Motorsport Week picked out five key storylines from a thrilling 73rd edition of the IMSA SportsCar Championship’s 12 Hours of Sebring.

The second round of the 2025 IMSA schedule delivered with action, drama and heartbreak across the 12 hours.

As one of motorsport’s most gruelling endurance races, the 12 Hours of Sebring delivered once again for a great racing spectacle.

Out of the 56 entries which started the race at 09:00 local time, just 10 retired throughout with half of the DNFs attributed to the GTD category.

From the hectic opening phase of the race, to the brilliant racing offered in the middle of four hours of green flag running, finalised by an intense sprint to the finish – there were numerous winning and losing names from the 12 Hours of Sebring.

This piece selected and explored some of the key storylines from the race held on 15 March in hot and humid ambient conditions.

Read our end-of-race reports:

• Porsche claim 1-2 as #7 car takes victory at Sebring
• ‘Rexy’ charges to GTD Pro 12H Sebring victory after closing sprint

One penalty is all it takes in LMP2

It was no surprise to see the LMP2 win decided within the final hour, yet it was not entirely due to the sprint to the end.

At the beginning of the race, there was early contact between the #18 Era Motorsport Oreca 07 and the #88 AF Corse Oreca 07 marking an otherwise untidy start in the LMP2 category.

TDS Racing’s #11 Oreca were a clear benchmark throughout the race as Steven Thomas, Hunter McElrea and Mikkel Jensen unlocked stronger pace than any of the other Oreca 07s.

The Peugeot Hypercar driver set the #11’s fastest lap time, a 1:50.860, whereas the other LMP2s could manage the 1:51 bracket at best.

Crowdstrike Racing and their #04 Oreca, along with the #43 Inter Europol Competition team, were TDS Racing’s key rivals in the pursuit of victory.

In the final hour, Malthe Jakobsen – also a WEC Peugeot Hypercar driver – led the final sprint to the end. The #04 Oreca team had undeniably strong, consistent form against TDS Racing’s pace thus allowing them to lead the category for the majority of the race.

Margins are fine in motorsport and IMSA’s LMP2 category was no exception. Jakobsen retained the lead during the final caution period, an exceptional circumstance along with the pit entry being closed to Jakobsen but not to his rivals directly behind him.

The #43 driver Tom Dillmann hung on his tail during the final sprint and the pair minded their way through GT traffic with great difficulty.

Unfortunately, Jakobsen lightly rear-ended Matt Bell’s #13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R thus earning the team’s only penalty – a drive-through – with 10 minutes remaining.

Reigning GTD Pro and GTD champions reaffirm status

Both the GTD Pro and GTD categories saw the series’ outgoing champions take victory having reaffirmed their undeniable form and reigning status.

In GTD Pro, the #77 AO Racing ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3.R have their full-season duo of Laurin Heinrich (2024 GTD Pro drivers’ champion) and Klaus Bachler with Alessio Picariello assisting in the Endurance Cup races.

AO Racing were unable to take pole position for Sebring, but were only 0.172 seconds away thanks to Heinrich’s 1:59.397 taken on his penultimate flying lap.

More significantly, AO Racing reminded others that they are the benchmark in the category with an iron fist.

Mistake-free driving in the early phases of the Sebring 12 Hours rewards the teams by keeping them on the lead lap for the night-time later on.

Initially, the GTD Pro lead fights were between the #65 Ford Multimatic Mustang GT3 and the #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

AO Racing silently but surely kept themselves in the background of the fight before turning up the heat in the final hours, setting class-leading pace towards a well-earned maiden Endurance Cup race victory.

GTD’s Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 showcased similar form. Russell Ward and Indy Dontje carried consistent race pace during the majority of the race.

Dontje acclimatised the most driving time out of the trio at over 4 hours in total, but Philip Ellis also delivered during the most crucial half of the Sebring 12 Hours.

It came down to Ellis wrestling his way past Jack Hawksworth’s #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 after trying twice without success.

The pair made nose-to-tail contact just after they overtook the lapped #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Alexander Sims.

Porsche Penske perfection, WTR not quite so

Porsche now have as many wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring as they do at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – 19.

The Weissach manufacturer had both cars together on strong long-run pace from free practice and so their #7 Porsche Penske 963 GTP led for 166 laps, almost half of the 353 total lap count at the checkered flag.

Nick Tandy showed his eager racing enthusiasm when he notably fought back and forth with Frederick Vesti’s #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R.

