Sebring 12 hour race in 1996

The victorious Riley & Scott Mk III by Wayne Taylor , Eric van de Poele and Jim Pace

The 44th Sebring 12 Hours of Sebring , also the 44th Annual Exxon Superflo 12 Hours of Sebring presented by Aurora, Sebring International Raceway , took place on March 17, 1996 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the second round of the IMSA GT Series this year.

Before the race

The IMSA GT season began with the traditional 24 Hours of Daytona , the Wayne Taylor , Scott Sharp and Jim Pace on a Riley & Scott Mk III could decide for themselves. The racing series comprised 14 races this year, one less than the year before. As before, the IMSA struggled with the lack of engagement of international sports car teams and with falling audience numbers. The race at Sebring was excluded from this decline. The oldest event within the IMSA races had become the most important sports car race in North America.

The race

In practice, Max Papis achieved the fastest lap time in a Momo - Ferrari 333SP . Papis, who had contested seven races in the Formula 1 World Championship for Arrows in 1995 , had suddenly become known in the US motorsport scene after his appearance in Daytona. American racing fans have been calling him “Mad Max” since the race at Daytona International Speedway . Papis drove the Ferrari 333SP with starting number 31. Before its last stint the car was in second place, but was badly damaged after an accident. The body was more or less held together by tape. Still, Papis delivered a top class performance. First he rounded back (leading was the Riley & Scott Mk IIII, driven by Wayne Taylor), then he reduced his deficit to a few seconds with a series of record laps. Taylor dragged his prototype, which was suffering from an overheated engine, slowly around the course. What finally saved Taylor, who was now also driving at the limit, was the Ferrari's enormous gasoline consumption, triggered by the record laps of Papis. When Papis refueled a few laps before the end, the race experienced one of its most amazing events. Papis raced at full speed - 320 km / h was measured - through the pit lane (a speed limit was only introduced a year later) to get fuel. He lost the race just under a minute behind Taylor.

