SEBRING, Fla. — Seeing Oscar Tunjo and Valentino Catalano on the top step of the podium usually isn’t a surprise, but it wasn’t the finish anyone anticipated as the final minutes wound down in the two-hour IMSA Airbnb Endurance Challenge at Sebring International Raceway on Sunday.
The No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport USA entry inherited the win after the leading No. 95 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P325 suffered a fuel pump failure with just minutes remaining.
“Happy to get the victory and to do it with Valentino,” polesitter Tunjo said. “He did a mega stint. He held off the other cars because they were also pretty fast. So, yeah, happy and proud of the effort of the team today.”
“Mid-race, I was able to save enough fuel so I could start to push,” said Catalano, the 2025 VP Racing SportsCar Challenge LMP3 champion. “And then the lap time started to get quicker; the car felt really good. Then at the end, it played off that we saved a lot of fuel, so we did a great job.
“First time ever (at Sebring),” Catalano continued. “I had in free practice, I think 10 laps. So the race was basically the first time I really experienced the track and it’s so difficult. It’s so tricky. In Europe, we don’t have tracks like these, but I enjoy it, because when you start to get the rhythm and know where the bumps are, then it gets really fun. Really fast track, a lot of cool corners.”
Tunjo had a strong start, but second-fastest qualifier Lincoln Day never let him get too far ahead. In an effort to reel him in, Day was posting impressive laps. But shortly after setting the then-fastest lap of the race approximately 30 minutes in, Day pushed too hard and spun in Turn 3, allowing Tunjo to extend his lead to nine seconds.
Tunjo led every lap of his stint of just over an hour on the 3.74-mile, 17-turn road course before the No. 1 Gebhardt Motorsport USA Inc. Duqueine D08 team left a tire unattended during its pit stop, resulting in a drive-through penalty.
With Catalano taking over piloting duties of the No. 1 LMP3 car, the team quickly served the penalty, which proved timely as the first and only full-course yellow of the race came out during the trip down pit lane.
“We were a bit lucky on that side that the drive through was before the caution,” Tunjo said. “It was a small mistake in the pit stop with the guys, but the crew just did a mega job. We had a great car. Super happy to start the season, and the endurance cup also, in a great way.”
With Day completing the team’s driver change a little earlier, the caution put co-driver Wyatt Brichacek at the front of the field with the lapped car of Tom Long – who had taken over driving duties of the No. 18 Forbush Performance Ligier P320 – between him and Catalano.
Brichacek made the most of the situation, opening a gap of more than seven seconds to Catalano, but Catalano continued to push and was slowly closing the gap when the No. 95 unexpectedly slowed with four minutes (two laps) remaining in the race. It was later determined that a fuel pump failure dropped the team to a sixth-place finish.
“I was pushing every lap like it was a qualifying lap and I saw that I might catch (the 95) a little bit, but I was just doing my laps and then suddenly (Brichacek) was getting slow, and I was like, ‘Oh, what is happening? Is the race already over?’” Catalano said with a laugh.
“I was still pushing because I still had some guys behind me and I just wanted to finish the race in P1 and bring it home, and then it happened. My engineer was shouting on the radio, and me as well, I was so happy.”
It was Patrick Kujala in the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320 who applied pressure on Catalano. Kujala and co-driver Brian Thienes finished second overall and first in Bronze Cup after a strong race.
Garret Grist and Ari Balogh completed the overall podium in the No. 30 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS P325.
