WEC: Toyota goes 1-2 at Sebring

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Toyota has opened its FIA World Endurance Championship title defense by beating the pole-sitter Ferrari AF Corse and Porsche and Cadillac to win the hypercar top class in the season opening race.

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez won the 1000 Miles of Sebring for Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Driving the final stint, Conway finished 2.168 seconds ahead of Brendon Hartley who shared the No. 8 Toyota with Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa.

“Thanks to Toyota Gazoo Racing in Japan, this was very tough yesterday after the crash, but we were strong today, finished 1-2. Today is just the start, there are big races coming. We need to work and improve, but I am excited by this. It’s so challenging,” Kobayashi said after the race.

The two Toyotas spent much of the race together on track, but the crew on the pit wall managed the second half of the race to ensure there were no heroics by the drivers that would risk a 1-2 formation finish.

Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen were two laps behind the Toyotas in the AF Corse Ferrari 499P.  Their chances of converting yesterday’s famous pole into victory faltered in the opening laps. The #50 was handed a drive-through penalty for overtaking before the start line under the safety car, and then a 5-second penalty for a pit infringement.

A big crash by Luis Perez Companc at turn one, in which the Argentinian rolled his #83 Richard Mille Ferrari 488 GTE after sliding backwards off track and into the tire barriers, brought out a lengthy safety car period which prompted a strategy gamble from Ferrari that backfired. AF Corse brought both cars in, and both lost time getting stuck in their pit boxes in the traffic, emerging sixth and ninth.

They wouldn’t recover from this.

Chip Ganassi Racing driven by Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook took fourth with the sole Cadillac V-Series.R in the field ahead of the two Penske-run Porsche 963s, a feather in the cap of the old Chipster who beat his arch-nemesis Roger Penske and the mighty German marque.

The Ganassi team, with only one car in a class featuring four two-car factory efforts, did extremely well here and came so close to a podium.

“In 2022, the development of this car, the testing schedule, everything that we went through was so tough on the team, but we are seeing the results and we are so proud of all that work and effort that we put in. It was worth it,” said GM sports car racing program manager Laura Wontrop Klauser. “We have a solid car and we can’t wait to get to the rest of the WEC season and the IMSA season and show the world how great it is.

“Every time we turn the car on we learn something. Whether if we move it or even if it sits still, we learn something and the racing is the best way possible to learn. So we can only grow and get better.”

“No doubt it’s a strong and positive day for Cadillac Racing,” said Ganassi driver Alex Lynn, who drove to the fifth-place starting spot Thursday. “We started our WEC campaign with a fourth place and I think we would have taken that at the start of the weekend. This is the first time everyone has worked together on a brand new program, and to come 10 seconds within a podium with a team as strong as Ferrari is just a fantastic start with so much more to improve on.”

Penalties proved costly for Penske, but the car didn’t have the speed over a double stint to stay in this fight.

After so much promise and expectation pre-race that Ferrari and perhaps Cadillac could challenge Toyota, for the new cars from both brands, and from the other teams in Hypercar, it wasn’t really a contest.

Porsche, Cadillac and Ferraris all spent time in and around the top five. There were plenty of exciting on-track battles, including memorable duels between Laurens Vanthoor (#6 Porsche) and Alex Lynn (Cadillac) and Miguel Molina (#50 Ferrari) and Kevin Estre (#6 Porsche).

Perhaps the most disappointing performance though was from Peugeot Sport, its 9X8s that suffered major mechanical issues over the washboard Sebring track. It began on the pace lap when Loic Duval was forced to pit the #94 with gearbox issues.

LMP2

Hertz Team JOTA prevailed in the LMP2 class with its No. 48 Oreca 07 Gibson driven by Will Stevens, Yifei Ye and David Beckmann. The Jota team controlled final half of the race.

The team is awaiting delivery of a Porsche 963 in Hypercar, at which time it will scale back its P2 effort to a single car.

In the opening hours the pole-sitting #23 United ORECA built a comfortable lead and was lapping the back of the field, until Josh Pierson, in the midst of a superb stint, pulled off at the side of the road, the car losing power.

This blew the race wide open and allowed the #48 to take control at the front.

GTE-AM

The #33 American Corvette Racing won on its GTE-Am debut as Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone and Ben Keating won by a lap over the No. 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche and the No. 57 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.

The #21 AF Corse Ferrari finished fourth, and the #54 AF Corse Ferrari finished fifth.

It was the 14th win for Corvette Racing at the 3.74-mile, 17-turn rough-and-tumble circuit since 2002.

Friday’s victory also was the second for Corvette Racing as a full-time WEC entrant, the first coming last season at Monza in the GTE Pro class. The team now has 123 worldwide victories.

