Discussion
I have some experience of the 12 Hours of Sebring. After Daytona Int. Speedway, it is my local track. I've been attending the 24 Hours of Le Mans since the early 80's and Sebring since 2001.
Assuming you are familiar with Le Mans, you don't need to know what's going on, on the track, right? (LMP1/2 GT2 classes etc).
It is the USA's most presigeous enduro and has a rich history. It's fair to say that it is often viewed as the Le Mans shake-down/warm-up.
Sebrings road course is flat, very bumpy in places and is paved with a mixture of tarmac and concrete, being a (partly) disused airfield. The track is a car destroyer - very, very tough on transmissions, suspensions and brakes.
The race takes place in mid-March and the gates open on the Wednesday prior to raceday Saturday. That said there is always a large contingent of RV's and trailers waiting to get in, up to two weeks before the gates open.
Raceweek attracts big crowds and there is a pretty hardcore party all week long. I think it's fair to say that Sebring is like Le Mans used to be, from an atmosphere perspective. You know you are somewhere special, but it's not up it's own arse. The fans can be a little 'lively', but never intimidating and some large, very well organized groups have been attending the race for a very long time. The real attraction of Sebring is that you can establish yourself (grills, campers, tents, beer coolers etc) right on the fence - which you can only do in a very few places at Le Mans.
Because Sebring is also a spring-break venue, there is a fair bit of (under boozing-age) totty about - and you need to be careful about offering alcohol to anyone who could be under 21 years of age. The cops were pretty much zero-tolerence on this last year, so in order to stay out of the slammer, don't supply booze to just any little floozie who flutters her eyelashes at you. Similarly a lot of weed used to get smoked in the campgrounds, which is now severely frowned upon and the local cops are pretty ruthless in the way that they entrap sellers and buyers. Give anyone offering to sell you primo-herb a wide berth.
The whole event is pretty awesome, compared to most European races I've been to and certainly better than Le Mans in all the areas that count, other than the long history, which means f*ck-all to most of the knuckle-draggers that go to Le Mans these days.
Sebring is a little 'hokey' - but it is also friendly and funny.
3 day Superticket was $75.00 this year - and infield (Green Park) parking was an extra $35.00. The facilities (bogs/showers) are 1000% better/cleaner than Le Mans and you can get basics (like ice, for Christ's sake) at the track - and everything you could possibly need is within a 10 minute drive from the circuit (Walmart, Target, Liquor Store, Hospital etc).
Easiest fly-in from UK is Orlando Int (MCO) and the track is about 80 miles due south of O'town.
I have several friends from UK who come in on Virgin flights from Gatwick up to a week preceding the race and go home on the Sunday after. They keep coming back, so I assume thay like it!
A bunch of them rent an RV from Cruise America - and I can supply details for anyone who needs them.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy Le Mans, but Sebring is a better event in a lot of ways. Example - you can actually see the cars, you've paid to come and watch.
Assuming you are familiar with Le Mans, you don't need to know what's going on, on the track, right? (LMP1/2 GT2 classes etc).
It is the USA's most presigeous enduro and has a rich history. It's fair to say that it is often viewed as the Le Mans shake-down/warm-up.
Sebrings road course is flat, very bumpy in places and is paved with a mixture of tarmac and concrete, being a (partly) disused airfield. The track is a car destroyer - very, very tough on transmissions, suspensions and brakes.
The race takes place in mid-March and the gates open on the Wednesday prior to raceday Saturday. That said there is always a large contingent of RV's and trailers waiting to get in, up to two weeks before the gates open.
Raceweek attracts big crowds and there is a pretty hardcore party all week long. I think it's fair to say that Sebring is like Le Mans used to be, from an atmosphere perspective. You know you are somewhere special, but it's not up it's own arse. The fans can be a little 'lively', but never intimidating and some large, very well organized groups have been attending the race for a very long time. The real attraction of Sebring is that you can establish yourself (grills, campers, tents, beer coolers etc) right on the fence - which you can only do in a very few places at Le Mans.
Because Sebring is also a spring-break venue, there is a fair bit of (under boozing-age) totty about - and you need to be careful about offering alcohol to anyone who could be under 21 years of age. The cops were pretty much zero-tolerence on this last year, so in order to stay out of the slammer, don't supply booze to just any little floozie who flutters her eyelashes at you. Similarly a lot of weed used to get smoked in the campgrounds, which is now severely frowned upon and the local cops are pretty ruthless in the way that they entrap sellers and buyers. Give anyone offering to sell you primo-herb a wide berth.
The whole event is pretty awesome, compared to most European races I've been to and certainly better than Le Mans in all the areas that count, other than the long history, which means f*ck-all to most of the knuckle-draggers that go to Le Mans these days.
Sebring is a little 'hokey' - but it is also friendly and funny.
3 day Superticket was $75.00 this year - and infield (Green Park) parking was an extra $35.00. The facilities (bogs/showers) are 1000% better/cleaner than Le Mans and you can get basics (like ice, for Christ's sake) at the track - and everything you could possibly need is within a 10 minute drive from the circuit (Walmart, Target, Liquor Store, Hospital etc).
Easiest fly-in from UK is Orlando Int (MCO) and the track is about 80 miles due south of O'town.
I have several friends from UK who come in on Virgin flights from Gatwick up to a week preceding the race and go home on the Sunday after. They keep coming back, so I assume thay like it!
A bunch of them rent an RV from Cruise America - and I can supply details for anyone who needs them.
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy Le Mans, but Sebring is a better event in a lot of ways. Example - you can actually see the cars, you've paid to come and watch.