The British driver set fast pace but it was the GTD traffic management which enabled him to secure the place without Vesti returning the favour.

Wayne Taylor Racing encountered one of their most difficult races as the #31 Whelen Cadillac rose as the sole Cadillac which best contended for the 12 Hours of Sebring win.

The first controversial incident seemingly had #40 Cadillac driver Ricky Taylor ‘instigate’ contact with Charles Scardina’s #021 Ferrari 296 GT3 – ‘sending’ him head-on into the barrier at T13.

Speculation raised whether there was actual contact between Taylor and Scardina’s Triarsi Competitzione Ferrari after Wayne Taylor himself on the broadcast claimed race control admitted an error of judgement for penalising the #10 for incident responsibility.

Meanwhile Brendon Hartley found himself in the wall at T17, the final corner, though not causing fatal damage to his #40 Cadillac.

From poor clarification over the Taylor-Scardina scenario, to mistiming the pit entry closed lights to the Porsche Penskes and Meyer Shank Acuras during a caution period and not to those behind them – and allowing Romain Grosjean’s #63 Lamborghini SC63 GTP to be an active hazard on a restart – race control were under pressure for these avoidable errors.

AF Corse suffers double trouble

AF Corse were the one team which arguably suffered the most after having to retire their #88 Oreca 07 LMP2 and the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 (GTD).

The LMP2 car was involved in the first race incident with the #18 Era Motorsport Oreca but it was a later moment which ended the run for the #88 Oreca.

Matias Perez Companc seemingly ran out of room as he went through Sunset Bend, the circuit’s bumpiest corner.

He crashed into a tyre wall on the exit of T17 with under three hours remaining thus marked a difficult end for the #88 AF Corse team – yet the GTD car endured a more heartbreaking retirement.

The #21 Ferrari started on pole position by Alessandrio Pier Guidi and quickly built up a lead from lights out.

Pier Guidi extended his lead to nine seconds before a brake failure caused the Italian to massively overshoot and spin on the grass at Turn 10, crucially avoiding external bodywork damage to his Ferrari.

The team changed the front-left brake unit and through good pace, no mistakes and utilising the total four caution periods by that point, they not only returned to the GTD class lead lap but to the GTD lead.

A miraculous redemption drive by AF Corse kept them in the fight as their lead reached as high as 16 seconds over second-placed Seth Lucas’ #32 Korthoff Mercedes-AMG GT3 before they undramatically yet abruptly stopped at Turn 5 – whilst leading at the time – after the engine cut out indefinitely.

Four hours later in the #21 Ferrari, Lilou Wadoux had an issue on her out-lap having just taken over from Pier Guidi, sadly resulting in smoke pouring from the rear.

Top-10 finish for the Valkyrie’s IMSA debut

Alex Riberas, Ross Gunn and Romain de Angelis co-drove the #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie during its IMSA debut at Sebring.

The smooth and flat Lusail International Circuit in Qatar could not have been a greater contrast to demanding bumps and the decades-old concrete of the Sebring International Raceway.

Despite this difference, they were both lengthy endurance races at 10 and 12 hours in duration.

With such a new car, the focus was on learning more about the Valkyrie and gaining further data in what was its second race outing.

Despite the fact the Valkyrie is not competitive (yet), the #23 Aston Martin gained 1,312.128 miles of race running towards a highly impressive ninth place in the GTP category.

The FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar category is more competitive with two more manufacturers in their top category compared to IMSA’s six in GTP, who opt for more frequent ‘caution’ periods in comparison.

We must not, however, shed doubt on the Valkryie’s progression after just two weeks from its WEC debut albeit with a different set of staff – mechanics, engineers etc. – running the US-based operation.

Many of their most representative lap-times resided in the 1:52-1:53 bracket whereas the more competitive GTP cars were in the 1:51-1:52 range.

Heart of Racing outperformed Lamborghini who retired again albeit lasted longer than their 90-minutes at Daytona.

Step-by-step, the progression in the Valkyrie is positive and their hopes to fight in the field will become more apparent as we work towards the Valkyrie’s important Le Mans debut on 14-15 June.

READ MORE: Nick Tandy on securing ‘Endurance Triple Crown’ after ‘Grand Slam’

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Laurin Heinrich recalled the purpose of fuel-saving with BMW’s Max Hesse in their fight for the GTD Pro class win at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

The reigning GTD Pro drivers’ champion recounted his battle with Paul Miller Racing’s #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO driver Max Hesse in the final stages of the second 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship round.

