AO Tops LMP2; Ferrari Leads Both GTD PRO and GTD with Triarsi, Af Corse
By John Oreovicz
Hour 8 Results
Hour 8 IMEC Results
SEBRING, Fla. – Two-thirds of the way through the 74th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Porsche Penske Motorsport continued its relentless domination of the classic endurance race. Porsche is seeking its second consecutive overall Sebring victory to extend its record to 20.
Julien Andlauer was at the controls of the No. 7 Porsche 963 when it retook the lead of the race and the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class late in the fourth hour, and the car he shares with Laurin Heinrich and Felipe Nasr has not been headed since.
The No. 6 Porsche crewed by Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre, and Matt Campbell trailed in the No. 7 car’s wheel tracks while they weaved through traffic as IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors enjoyed a 3-hour, 12-minute hour stint of green flag racing.
The sixth caution of the event occurred with 4 hours and 23 minutes remaining when the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 that Jack Hawksworth drove to the Motul Pole Award in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class shed its left front wheel while IndyCar points leader Kyle Kirkwood was behind the wheel. The Porsches had built a cushion of more than 30 seconds over the third place running No. 24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 of Robin Frijns, Dries Vanthoor, and Sheldon van der Linde at that point.
The Porsches had also amassed a three-lap energy advantage on their rivals before fuel strategies were reset with a round of pit stops under caution with 4:15 remaining. The No. 24 BMW dropped to fifth place in the exchange, leapfrogged by Earl Bamber, Jack Aitken, and Frederik Vesti in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R that started from pole, and the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Acura ARX-06 with a driving crew of Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly, and IndyCar champion Alex Palou.
The race remained under caution as it passed the eight-hour mark, when IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup points were awarded for the second time.
“Trying to save fuel can for sure be an advantage in the pits, especially when there are yellows,” Andlauer said after his stint in the leading No. 7 car. “But at the same time, we’re trying to push as much as possible. Trying to adapt to the tires was tough, but the car felt really good. I felt great and the car was just perfect.
“Let’s see how we can be in the night,” he added. “I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes in an hour or two.”
Sunset at Sebring International Raceway is set for 7:37 p.m., with about two and a half hours left in the race.
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) saw a battle between three of the top contenders for the class championship. Defending titlists PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron with third driver Jonny Edgar in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 led the majority of the last four hours and headed the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR (drivers George Kurtz, Alex Quinn, and Toby Sowery) and the No. 22 United Autosports USA (Daniel Goldburg, Paul Di Resta, and Rasmus Lindh) at the eight-hour mark.
GTD PRO saw the No. 033 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO shared by James Calado, Riccardo Agostini, and Miguel Molina take the class lead by remaining on track during the caution at the end of the eighth hour. Thomas Preining, Klaus Bachler, and Ricardo Feller have the ‘Grello’ No. 911 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) running second as Porsche attempts to sweep three class victories including overall at Sebring for the first time since 1983.
In GTD, the Motul Pole Award-winning No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo led deep into the sixth hour but endured a long pit stop to check a problem at the left rear and later received a drive-through penalty for having too many crew members over the wall to service the car. At the eight-hour mark, the No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO that Simon Mann, Lilou Wadoux, and Antonio Fuoco have kept near the front all day remained there ahead of the sister Ferrari fielded by Conquest Racing – with Albert Costa, Manny Franco and Lorenzo Patrese in the No. 34 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO second and the No. 912 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) third with Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera and Morris Schuring aboard.
The No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 was the first GTP competitor to experience significant misfortune, as it’s rotated among Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Kevin Magnussen. The BMW lost 15 laps repairing damage to the left rear corner following contact with the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3. Additionally, the No. 23 Aston Martin THOR Team Aston Martin Valkyrie (Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis, Alex Riberas) went to the garage midway through the eighth hour with a suspected engine problem, believed to be an alternator.
At the eight-hour mark, leaders in the Michelin Endurance Cup for both the race and the season-to-date are the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 (GTP), No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 (LMP2), No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO (GTD PRO) and No. 21 Af Corse USA Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO (GTD).
Live coverage of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring continues on Peacock and NBCSN domestically and IMSA.TV or the official IMSA YouTube channel. through the 10:10 p.m. ET finish.