12 Hours of Sebring, 2023: Live Blog
And that’s that. A gruelling and frustrating 12 Hours of Sebring is at an end. Shout-out to the drivers for their relentless professionalism on track, to the crew for their ingenuity and determination and to all of you for sticking by us through thick and then. This live blog will take a breather until the next enduro at Watkins Glen in the summer, but our social channels will keep you up to speed during the IMSA ‘sprint’ season.
HOUR 12
We made it. 🏁 Katherine crossed the line to finish 12th (yep, she even made up a spot in the final hour) in GTD, despite most of the last 60 minutes being run under yellow and - twice - being denied the wave-by. It may not seem like much, but those extra points we’ve earned through perseverance may prove crucial by the end of the season.
HOUR 11
Marc’s out and Katherine’s in for the final stint. We’re three laps down, having pitted just before a Full-Course Yellow, but inexplicably were not given the wave-by to reduce the deficit to two. One hour to go and fans have already re-christened the #66 Acura as ‘Pudsey’ (only our UK supporters will get that), Blinky Bill '(ditto Australians). Come on Americans; we need some suggestions from you. Holding 13th spot but still with an outside chance of the top 10 if there’s a bit of carnage in the last hour.
HOUR 10
Grrr. Just when we didn’t need it, a full hour of green-flag running. No opportunity to gain lost ground and an extra pitstop to have external lights fitted to the damaged body panels of #66. And yes, we’ve used cable ties to attach them. Three laps down; the top 10 is a long shot.
HOUR 9
‘Every silver lining has a could’, one-hit wonders ‘The Supernaturals’ in their early-nineties smash ‘Smile’. It certainly feels that way right now. Katherine took over from Sheena, rejoining the pack in 11th spot and on the lead lap thanks to mega work by the pitcrew. In just one lap she made it up to ninth with a storming pair of passing moves, but then suffered contact and had to pit for repairs to the front and rear of the Acura on the left side. Result; we’re a lap down (again) and in ‘just get it home’ mode.
HOUR 8
A frustrating hour run almost entirely under yellow, so very little opportunity to make any progress. Sheena’s 15th, but has reached her minimum drive time. We are currently under yellow so Sheena will exit the #66 Acura when the pitlane opens.
How did we never notice this before? Marc’s getting ready for another stint before the end of the race too; Sheena having now met her drive time with four-and-a-half hours to go.
HOUR 7
The sheer number of full-course yellow periods (including one that was declared for debris just a couple of minutes ago) means we’re struggling to get into any kind of rhythm. Sheena is 15th, but still on the lead lap. She’ll have around 25 minutes to go to reach her minimum three-hour drive time once the pitlane opens and may well come in for a top-off, which would allow her to more or less retain track position. Jeez this strategy lark is tiring…
HOUR 6
Half-distance and although the damage to the front of the Acura is slowing us down, we’re maintaining a consistent pace and topping off with fuel during every yellow period. As a result we’re about a minute off the lead, but still firmly on the lead lap and now up to 12th spot. The picture changes all the time with some cars now off-sequence, including our own, which routinely moves into the top five before pitting.
HOUR 5
We’re back on the lead lap after receiving a wave-by at the most recent yellow period. Marc - who replaced Katherine - stayed out a lap longer than most other cars to ensure regaining the lap and currently sits 16th. There’s something truly dramatic to come in this race, we’re just not sure what or when…
KATHERINE LEGGE: “The damage to the car is costing us quite a lot of pace. We’ve lost a load of front downforce and that’s making it difficult, even in the slower corners. It’s such a shame because if we had the car we started with [before the contact from the GTP car], we’d be taking it to everyone right now. We’ve just got to keep going and score every point we can for the championship.”
HOUR 4
So unfortunate to be on the receiving end of contact from a GTP car at the start of the fourth hour. The hit knocked off the right-front light pod and bodywork, which isn’t affecting the Acura’s speed too much right now, but will need to be repaired before the sun sets. Marc ended his stint and handed driving duties over to Katherine. It was a long stop as extra checks were made to the Acura, but Katherine has been circulating well in 15th spot, just a few car lengths off the lead lap.
HOUR 3
A full hour of green-flag running for the first time all race means we’ve finally settled into a rhythm. Marc has climbed into the top 10 for the first time this afternoon and we’ve set our sights on improving even more.
HOUR 2
Sheena did a terrific job conserving fuel, meaning that when a FCY was declared just past the hour mark, she - unlike many others - was able to run a full stint instead of being forced to pit for an ‘emergency service stop’ for a maximum five seconds of fuel. As a result she climbed to 11th in GTD and kept the #66 Acura out of trouble as we ticked over the second hour. Stop #2 is coming with Marc preparing to climb aboard.
HOUR 1
Sheena’s making good progress and holds 14th spot in GTD with the first pitstop approaching (some of our rivals having just entered pitlane as the hour-mark was reached). Cockpit temperature is above 100 degrees F so we’ll be making a much-needed drinks-bottle change at the first stop.
GREEN FLAG
We are racing. Immediately there is an incident at Turn 1 that leaves the GT cars to take avoiding action. Sheena is squeezed right up against the wall on the inside of the track, but gets through unscathed in 18th spot. Time to settle in for (just under) 12 more hours of racing.
READY FOR THE OFF…
Sheena will be the starting driver and gets us underway from 14th on the GTD grid (Sheena having been seventh-best of the bronze drivers that took part in qualifying.
Meantime, this happened on the grid. We’ve called it a draw with AO Motorsport.
Only at Sebring… We’ll call that a draw eh @AORacingUSA?
— Gradient Racing (@GradientRacing) March 18, 2023
Green flag in 1️⃣0️⃣ minutes… pic.twitter.com/GwzgbbHpTh
ONE HOUR TO GO
Warm-up is complete (Katherine was fourth fastest in GTD), the driver introductions are being made and we’re now in race mode. We go off from 14th on the GTD grid; Sheena having been the seventh-best bronze-ranked driver taking part in what was her first EVER GT3 qualifying session yesterday.
In case you missed it, here’s what Sheena, Katherine, Marc and Team Manager Andris make of the challenge that is the 12 Hours of Sebring, wrapped up in our handy event preview.
SPOTTER GUIDE
The creative genius that is Andy Blackmore (creator of our very fetching JG Wentworth livery) has released the latest of his annual Sebring spotter guides.
Download yours absolutely free so you know exactly who we’ve just overtaken.
HOW TO WATCH
If you’re in the 🇺🇸, it’s Peacock & USA Network for flag-to-flag coverage.
In the rest of the 🌍, it’s IMSA TV, featuring the excellent IMSA Radio commentary.
And if you can’t get to a screen, there’s uninterrupted coverage on IMSA Radio and IMSA live timing (we’re saying IMSA rather a lot, aren’t we?) as well.
HELLO! 👋 It’s round two of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and the longest-running (and, some would say, most gruelling) race on the calendar; the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Today is race day and we’re thrilled to be part of an incredible 53-car field for the event, which gets underway at 10:10am ET.
To follow the fortunes of the #66 JG Wentworth HPD Acura NSX GT3 Evo 22, driven by Sheena Monk, Katherine Legge and Marc Miller, stay tuned to this blog, which will be updated constantly until the flag falls – and to our social media channels.