Both of the 23-year-old German drivers utilised a fuel-saving driving approach in order to reach the checkered flag amidst their lead fight.

“Yeah, to be honest I had a bit of a different approach,” he said in the post-race press conference.

“… Both of us knew it would be a fuel race. Both of us were fuel-saving.

“I like fuel saving. I think it suits my driving style.

“… My approach was to not wait too long, maybe already take the first opportunity I get.

“Maybe catch him a bit off-guard or by surprise.

“Also, I mean, I made the experience last year in the last hour of the race, many things can go wrong by taking too much risk or others just defending or taking too hard.

“I didn’t want to spend too much time fighting because in the end it’s also a high risk.

“Yeah, I think it worked quite well to just take the first opportunity I got [to overtake]. I have to give it to him. I mean, he played safe.

“We are both young Germans.

“We are actually both part of the motorsports in Germany, so we are both supported by the ADAC in Germany.

“It was cool to actually fight with him for the first time on the track between each other.

“I hope we going to have some more fights in our career against each other.

Paul Miller Racing’s gamble falls short

Paul Miller Racing gambled with underfueling and running a lesser stint count when the 12 Hours of Sebring entered the final racing hour, with Heinrich having made his key move for the lead on Hesse 10 minutes prior.

This was in anticipation of a caution period where they could pit under such circumstances in addition to the fact they would retain track position.

With a lack of time to count on a definite caution, they pitted the #48 BMW for splash-and-dash with 50-minutes remaining – just five minutes before the race’s eighth and final caution deployed.

It was for Scott Andrews’ #80 Lone Star Mercedes-AMG GT3 who suffered a left-rear puncture, thus part of his tyre’s debris displaced on the back-straight.

Heinrich had both the #48 and #1 BMWs behind him in the final sprint to the finish.

With 23-minutes remaining, he set the fastest lap of the race in the GTD Pro category before Hesse, setting near-identical lap times, did the same.

Heinrich returned the favour with the Sebring GTD Pro lap record, 2:00.451, and increased the gap to 4.371 seconds at the finishing line.

READ MORE: ‘Rexy’ charges to GTD Pro 12H Sebring victory after closing sprint

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Nick Tandy became the 10th driver to have won the ‘Triple Crown of Endurance’ at the 12 Hours of Sebring following his historic ‘Grand Slam’.

“It’s incredible because I never realised how big a thing it would be winning all the four 24 Hours,” he said in the post-race press conference.

“It went global. People talking about it globally. 

The Triple Crown is probably one of the more historic kind of – what do we call them – accomplishments, groups. 

“… You look at the names that you’re linked with. That is just an unbelievable thing.

“Again, on top of the unbelievable stuff that happens when you win a single race like Daytona, let alone the other bits and pieces. 

“I remember when I won Sebring in 2018 the first time, I said, ‘This completed my set.’

“I was racing Le Mans-spec cars. There were four major races.

“There were four that raced Le Mans spec cars, the three IMSA endurances and Le Mans. 

“I think somebody said it’s the sixth Tuplet, which is again something that nobody’s ever done.

“Hopefully it’s even harder for somebody to match that rather than just the four 24 Hours.”

The triple crown of endurance racing concerns three of the most prestigious races: The 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

At the IMSA season-opener on 25-26 January, Tandy became the first driver to win the world’s four major 24-hour races.

Tandy recently finalised the other two elements of the endurance triple crown, almost 10 years after winning Le Mans for Porsche.

He previously won Sebring thrice in the GTLM category until taking his overall win with #7 Porsche Penske 963 GTP team-mates Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor.

READ MORE: Road America switches to Endurance Cup on 2026 IMSA calendar

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Inter Europol Competition driver Tom Dillmann recalled his team’s inconceivable LMP2 victory at the end of the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring.

Dillmann took on the final 31-minute sprint to the finish at the wheel of the team’s #43 Oreca 07 LMP2.

The Frenchman held second place behind young star and Peugeot Hypercar driver Malthe Jakobsen and his #04 Crowdstrike Racing Oreca.

Dillmann said in the post-race press conference: “The team prior to the yellow was catching very quickly the cross strikes, so I knew we had good pace.

“But to be fast enough to overtake is another story with this kind of high downforce car. 

