TWELVE HOURS OF SEBRING

Stevenson Motorsports will make its second entry into the iconic Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with the team’s No. 57 Audi R8 LMS which competes in the highly competitive GTD category.

SEBRING DRIVER LINE-UP

Full season IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Lawson Aschenbach and Andrew Davis will be joined by Matt Bell for the 12 Hour race in the No. 57 Audi R8 LMS.

SEASON OPENER MOMENTUM

After finishing just shy of a podium result in the IMSA season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, the team looks to build on that momentum in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Stevenson Motorsports fielded the No. 57 Audi R8 LMS at Daytona with drivers Andrew Davis, Lawson, Aschenbach, Matt Bell and Robin Liddell. Stevenson Motorsports delivered in challenging circumstances, running in podium contention for the majority of the twice around the clock event before coming up just three tenths of a second short of a podium finish.

SECOND TIME AROUND:

With the team’s first Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in the books (2016), Stevenson Motorsports is focused on a podium result for its second entry into the event. Confidence levels are high ahead of the race weekend with a new-found familiarity with the Audi R8 LMS platform its performance around the jarring airfield circuit.

TOP COMBINED EXPERIENCE:

With 14 combined years of experience between the three Stevenson drivers (Davis – 7 years, Aschenbach – 4 years, Bell – 3 years) the team looks to capitalize on that experience. Aschenbach and Bell combined for a second place finish in 2015 (Continental TireSportsCar Challenge) and Davis won at Sebring in both 2014 & 2015 (Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge).

SPECS – AUDI R8 LMS:

Chassis – Audi Space Frame (ASF) in aluminum-CFRP hybrid construction with stressed steel roll-cage, bodywork parts from CFRP and aluminum.

Safety Equipment – Energy absorbing aluminum and CFRP crash structures front and rear, safety concept fulfills FIA LMP1 crash requirements, Audi Sports PS 1 safety belt.

Engine – Audi 5.2 L, 90 degree V10 engine, 4 valves per cylinder, DOHC, gasoline direct injection, emission control by two exhaust gas race catalytic converters.

Transmission – Rear wheel drive, traction control (ASR), sequential, pneumatically activated six-speed racing gearbox with paddle shifters, rear wheel drive.

DRIVER QUOTES:

Andrew Davis: “It’s a very different facility between here and Daytona as well as a much different race. Here it is only 12-hours, but I always tell people it feels like it is twice that. Sebring is just such a tough track. The surface pounds these cars and the bumps pound the drivers inside the car. So, it really puts the drivers, the cars and the crew to a big test. We learned a lot from Daytona and we had a great event. We are really happy and proud of the team’s effort, so we are coming in with a lot of confidence. Because it is such a long race, you have to survive. Traffic is very difficult here and the weather conditions can be very difficult. I think we are going to be prepared to used that momentum that we had from Daytona to come in and have an even better race here at the 12-hour.”

Lawson Aschenbach: “We have a little bit of momentum coming from Daytona. The fourth place is a big finish for a 24-hour event and it gives us a little bit of momentum going into a race like Sebring which is really, very tough. It’s tough on everybody, the team, the equipment, the drivers. I think our focus has to shift a little bit because Sebring is such a battle of a race. Car setup becomes a lot more important and we’re really trying to fine tune for a track like this that is really fast and rough. This track has a little bit of everything, it has slow corners, medium corners, and high speed corners which makes it tough to find a perfect balance. In the end, I think the team as a whole is in a great spot and we are primed for success at Sebring.”

Matt Bell: “12 hours here doesn’t feel that different from 24-hours at Daytona. It’s half the time and half the distance roughly, but it is such a bumpy ride. For us, there is basically a jump in the middle of one of the corners. Even in Turn 1, if you are not going in perfectly, you can go for a ride. It’s a risky track and it’s properly dark here, there are not as many lights up and there are none on the back side of the track. It feels much more like an actual endurance event. Stevenson Motorsports is definitely up to the challenge and these are the hardest working guys in the paddock. At Daytona, all four of us drivers were practically running the same times and that is very valuable for the team. That means there is no one that you are putting in sacrificially, you can just run everyone for as much as they are worth. So, all in all, I am really confident ahead of the event and I can’t wait to get the weekend going.”

Source. Sunday Group