raced to the finish line.
It was the third-closest finish in series history, right behind the 2021 MX-5 Cup race at Sebring that ended with a 0.001-second finish.
Finishing third behind Zilisch was a welcome result for Fletcher, who earned a DNF in Thursday’s race. While Thomas, the defending MX-5 Cup champion, finished fourth with his teammate Aaron Jeansonne (#24 JTR Motorsports Engineering) right behind in fifth.
Images courtesy of IMSA & Corvette
