2022 Twelve Hours of Sebring – Cadillacs dominate overall podium as Corvette leads the GTD’s

In the second IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round, attrition and the ability to stay in the race was the name of the game.

Within the first 10 minutes, we would see both the DPi and GTD pole sitters head into the pits with mechanical issues. The #1 Cadillac DPi and the #16 Porsche would both go on to finish the race however they would be 44 and 16 laps down.

Following in the pole position curse, LMP3 leader and pole-sitter, Gar Robinson, would spin his #74 Riley Motorsports Ligier going into turn 17 just under 20 minutes into the race. In an apparent lapse of judgment, he would pull back out and narrowly avoid being collected by a fellow prototype car. To round off the bad luck, in GTD Pro, pole-sitter Daniel Serra would allow Mirko Bortolotti to breeze by him just under one hour into the race.

#74 Riley Motorsports Credit: IMSA Photo Shelter

Following a superb IMSA debut, 16-year-old Sebastian Montoya and his father Juan Pablo would have their race ended just under three hours in when the #6 Muehlner Motorsports America LMP3 car spun going into turn one. The spin resulted in Juan Pablo being left nowhere to go and colliding with a GTD car, ending the #81 DragonSpeed USA LMP2 car’s race.

In a hair-raising moment, Kyffin Simpson in the #66 GTD Acura NSX GT3 would experience tire blowouts after a brake lockup and stop in the middle of a blind corner. After nearly being rammed into by several prototypes, a full course caution was thrown around the three-and-a-half-hour mark. Less than 30 minutes later, a similar level of inexperience would nearly cause another serious wreck.

The #8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 car would spin mid-corner and then roll back onto the racing line, forcing the #20 High Class Racing LMP2 and Dennis Anderson off the track to avoid a collision.

Credit: IMSA Photo Shelter

Around the five and half hour mark into the race, the #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari would run into the tire wall at turn one, resulting in a long caution and the bunching up of six out of seven DPi cars. Six hours in, excess debris on track would bring out another caution.

Following the green flag, the #6 Muehlner LMP3 and Harry Gottsacker would run into the wall at turn 17 after a brake lock up. Soon after, the #47 Cetilar Ferrari would receive a drive-through penalty for running into the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW. Around that same time, the #54 CORE Autosport LMP3 would retire at the pit exit following mechanical issues.

After about seven and a half hours of racing, the #3 Corvette Racing C8.R and the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche would get in a tight battle for the GTD Pro lead after the two became stuck behind an LMP3 car. Half an hour later, the #10 Konica Minotta Acura DPi and Will Stevens would serve a drive-through penalty for failing to leave through the proper pit exit, costing them the lead and about 35 seconds.

With just over two and half hours of racing left, Pipo Derani and the #31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac would also receive a drive-through for causing contact with the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura.

The #2 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi car would receive a drive-through penalty and lose the lead after causing contact with the #13 AWA LMP3 car. Soon after, Bamber and the #2 Cadillac would take the lead back from the #5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Cadillac only to spin and have to regain the lead again with 44 minutes left. Bamber would pull away through traffic and win the Twelve Hours of Sebring for the #2 CGR Cadillac.

Credit: IMSA Photo Shelter

It would be the #47 Cetilar Ferrari who would recover and win the GTD class followed closely by the only pole-sitter to not experience massive trouble, the #52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports LMP2 car. The #52 car would experience predominantly smooth sailing and lead most of the race. For LMP3, the #33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier would bring home the victory, and out of determination the #3 Corvette Racing C8.R would prevail and win in GTD Pro.