SEBRING, Fla. (March 17, 2019) – CORE strategized its way to another IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship top-five finish in a wild 12-hour race at Sebring International Raceway.
The second round of the championship began in an eerily similar fashion to the end of the first round: incessant rain. The 3.74-mile track was so badly flooded that the first 37 minutes of the race was run behind the safety car.
When the green flag came out, driver Jon Bennett deftly avoided the chaos of the first treacherous laps and came out unscathed. The rain continued through Bennett’s opening stint and into the first stint of Romain Dumas. It wasn’t until two hours and 11 minutes into the race that the No. 54 Nissan Ligier DPi sported Michelin slicks. The skies remained menacing through the day and night, but rain did not return with enough intensity to warrant a change to wet tires.
When the track finally dried out, CORE was two laps behind the leader. A well-timed full-course-yellow and a blisteringly quick pit stop from the crew had the No. 54 back on the lead lap just past the halfway mark with Colin Braun in the car.
Braun climbed as high as fourth, but as the finish approached, it became clear that the race had become a fuel game that the No. 54 would not win. At the checkered flag, CORE was fifth. It is the second top-five finish in as many races for the team.
With the 2019 season’s two longest races out of the way, CORE now looks ahead to the shortest race of the season; the Long Beach Grand Prix, April 12 – 13.
JON BENNETT
Driver: No. 54 Nissan Ligier DPi
“I was owed a little time in the rain after missing out at Daytona. It was certainly treacherous conditions here this morning. It’s a long race, so the mission was to get through the wet driving without setting ourselves back too much or hurting the car. That went pretty well. There were certainly some hair-raising moments, but then it dried out and it was back to business as usual.
“It was a strong finish at the end of the day. Our Nissan DPi ran flawless all day and I’m really happy with that. It was a hard battle and I’m very proud of the guys for another solid finish. I’m looking forward to Long Beach.”
COLIN BRAUN
Driver: No. 54 Nissan Ligier DPi
“It was disappointing to be shorter on fuel than the leaders at the end. We had to go into conservation mode to make it to the finish. We worked hard all day to get our laps back, but when we got our laps back we had to conserve fuel and couldn’t fight. When we were fighting, the car felt pretty quick. Had some things worked out a little differently, I think we could have been podium contenders.
“All the guys did a good job and we were able to bring home a strong finish with a new car and new program. I’m proud of everyone for putting together two top-five finishes in these really difficult endurance races. We collected some good points and we’ll keep learning and move on.”
ROMAIN DUMAS
Driver: No. 54 Nissan Ligier DPi
“The conditions were better than Daytona, but it still was not easy. I was very happy when if finally dried.
“The level of competition is very high in this class. If you look at the top five cars or the podium cars, it’s the ones who make no mistakes. There weren’t very many safety cars today and the Cadillacs are very strong.