Tatiana Calderón will resume her IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup season this weekend as she takes on the legendary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
The talented Colombian driver will be back at the wheel of the No. 66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang GT3 for the once-around-the-clock Florida endurance classic, sharing the car with teammates Till Bechtolsheimer and Joey Hand.
It follows Tatiana’s first outing in the team’s brand-new Mustang in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, where the No. 66 car displayed strong potential in the crowded GT Daytona (GTD) class field, running solidly with the leading group until encountering clutch issues that dropped the car back and ultimately forced its retirement.
Despite that setback, the Gradient team has been able to draw encouragement from its first race with the Mustang, and heads to Sebring, a track where the team has performed well in the past.
Tatiana likewise has fond memories of the charismatic airfield circuit, which is famous for its ferocious bumps, having won there in the 2014 Florida Winter Series and returning after a long absence for last year’s Twelve Hours of Sebring with Gradient’s Acura NSX GT3 Evo22.
With all three drivers spending a valuable preparation day together using the Ford’s state-of-the-art simulator in Charlotte, North Carolina, the team can head to Sebring feeling well-prepared as Tatiana takes on one of the most demanding driving challenges on the current calendar.
Tatiana Calderón: “We left Daytona with both good and bad feelings at the same time, but it was encouraging to see the pace considering we had never done a proper test with the car. We have been investigating the issue we had with the clutch, Ford has been investigating as well and I’m sure we will bounce back stronger in Sebring. It’s a very challenging track, very bumpy and completely different to Daytona. It will be another long race, and from my experience last year I really enjoyed it, we were quick, so I think the team knows how to make a quick car there. I look forward to teaming up with Joey and Till and I hope we can get the kind of result that we deserve. I also want to thank my sponsors Concora, Wandr Studio, Rimas Sport and AVL RaceTech for their support. We will keep pushing!”
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