“I knew we had a shot, but in IMSA you can really go from hero-to-zero in an instant in those last few minutes.

“I kept pressuring him because I know that if you have the pressure behind, you have to risk a lot in traffic.”

The LMP2 lead fight intensified as the checkered flag grew nearer and nearer with the pair making their way through GT traffic.

Jakobsen mistakenly tapped the rear of Matt Bell’s #13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R into Sunset Bend, thus earning the race leader a drive-through penalty.

This critical error by the #04 Oreca driver allowed Dillmann to take up victory in the final 10 minutes whilst Jakobsen fell down to sixth after serving his penalty.

Dillmann relates to Jakobsen’s error

“[It] happened to me a month ago,” he added.

“I was on the other side; I was leading in Asian Le Mans, and I had a mistake in traffic. I know what can happen.

“It happened and I could take the lead, and from then on I think I had enough pace to control the race. 

“You still need to go through GT traffic, which is not easy.

“They are all packed, they are all racing for position.

“They are not letting you by easy.

“Once I was through the GT traffic, I knew it was under control and brought it home.”

READ MORE: Porsche claim 1-2 as #7 car takes victory at Sebring

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Laurin Heinrich and AO Racing’s ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3.R charged to GTD Pro class victory at the 73rd running of the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring.

‘Rexy’ the fan-favourite T-Rex and the #77 Porsche driver crew conquered the GTD Pro category at a hot and humid Sebring International Raceway in a spectacle.

Heinrich earned their way to victory following an intense sprint at the end, much assisted by the work of his co-drivers Klaus Bachler and Alessio Picariello.

The race start was hectic and gripping in both GTD Pro and GTD but one which began without much drama across the two fields.

Pole-sitter Albert Costa in the #81 Dragonspeed Ferrari 296 GT3 retained his lead on Heinrich in the #77 AO Racing ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3.R who swerved slightly to defend his second position.

The primary change was Neil Verhagen in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO who fell from P2 to P6 on the race start.

GTD pole-sitter and Ferrari works driver Alessandrio Pier Guidi established an early lead, unsurprisingly, in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 before suffering a brake failure into Turn 10.

He escaped further damage apart from the front-left brake unit which was replaced following an imminent pit stop.

A short yellow caution period for contact between Tobias Lutke (#18 Era Motorsport Oreca 07 LMP2) and Luis Perez Companc (#88 AF Corse Oreca 07 LMP2) passed and the lead battle resumed, although Verhagen climbed back into the fight.

The second caution period came from controversial circumstances after Ricky Taylor (#40 WTR Cadillac V-Series.R) seemingly tapped Charles Scardina’s #023 Triarsi Competizione into the wall at Turn 13.

Proceedings continued with 10-hours and 45-minutes remaining and it was the #77 Porsche of Picariello in the lead on Verhagen’s #1 BMW.

Verhagen takes GTD Pro lead from ‘Rexy’

Verhagen demonstrated eager spirit to take the lead as the pair went door-to-door in their gripping fight as ‘Rexy’ kept the top spot.

It was until the next restart, after the third caution, when Verhagen made a reactive move to the lead on the restart.

As the race entered its third racing hour, Alexander Sims had to pit his #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R for an unscheduled pit stop to change failing Tyre Pressure Management System sensors.

The #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Jose Maria Lopez endured contact with Jesse Krohn’s #48 Paul Miller BMW which led to an extensive front-right suspension repair job for the Lexus, even if the contact was brief.

Miraculously, or rather through the lack of further dramas and utilising cautions, the #21 Ferrari climbed its way back into the GTD class lead with Pier Guidi turning swift pace at the wheel.

After four hours of running, the top-runners in the GTD Pro class consisted of Corvette, Paul Miller Racing and Ford Multimatic.

After a fifth caution, Daytona pole-sitter Mike Rockenfeller led a thrilling charge in his #64 Ford Mustang GT3 on the #1 BMW being driven by Connor De Philippi, followed by Max Hesse’s #48 BMW, the #4 Corvette of Nicky Catsburg and Heinrich.

Over the following hour, the lead battle evolved slightly so that Verhagen had 1.4 seconds on Picariello’s #77 Porsche which was marginally ahead ahead of Krohn’s #48 BMW.

Then, in the eighth racing hour, Christopher Mies headed a fight for P3 against Verhagen and Picariello.

Lilou Wadoux led heartbreak for the #21 Ferrari team when a mechanical issue halted their comeback effort.

