The 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, March 14-17, 2018, at Sebring International Raceway.
Sebring’s 12-hour race is the second round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Gates open at 6 am on Wednesday, March 14th. Tickets are available at sebringraceway.com or by calling 800-626-7223.
The 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, offers four-day Superticket, which sells for $105 at the gate, and $90 in advance (advance prices expire February 15, one month before the race week).
The lowest prices for 2018 tickets will be in effect only a short time, so ticket buyers must act fast. This Early Bird Special expires at midnight, September 8th, and when it’s over these prices will not be available again for the 66th running of America’s original endurance sports car race.
And this event is shaping up to be one of the greatest in many years.
In addition to the Cadillac prototypes of defending Mobil 1 Twelve Hours champion Wayne Taylor Racing and Action Express, and Road America’s winning ESM Team Patron Nissan, the new year will usher the IMSA returns of two of motorsports’ iconic teams: Team Penske and Team Joest.
Joest engineers masterminded the dominant Audis at Sebring and Le Mans, and now bring their expertise and experience to the Mazda prototype efforts.
Penske’s new Acura prototype promises to be a crowd favorite, and its drivers – including Juan Pablo Montoya and Dane Cameron – most certainly will attract Sebring fans to the Penske paddock compound.
And just as the LM P2 cars mounted such a strong challenge at Le Mans in 2017, expect an even greater challenge at Sebring. The “36 Hours of Florida” – a two-race promotion linking the results of the Rolex 24 and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring – is expected to attract Europe’s greatest LM P2 teams, placing numerous teams into the mix for overall title at Sebring.
GTLM will be just as strong in 2018 as it was earlier this year when fans watched Corvette, Ford, BMW, Porsche and Ferrari battle over the rugged airfield circuit for 12 Hours.
Meanwhile, the Sebring Raceway staff continues to develop plans for other entertainment and attractions on the famous Sebring Midway, and with the Sebring Hall of Fame inducting a new class, everything is shaping up to make 2018 a very special event.
Sebring Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees
The Sebring Hall of Fame has announced the 2018 inductees. A.J. Foyt, Rinaldo “Dindo” Capello, Paul Newman, Joest Racing and the civic organization Sebring Firemen, Inc. will join Sebring’s prestigious Hall of Fame in 2018. The induction dinner will take place Friday, March 16, the night before the 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The Chateau Elan Hotel and Conference Center will host the event.
A.J. Foyt Named Sebring Grand Marshal
Racing legend A.J. Foyt will serve as Grand Marshal at the 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
Foyt recorded the final win of his illustrious driving career at the 1985 Sebring 12-hour race, co-driving with Bob Wollek in a Porsche 962. Other Sebring podium finishes for Foyt were a second-place in 1967 driving a Ford GT with Lloyd Ruby and third place in 1984 driving a Porsche with Wollek and Derek Bell.
Foyt’s incredible career includes four Indianapolis 500 victories, plus a fifth win as a car owner. Foyt teamed with Dan Gurney to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1967, and he won the Daytona 500 in 1972. Foyt also recorded two wins at Daytona’s Rolex 24. “Super Tex” holds the United States Auto Club (USAC) record with 159 career wins.
“A.J. Foyt is America’s greatest race car driver,” said Sebring Raceway President Wayne Estes. “Whether in sports cars, Indy cars, stocks cars or anything with four wheels, and whether on a road course, superspeedway, dirt or mountainside, A.J. Foyt fielded and drove winners in every form of motorsport. That he put his final exclamation point on his incredible driving career by winning at Sebring makes his return here all the more meaningful to the fans and competitors at the 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.”
Sebring International Raceway has unveiled the official event poster for the 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
The 2018 poster features Sebring’s famed sunset with the defending champion Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi leading a pack of cars including the new Team Penske Acura DPi, Mazda Team Joest DPi and defending Sebring class winners Corvette Racing and Riley Motorsports Team AMG.
