Sebring 12 hour race 1997

The first Panoz racing model that was at the start in Sebring was the Esperante GTR-1

The 45th Sebring 12 Hours of Sebring , also The 45th Annual Superflo 12 Hours of Sebring presented by Chrysler Corporation, Sebring International Raceway , took place on March 15, 1997 at the Sebring International Raceway and was the second IMSA GT race Series of this year.

Before the race

In 1997, at the opening race of the season, the Daytona 24-hour race , the battle between Doyle Racing and Scandia Motorsport in the US sports car endurance races continued. There was an enormous shortage of space on the podium of the race, as there was space for a total of 14 drivers. With Elliot Forbes-Robinson , John Schneider , Rob Dyson , John Paul junior , Butch Leitzinger , Andy Wallace and James Weaver, no fewer than seven drivers drove a stint in the winning car, the Dyson Racing Riley & Scott Mk III .

The race

The duel between the Ferrari and Riley & Scott teams continued in Sebring. In practice, Yannick Dalmas drove the fastest qualifying time in a Ferrari 333SP registered by Team Scandia . The Frenchman, who was at the start at Sebring for the first time, achieved a time of 1: 49.425 minutes. In 1997, Dalmas was one of the most successful sports car drivers in recent years. He had already won the Le Mans 24-hour race three times . 1992 he won the plant - Peugeot 905 Evo 1B together with Derek Warwick and Mark Blundell , 1993 with Hurley Haywood and Mauro Baldi in duration 962LM GT and a year later with JJ Lehto and Masanori Sekiya in the McLaren F1 GTR .

Dalmas was victorious right from his first Sebring outing. Together with his partners Stefan Johansson , Fermín Vélez and Andy Evans, he won with a lead of 48 seconds over the Riley & Scott of James Weaver, Andy Wallace and Butch Leitzinger, which is close to a 12-hour race.

