Sebring 12 hour race in 1991

After his triumph in 1990, he also won the overall classification of the race in 1991; the Irishman Derek Daly

Nissan NPT-90, winning cars from Geoff Brabham , Derek Daly and Gary Brabham

The 39th Sebring 12-hour race , also known as Nissan Presents the 39th Annual 12 Hours of Sebring International Grand Prix of Endurance, Sebring International Raceway , took place on March 16, 1991 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the fifth IMSA championship -GTP series this year.

Before the race

In the late 1990s, more and more races were added to the IMSA GTP series racing calendar. In 1991 , four races were held before the event in Sebring. In the Daytona 24-hour race , five drivers were at the top of the podium. Frank Jelinski , Hurley Haywood , bob wollek , Henri Pescarolo and louis krages won the race on a Joest - Porsche 962 C . The following Palm Beach Grand Prix was won by Pete Halsmer with a Mazda RX-7 . This was followed by wins for Davy Jones ( Jaguar XJR-10 ) in the 2-hour race in West Palm Beach and Halsmer in the local 1-hour race .

The race

After two victories in a row with the Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo , the American racing team of the Japanese automobile manufacturer came to Sebring with a new racing car, the Nissan NPT-90 . After five years of further development and improvement of the GTP-ZX-Turbo, Nissan realized that the increasing competition from Toyota and Jaguar made it necessary to use a new car if the championship was to be defended. NPTI, Nissan's US motorsport division, therefore designed a completely new car. The new car had a rounder and narrower cockpit instead of the angular appearance of its predecessor. The large air inlets on the front of the vehicle were replaced by smaller ones, while the large vertical snorkels of the turbocharger were placed on the sides of the vehicle.

Nissan continued to use the VG30 engine, a 3.0-liter V6 turbo that had previously powered the GTP-ZX turbo. The engine's power has been increased, including through the use of a four-valve - cylinder head instead of the previously used two-valve head. Ultimately, Nissan decided to reduce the displacement of the VG engine to 2.5 liters for the NPT-91 model in 1992 in order to be able to equip it with two turbochargers and to be more competitive with the Toyota racing cars. Brothers Geoff and Gary Brabham , sons of three-time Formula 1 world champion Jack Brabham , were signed up as drivers .

There were massive interventions on the racetrack. A local entrepreneur took over the management of the track, much to the benefit of the 12 hour race. With the exception of parts of the old airport, the runway was given a new surface. In order not to have to completely demolish a building that was still in the inner part of the route, the route was changed at this point so that the old department store was now outside the route. The safety precautions were improved and new grandstands were built again. The pit systems were completely modernized and a new pedestrian crossing was built between the interior and pit area. Last but not least, these renovations made Sebring one of the most booked test tracks in North America in the years to come.

