The MOMO NGT Motorsport Porsche co-driven by Sean Edwards, Henrique Cisneros and Carlos Kauffmann led the GTC class of the 60th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring for a very extensive period and it was looking like the MOMO Porsche was the car to beat at the end. Unfortunately the gods of racing were not with the #30 NGT Motorsport team and its drivers tonight and at 7:00 PM, three and a half hours before the end of the race, the MOMO car was involved in an accident that ended its chance of winning this historic event.
Henrique Cisneros was driving the car at the time in second place in the GTC class and was well on his way to another great stint until he approached turn 13. Suddenly the throttle cable got stuck and Henrique went straight into the tire wall.
It was a very violent impact but luckily Henrique Cisneros was unhurt and came out of the car on his own. The #30 MOMO NGT Motorsport Porsche car was brought back to the garage on the flat bed and the crew started to work on the very badly broken car. Ten minutes after starting the repair, the decision was made to retire the car since the damage was too extensive to return to the race.
Henrique Cisneros came back to the team transporter and explained to his crew the real cause of the accident. He was of course very disappointed since he knew he had a potential winning car. He also explained that there was nothing he could have done to avoid the accident.
Henrique Cisneros, Carlos Kauffmann and Sean Edwards raced together here at Sebring last year and finished third in the GTC class. This year they all wanted to win this 60th anniversary race and their MOMO NGT Motorsport team led by Ramez Wahab really prepared a great car for this unique endurance event. The crew was also disappointed especially after leading the race for so long.
Carlos Kauffmann was ready for his last stint of the day when the accident happened. Kaufmann, like Cisneros, did a great job today and Carlos was also disappointed but knew that his teammate could not avoid that crash.
Sean Edwards did a fabulous job today proving once again that he is one of the top drivers of his generation. After scoring the GTC pole position yesterday, the driver from England had a very good first stint and led the race multiple times. Each time he was in the car he was showing his determination and ambition to win that race. Edwards was scheduled to drive the last stint of the day and he, like his two teammates, wanted to spray the Champagne at the end of the day on top of the podium like the MOMO car did 14 years ago at Sebring.
The #30 MOMO NGT Porsche finished 9th in the GTC class today. The other NGT Motorsport Porsche had a shot at a GTC podium finish tonight but an accident also ended its chance. The #031 NGT Porsche finished 8th.