“No one at Corvette Racing could ask for a better start to our FIA WEC program than this win at Sebring for Ben, Nicky and Nico,” said Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM Sports Car Racing Program Manager. “All three put in excellent drives, the crew was the best throughout the class in the pitlane, and our engineers called a perfect race strategy. Ben really set the tone for this race with his opening three stints, and the performance continued from there with an incredible mid-race triple stint from Nico and then Nicky’s drive to close it out. Winning the first race of the season, in the United States and at Sebring is a storybook start that we will remember for a long time!”

The fight of the race early was Keating’s battle with Sarah Bovy in the No. 85 Porsche. Familiar competitors from last year’s WEC, the two swapped the lead in the opening laps before the Corvette settled in to a close second position for the first couple hours.

The Porsche gained a slight advantage by making its second stop near the 90-minute mark during a full-course yellow period while the Corvette made its second stop under green. Undeterred, Keating clicked off consistent, fast laps to keep the C8.R in the hunt and never dropped lower than second in class.

Last year’s winner in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the reigning GTE Am WEC champion, Keating made quite the debut in his first race with the Corvette program. He drove two hours, 40 minutes before handing over to Varrone for a triple-stint and nearly three hours in the C8.R.

He moved the Corvette into the lead when the 85 Porsche suffered rear damage and lost multiple laps. From that point on, Varrone increased his pace and more often than not was the fastest driver during his time in the C8.R. His only challenge came from the No. 77 Porsche, which got as close as 14 seconds to the lead after gaining a similar pit stop advantage under yellow as the No. 85 earlier in the race.

Varrone pressed on and continued to pound out sub two-minute laps while the Porsche’s pace fell off during its mid-race driver rotation to its Bronze-ranked driver. By the time of his iron-man three-plus hour stint, Varrone gave Catsburg the No. 33 Corvette – and a 90-second lead – for the final two hours.

It wasn’t a coast to the end, however. Catsburg had to contend with the usual late-day Sebring sunset and Hypercar entries that attempted to make desperate moves to keep track position in their own race. Like his teammates, he drove clean and measured stints to deliver an undamaged C8.R to victory.

