Tower, Paul Miller BMW, Af Corse Ferrari Lead Other Classes
By Holly Cain
Hour 4 Results
Hour 4 IMEC Results
SEBRING, Fla. – Under blue Florida skies and comfortable temperatures, racing legend Roger Penske issued the starting command for Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring to the delight of another huge enthusiastic crowd.
Four hours later, Penske’s Porsche team quite convincingly held the overall and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) lead of an action-filled 74th edition of the traditional IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance race at the venerable Sebring International Raceway.
The defending Sebring-winning No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 came out of the pits in front of its sister car, the No. 6 Porsche 963, during a fourth caution period closing out the first quarter of competition on track and then held position on the restart before moving into a 2.3-second lead at the four-hour mark and the team looking very much in the same form as they finished the 2025 edition of the race.
Tristan Vautier held the point in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) class, the sole car bypassing a pit stop and staying on track during that caution period, giving the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA LMP2 07 the lead over Jonny Edgar and the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07.
Max Hesse claimed the lead in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class on the restart right at the four-hour mark, his No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW GT3 EVO getting around Riccardo Agostini in the No. 033 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO at the green flag.
And in the GTD class, Antonio Fuoco jumped back out toward the convincing margin he had earned in his No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, ahead of Callum Ilott in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).
Patience was not necessarily an early theme for this round-the-clock event with a handful of incidents forcing four early cautions and putting six cars among the 55-car, four-class field into repair-and-catch up mode.
It was all a byproduct of the hard racing on track even in the earliest laps of this crown jewel event around the 3.74-mile, 17-turn course. And the marquee GTP cars were not immune with aggressive moves and bold strategy calls made throughout the 11-car class.
French driver Kevin Estre drove the No. 6 Penske Porsche to its first lead of the day, overtaking polesitter, Britain’s Jack Aitken two hours into the race with a bold move on the inside exiting Turn 17.
“I think we had the pace and it seems that the first four or five laps people were looking to see what the pace was going to be,” Estre said. “The track is quite slow today compared to what we had all week actually. We are like two seconds off, so everyone was trying to see where we’re going.
“Then when we started to hit traffic, that’s where opportunities came for me and I could pass. Everything seems all right but definitely the traffic management is not easy.”
No sooner had Estre and Aitken pitted during caution for a driver change then the pole-winning No. 31 now steered by Earl Bamber was hit by Laurens Vanthoor in the No. 6 while the field was still under the yellow flag. The contact was ruled “inconclusive” with no penalty issued.
This did, however, necessitate another pit stop for Bamber’s team to replace the engine cover and rear body cover of the No. 31 Cadillac dropping it to the rear of the GTP field but still running at pace after the repairs.
“It was interesting,” Bamber said. “The Porsche took us out under the safety car. We were just warming tires and he just smashed the back of us. The guys did a really good job to change everything and we sort of got back through and we are just managing a few issues and we’re just in the middle of the pack there.”
Current IndyCar Series championship leader Kyle Kirkwood noted the intense action thus far as well, as his GTD PRO polesitting No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 managed to run among the top three or four cars in class in the opening hours.
“People are racing hard, it’s a couple hours in and I’m already getting lunged at by some guys and getting hit,” said Kirkwood, a 2024 Sebring class winner with the team.
“Personally, I don’t think that’s the smartest racing but maybe it’s necessary for now because over the years all the cars have gotten so close at the race starts now. I was trying to play it clean out there but other guys weren’t. You’re having to defend more now you typically are. Feels like the end of the race right now.
“Our car’s okay, definitely not as good in the daytime as I think we’ll be at night. But we’re in a good position. We’re not the fastest car on track but we’ve got a good fight in it.”
Heat was also a factor with the track temperature going from just under 80 degrees Fahrenheit on track to start the race north of 110 degrees four hours later.
At the four-hour mark, the first Michelin Endurance Cup points are awarded. Three of the four class leaders in the race – the No. 7 Porsche 963 (GTP), No. 1 PMR BMW M4 GT3 EVO (GTD PRO) and the No. 21 Af Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO (GTD) – also lead their respective Endurance Cup standings for the season. Although Tower’s No. 8 ORECA led LMP2 in the race, AO Racing’s No. 99 ORECA is the top-scoring LMP2 car through five segments this season in class.
Race coverage continues to be streamed on Peacock in the U.S., IMSA.TV, and the official IMSA YouTube channel internationally, with NBCSN television joining in progress at 5 p.m. ET.