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12 Hours of Sebring: Rhythm of the Road
Gentlemen! Start your engines! It was road racing at its best during the 53rd Annual Mobil-1 Sebring Races in not so sunny Florida March 17-18. Over 100,000 showed up to witness the big showdown. The weather brought torrential rains, the track was old as a proverb, and the competition was steeper than rollercoaster hills. General Motors represented big with entries from Cadillac and Chevrolet. Yep, racecars also have to be customized to do what they do best!
Imagine your Caddy CTS or Chevy Corvette morphing from daily ground transporters to fantasy road warriors while packing enough juice to leave the track scorching in flames. The twelve-hour intensity on the GT1 circuit was as heated as that Miami NBA team with talented players from Ferrari with its 550 Maranello, Aston Martin’s new DBR9 and Maserati’s gorgeous MC12. Yet, the Corvette trio of Ron Fellows, Johnny O’ Connell and “Mad” Max Papis were ready for combat and going for gold with their Corvette C6.R. Audi’s R8, which is aiming for its sixth straight title in the LMPI series, is surely one of the greatest all-time win streaks at Sebring. Will Chevy catch them? We’ll see.
On the shorter end of the track, Cadillac’s CTS-V prepared for its 45-minute SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge, which is an all out sprint. There are no pit stops or you’ll lose for sure. The race is short, so you have to drive fast and smart.
 
 
The foundation for performance is racing. But before advancing to the final numbers at Sebring, we first must look at how each participant got there. Horses don’t turn into champion stallions overnight. They must be trained, prepped and groomed. Chevy’s C6.R racecar first begins life as a production C6. I watched it get flipped in the Chevy garage in just a short amount of time. First, the C6.R pumps 190 more horsepower into the small block V8 for a total of 590 at 4400 rpm. The tires go from Goodyear Eagles to wider track Michelin “racing” and the carbon composite bodywork is 3” wider to accommodate the larger wheel package. A roll cage is standard in motor sports and the intimidating rear wing and front spoiler are essential for optimal lift-to-drag ratios. Envision your Vette now streaking 0-60 mph in the three-second range! In the end, the Vette duo came in second and third at Sebring due to damage from accidents. They still put on a clinic.
Motorsports truly represents the art of engineering. Customizing your top runner is part of the historical challenge of becoming “Numero Uno.” And even if you are not a fan of the races, you should give respect to the teams, the owners, the auto engineers and of course the drivers for the valiant dedication they put into the love of the sport.
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