BMW vs Porsche heading into Hour 10

The 12 Hours of Sebring entered the 10th hour with less fortunate news for Corvette, who were out of the running with issues on their #3 machine as Nico Varrone’s #4 fell out of lead contention due to a non-functioning scrutineering logger.

Last year’s British GT champion Dan Harper steadily turned on the pace so that he eventually fought past Dennis Olsen’s #65 Ford for the GTD Pro lead.

Since Harper took the lead, he quickly established a gap to three seconds on Olsen as #1 Snow kept him company in third place.

WIth 1-hour and 10-minutes remaining, Heinrich made his key move for the lead on Hesse as their fight intensified in the final hour.

Paul Miller Racing initially gambled with the prospect of another eighth imminent caution period by underfueling and running a slightly lesser stint-lap count in order to foresee the gamble.

Unfortunately, it never came around though they kept at the sharp end of the GTD Pro battle. The eighth caution did come as a result of Scott Andrew’s #80 Lone Star Mercedes-AMG and its puncture debris on the back-straight.

It came down to a 31-minute sprint to the finish with Heinrich ahead of Hesse, De Philippi, Costa, and Sebastien Priaulx’s #64 Ford.

With 23-minutes remaining, the tension was hot as Heinrich set a GTD Pro lap record, a 2:00.500.

In fact, Heinrich and Hesse were setting near identical lap times as just 1.2s separated them, before Hesse then set the fastest race lap of his #48 BMW.

Heinrich indirectly responded with his own lap record again, a 2:00.451 as ‘Rexy’ ran decently ahead of Hesse at a 1.3s margin.

Reigning champions win in GTD Pro and GTD

After 329 laps, the #77 Porsche crew sought victory and reaffirmed their mark as reigning GTD Pro champions.

At 4.371 seconds behind, the #48 BMW of Max Hesse and co-drivers Dan Harper and Jesse Krohn took second ahead of the other #1 BMW of Connor de Philippi – and his co-drivers Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen.

Alberto Costa took fourth for Dragonspeed’s #81 Ferrari crew and his teammates Giacomo Altoe and Davide Rigon.

Sebastien Priaulx rounded out the top-five in the #64 Ford with the help of co-drivers Mike Rockenfeller and Ben Barker.

Simultaneously into the final 31 minutes – in GTD – six different manufacturers held the top-six positions.

It became a task for Philip Ellis and the reigning GTD champions Winward Racing (#57 Mercedes-AMG) on whether they would be able take the lead from Jack Hawksworth’s #12 Lexus.

Hawksworth led the final restart ahead of Ellis, Daniel Serra’s #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari, Charlie Eastwood’s #36 DXDT Corvette, Tom Gamble’s #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and Frederick Schandorff’s #70 Inception Racing Ferrari.

Ellis eventually tried a move outside of Hawsworth for the lead, before again outside at T10 but Hawksworth held his ground before the pair touched nose-to-tail and shortly after overtaking the lapped #3 Corvette of Sims.

Winward Racing’s #57 Mercedes-AMG crew took victory with Ellis and his co-drivers Russell Ward and Indy Dontje after 327 laps.

At 3.265 seconds behind in P2 was Hawksworth and his #12 Lexus co-drivers Franke Montecalvo and Parker Thompson, followed by Gamble’s #27 Aston Martin and co-drivers Casper Stevenson and Zach Robichon.

See here for the unofficial race results and here for the unofficial race results ordered by class.

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Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor have won the 12 Hours of Sebring, the second round of the IMSA Sportscar Championship in 2025, completing a 1-2 for Porsche.

The three, in the #7 Porsche, fought off a fierce, race-long challenge from the #31 Cadillac and their teammates in the sister #6 machine.

Dries Vanthoor started the #24 BMW on pole but very quickly got a drive through penalty for a start procedure infringement. With the Porsche second and third, after Mathieu Jaminet passed Tom Blomqvist’s #60 MSR Acura shortly after the start, they were promoted to a 1-2 — which, ironically, was how they’d finish — with Blomqvist third.

With D. Vanthoor now having dropped back to amid the LMP2 field after serving the penalty, Nasr now led from Jaminet.

While the Brazilian was able to eek out a small gap over his teammate, it was only up top 1.5 seconds by the time the second full course yellow of the race was called, at a couple of minutes before an hour had elapsed.