Hi Matt,
Great write up there on Sebring, it looks really great.
I have in the past thought about doing the trip for the Sebring race with my son, but I've been put off by not knowing all the logistics. Let me say at this point that we've been going to Le Mans since 1996, sleeping in the car Saturday, hotels other days. The logistics for Sebring could be solved by the two of us buying a USA tour package which I assume is available. Could you point me in the right direction for this?
R.
Great write up there on Sebring, it looks really great.
I have in the past thought about doing the trip for the Sebring race with my son, but I've been put off by not knowing all the logistics. Let me say at this point that we've been going to Le Mans since 1996, sleeping in the car Saturday, hotels other days. The logistics for Sebring could be solved by the two of us buying a USA tour package which I assume is available. Could you point me in the right direction for this?
R.
The Leaper said:
Hi Matt,
Great write up there on Sebring, it looks really great.
I have in the past thought about doing the trip for the Sebring race with my son, but I've been put off by not knowing all the logistics. Let me say at this point that we've been going to Le Mans since 1996, sleeping in the car Saturday, hotels other days. The logistics for Sebring could be solved by the two of us buying a USA tour package which I assume is available. Could you point me in the right direction for this?
R.
Hi - and I'd be delighted to help any way I can. The official website www.sebringraceway.com is the best place to start. Tickets are probably on sale right now. That said, you can buy 'em on the gate on raceday morning - but you will have had to have left your car miles away, if you leave it all until then. 2nd best place to start is the wonderful, quirky to downright offensive www.sebringfans.com Here, you will learn what the official site won't/can't tell you.Great write up there on Sebring, it looks really great.
I have in the past thought about doing the trip for the Sebring race with my son, but I've been put off by not knowing all the logistics. Let me say at this point that we've been going to Le Mans since 1996, sleeping in the car Saturday, hotels other days. The logistics for Sebring could be solved by the two of us buying a USA tour package which I assume is available. Could you point me in the right direction for this?
R.
My experience of Sebring started with myself and a couple of friends buying tix on the day + pit balcony passes - and leaving as soon as the fireworks had gone off ( I live in Orlando, so it was easy to become what is known as a "Day-Fag".)
One of the things we did a lot of was drink. We made a pair of giant 4 wheel coolers to lug our beer and champagne at Le Mans, which we also took to Sebring from day 1 and they kind of caught the eye of a bunch of guys who were to become very close friends over the subsequent years. The bunch of guys (and some gals) is collectively known as Turn 10 and they are to be found, year in and year out, by coincidence at Turn 10 - a really tricky 90 degree right-hander, about half way round. As elsewhere on the track, Turn 10 have a very sophisticated encampment with multiple grills, a huge barbeque smoker, a gasoline-powered Magarita machine and several motorhomes + a truly inordinate amount of beer/liquor and grillin' vittels.
These are public spaces - but are generally accepted as the real-estate for the week, of the various trackside fraternities - of which there are many. Over the years I've got to know all of the movers and shakers at Turn 10 - and that's where I hang-out during the race and the days before and after. A very gifted photographer/corner worker/Turn 10 glitterati called Lee Self www.selfstudio.com puts on an awe inspiring slide/video show on the Friday night before the race, which charts the history of the race and of the Turn 10 phenomenon, as seen through the eyes of race fans, drivers and race team members. Check out the rear panel of any ALMS Pratt & Miller Corvette - the Turn 10 logo appears courtesy of Johnny O'Connell, who spends a good chunk of his day, when not behind the wheel, at Turn 10.
If I were you, and you are happy to sleep in the car (or in a tent), I wouldn't bother with an organized tour. What I would do is rent a decent sized vehicle (Trailblazer, Yukon etc), to tour and sleep in at the track, buy your tix online (sooner rather than later) ensuring infield (Green Park) parking - and just go with the flow. You will have an absolute blast.
I am the US reception (along with 3 guys from Turn 10) for a regular contingent of fellow Brits from Club Arnage - and a group of Dutch guys from Drinking for Holland, who fly into Orlando the weekend before the race each year. I would be happy to make any stateside connections you might need, as I've been doing this for the last 5 years or so. We've pretty much ironed all of the wrinkles out of this trip - so let me know if I can help.
OilyRagMan said:
Cheers matt,
Im really tempted to take an early holiday next year and come over. How quickly do the tickets sell out? and whats the best campsites?
The place to be is Green Park - which is the western infield of the circuit. I gets quite loud (bands, rowdy parties, generators etc)., but is the real soul of the place. Unless your planning on arriving in a land yacht, a ticket for this area costs the princely sum of 25 American. You can buy your race ticket anytime, but those infield parking passes sell-out, so I'd be tempted to buy one before Christmas. You can camp there for free, if you walk in - but you don't want to be stranded bloody miles away from your car, so don't do that.Im really tempted to take an early holiday next year and come over. How quickly do the tickets sell out? and whats the best campsites?
The weather here in March can be a little unpredicatable either hot as hell, bone-dry and dusty or hot as hell pissing down and a quagmire - so don't just show-up with a plastic sheet and a flashlight. It usually rains on the Thurs preceding the race (dunno why, but it does) - we even had a micro-burst tornado in 2007....or was it 08? I can't remember.
Race day is usually fine.
If you're tempted just do it. If you like Le Mans, you'll love it. If you like getting up-close and personal with the cars - you'll really love it.
Don't forget the Petit Le Mans either - my second favorite US endurance race - now less than a month away. Can't wait...
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