Four First-Time Run Group Winners Crowned at the Mission Foods HSR Sebring Classic 12 Hour, Pistons & Props, Presented by the Alan Jay Automotive Network
- Convincing Victories, a Record-Stopping Upset and Late Drama Cap Another Competitive Mission Foods HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour at Sebring International Raceway on Sunday
- Chevron B19, Acura ARX-05 DPi and a Pair of GT Porsches First Quartet of First-Time Mission Foods HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour Winners in Six Years at Sebring International Raceway
A quartet of first-time Mission Foods HSR Sebring Classic 12 Hour, Pistons & Props, Presented by the Alan Jay Automotive Network, race winners emerged for the first time in six years Sunday at Sebring International Raceway. The four overall Run Group winners came out on top after nine hours of non-stop competition Saturday and three more Sunday afternoon for a symbolic 12 hours of racing paying tribute to the legendary 12 Hours of Sebring sports car race, which will be run for the 73rd time next March.
Competitors in Run Groups A, B, C and D took to the legendary Sebring airport circuit for four race segments over the course of the last two days. The teams covering the most combined distance in their four segments were crowned Mission Foods HSR Sebring Classic 12 Hour Champions, and this year's race produced the typical mix of convincing victories, a record-stopping upset and a dramatic finish at the very end.
The strongest runs came in the combined Group A and Group B races that saw competitors share the track while competing for overall and Group honors. In both divisions, the eventual race winners took the Group leads at the start and never lost them over the course of the two days.
With the help of his countryman and multiple Mission Foods HSR Classic race winner Nigel Greensall, Englishman John Emberson brought his UK-based car and team to North America for the first time last month to compete in both the HSR Classic Daytona 24 and this weekend's HSR Classic 12.
Emberson, Greensall and the Foxcraft Racing 1970 No. 15 Chevron B19 ran with the support of the Atlanta-based Vintage Racing Company team in Run Group A. The No. 15 squad overcame a broken half shaft on the Chevron early in the race weekend to take control of the Group A race from the start.
The solid performance included the No. 15 team and drivers taking the overall Group A/B win in segment two after scoring division honors and P2 overall in Saturday afternoon's opening round. The Chevron team even won the fourth and final A/B segment on Sunday, but by then the focus was firmly on sealing the Group A victory. The Chevron ultimately took the checkered flag in first place a full lap clear of its nearest A division competitor.
In Run Group B, veteran HSR competitors Kenneth McKinnon and Predator Racing broke through for their first Mission Foods HSR Classic victory after a second-place finish last year at Sebring and a third-place showing in 2022. McKinnon co-drove the Predator Racing 1972 No. 01 Porsche 911 RSR to the victory with longtime teammate Mike Bruns and Predator coach and co-driver Charles Espenlaub.
The No. 01 took an overall and Group B win in Saturday's opening race segment and backed it up with another overall win in the third round. McKinnon and company secured the Group B win by more than a lap and led the No. 15 Chevron to the line by over a minute to top the combined A/B standings as well.
The record-stopping upset was delivered by Bob Neapole and Guy Cosmo who broke through for their first Mission Foods HSR Classic victory with a controlled and perfectly executed performance in Run Group C. Co-driving the RBN Motorsports with Cosmo-Sport 2020 No. 60 Acura ARX-05 prepared by Hudson Historics, Neapole and Cosmo didn't put a wheel wrong throughout Saturday and Sunday.
Taking the Group C lead after Saturday's second segment, the No. 60 Acura squad went on to seal the victory Sunday over their friends and on-track rivals Pierce Marshall and Eric Foss in the 2017 No. 02 Matador Motorsports Cadillac DPi.
Marshall and his team were racing to be the first to score a Mission Foods HSR Classic in season triple win sweep after victories earlier this year in the HSR Classic 6 Hour at The Glen and last month's HSR Classic Daytona 24 Hour. The No. 02 Cadillac team pulled out the stops to shave a full 30 seconds off of the Acura's lead in the final Group C segment but the Acura team took the checkered flag with a margin of victory just under a minute.
The late drama - and related heartbreak and elation - came in Run Group D that offered a GT car showdown that was the closest battle in the HSR Classic Sebring 12. The British duo of Mike Jordan and his son Andrew Jordan went into the fourth and final segment with a scant 10-second lead in their Jordan Racing Team 2011 No. 77 Porsche 997.2 GT3 Cup.
The Jordans withstood the pressure from more than one close competitor, but maintained the overall lead the No. 77 held throughout the race for the majority of the fourth segment until a cut right rear tire less than 15 minutes to the finish took the team out of winning contention.
The 2015 No. 002 Fortress Stabilization Porsche 991 GT3 Cup team of Ed Wheatley and Jimmy Llibre beat the JRT team by less than a second in Saturday night's third segment and were quick to pounce when the No. 77 had its tire trouble. Llibre took the lead and the fourth round win by more than a minute to join Wheatley for a deserving overall Group D victory more than two minutes clear of the second-place finisher.
The overall Run Group winners were presented with all-new and custom-made Wall Clocks from B.R.M. Chronographes. Displaying the same dial design as B.R.M.'s unique time pieces, the oversized clocks have been a big hit this year with the race winners at The Glen, Daytona and now Sebring.
Other Sunday highlights included the late morning departure of the featured vintage aircraft that once again were a cornerstone of the HSR Classic Sebring 12, Pistons and Props. On Saturday, the pilots presented their annual Pilots Choice Award for best car and team while HSR competitors in turn selected the Best Plane of this year's event.
The pilots chose Olthoff Racing and the team's Superformance GT40 that driver Dan Long and Team Principal Dennis Olthoff co-drove in Group A in the HSR Classic Sebring 12. The plane of choice by the HSR four-wheel contingent was the battle-scarred USAF 1968 Cessna 02A, owned and flown to Sebring by Sam Lauff. Nicknamed “Oscar Deuce,” the twin-tail and push-pull tandem-engine aircraft saw action in Vietnam and carries bullet hole patches still visible on wing components. A military version of the civilian Cessna 337, this feisty fighter included explosion-proof fuel tanks, bulletproof seats, a full complement of military radios, rockets, bombs and mini guns.
