Sebring, FL. The famed 12 hours of Sebring brings drivers from around the world to Sebring Florida to compete in a grueling 12 hour race on one of the bumpiest circuits in all of racing. The fans come out in droves, bringing their RVs, tents and couches to watch the races during the week. The 12 hours of Sebring is the main attraction held on Saturday of race week. But there are several other support races held on the Thursday and Friday before the 12 hours that fans flock to, including the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. This year definitely did not disappoint. Being that this is our home track, about 2 hours outside of Tampa, we had family and friends from all over come down to watch the race. We wanted to put on a good show but more importantly we wanted to win. After the disappointment of not finishing in Daytona due to mechanical failure we knew we had something to prove. With many years and thousands of laps around Sebring International Raceway we knew this was ours to win.
The morning started off as usual with the morning Meet & Greet at the MINI trailer where fans got the chance to win a hot lap around the track and lots of MINI gear. We got to see some familiar faces of fans that we’ve met at previous races and many new fans that came out just for this race. It’s always fun taking pictures and letting fans get an up close view of the race cars. Some will even show us pictures they’ve taken at other races where they got the chance to sit in the car. MINI fans are extremely loyal and bring a familiar positive vibe to all the races. Although the meet and greet is technically for the fans, we believe it helps the drivers and team as well. Having those fans come and meet the drivers, take pictures and share their stories really helps to bring the mood of the whole team up. We always want to win races, but there’s even more incentive because we want to make our MINI fans proud.
The previous day we had a terrible qualifier, a full 3 seconds off the leader. But we knew that this was our home track and it wouldn’t take long to get up to speed and pick off each car ahead of us to get to the front. The MINI JCW team had all 3 of their cars at the track so we knew we would have teammates all around us during this 2 hour long race. We started the race near the back but kept it clean the entire time. After the minimum drive time of 45 minutes was completed we were able to bring the #52 car unscathed to the pits to turn over to teammate Mark Pombo. Pit strategy played a key role during this race. The team decided to pit early under green which was a calculated move. Many teams will wait until there is a yellow flag to begin their pit and driver change between the 45 min to 1 hour 15 minute mark. The team decided that we would pit early to allow Mark Pombo to get in the car and bring it up to the front ahead of everyone else. Shortly after the #73 car would pit and change drivers allowing Mark’s brother Mat Pombo to take the wheel. As expected there was an incident on the track which caused a yellow flag to be thrown right around the one hour mark. This is where most teams would take advantage of the yellow flag and begin their pitting & driver changes. However, we had already gotten to the front of the pack. Mark in the #52 and Mat in the #73 were now leading. The green flag flew once again and were able to hold the lead until the end. Mark and Mat stuck together and played off eachother’s strengths for the remainder of the race. In the end, our #52 (Jay Salinsky & Mark Pombo) won the race with the #73 (Mike Lamarra & Mat Pombo) by our side. The #37 (Nate Norenberg & Derek Jones) finished 4th just shy of a MINI podium sweep.
From the team owner, Luis Perocarpi:
“I am so proud of all three of our cars today and the entire MINI JCW team, including our MINI technicians in pit lane. Sebring is one of the toughest tracks we will battle this year and the team and our equipment proved we are ready to bring home a championship this season.” – Luis Perocarpi
Historic Win with a Historic Number
Sebring Marked the third anniversary for the MINI JCW Team in CTSC. What better way to celebrate than with the 52 in victory lane. The number 52 has a rich history with MINI, dating back to their win in the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally with Timo Makinen and Paul Easter. Now Mark Pombo and Jared Salinsky get to add their names to the record books for MINI, and enrich the history of the number.
53 years later and MINI is still showing that it can slay giants.
This win was special on so many levels. After 10+ years of practice and track days at Sebring International Raceway with our friends and partners at Chin Track Days we were able to bring home a win on our 2nd pro race at this track. Our partners at Steady Returns, LLC were also there to celebrate. This is their 2nd year with us and have helped make it all possible. They even purchased a MINI and wrapped it with their logo to have on display! Our partners at Fuse Lenses, Certified Motors and Center for Bone and Joint Disease also helped make this all possible. Last but not least we have to thank our friends and family for their continued support.