Sebring International Raceway

History

Sebring Raceway occupies the site of Hendricks Army Airfield (a training base for B-17 pilots in operation from 1941 to 1946), in the middle of southern Florida, 70 mi south and southeast respectively of Orlando and Tampa, and 140 mi northwest of Miami. After the war, Russian-American aeronautical engineer Alec Ulmann was seeking sites for converting military aircraft to civilian use when he discovered potential in Hendricks' runways and service roads to stage a sports car endurance race similar to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a race Ulmann was inspired to somewhat re-create in the United States. Sebring's first race was held on New Year's Eve of 1950, attracting thirty race cars from across North America. The Sam Collier 6 Hour Memorial race was won by Frits Koster and Ralph Deshon in a Crosley Hot Shot that had been driven to the track by Victor Sharpe.

The first 12 Hours of Sebring was held on March 15, 1952, shortly growing into a major international race. In 1959, the track hosted the U.S.' first Formula One race (the successor to historic European Grand Prix motor racing), held as that year's instalment of the historic United States Grand Prix competition (although the Indianapolis 500 was an official part of the Formula One World Championship from 1950 to 1960, the 500 was never considered a true Grand Prix by the European and British based teams who largely ignored it at the time). However poor attendance and high costs relocated the next U.S. Grand Prix to Riverside International Raceway in southern California.

For much of Sebring's history, the track followed a 5.200 mi layout. After a disastrous 1966 12 Hours with five fatalities, the track was widened in parts and also lengthened a total of 50 yd for 1967 with the removal of the Webster Turn between the hairpin and the top of the track and replacement with the faster Green Park Chicane, further down the track. This was closer to the hairpin and allowed a flat-out run through a very fast corner to the top of the track and the runway. This was done to move the track off the dangerous Warehouse Straight and the warehouses, hangars and airplanes flanking it; a crash during that 1966 12 Hours involved a privately entered Porsche that went into one of the warehouses (this area was off-limits to non-track personnel) and into a crowd, killing four spectators.

The circuit was changed and shortened in 1983 to allow simultaneous use of the track and one of the runways, and major changes in 1987 allowed use of another runway. Further changes in 1991 accommodated expansion of the airport's facilities, allowing the entire track to be used without interfering with normal airport operations and bringing it close to its current configuration. The hairpin was removed in 1997 due to a lack of run-off, and replaced with what became known as the "safety pin". Gendebien Bend was also re-profiled to slow the cars' entry to the Ullman straight.

The track is currently owned by IMSA Holdings, LLC through its subsidiary Sebring International Raceway, LLC via its purchase of the Panoz Motor Sports Group in September 2012. It is currently leased by the Sebring International Raceway, LLC, which acquired the facility from Andy Evans in 1997.

The track is often recognized for its famous, high-speed "Turn 17", a long, bumpy, fast right-hander that can make or break a car's speed down the front straight. The corner can fit up to three cars wide.

Skip Barber Racing School held numerous programs at the facility, including a scholarship opportunity for young racers.

From 2019 to 2023 (with no races run in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the World Endurance Championship ran a round called the 1000 Miles of Sebring, run concurrently with the famed 12 Hours. The first race in 2019 was won by Toyota Gazoo Racing. When the event returned after the pandemic in 2022 it was won by the French Alpine Elf Team. Toyota then won their second race at Sebring in 2023. The FIA dropped the race from the WEC calendar in 2024 and 2025, its place being taken by the Lone Star Le Mans race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

In 2021, the first-ever 24-hour race at Sebring took place, hosted by the World Racing League, an amateur endurance championship series, with W2W Racing winning the overall race.

Track configuration

Sebring International Raceway consists of three tracks: the Full Circuit, the Short Circuit, and the Club Circuit. The course of the track itself is 3.741 mi long. It is a seventeen-turn road course with long straights, several high-speed corners, and very technical slower corners. Many of the turns and points along the track are named for the early teams and drivers. Due to Florida's flat nature there is very little elevation change around the track and little camber on the surface, providing a challenging track for drivers, especially when it rains.

Sebring is renowned for its rough, bumpy and changing surfaces. The course still runs on old sections of World War II-era landing fields that were constructed of concrete sections with large seams. The transitions between sections are quite rough and often, sparks fly from the undercarriages of the cars as they traverse them. Much of the track has intentionally been left with its original concrete runway surface. The 12 Hours of Sebring is renowned as a race that is even harder on machinery and drivers than Le Mans, and is seen as an ideal preparation run for the famed French race.

