Audi still strong in P1 after eight hours of Sebring 12H

SEBRING, Fla. (March 16, 2013) – As Audi continues to lead in P1, a tight GT battle is brewing with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida entering the final one-third of the race. Allan McNish (No. 2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro) held a narrow lead over teammate Marcel Fassler (No. 1 Audi R18) as Audi Sport maintained a multi-lap lead over third place Rebellion Racing.

The race was under a yellow flag at the eight-hour mark for an incident involving Bill Sweedler (No. 23 Ferrari F458 Italia) in Turn 14.

The story going into the final four hours is the battle brewing in the GT class with six cars on the lead lap. Leader Oliver Gavin (No. 4 Corvette C6 ZR1) led Matteo Malucelli (No. 62 Ferrari 458), but a 60-second penalty was pending after co-driver Richard Westbrook made contact in a separate incident with Sweedler. Six manufactures hold the top six spots in the GT class.

In P2, Level 5 Motorsports paces the field with Marino Franchitti (No. 551 HPD ARX-03b) leading teammate Scott Tucker (No. 552 HPD ARX-03b). Eric Lux in the No. 41 Nissan Zytek Z11SN was third, three laps down.

Like GT, the PC class had a battle heating up into the race’s final stages. Mike Guasch (No. 52 ORECA FLM09) led Charlie Sheers (No. 500 ORECA) and Chris Cumming (No. 8 ORECA) with four PC cars on the lead lap.

Nelson Canache (No. 45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 Cup) led in GTC with three cars on the lead lap. Spencer Pumpelly was the race leader, but elected to pit under the caution.

ALMS