Results

Final ranking

Item	class	No.	team	driver	vehicle	Round
1	WSC	3	Team Scandia	Yannick Dalmas Stefan Johansson Fermín Vélez Andy Evans	Ferrari 333SP	281
2	WSC	16	Dyson Racing	James Weaver Andy Wallace Butch Leitzinger	Riley & Scott Mk III	281
3	WSC	4th	Dibos Racing	Eduardo Dibos Jim Pace Barry Waddell	Riley & Scott Mk III	268
4th	WSC	63	Downing Atlanta Racing	Jim Downing Charles Nearburg Tim McAdam	Kudzu DLM	266
5	WSC	20th	Dyson Racing	Elliot Forbes-Robinson John Schneider John Paul Junior	Riley & Scott Mk III	263
6th	GTS-1	11	Robinson Racing	Irv Hoerr Jack Baldwin George Robinson	Oldsmobile Aurora	261
7th	GTS-1	01	Rohr Corp.	Andy Pilgrim Jochen Rohr Robert Nearn	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	261
8th	GTS-2	61	Konrad Motorsport	Bob Wollek Franz Konrad Wido Rössler	Porsche 911 GT2	259
9	GTS-3	10	Prototype Technology Group	Javier Quiros Tom Hessert Bill Auberlen Derek Hill	BMW M3	257
10	GTS-2	03	Roock Racing	Michel Ligonnet Claudia Hürtgen Zak Brown Dirk Layer	Porsche 911 GT2	256
11	GTS-2	99	Schumacher Racing	Larry Schumacher John O'Steen Will Pace	Porsche 911 Carrera Cup	256
12	GTS-2	56	Martin Snow	Martin Snow Peter Kitchak Philip Collin	Porsche 911 GT2	255
13	GTS-3	76	Team ARE	Kelly Collins Cort Wagner Gary Blackman	Porsche 993 Carrera RSR	255
14th	GTS-3	52	Stadler Motorsport	Enzo Calderari Lilian Bryner Ulli Richter	Porsche 911	253
15th	GTS-3	7th	Prototype Technology Group	Dieter Quester Marc Duez Boris Said III	BMW M3	252
16	WSC	88	MSI Racing	Ross Bentley Jeff Jones Danny Sullivan	Riley & Scott Mk III	250
17th	GTS-3	39	Jim Mathews Racing	David Murry Jim Matthews Hurley Haywood	Porsche 911	249
18th	GTS-1	75	Robinson Racing	Victor Sifton Jon Gooding Joe Pezza	Oldsmobile Aurora	248
19th	GTS-2	65	Saleen Allen Speedlab	Steve Saleen David Warnock Robert Schirle	Ford Saleen Mustang	246
20th	GTS-3	68	The Racers Group	Kevin Buckler Stephen Earle Randy Pobst	Porsche 911	246
21st	GTS-3	78	Team ARE	Mike Doolin Steve Pelke Bruce Busby	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	245
22nd	GTS-3	53	Stadler Motorsport	Denis Lay Karl-Heinz Wlazik Uwe Sick	Porsche 911	245
23	GTS-3	25th	Alex Job Racing	Charles Slater Jeff Purner Terry Lingner Robbie Groff	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR	242
24	GTS-3	86	G&W Motorsports	Steve Marshall Danny Marshall Weldon Scrogham	Porsche 964 Carrera Cup	240
25th	GTS-3	89	Tag racing	Thomas Dittmer Jason Dittmer Tone Grant Mike Gagliardo	Porsche 911	236
26th	WSC	2	Screaming Eagles Racing	Craig Nelson Darin Brassfield Dan Clark	Riley & Scott Mk III	233
27	GTS-3	58	Protechnik Racing	Sam Shalala John Annis Neil Crilly Scott Peeler	Porsche 911	229
28	GTS-3	69	Jorge Trejos	Jeff Gamroth Tim Ralston Monte Shelton	Porsche 911	227
29	GTS-3	05	Auto Sport South	Joe Cogbill William Stitt John Bourassa	Porsche 911 Turbo	224
30th	GTS-3	92	PAR International Ltd.	David Loring Raymond Boissoneau Peter Goebel Brian Johnson	Mazda RX-7	218
31	GTS-3	26th	Alex Job Racing	Anthony Lazzaro Angelo Cilli Eric Bretzel	Porsche 911	216
32	GTS-3	70	Newfield Kartman	Ludovico Manfredi Alain Nadal Manolis Moschous Ron Zitza	Porsche 911	210
33	GTS-3	36	Phoenix American Motorsports	Jim Michaelian Steve McNeely Stu Hayner John Heinricy Mike Weinberg Joe Aquilante Marty Miller	Pontiac Firebird	201
34	GTS-1	90	Road Circuit Technology	Les Delano Andy Petery Craig Carter	Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme	199
35	GTS-1	48	Ted Kempgens	David Rankin Hank Scott Billy Bies Ted Kempgens	Chevrolet Camaro	188
36	WSC	33	FAB Factory Motorsport	Ralph Thomas John Mirro Rick Ferguson	Kudzu DG-2	185
37	GTS-1	09	Rice Racing	Vic Rice Ray Kong Shane Lewis Kent Stacy	Pontiac Grand Prix	180
38	GTS-1	80	Dave Perelle	Nort Northam Dave Perelle Houghton Smith	Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme	148
39	GTS-1	37	Hoyt Overbagh	Mauro Casadei Oscar Rovelli Butch Brickell Mark Montgomery CJ Johnson	Chevrolet Camaro	141
40	GTS-3	57	Cryderacing	Luis Sereix Reed Kryder Frank Del Vecchio Michael DeFontes	Nissan 240SX	85
Failed
41	GTS-3	50	Jorge Trejos	Joe Varde Jorge Trejos Dennis Aase	Porsche 911	247
42	GTS-2	47	TF Racing	Matt Turner Gary Smith Joseph Safina John Kohler Nick Longhi	Ford Saleen Mustang	205
43	WSC	28	FAB Factory Motorsport	Jon Field Juan Gac Jacek Mucha AJ Smith Owen Trinkler	Spice SC95	203
44	WSC	8th	Support Net Racing	Johnny O'Connell Scott Schubot Henry Camferdam Roger Mandeville	Hawk C-8	188
45	GTS-3	27	Tim Vargo	Brady Refenning Jack Refenning Henry Camferdam Peter Uria	Porsche 911	178
46	WSC	30th	Moretti Racing	Giampiero Moretti Antônio de Azevedo Hermann Didier Theys Andrea Montermini	Ferrari 333SP	168
47	WSC	1	Doyle Racing Riley & Scott	Wayne Taylor Eric van de Poele Scott Sharp	Riley & Scott Mk III	151
48	GTS-3	6th	Prototype Technology Group	John Fergus Dan Marvin	BMW M3	142
49	WSC	43	Team Scandia	Charles Morgan Rob Morgan	Ferrari 333SP	135
50	GTS-3	42	Jarett Freeman	Michael Duffy Simon Gregg	Porsche 911	134
51	WSC	60	Head Precision Race Products Team	Roberto Quintanilla Jeff Ward	Boar KII	126
52	GTS-1	66	Panoz Motorsport	Doc Bundy Éric Bernard Jeff Purner	Panoz Esperante GTR-1	108
53	GTS-3	93	Ecuador Mobile	Henry Taleb Pete Halsmer Elton Julian	Nissan 240SX	104
54	GTS-1	74	Champion Porsche	Hans-Joachim Stuck Bill Adam	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	100
55	GTS-2	55	Saleen Allen Speedlab	Price Cobb Phil Andrews	Ford Saleen Mustang	92
56	GTS-1	35	Richard McDill	Richard McDill Bill McDill Tom Juckette Gianni Biava	Chevrolet Camaro	90
57	GTS-3	22nd	Reisman Racing	Paul Reisman John Reisman Richard Valentine	Chevrolet Camaro	73
58	GTS-3	38	Mark Hein	Dorsey Schroeder Peter Cunningham John Green	Acura NSX	58
59	GTS-1	17th	Arthur Pilla	Arthur Pilla Grandma Kimbrough David Kicak	Porsche 911 GT2 Evo	58
60	GTS-1	72	Tim Banks	Tim Banks Henri-Louis Maunoir Don Arpin	Chevrolet Corvette	57
61	GTS-2	31	Kim Baker	John Heinricy Stuart Jones Kim Baker	Chevrolet Corvette	29
62	GTS-1	45	Davies Motorsports	Scott Goodyear Neto Jochamowitz Ed Davies	Porsche 911 Turbo	21st
63	WSC	00	John Christie	John Graham Robin Smith	X-250	21st
Not started
64	GTS-3	98	Tag racing	Thomas Dittmer Jason Dittmer Tone Grant Mike Gagliardo Tony Ave	Porsche 911	1
65	GTS-3	34	James Loftis	James Loftis Richard Howe Norman Goldrich Dave White	Porsche 968	2
66	GTS-3	06	Jeremiah Kelly	Marc Fienstein Randy Pobst	Porsche 944 Turbo	3
67	GTS-3	0	Tony Singer	Karl Singer Tony Singer Kasey Singer Dave White Joe Varde Don Knowle	Porsche 911	4th

