Corvettes take 1,2,3,5 and tenth places overall for 12 hours of Sebring !

In DP class win 1,2,3 and 5th
Takes first in GTLM class

#4 had these issues

8:31 pm ET: Caution No. 6 for Oliver Gavin's Corvette which speared off the road with locked brakes trying to slow it down.

7:47 pm ET: Harrowing moment for Oliver Gavin in the No. 4 Corvette C7.R when the throttle stuck and he was forced to spin the car to slow it down.

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: EIGHT-HOUR QUOTES

OLIVER GAVIN, CORVETTE RACING CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"The car was better and we seemed like we hit it a little better. We got a clean run with some traffic and could fight with the BMW and overtake them. There is still a long way to go. It was very hard in the heat of the day and with all the sun to try and make the tire last. There is still plenty that can still happen over the next few hours.

We'll see how it goes with Tommy in the car. We seem to be working the rear tire quite hard - harder than the sister car - which is quite frustrating. We'll see where we are in the last couple hours. Hopefully if this stays we'll be able to fight at the front."

JAN MAGNUSSEN, CORVETTE RACING CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"That pit stop was really good, and I had a really good couple of stints. Antonio is back in, and we're back in the hunt.
We need to have another couple of hours and we can start to really push. It's not like we're relaxing out there; we're still pushing out there but not taking the chances.
It's difficult to say (when we still start pushing harder). If it stays like this, then I think it will carry on like this except people will start taking more chances."

JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP:

"Very tough conditions out there. It is very, very hot. The track is very slippery, but we have a great car on the long runs.
I would say it is actually running a little bit better than it was. The temperature is going to go down a little bit to help us inside the car. It is very hot out there, but so far, we are where we want to be but there is still a long way to go."

CORVETTE RACING AT SEBRING: FOUR-HOUR QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, CORVETTE RACING NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"The Porsches seem to be really strong. What they showed in qualifying they are still showing in race pace.
Now we're going into a different period of the race where the track will be completely different. So far the car is behaving how we expected.
It feels like the car is slowly coming to us. We need to stay where we are and keep pushing but not do anything crazy out there. If we can find just a little bit more from the car, it will be great."

TOMMY MILNER, CORVETTE RACING NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"We have a car that is good initially but we seem to be working the rear tires really hard. You can kind of see a split. The two Porsches, the 3 car and the Ferrari have their long runs figured out.
Our car and the BMWs seem to struggle on the longer runs. I got a good restart, and the second set of tires made a big difference in drivability. That's a good omen for later in the race.

Maybe this is a good thing for us because we can focus on being consistent and not getting too racey. Hopefully the track will come to us.
If that happens, we'll be fast when it matters. Right now it doesn't matter much if we're fast. I feel good. We're kind of taking it easy right now, staying out of trouble and taking it easy with traffic. With these yellows, there's not really much to be gained right now."

DANE CAMERON, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 31 WHELEN/TEAM FOX CORVETTE DP:

"It was a pretty good start to the race.
There was no drama really for us, which is good. The car is pretty quick and pretty consistent over long stints in the heat.
That is something to be thankful for. It is going to be a tough, long hot day for sure. But I think we are definitely one of the best DP cars right now.
We'll see how the race progresses with our friends in the P2 cars, but we have a good shot at having a really strong day. I'm excited to see where we end up in our Chevy."

JOAO BARBOSA, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP:

"The crew is awesome.
Everything is going according to plan. We just need to do a clean race and stay as close to the front as possible. Obviously the P2 cars are very fast.
But I think we have a great race pace. It is still very, very early, but we are right where we want to be with our Corvette. All the crew is doing an excellent job so we are really pleased with how things are going right now!"

RICHARD WESTBROOK, VISITFLORIDA.COM RACING NO. 90 CORVETTE DP:

"It was a good start to the race for us I think. It is really important to stay out of trouble. We improved our car again and are a little bit closer to the front. We are still lacking a bit - a couple of tenths.
It is a long race yet to the finish and you have to be there at the end. So let's see if we can get there to fight at the end."

