THE Paul Miller Racing trio of Max Hesse, Jesse Krohn and Hillsborough’s Dan Harper recovered from an early technical setback to claim a GTD Pro podium at the Twelve Hours of Sebring.
The issue forced Harper to take in an extra pitstop aboard the number 48 BMW M4 GT3 to have it resolved, meaning he spent the remainder of his opening stint playing catch-up.
However, his efforts – combined with strong drives by Hesse and Krohn – put them back in touch with the leading pack, with Harper even moving into the lead during his double stint from the eight to 10 hour mark at the 73rd edition of the famous American race.
But as cooler temperatures arrived, the AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R co-driven by Alessio Picariello, Laurin Heinrich, and Klaus Bachler proved just too strong for the flagging BMW.
In the fans’ favourite car dubbed ‘Rexy’ due to its bright green paintwork, toothy grill for a mouth and small arms on the door panels, they secured top spot by a slender 4.371 second margin.
Second – and third for the sister Paul Miller Racing BMW – was still a positive weekend in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Harper, with the result making up for January’s disappointment at the 24 Hours of Daytona where a rival rear-ended Hesse and wiped out their push for silverware.
“I am delighted to get my first IMSA podium with second overall in GTD Pro and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup win at Sebring,” said Harper.
“It was an incredibly competitive race throughout but everyone put in a fantastic performance to secure us some trophies.
“It is extra special too, with our team-mates making it a double podium for the entire team and BMW M Motorsport. P2 for us and P3 for our sister car is a great result for the team.
“We can be definitely be delighted with the results, plus, we also scored some crucial points at the four and eight-hour marks of the race for the Endurance Cup,” he added.
“After our bad luck in Daytona we were all a bit disappointed – we knew that we needed to get ourselves back up and running here and we did that over the course of the weekend.
“In the end, the winning Porsche was just a little bit too quick. Although we didn’t have a perfect race, we can still be happy to spray some champagne at the end of the 12 hours.”
While Harper was left to celebrate in the winners’ enclosure, Belfast’s Charlie Eastwood was left to reflect on what could have been for him, Alec Udell, and Salih Yoluc in GTD.
Mechanical gremlin slowed down their DXDT Racing-run Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the final stages of the meeting – and denied them what would have been a nailed on third-place.
“I am gutted for the team. They have worked so hard since Daytona. We just did not have the pace there and came here with a lot more – they all deserved more,” said Eastwood.
“It is such a shame but we have to look at the positives. We were in the mix for the podium and the win, and we executed a good race. We just need Lady Luck on our side and we will be right there.”