International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) president Scott Atherton confirmed that the race was part of the 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship schedule in August 2016. It was the fourth year in a row that the race was part of the series calendar, and the 65th 12 Hours of Sebring. The race was the second of 2017's twelve scheduled IMSA automobile endurance races, and the second of four North American Endurance Cup (NAEC) events.[3] It was held at the 17-turn, 3.741-mile (6.021 km) Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida on March 18, 2017.
On March 8, 2017, IMSA issued the latest technical bulletin outlining the Balance of Performance for the event.[5] In P, the Cadillac DPi-V.R received a 20 kilogram weight increase and a 0.6 mm smaller air restrictor. In GTLM, the BMW M6 GTLM and Porsche 911 RSR were given fuel capacity increases of 4 and 3 liters, respectively. In GTD, the Acura NSX GT3 received a 20 kilogram weight increase as well an increase in turbo boost, and 1 extra liter of fuel capacity. The Audi R8 LMS received a 5 kilogram weight increase. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 received a 20 kilogram weight increase as well as a 1.5 mm larger air restrictor, and 2 extra liters of fuel capacity. The Porsche 911 GT3 R received a fuel capacity increase of 2 liters while the Lexus RC F GT3 lost 1 liter of fuel capacity.
There were four practice sessions preceding the start of the race on Saturday, three on Thursday and one on Friday. The first two one-hour sessions were on Thursday morning and afternoon. The third held later that evening ran for 90 minutes; the fourth on Friday morning lasted an hour.[13]
On Friday afternoon's 90-minute four-group qualifying, each category had separate 15-minute sessions. Regulations stipulated that teams nominate one qualifying driver, with the fastest laps determining each class' starting order. IMSA then arranged the grid to put Prototypes ahead of the PC, GTLM and GTD cars.[33][13]
The second session of qualifying was for cars in the GTLM class. Ryan Briscoe qualified on pole driving the #67 car for Ford Chip Ganassi Racing, besting Dirk Müller in the sister #66 entry.[34]
The third session of qualifying was for cars in the PC class. Gustavo Yacamán set the fastest time driving the #26 BAR1 Motorsports car.[35]
1 The No. 4 Corvette Racing entry was moved to the back of the GTLM field for violating competition rules regarding the car's ride height.[39]
2 The No. 54 CORE Autosport entry was moved to the back of the GTD field as per Article 43.6 of the Sporting regulations (Change of starting tires).[40][13]
Race
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Start and early hours
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Afternoon
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Sunset to finish
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Post-race
With a total of 70 points, Jordan Taylor and Ricky Taylor's victory allowed them to increase their advantage over Fittipaldi, Barbosa, and Albuquerque in the Prototype Drivers' Championship to 5 points. Cameron, Curran, and Conway advanced from sixth to third. [41] In the PC Drivers' Championship, Rayhall advanced from fourth to second while Boulle dropped from first to fifth.[41] The result kept Hand, Müller, and Bourdais atop the GTLM Drivers' Championship. García, Magnussen, and Rockenfeller advanced from fourth to second.[41] As a result of winning the race, Bleekemolen, Keating, and Farnbacher advanced from third to first in the GTD Drivers' Championship.[41] Cadillac, and Ford continued to top their respective Manufacturers' Championships while Mercedes-AMG took the lead of the GTD Manufacturers' Championship. Wayne Taylor Racing, Performance Tech Motorsports, and Ford Chip Ganassi Racing kept their respective advantages in their of Teams' Championships. Riley Motorsports Team AMG took the lead of the GTD Teams' Championship with ten rounds remaining.[41]
