Inception Racing finish fourth at the 71st running of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring and leave Florida leading the GTD championship by one point

Contact during the opening stages of this weekend’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, IMSA WeatherTech SportCar Championship’s second round, saw success quickly diminish for Inception Racing as the #70 McLaren crew fell to the back of the 20-car GTD field, only to fight their way to the front for twelve solid hours to cross the line in fourth and leave Florida leading the Championship.

They say that anything can happen during an Endurance race, and that, today, it did. Friday morning’s qualifying session saw Brendan set the tenth fastest time, only to be moved up the grid to start eighth come Saturday morning once post-qualifying penalties had been applied to others within the field.

There was drama from the offset as the lights went green, the #33 Sean Creech Motorsport LMP3 spun on the opening lap, causing the first of many full course yellow periods whilst the debris at Turn 1 was cleared. Although staying out of trouble in the initial stages of the race, a spin for the #70 McLaren and contact laps later saw the Inception Racing crew fall to the back of the 20-car GTD field.

It was then a hunt for all three drivers: Brendan, Ollie, and Fred, to get back up into the fight with the remaining GTD entries for the remaining 11 hours of the 12-hour event. The team cycled through their usual pitstop routines, changing between drivers as the race progressed and places were made up out on track.

As the race hit the mid-way stage, Fred found himself running up in eighth, having seen Brendan and Ollie in the cockpit of the McLaren beforehand battling through the pack. It was then as the race hit the seven-hour juncture when multiple yellow flags came into play. Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #6 GTP got struck from behind by the #38 LMP3 whilst the latter was commencing a wave-by during yet another Full Course Yellow period.

As night began to draw in over the 3.74-mile circuit, the action, bumps, and contact ramped up. Meyer Shank’s #60 Acura stopped out on track after its rear wheel came off, seeing the GTP entry seek external assistance causing the race, once more, to fall under yellow flag conditions.

With Fred at the wheel for the final stint, it was game on as the race went green once again. Up Into fourth and it was a constant battle to the end with Kellymoss with Riley’s #92 Porsche 911 GT3, whom claimed that final podium position. Optimum Motorsport-run team, Inception Racing now leave Sebring, round two on IMSA’s calendar leading the GTD championship by one point.

The action resumes in the States next month when the team head to California for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the first of the series’ 2023 Sprint rounds.

Ollie Millroy, #70 McLaren driver

“That’s fourth place in the 12 hours of Sebring. So close, yet so far. An incredible job by the whole team! Flawless pitstops, awesome strategy and epic driving by my teammates Brendan and Frederik.

“The final FCY [Full Course Yellow] right before the end bailed out two of the three cars in front of us who were having to pit for fuel before the end if the race and killed our chances of a podium. That’s the exciting thing about IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar series…it’s never over until it’s over. However, we go away from here leading the championship so we should be happy with everything we’ve achieved here in Sebring.”