2022 12 Hours of Sebring
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The 2022 12 Hours of Sebring (formally known as the 70th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts) was an endurance sports car race held at Sebring International Raceway near Sebring, Florida from 16 to 19 March 2022. It was the second round of both the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship and the Michelin Endurance Cup. JDC-Mustang Sampling Racing entered as the defending overall winners of the 12-hour event.
Entries
International Motor Sports Association's (IMSA) president John Doonan confirmed the race was part of the schedule for the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship (IMSA SCC) in August 2021. It was the ninth consecutive year it was part of the IMSA SCC, and 70th 12 Hours of Sebring.[1] The 12 Hours of Sebring was the second of twelve scheduled sports car endurance races of 2022 by IMSA, and the second of four races of the Michelin Endurance Cup (MEC).[2] It was held at the 17-turn, 3.741-mile (6.021 km) Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida on March 19, 2022.[3]
The 2022 edition marked the return of the "Super Sebring" weekend, in which both the IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship would compete during the same weekend; the 12 hour event joining the 1000 Miles of Sebring.[4] Last held in 2019, the WEC round was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] The 2022 date also fell on the same weekend as the IndyCar Series round at Texas Motor Speedway, prompting several full-time IndyCar competitors to vacate their seats for the event.[6]
On March 9, 2022, IMSA released the latest technical bulletin outlining Balance of Performance for the event.[7] Changes were made from the BoP tables most recently established at the 2021 season-ending Petit Le Mans, as the 24 Hours of Daytona featured its own unique BoP tables.[8] No changes were made across the three prototype classes, while several changes were made in GTD and GTD Pro. The Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 was given a 20 kilogram weight reduction as well as turbo boost tweaks, while the new BMW M4 GT3 and Chevrolet Corvette C8.R (in GTD trim) were given 5 and 20 kilogram weight reductions respectively following the 24 Hours of Daytona. The McLaren 720S GT3 received a slight turbo boost reduction, while the Lexus RC F GT3 received a minor horsepower increase. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 received a 10 kilogram weight reduction. On Friday morning, the Corvette received a mid-event adjustment, gaining 20 additional horsepower and a fuel capacity increase of 4 liters.[9]
Before the race, Tom Blomqvist, Oliver Jarvis, Hélio Castroneves, and Simon Pagenaud led the DPi Drivers' Championship with 378 points, ahead of Filipe Albuquerque, Ricky Taylor, Will Stevens, and Alexander Rossi in second position with 355 points.[10] Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, and Felipe Nasr led the GTD Pro Drivers' Championship with 382 points, 42 points ahead of Davide Rigon, Daniel Serra, James Calado, and Alessandro Pier Guidi.[10] In GTD, Ryan Hardwick, Jan Heylen, Zacharie Robichon, and Richard Lietz led the Drivers' Championship with 370 points followed by Andy Lally, John Potter, Spencer Pumpelly, and Jonathan Adam.[10] Acura and Porsche were leading their respective Manufactures' Championships while Meyer Shank Racing, Pfaff Motorsports, and Wright Motorsports each led their own Teams' Championships.[10] LMP2 drivers and teams as well as LMP3 drivers and teams would be scoring their first championship points of the season due to Daytona only counting towards the Michelin Endurance Cup championship.
Supporting the race during the week were IMSA's Michelin Pilot Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup North America.[11]
A total of 53 cars took part in the event, split across five classes. 7 were entered in DPi, 8 in LMP2, 10 in LMP3, 11 in GTD Pro, and 17 in GTD. In DPI, all seven cars which contested the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona returned, albeit with altered driver lineups. Neel Jani was drafted in to replace Kevin Magnussen in Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 02 entry, with Magnussen rejoining Haas F1 Team following the departure of Nikita Mazepin.[12] Meyer Shank Racing's Hélio Castroneves was replaced by Stoffel Vandoorne due to the former's IndyCar commitments,[13] while Ryan Hunter-Reay (Chip Ganassi Racing)[14] and José María López (Ally Cadillac Racing)[15] replaced Scott Dixon and Jimmie Johnson respectively for the same reason. LMP2 saw eight of the ten entries return, with G-Drive Racing by APR's pair of entries being the lone absence. In LMP3, Mühlner Motorsport dropped to a single entry, while Jr III Racing[16] and FastMD Racing made their 2022 debuts, boosting the class to 10 entries.
GTD Pro saw the introduction of Racers Edge Motorsports and their Acura NSX GT3 Evo22,[17] while WeatherTech Racing returned with their No. 97 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo following a planned one-off at the 24 Hours of Daytona.[18] Aaron Telitz also replaced Texas-bound Kyle Kirkwood in the No. 12 Lexus, while Scott Andrews filled Telitz's seat in the No. 14.[19] The absence of KCMG's Porsche, the #4 Corvette, and WeatherTech Racing's No. 15 Mercedes saw the entry list fall to 11.
17 cars were listed in GTD, five fewer than the field that contested the 24 Hours of Daytona. Paul Miller Racing made their 2022 debut,[20] while entries from Team TGM, TR3 Racing, GMG Racing, T3 Motorsport, SunEnergy1 Racing, and Northwest AMR were dropped.
Practice
There were four practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, 3 on Thursday and one on Friday. The first two session 90 minute sessions were on Thursday morning and afternoon. The third held later that evening ran for 90 minutes while the fourth session on Friday lasted 15 minutes.[21]
Qualifying
Race
Start and early hours
Afternoon
Sunset to finish
Post-race
Vauiter, Westbrook, and Duval's second place finish allowed them to take the lead of the DPi Drivers' Championship with 676 points while Blomqvist and Jarvis dropped from first to third. Bamber and Lynn advanced from sixth to fourth.[25] Since it was the season's first points paying race, Keating, Huffaker, and Jensen led the LMP2 Drivers' Championship with 385 points.[25] Since it was the season's first points paying race, Barbosa, Willsey, and Jakobsen led the LMP3 Drivers' Championship with 374 points.[25] The final results of GTD Pro kept Campbell, Jaminet, and Nasr atop the Drivers' Championship while race winners Antonio García, Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Catsburg advanced from sixth to second. Bortolotti, Caldarelli, and Mapelli jumped from twelfth to fourth.[25] McAleer and Skeen's second place finish allowed them to take the lead of the GTD Drivers' Championship with 672 points while Hardwick, Heylen, and Robichon dropped to third. Pérez Companc, Mann, and Vilander advanced from fourth to second.[25] Cadillac and Ferrari took the lead in their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Porsche continued to top the GTD Pro Manufacturers' Championship.[25] Pfaff Motorsports continued to top the GTD Pro Teams' Championship, while JDC-Miller MotorSports and Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports took the lead in their respective Teams' Championships. PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports and Sean Creech Motorsport ecame the leaders of their respective class Teams' Championships with ten rounds remaining.[25]
Race results
Class winners are denoted in bold and ‡.
