today is Jun 08, 2023
Early in the second practice session for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, it looked like the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillacs were going to be at the top again, as Ryan Hunter-Reay became the third driver in the No. 01 car to hold a fastest lap during a session. But as the Pro-Am cars left the track for the last 15 minutes of practice, leaving only the DPi and GTD Pro cars on the circuit, the rest of the field took turns setting fast lap.
Ricky Taylor in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Acura jumped to the top — and spun shortly afterward. Then Alex Lynn — who spent much of the first session on the timing stand as Neel Jani got some much-needed time in the No. 01 Cadillac — jumped to the top. But by the end, Pipo Derani in the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac was the first driver into the 45s with a 1m45.750s lap in the heat of the day.
Mike Rockenfeller — running solo in the No. 48 AXR Cadillac because teammates Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez won’t be allowed into the car until after tomorrow’s World Endurance Championship 1000 miles of Sebring race — made a late lunge into second at 1m46.126s. Lynn ended up third, 0.162s back of Rockenfeller. The No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura missed the session while the team changed the engine.
Lamborghini jumped to the top of GTD Pro, Mirko Bortolotti in the No. 63 TR3 Racing Huracan leading with a 2m00.861s lap. But BMW Team RLL continued to look strong, with Philipp Eng less than a tenth of a second off Bortolotti’s time in the No. 24 M4. Davide Rigon took his turn setting a quick lap in the No. 62 Risi Competition Ferrari 488, setting third-fastest time at 2m01.123s.
The No. 93 Racers Edge Motorsports with WTR Acura NSX GTD Pro entry with Ashton Harrison, Tom Long and Kyle Marcelli turned some solid laps after never getting up to speed in the morning session, although Marcelli was 1.6s off Bortolotti’s pace.The No. 97 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG never emerged, having gone behind the wall with an unknown leak early in the morning session.
The No. 8 Tower Motorsport ORECA was once again on top in LMP2, this time in the hands of Rui Pinto de Andrade with a 1m49.654s lap. The No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA made a showing, Mikkel Jensen 0.235s slower than de Andrade. That pushed the No. 81 DragonSpeed ORECA to third from second in the morning session, Sebastian Montoya the quickest in this session with a 1m50.146s lap.
Cameron Shields was the quickest in LMP3, driving the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier to a 1m57.586s lap. Joao Barbosa was 0.136s back in the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsports Ligier. Kay van Berlo, fresh off a Porsche Carrera Cup victory, was third in the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier, less than two-tenths off Shields’ time.
Getting a late start on the season doesn’t seem to be hurting Paul Miller Racing, with the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 at the top of the time sheets courtesy of Bryan Sellers, who did a 2m01.123s lap, third quickest among all GTD cars. Daniel Juncadella was second in the No. 32 Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG with a 2m01405s lap. Giorgio Sernagiotto was third in the No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 488.
RESULTS
UP NEXT: The second practice session was the last time the teams will see the hot afternoon conditions until the race. Next up is a 90-minute night practice session, beginning at 7:45 p.m. ET.
