Six current NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers are part of an impressive lineup set to compete in Saturday’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, IMSA’s round-the-clock sports car road race at Sebring (Florida) International Raceway.
The annual endurance classic features drivers from numerous global motorsports series, including INDYCAR and Indy Lights.
Racing starts at 10:10 a.m. (ET) Saturday, March 20, with coverage starting at 10 a.m. on the NBC Sports Network. The cable channel that also broadcasts NTT INDYCAR SERIES races will have coverage from 10 a.m.-noon and again from 10-10:30 p.m. TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold Live will have flag-to-flag coverage.
Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon and fellow Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winners Juan Pablo Montoya, Alexander Rossi and Simon Pagenaud lead the INDYCAR contingent. Dixon will share the No. 01 Cadillac Chip Ganassi Racing entry with Renger van der Zende and Formula One veteran Kevin Magnussen.
Montoya, who will return to the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 30 with Arrow McLaren SP, will compete in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura with Olivier Pia and Dane Cameron. Rossi will be aboard the Rolex 24 At Daytona-winning No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-05 with Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque.
Four-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Sebastien Bourdais will be behind the wheel of the No. 5 Mustang Sampling/JDC Miller MotorSports Cadillac alongside Loic Duval and INDYCAR veteran Tristan Vautier. Bourdais was an overall 12 Hours of Sebring winner in 2015.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who will make his INDYCAR SERIES debut in 2021 with Chip Ganassi Racing, will share the No. 48 Ally Cadillac Racing Cadillac with Pagenaud, the 2016 INDYCAR SERIES champion and 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner, and Kamui Kobayashi.
That team finished second in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, but their status for Saturday’s race at Sebring is uncertain after Johnson crashed heavily during qualifying Friday afternoon, causing heavy damage to the rear of the car. Johnson was unhurt.
Those six INDYCAR SERIES drivers are part of the seven entries in IMSA’s top class, DPi. The Sebring race also has five cars each in the Le Mans Prototype 2 and GT Le Mans classes.
There are seven entries in Le Mans Prototype 3, and several involve Indy Lights drivers or drivers with INDYCAR experience.
Vasser Sullivan Racing, which competes in the INDYCAR SERIES with Ed Jones, has two Lexus RC f GT3 entries in the LMP3 class. The No. 12 car is driven by INDYCAR veteran Zach Veach along with Indy Lights driver Robert Megennis and Frankie Montecalvo while the No. 14 has INDYCAR veteran Jack Hawksworth and Indy Lights drivers Kyle Kirkwood and former Indy Lights driver Aaron Telitz.
Spencer Pigot will share the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Ligier JS-P320 entry with Scott Andrews and Gar Robinson. Katherine Legge and Bia Figueiredo (formerly known as Ana Beatriz) are driving with Christina Nielsen in the No. 88 Porsche 911 GT3R.
The 17-race NTT INDYCAR SERIES opens its season April 18 with the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama presented by AmFirst at Barber Motorsports Park.