¹ not started ² accident during training ³ not started ⁴ 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
68	GTS-2	02	Roock Racing		Porsche 911 GT2
69	WSC	19th	Davin Racing	Edd Davin	Argo
70	GTS-3	73	Jack Lewis Enterprises	Jack Lewis Kurt Mathewson	Porsche 911 Carrera RSR
71	GTS-1	91	Rock Valley Oil & Chemical Co.	Roger Schramm Stu Hayner John Heinricy Marty Miller	Chevrolet Camaro

Class winner

class	driver	driver	driver	driver	vehicle	Placement in the overall ranking
WSC	Yannick Dalmas	Stefan Johansson	Fermín Vélez	Andy Evans	Ferrari 333SP	Overall victory
GTS-1	Irv Hoerr	Jack Baldwin	George Robinson		Oldsmobile Aurora	Rank 6
GTS-2	Bob Wollek	Franz Konrad	Wido Rössler		Porsche 911 GT2	Rank 8
GTS-3	Javier Quiros	Tom Hessert	Bill Auberlen	Derek Hill	BMW M3	Rank 9

Racing data

• Registered: 71
• Started: 63
• Rated: 30
• Race classes: 4
• Spectator: unknown
• Race day weather: first dry, then rain
• Route length: 5.794 km
• Driving time of the winning team: 12:00: 06.975 hours
• Total laps of the winning team: 281
• Total distance of the winning team: 1628.012 km
• Winner's average: 135.645 km / h
• Pole position: Yannick Dalmas - Ferrari 333SP (# 3) - 1: 49.425 - 190; 606 km / h
• Fastest race lap: Andrea Montermini - Ferrari 333SP (# 30) - 1.51.867 - 186.466 km / h
• Racing series: 2nd round of the IMSA GT series 1997

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 24 Hours of Daytona 1997

IMSA GT Championship

Succession race 2-hour race at Road Atlanta in 1997, the first race