Fighting Fifth in Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring for Visit Florida Racing

Visit Florida Racing survived a treacherous run through the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in a race that saw variable Florida weather conditions throughout. The 64th running of the historic event opened under dry and sunny conditions, followed by race-stopping torrential rain, and finished under the always challenging Sebring blanket of darkness. Drivers Marc Goossens, Ryan Dalziel, and Ryan Hunter-Reay persevered through some of the most challenging race conditions in Sebring 12-hour history to bring home a fifth place finish.

Though not quite the result the team had hoped for, the Visit Florida squad brought home a healthy haul of championship points toward the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and delivered a strong run in front of scores of Visit Florida guests and home-state supporters. It was an up and down day for the No. 90 Visit Florida Racing Corvette DP, showing strong pace early on, only for the race to be halted for two hours and 15 minutes when strong storms moved into the area. The Visit Florida Racing team looked well on its way to a sure podium-finish when Goossens led the combined-class 49 car field with just over an hour remaining. Following a full course caution period, the top-five cars fought for position while racing among GT traffic with an hour to go.

While battling for the race lead, the No. 90 Visit Florida Racing Corvette DP got turned by the eventual race winner, which dropped Goossens to fifth in the order. Unfortunately, an extra stop was needed to clean out grass from the radiator which cost crucial time to the leaders forcing the team to settle for fifth at the finish. “I think at Daytona (IMSA season-opener) we had a fifth place car, but got a third place finish and here, we had a third place car but got a fifth place finish,” offered Team Owner Troy Flis. “We had a few things that kept us from really being in a position to win. Our pit stops weren't perfect, we didn't have the front end of the car working well for the guys, and the traction control wasn't dialed in the way that we needed it to be. We'll take the points and move on but we were definitely hoping to do a little bit better here with all of our Visit Florida guests here with us this weekend.” Visit Florida Racing next travels to Long Beach, California for the race through the streets of Long Beach April 16-17. Goossens will be joined by Hunter-Reay who will pull double-duty in both IMSA and IndyCar action during the Long Beach weekend. Dalziel will be competing at Silverstone that weekend as part of his World Endurance Championship campaign.

Contact:

julie@sundaymanagement.com

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