Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing Teams Finish First and Third In 12 Hours of Sebring

The No. 33 AMG-Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 was driven to victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring on Saturday, 60 years after the three pointed star last competed in and won their class America's oldest sports car endurance race.  The victory came in just the second race of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, where Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing is competing for the first time.

Co-drivers Ben Keating, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Mario Farnbacher combined to lead a class-high 208 of the 325 laps they completed in the No. 33 AMG-Team Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 on their way to a convincing GT Daytona (GTD) class victory.

Bleekemolen took the lead for good 40 minutes from the end of the race led the field by nearly 10 seconds as the 12-hour time limit expired at 10:40 pm EDT.

“The first and third place Mercedes-AMG GT3 finish in the GTD class ironically replicates the finishing order of the 1957 12 Hours of Sebring ...”

Third-place in the GTD class went to the pole-winning No. 75 SunEnergy1 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, co-driven by Kenny Habul, Tristan Vautier and Boris Said. The No. 75 team's success put two Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing entries on the victory lane podium.

The first and third place Mercedes-AMG GT3 finish in the GTD class ironically replicates the finishing order of the 1957 12 Hours of Sebring, where a pair privateer Mercedes-Benz 300SL entries placed first and third in the GT 3500 class.