Sebring 12 hour race in 1994

A GTS racing car wins the 12-hour race; Nissan 300ZX, winning cars from John Morton , Johnny O'Connell and Steve Millen

The second Cunningham-300ZX (starting number 76). Paul Gentilozzi and Butch Leitzinger retired after driving 121 laps due to an overheated engine

The 42. 12-hour race at Sebring , and 42nd Annual Contac 12 Hours of Sebring International Grand Prix of Endurance, Sebring International Raceway , was on 19 March 1994 to the Sebring International Raceway place and was the second championship round of the IMSA GT Series of this year.

Before the race

After the costs for the development and operation of the IMSA-GT prototypes rose so much in the early 1990s that hardly any team could afford to use these racing cars, the end of these vehicles in North American sports car racing came with the end of 1993 . This also marked the end of large sports car prototypes in the United States , one year after the last season of the World Sports Car Championship . The International Motor Sports Association responded by introducing a new sports car class. The World Sports Cars replaced the GTP and Lights class from 1994. World Sports Cars were open sports cars with now cheaper technology.

The first race in the new racing series was the Daytona 24-hour race . Scott Pruett , Butch Leitzinger , Paul Gentilozzi and Steve Millen , who drove a Nissan 300ZX , won the race by a margin of 24 laps over Bob Wollek , Dominique Dupuy , Jesús Pareja and Jürgen Barth , who drove a Porsche 911 Turbo S LM disputed.

The race

After Sebring, however, there were hardly any independently developed WSC sports cars in 1994. The entries in this new racing class were mainly converted former Lights vehicles, so that the entry list was dominated by the GT cars. The speed differences between the WSC sports cars and the GTO prototypes became apparent during training. The pole position time from Jeremy Dale in Spice AK93 was 2: 01.376 minutes slower than the time by 16 seconds, Juan Manuel Fangio II in front of the Eagle MkIII had achieved. The average speed on one lap also showed the difference between the racing classes. The 201.973 km / h of 1993 dropped to 176.611 km / h.

