Celtic Speed were back in America for the final race of the 2018 season last weekend in Sebring. The team were running their Oreca LMPC car for lead driver Tommy Dreelan who was once again joined by Aaron Scott for a debut race at Sebring, Florida.
The race was the Classic 12 hours of Sebring which saw cars competing in 4 groups in races held over a 12 hour period in day and night conditions.
The team recovered well after an early gearbox issue cost them some track time and Tommy placed 4 th in the HSR Sprint race on Friday afternoon after a great race between him and 2 other similar LMPC cars, he also posted his best laps of the weekend as he continued to get to grips with the challenging track.
In qualifying for the 12 hour race, Aaron posted the fastest time to secure pole position for the team.
The team were always at the front throughout the 4 races and battled for first place in each race eventually finished 3rd overall and best of the LMPC cars.
Tommy said, “I really enjoyed the week, it’s a challenging circuit and very tricky in places, especially at night. The car is so much fun to drive and racing in America is great fun. It’s been a pleasure and I’d like to Thank all the HSR staff for making us so welcome.”
Aaron said, “I really enjoy these end of season American races, and it was a lot of fun learning a new track. Thank You to Tommy and Siobhan Dreelan for inviting me to race their car, Tommy is a good friend and we always have fun racing together.”
About Sebring
• Sebring International Raceway is America’s oldest road racing track, with over six decades of storied history.
• The legendary circuit evolved from Hendricks Field, a World War II airbase used to train B-17 combat crews.
• On December 31, 1950, aviation and racing enthusiast Alec Ulmann promoted a six-hour race using the runways of the old airbase.
• Sebring burst onto the sports car racing scene and into the history books in March 1952 with a 12- hour endurance race that is now second only to Le Mans in international prestige.
• Each year on the third Saturday of March, 3.74 miles of concrete and asphalt challenge the giants of sports car racing to one of the world’s most grueling endurance tests.
Famous faces at Sebring
• Former winners read like a Who’s Who of motor racing: Mario Andretti, Stirling Moss, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, Al Holbert, A.J. Foyt, Bobby Rahal and Tom Kristensen.
• Sebring is also famous for celebrity participation. Steve McQueen nearly won the race in 1970, while James Brolin, Paul Newman, Gene Hackman and even journalist Walter Cronkite have competed in the race.
• Sebring winners include major manufacturers such as Porsche, Ferrari, Nissan, Jaguar, Audi, BMW, Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota.
• For six decades, Sebring has been a staple of the international sports press, from the cover of Sports Illustrated to ESPN to The Wall Street Journal.