Sebring: Randy Pobst race report

Victory in Sebring!

Donuts were served in Turn 17 by Randy as he celebrated his first victory of the year at Sebring. In a race marred by heavy rain and treacherous driving conditions, Randy and his K-PAX Porsche GT3 persevered giving notice that he was back to defend his championship.

"I give a lot of credit to my team K-PAX Racing for preparing a car that could perform well in any conditions. It translated well into the wet. I really love the challenge of changing conditions".

The rain-drenched race was filled with spins and crashes and the yellow flew four times, shortening the race to 12 laps and making it a timed race. The rain started falling on the formation lap before the race even started. Race officials made the decision to start the race in single file rolling start formation instead of the usual and exciting standing start for which World Challenge is known. At the green flag, Randy surged past polesitter Brandon Davis and was first into turn one. On lap four, under yellow, Randy decided to come in to the pits for rain tires after many other competitors spun or crashed on the slick surface. Under green again, Randy quickly made his way through the field coming from the back to fifth in one lap.

"On the second restart I was in fourth with my rain tires and the three guys ahead of me all had their dry tires still on. I knew they were sitting ducks. I passed all three cars in Turn One on the restart. Cars were hydroplaning and sliding all over".

Randy re-took the lead on lap nine and never looked back. This is Randy's 19th career World Challenge win. Andy Pilgrim finished second, and teammate Michael Galati completed the podium, proving that the experience of the old pros paid off.

"One of the great things about winning in the rain at Sebring is revenge on Cadillac. Last year Team Cadillac passed me in the rain at Road Atlanta. This time I passed them. Sweet revenge. It is also great to win in my home state of Florida. My father Gene, my brother-in-law Jon, and lots of old friends clear back to high school were there. I'd also like to thank my sponsors, saferacer.com, APR Tuning, Chase Cam, and WeatherTech for their support."

The Sebring World Challenge GT race can be seen on SPEED March 21 at 1:00 PM EST. Randy's next event will be April 18-20 in Long Beach, CA. Please check the website for further and upcoming information. Thanks for following!

-credit: randypobst.com