Just over one second separated the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team from a win in the iRacing Sebring 12 HR endurance race.
Car #91, helmed by Charlie Collins and Alejandro Sanchez, were consistent frontrunners throughout the 12 hours but lost out only to the newly renamed Verstappen Sim Racing team and their drivers Florian Lebigre and Gustavo Ariel.
Both cars featured the
The red, white and blue colour scheme, inspired by the GT1, was a fan favourite in Florida on March 21.
Throughout the iRacing Sebring 12 HR, the team were very much in contention for the overall win.
After a strong qualifying, the #91 car was just 0.036s off pole, with the #92 entry 0.265s behind the top spot.
Collins lined up third on the grid, and quickly took second away from Verstappen Sim Racing’s Diogo Pinto on the opening lap.
The pair traded places but ultimately Collins held second place come the first round of pit stops, entering the pit lane just a second after race leader Lebigre.
Porsche Coanda then were able to go a lap longer on their second stint, briefly leading the race just before the two hour mark.
The offset strategies saw Collins and Sanchez run in first place multiple times across the 12 hours, but were unable to best Verstappen Sim Racing’s number five entry although just 1.069 seconds separated them across the line.
It wasn’t as successful a day for the second Porsche Coanda entry, although still a strong result for the #92 car driven by Josh Rogers and Dayne Warren who both started and finished eighth and still on the lead lap.
Rogers in particular will be setting his sights even higher for future events having won the iRacing 12 Hours of Sebring in 2020 and 2022.
The prize for winning was guaranteed entry into the 2026 IMSA Esports Global Championship held later this year.
Instead, the Porsche Coanda Esports Racing Team drivers will have to go through the standard qualification route.
The IMSA Esports Global Championship gets underway with Petit Le Mans on September 27 for the first of five rounds.
There are two races in October, on 11 and 25, before the final two rounds on November 8 and 22.
