The Heart of Racing Sets Eyes on Twelve Hours of Sebring

SEBRING, Fla. (11 March 2024) - The Heart of Racing looks ahead to the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this weekend as the series travels to Sebring International Raceway for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring March 14-16.

The Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona lineup will reunite in the No. 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 GTD PRO entry as Alex Riberas, Ross Gunn, and Mario Farnbacher look to build momentum on the trio’s fourth place finish in the season-opening race. 

In 2015, Riberas and Farnbacher won the 12 Hour together with Team Principal Ian James at the former Florida airfield circuit. Farnbacher also won the race in 2017 in IMSA GTD competition. 

“The Twelve Hours of Sebring is one of my favorite races,” said Farnbacher. “It's hard and usually ends with big regret on strategy calls and fighting towards the end of the race. I’m really looking forward to the challenge. I also have great memories there, I’m a two time Twelve Hours of Sebring winner, one of those being with Alex and Ian. Hopefully we can succeed and bring a podium to the Heart of Racing and gain some good points for the championship again. We had a great test a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully we can put that knowledge to good use.”    

Gunn has a third place finish under his belt at Sebring while co-driving with James and Roman De Angelis in 2022. 

“Sebring is a fascinating event that we get to do,” said Gunn. “It’s a bumpy track which tests the durability and the stability of the cars. We had a very positive first race with the new Aston Martin Vantage and with the changes the Heart of Racing has made since the event I am quite confident of a strong weekend. In general it has been quite a big break since Daytona so I can’t wait to get back to Florida and see all the guys again and hopefully bring forward more good points.”   

The Heart of Racing’s No. 27 GTD entry with the lineup of Roman De Angelis, Zach Robichon, and Ian James are set to rebound after an electrical issue forced an early retirement in the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona. 

De Angelis has two podium finishes at Sebring International Raceway with a second place finish in 2020 and a third place finish in 2021. 

“I’m really looking forward to Sebring as always,” said De Angelis. “It’s definitely one of those races that sticks out on the schedule every year as it’s always such a great event and atmosphere for the fans, drivers and teams. I’m especially looking forward to getting back into the car after what was a disappointing end to our race in Daytona hoping to get back some points and start a strong season fight in Sebring!”

Robichon is no stranger to the 3.74-mile Florida circuit either, the Canadian won in the GTD category in the 2021 edition of the race. 

“The 12 hours of Sebring is hands down one of my favorite events,” said Robichon. “The track lends itself to great, competitive racing. With this year's busy grid of 58 cars I expect there to be lots of action from the word go. After the issues we had in Daytona, we’re more motivated than ever to showcase what we can do with our new Aston Martin.”

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will see qualifying on Friday before the race starts at 9:40 AM ET on Saturday March 2nd. Watch flag to flag coverage on the Peacock App and USA Network from 4:30 PM ET to 10:00 PM ET.