Four Mercedes-AMG GT3 Teams Across Two Different IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Classes Compete Saturday in the 70th Running of the 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway

Nine Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing entries competing in four different classes across two IMSA racing series have arrived in Sebring International Raceway for the 70th running of 12 Hours of Sebring IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race on the legendary central Florida airport road course, March 16 – 19. Four Mercedes-AMG GT3 teams – three in the GT Daytona (GTD) class and one in the GTD Pro division – compete in Saturday’s featured 12-hour IMSA WeatherTech Championship race, while five Mercedes-AMG GT4 teams are entered in the top-tier Grand Sport (GS) class in Thursday’s two-hour IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge race.

The 70th 12 Hours of Sebring is scheduled to start this Saturday, March 19, at 10:10 a.m. EDT with flag-to-flag livestreaming coverage on NBC Peacock beginning at 10 a.m. EDT. Live television coverage begins on the USA Network at 3:30 p.m. EDT, while international viewers can watch the race live and in its entirety at IMSA.com.

This year marks the first season of split competition for IMSA’s popular GTD division, which has been home to the Mercedes-AMG GT3 since 2017. While the traditional Pro-Am format of the original GTD division continues, the new GTD Pro class showcases top-ranked professional sports car drivers from around the world competing in machinery similar to the cars used in GTD.

The No. 97 Proton USA Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry of Cooper McNeil, Maro Engel and Jules Gounon returns at Sebring after a competitive GTD Pro run in the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. Joined by Daniel Juncadella, the No. 97 drivers combined to lead 77 GTD Pro laps and appeared to be in a position to battle for the class victory as the sun came up Sunday morning. Gounon was at the wheel and leading GTD Pro Sunday morning as the race entered its final quarter, but a cooling system water hose worked its way loose and the No. 97 was retired due to overheating. The team and drivers look for a better result this weekend with Proton, which scored a GT class victory last year at Sebring with MacNeil among the drivers on the winning team.

The three other Mercedes-AMG Motorsport customer teams competing at Sebring are all entered in the GTD class, including the No. 32 Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports (GKM) Mercedes-AMG GT3 that secured a third- place class finish.

The break-through podium showing came in just the GKM team’s fifth WeatherTech Championship GTD start, second major endurance race and first-ever 24-hour race. Full-season co-driver Mike Skeen and Stevan McAleer will co-drive in GKM’s Sebring debut with Juncadella, who moves over to GKM after driving the Proton USA No. 97.

The No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 team of Russell Ward, Philip Ellis and Marvin Dienst also makes its 12 Hours of Sebring debut after a string of Rolex 24 success at Daytona in recent years. The Winward No. 57 team won the GTD class in the 2021 Rolex 24 At Daytona, secured another victory in this year’s Rolex 24 qualifying race, and appeared in a strong position for another first place finish in January’s Rolex 24.

From Saturday afternoon through early Sunday morning, Winward led the GTD field 13 times for a total of 151 laps, but a contact incident in the race’s second hour created a vibration that ultimately led to a costly front- end and hood repair early Sunday morning. Despite the setback, Winward returned to the race and steadily picked up a few positions in the final five hours to finish sixth.

Another Mercedes-AMG GT3 entry in GTD looks for a turnaround at Sebring after early retirements in last year’s 12 hour and this year’s Rolex 24 derailed a pair of competitive runs. The No. 28 Alegra Motorpsorts Mercedes-AMG GT3 was knocked out of last year’s Sebring race in the opening hours by another competitor and – after leading three different times for 19 laps early on in January at Daytona – was forced to retire with a technical issue just a few hours into the Rolex 24.

The Alegra team is primed for better results at Sebring where Daniel Morad, Michael de Quesada and reigning Mercedes-AMG DTM Champion Maximilian Götz co-drive the No. 28 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Like the GTD division in the WeatherTech Championship, the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class has been expanded to recognize a second class this year. Thursday’s two-hour Pilot Challenge race is scheduled to start at 4:25 p.m. EDT.

The GS class features a new Bronze Cup division in 2022, and Mercedes- AMG Motorsport customer teams secured a one-two finish in the first race for the class in the Daytona opener.

Driving the No. 11 Capstone Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT4, Gary Ferrera and Kris Wilson crossed the finish line 11th overall at Daytona and first in Bronze Cup. The new championship within the overall 10-race GS schedule for Bronze-rated drivers, which most commonly designates sportsman or “Am” competitors.

Second in Bronze and 14th overall at Daytona went to veteran teammates Brent Mosing and Tim Probert in the No. 65 Murillo Racing Mercedes- AMG GT4, one of three Murillo entries competing at the Daytona opener and this week at Sebring.