For the first time since 1965 , when a heavy thunderstorm flooded the track, it rained during the race. The result was a lot of spinning and accidents. One hour before the end of the race, the Nissan of last year's winner Derek Daly and the two Brabham brothers was comfortably in the lead when Daly hit a barrier 40 minutes before the end and suffered a tire damage. While Daly pitted slowly, Chip Robinson took the lead in the second Nissan. 15 minutes before the end of the race, this Nissan suffered technical problems, and Robinson had to go to the pits with misfires. Despite the mechanics' quick fix of the problem, he lost a lap so that Daly and the Brabham brothers were still able to win the race.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	GTP	83	Nissan Performance	Geoff Brabham Derek Daly Gary Brabham	Nissan NPT-90	298
2	GTP	84	Nissan Performance	Chip Robinson Bob Earl Julian Bailey	Nissan NPT-90	297
3	GTP	6th	Joest Porsche Racing	Bob Wollek Bernd Schneider Massimo Sigala	Porsche 962C	296
4th	GTP	7th	Joest Porsche Racing	Frank Jelinski Henri Pescarolo Louis Krages	Porsche 962C	295
5	GTP	3	Bud Light Jaguar Racing	Davy Jones Raul Boesel John Nielsen	Jaguar XJR-12D	284
6th	GTP	4th	Tom Milner Racing	Brian Bonner Scott Sharp Jeff Kline	Spice SE89P	283
7th	Lights	8th	Essex Racing	Charles Morgan Jim Pace	Kudzu DG-1	280
8th	GTO	15th	Roush Racing	Max Jones Robby Gordon	Ford Mustang	279
9	GTP	10	Hotchkis Racing	Chris Cord Jim Adams John Hotchkis	Spice SE90P	278
10	GTP	30th	Momo Gebhardt Racing	Giampiero Moretti Hellmut Mundas Stanley Dickens	Porsche 962C	277
11	GTO	11	Cunningham Racing	Jeremy Dale Steve Millen Johnny O'Connell	Nissan 300ZX	277
12	GTO	63	Mazda	John O'Steen Price Cobb Brian Redman	Mazda RX-7	275
13	GTO	12	Roush Racing	Dorsey Schroeder John Fergus	Ford Mustang	271
14th	GTO	12	Mazda	Calvin Fish Pete Halsmer John Morton	Mazda RX-7	270
15th	Lights	33	Spice Engineering USA	Almo Coppelli Jay Hill	Spice SE90P	265
16	GTO	92	Morrison Motorsports	Andy Pilgrim RK Smith	Chevrolet Corvette	260
17th	GTU	95	Leitzinger Racing	Bob Leitzinger David Loring	Nissan 240SX	257
18th	GTO	99	Roush Racing	Jim Stevens Jim Jaeger Don Walker	Ford Mustang	250
19th	GTU	26th	Alex Job Racing	Alex Job Chris Kraft Jack Refenning	Porsche 911	247
20th	Lights	18th	Carlos Bobeda Racing	Andy Evans George Robinson Carlos Bobeda	Spice SE90P	236
21st	GTU	69	North Coast Racing	Brad Hoyt Leighton Reese	Mazda RX-7	234
22nd	GTU	82	Greer Racing	Dick Greer Al Bacon Peter Uria	Mazda RX-7	232
23	Lights	54	HDF Motorsports	Michael Dow David Tennyson Ken Knott	Spice SE89P	227
24	GTU	57	Cryderacing	Reed Kryder Frank Del Vecchio Joe Danaher	Nissan 240SX	207
25th	GTO	04	Henry Brosnaham	Henry Brosnaham Steve Roberts Bobby Scolo Paul Mazzacane Richard Andison	Chevrolet Camaro	166
Failed
26th	GTP	99	All American Racers	Juan Manuel Fangio II Willy T. Ribbs	Eagle HF90	256
27	GTP	24	John Shapiro	James Waver John Paul Junior	Porsche 962 GTi	218
28	Lights	48	Comptech Racing	Parker Johnstone Doug Peterson	Spice SE90P	204
29	GTP	5	Tom Milner Racing	Tim McAdam Jeff Purner Fred Phillips	Spice SE89P	165
30th	Lights	80	Bieri Racing	Ruggero Melgrati Martino Finotto Fermín Vélez	Spice SE89P	147
31	GTU	37	Botero Racing	Rob Wilson Felipe Solano Francisco Lopez Honorato Espinosa	Mazda MX-6	140
32	Lights	40	Bieri Racing	Uli Bieri John Graham	Alba AR2	138
33	GTO	91	Morrison Motorsports	Stu Hayner Scott Lagasse Don Knowles	Chevrolet Corvette	134
34	Lights	9	Essex Racing	Tom Hessert Costa's lot	Kudzu DG-1	128
35	GTU	94	Guy Church	EJ Generotti Paul Tavilla Guy Church	Mazda RX-7	113
36	GTO	53	Bill McDill	Richard McDill Bill McDill	Chevrolet Camaro	112
37	GTU	72	Jay Kjoller Motorsports	Jay Kjoller Patrick Mooney Steve Volk	Porsche 911	108
38	GTU	41	Red Line Racing	Dave Russell Mike Graham Cameron Worth	BMW 325	103
39	GTP	98	All American Racers	Rocky Moran Andy Wallace	Eagle HF90	82
40	Lights	09	RJ Racing	Tommy Johnson Rob Robertson John Sheldon	Tiga GC287	82
41	GTO	87	Powertron	Anthony Puleo John Annis Tom Panaggio Tom Walsh	Chevrolet Camaro	75
42	GTP	21st	Alucraft	René Duke Hurley Haywood Wayne Taylor Daniel Mueller	Porsche 962	70
43	GTU	96	Leitzinger Racing	Bob Leitzinger Chuck Kurtz Butch Leitzinger	Nissan 240SX	52
44	GTO	76	Cunningham Racing	Johnny O'Connell Jeremy Dale Steve Millen	Nissan 300ZX	33
45	GTP	05	Milner Racing	Craig Carter Les Delano Andy Petery	Fabcar GTP	23
46	GTO	52	Ken Bupp	Robert Peters Ken Bupp	Chevrolet Camaro	3
Not started
47	GTP	2	Bud Light Jaguar Racing	Davy Jones Kenny Acheson Raul Boesel	Jaguar XJR-12D	1
48	GTP	1	Nissan Performance	Geoff Brabham Chip Robinson Derek Daly Bob Earl	Nissan NPT-90	2
49	GTO	77	Cunningham Racing	Jeremy Dale Steve Millen Johnny O'Connell	Nissan 300ZX	3
50	GTU	70	Auto Concepts	Boris Said III Roger Schramm Mike Nolan	Oldsmobile Cutlass	4th
Not qualified
51	GTO	06	HiTex Corp.	Grandma Kimbrough Mark Montgomery Hoyt Overbagh	Chevrolet Camaro	5
52	GTO	17th	Beckett Racing	Don Beckett Scott Dear Robert McElheny	Chevrolet Corvette	6th