1,000 Miles of Sebring Results

Provisional Classification by Category

HYPERCAR
Pos	No	Team	Drivers	Car	Cat	Laps	Behind
1	7	Toyota Gazoo Racing	M. CONWAY / K. KOBAYASHI / J. LOPEZ	Toyota GR010 HYBRID	HYPERCAR H	239	0.000
2	8	Toyota Gazoo Racing	S. BUEMI / B. HARTLEY / R. HIRAKAWA	Toyota GR010 HYBRID	HYPERCAR H	239	2.168
3	50	Ferrari AF Corse	A. FUOCO / M. MOLINA / N. NIELSEN	Ferrari 499P	HYPERCAR H	237	2 Laps
4	2	Cadillac Racing	E. BAMBER / A. LYNN / R. WESTBROOK	Cadillac V-Series.R	HYPERCAR H	237	2 Laps
5	5	Porsche Penske Motorsport	D. CAMERON / M. CHRISTENSEN / F. MAKOWIECKI	Porsche 963	HYPERCAR H	235	4 Laps
6	6	Porsche Penske Motorsport	K. ESTRE / A. LOTTERER / L. VANTHOOR	Porsche 963	HYPERCAR H	235	4 Laps
7	51	Ferrari AF Corse	A. PIER GUIDI / J. CALADO / A. GIOVINAZZI	Ferrari 499P	HYPERCAR H	228	11 Laps
8	4	Floyd Vanwall Racing Team	T. DILLMANN / E. GUERRIERI / J. VILLENEUVE	Vanwall Vandervell 680	HYPERCAR	215	24 Laps
DNF	93	Peugeot TotalEnergies	P. DI RESTA / M. JENSEN / J. VERGNE	Peugeot 9X8	HYPERCAR H	213	26 Laps
DNF	94	Peugeot TotalEnergies	L. DUVAL / G. MENEZES / N. MÜLLER	Peugeot 9X8	HYPERCAR H	141	DNF
DNF	708	Glickenhaus Racing	R. DUMAS / R. BRISCOE / O. PLA	Glickenhaus 007	HYPERCAR	62	DNF
LMP2
Pos	No.	Team	Drivers	Car	Cat	Laps	Behind
1	48	Hertz Team JOTA	D. BECKMANN / Y. YE / W. STEVENS	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	230	0.000
2	22	United Autosports	F. LUBIN / P. HANSON / F. ALBUQUERQUE	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	230	2.863
3	63	Prema Racing	D. PIN / M. BORTOLOTTI / D. KVYAT	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	230	31.998
4	34	Inter Europol Competition	J. SMIECHOWSKI / F. SCHERER / A. COSTA	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	230	55.723
5	41	Team WRT	R. ANDRADE / R. KUBICA / L. DELÉTRAZ	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	230	56.673
6	29	JOTA	D. HEINEMEIER-HANSSON / P. FITTIPALDI / O.	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	230	1:03.264
7	31	Team WRT	S. GELAEL / F. HABSBURG / R. FRIJNS	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	230	1:28.683
8	9	Prema Racing	F. UGRAN / B. VISCAAL / A. CALDARELLI	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	229	1 Lap
9	36	Alpine Elf Team	M. VAXIVIERE / J. CANAL / C. MILESI	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	228	2 Laps
10	10	Vector Sport	R. CULLEN / M. KAISER / G. AUBRY	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	218	12 Laps
DNF	35	Alpine Elf Team	A. NEGRÃO / M. ROJAS / O. CALDWELL	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	139
DNF	23	United Autosports	J. PIERSON / T. BLOMQVIST / O. JARVIS	Oreca 07 – Gibson	LMP2	91
LMGTE Am
Pos	No.	Team	Drivers	Car	Cat	Laps	Behind
1	33	Corvette Racing	B. KEATING / N. VARRONE / N. CATSBURG	Chevrolet Corvette C8.R	LMGTE Am	221
2	77	Dempsey – Proton Racing	C. RIED / M. PEDERSEN / J. ANDLAUER	Porsche 911 RSR – 19	LMGTE Am	219	2 Laps
3	57	Kessel Racing	T. KIMURA / S. HUFFAKER / D. SERRA	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	LMGTE Am	219	2 Laps
4	21	AF Corse	S. COSTANTINI / S. MANN / U. DE PAUW	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	LMGTE Am	219	2 Laps
5	54	AF Corse	T. FLOHR / F. CASTELLACCI / D. RIGON	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	LMGTE Am	219	2 Laps
6	60	Iron Lynx	C. SCHIAVONI / M. CRESSONI / A. PICARIELLO	Porsche 911 RSR – 19	LMGTE Am	219	2 Laps
7	86	GR Racing	M. WAINWRIGHT / R. PERA / B. BARKER	Porsche 911 RSR – 19	LMGTE Am	218	3 Laps
8	85	Iron Dames	S. BOVY / M. GATTING / R. FREY	Porsche 911 RSR – 19	LMGTE Am	218	3 Laps
9	25	ORT by TF	A. AL HARTHY / M. DINAN / C. EASTWOOD	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	LMGTE Am	217	4 Laps
10	777	D’Station Racing	S. HOSHINO / C. STEVENSON / T. FUJII	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	LMGTE Am	217	4 Laps
11	98	Northwest AMR	P. DALLA LANA / A. JEFFERIES / N. THIIM	Aston Martin Vantage AMR	LMGTE Am	216	5 Laps
12	56	Project 1 – AO	P. HYETT / G. JEANNETTE / M. CAIROLI	Porsche 911 RSR – 19	LMGTE Am	215	6 Laps
DNF	83	Richard Mille AF Corse	L. PEREZ COMPANC / L. WADOUX / A. ROVERA	Ferrari 488 GTE Evo	LMGTE Am	4	DNF

Circuit Best Laps by Category
HYPERCAR	Antonio FUOCO	16/03/2023	1:45.067	206.2 Kph
LMP2	Stéphane RICHELMI	14/03/2019	1:46.923	202.7 Kph
LMGTE Am	Matt CAMPBELL	14/03/2019	1:58.411	183.0 Kph

Circuit Race Records by Category
HYPERCAR	Sébastien BUEMI	17/03/2023	1:47.885	200.8 Kph
LMP2	Nyck DE VRIES	15/03/2019	1:48.990	198.8 Kph
LMGTE Am	Daniel SERRA	17/03/2023	1:59.143	181.9 Kph

Circuit Best Laps by Category
HYPERCAR	Antonio FUOCO	16/03/2023	1:45.067	206.2 Kph
LMP2	Stéphane RICHELMI	14/03/2019	1:46.923	202.7 Kph
LMGTE Am	Matt CAMPBELL	14/03/2019	1:58.411	183.0 Kph

Circuit Race Records by Category
HYPERCAR	Sébastien BUEMI	17/03/2023	1:47.885	200.8 Kph
LMP2	Nyck DE VRIES	15/03/2019	1:48.990	198.8 Kph
LMGTE Am	Daniel SERRA	17/03/2023	1:59.143	181.9 Kph