The course of the race showed that the excitement of a race has little to do with the size of the field and more with the quality of the vehicles and drivers. From the start a three-way battle developed between the ultimately victorious Nissan 300ZX of John Morton , Johnny O'Connell and Steve Millen and the two Spice WSC sports cars of James Weaver / Derek Bell / Andy Wallace and Jeremy Dale / Bob Schader / Ruggero Melgrati whose car fell out of the duel for victory after almost three hours of driving due to problems with the oil pressure. The front changed more than a dozen times during the course of the race. Some rounds, and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with start number 6 in the lead. At the finish, the victorious Nissan had a five-lap lead over the competition.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	GTS	75	Cunningham Racing	John Morton Johnny O'Connell Steve Millen	Nissan 300ZX	327
2	WSC	9	Auto toy store	James Weaver Derek Bell Andy Wallace	Spice SE89	322
3	WSC	63	Downing Atlanta	Wayne Taylor Tim McAdam Jim Downing	Kudzu DG-3	314
4th	WSC	44	Scandia Motorsports	Ross Bentley Andy Evans Butch Leitzinger	Spice WSC94	309
5	GTU	49	Mark Sandridge	Nick Ham Joe Varde Mark Sandridge	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	305
6th	GTU	95	Leitzinger Racing	Jim Pace Butch Hamlet Barry Waddell	Nissan 240SX	305
7th	GTS	99	Konrad Motorsport	Örnulf Werdenheim Franz Konrad Ferdinand de Lesseps Charles Mendez	Porsche 911 Turbo	299
8th	GTU	01	Rohr Corporation	Jochen Rohr Jeff Purner John O'Steen	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	298
9	GTU	37	Ecurie Biennoise	Lilian Bryner Enzo Calderari Renato Mastropietro	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	293
10	WSC	20th	Consulier Racing	Scott Lagasse Ken Schrader	Consulier Intruder	289
11	GTS	59	Brumo's Porsche	Hans-Joachim Stuck Walter Röhrl Hurley Haywood	Porsche 911 Turbo GT America	287
12	GTS	69	Gustl Spreng Racing	Gustl Spreng Ray Mummery	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	283
13	GTU	26th	Alex Job Racing	Charles Slater Peter Uria Joe Cogbill	Porsche 911	280
14th	GTS	71	Churchill Transport	Jerry Churchill Randy Churchill	Oldsmobile Cutlass	277
15th	GTU	00	Konrad Motorsport	Antônio de Azevedo Hermann Eric van Vliet Maurizio Sandro Sala	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	267
16	WSC	36	Pegasus Racing	Dieter Quester Pete Halsmer Oliver Kuttner Wolf Zweifler	Pegasus	259
17th	GTU	4th	Dibos Racing Team Peru	Eduardo Dibos Les Lindley Bill Auberlen	Mazda RX-7	255
18th	GTU	58	Pro technology racing	Sam Shalala Mycroft Checks Ron Kerr Bill Ferran	Porsche 911	254
19th	GTS	51	Bruce Trenery	Bruce Trenery Jeffrey Pattinson Andrew Osman	Oldsmobile Cutlass	253
20th	GTU	57	Cryderacing	Reed Kryder Frank Del Vecchio Joe Danaher	Nissan 240SX	241
21st	GTU	81	Vito Scavone	Vito Scavone Derek Oland John McAulay	Porsche 944 Turbo	237
22nd	GTU	09	Charles Wagner	Charles Wagner Dave Russell Kenneth Brady Steve Mott	Mazda RX-7	237
23	GTU	12	Lotus USA	Doc Bundy David Murry	Lotus Esprit X180R	231
24	GTS	23	Curren Motorsports	Tom Curren Robert Borders Bill Julian Gene Harry	Oldsmobile Cutlass	224
25th	GTS	04	Art Cross	Art Cross Steve Roberts Bobby Dumont	Chevrolet Camaro	218
26th	GTU	91	Mel Butt	Lorin Hicks Mel Butt Ron Zitza	Porsche 911	207
27	GTS	21st	Bob Hundredmark	Bob Hundredmark Peter Hanson Ken Fengler Dan King	Oldsmobile Cutlass	198
28	GTU	68	Charles Coker	Ken McKinnon Flip Groggins Charles Coker Hugh Johnson	Porsche 944 Turbo	194
29	GTS	50	Overbagh Racing	Mark Montgomery Tom Ministri Grandma Kimbrough Hoyt Overbagh	Porsche 944 Turbo	186
30th	GTS	94	Morrison Motorsports	John Heinricy Stu Hayner Andy Pilgrim	Chevrolet Corvette	185
31	GTS	19th	O'Brien Motorsports	Linda Pobst Leigh O'Brien Kat Teasdale	Chevrolet Camaro	81
Failed
32	GTS	6th	Brix Racing	RK Smith Tommy Riggins Irv Hoerr Darin Brassfield	Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme	263
33	WSC	11	Tony Kester	Tony Kester Stan Cleva Joseph Hamilton	Tiga GT286 Spyder	252
34	GTU	73	Jack Lewis Enterprises Ltd.	Jack Refenning John Bourassa Jack Lewis	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	194
35	GTS	5	Brix Racing	Scott Pruett Price Cobb Tommy Riggins	Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme	190
36	GTU	96	Leitzinger Racing	Geoff Boss Glenn Straub Andy Boss	Nissan 240SX	178
37	GTS	93	Morrison Motorsports	Del Percilla Andy Pilgrim Jim Minneker Jeff Nowicki	Chevrolet Corvette	165
38	GTS	03	Carolina Racing Engines	Gary Smith Timothy Spurr Steve Goldin	Chevrolet Camaro	129
39	GTS	76	Cunningham Racing	Paul Gentilozzi Butch Leitzinger	Nissan 300ZX	121
40	WSC	45	Scandia Motorsports	John Macaluso Paul Debban Hugh Fuller	Kudzu DG-2	114
41	ESC	2	Brix Racing	Jeremy Dale Bob Schader Ruggero Melgrati	Spice AK93	91
42	GTS	72	Champion Porsche	Bill Adam John Paul junior Victor Gonzalez	Porsche 911 Turbo	91
43	WSC	10	Premdor	John Jones Jeff Lapcevich Neil Jamieson	Tiga FJ94	68
44	GTS	87	John Annis	John Annis Louis Beall Dana DeShong Duane Meyer	Chevrolet Camaro	13
45	GTS	35	Bill McDill	Richard McDill Tom Juckette Bill McDill	Chevrolet Camaro	8th
46	GTU	08	Saeta Racing	Henry Taleb Terry Andrews Jean-Pierre Michelet Ignacio Escobar	Nissan 300ZX	6th
47	WSC	22nd	Screaming Eagles Racing	Andy Wallace Craig Nelson Dan Clark Dorsey Schroeder	Spice SE90	5
48	GTU	0	Leigh Miller Racing	Leigh Miller Tom Rathbun Lance Stewart Mike Holt	Porsche 944 Turbo	4th
Not started
49	GTS	3	Kent Painter	Kent Painter Tami Rai Busby	Chevrolet Camaro	1

¹ not started

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
50	WSC	9	Support Net Racing	Henry Camferdam Roger Mandeville Gary Drummond	Hawk MD3R
51	GTU	24	Jarett Freeman	Jarett Freeman	Porsche 993 Supercup
52	GTU	42	Rudolf Brent	Stig Amthor Rolf Kuhn Philippe de Craene Philippe Olczyk	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
WSC	James Weaver	Derek Bell	Andy Wallace	Spice SE89	Rank 2
GTU	John Morton	Johnny O'Connell	Steve Millen	Nissan 300ZX	Overall victory
GTS	Nick Ham	Joe Varde	Mark Sandridge	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Rank 5

Racing data

• Registered: 52
• Started: 48
• Rated: 31
• Race classes: 3
• Spectators: 100,000
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 5.955 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:01: 22.068 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 327
• Total distance of the winning team: 1947.145 km
• Winner's average: 161.955 km / h
• Pole position: Jeremy Dale - Spice AK93 (# 2) - 2: 01.376 - 176.611 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Andy Evans - Spice WSC94 (# 44) - 2: 03.432 - 173.796 km / h
• Racing series: 2nd round of the IMSA GT series in 1994

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 of the 1994 Daytona 24 Hours

IMSA GT Championship

Successor to the 2-hour race at Road Atlanta 1994