¹ Accident during training ² Training car ³ Training car ⁴ not trained ⁵ not qualified ⁶ not qualified

Only in the entry list

Here you will find teams, drivers and vehicles that were originally registered for the race but did not take part for a variety of reasons.

Item	class	No.	team	driver	chassis
53	GTP	16	Dyson Racing	Rob Dyson James Weaver John Paul Junior	Porsche 962C
54	Lights	32	Spice	David Tennyson	Spice

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
GTP	Geoff Brabham	Derek Daly	Gary Brabham	Nissan GTP ZX Turbo	Overall victory
Lights	Charles Morgan	Jim Pace		Kudzu DG-1	Rank 7
GTO	Max Jones	Robby Gordon		Ford Mustang	Rank 8
GTU	Bob Leitzinger	David Loring		Nissan 240SX	Rank 17

Racing data

• Registered: 54
• Started: 46
• Valued: 25
• Race classes: 4
• Spectators: 80,000
• Race day weather: cold and rainy
• Route length: 5.955 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12: 02: 01.391 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 298
• Total distance of the winning team: 1774.463 km
• Winner's average: 147.458 km / h
• Pole position: Geoff Brabham - Nissan NPT-90 (# 83) - 1: 49.761 - 195.300 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Bob Wollek - Porsche 962C (# 6) - 1: 51.120 - 192.912 km / h
• Racing series: 5th round of the IMSA GTP series in 1991

literature

• Ken Breslauer: Sebring. The official History of America's Great Sports Car Race. David Bull, Cambridge MA 1995, ISBN 0-9649722-0-4 .
• Peter Higham: The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing. A complete Reference from Formula 1 to Touring Car. Guinness Publishing Ltd., London 1995, ISBN 0-85112-642-1 .
• JA Martin and Ken Welles: Prototypes - the History of the IMSA GTP Series . Bull Publishing, Phoenix 2000, ISBN 1-893618-01-3 .

Web links

• Race results at Racing Sports Cars

Previous race, Palm Beach 30-minute race, 1991

IMSA-GTP series

Successor to the 1-hour race of Miami 1991