The poster also pays homage to 2018 Sebring Hall of Fame inductee and Grand Marshal A.J. Foyt by showing the Swap Shop Porsche 962 he co-drove to victory at Sebring in 1985 with Bob Wollek. Additionally, the Penske Camaro that won its class and finished an incredible third overall 50 years ago is shown exiting pit lane behind Foyt’s Porsche.
Improvements In the Works for this Sebring Legend
The words “Green Park” conjure many thoughts for Sebring fans, maybe as many different thoughts as there are attendees for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Named campsites that endure year after year. Parties that begin Wednesday and don’t end until folks are run out on Sunday. Incredible food, and people willing to share. Unbelievable temporary structures. Loud country music. Loud rap. Loud classic rock. Young people cruising, trying to attract the opposing gender. All long-standing and much loved traditions.
When I arrived a little more than two years ago, mentions of Green Park frequently were met with rolling eyes, followed by a legendary story or three.
Also, I sensed a feeling of lack of respect for the Green Park guests. In the past, not making any facility improvements centered on beliefs that Green Park people would damage or destroy anything built between Turns 5 and 10.
I couldn’t disagree with that position more. I believe respect begets respect, and the track must respect all of its guests. I firmly believe Sebring fans will take pride in a facility built especially for them.
Having visited Green Park during the 64th and 65th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, I saw a bit of what had been advertised, but more striking to me was the presence of Sebring’s real race fans, the people who lined the fences, walked the walkways along the track, and perched on the viewing mounds.
These fans followed the battles among the GTLM cars, knew the drivers in the DPi Cadillacs, expressed joy that IMSA moved from the Daytona prototypes to the DPi cars, and could recite more classic Sebring moments – on track moments – than anyone but Ken Breslauer, Sebring’s official track historian.
Regrettably, I also saw that our venue had neglected Sebring’s greatest fans for far too long. After seeing the condition of the restroom building near Turn 6, new Sebring management set a course to give back to the Green Park fans some of the love they have shown to the track for so many years, decades in fact.
Changes are coming to Green Park, but changes with careful consideration to the people who love what the acres of grass and trees and viewing mounds mean to them.
It begins with a totally new restroom and shower facility that replaces the small, badly outdated, barely functional building. ADA approved entry points, new LED lighting inside and out, showers with hot water, stalls with privacy doors that fully open, and an overall clean, fresh environment await Green Park’s faithful.
A new dump station will be located next to the restroom to enable fans to service their motorhomes.
While we didn’t replace the other Green Park restroom near the exit of the Hairpin, we have added some upgrades to improve it just a bit.
And coming to Green Park after this year’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours will be a new two-lane vehicle bridge with a pedestrian walkway that will replace the aging one-lane structure at Turn 5. NASCAR’s Board of Directors in December approved the capital funding to enable IMSA and Sebring Raceway to build a bridge worthy of Sebring’s greatest fans.
So, as you cross that bridge for the last time in March, be aware that it will be the LAST time you cross that bridge.
We are working out the final details on the bridge construction with engineers now, but the ideas that are flowing are bound to please Green Park’s guests who have had to wait for a “cold track,” or wait for the red light to turn green, or wait for the long line of cars and trucks awaiting the opportunity to cross.
While we make these improvements for Green Park’s fans, we would like to hear from them to know what they want, and more importantly, what they don’t want changed in Green Park.
We are exploring opportunities for more services, but we never want to lose the flavor of the Green Park experience.
Still, we know the fences need addressing. Traffic patterns need work. Roadways need attention. Fans need more places to see the on-track action.
While IMSA brings a jaw-dropping entry of cars and drivers, it is the responsibility of Sebring Raceway’s management to give the fans a better facility to see that show.
The 2018 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring – with the return of Penske and Joest, and P2s from Europe joining an already great DPi, GTLM and GTD lineup – is shaping up to be the greatest Sebring race in many years. Our job simply is to provide the setting with facilities and service so that IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship fans can enjoy the event fully.
March 2018 is going to be spectacular. And if you want to witness it with some of Sebring’s most knowledgeable fans, be sure to visit Green Park.
