Rebel Rock Racing team came to Sebring as a potential podium contender but at the end the two Rebel Rock Racing GS Porsches finished 11th and 12th. The third Rebel Rock Racing car entered in the ST class finished 12th. In a tough race where 14 cars failed to finish, Rebel Rock Racing’s 3 Porsches all made it to the checkered flag running perfectly.
Sebring International Raceway is a very difficult track for the drivers, the crew and the engineers to find the perfect set-up in the cars. Also, it looks like this year, according to the results from Daytona and Sebring, it is hard for the GS teams using Porsche race cars to run at the front of the pack at the moment. The No. 7 Rebel Rock Racing Porsche of Al Carter and Brett Sandberg was the highest finishing Porsche at Daytona and this time the No. 08 Rebel Rock Racing/MBRP Porsche co-driven by Kyle Marcelli and Martin Barkey finished 11th within 5 seconds of last year’s championship winner who finished 10th.
Al Carter qualified the No. 7 Rebel Rock Racing/B+ Foundation/Eagle Technology Systems/Sideskinz/Stinkerz Porsche 997in 16th place for the race on Thursday. Al took a good start and ran in the top ten at the end of his stint before handing the car to teammate Brett Sandberg who also had a good run and crossed the finish line right behind the Rebel Rock Racing sister car in 12th.
Kyle Marcelli and Martin Barkey co-driving the No. 08 MBRP Inc. Performance Exhaust Porsche had much better luck than at Daytona. In practice Marcelli, who like Al Carter is also running in the TUDOR Championship, was fast right out of the box and finished 5th in the first session. Martin Barkey qualified 21st for the race. Barkey took a nice start and handed the No. 08 car to Marcelli without a scratch. Kyle had a competitive stint and finished ahead of Sandberg in 11th. The two Rebel Rock Racing GS Porsches had different race strategies and both cars scored valuable driver and team points.
The No. 88 Rebel Rock Racing Porsche entered in the ST class had a unique 3-driver line up at Sebring. Jim Jonsin who is also the founder and Rebel Rock racing team owner was fast in practice showing the progress made by the team between Daytona and Sebring. The No. 88 Ingersoll Rand / Brewster Porsche /Joe Gibbs Driven/ Oakley /Western Star/Alliance Truck Parts Rebel Racing Porsche Cayman was co-driven by Jim Jonsin, Johnny Kanavas and Corey Lewis. Jonsin had a very good qualifying and put the No. 88 car 9th on the starting grid. Using three drivers meant an additional pitstop over all other ST cars. The three drivers did a good job and finished in the top half of the ST field in12thplace thanks to a careful work in the pits.
According to Technical Director Ron Mathis, the Rebel Rock Racing’s seasoned technical staff regards Sebring as a good result. The Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge is a tough arena and you can’t buy your way to success. The whole Rebel Rock Racing team is doing the work necessary to win and it’s inevitable we’ll get to the top.
The two-hour Sebring broadcast will air tomorrow, March 19 on FOX Sports 1 at 1 p.m. ET and will re-air March 23 on FOX Sports 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Jim Jonsin is looking forward to the next round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca where Rebel Rock Racing will continue its expansion and will enter a total of four Porsche, two in the GS and two in the ST class. The No. 87 Porsche Cayman will be driven by a new young driver with extensive experience, Miles Maroney. He will co-drive with Johnny Canavas.
Miles Maroney started racing cars at a very young age and recently competed in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup USA and the ALMS driving a Prototype Challenge. Maroney is backed by a very unique sponsor, The Coalition Group (click to watch their presentation video) .
The No. 88 Rebel Rock Racing Cayman ST will be co-driven by Jim Jonsin and a new Rebel Rock Racing driver at Laguna Seca, Corey Lewis and so for the rest of the 2014 season. Jonsin’s goal is to run at the front of the pack in 2014 and he is looking to stay in the hunt for the championship in ST. Corey Lewis started racing go karts at age 13 then competed in a variety of series including the Skip Barber Series, the Star Mazda Championship and more recently the Continental Tire Series.
The next event is the Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, California on May 1-2.