The opening half hour of the Twelve Hours of Sebring has seen multiple victory contenders encounter problems in a frantic opening phase.
Most notably, the #01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-VR pulled into the pits after a single lap with Sebastien Bourdais at the wheel with a reported gearbox issue.
The car has returned to the track but is running two laps down. The race is now being led by the #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac of Pipo Derani ahead of Alex Lynn and Tom Blomqvist.
Ben Keating has maintained the lead in LMP2 in the #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA 07-Gibson from the DragonSpeed #21 car of Henrik Hedman and Era Motorsport’s Dwight Merriman.
The early exchanges in the class saw a coming together between High Class Racing’s Dennis Andersen and John Farano, with the former serving a penalty as a result.
Harry Gottsacker currently leads LMP3 in the #6 Muehlner Motorsports America Duquiene D08-Nissan after issues for two of the class favorites.
The #36 Andretti Autosport Ligier JS P320-Nissan has fallen away with engine issues, while Gar Robinson lost the lead after a spin out of turn 17.
Daniel Serra leads GTD Pro from the start in the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo from the #63 TR3 Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo.
The #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 has also already fallen away due to reported engine issues for Alex Riberas.
Similarly, the GTD polesitting #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 of Zach Robichon encountered steering issues in the opening minutes.
That class is now led by Robby Foley’s #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3.
