Sebring 12 Hours: Cadillac 1-2 at halfway stage of the race
The #5 Action Express-run Cadillac led the 65th 12 Hours of Sebring at the halfway point, running two seconds clear of the Daytona 24 Hours-winning Wayne Taylor Racing entry
Neel Jani led the race from pole in his Rebellion-run Oreca, but was forced to relinquish top spot after his first pitstop when a rear airgun failed.
His woe was compounded by a drive-through penalty for a crew member being improperly attired while on fuel extinguisher duty, and a starter motor issue at the second stop meant team-mate Sebastien Buemi lost two laps.
Eric Curran inherited the lead in the #31 Action Express Cadillac, but Filipe Albuquerque in the #5 machine overtook the sister car at the start of the third hour.
Disaster then struck Curran when he drove into the back of the dawdling Nissan DPi of Johannes van Overbeek at Turn 17. He spun and couldn't restart the engine, causing the race's second full-course caution, and lost four laps in the process.
That promoted the WTR Cadillac of Alex Lynn and the Taylor brothers (Jordan and Ricky) into second, with the Oreca of JDC-Miller Motorsports in third.
The fourth-placed ESM Nissan DPi suffered a fire in the engine bay just before halfway, ruining the team's outside chances of a repeat victory from 2016.
The Rebellion Oreca - which got to within a lap of the leaders with Nick Heidfeld at the wheel - then suffered an alternator failure, taking it totally out of the equation.
Ford in control of GTLM
The GTLM pole-sitting #67 Ford GT of Ryan Briscoe/Richard Westbrook/Scott Dixon did not take up its position on the grid due to an issue getting it started. But once going, the car tore through to the front in just a couple of hours - albeit running off sequence to rivals, which complicated matters.
Sebastien Bourdais grabbed third in class in the #66 Ford from James Calado's Risi Ferrari in Hour 4, and then got ahead of Jan Magnussen's #3 Corvette in the following pitstop cycle.
The #68 Ford GT, which regularly runs in the WEC, was also well in the mix, along with the Risi Ferrari that features Giancarlo Fisichella.
An extra pitstop just before half distance dropped the #66 Ford back to sixth, while the sister cars ran 1-2.
In GTD, the pole car also suffered a drama as Tristan Vautier was forced to start his Mercedes from the back of the field following a fuel cell violation.
The class lead was fought out between the #33 Riley-run Mercedes, starring Jeroen Bleekemolen, the #63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari and #29 Land Motorsport Audi.
Performance Tech Motorsports led the PC category, from the Starworks #8 car.
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Lauda's 1976 German GP helmet to be auctioned at F1 Miami GP
2024 F1 Chinese GP sprint qualifying results: Norris takes pole
How IMSA's GTP revival proved worthy of its name
WEC Imola: Ferrari remains on top in FP2 as Fuoco beats Porsche
WRC Croatia: Neuville, Evans tied for the lead after eight stages
WIN! A VIP Race Weekend Experience in Monaco
Lauda's 1976 German GP helmet to be auctioned at F1 Miami GP
How canny Porsche strategy snatched Daytona spoils from Cadillac
How a battle of two US titans will grip IMSA in 2024
How IMSA's GTP revival proved worthy of its name
How Porsche's Daytona hiccups evoked the premiere of its Group C king
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments