12 Hours of Sebring

Sebring 12 Hours ends with close sprint to the flag

Weekend Racing Wrap

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The IMSA field reassembled for its second race of the season following January’s Daytona 24 Hours. The Sebring 12 Hours got off to a frantic start and was decided by a sprint to the flag over the final hour.

IMSA

Race 2: Sebring

A late Safety Car period set up a tense chase to the flag which was won by Pipo Derani. The Nissan driver shared victory with Johannes van Overbeek and Nicolas Lapierre after pulling out a comfortable gap over former Formula One driver Felipe Nasr at the restart.

Derani emerged from his final pit stop with a nine-second gap to Renger van der Zande in the Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, while Nasr dropped to third.

Both Penske cars were in contention early on but fell by the wayside. Ricky Taylor stopped with engine problems while Juan Pablo Montoya retired the sister car after colliding with Tristan Vautier in the Spirit of Daytona Cadillac.

NASCAR Cup

Race 5: California

Kevin Harvick’s bid to become the first NASCAR driver in 10 years to win four consecutive races ended when he tangled with Kyle Larson. Reigning champion Martin Truex Jnr took the win.

Also last weekend

Andrea Dovizioso, Marc Marquez, Moto GP, Qatar, 2018
Dovizioso edged Marquez in Qatar
The new Moto GP season got off to a spectacular start in Qatar was Andrea Dovizioso resisted a final-corner assault from Marc Marquez to win by less than three-tenths of a second.

Johann Zarco led the majority of the race from pole position before slipping back in the later stages. He eventually finished while Valentino Rossi took the final podium spot.

The 2017-18 Formula E championship reached its halfway stage in Uruguay where Jean-Eric Vergne resisted race-long pressure from Lucas di Grassi to score his second victory of the season:

Over to you

What racing action did you watch last weekend? Let us know in the comments.

Next weekend’s racing

The 2018 F1 season begins this weekend at Melbourne in Australia. The following series are also in action:

  • NASCAR Cup race 6: Martinsville

Thanks to Robert Mathershaw (@mathers) for contributing to this article.

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Image: NISMO via Twitter

9 comments on “Sebring 12 Hours ends with close sprint to the flag”

  1. MotoGP was brilliant as usual, Dovi was always likely to win in Qatar but Marquez and Honda looked really strong which is rather ominous for the rest of the grid, but still it should still be a great season. I was gutted for Rins that he crashed, he was excellent the whole weekend, I think he might win a race this season and should be given serious consideration for a HRC contract next year.

  2. Once again MotoGP offered up a fantastic race with plenty of action throughout the top ten. While I’m a fan of The Doctor, I couldn’t help but cheer for Zarco in hopes he would get his first win. The straight line speed of the Ducati was amazing and made the others riders look like they were on Moto2 bikes. Can’t wait for the next race.

  3. In the future, people will wonder why some people spend so much time with other categories qhen one have MotoGP.

  4. In my case bikes have never really been my thing although they are cool for sure, but also there is no TV coverage for it for me, and I’m not into it enough to try to stream it or whatever. Have always been a car guy.

    But that said I’ve always at least watched some NASCAR or at least kept up with the standings, but in recent years that’s been getting more difficult to get into for me…too much of the same old same old, and sad to see so many empty seats.

    I’ll watch every IndyCar race again this season. F1…that’s a given. Since ‘78.

  5. Moto GP and IMSA were superb entertainment, hopefully F1 can match the high benchmark set..

    1. I was gutted when the Mazda didn’t start properly during the final pit stop. That was a podium for sure, which would’ve been good publicity for the team. But I suppose even Joest can’t turn around a team that’s completely mucked up in 2 races.

  6. I wish like MotoGP that F1 drivers could be left to fend for themselves without their constant engineer management. Take away the engineer comms and you could lose DRS, lose forced use of different rubbber compounds and possibly introduce some of the lottery/mistake elements that everyone raves over wet races.

  7. The IMSA GTP prototype now has very cool looking cars, each with different engine pkgs that growl, howl or scream among other sounds. They are fast and agile. Their cars feature canopied bodies with opening doors. The overall canopy is surprisingly small. Makes me think F1 could incorporate a version of this while introducing a completely new generation of Grand Prix car. Clean up the rules at that time too. A whole new deal Neal. These IMSA cars are things of beauty. The racing is real good too. Access in the pits to cars and drivers adds to IMSA seeking fan growth through great prices great races and great looking machines

  8. I’ve been an F1 fan for over 50 years and I still love it, despite all of it’s flaws. But when it comes to pure excitement and stand up and scream thrills, MotoGP is the king of motorsports. Nothing comes close.

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