Sebring start time: The cars and personalities of the world’s two most prestigious sports car series return this week to the historic Sebring International Raceway.
The 71st running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will conclude an action-packed week at the central Florida road course. The World Endurance Championship and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will be held at Sebring.
The FIA WEC 1,000 Miles of Sebring will be conducted on Friday from noon to 8 p.m. ET as the WEC season opener. The following day, Sebring will host its 12-hour annual classic. At the second race of the IMSA season, the GTP premier category for hybrid prototypes will make its track debut.
Meyer Shank Racing won the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the second consecutive year, but will enter the Sebring race with a significant penalty for manipulating tire pressure data.
In the 2012 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the No. 02 Cadillac Racing V.R claimed the premier DPi class. The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing and driven by Earl Bamber, Richard Westbrook, and Alex Lynn, will compete in the hypercar class of the WEC opener on Friday. This will be the first of seven WEC rounds for the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R, including the 100th 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.
The squad, which finished fourth in the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona, participated in the Prologue at Sebring last weekend, which consisted of four free practice sessions totaling more than 12 hours on the 3.741-mile, 17-turn track.
Cadillac has had a great deal of success at Sebring, including last year’s victory, Bamber said in a press release. “Now we face a new challenge with the introduction of the Cadillac V-Series.R and eagerly anticipate it. The Prologue ran smoothly. We were at or near the top of the leaderboard in every session, completing extended runs, learning the tires, and entering full race preparation mode, as we will only have brief practice sessions on Wednesday before the race. We were a Daytona team, but now we’re a WEC team with a European-based personnel, so we’re all learning. “I eagerly anticipate the race.”
Westbrook stated, “The WEC is an entirely new league, and it feels like it. But we’ve only just begun, and there is so much more to come. The entire team will continue to grow stronger, and I believe everyone is thrilled. The Cadillac is incredibly powerful, but we knew that from Daytona, so we have a solid foundation to build upon. There are many reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming race week.”
International Sports Car Racing Day 2023: Date, History and Significance (newsd.in)
The following information pertains to the 71st edition of the IMSA Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway (all times are in ET):
2023 IMSA Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway
WHEN: Saturday, March 18, 10:10 a.m.
DISTANCE: A 12-hour race on the 17-turn, 3.74-mile course in Sebring, Florida.
FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 72 degrees with a 67% chance of rain at the green flag.
RACE BROADCAST
TV: The Twelve Hours of Sebring will be streamed on the NBC Sports App, NBCSports.com, and Peacock beginning on March 19 at 10 a.m. ET. Coverage of the event will extend from flag to flag. The race will also be covered by USA Network from 4:30 to 10:30 p.m.
Nine of NBC Sports’ IMSA and IndyCar commentators, analysts, and correspondents will be present at Sebring, including play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey and analysts Calvin Fish and Townsend Bell.
As pit reporters, Kevin Lee, Dillon Welch, Hannah Newhouse, and Matt Yocum will serve. Additionally, Brian Till (analyst) and Dave Burns (play-by-play) will provide commentary.
All sessions will be broadcast live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com, and SiriusXM will commence live race coverage on March 19 at 9:45 a.m. (Sirius channel 216, XM channel 207, and Web/App channel 992)
TWELVE HOURS OF SEBRING DAILY SCHEDULE, START TIMES
Here’s a rundown of everything happening this week at Sebring International Raceway (all times are ET):
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15
8:55-9:25 a.m. ET: Porsche Carrera Cup, Practice No. 1
9:40-10:40 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge, Practice No. 1
10:55 a.m.-11:55 a.m.: FIA World Endurance Championship, Free Practice No. 1
12:10 p.m.-12:50 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup, Practice No. 2
1:05-2:05 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge, Practice No. 2
3:05-3:35 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup, Qualifying
3:50-4:25 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge, Qualifying
4:35-5:35 p.m.: FIA WEC, Free Practice No. 2
THURSDAY, MARCH 16
9:15-9:55 a.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup, Race No. 1
10:10-11:40 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Practice No. 1
11:55 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: FIA WEC, Free Practice No. 3
1:20-3:20 p.m.: Alan Jay 120 Michelin Pilot Challenge race
3:50-5:20 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Practice No. 2
5:35-6:15 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup, Race No. 2
6:30-7:35 p.m.: FIA WEC, Qualifying
7:45-9:15 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Practice No. 3
FRIDAY, MARCH 17
8:55-9:05 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Practice No. 4
9:15-10:25 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Qualifying
Noon-8 p.m.: FIA WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring
SATURDAY, MARCH 18
8-8:20 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, warmup
10:10 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, 70th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours Of
