The schedule for the 69th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, 11 additional races and nearly 35 hours of on-track action was announced today by Sebring International Raceway and the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA).
Fans can attend five days of racing, qualifying and practice sessions from eight different series. The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, North America‘s most storied and oldest sports car race, will get the green flag at 10:30 a.m. on March 20. It is the second race of the 2021 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the No. 10 Konica Minolta ARX-05 Acura DPi from Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) attempting to win back-to-back races after taking top honors at The Rolex 24 At Daytona Jan. 30-31. The WTR team will try to win the season‘s first two races for the second time, having won the first five races of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship in 2017, including Daytona and Sebring.
The Mazda Motorsports No. 55 DPi team covered 1,301.5 miles in winning the 2020 12-Hour Classic, which was held in November after being postponed from its traditional March date. Approximately 40 entries are expected to fill the five-class field at Sebring, with the top DPi class being joined by LMP2, LMP3, GTLM and GTD classes.
Gates will open on March 17 at 8 a.m. allowing fans to enter and stay on property until Sunday, March 21 at noon. The Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 for the Michelin Pilot Challenge Series will take the green flag at 2:35 p.m. March 19; the Porsche Carrera Cup North America makes its debut at Sebring with two 45-minute races — race No. 1 at 5:50 p.m. on March 18 and race No. 2 at 10:10 a.m. on March 19; and the always-exciting Mazda MX-5 Cup series will conduct two 45-minute races — race No. 1 at 4:40 p.m. on March 18 and race No. 2 at 9 a.m. on March 19.
Tickets and parking passes are available at www.sebringraceway.com, including limited club seats in the Celebrity Cruises Luxury Lounge and the Gurney Terrace which provides elevated and shaded seating. A small number of reserved trackside RV spaces are available by calling the Raceway ticket office at 800-626-RACE (7223).
The inaugural Sebring SportsCar Week will give fans six additional races on Saturday, March 13 including two Porsche Sprint Challenge races, two Masters Endurance Legends races, a GT Celebration race and an IMSA Prototype Challenge race.
Gates will open at 8 a.m. March 13 for these races, as well as practice and qualfying sessions. Tickets are $20 and will add a full day of sports car competition on the weekend before the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Parking is free and guests will be able to access The Midway and Green Park throughout the day. Concessions will be available on the Midway. Gates will close one hour after the conclusion of the IMSA Prototype Challenge race, which is scheduled to end at 5:20 p.m.
As a courtesy to guests attending all five days of activities, when exiting the Raceway on March 13 guests will be allowed to pre-stage their RVs, cars and trucks in the lot off of Carroll Shelby Road in advance of reentry at 8 a.m. on March 17. RVs and customers not attending the March 13 event will be able to enter the staging lot on Sunday, March 14 beginning at 8 a.m.
Saturday, March 13
8-8:30 a.m. – GT Celebration Practice
8:45-9:25 a.m. – Masters Endurance Legends Race No. 1
9:40-9:55 a.m. – IMSA Prototype Challenge Qualifying
10:10-10:30 a.m. – GT Celebration Qualifying
10:45-11:25 a.m. – Porsche Sprint Challenge Race
12:25-1:05 p.m. – Masters Endurance Legends Race No. 2
1:20-2 p.m. – GT Celebration Race
2:15-3:20 p.m. – Porsche Sprint Challenge Race
3:35-5:20 p.m. – IMSA Prototype Challenge Race
Wednesday, March 17
12:15-12:45 p.m. – Mazda MX-5 Practice No. 1
1-2:30 p.m. – Fan Track Walk (enter at Turn 17 near Corvette Corral)
2:45-3:30 p.m. – Porsche Carrera Cup Practice No. 1
3:45-4:15 p.m. – Mazda MX-5 Practice No. 2
4:30-5:30 p.m. – Alan Jay Automotive Network (Michelin Pilot Challenge) Practice No. 1
Thursday, March 18
8:15-8:45 a.m. – Porsche Carrera Cup Practice No. 2
9:05-10:05 a.m. – Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) Practice No. 1
10:25-11:25 a.m. – Alan Jay Automotive Network (Michelin Pilot Challenge) Practice No. 2
11:40 a.m.-12:10 p.m. – Mazda MX-5 Qualifying
12:25-12:55 p.m. – Porsche Carrera Cup Qualifying
1:55-3:10 p.m. – Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) Practice No. 2
3:50-4:25 p.m. – Alan Jay Automotive Network (Michelin Pilot Challenge) Qualifying
4:40-5:25 p.m. – Mazda MX-5 Race No. 1
5:50-6:35 p.m. – Porsche Carrera Cup Race No. 1
7:30-9 p.m. – Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (WeatherTech SportsCar Championship) Practice No. 3
Friday, March 19
9-9:45 a.m. – Mazda MX-5 Race No. 2
10:10-10:55 a.m. – Porsche Carrera Cup Race No. 2
11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m. – Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Qualifying
2:35-4:35 p.m. – Alan Jay Automotive Network 120
Saturday, March 20
10:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. – Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts
About the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship features two styles of cars — Prototype, which showcases the latest automotive technology and are uniquely designed for the racetrack, and Grand Touring, which is based on road-going production models. These two styles of cars make up the series‘ five classes — Daytona Prototype International (DPi), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP3), GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD).
