The No. 02 CGR crew was then clearly the strongest on the track, and with the exception of the hiccups, executed the plan all the way to victory circle.
“The car was flying all week and yeah, we got the strategy right there at the end,” said Lynn. “It was a fantastic result to win and thank you to the whole team. We were driving an amazing car today. It made our job behind the wheel that much easier, if it could ever be called easy. It’s a big result for us in the championship and it’s an iconic race, the 12 Hours. With Ganassi winning it once before, it’s a huge result for us as a team.”
The 02 squad believed early on that their biggest competition would be the sister car, but that they had the tools to win.
“I think we knew from from when we rolled off the truck, honestly,” said Bamber. “You know, we had a really good test here the other week and like I said, we’ve been working really hard. It’s only the second year with the car and we’re getting better and better with it. We knew that we had strong cars, obviously with the 01 as well — absolutely gutted for those guys, two years in a row where they’ve been one of the favorites and getting robbed there. But we knew as soon as we got clear, we’d be away.”
PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports was a step ahead all weekend in LMP2, Ben Keating, Mikkel Jensen and Scott Huffaker taking a dominant win. Jake Galstad/Lumen
In the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Ben Keating drove in two different cars in two different classes; at Sebring, he participated in both the WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring in GTE-Am and in his normal seat in the No.52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports ORECA in LMP2 with Mikkel Jensen and Scott Huffaker. He earned poles in both, and the No. 52 was almost unchallenged on its way to a one-lap victory over the No. 29 Racing Team Nederland ORECA of Fritz Van Eerd, Giedo van Der Garde and Dylan Murry, the second win in a row for the team.
“It’s really exciting,” Keating said. “Such a great race. The team did a flawless job. We had no problems the entire race. We had a really quick car. I didn’t do the second practice session because I didn’t want to drive the LMP2 between the Aston Martin practice and qualifying and Scott and Mikkel did a lot of work with the team to get the car setup right — it was just an easy car to drive and it really showed. The team just did an unbelievable job. It was hot out there — it was very difficult. All three drivers are completely cooked.”
The No. 81 DragonSpeed ORECA of Henrik Hedman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Sebastian Montoya looked like they had the best chance to challenge the No. 52, and indeed Sebastian Montoya put the car into the lead before handing over to his father. But shortly thereafter, while trying to avoid a spinning LMP3, JPM got sandwiched between the LMP3 and the Paul Miller Racing BMW and was an immediate retirement.
Dwight Merriman, Kyle Tilley and Ryan Dalziel were third in LMP2 in the No. 18 Era Motorsport ORECA.
Sean Creech Motorsport’s Ligier JS P320 got stronger as the race progressed, as Malthe Jakobsen, Joao Barbosa and Lance Willsey took a decisive class win in LMP3. Dumond/Lumen
Malthe Jakobsen had a handy lead in LMP3 driving the No. 33 Sean Creech Motorsport Ligier he shared with Joao Barbosa and Lance Willsey, but that didn’t stop him from setting the fastest lap of the race in the closing stages to put more distance between the second-place Jr III Racing Ligier of Garett Grist, Ari Balogh and Dakota Dickerson.
“It’s great — we were very close at Daytona last year and this year, and we needed a big win, ” Barbosa, a longtime friend of team owner Creech, told IMSA’s wire service. “The guys have been working really hard. To come to this race and giving us a great car to race, to be able to help a little bit this team to move forward and get such a big win is a great sensation.”
The No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports Ligier of Dan Goldburg, Rasmus Lindh and Cameron Shields was third.
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