SEBRING, Fl (March 20, 2011) – NGT Motorsport’s Sean Edwards, Henrique Cisneros and Carlos Kauffmann combined for 12 grueling hours of racing Saturday and when the day was done, the team had earned a third place finish in their first ALMS Presented by Tequila Patrón effort at the 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Cisneros and Kauffmann are entering their second year in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama, and the drivers and team owner Ramez Wahab decided to step up the program in 2011 to contest the highly competitive GTC division in ALMS. When British European Porsche Supercup veteran Edwards joined the team in time for February’s winter test, the pieces were in place.

NGT missed qualifying after Cisneros lost control of the #030 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in turn 17 during Friday morning practice. The team worked all night, replacing just about every part on the car to insure its survival for the entire 12 hour race. The car shook down well in the warmup Saturday morning, with Edwards setting the quickest time in GTC at 2:07.396.

The practice time set the tone for the early hours of the race, as the NGT Porsche stayed right with the leaders, swapping positions between first and fourth as teams came into the pit lane and changed drivers. Edwards started the race, then it was Cisneros’ turn – his first stint in an ALMS event. Both Cisneros and Kauffmann are used to the IMSA GT3 races, which are 45 minutes long, so 90 minutes in a race car on a hot and sticky Florida day made for a very tired, but exhilarated driver at the end of that initial stint.

“It was tough,” said Cisneros. “But it was a lot of fun out there. I passed a couple of cars, which for me was an achievement. I got up to third place and that’s all I could ask for. I have to say, I had a little too much adrenaline when I got in the car, so I knew I would to be calmer the next time. The adrenaline really hit me when I got out – I felt fine in the car, but when you get out, you realize how hard you’re pushing.”

The next stint went to Kauffmann, who had been suffering from a cold and was down on power. But there’s something about a race like this that can help you forget that you might not be feeling all that great.

“I was feeling really, really tired during the GT3 races, but today, with all the LMP cars out there, I just went on adrenaline,” said Kauffmann. “The car was great – I actually thought I was slow! I asked my team how my speed was and they told me I was fastest. I said, how can that be since I felt like I was so slow! At the end of that first stint I had one of the fastest laps, so I’m really happy.”

All three drivers settled into a groove as day became night. Each driver seemed to have a “moment” on the track, with Cisneros surviving a bumpy ride through the dirt in turn 13 and Kauffmann getting put off at 17, with the car somehow coming out relatively unscathed.Then, during a yellow, a wrongful pass around was made, with the resulting four minute penalty taking them out of contention for the title. Cisneros and Kauffmann each took their last stints and handed the wheel to Edwards to bring them home

“Unfortunately, I got bumped at 17 by one of the Corvettes and spun,” said Kauffmann. “I ended up with the nose against the tires, but there wasn’t any damage to the car. Then we had the penalty, which really hurt. But my last stint was quite an experience as the sun was in my eyes as it was going down, but even then I was able to keep the pace. I really enjoy the track and to be on the track with all the Peugeots and the Audis when they come here, it was great.”

Edwards drove the bulk of the night run and when the checkered flag fell, NGT Motorsport had taken third spot in the nine-car GTC field.

Ramez Wahab was proud of the team – not only of the drivers, but of the crew who put the car back together quickly and solidly after Friday’s crash. It’s one thing to fix a car to run for one hour – to run and run well for 12 hours is quite another. And given the number of pit lane violations handed out during the 12 hour event, the fact that NGT ran a clean race without a single penalty on pit lane in their first try is rather remarkable.

“It’s pretty exciting – the whole race was exciting. It’s really awesome to finish third in our first 12 hour race. At least we know we have the speed and I’m sure we can get it done next time“

The race came together pretty much as Edwards had predicted.

“The guys did a great job getting the car back together,” said Edwards. “We knew the car was quick – we were fastest this morning and should have been on the pole, since we had led most of the sessions. But we knew it was a 12 hour race. We worked our way through on the first stint then focused on being there at the end. The race went pretty much as we had planned, except for the penalty – we kept it together, mostly kept it on the black stuff and stayed out of the way of the LMP cars.”

Cisneros tried to sum up his feelings as the race came to an end, proud especially of the way the team bounced back from the penalty.

“What an unbelievable come back. We were down, but we were never out. Sean Edwards was amazing – he was the fastest GTC car out there. The car handled beautifully – we couldn’t ask for a better day.”

NGT Motorsport will again compete in the GTC class at the American Le Mans Series Monterey Presented by Tequila Patrón, September 15–17. To see all the results for NGT Motorsport or for more information on the team, visit www.ngtmotorsport.com.