Image: IMSA
Scott Dixon in the #01 Cadillac is leading the 12 Hours of Sebring race after two hours of intense competition in the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
During the first hour of the second round, there were thrilling battles and penalties given to teams for not following the pit stop rules.
The green flag was waved again at the start of the second hour, and #40 Wayne Taylor Racing (WTR) with Andretti driver Louis Deletraz was in a close fight behind the two leading Cadillacs in third place.
Sebastien Bourdais in the #01 Cadillac V-Series.R made a successful move on the inside line at Turn 1, overtaking the #31 Wehlen Cadillac without any resistance from Pipo Derani.
These two cars took charge at the front, with Deletraz in third position and Philip Eng in the #24 BMW M Team RLL in fourth.
Before the second full-course-yellow flag was shown, Scott Dixon in the #01 Cadillac went side-by-side with Jack Aitken in the #31 Cadillac and took the lead at Turn 16.
The two Cadillacs continued to dominate the race, followed by Brendon Hartley in the #10 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-O6.
Despite a strong start, #52 Inter Europol by PR1 driver Nick Boulle was penalized with a drive-through penalty for not meeting the minimum refueling time during their previous pit stop, allowing the United Autosports USA team to take the lead in the LMP2 class with the #2 Oreca 07 driven by Ben Keating, followed by Dan Goldburg in the #22 Oreca.
However, Keating’s lead was short-lived as he made a mistake and dropped to fourth position after locking up his brakes at Turn 3.
Meanwhile, PJ Hyett in the #99 ‘Spike the Dragon’ AO Racing Oreca made an impressive charge through the field after starting from a lower position due to a spin on the formation lap. He overtook Dan Goldburg amidst GTD traffic.
Luis Perez Companc in the #88 Richard Mille AF Corse Oreca had a tense moment when he went off track at Turn 2 and hit the wall, causing aerodynamic damage. He managed to make it back to the pits without further issues.
Towards the end of the second hour, Michael Dinon in the #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca made a mistake at Turn 13 while overtaking slower cars, crashing into the tire barrier and causing the second full-course-yellow of the race. He was able to exit the car on his own.
Nico Pino in the #2 Oreca from United Autosports was leading the race, followed by Matthew Brabham in the #99 AO Racing Oreca and Bijoy Garg in the #22 United Autosports Oreca.
In the GTD Pro class, the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F received a setback when Jack Hawksworth was given a drive-through penalty for running over a hose and nudging a mechanic during their pit stop. The mechanic had dropped his earphones and possibly didn’t hear the call to release the car.
Shortly after, Ben Barnicoat took over driving duties in the #14 car as they aimed to catch up with the leaders.
Meanwhile, Alexander Sims in the #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R made a remarkable move at Sunset Bend to take the lead from Madison Snow in the #1 Paul Miller Racing car. However, Snow regained the lead at Turn 1 after a side-by-side battle on the start-finish straight.
At the end of the second hour, Charles Mies in the #64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 was leading the race, followed by Neil Verhagen in the #1 Paul Miller Racing car and the #3 Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.R.
In the GTD category, there was an exciting fight for the lead between the #44 Magnus Racing AMR Vantage and the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Russell Ward. Goikhberg in the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini and Jake Walker in the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 were also in contention for the podium positions.