Porsche Was Unstoppable At Sebring Despite Hauling 44 Pounds Of Added Ballast
The drivers and crew of the No. 7 Porsche 963 celebrating at victory lane in Sebring - Porsche AG Love it or hate it , the regulatory mechanism known as "balance of performance" aims to ensure a relative balanced playing level in sports car racing for a wide variety of machinery. It's an instrument that can also stifle dominance, which only makes it more impressive when a team overcomes the odds.
Porsche Penske Motorsport overcame such odds and took a controlling 1-2 victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring last weekend. The German automaker's 20th overall victory at the 12-hour race came after its victory at Daytona and BoP changes made to hamper the 963's pace. IMSA strapped 20 more kilograms (44 pounds) to the Porsche 963 ahead of Sebring, making it the heaviest GTP in the field.
The Porsche was also mandated to be the least-powerful prototype at speeds under 143 miles per hour alongside the BMW. The two-car team led 79. 5% of the entire 12-hour classic despite the BoP.
The lap time data also showed the six drivers behind the wheel of the No. 6 and No. 7 Porsches were the six fastest across the GTP class.
Read more: Why Did Automakers Stop Making Cars With Pop-Up Headlights? Porsche Penske spent Sebring's final hour battling themselves The No. 7 Porsche 963 leading the No.