The racing gods are not smiling upon the Porsche factory team this year.
Sebring, Fla. – Endurance racing plays no favorites, guarantees nothing to anyone, and has a tendancy to rip victory from teams in the cruelest of ways. That was never more evident than with the Porsche factory duo tonight in Sebring.
With 11 of 12 hours in the books, both the No. 911 and No. 912 ran a near perfect race, running 1-2 in GTLM with a comfortable advantage over third. Within minutes though, both cars vanished from the podium and down the order.
No. 912 issues
The No. 912 came in for its final stop and the team struggled to remove the left rear wheel. They replaced the air gun and sent the car back around, finally completing the stop but not until it cost them two laps. Soon after, the left rear began to wobble and so, the car limped back into the garage, calling it quits on the Sebring dream.
No. 911 issues
The No. 911 was left to carry the flag for the brand but in moments, this car began to abruptly slow. The team looked on in shock as the gap back to the Corvette instantly evaporated. Rising from the darkness, the Corvette took command of GTLM as the No. 911 followed its sister cars lead, limping around with gearbox issues as the checkered flag faded from sight.
Like at Daytona when both cars crashed into one another during the night, Porsche is left only to wonder what could have been on the 21st of March at Sebring.
