HSR Sebring Classic 12 Hour hits halfway

The Historic Sportscar Racing Classic Sebring 12 Hour presented by Mission Foods hit the halfway mark early Saturday evening as nightfall neared after a picture-perfect day of great weather and even better competition at Sebring International Raceway.

Each of the four competing Run Groups have completed the first two of their four race segments that run over the course of Saturday and Sunday on the legendary 3.74-mile Sebring International Raceway airport road course. A fast group of three potential first time winners and a previous HSR Classic presented by Mission Foods multiple champion has emerged as the race leaders at the halfway point.

Perennial HSR powerhouse Todd Treffert has won in just about every class and series he has contested in HSR’s season-long sprint and endurance championships, but a victory in any HSR Classic race has eluded him over the past decade.

That dry spell is halfway home to ending, however, as Treffert is leading overall in the combined Run Group A and B divisions at the midway mark of the Classic Sebring 12. Treffert finished second in his 901 Shop-prepared 1975 No. 41 Porsche 911 Carrera Cup RSR “Baby” Turbo in the pair of Group B opening segments to build a one-lap lead on the field.

The Run Group A winners in Saturday’s opening rounds finished fourth overall in both races, but the division leader ranks third in the cumulative running order. David Agretelis won the second Group A race and took runner-up honors in the closely contested first round to take the halfway lead in his 901 Shop 1972 No. 166 Porsche 911 S/T by 16 seconds over his nearest challenger.

One of the emerging major rivalries in HSR continues this weekend in Run Group C between Pierce Marshall and Eric Foss in the 2017 No. 02 Matador Motorsports Cadillac Dpi and Bob Neapole and Guy Cosmo in the RBN Motorsports with Cosmo-Sport 2020 No. 60 Acura ARX-05 prepared by Hudson Historics.

Neapole and Cosmo broke through for their first HSR Classic victory last December at Sebring – foiling a bid for the No. 02 team and drivers to be the first to score an in-season HSR Classic triple sweep — but Marshall and Foss returned ready to avenge the narrow loss. The Matador No. 02 Cadillac team won both opening Group C segments to lead the No. 60 by 35 seconds at the halfway point.

The friendly rivalry between the teams became a little close on track in the second segment. An unintentional bump-and-run spin by the No. 60 knocked the No. 02 out of the lead. The Acura reached the finish line first, but the segment win went to the Cadillac after the No. 60 was assessed an incident responsibility time penalty. The drivers from both teams reportedly shook the incident off with a laugh and are looking forward to the battle to the finish in the race’s final two segments.

Tom McGlynn joins his 901 Shop teammates Treffert and Agretelis in pursuit of his first HSR Classic victory and moved his winning bid off to a strong start in Run Group D. The division has turned into the typical, hard-fought battle among a deep field of GT Modern (GTM) competitors, but McGlynn has taken early control in his Type 991.1 2016 No. 8 Porsche 911 GT3 R. McGlynn won the opening Group D segment by over six seconds and picked up 14-plus additional seconds with a second-round victory to lead by just over 21 seconds at halfway.

All four Run Groups take to the track for a fourth and final time on Sunday to determine the Sebring HSR Classic 12 winners. The schedule gets underway with the Group A/B finale at 1:30pm ET with Group D wrapping up the weekend with a 3:30pm ET green flag. For more information, please visit http://www.HSRRace.com.