Though the Daytona victory for the Cadillac DPi (Daytona Prototype international) driven by the Taylor brothers, along with Max Angelelli for the last time, was a bit controversial following contact in the final lap between Ricky Taylor and former official Audi driver Filipe Albuquerque, the 12 Hours of Sebring was decisive.

In the U.S., deployment of the safety car often causes many leader changes, but with only six incidents today, refueling pit stops led to most leader switch-ups.

The LM P2s and DPis, grouped together in the Prototype class, suffered some growing pains in the wake of the new technical regulations, with the notable exception of the Cadillac DPis which monopolized the podium, unlike at Daytona where a Riley LM P2 managed to snatch the third step behind two Cadillac DPis.

Nonetheless, like at Daytona, the end of the race boiled down to a duel between the #10 Cadillac DPi of Wayne Taylor Racing and the #5 Cadillac DPi of Mustang Sampling Racing since the third crossed the finish line two laps behind. The end result was the same: the Taylor brothers (winners in the LM GTE Pro class with Corvette Racing at Le Mans in 2015), Jordan and Ricky Taylor, joined this time by Alex Lynn who will debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June with the G-Drive Racing team in LM P2, finished ahead of Christian Fittipaldi, Joao Barbosa and Filipe Albuquerque.

The joy of the Taylor clan was in deep contrast to the disappointment felt in the Rebellion Racing camp. Despite an alternator changeout shortly before mid-race, the car continued to experience electrical troubles which hindered the performance of 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Neel Jani who had started from pole position.

While Wayne Taylor Racing and Cadillac were able to pull off the one-two punch Daytona/Sebring, Ford did not fare as well in the GTLM class (the equivalent of the LM GTE Pro class in the U.S.) up against a Corvette Racing team that, like at the 24 Hours in LM GTE Pro in 2015, is never as formidable as in the face of adversity.

At Le Mans, the men led by Doug Fehan, head of Chevrolet Corvette's sporting program, had lost one of their two C7.Rs as early as the free practice, but at Sebring both cars took the start…only to see Le Mans winners Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner (with Marcel Fässler, three-time overall winner at the 24 Hours) retire one hour after the start as a result of water temperature concerns.

The #3 sister car driven Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia and Mike Rockenfeller (overall winner at Le Mans with Audi in 2010) picked up the slack. Despite its bad luck as the safety car hit the track right when it was set to refuel, undermining its strategy, the trio managed to keep the lead through the checkered flag ahead of the Ford GT driven by the winners in LM GTE Pro at the 2016 24 Hours, Dirk Müller, Joey Hand and Le Mans native Sébastien Bourdais, who were joined on the podium by their underlings at Le Mans Toni Vilander and Giancarlo Fisichella, supported by James Calado at Sebring at the wheel of Risi Competizione's Ferrari 488 GTE.

Scuderia Corsa, winner at the 24 Hours in LM GTE Am, had to settle for second place in GTD at Sebring with the Ferrari 488 GTE. Christina Nielsen, Alessandro Balzan (both will be at the start at Le Mans in June) and Matteo Cressoni finished behind the Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen (both will take the wheel of a Riley in LM P2 at the 24 Hours) and Mario Farnbacher.

The third round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will take place at the city circuit of Long Beach in California on April 8th.

Results

Photo (Copyright - Richard Dole/IMSA): The #3 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R won the GTLM class at the 65th edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring.