Sebring WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 2023
12 Hours of Sebring Preview
It’s going to be another very busy weekend for the JDC-Miller MotorSports team at this weekend’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. The team won the race in 2021.
In the WeatherTech race, the team’s LMP3 class Duqueine D08 will be driven by Till Bechtolsheimer, Tijmen van der Helm, and Dan Goldburg. Bechtolsheimer and van der Helm return after driving the car at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Goldburg currently holds the points lead in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge series after two wins at Daytona and two podiums last weekend here at Sebring.
The team’s Audi RS3 LMS effort in the Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR class will again be driven by Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor with a Liqui Moly livery.
This year marks the 71st running of the endurance classic. The 12 hour race was first run in 1952. Sebring’s 3.74 mile 17 turn circuit is the oldest and one of the busiest racetracks in North America, hosting activities more than 300 days per year.
Two Podiums for Dan Goldburg at Sebring
Two podium finishes for Dan Goldburg in his #73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08 keep him in the championship points lead.
In Race 1, Goldburg started on the outside pole and retained that position through to the finish. Race 2 was more exciting for the Florida driver. Again starting P2, Goldburg took the lead on the first lap and held it under pressure from Bijoy Garg and Antonio Serravalle for the first 30 minutes of the race. Garg got by in Turn 7 and Goldburg pressured him until a quick spin allowed Serratore by. Goldburg fought back to retain the 3rd position and his second podium of the weekend. Goldburg was the top Bronze driver in both races.
After 4 of 14 races of the series, Dan Goldburg leads a very tight championship by 60 points over Bijoy Garg and 160 over Brian Thienes. He has been the top Bronze driver in all four races this season and thus leads that championship, as well.
The next race for the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge is July 7-9 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
Race Recap – ROAR and the Rolex 24 at Daytona
It was a very busy 2 week stretch for the JDC-Miller MotorSports team. JDC entered three teams, each with their own transporter, running in three different series at Daytona. They were scattered around the paddock as each team is required to paddock with their respective series. In addition to the Duqueine D08 LMP3 entry in the WeatherTech series, the team campaigned another Duqueine D08 LMP3 in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge for veteran prototype driver Dan Goldburg. The team also returned to the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series in the TCR class with a new Audi RS3 LMS touring car for Chris Miller and Mikey Taylor.
JDC has extensive experience with the Duqueine D08 so much of the Roar weekend was focused on getting the four new drivers acclimated to the car and the racing in this series. Luca Mars qualified the car 6th in class less than .7 seconds behind the fastest car in the class and 25th in the 61 car field.
The highlight of the ROAR weekend was Dan Goldburg’s victory in the inaugural VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race. Dan qualified on the outside pole, took the lead on the first lap, and carried it home for the victory in the 45-minute sprint race. He followed that up by winning Sunday’s race as well.
The TCR team chased new car teething issues for much of the event but showed very good speed. Chris Miller qualified 3rd just .1 off the TCR pole. In the 4-hour race, the car started strong and ran close to the front. Late in the race, the car developed a high-speed misfire. Mikey Taylor and the team masterfully managed to nurse it to the finish and secured a 5th place finishing position in class. A good points start to the 2023 campaign.
In the Rolex 24, the team was running in the top 25 overall for the first 160 laps until a touch with the wall broke the right-rear suspension. The car went to the garage for repairs which were performed in less than 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the car went down 20 laps and into 56th position overall. The rest of the race was spent fighting back to 37th overall and 5th in class. They completed 715 laps of the 3.6 mile circuit.
On to Sebring for the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 18th, a race the team won in 2021.
Be sure to check out the photos from Daytona here.
VP Racing SportsCar Challenge Race 2 Has Familiar Ending
JANUARY 22, 2023
Goldburg and Griffin Complete Weekend Sweeps in the New Sprint Series for LMP3 and GT4 Cars
By Mark Robinson for IMSA.com
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – They took different paths, but Dan Goldburg and Billy Griffin completed weekend victory sweeps Sunday in the debut of the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. Goldburg cruised to a dominant win in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (LMP3) class while Griffin battled from behind to triumph in the GSX class for GT4-spec cars.
Both drivers started from their respective pole positions in the 45-minute race. Goldburg, in the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08, was hounded by Bijoy Garg in the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 until Garg spun in the Le Mans Chicane while working through lapped traffic with 15 minutes remaining. Relieved of that pressure, Goldburg went on to win by 9.739 seconds over Brian Thienes in the No. 77 US RaceTronics Ligier.
As he did in Saturday’s first race, Griffin took a patient approach and relinquished the GSX lead on the opening lap to avoid potential confrontations. Dropping to third place in the No. 14 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4, Griffin bided his time before overtaking Sebastian Carazo (No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport) for the lead on the tri-oval section of Daytona International Speedway with seven minutes to go. Griffin pulled away to win by 3.735 seconds over Carazo.
Goldburg credited his LMP3 experience – three previous years overall, including 10 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races in the past two seasons – with his success negotiating slower traffic that led to the two VP Racing Challenge wins.
“I think the key was running WeatherTech last year and learning how to manage GT traffic,” said the 44-year-old from Delray Beach, Florida. “That came in really handy today.
“I like having the traffic to work with. I had good success last year in WeatherTech with it, so I like it. There’s definitely a big enough gap between the speeds of the (LMP3 and GSX) cars that’s manageable and can be used well. It’s good.”
It was that traffic and over-aggressive driving in his class that Griffin was on the lookout for in his bid to repeat as the GSX winner, and it wound up costing a pair of contenders. He and Carazo were locked in an intense four-car battle with Moisey Uretsky (No. 44 Accelerating Performance Aston Martin Vantage GT4) and Patrick Wilmot (No. 88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW M4 GT4) when Uretsky and Wilmot tangled in Turn 3 of the infield section with 14 minutes remaining.
Wilmot’s BMW sustained significant damage and retired. Uretsky was assessed a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility and taken out of contention, leaving Griffin and Carazo to battle it out for the win.
“I lost the lead (on Lap 1) again because of aggressiveness and the way they were crowding in there but was able to regroup,” Griffin said. “I knew that the patience thing was going to pay off for me in the long run. I really just took my time and let the battle happen.”
Griffin got a run on Carazo through Turns 3 and 4 of the Daytona oval and made the decisive pass as they crossed the start-finish line.
“I made the move, it worked … and I was able to check away,” the Venice, Florida, resident and IMSA newcomer added. “It’s an amazing feeling; thrilled to death. Definitely a lifelong dream come true.”
Telecasts of the VP Racing Challenge races at Daytona air on CNBC at 11:30 a.m. (Race 1) and 12:30 p.m. ET (Race 2) Saturday, Jan. 28. The series returns to action March 11-12 at Sebring International Raceway.