At Sebring, his qualifying time was four seconds faster than Michele Alboreto's the year before. His lap time of 1: 50.453 minutes corresponded to an average of 188.832 km / h. In the race there was again a duel for overall victory between Doyle Racing Riley & Scott MK III, where Eric van de Poele was third driver, and the Momo-Ferrari 333SP, which again ended with the success of the Doyle team.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	WSC	4th	Doyle Racing	Wayne Taylor Eric van de Poele Jim Pace	Riley & Scott Mk III	334
2	WSC	3	Scandia Engineering	Andy Evans Mauro Baldi Michele Alboreto	Ferrari 333SP	330
3	WSC	30th	Momo Corse	Giampiero Moretti Massimiliano Papis Didier Theys	Ferrari 333SP	325
4th	WSC	63	Downing Atlanta	Butch Hamlet Barry Waddell Jim Downing	Kudzu DLM	318
5	WSC	63	Dyson Racing	Andy Wallace Butch Leitzinger	Riley & Scott Mk III	314
6th	GTS-1	74	Champion Porsche	Hans-Joachim Stuck Bill Adam	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	309
7th	GTS-1	1	Brix Racing	In it Brassfield Brian Cunningham Irv Hoerr	Oldsmobile Aurora	305
8th	GTS-1	56	Martin Snow	Martin Snow Dennis Aase Jorge Trejos	Porsche 911 GT2	302
9	GTS-1	72	Champion Porsche	John Fergus Derek Bell	Porsche 911 Turbo	302
10	GTS-1	48	Chapman Root	David Murry Chapman Root Charles Nearburg	Porsche 911 Turbo	301
11	GTS-2	99	Schumacher Racing	Andy Pilgrim Will Pace Larry Schumacher	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	294
12	GTS-1	99	Canaska Southwind Motorsports	Joe Varde George Robinson Victor Sifton	Dodge Viper GTS-R	294
13	WSC	0	Auto toy store	Justin Bell Gustl Spreng Morris Shirazi	Spice HC94	292
14th	GTS-2	93	Ecuador Mobil 1 Racing	Henry Taleb Jean-Pierre Michelet Rob Wilson	Nissan 240SX	291
15th	GTS-2	07	Prototype Technology Group	Dieter Quester Pete Halsmer Manfred Wollgarten Javier Quiros	BMW M3	288
16	GTS-2	78	Team ARE	Cort Wagner Mike Doolin Kelly Collins Brent Martini	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	288
17th	GTS-1	5	Brix Racing	Joe Pezza Charles Morgan Rob Morgan	Oldsmobile Aurora	287
18th	GTS-1	69	Gustl Spreng	Ray Mummery Fritz Wegener Kersten Jodexnis	Porsche 993 Carrera Turbo	278
19th	GTS-1	17th	Kind of Pilla	Art Pilla Grandma Kimbrough Mike Bavaro	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	273
20th	GTS-2	57	Cryderacing	Reed Kryder Frank Del Vecchio	Nissan 240SX	271
21st	GTS-2	73	Jack Lewis Enterprises	Jack Lewis Peter Uria Edison Lluch	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	271
22nd	GTS-2	86	G&W Motorsports	Steve Marshall Danny Marshall John Biggs Weldon Scrogham	Porsche 964 Carrera Cup	265
23	GTS-2	46	Rob Collings	John Drew James Nelson Rob Collings Bruce Harrison	Porsche 911 Carrera RS Cup	262
24	WSC	16	Dyson Racing	John Paul junior Rob Dyson James Weaver	Riley & Scott Mk III	262
25th	WSC	7th	Bobby Brown Motorsports	Elliot Forbes-Robinson John Schneider Don Bell	Spice HC94	261
26th	GTS-2	24	Alex Job Racing	Charles Slater Ron Finger John Rutherford	Porsche 911	240
27	GTS-2	52	Andy Strasser	Andy Strasser Kevin Wheeler Alan Ludwig John Bourassa	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	237
28	GTS-1	6th	Juan Dibos	Eduardo Dibos Luis Mendez Bill Auberlen	Ford Mustang	236
29	GTS-1	92	Hoyt Overbagh	Mauro Casadei Gianni Biava Mark Montgomery Hoyt Overbagh Robert McElheny	Chevrolet Camaro	230
30th	GTS-1	98	Canaska Southwind Motorsports	Trevor Seibert Mark Dismore Price Cobb	Dodge Viper GTS-R	205
31	GTS-2	42	Simon Gregg	Simon Gregg Max Schmidt Jarett Freeman	Porsche 993 Supercup	201
32	GTS-2	58	Pro technology racing	Sam Shalala Jim Matthews Mark Hillestad Matt Turner Walt Drill	Porsche 911	189
33	GTS-1	53	Rehabworks	David Rubins Leonard McQue Ted Kempgens Gary Davis	Chevrolet Camaro	188
34	GTS-1	87	Simon Gregg	John Annis Bob Boudinot David Donovan	Chevrolet Camaro	171
Failed
35	GTS-2	27	Jack Refenning	Jack Refenning Tim Vargo Brady Refenning	Porsche 993 Supercup	247
36	GTS-1	91	Rock Valley Oil & Chemical Co.	Stu Hayner John Heinricy Roger Schramm	Chevrolet Camaro	246
37	GTS-2	25th	Angelo Cilli	Anthony Lazzaro Angelo Cilli Mike Fitzgerald	Porsche 911	246
38	WSC	9	Scott Schubot	Scott Schubot Jérôme Policand	Courage C41	239
39	WSC	51	Fantasy Junction	Bruce Trenery Nigel Smith Kent Painter	Cannibal	233
40	GTS-1	09	Konrad Motorsport	Charles Mendez Franz Konrad Antônio de Azevedo Hermann Karel Dolejší André Ahrlé	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	192
41	GTS-2	89	Philip Collin	Philip Collin Kevin Buckler Joe Cogbill	Porsche 911	186
42	GTS-1	35	Bill McDill	Richard McDill Bill McDill Tom Juckette	Chevrolet Camaro	173
43	GTS-2	54	Doug Trott	Doug Trott Rick Bye John Ruther Philip Kubik	Porsche 993 Cup 3.8 RSR	171
44	WSC	2	Screaming Eagles Racing	Johnny O'Connell Craig Nelson Dan Clark	Riley & Scott Mk III	147
45	GTS-2	06	Prototype Technology Group	David Donohue Javier Quiros	BMW M3	114
46	GTS-2	88	Douglas Campbell	Ralph Thomas Douglas Campbell John Bourassa	Mazda RX-7	109
47	GTS-2	55	Stadler Motorsport	Lilian Bryner Enzo Calderari Ulli Richter	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	99
48	WSC	43	Lee Payne Racing	Ross Bentley Lee Payne Franck Fréon	Riley & Scott Mk III	97
49	GTS-1	34	Gary Smith	Gary Smith David Rankin Luis Sereix	Chevrolet Camaro	81
50	GTS-2	22nd	Eurosport Racing	Bohdan Kroczek Gerry Petroskey	Porsche 911 GT2	78
51	GTS-2	26th	Alex Job Racing	Tom Hessert Hurley Haywood Charles Slater	Porsche 911 ME	73
52	WSC	8th	Support Net Racing	Bill Auberlen Henry Camferdam Roger Mandeville	Hawk C-8	64
53	WSC	36	Wheel Works Racing	Jean-Paul Libert Steve Fossett Rick Sutherland Dean Hall	Courage C41	56
54	GTS-2	67	Hendricks Porsche	Jeff Purner Dave White Charles Coker Karl Singer	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	54
55	GTS-2	81	Rudi Bartling	Vito Scavone Derek Oland Rudi Bartling Jeffrey Pabst	Porsche 968	50
56	GTS-2	81	Brad Creger	Lance Stewart Brad Creger Hartmut Haussecker	Mazda RX-7	35
57	WSC	19th	Team SCI	Ranieri Randaccio Sam Brown Robin Smith	Spice SE89C	31
58	GTS-1	44	Jacobs Motorsports	Michael Jacobs Bill Weller	Pontiac Firebird	31
Not started
59	WSC	28	Blake Pridgen	Blake Pridgen Jeff Jones Pete Halsmer	Argo JM20	1
60	GTS-1	77	Tim Banks	Tim Banks Steve Goldin	Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme	2
61	WSC	94	Robert Gottfried	Bill Wolfe Duda Oliveira Jaques Lazier Robert Gottfried	Banshee LNI-1	3

