IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Race Report - 12 Hours of Sebring

Track: Sebring International Raceway Race: 12 Hours of Sebring Date: March 17, 2018

No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 – Dane Cameron/Juan Pablo Montoya/Simon Pagenaud

Start: 6th
Overall Finish: 40th
Class Finish: 14th
Status: Out – Mechanical
Laps Completed: 203/344
Laps Led: 0

Recap:
Juan Pablo Montoya started the 66th running of the 12 Hours of Sebring in the sixth position behind the wheel of the No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi. At the two-hour mark, with Simon Pagenaud behind the wheel, the team elected to change the rear wing, which resulted in a slow stop and lost track position. During his stint around the four-hour mark, Dane Cameron used fast laps and great pit strategy to move from 9th to 4th following a full-course caution. As Montoya took back over, the team was able to climb up to third and run laps comparative to the leaders. With just under five hours left to go, Montoya reported the car seemed to begin to lose power. Soon after, he got together with the No. 90 of Tristan Vautier, spinning the No. 6. The previous issues, contact and subsequent spin caused damage that could not be repaired, forcing the No. 6 to retire from the event. The No. 6 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 finished 14th in class, 40th overall.

Juan Pablo Montoya Quote:
"It was a good day for the No. 6 Acura team. We made up a lot of ground in the first half of the race and positioned ourselves in the top-three. We could tell that the car was losing power about four or five laps before we were knocked off track. It's a shame because we were in a good position for the transition to night, when we knew the track would come to us. Everyone at Acura Team Penske does a great job with these cars and we will figure out what happened and be ready for Long Beach."

No. 7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 – Helio Castroneves/Graham Rahal/Ricky Taylor

Start: 3rd
Overall Finish: 41st
Class Finish: 15th
Status: Out – Mechanical
Laps Completed: 172/344
Laps Led: 31

Recap:
After turning the fastest lap in three of the four practice sessions over the course of the weekend, Ricky Taylor started the race in the No. 7 Acura Team Penske ARX-05 DPi from the third position. The team briefly found themselves in the lead in the first hour of the race, but lost some track position during green-flag stops. During the four-hour mark, Helio Castroneves found himself back in the lead following a full-course caution and savvy pit road strategy.With Castroneves and Taylor behind the wheel, the No. 7 car paced the field on several occasions between hours four and five. Unfortunately, just past the halfway point at six hours, the No. 7 car succumbed to mechanical problems, knocking them out of the event. The team would finish 15th in class and 41st overall.

Ricky Taylor Quote:
"It's really unfortunate. Our plan was really coming together. The whole Acura Team Penske group did an amazing job this weekend. We ran in the top three all day long. Unfortunately, this issue knocked us out. We had such a good plan going heading into the night time hours, when I think our car was really going to come to life. We will move past this. It's one thing if we weren't running up front and contending, but we were a car capable of winning this race today."