The season-ending Historic Sportscar Racing B.R.M. Chronographes Endurance Challenge, Sasco Sports International/American Challenge and Classic RS Cup races came to a competitive conclusion Friday at the HSR Sebring Historics at Sebring International Raceway.
The Sebring Historics wrap up HSR’s season-long racing series and championships while setting the stage for this weekend’s eighth running of HSR Classic Sebring 12 Hour, Pistons and Props, presented by the Alan Jay Automotive Network.
Friday’s big winners included a trio of victorious teams across three classes in the B.R.M. Endurance Challenge race for the Prototype, GT Modern (GTM) and Historic classes.
The overall and Prototype B.R.M. Endurance Challenge win went to the Matador Motorsports 2017 No. 02 Cadillac DPi of Pierce Marshall and Eric Foss. The team shook off both Marshall’s lap one slide through Sebring’s tricky Turn 17 and a late deflating tire with Foss at the wheel to top a competitive 36-car field.
Second overall and in Prototype went to the Olthoff Racing 2007 No. 25 Oreca FLM09 driven by veteran HSR competitor Larry Huang.
The overall podium was completed by GTM-class winner Juan Lopez-Santini in his 901 Shop 2016 No. 8 Audi R8 LMS Ultra. In addition to finishing a stout third overall, Lopez-Santini continued the recent trend of swapping top-two race finishes with his teammate Jeronimo Guzman. Guzman led the one-two team finish in Thursday’s Stoner Car Care Global GT race only to see Lopez-Santini return the favor today.
Guzman’s GTM runner-up finish saw him cross the finish line fifth overall, just one spot behind the third-place Prototype finishers. Francesco Melandri and Nigel Greensall co-drove the 2017 No. 24 Fransco Racing Ligier JS/P3 to the class podium finish and a fourth place overall show ing.
Melandri and Greensall once again pulled double duty in the one-hour B.R.M. race, trading off driving duties in both the Ligier and the Fransco Racing 1996 No. 96 Porsche 993 GT2 in the Historic class.
The Historic division victory went to the similar Air Power Racing 1996 No. 836 Porsche 993 RSR driven by Kenneth Greenberg. Greenberg battled with Melandri and Greensall in a 993 RSR shootout for part of the race but the Porsches ended up being split on the Historic podium by second-place finisher Andrew Myers in his Wolf Motorsports 2001 No. 51 Carbir CS2 Sports 2000. Melandri and Greensall, meanwhile, scored third-place showings in both Prototype and Historic in the same race.