¹ withdrawn ² not started ³ not trained

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
62	GTS-2	08		Cary Eisenlohr Trevor Colby Jeff Hayes	Porsche 911
63	GTS-1	21st	Kent Racing	Kent Painter Bruce Trenery Alex Tradd	Chevrolet Monte Carlo LM
64	GTS-1	96	Canaska Southwind Motorsports	Shawn Hendricks George Robinson Mark Dismore Victor Sifton Trevor Seibert Price Cobb	Dodge Viper GTS-R

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
WSC	Wayne Taylor	Eric van de Poele	Jim Pace	Riley & Scott Mk III	Overall victory
GTS-1	Hans-Joachim Stuck	Bill Adam		Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	Rank 6
GTS-2	Andy Pilgrim	Want pace	Larry Schumacher	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	Rank 11

Racing data

• Registered: 64
• Started: 61
• Rated: 34
• Race classes: 3
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: warm and dry
• Route length: 5.794 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12: 00: 14.146 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 334
• Total distance of the winning team: 1935.075 km
• Winner's average: 161.203 km / h
• Pole position: Max Papis - Ferrari 333SP (# 30) - 1: 50.453 - 188.832 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Michele Alboreto - Ferrari 333SP (# 50) - 1.53.437 - 183.864 km / h
• Racing series: 2nd round of the IMSA GT series in 1996

literature

• 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 1996 Daytona 24 Hours

IMSA GT Championship

Succession race three-hour race at Road Atlanta in 1996