The track surface has 3.04 mi of asphalt and 0.7 mi of concrete. Mario Andretti, a 3-time 12 Hours winner, said that one of the hardest parts about the original Sebring track was "finding the track to begin with." There had been many accounts of drivers retiring due to accidents at night, quite simply because they got lost on the runway sections and couldn't find the track again. Some drivers got lost even during the day, mostly because the track was poorly marked down with white lines and cones.

Layout history

| File:Sebring International Raceway - Historical (1952).svg | The track layout from 1952 to 1966 (1st variation) | File:Sebring 1967-1982.png | The track layout from 1967 to 1982 (2nd variation) | File:Sebring 1987-1990.png | The track layout from 1987 to 1990 (5th variation) | File:Sebring International Raceway.svg | The track layout from 1999 (8th variation)

Events

Sebring is most notable for hosting the 12 Hours of Sebring, sanctioned by the FIA and IMSA, as part of many major endurance racing series, including the World Sportscar Championship, Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, ALMS, and now, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. This race is the second of four races in the Michelin Endurance Cup. It has also hosted the final round of the 24H Series in 2021.

The track also hosts the Legends of Motorsport and Historic Sportscar Racing series, and is the winter home of the Skip Barber Racing School. Many IndyCar, sports prototype, and Grand Touring teams use Sebring for winter testing due to the warm climate.

The track is used numerous times each year by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) for amateur events that draw participants from all over the country.

IndyCar regularly holds tests at the top half of the facility to simulate street circuits on its calendar.

Current events

• January: SCCA Super Tour Central Florida Majors
• February: Historic Sportscar Racing Sebring Pistons and Props
• March: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 12 Hours of Sebring, Trans-Am Series Sebring SpeedTour, Sportscar Vintage Racing Association, Michelin Pilot Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup North America, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, Mustang Challenge North America, Porsche Sprint Challenge North America, IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
• April: Ferrari Challenge North America
• May: GT World Challenge America, GT America Series, GT4 America Series, TC America Series
• June: ChampCar Endurance Series
• September: NASA Championships, ChampCar Endurance Series
• December: Historic Sportscar Racing Classic 12 Hours of Sebring

Former events

• 24H Series
  • 24 Hours of Sebring (2021)
• American Le Mans Series (1999–2013)
• Barber Pro Series (1992–2002)
• FIA GT Championship
  • Sebring 3 Hours (1997)
• FIA World Endurance Championship
  • 12 Hours of Sebring (2012)
  • 1000 Miles of Sebring (2019, 2022–2023)
• Florida Winter Series (2014)
• Formula 4 United States Championship (2019–2020)
• Formula One
  • United States Grand Prix (1959)
• Formula Regional Americas Championship (2019–2020)
• Global MX-5 Cup (2012–2014, 2021, 2024)
• IMSA GT Championship (1973, 1975–1998)
• IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
  • Grand Prix of Sebring (2020)
• Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Final (2015)
• LATAM Challenge Series (2014)
• SCCA Continental Championship (1969–1970)
• Sprint Race Brasil (2019)
• USF2000 Championship (1999, 2001–2004, 2011–2013, 2023)
• USF Juniors (2023)
• USF Pro 2000 Championship (1999, 2001–2010, 2023)
• World Sportscar Championship (1953–1972, 1981)

Lap records

As of May 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Sebring International Raceway for different classes are listed as:

Sebring in pop culture

Sebring Raceway is featured in the video games rFactor 2,Pitstop II, iRacing, The Crew, Forza Motorsport 2, Forza Motorsport 3, Forza Motorsport 4, Forza Motorsport 5, Forza Motorsport 6, Forza Motorsport 7, Forza Motorsport (2023), Le Mans Ultimate, Total Immersion Racing and Sports Car GT. There are also end-user created versions for rFactor, GTR2, GTR Evolution, GT Legends, Grand Prix Legends and NASCAR Racing 2003 Season. In board gaming, Sebring was also featured in the first expansion for the Formula D board game by Asmodee games. People have also recreated this track using the course maker in Gran Turismo 6. It is intended to be in Grand Theft Auto VI as the "Gellhorn International Raceway"

Notes

References

References

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