IndyCar stars ready for 12 Hours of Sebring

One week before IndyCar opens its 2013 season at St. Petersburg, a handful of drivers who competed in the 2012 season are racing in Sebring for the 12-hour race that opens up the American Le Mans Series season.

Ryan Briscoe scored the pole in the P2 class for Level 5 Motorsports. The 2012 Team Penske driver will share an HPD ARX-03b with Marino Franchitti, Dario’s younger brother, and Level 5 team principal Scott Tucker.

Meanwhile, defending IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay and 2012 rookie-of-the-year Simon Pagenaud share the second Level 5 HPD with Tucker, line up second in class.

Other drivers with recent IndyCar ties racing at Sebring this Saturday include NBC Sports IndyCar analyst Townsend Bell, Bruno Junqueira, an open-wheel veteran since 2001 and former Indianapolis 500 polesitter, and David Ostella and Rusty Mitchell who have raced in Indy Lights.

Bell starts a GT class Ferrari while Junqueira, Ostella and Mitchell compete in the one-make PC class.

Dario Franchitti and Graham Rahal have also made the trip to Sebring. Bobby Rahal’s ALMS team premieres its new BMW Z4 today with a two-car effort. They will start eighth and ninth in the GT class.

The 12-hour race starts at 10:45 a.m. EST and is streamed on the ALMS website, alms.com.