Ganassi Team leads first Patrón Endurance Cup stage at Sebring

EBRING, Fla.– The No. 02 Ford EcoBoost/Riley DP and driver Sage Karam gave Chip Ganassi Racing the maximum five points toward the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup when the 19-year-old from Nazareth, Pa. led at the four-hour mark of Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida.

Karam passed Sebastien Bourdais for the lead only nine minutes before the race reached the one-third race distance in which points were awarded. Bourdais did his best to regain the lead, but came up 0.554-seconds shy at the completion of the fourth hour. Karam is sharing the No. 02 entry with IndyCar regulars Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan.

#02 Chip Ganassi Racing Riley DP Ford EcoBoost: Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Sage Karam

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

The No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP in the hands of Bourdais earned four points toward the $100,000 Patrón Endurance Cup after the first of three segments at Sebring. Bourdais is once again sharing the No. 5 Corvette DP with Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, with whom he co-drove to the Rolex 24 At Daytona victory in January.

The Patrón Endurance Cup rewards the top performers in the four TUDOR United SportsCar Championship races: Daytona, Sebring, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International on June 29 and the 10-hour Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda season finale at Road Atlanta on Oct. 4.

The No. 1 Tequila Patrón-backed HPD ARX-03b/Honda from Extreme Speed Motorsports was third after four hours with David Brabham at the wheel. Brabham’s co-drivers are Ryan Dalziel and Scott Sharp. All additional competitors in the Prototype (P) class earned two points.

PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Leads Prototype Challenge

Frankie Montecalvo led the Prototype Challenge (PC) at the four-hour mark of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida in the No. 52 ORECA FLM09 to give PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports team the five-point bonus toward the $50,000 Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup prize at the end of the season.

Montecalvo shares the No. 52 Camp Boggy Creek machine with Gunnar Jeannette and Mike Guasch, who is defending his 2013 PC victory at Sebring. David Heinemeier Hansson was running second in the No. 09 RSR Racing entry to earn four Patrón Endurance Cup points. Heinemeier Hansson’s co-drivers are Duncan Ende and Bruno Junqueira, who qualified on the PC pole.

The No. 25 8Star Motorsports team earned three Patrón Endurance Cup points for running third at four hours with Mike Marsal at the controls. Marsal’s co-drivers are Tom Kimber-Smith, Eric Lux and Sean Rayhall.

The Sebring event will pay additional bonus points at the eight-hour mark in addition to the finish.

IMSA