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It was a bittersweet experience for Seb Priaulx and his AO Racing team in their latest outing at Sebring.
12 hours of racing came down to a decisive last 20 minutes in the GTD Pro class, after the lead changed hands for the final time and then a last minute drive through penalty after making contact in the battle for third denied AO Racing’s No.77 Porsche 911 GT3 R “Rexy” a podium spot.
Priaulx and his teammates Laurin Heinrich and Michael Christensen eventually finished ninth.
"Overall, there are mixed emotions after Sebring as we led for most of the race," said Priaulx.
"We got unlucky with quite a few yellow flags, and we weren't always able to be at the front of the grid unfortunately.
"During one of my stints, we'd just had a tyre change and fuel, then picked up a right front puncture so I had to box when we went green again.
"But, we brought it back as best as we could - AO Racing and my teammates were awesome as always. We got a late penalty towards the end of the race due to some contact. We finished ninth overall but podium on the road, as I'd say, we probably led the most laps out of anyone.
"It was a bittersweet finish, but I'm happy with how we handled everything, and I'm excited for Laguna Seca."
The top spot was decided when Jack Hawksworth in the No.14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 outbraved Daniel Serra's No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 into Turn 1 to snatch the Grand Touring Daytona Pro lead.
The win with co-drivers Ben Barnicoat and Kyle Kirkwood provided redemption for Vasser Sullivan, the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD PRO champions, after a poor start to the season at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January.
"It's just amazing," Hawksworth said. "To win this race – such a special race – it's so hard on the cars and so hard on the drivers. This team is so amazing. We had some issues at Daytona – wrong place, wrong time – but today, boy did we bounce back."
The GTD Pro class races next at the Motul Course de Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna from May 10-12.
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