“Congratulations to the Wright Motorsports customer squad. The grid position for the upcoming endurance
classic is ideal,” says Sebastian Golz, Project Manager Porsche 911 GT3 R. “In the GTD-Pro class, the
qualifying drivers from Pfaff Motorsports and WeatherTech Racing experienced a bit of bad luck with heavy
traffic. The fact that the short 15-minute session was interrupted by red flags didn’t help either. The race will
be long and tough and the gaps in both classes are very close. It’ll definitely be exciting and spectacular.”
In temperatures of 19 degrees Celsius and a light mist over the 6.02-kilometre racetrack in Florida, all three
Porsche customer teams immediately went in pursuit of top times. However, a damaged vehicle interrupted
the session early on. When the track finally went green again with six minutes left on the clock, Zacharie
Robichon was ready: On the storied racetrack, famed for its gruelling bumps, the Canadian made the best
use of his tyres to turn the fastest time in 1:59.763 minutes. In the GTD-Pro class, the Australian Matt
Campbell scored P5 in Pfaff Motorsports’ No. 9 entry shortly before the finish. Julien Andlauer (France) was
hampered by heavy traffic in WeatherTech Racing’s No. 79 car and came tenth.
The American customer squad Hardpoint was unable to take part in qualifying for the 70th edition of the
endurance classic in Florida. The No. 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R was damaged in an accident during free
practice on Thursday evening. The team from the US state of Virginia are currently building a replacement
chassis and will start the second race of the season from the back of the grid.
Live streaming of the race
The 12-hour race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on the Sebring International Raceway
gets underway on Saturday, 19 March at 10:10 am local time (3:10 pm CET). The entire race can be viewed
live outside the USA and Canada on www.imsa.com. Live timing of all sessions is available at
scoring.imsa.com.
Drivers’ qualifying quotes
Zacharie Robichon (Porsche 911 GT3 R #16): “It was clear before the start of our qualifying that the car
was really good, but we still didn’t really know how we would perform in one fast lap. I tackled the matter
strategically and drove cautiously in the first couple of laps. When a clear run opened up, it was all or nothing.
I only had this one chance without the pesky traffic – and everything came together perfectly! Pole position
doesn’t really play a major role in a 12-hour race, but it’s a great feeling and it gives you extra motivation.”
Matt Campbell (Porsche 911 GT3 R #9): “Fifth place is what we’d expected for the qualifying prior to the
session. Obviously, we would’ve preferred pole position, but that wasn’t realistic. We’re satisfied because our
car is well balanced. We now have the rest of the day to take another close look at the data. Perhaps we’ll
find an even better setup for the race. Let’s see.”
Julien Andlauer (Porsche 911 GT3 R #79): “I was held up by traffic but we also made some set-up
adjustments prior to the qualifying. Unfortunately, that went in the wrong direction. We urgently need to make
some noticeable improvements before the race starts, otherwise it’ll be difficult. The balance isn’t great, so
the performance is currently not there. But I’m confident that we’ll make good progress.”
Result GTD-Pro class
1. Serra/Rigon/Cheever (I/I/USA), Ferrari 488 GT3 #62, 1:59.414 minutes
2. Bortolotti/Mapelli/Caldarelli (I/I/I), Lamborghini Huracan GT3 #63, 1:59.431 minutes
3. Garcia/Taylor/Catsburg (E/USA/NL), Corvette C8.R GTD #3, 1:59.927 minutes
5. Campbell/Jaminet/Nasr (AUS/F/BR), Porsche 911 GT3 R #9, 1:59.982 minutes
10. Andlauer/Picariello/MacNeil (F/B/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #79, 2:00.951 minutes
Result GTD class
1. Hardwick/Heylen/Robichon (USA/B/CDN), Porsche 911 GT3 R #16, 1:59.763 minutes
2. Foley/Auberlen/Dinan (USA/USA/USA), BMW M4 GT3 #96, 1:59.788 minutes
3. Ward/Ellis/Dienst (USA/CH/D), Mercedes-AMG GT3 #57, 1:59.848 minutes
DNS. Ferriol/Legge/Wilson (USA/GB/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 R #88, no lap time
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