Each Spring, Sebring hosts the classic 12-hour race, but in the virtual world, drivers will have to contest four hours and 500 miles of the legendary track on December 3rd, 2022. There will be everything to play for as the Le Mans Virtual Series moves one step closer to the season finale — with a full Le Mans 24 Hours race and a $250K prize fund up for grabs.
Leading the overall LMP standings heading to Florida is the #1 Redline entry, partly thanks to an inspired drive by Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen last time out at Spa. Despite just touching the barriers at one stage, the Dutchman — joined by his team-mates Jeffrey Rietveld and Maximilian Benecke — came through to finish on the podium in second.
In the GTE class, a dominant lights-to-flag victory at Spa for the #71 Team Redline BMW trio of Chris Lulham, Kevin Siggy and Enzo Bonito puts them on top of the class standings and in the driving seat for championship spoils as the Le Mans Virtual Series nears the final stages of its season.
How will our points leaders fare at the notoriously tricky Sebring International Raceway? With a short lap length, of just 6.02km (3.74miles), getting caught up in lapped traffic is one of this venue’s biggest challenges. The art of not losing time passing cars is just as critical for the lapped runners who need to yield track position quickly and not get caught up in any incidents.
Unlike Spa and Monza, Sebring only has the one majorly long straight, as for most of the two minute lap (James Calado once set a 1:58.965 in qualifying in his #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488) is spent negotiating the 17 corners and the constant braking and accelerating results in roughly 34 gear changes a lap and an average speed of 169.6km/h (105.4mph) over the course of the race.
One of Sebring’s most difficult bends is Turn 17, the final corner on the lap. Known as Sunset Bend, this is a long radius right-hander that follows on from the back straight and leads towards the start/finish line. With such a wide entry, drivers will attempt to overtake with a late move to the inside, but it’s very easy to unsettle your car here and spin out, particularly if you hit one of Sebring’s legendary bumps.
The other key corner on the lap is the hairpin at Turn 7. After a short straightaway, it’s easy to find a way past a rival late under braking for this tight right-hander. But with the faster LMP cars often catching the GTE cars here (despite the GTE AF Corse Ferrari 488 reaching a top speed of 257.9km/h or 160.3mph), you often find a number of cars crowding the apex and it’s easy to make contact with a rival.
Follow all the action on the WEC, Le Mans 24 Hours and Traxion.GG online channels. The Le Mans Virtual Series is a partnership between Motorsport Games and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) the organisers of the famous Le Mans 24 Hours and features LEGO Technic as an official partner.
