12 Hours of Sebring, 17 March 2018: In the paddock ahead of practice, the #911 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy and Frederic Makowiecki
Porsche scored just a single win in the 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship about three-quarters into the season, but now the Porsche GTLM team have notched up their first victory this year in just the second round. Their success in Florida in the 12 Hours of Sebring came by way of a win for Patrick Pilet/Fred Makowiecki/Nick Tandy in the #911 Porsche 911 RSR. Their teammates, Laurens Vanthoor/Earl Bamber/Gianmaria Bruni finished in third place in the #912 car.
12 Hours of Sebring, 17 March 2018: In the paddock during practice, the #912 Porsche 911 RSR of Earl Bamber, Laurens Vanthoor and Gianmaria Bruni
12 Hours of Sebring, 17 March 2018: In the paddock during practice, the #912 Porsche 911 RSR of Earl Bamber, Laurens Vanthoor and Gianmaria Bruni
Following qualifying, the #912 Porsche started from sixth place with the #911 car in eighth place. After the first lap, the #912 car had moved up two places in class while their teammates had gained three places. The first of eleven safety car phases came after just 14 laps, but on lap 40, Laurens Vanthoor moved into the lead for the first time, a position which his teammate, Gianmaria Bruni, held at the front of the GT field for some time.
12 Hours of Sebring, 17 March 2018: At the start of the race, the #912 Porsche 911 RSR of Earl Bamber, Laurens Vanthoor and Gianmaria Bruni leads the #911 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy and Frederic Makowiecki
The two works Porsches continued to run without fault through to the halfway mark in the race. Shortly before halftime, Nick Tandy also had his turn at the head of the field in the #911 Porsche. During the second half of the race, it was the Frenchman Frédéric Makowiecki who dominated the GT field for two hours, only relinquishing the lead when he came in for a scheduled pit stop after dark. However, the 911 RSR continued to put the leaders under pressure and a torn-off rear diffuser caused by a minor off-track excursion was replaced in record time, and the lost time was quickly regained.
12 Hours of Sebring, 17 March 2018: The #912 Porsche 911 RSR of Earl Bamber, Laurens Vanthoor and Gianmaria Bruni takes off over a kerb
And the Porsche pilots continued to hold their own. On the 279th lap, and after ten hours and ten minutes of hard racing, it was Pilet’s turn to lead for the first time. Nick Tandy, in the #911 Porsche 911 RSR then defended this position with an inspired drive to the flag. Thanks to this victory, Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet and Frédéric Makowiecki now move into second place in the driver’s classification, while Porsche advances to second in the manufacturer’s championship. This result also gives Porsche a strong boost in the points tally that counts towards the North American Endurance Cup.
12 Hours of Sebring, 17 March 2018: The #911 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy and Frederic Makowiecki during the race
12 Hours of Sebring, 17 March 2018: The #911 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy and Frederic Makowiecki during the night
Comments on the race
Pascal Zurlinden, Director GT Factory Motorsports: “It’s a great achievement to score two podium spots at Sebring. The secret was our consistency and the fact that we didn’t make one mistake. We may not have been the fastest over a lap, but over the distance the drivers and the entire team put in a perfect performance.”
12 Hours of Sebring, 17 March 2018: The #911 Porsche 911 RSR of Patrick Pilet, Nick Tandy and Frederic Makowiecki during Qualifying
Patrick Pilet (#911): “This win was missing from my collection. It was a great team effort. To celebrate this achievement with my friends Nick and Fred, is incredible. After qualifying, victory seemed a long way off, but when you’re determined to achieve something and you go for it, you can do it. This race is proof of that.”
Nick Tandy (#911): “They say that the best victories come from the toughest races. Today was such a race. We didn’t have the slightest problem over the entire distance and that was the key to our success. My last two stints were incredibly intense, especially the duels with the Ferrari and the BMW. We switched to new tyres during the last pit stop – after that, nothing could hold us back.”
12 Hours of Sebring, 17 March 2018: The drivers of the #911 Porsche 911 RSR in justifiably jubilant mood after winning the GTLM class – (from L-R) Frederic Makowiecki, Nick Tandy and Patrick Pilet
Frédéric Makowiecki (#911): “That was one of my greatest successes. Sebring is my all-time favourite race in the USA and we knew that we’d only have a chance if we as a team didn’t make any mistakes. It was a really tough race, but that makes this victory all the more special.”
Earl Bamber (#912): “This race was a real rollercoaster for us. A case in point is when another car blocked our pits and we lost twelve seconds and several positions. It was a banner day for Porsche. We’ve waited a long time for such a sense of achievement. Now we’ll tackle the rest of the season feeling even more motivated.”
12 Hours of Sebring, 17 March 2018: The drivers of the #912 Porsche 911 RSR (from L-R) Laurens Vanthoor, Earl Bamber, Gianmaria Bruni finished third in the GTLM class
Laurens Vanthoor (#912): “Victory and third place, what a great success for Porsche. The whole team has worked hard for this major race and they deserve this success.”
Gianmaria Bruni (#912): “I’m proud to be a part of this squad. What they’ve achieved today is hard to describe in words. It’s unbelievable how quickly the mechanics got our car back in the race after I left the circuit briefly towards the end and had to pit with a damaged diffuser.”
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