Editing 12 Hours of Sebring (section)

==History==
The track opened in [[1950 in motorsport|1950]] on an airfield and is a [[road racing]] course styled after those used in [[Europe]]an [[Grand Prix motor racing]]. The first race was a six-hour race on New Year's Eve 1950. The winning car is currently on display at the Edge Motor Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The next race was held 14 months later as the first 12 Hours of Sebring.<ref name=mccluggage>{{cite journal|last=McCluggage|first=Denise|title=Racing Through History|journal=[[Autoweek]]|date=February 20, 2012|volume=62|issue=4|pages=66–67|author-link=Denise McCluggage}}</ref> The race is famous for its "once around the clock" action, starting during the day and finishing at night.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1965/03/22/607541/once-around-the-clock-swiftly-rolling|title=ONCE AROUND THE CLOCK SWIFTLY ROLLING}}</ref> From 1953 to 1972 the 12 Hour was a round of the FIA's premier sports car series which was contested under various names including the [[World Sportscar Championship]] and the International Championship for Makes. In the 1950s, in addition to Le Mans, Sebring was on the calendar at the same time now-legendary races such as the [[Mille Miglia]], [[Targa Florio]], [[Carrera Panamericana]] and the [[RAC Tourist Trophy]] were on the World Sportscar Championship calendar, such was the prestige of the Sebring race. It was also the most important American race for the European teams and drivers and was the center of European racing activity in the United States; it was the only time during the 1950s that the big European manufacturer teams and drivers came to the United States in force, bringing with them considerable international media attention—the United States Formula One Grand Prix was not run until 1959. Top drivers who competed on the European circuit in the 1950s such as [[Juan Manuel Fangio]], [[Alberto Ascari]], [[Nino Farina]], [[Stirling Moss]] and [[Mike Hawthorn]] all raced at Sebring, and the 1957 Sebring 12 Hours was the only American race the 5-time world champion Fangio ever won.

In its early years, the Sebring circuit combined former airport runways with narrow two-lane service roads.<ref name=racingcircuits>{{citation|url=https://www.racingcircuits.info/north-america/usa/sebring/#.XKpfWJhKiUk|title=Sebring|access-date=2019-04-07|archive-date=2019-03-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190309065936/http://www.racingcircuits.info/north-america/usa/sebring#.XKpfWJhKiUk|url-status=dead}}</ref> The 1966 event was a turning point in Sebring history, as the facilities and the safety of the circuit were heavily criticized. Five people were killed during the race, more than in the race's prior 15-year history combined.<ref name=racingcircuits /> [[Bob McLean (racing driver)|Bob McLean]] crashed while approaching the [[hairpin turn|hairpin]]; his car rolled several times, struck a utility pole and then exploded, landing in a ditch and killing McLean.<ref name=racingcircuits /> In another incident [[Mario Andretti]] in his [[Ferrari 365 P2]] tangled with Don Wester's [[Porsche 906]] on the Warehouse Straight near the Webster Turns, killing four spectators and then crashing into a warehouse next to the track. Subsequent to these events, the facilities were upgraded and the circuit layout was changed, including eliminating the Webster Turns and creating the Green Park Chicane further down the track to move the straight further away from the airport warehouses.<ref name=racingcircuits /> The circuit was made safer, and there have only been 4 fatalities since then—a remarkable record for a circuit of Sebring's age.

The race is known as preparation for the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]],<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.imsa.com/press-releases/032019/le-mans-usa-major-endurance-test-porsche-sebring|title=LE MANS USA. MAJOR ENDURANCE TEST FOR PORSCHE AT SEBRING.|access-date=2019-04-07|archive-date=2019-04-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407205633/https://www.imsa.com/press-releases/032019/le-mans-usa-major-endurance-test-porsche-sebring|url-status=dead}}</ref> as the track's technical layout and extremely bumpy surface, combined with south-central Florida's perennial hot weather, is a major test of a car's reliability. Teams planning to compete at Le Mans regard Sebring as an ideal preparation run for the prestigious French race.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/videos/a32997/nobody-tells-you-how-punishing-the-12-hours-of-sebring-really-is/|title=Nobody Tells You How Punishing the 12 Hours of Sebring Really Is}}</ref>

In recent years, six overall victories have been achieved by the [[Audi R8 (LMP)|Audi R8]], one fewer than the record seven wins of the [[Porsche 935]].<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.sportscardigest.com/porsche-celebrates-12-hours-of-sebring-winners/|title=Porsche Celebrates 12 Hours of Sebring Winners|date=March 19, 2009 }}</ref> [[Tom Kristensen (racing driver)|Tom Kristensen]] has won the race more times than anyone else, with six victories—in [[1999 12 Hours of Sebring|1999]]&ndash;[[2000 12 Hours of Sebring|2000]], [[2005 12 Hours of Sebring|2005]]&ndash;[[2006 12 Hours of Sebring|2006]], [[2009 12 Hours of Sebring|2009]] and in [[2012 12 Hours of Sebring|2012]].<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.lemans.org/en/news/sebring-12-hours-statistics/6415|title=Sebring 12 hours statistics}}</ref>

2020 saw the race rescheduled to mid-November due to delays caused by the [[COVID-19 pandemic|pandemic]].  It was the only season where Sebring was run twice in a season.  In July, as part of restarting the season, a three-hour race was held in July with spectators.  IMSA allowed spectators for this race.
 
Races up until 1969 began with the traditional [[24 Hours of Le Mans#Le Mans start|Le Mans start]] procedure, which was abolished at the end of the 1969 season following [[Jacky Ickx]] protesting at Le Mans 1969; 1970 was the first 12 Hours of Sebring started with a rolling start.