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS, ACTION EXPRESS RACING NO. 5 MUSTANG SAMPLING CORVETTE DP:

"It was a good stint. Joao gave me the car in the lead. We just did the job, and it worked out pretty good.
The car is competitive in the heat, which is a good surprise. The P2 cars have once again kind of shot themselves in the foot.
There is only really the No. 1 and No. 2 left pretty much. So it is a long way to the end, but we will keep on doing the job until money time. I believe by the time we get there we will still be in the hunt."

RICKY TAYLOR, WAYNE TAYLOR RACING NO. 10 KONICA MINOLTA CORVETTE DP:

"It was pretty frustrating out there because the team was watching our brake temperatures really closely and they were constantly telling me when and where I could race hard and when and where I had to ease into the corners.
We have plenty of power to race but there were times I just had to let people by because of the brake issue. The incident just before the driver change was a case of all of us bunching up in Turn 17. I had to slide to the right to avoid a bunch of cars in front of me.

An LMPC came up behind me and had to do the same thing to avoid me. Then came a GTD Porsche that just plowed into the LMPC and turned him right into me. It was a big hit but I guess it hit me in just the right spot - right in the middle of the car.
So the only damage was really cosmetic and the wind tunnel along the right side of the car. We've got a long way to go. We've just got to keep the car together and hope we're there to go racing at the end."

SIMON PAGENAUD, CORVETTE RACING, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"I kept my position and actually gained one at the end of my stint. We've worked a lot on the balance.
It still has a lot of oversteer. I dealt with it and am pretty happy with my driving by keeping up with the other guys. That's my role here. There is no risk to take... just bring the car back in good shape for my teammates to do the rest.
The car still has a lot of oversteer. Not knowing the car that well, when it oversteers it's difficult to have confidence especially in the high-speed corners. But it is what it is. I dealt with it and think I did a pretty good job with it."

RYAN BRISCOE, CORVETTE RACING NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7.R:

"The car felt fast. The track was really greasy toward the end of the stint, and we were sliding around quite a bit.
It's a really tight battle with all the GTLM cars. I had a little spin that cost us a bit of track position.
But the car is fast, and we have Jan out there. I'm looking forward to getting back out there later. Right now it is starting to develop some understeer on new tires.

It goes a bit more toward loose at the end. The key is looking after the tires to the end."

Few drivers have enforced their will on the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring like Action Express Racing's Sebastien Bourdais did on Saturday at America's oldest endurance race.

The four-time Champ Car champion partnered with Portugal's Joao Barbosa and Brazil's Christian Fittipaldi to destroy the 43-car field in their No. 5 Corvette Daytona Prototype as sweltering heat tested the conditioning and willpower of many in attendance.

The defining moment of the event – one that will be remembered for years – came when Barbosa passed the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Ford EcoBoost DP for the lead at 5:42 p.m.
Handing over to Bourdais soon after capturing first place, the Frenchman climbed in and delivered one of the most dominant performances in recent memory

Going head-to-head with Ganassi's Scott Pruett, Bourdais put the hammer down and began stretching the lead by more than one second per lap on most tours of the 17-turn course.

Before he was ready to hand the car over to Fittipaldi, Bourdais had lapped the entire field, pulling out a full 3.7-mile advantage over the Ganassi Ford DP in less than two hours of maximum attack driving.
With the field under AXR's command for the final three hours of the race, the defending TUDOR Championship Prototype title winners executed their game plan to perfection as they rotated drivers and completed flawless pit stops with the clock winding down.

Bourdais seemingly toyed with whoever was chasing him from the first stint to the last, and with Barbosa and Fittipaldi joining in on setting a pace that nobody could match, Sebring 2015 was won by AXR with pure, relentless speed.

"It feels great;
it was a heck of a race, very physically difficult," said Bourdais. "We lapped the field. How's that? That Corvette was just awesome today. We just kept plugging away; we had a flawless race. This one is special."

