You know what Sebring is famous for, right? It’s the bumps. It’s become part of the folklore of the former World War II airbase. The parts of the circuit that use those original runways of Hendricks Army Airfield where bomber pilots used to train are legendarily rough — the backstraight, Turn 17, Turn 1 — and, honestly, it doesn’t get a whole lot better after that. It’s a circuit that demands respect, and it’s a circuit whose character changes radically from day to night.

“Sebring, obviously, a lot of the way the car works, and how fast the car is there, is dictated by how good they are to ride the bumps,” explains Nick Tandy, who comes into the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac having finished fourth in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with Mathieu Jaminet, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963. “So what we need out of the cars — and each manufacturer, how their cars handle these circuits — will be different.

“We have been to Sebring this year testing along with some of the other teams, and we’ve obviously made progress from last year. We did see last year that maybe we struggled a bit more during the day than than we did in in the evening. So Daytona to Qatar [for FIA WEC] — let’s also put that in the mix — and then to Sebring, they’re all very different racetracks. The car is obviously performing very well, at the moment. The team has got on top of a lot of things. So we’re hopeful. We’ve done our homework. There has been some changes in in the BoP, so we’ll see. I think from my point of view, we go there in high spirits and high hopes because we know how prepared we are.”

Most drivers will agree that the key to Sebring is making sure the car is quick at night for the finish. It’s something four-time Twelve Hours of Sebring winner Pipo Derani knows well. Last year the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R didn’t have the pace at the end, but a three-car wreck in the closing stages between the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 and both PPM 963s left the Cadillac in front. As Derani prepares to go after win number five accompanied by Jack Aitken and Tom Blomqvist, he knows survival is key.

“We saw last year that you’ve got to be alive to try and win that race,” Derani said. “Luckily, last year, things turned at the very end. We weren’t meant to win, and we ended up winning just because we survived the whole race — we were there fighting with the top five, all on the same lap after a restart, and we all know what happened. So, Sebring is one of those places where you’ve got to make sure you survive. It’s such a difficult race on man and machine. It’s a place that you can’t predict, because you might have a strong pace during the day and it might differ at night when the temperature drops. So it’s a unique place to try and set up your car on the best possible way for the end, but you don’t want to suffer for 11 hours and 30 minutes of the race. It’s quite a tricky place.”

While the circuit is known for its bumps, Ryan Dalziel says that it’s something you get used to, and learn where the worst are. But the 2024 Rolex 24 LMP2 winner notes that the bumps seem to have become worse.

Since Era Motorsport’s ORECA LMP2 07, LMP2 is such a known quantity, Ryan Dalziel feels it’s an effective bellwether for how Sebring’s bumps have gotten bumpier. Jake Galstad/Motorsport Images

“This was the first year in a number of years that we felt like some of the bumps seemed to have got pretty drastically worse in places, places that didn’t really used to bother us,” he said, having tested with the Era Motorsport team at the track. “And, obviously, nothing’s changed in the P2 car over the last couple of years. So it’s rough. I think, honestly, the first time you come to do Sebring, especially if you’ve never done anything like this before, it’s eye opening. Once you’ve done it year after year, you try and avoid the big bumps, but it’s definitely a rough ride.”

Fifty-eight cars are expected to take the green when the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Cadillac kicks off at 9:40am ET on Saturday, and the race will be streamed in its entirety on Peacock, with the USA Network carrying the second half beginning at 4pm ET. Thursday will feature three practice sessions for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams, with qualifying taking place on Friday at 12:15pm ET and streamed live on Peacock. The IMSA Radio team will be commenting on select sessions, and the feed can be accessed on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins March 16 at 9:30 a.m. (Sirius channel 211, XM 207, Web/App 996, at track 100.9 FM, Sebring local 99.1 FM).

Other series racing at Sebring this week are the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Porsche Carrera Cup North America, Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup.