Now that I have finally had some time to reflect after the most important win of my career, I thought I would attempt to put the memories gained into words. I often relate the Sebring 12 Hours to the Super Bowl of our sport, as the entire who's who of sports car racing is in attendance. With everyone working flat-out for a full week, it's very easy to be completely burned out both emotionally and physically before the race even starts. You go through testing, qualifying, media work – and then you still have to have plenty left in the tank for when the green flag flies Saturday morning.

A couple of weeks before this year's 12 Hours, I thought I would be on my couch watching the race on ESPN3.com, and merely daydreaming about what it must feel like to win this race. Then the phone rang.

To my delight, it was from a legend in the sport and someone who I have been trying to work with for years, Alex Job. Alex has won about everything there is in sports car racing, including seven Sebrings. Yet he wasn't calling for a history lesson; he called to offer me the opportunity to join Bill Sweedler, one of the nicest guys in the paddock, and Townsend Bell, an IndyCar star making his first foray into sports car racing (LEFT, photo by Margie Gerard). The added goal was that it would be the last race for the iconic No. 23 AJR Porsche. I thought about it for less than three-tenths of a second (which also just happened to be the amount of time that separated the top four cars in the GTC class in qualifying) before I enthusiastically accepted.

I live by one motto: Always stay ready, that way you never have to get ready! So even though I didn't know I would be driving until the last minute, I felt I was in top physical and mental shape to take on this challenge. I arrived at Sebring the Sunday a week before the race and it took less than five minutes before the team made me feel completely at home. I could tell right away that everyone was here for one thing: To win. No pressure, right?!?

Throughout the week, Bill, Townsend and I believed we had the most consistent and solid driver lineup in the field. We were always in the top five in practice, and we all knew we could throw down a fast lap and that meant we were all pushing each other to get the most out of the car. The goals of the week long test was getting our car comfortable and, in Alex Job's words, “Don't hit S**t.” We didn't, but that didn't mean it didn't find us.

I'd get to qualify, and while qualifying doesn't really matter for a 12-hour race, it's still an ego battle between drivers! With a 15-minute session, we basically had five laps. The goal had to be getting all 17 corners perfect because with the competition level in GTC, a single mph off in one corner could cost you spot on the grid.

I'd planned my second lap as the “golden” lap, but the great lap got destroyed when I encountered a slower car in the worst part of the track. That led to a few expletives and a need to pit to change my tire pressures, but my own pressure was ratcheted up as I only had one more lap to make sure we didn't start at the back! This final lap, a 2:07.0, was good for fourth and barely off pole position. With a good car and good starting position, I could sleep comfortably the night before the race.

Sebring is legendary for both its competition and its partying – and the two paths crossed for one of my colleagues! Tom Gubbins, who represents my primary sponsor PR Newswire, found out how big a party it is when a fan with a microphone yelled out to him, “Hey businessman, put down the phone and grab a beer!” What better way to be welcomed?

Race day began with good AJR team meetings and the car lined up on pit road, with us ready to get started. I knew I had a lot of driving ahead as I'd start for a double stint, in warm and humid conditions. A sign of the battle to come became evident before the green flag even flew as almost half of us wiped out going into Turn 17 on the formation lap as the Flying Lizard Porsche and a Ferrari came together in a nasty collision!

Alex's motto of the week was also our motto for the race. I drove the first two hours, 25 minutes of the race and kept all four corners as clean as possible, and turned it over to Townsend in second place and in good shape. We led our class at the five-hour mark, and at that point, the plan then was for me to do a single stint and then get ready to finish off the final two hours of the race. This single turned into a pretty intense double stint and featured a huge battle for the lead with Sean Edwards. We had a 30-minute battle, going two-wide into almost every corner, while also trying to stay out of the way of the faster classes of cars on track. When my stint was finally over, I handed the car over to Townsend and I had a little over an hour of rest before getting back to the pits to prepare for the final double stint.

After a restless hour of waiting, a caution came out with two hours and twenty minutes left in the race and I would get in, in the lead, to bring it home. Townsend and Bill had done great and there was not a scratch on the car. The nerves were as high as ever as I leaped over the wall to run around for the final driver change. It was already completely dark on track except for the many inevitable fan bonfires.

The restart came with second place directly behind me after almost 10 hours of racing! I got a good start and kept the lead, but shortly thereafter, going into turn 17, I heard a loud bang and was completely sideways and spinning! It took me a few seconds to register what actually just happened – I just got hit by another GTC car! Numerous unmentionable words poured out of my mouth as I immediately pulled into pit lane thinking our race was over and we had no chance of finishing, let alone winning.

The car was vibrating badly and the steering seemed off. Yet the crew's diagnosis after looking over the car was that all we had was a bent right-rear rim, and otherwise we were fine! Talk about a little bit of luck falling our way; that always plays a major role in these races. I sped out of pit lane and back into the race still leading. I had a ton of trust in my crew guys so on my out lap, my first time through the Bishops Bend, a flat out double left-hander at over 120mph I kept my foot flat and just hoped the rear end would hold…. and it held superbly!

Throughout the remainder of the race I was able to go flat out through the bend every single lap – just incredible given how hard I had been hit! I was able to maintain a gap of more than a minute over the second-placed car and I drove the entire final hour telling myself, “I can't believe I just got hit!” It was my way of staying focused and to keep pushing to ensure that nobody would catch me.

Finally, after the longest hour of my life, I was able to come around Turn 17 for the final time and shout over the radio, “Alex, you have just won your eighth Sebring 12 Hours!” Leh (Keen) came in second place to make it Alex's fifth 1-2 finish at Sebring.

This was by far the biggest moment in my career, and one I will definitely never forget! I could not have done it without all the awesome work from everyone at AJR and fantastic drives from Bill and Townsend – I really wish them all the best for the rest of the season in their new Lotus program. I also have to say thanks to APR Motorsport for allowing me to go and do this race as well as to my teammate, friend, and mentor Dr. Jim Norman for being there and supporting me in person.

Next week I will be back in the APR Audi R8 at Barber. I can't wait to get behind the wheel again at another fantastic track and see what we can do.

-Dion

Grand-Am Rolex Series driver Dion von Moltke drives the APR Motorsport No. 51 Parathyroid.com / PR Newswire / South African Airways Audi R8. To learn more about Dion, go to www.dionvm.com and on Twitter at @DionvmRacing.