Kiwi driver Earl Bamber overcame two incidents and a penalty in the final minutes Saturday and twice worked his way back into the lead, eventually prevailing to win the 70th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts, the latest round of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
His victory in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R co-driven with Alex Lynn and Neel Jani was nothing short of an adventure.
“It was a team effort, not an individual one,” Bamber said. “I was just the one lucky enough to do the last hour. I could’ve probably made it a hell of a lot easier for everyone else, but hey, I made it. It was a good show, I think.”
With just over 60 minutes remaining, Bamber replaced Lynn during a driver change with a lead of more than 30 seconds over the No. 5 JDC Miller MotorSports Cadillac DPi-V.R shared by Tristan Vautier, Richard Westbrook and Loic Duval.
On the out lap, Bamber collided with the No. 13 AWA Duqueine D08 LMP3 car driven by Kuno Wittmer, drawing a drive-through penalty that gave the overall and Daytona Prototype international (DPi) class lead to Westbrook. Seconds after he passed Westbrook to retake the lead with 59:53 left, Bamber spun in a collision with the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 driven by Simon Mann.
Bamber recovered, chased down Westbrook again and passed him with 45 minutes left. This time, he didn’t let go of the lead, carrying it to the finish 6.471 seconds ahead of Vautier, who replaced Westbrook on the No. 5 car’s final pit stop.
“It was some of the best driving I’ve done and some of the worst at the same time, all in about one and a half hours,” Bamber said. “I’m just really happy that we could recover and get back to the front.”
After Vautier replaced Westbrook, Bamber made his last pit stop. He emerged 7.2 seconds ahead of Vautier, who wasn’t about to give up.
“I gave it all, mate,” Vautier said. “The 02 came out of the pits 7 seconds ahead and we entered the final lap 2.5 behind. Then I took it easy on the last lap. I knew it was over and we were tight on fuel. It’s a very solid day for the team. We were third at Daytona and second here. We can be proud.”
The top three finishers, all Cadillacs, finished within 14.616 seconds as Pipo Derani brought the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac co-driven with Mike Conway and Tristan Nunez home third.
The 351 laps completed were a Sebring record for the DPi class, topping the previous mark set last year by two laps.
It was the 61st IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory for Chip Ganassi Racing and second at Sebring. Bamber and Lynn both scored their second Sebring victories, Jani his first.
The WeatherTech Championship resumes April 8-10 with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
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