Eighth Edition of Classic Sebring 12 Hour Tribute Event to Sebring’s Rich Motorsports and Aviation History Concludes Sunday at Sebring International Raceway
The Eighth Running of the Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) Classic Sebring 12 Hour, Pistons and Props, presented by the Alan Jay Automotive Network, hit the halfway mark early Saturday evening as darkness fell on Sebring International Raceway.
Each of the four competing Run Groups have completed the first two of their four race segments that will be run over the course of Saturday and Sunday, and a mixed group of potential first time winners and previous HSR Classic 12 Hour champions has emerged as the race leaders at the halfway point.
In Group C, Pierce Marshall and Eric Foss have carried the momentum of yesterday's B.R.M. Endurance Challenge overall race victory in the HSR Sebring Historics straight into the HSR Classic 12 in pursuit of their first "HSR Classics" overall win. With the first two segments in the books, Marshall and Foss have co-driven the Matador Motorsports 2017 No. 02 Cadillac DPi to a more than one minute overall lead in Group C. While the lead margin looks somewhat comfortable on paper, the Matador team is being kept honest by Stuart Wiltshire who crossed the line first in Group C race two in his No. 10 Acura ARX-05 DPi.
Group B is emerging as a feel-good family affair with Kyle Collins leading at halfway in the GMT Racing 1972 No. 8 Chevron B21. Collins is driving the same Chevron raced to a 2020 Classic 12 Run Group victory by his Grandfather John Delane who this year has a radio on and is coaching his young protege from the pits.
Former Sebring and Daytona HSR Classics winner Toni Seiler is halfway home to another B.R.M. Chronographes watch as the mid-race leader in Run Group A. Seiler is driving the same 1969 No. 17 Lola T165 in which he scored a close second place Classic Daytona 24 Run Group finish last month at the "World Center of Racing."
Another entry in line for a first-time HSR Classics win is Patrick Womack who is co-driving his FedEx 2014 No. 11 Toyota Camry with NASCAR ace Joe Nemechek. Taking a page from last June's popular Garage 56 NASCAR stock car effort at Le Mans, the Nemechek team has equipped the Camry with full headlights, taillights and brake lights in pursuit of a endurance race win in Run Group D. After the first two rounds, Womack and Nemechek led by nearly 30 seconds.
Sunday's final day of competition at the HSR Classic 12 begins at Noon EST when all four Run Groups will compete in their final rounds in succession to determine the 2024 winners of this year's Sebring Classic.
