The 1965 Sebring winning Chaparral had an automatic transmission.
S P E R S E B R I N G 2 0 1 9
84
sebring,
facts,
figures
& trivia
3,856 cars have competed in the
12 Hours of Sebring, covering
2.7 million miles on the famous
circuit.
The 2009 Sebring 12 hours was
the fastest Sebring ever, with
the winning Audi R15 averaging
117.98 mph.
The FIA WEC made its debut
at Sebring in 2012 and will be
returning in 2019 to run a 1000-
mile (or 8 hours) race on Friday, March 15. In the 2012
inaugural, the WEC ran together with IMSA in the
12-hour classic.
The 2018 race was the first time in Sebring history the
top ten qualifiers were all within one second of the pole
time.
The 2018 race set a new record for lead changes, as
eight different cars re corded 42 lead changes.
127 drivers have won the 12 Hours of Sebring. 44
drivers from the SA have won, more than any other
country.
It is noteworthy that the exact same car has won
Daytona and Sebring in the same year six times: 1982
(Porsche 935 chassis JLP-3), 1985 (Porsche 962 chassis
104), 1996 (Riley Scott chassis 004), 1998 (Ferrari
333SP chassis 018), 2016 (ESM
Honda Ligier chassis 02/09), 2017
(WTR Cadillac chassis 002).
Sebring Hall of Fame inductee
Tom Kristensen became Sebring’s
first 6-time winner in 2012. He also
set the fastest race lap six times, a
Sebring record.
Johnny O’Connell is the all-time
leading winner at Sebring with eight
victories (overall and class wins
combined).
The 2010 12-hour set the record for the lowest attrition
rate. Only three cars were not running at the finish.
3,817 drivers have competed at Sebring representing
48 nations: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bahamas,
Cuba, Canada, Chile, China, Switzerland, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark,
Dominican Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Ecuador, El
Salvador, France, Leichtenstein, Great Britain, Greece,
Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Jamaica, India, Scotland,
Monaco, Mexico, Netherlands, New ealand, Panama,
Portugal, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russia, Norway, Argentina,
Sweden, Finland, nited States, irgin Islands,
enezuela, South Africa.
Being the fastest during the race has historically meant
very little at Sebring. The car setting the fastest race
lap has won only ten times in 66 years.