This year marks the 64th running of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. Every year since 1953 at least one Porsche has competed at Sebring – 61 straight races (there was no race in 1974). No other manufacturer is even close to that record. Here are 13 other facts about Porsche and Sebring you may not have known.
- Porsche scored its 70th class win at Sebring in 2015 when the No. 23 Team Seattle Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America took GT Daytona (GTD) honors.
- Porsche won both GT classes in 2014 – Porsche 911 RSR in GTLM and Porsche 911 GT America
- Most top-ten overall finishes – 207
- Class Wins: 70 (a manufacturer record)
- Fastest race lap: 130.707 mph (by Derek Bell in a Porsche 962 – 1986)
- Porsche 911 Wins: 31 Overall and Class Victories
- GT Class Wins: 28 (since 1979)
- Hurley Haywood has 38 starts at the 12 Hours of Sebring (27 of them in Porsches) – eight more than his nearest rival
- Porsche has led 4,198 laps at Sebring (overall) for a total of 19,997.4 miles (Ferrari is second at 2,743 and 13,099.1 respectively)
- Porsche also leads Ferrari – 207 – 74, in number of top ten finishes
- Of the 51 members, including this year’s class, of the Sebring Hall of Fame, 17 have direct connections to Porsche. Included in this list is Porsche itself, inducted in the Inaugural Class of 2002, longtime Porsche partner Michelin (’10) and the legendary Porsche dealership, Brumos. Others, by class:
- Alex Job (’16)
- Vic Elford (’14)
- Peter Gregg (’14)
- Hans Hermann (’12)
- Hurley Haywood (’10)
- Derek Bell (’08)
- Hans Stuck (’08)
- Roger Penske (’08)
- Bob Akin (’06)
- Brian Redman (’06)
- Bob Holbert (’04)
- Al Holbert (’04)
- Bobby Rahal (’04)
- John Fitch (’02)
- Most consecutive wins by a manufacturer – 13 (1976 – 1988)
- Most overall wins by a manufacturer – 18
The most amazing item on this list, in our opinion, is number five (#5). Given the technology in today’s race cars, the fact that Derek Bell’s fastest lap record from 1986 still stands is a testament to both Derek and Porsche.