At the halfway mark of this year’s 12 Hours of Sebring, Pipo Derani leads in the #31 Action Express Cadillac V-Series.R, with the race havcing recently returned to green flag running after the sixth full course yellow of the 12 hour race.
Derani started the car from pole and controlled much of the first hour. Although pitstop strategy and six full course yellow and subsequent safety car periods have meant the red Cadillac has occasionally lost the lead for periods of time, it’s always been at the sharp end with Derani’s co-drivers Tom Blomqvist and Jack Aitken also at the wheel.
Ricky Taylor, in the #10 WTRAndretti Acura ARX-06, was second until Felipe Nasr took the position at the most recent restart. He led before the sixth FCY, as he took it off Nick Yelloly in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, who had assumed it at the fourth full course yellow. The Portuguese Acura driver pounced at the restart and took the lead, with Yelloly then losing second to Blomqvist shortly after.
The most recent FCY was caused by PJ Hyett, the LMP2 polesitter in the #99 AO Racing Oreca 07-Gibson crashed into the tyre barriers. The marshals pulled the car out and Hyett returned the car to the pits with heavy damage to the front of the car on drivers’ right, with the car then going behind the wall for repairs.
Nasr is third in the #7 Porsche 963. The car led earlier in the race with Dane Cameron at the wheel, but Porsche don’t seem to have quite the same level of pace compared to Cadillac and Acura. Third is Sebastien Bourdais in the #01 Chip Ganassi Cadillac, with Taylor fourth, having slipped backwards in the Acura, from second under the sixth and most recent FCY.
Louis Deletraz in the #40 Acura is fifth.
In LMP2, Jakub Smiechowski is leading in the #52 Inter Europol Oreca 07-Gibson. The race has been mostly led by one of two United Autosports cars, #2 or #22, but currently they are fifth and sixth in class.
Second is Hunter McElrea in the #11 TDS Racing Oreca 07-Gibson, with Rasmus Lindh third in the #81 DragonSpeed Oreca 07-Gibson.
In GTD Pro, Kyle Kirkwood leads in the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, which his teammate Jack Hawksworth started on pole. The car did drop out of the top 3 for a significant period of time in the first half of the race, but has returned to the lead as the second half gets underway.
Second is Lauren Heinrich in the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Mirko Bortolotti is third in the #19 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.
In GTD, Russell Ward leads in the #57 Winward Mercedes AMG-GT3. The car has come from the back to lead, as it was sent to the back of the grid, for a technical infringement, after qualifying on pole. Jan Heylen is second in the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Robby Foley is third in the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.
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