Porsche Has Strength In Numbers Entering Sebring 150

Subtitle:Continental Tire Challenge Returns To SIR

The popular Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport has added to its numbers in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Grand Sport (GS) class, with five of the new models entered in Friday’s Sebring 150, Round 2 of the 2016 season.

Danny Burkett and Marc Miller finished third in the season-opening BMW Performance 200 at Daytona, which had a pair of Porsche’s new turnkey race cars in the field. The pair drive the No. 33 ONE Capital Management/MotorOilMatters.org Clubsport for CJ Wilson Racing.

“I think the new Cayman GT4 Clubsport will do real well here, because it’s a mid-engine car and I think it’s better suited to this track than the Ford Shelby or Porsche 911,” Burkett said. “I’ve been here a lot, both racing and testing in a variety of cars, and in fact my first race ever in a car was at Sebring in 2013. So I’m very comfortable at this track, Marc also has a lot of experience here, and the Clubsport is one of the most balanced cars on the grid.”

The team owned by Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pitcher C.J. Wilson is expanding to two cars for Sebring, with Tyler McQuarrie and series debutant Till Bechtolsheimer sharing the No. 35 Porsche. Other new Caymans include the No. 64 JKTG Foundation/Camp Boggy Creek entry for Ted Giovanis and David Murry, and Cameron Cassels and 2014 GS champion Trent Hindman in the No. 12 Bodymotion Racing Cayman. In addition, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship regular Jeroen Bleekemolen returns in the No. 21 Muehlner Motorsports Porsche GT4 Clubsport, joined by Dennis Trebing.

Hindman turned in the fastest lap in Wednesday’s opening practice, running 2:15.875 (99.091 mph) on the 17-turn, 3.74-mile circuit in the first of two sessions.

A pair of regional teams also will race the proven Porsche 911. Rum Bum Racing of Orlando fields the No. 13 Porsche for brothers Hugh and Matt Plumb, while DeLand-based Rebel Rock Racing has the No. 6 Porsche for Jim Jonsin and Frank DePew.

Ford is coming off a one-two finish at Daytona, with BMW Performance 200 winners Scott Maxwell and Billy Johnson returning in the No. 15 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Shelby GT350R-C. Compass360 Racing will have the No. 76 AERO Advanced Paint Technology/Children’s Tumor Foundation/Spyder Active Sports Shelby.

Adding depth to the GS field is another Orlando-based team, with Automatic Racing fielding the No. 99 Invisible Glass/Rogue Engineering/BMW Melbourne/Red Glare Records Aston Martin Vantage.

Next Level European Returns To Scene of First Victory

While the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport is making its mark in the GS class, the original Continental Tire Challenge Cayman is a solid contender in Street Tuner (ST), with 11 in the 29-car entry for the class.

Among the Caymans are two fielded by Next Level European, which won at Sebring in 2015 in only its second race, with Greg Liefooghe and Eric Zimmerman driving for the satellite team of the established BimmerWorld Racing operation. Liefooghe has a new co-driver for 2016, with Ari Balogh sharing the No. 83 Red Line Oil Cayman. Dan Rogers and Seth Thomas return in the No. 38 Cayman.

“We feel pretty good about our chances, because we’ve made a lot of progress with our Caymans throughout last season,” Liefooghe said. “But the biggest challenge in ST is there are a lot of new drivers – real good drivers – in the series now. This is one of the most competitive fields we’ve ever had, so it’s going to be a hard race because of that.”

Robin Liddell, the 2015 GS champion, joined Rebel Rock Racing for 2016. Liddell is paired with Elliott Skeer, the 2015 Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama champ, placing third in the No.  8 Cayman at Daytona. Rebel Rock also fields the No. 7 Cayman for Ian James and Samuel Adams.

Other Cayman teams include the Daytona-winning No. 56 Mosing Motorcars Porsche of Eric Foss and Jeff Mosing; the three car RS1 entry, which finished second at Daytona with Spencer Pumpelly and Nick Galante; and single cars for Bodymotion Racing, Wright Automotive Group and Strategic Wealth Racing. Andy Lee was fastest in opening practice with a lap of 2:23.924 (93.549 mph) in the No. 22 Wright Automotive Group Cayman co-driven by Kris Wright.

Defending Street Tuner (ST) champions Stevan McAleer and Chad McCumbee – who finished third at Sebring in 2015 – return with a new team, joining a three-car Freedom Autosport entry. With CJ Wilson Racing turning its attention to GS, the pair stayed with Mazda and will co-drive the No. 25 SemperFiFund.org Mazda MX-5. They join Andrew Carbonell and Liam Dwyer in the No. 26 and Britt Casey Jr. and Danny Bender in the No. 27 Mazda MX-5. Also running a Mazda is Alara Racing with Christian Szymczak and 2015 Sebring Total Pole Award winner Justin Piscitell in the No. 34 MX-5.

The MINI John Cooper Works team has a three-car entry. Brothers Mark and Mat Pombo join Ethan Low, Dr. Ramin Abdulvahabi, James Vance and Derek Jones in the team’s driver lineup.

Honda’s HART team has a two-car entry, with Cameron Lawrence joining Michael Valiante, Chad Gilsinger and Steve Eich. They join CRG-I Do Borrow, which fields the No. 44 Honda Civic Si for Sarah Cattaneo and Owen Trinkler.

Audi will be represented in ST by Compass360 Racing, which fields a pair of AERO Advanced Paint/Children’s Tumor Foundation/Spyder Active entries for drivers Jim McGuire, Nico Rondet, Roy Block and Kyle Gimple.

Continental Tire Challenge qualifying will be held on Thursday at 12:30 p.m.ET, with the two-hour, 30-minute Sebring 150 taking the green flag on Friday at 12:20 p.m. The race will be streamed live at IMSA.tv.