Murillo’s other entries combined for a pair of GS and overall top-10 finishes at Daytona. Jeff Mosing and Eric Foss finished eighth in the No. 56 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 while Christian Szymczak and Kenny Murillo co-drove the No. 72 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 to a 10th place finish.

In total, the three Mercedes-AMG GT4 entries from Murillo and the No. 11 Capstone entry all finished within the overall top-14 in Daytona’s 31-car GS field. A field of 30 GS entries competes at Sebring.

Murillo and Capstone will be looking for similar or better results at Sebring where they will be joined by a familiar team with a new driver pairing. The No. 55 FCP Euro Mercedes-AMG GT4 is set for its first race since late last September at VIR with experienced Mercedes-AMG driver Skeen co-driving with Trevor Andrusko who is set for his first GS race start. Skeen pulls double duty this week, competing with both FCP Euro in Pilot Challenge and GKM in the 12 Hours of Sebring, while Andrusko brings solid IMSA single-make series experience with him for his debut.

Official on-track competition at Sebring International Raceway gets underway today with practice and qualifying runs throughout the next three days in preparation for Saturday’s 70th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Jules Gounon, Driver – No. 97 Proton USA Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I am very happy to be back in IMSA and in the United States, where I always love to race. With Cooper and Maro, I think we have another good chance to chase a top result. In Daytona, the race was really going our way, and we were getting better pace as the race went on. Unfortunately, it was not to be, but it is great to have another go at it at Sebring. I am really proud to be in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Cooper, Maro and Proton. I did the race once before in 2017 and finished fourth and have tested at Sebring on occasion. I really like this track – it’s really bumpy and takes a lot of guts – but this is the way I like to go racing. It would be amazing to get a good result at Sebring.”

Stevan McAleer, Driver – No. 32 Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Coming from the rough week we had at Petit Le Mans and the multi-car wreck at the end of 2021, it was really important for me to put on a good show at the Daytona opener. I kept my nose clean, but there were many situations out there where I normally wouldn’t have given up a position, but I was like ‘nope, let’s look after the car, let’s be there at the end,’ and it obviously paid off. The team was thrilled, we were the highest-finishing Mercedes-AMG GT3, and it was a great finish so early in the history of Gilbert Korthoff Motorsports. I am pretty excited, Sebring is my favorite track on the schedule, and the Mercedes-AMG GT3 should be good there. Daniel Juncadella will be with us, and knowing his background, and his relationship with Mercedes-AMG, we have a really strong river lineup once again.. The team has also been working hard since Daytona and I am looking forward to seeing them all again.”

Russell Ward, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “We have been working really hard and our outlook for Sebring is positive. Daytona didn’t go our way, but we definitely had the speed there. Our focus at Sebring is to just keep the car in one piece and get some points. It’s a long season, and if we damage the car at all it is going to put us behind in both championships we are trying to win. This weekend we are bringing in Marvin Dienst who drove with us last year at Indianapolis. We are really excited to have him at Sebring for his first time, but I know he will pick it up right away. Mikael Grenier was set to be our IMSA endurance driver and even more this year only to have his driver ranking upgraded recently, but Marvin is going to be a perfect addition. I have had a decent amount of time in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 at Sebring, including a recent test, so we are ready.”

Daniel Morad, Driver – No. 28 Alegra Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Sebring has always been an accolade that is missing for Alegra Motorsports, but the intention is always to go in and collect some hardware for the team. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 package is really strong around Sebring, as we saw last year, in terms of performance. So, we are looking forward to bringing another year of knowledge and a new setup philosophy that we adopted throughout last season in our first year with the Mercedes-AMG to bring another level of performance to the table and try to go for the result we are looking for. Sebring is an endurance race for sure, but it seems like the 12 hours just goes by so quick. You are always pushing, every time you go in the car it is always maximum attack, and
there is no real holding back.”

Trevor Andrusko, Driver – No. 55 FCP Euro Mercedes-AMG GT4: “Looking very forward to jumping into the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series for the first time and going straight to GS and learning from some of those guys who have been racing forever. I am excited to be joining FCP Euro and driving the Mercedes-AMG GT4. I have mostly driven rear and mid-engine cars, so it will be a bit of a learning curve for me, but thankfully Mike Skeen is very knowledgeable in that department. I am looking forward to working with and driving with him. We have raced together before in endurance racing on the club side, but this is going to be a great move up to some proper endurance racing a higher level. Jumping into GS is definitely a step up and I can’t wait.”

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