The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. In the past, this race has been a round of the now defunct World Sportscar Championship, IMSA GT Championship and American Le Mans Series. In 2012, the race was the opening event of the FIA World Endurance Championship in a one off race before being returned back to the American Le Mans Series for 2013. Starting in 2014, the event became the second round of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The Audi R8 is a Le Mans Prototype sports-prototype race car introduced in 2000 for sports car racing as a redevelopment of their Audi R8R and Audi R8C used in 1999. In its class, it is one of the most successful racing sports cars having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005, five of the six years it competed in total. Its streak of Le Mans victories between 2000 and 2005 was broken only in 2003 by the Bentley Speed 8, another race car fielded that year by Volkswagen Group.
The RS Spyder is a racing car designed by Porsche in conjunction with Penske to compete in Le Mans Prototype Class 2 (LMP2) racing. The car takes its name from the legendary Porsche 550 Spyder of the 1950s. The car marked Porsche's first return to the top level of sports prototype racing since the firm abandoned its Porsche LMP in 1999.
Robert Jean Wollek, nicknamed "Brilliant Bob", was a race car driver from Strasbourg, France. He won a total of 76 races in his career, 71 in Porsche cars, including four editions of the 24 Hours of Daytona and one edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring. He died in a road accident in Florida while riding a bicycle back to his accommodation after the day's practice sessions for the following day's race, the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Joest Racing is a sports car racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest. Their headquarters are in Wald-Michelbach, Germany.
The 2006 12 Hours of Sebring was the 54th running of this event, and took place on March 18, 2006. The race was sponsored by Mobil 1 and was the opening race of the 2006 American Le Mans Series season run by IMSA.
The 2000 Race of a Thousand Years was an endurance race and the final round of the 2000 American Le Mans Series. It was run on the Adelaide Street Circuit in Australia on New Year's Eve, 31 December 2000. The race was run on the full 3.780 km (2.349 mi) Grand Prix circuit used by Formula One for the Australian Grand Prix between 1985–1995, rather than the shorter 3.219 km (2.001 mi) Supercars version of the circuit used since 1999. The Race of a Thousand Years was intended to be run for 1000 kilometres but was stopped short due to time constraints, two hours before midnight, after completing 850 kilometres.
The 2002 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring was the 50th running of this event, and the opening round of the 2002 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Sebring International Raceway, Florida, on March 16, 2002.
The 2002 Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. was the fifth round of the 2002 American Le Mans Series season. It took place in a 1.66 mi (2.67 km) temporary street circuit set around the streets and parking lot adjacent to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 2002.
The 2001 Leather Center Grand Prix of Texas was the opening round of the 2001 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Texas Motor Speedway, Texas, on March 4, 2001.
The 2001 Grand Prix of Portland was the sixth round of the 2001 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Portland International Raceway, Oregon, on August 5, 2001.
The 2001 Gran Turismo 3 Grand Prix of Mosport was an American Le Mans Series professional sports car race held at Mosport International Raceway near Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada from August 17 to the 19, 2001. It is named after Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, a racing game released on July 10, 2001, a month prior to this event. It was the seventh round of the 2001 American Le Mans Series season and the 16th IMSA / Professional SportsCar Racing sanctioned sports car race held at the facility.
The 2001 Audi presents Petit Le Mans was the fourth running of this event. It was the tenth and final round of the 2001 American Le Mans Series season as well as the seventh and final round of the 2001 European Le Mans Series season. It took place at Road Atlanta, Georgia, on October 6, 2001.
The 2000 Exxon Superflo 12 Hours of Sebring was the 48th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring as well as the opening round of the 2000 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Sebring International Raceway, Florida, on March 18, 2000. This was the first time ever the 12 Hours was covered flag-to-flag on television with Speedvision doing the honors.
The 2008 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida was the 56th running of this event and the opening round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Sebring International Raceway, Florida on March 15, 2008. Porsche was able to defeat Audi, marking the first loss for Audi at Sebring since 1999, while Porsche marks its first overall win at Sebring since 1988, the 20th anniversary since its last win.
The 2009 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring was the 57th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring and the opening round of the 2009 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at the Sebring International Raceway, Florida on March 21, 2009. Three new cars made their debut at Sebring: Audi's diesel R15 TDI, Acura's first LMP1 entry the ARX-02a, and the return of the BMW M3 to the GT2 category. It was also the last time GT1 category raced at the event.
The Audi R10 TDI is a sports prototype designed and built by Audi in partnership with Dallara. Built to the Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) regulations, the R10 was highly successful throughout its career; the R10 became the first diesel-powered car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006, in what would be the first of three 24 Hours of Le Mans wins. Unveiled to the public on 13 December 2005 in Paris, the R10 would go on to win the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans just 200 days later.
Champion Racing was a sports car racing team based in Pompano Beach, Florida, USA. Founded in 1994 by Dave Maraj, a former rally driver from Trinidad, as the motorsport wing of the Champion Motors car dealership, the team has campaigned various Porsches and Audis in North American road racing series. Champion Racing's extensive record includes a win at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2005, and 5 straight American Le Mans Series LMP1 championships, 2 as a private team and 3 as a factory team under the name Audi Sport North America.
Intersport Racing is a former American auto racing team founded by Jon Field. The team was based in Dublin, Ohio. They previously operated two Oreca FLM09 sports cars in the American Le Mans Series. At current, the company has transitioned into diet supplements.
Lucas Luhr is a German BMW factory racing driver, currently competing for BMW and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the GTLM category of the Tudor United SportsCar Championship.
