The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring won’t be happening in real life this weekend (having been rescheduled to Nov. 11-14), but there’ll still be an IMSA-themed race involving the Florida track Saturday.
IMSA has partnered with iRacing to hold Sebring SuperSaturday, a 90-minute online racing event at Sebring International Raceway. The single-class race will begin Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET after practice and single-car qualifying.
It will be streamed live on the iRacing eSports Network on YouTube and iRacing’s Twitch channel, with pre- and postrace from the Torque Show on Facebook Live. IMSA Radio’s John Hindhaugh will be part of the broadcast.
The field will include IMSA stars from the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (and some from the IndyCar NTT Series) with an option of choosing from these four GTLM cars: BMW M8 GTE, Ferrari 488 GTE, Porsche 911 RSR and Ford GT. IMSA has yet to release the entry list.
IMSA becomes the latest series to capitalize on the layoff from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by turning to iRacing. NASCAR will begin holding all-star exhibitions with its drivers Sunday, and IndyCar and Formula One drivers are racing on worldwide online platforms, too.
“IMSA is committed to delivering a realistic racing experience to our fans, competitors and partners this weekend,” IMSA president John Doonan said in a release. “Most IMSA drivers use iRacing or other simulators on a regular basis to sharpen their skills and prepare for upcoming races. This weekend, they will do it in front of an audience. We are grateful to iRacing and many of our other partners for creating this opportunity to entertain our loyal IMSA fans.”
NBCSN, which has been broadcasting IMSA races since last season, will show a one-hour highlight show of the 2019 Twelve Hours of Sebring at 8 p.m. ET Saturday. It was the closest overall finish in the race’s 67-year history.