This past week was a busy one at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Not only were there a lot of IMSA racing series on hand, but the WEC had an eight-hour endurance race during the event, too. There was plenty of on-track action for all the fans in attendance, who were also treated to nice spring weather.
I was a part of the JDX Carrera Cup program for the event, working with Elias De La Torre, who was making his debut in both the Carrera Cup Series and IMSA competition at just 17 years old.
Elias made tremendous progress throughout the opening day.
We had a busy start to the week, with both practice and qualifying on day one. Elias did an incredible job progressing during the day, shaving down his lap time in each session. He was able to capitalize on the areas we were focusing on to continue making improvements.
The Carrera Cup field was as competitive as we’ve ever seen it, with the top 15 cars qualifying within one second of each other. Elias qualified 14th out of a 40-car field, and it was rewarding to see him in that tight window with the veteran leaders of the series.
Day two was another busy schedule, with race one in the morning and race two later that day. Even though there weren’t any full-course yellows in race one, it was an action-packed race for the JDX entries. Nevertheless, Elias was able to achieve his primary goal of completing every lap in his series debut. Gaining experience in a series like this is critical, and every lap is a great chance to learn. One of Elias’s teammates, Will Martin, finished third to give the JDX team a podium finish in the first race of the season.
Race day certainly had its share of bumps and bruises, but goal #1 was met of completing all laps of both races.
Elias was able to take his experience in race one and use it to push forward in race two. He made some spectacular passes in the opening laps, and although he got hit at the hairpin midway through the race, he persevered to the finish line. Despite the results not showing his true potential, overall it was a big weekend of positives. Elias gained a lot of experience, but he also showed his impressive pace in this very competitive series.
Next up for Carrera Cup is racing on the beautiful but challenging streets of Long Beach. I’m looking forward to working with Elias as he continues his journey in the series.