The AXR entry was followed home by Ricky Taylor in the Wayne Taylor Racing No. 10 Corvette DP and Richard Westbrook in the No. 90 VisitFlorida.com Racing Corvette DP.
The Ganassi Ford DP lacked the raw speed to repeat their 2014 Sebring win, and settled for fourth overall as rival General Motors saw its Corvette DPs complete a 1-2-3 sweep of the podium.

Porsche's factory GT Le Mans program mirrored AXR's performance throughout most of the race as the sister Nos. 911 and 912 Porsche 911 RSRs were on the way to a 1-3 finish just past the 11-hour mark.
Minutes later, the No. 912 encountered a wheel nut issue during its final pit stop that ultimately sent the car back to the paddock for repairs.
Seven minutes later, the class-leading No. 911 plummeted down the timing screens as shifting issues slowed the car.
Corvette Racing was waiting to capitalize on their hardship as the No. 3 C7.R swept into the lead and scored the victory, adding to their memorable Rolex 24 at Daytona win in January.

"A serious thanks to the team and all the hard work they put in," said Jan Magnussen, who shared the No. 3 with Antonio Garcia and Ryan Briscoe.
"We knew at the end we had the right strategy and the Porsches ran into a little trouble."

Combined with the Prototype win by AXR's Corvette DP, GM had the kind of day that rarely happens in the sport, and if winning overall and in GTLM wasn't enough, the No. 5's achievement celebrated the 50th anniversary of GM's last overall win at Sebring when Jim Hall and Hap Sharp won the 1965 12 Hour in a Chaparral 2.

Action Express Racing scored a dominant win in the Twelve Hours of Sebring, where the trio Joao Barbosa, Christian Fittipaldi and Sebastien Bourdais lapped the field while giving Chevrolet just its second overall victory in 50 years.

Chevrolet, which last won America's oldest endurance race in 1965 with Jim Hall and Hap Sharp, actually swept the top three overall positions in Saturday's race. In all, Corvette's took four of the top five spots.

Barbosa and Fittipaldi are the reigning United SportsCar Championship Prototype champions. Bourdais, the IndyCar veteran, joins them for the IMSA endurance races.

Action Express surpassed the 10,000 consecutive miles of competition just prior to the race's halfway point, and remains the only team to have completed every lap in the series dating back to last season.

Wayne Taylor Racing finished second after a disappointing ending in the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team had to pit from second for a late driver change at Daytona when it determined it was in danger of exceeding the allotted time Jordan Taylor could be behind the wheel. A week later, IMSA stripped the team of its third-place finish and dropped it to last in class when it calculated Taylor had surpassed the time limits.

The second-place finish was gratifying because Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor and Max Angelelli had to come back from early brake issues to earn the podium.

Richard Westbrook used a pass of Scott Dixon with less than 10 minutes remaining to give VisitFlorida.com Racing the final spot on the podium.

Dixon brought the Chip Ganassi Racing entry — the highest finishing Ford — home in fourth. The Ganassi entry won Sebring a year ago, but the trio of Dixon, Scott Pruett and Joey Hand battled handling issues most of the race.

Action Express Racing's second entry completed the top-five.

Krohn Racing, which had won the pole in the Ligier JS P2 Judd, finished sixth but was six laps behind the winner. It was the only P2 car to finish the race.

In Prototype Challenge, PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports followed its Rolex 24 victory with another class win at Sebring.

Tom Kimber-Smith crossed the finish line 11.6 seconds ahead of defending class co-champion Colin Braun for CORE Autorsport.

The GT Le Mans class was won by Corvette Racing, as Antonio Garcia, Jan Magnussen and Ryan Briscoe added another victory to their Rolex 24 win.

Ian James, Mario Farnbacher and Alex Riberas drove the No. 23 Porsche 911 GT America home to the GTD win.

The GTD class came down to the final 20 minutes as Alex Job Racing lost the lead when Mario Farnbacher went off course with about 10 minutes to race. But the Dodge Viper SRT team that took over the top position gave it back five minutes later when the car was taken to pit road with an apparent engine problem.

Farnbacher moved back into first and held on to win for AJR and co-drivers Ian James and Alex Riberas.