Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill), Julien Andlauer (France), and Alessio Picariello (Belgium) are ready for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Twelve Hours of Sebring to run March 16-19.
Cooper MacNeil was a part of the winning WeatherTech Racing Porsche GTLM team last year that managed a thrilling, last-minute victory in the last year for the Porsche RSR. With the new GTD Pro category attracting 11 entries for this year’s once-around-the-clock race the team has a tall order to repeat as winners. MacNeil, a two-time Sebring winner, is joined by Andlauer and Picariello in the No. 79 Porsche GT3 R who he drove with at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. The Proton-prepared Porsche had an electrical issue in the early evening that put them several laps down and out of contention at the 24 hours.
“The track is legendary and the win in 2021 was very cool as it was the last year for the Porsche 911 RSR to race in IMSA,” MacNeil said. “The new Porsche 911 GT3 R showed its speed at the Rolex 24 winning in both GTD classes. We will need to have a clean run with no car issues and no driver mistakes to make it back on the top step of the podium this weekend.”
Andlauer has a Sebring win on his resume that came in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) race in 2019.
“I am happy to be back at Sebring,” Andlauer said. “I have been here one time before with the WEC series in 2019. I won the 1000 miles of Sebring that year with Proton. I love the track. It’s completely different from any of the tracks in Europe. With many different surfaces and the bumps, it’s a hard track to get the last tenths out of the car. I am also driving in the WEC race, so I will have a lot of track time this week. We have all of the ingredients to have a good race in the WeatherTech Porsche.”
Picariello has one start at Sebring with a top-five finish.
“I am happy to be back in the WeatherTech Porsche,” Picariello said. “After Daytona we had good speed in the car but lacked a little bit of luck with our electrical issue. We really want to bounce back at Sebring this weekend. I raced there in 2018 and finished fourth in the 12 hours. I am ready to fight for a better finish. Last year the team won in the RSR, so hopefully we can have another good run at Sebring for WeatherTech Racing.”
WeatherTech Racing Sebring driver lineup:
No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R will be Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill), Julien Andlauer (France), and Alessio Picariello (Belgium).
No. 97 WeatherTech Racing with Mercedes-Benz of Billings Mercedes-AMG GT3 Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill), Maro Engel (Germany), and Jules Gounon (France).
Source. Kyle Chura/WeatherTech Racing
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