SPEED to feature 13 hours of Sebring coverage
The linear network will take the first two hours of the race, handing off to SPEEDtv.com at Noon ET when NASCAR Nationwide Series qualifying and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice from Bristol Motor Speedway take center stage. SPEEDtv.com will offer full production and uninterrupted coverage before transitioning back to SPEED at 2 p.m. ET through to the broadcast’s conclusion at 11 p.m. ET.
Brian Till and Leigh Diffey will lead the play-by-play booth, while former sports car racing standouts Dorsey Schroeder and Calvin Fish will be providing color commentary. Rotating on pit road throughout the day will be Justin Bell, Jamie Howe and Chris Neville.
“We’re pleased to present continuous flag-to-flag coverage from the 12 Hours of Sebring, one of the most exciting races of the endurance season," said Rick Miner, SPEED SVP of Production & Network Operations. “We’re also dedicated to bringing you the same coverage on SPEEDtv.com that we’ll have on the linear network when we transition between the two platforms starting at Noon (E.T.)"
As always, a strong field is expected for the race, highlighted by two of Peugeot’s factory Le Mans winning diesel-powered 908 HDi LMP1 entries, which will be challenged by teams like Aston Martin’s emerging V12-powered Lola and Drayson Racing’s Judd-powered Lola. Those four closed-top cars will face off against the open-top LMP1 cars from Creation Autosportif, Intersport Racing and Autocon Motorsports. On the LMP2 side of things, Patron Highcroft Racing will debut its brand new Honda Performance Development ARX-01c, while Dyson Racing’s Mazda and CytoSport’s Porsche RS Spyder are also in the mix.
The GT2 class is loaded for Sebring, offering a diverse group of both factory and privateer sports car programs. BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Jaguar and Porsche will all have competitive efforts this year – including five two-car teams headlined by Corvette Racing’s C6.Rs, Flying Lizard Motorsport’s two Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs, BMW Rahal Letterman’s two M3s and Risi Competzione’s two Ferrari F430 GTs. In addition, single entries will come from Robertson Racing and its Doran-Ford GT and JaguarRSR’s Jaguar XKRS.
In addition to the live streaming and traditional at-track features and updates, SPEEDtv.com is bringing back its popular ‘Ask the Driver’ interactive Q&A, where fans will be able to send in their questions within the ‘Ask’ story during the race, and then return later to look for an answer. Questions can be sent to askthedriver@gmail.com.
This race’s ‘Ask the Driver’ will feature two very special guests, as Porsche and sports car legends Hans Hermann and Norbert Singer – the architect of the marquee’s 16 Le Mans victories – will join SPEEDtv.com. Hermann, 82, was one of the most successful Porsche drivers of all time, winning Le Mans twice and scoring major victories in other prestigious races such as the Italian Mille Miglia, Sebring twice and Daytona in 1968. Singer is the only Porsche employee to contribute to all 16 of Porsche’s overall Le Mans victories since 1970.
Also on tap to answer questions is the Aston Martin Racing team, with 2009 LMP2 champion Adrian Fernandez, Harold Primat and Chris Buncombe each being made available. The 2009 LMP1 championship winning team of Patron Highcroft Racing will answer questions through drivers David Brabham, Simon Pagenaud, Marino Franchitti, while Porsche drivers Jorg Bergmeister, Patrick Long and Wolf Henzler will answer questions as well.
Other features will include a lap around Sebring International Raceway with commentary from the aforementioned Fernandez, while Drayson Racing’s Emanuele Pirro, formerly of Audi, will provide a daily blog.
2010 Sebring 12 Hours
SPEED Broadcast Hours (all times eastern)
Friday, March 19
1:45 – 2:50 p.m. Qualifying SPEEDtv.com
Saturday, March 20
10 am – Noon The Start SPEED
Noon – 2 p.m. Live Online Coverage SPEEDtv.com
2 – 11 p.m. The Finish SPEED