- Daytona Prototype International (DPi) — The fastest and most technologically advanced sports cars in North America, the Daytona Prototype International (DPi) is specifically designed and engineered for the race track. DPi cars use chassis built to international specifications powered by engines from mainstream automotive manufacturers like Acura, Cadillac, and Mazda. In addition, DPi bodywork includes styling cues that align with these engine manufacturers.
- Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) — The Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) is a closed cockpit car developed by four approved constructors. In addition to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, LMP2 cars are eligible to compete in other global series such as the FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.
- Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) — New for the 2021 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the LMP3 class. While they feature similar construction and hold to a similar weight cap as the LMP2 entrants, LMP3 cars use a spec engine and have decreased performance standards from the similar appearing LMP2 cars. Unlike DPi and LMP2 cars, LMP3 race cars use publicly available tires from Michelin.
- GT Le Mans (GTLM) — Utilizing the same technical regulations as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the GTLM cars are the most elite and fastest GT cars on the track. Based on production models, they are engineered to extract the maximum performance possible. The class serves as a true proving ground for leading manufacturers such as BMW, Corvette, Ferrari and Porsche.
- GT Daytona (GTD)
The GT Daytona cars are enhanced (not defined by) technology and utilize the global FIA-GT3 specification. The GTD class consists of cars from leading manufacturers such as Acura, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, and Porsche.
About the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge features sports cars from recognized worldwide manufacturers, consisting of GT4 and TCR homologated vehicles. The Michelin Pilot Challenge has two different classes: GS class currently includes Aston Martin Vantage GT4, Audi R8 GT4, BMW M4, Chevrolet Camaro GT4, Ford Mustang GT4, McLaren 570S GT4, Mercedes AMG GT4 and Porsche Cayman GT4.R. The TCR class currently features cars from Alfa Romeo, Audi, Chevrolet, Honda and Hyundai.
About the Porsche Carrera Cup North America
The premier one-make race series in the United States and Canada will utilizing a combination of the latest Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race cars and Michelin racing tires. As with all national Carrera Cups worldwide, Porsche, through Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA), manages the single-driver per-entry series and IMSA serves as the official sanctioning body of the series.
About the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrichu00ae Tires
The Mazda MX-5 Cup is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The MX-5 Cup champion earns a $250,000 scholarship. The MX-5 Cup race cars start as complete MX-5 road cars from the Mazda Hiroshima, Japan factory before being transported to engineering development partner Flis Performance in Daytona Beach, Florida, where they are transformed into a race car. The process includes disassembly of the production car, welding and paint of a full roll cage and interior, and adding more than 250 motorsports-specific parts. Other components of the car, including the Mazda SKYACTIV 2.0 liter engine are sealed to ensure even competition and a cost-effective platform.
About Porsche Sprint Challenge by Yokohama
The series is a stepping-stone on the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid North America between the Clubsport/club racing entry stage and the Carrera Cup North America. The series is broken into three classes: Platinum for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (type 991.2) race cars, Gold for type 991.1 generation Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars and the Silver Class for the mid-engine Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Driver and Team Championships will be awarded with the Platinum and Silver Driver Champions being invited the Porsche Night of Champions in Weissach, Germany.
About Masters Historic Racing
Masters Historic Racing has become one of the leading promoters of historic motor racing, offering its drivers the opportunity to race at the best historic racing events and most prestigious tracks around the world. Masters now runs seven race series through the UK, Europe and North America. Masters has held more than 200 events, in 15 different countries since 2004, with 750 members on average each year with historic Formula One and historic sports cars 60s Touring cars and GT cars, through to the more modern Masters Endurance Legends cars.
About GT Celebration
Featuring classes in GT3, GT4 and TCC, GT Celebration events support Formula Drift, professional sports car race weekends and Porsche Trophy West competition. Each race weekend features two races awarding points for the season driver championship. Each car is inspected before and after each session to ensure compliance with previously set balance of performance regulations.
About IMSA Prototype Challenge
IMSA Prototype Challenge enters its 16th season of competition in 2021. The series provides thrilling action and grooms drivers for future Prototype competition in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Racing is divided between the LMP3 Le Mans Prototype P3-1 class and the LMP3 Le Mans Prototype P3-2 class.