CORE autosport begins title defense with 12 Hours of Sebring

SEBRING, Fla. – Two-time American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón Prototype Challenge Champions CORE autosport begins its quest for a third-straight title this weekend with the legendary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida.

#05 CORE Autosport Oreca FLM09: Jonathan Bennett, Colin Braun

Photo by: Richard Sloop

Bennett and Braun finished third in last year’s 12 Hours of Sebring and went on to collect race wins at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Lime Rock Park and VIRginia International Raceway before ending the season runner-up in the PC Drivers’ Championship.

Wilkins rejoins CORE autosport’s endurance lineup after helping the team claim victory in last year’s ALMS season finale, Petit Le Mans. There, the Canadian shared CORE’s No. 06 car with Alex Popow and Ryan Dalziel, and won the 1,000-mile race at Road Atlanta by two laps.

The entire team is eager to hit the race track after a busy off-season in which CORE announced it would field a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the ALMS GT category in 2013.

That car will make its race debut at a later date, but another Porsche, the No. 54 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup driven by Bennett, will make its race debut in the Porsche IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama.

In addition to his PC driving duties at Sebring, Bennett will race in the GT3 Cup series on March 14 at 2:20 p.m. ET and again on March 15 at 2:55 p.m.

Following three days of testing, the ALMS season opener begins in earnest on Thursday, March 14, with three rounds of official practice. One final practice session on Friday, March 15, precedes qualifying, which begins at 2:00 p.m. and will be carried live on ALMS.com and SPEED.com. The 61st edition of the 12 Hours of Sebring goes green at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 16, and will be carried live on SPEED.

CORE autosport