Cautions dominate early hours

The first full course caution was just a few minutes in, to recover two LMP2 cars, the #18 Era Motorsport Oreca of Tobi Lutke and the #88 AF Corse Oreca of Luis Perez Companc, who had gone into the barriers together at turn 3.

Whereas the first was just a ‘short yellow’, with the pits not opening, the second was a longer caution period with the pit lane opening.

It had been caused by Ricky Taylor, in the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, making contact with the #023 Triarsi Ferrari 296 GT3 of Charles Scardina. The Ferrari went off track and hit the barriers front-on, with enough force to move the concrete block back a metre or so. 

Regardless, most GTPs pitted under the caution. But the leading Porsches and Acuras did not, pitting a few laps later and losing track position as the cars had been bunched up behind the safety car. It later transpired that a mistake by race control meant the pits had not been open when they first passed it under caution, despite opening moments later for the cars behind them. This dropped all four cars to mid-way down through the GTP field.

At the restart, the #63 Lamborghini SC63 of Romain Grosjean led, but would drop back at the restart as they had taken a wave through when they weren’t supposed to have done. This put Jack Aitken, in the #31 Cadillac, into the lead, with Louis Deletraz in the #40 WTR Cadillac second and Renger van der Zande third in the #93 Acura.

Nasr moved up quickly to fourth, but it wasn’t long before another caution was called, with Lutke in the #18 Era car crashing heavily at Sunset Bend, the final corner.

Immediately after the restart another caution was called, this time for the #99 AO Racing Oreca LMP2 of PJ Hyett, who had crashed at turn 1.

Rookie Vesti leads at Sebring

The GTPs pitted at this point, two hours into the race, with Frederik Vesti now in the leading #31 Cadillac, Alex Palou second in the #93 Acura, and Laurens Vanthoor taking over from Felipe Nasr in the #6 Porsche.

Vesti, an endurance racing and sportscar rookie in his first competitive outing at Sebring, fended Palou, a three-time Indycar champion and general motorsport star, and L. Vanthoor, a sportscar veteran, off admirably. The Dane led the race maintaining a gap to the cars behind for the next hour and a half.

“That was honestly one of the most fun races that I’ve ever done; obviously, it’s not done yet,” he said after his stint. 

“The stints were really good and we’re really pleased with the car as well.  I knew we had a good car and this gives us a lot of confidence the rest of the race. Now it’s time to chill and my great teammates will do the job and I’ll be back in the car later. Good job by all.”

Earl Bamber replaced Vesti at the wheel, but as is common at Sebring, the fifth FCY of the race, in under five hours, was called. This time it was a GTP in trouble — Brendon Hartley had crashed the #40 WTR Cadillac at Sunset, similar to what Lutke did a couple of hours previously.

The rest of the GTP field pitted, with Colin Braun in the #60 Acura jumping the Cadillac in the pits to take the lead, with Tandy in the #7 Porsche third.

Porsche take control

Braun retained the lead for a short while after the restart, but Bamber soon overhauled him to take it back, shortly before the end of the fifth hour. Braun then dropped back through the top end of the field, with Yelloly, in the sister #93 Acura, second, having jumped his countryman Tandy earlier on. Tandy now sat third behind Yelloly, almost four seconds behind Bamber and two off Yelloly.

This is the way the order stayed until the next pitstops, when Tandy handed back over to Nasr. Van der Zande, who had replaced Yelloly in the #93 Acura, then got a penalty for a pitstop infringement, dropping him back to sixth and promoting Nasr to second.

Nasr gradually closed the six second gap to Bamber, and almost bang on the half way mark, overtook the Kiwi for the lead.

For the next three hours, this was the way the order stayed, with the #7 Porsche out in front and the #31 chasing. Bamber was replaced by Aitken mid way through the sixth hour, but the Briton-Korean wasn’t able to catch Nasr out in front, who gradually grew the lead from six second to 12 by the end of the hour.

Behind these two was the sister #6 Porsche, initially with Jaminet behind the wheel, then Kevin Estre. The challenge from the Acuras and the BMWs was rapidly fading, with Robin Frijns fourth in the #25 BMW and Scott Dixon fifth in the #60, mid way through the seventh hour. 

They were, however, dropping off the back of the two Porsches sandwiching the Cadillac. Laurens Vanthoor now led, with Aitken having closed the gap to just over two seconds as the sun began its descent in the sky over Sunset Bend.

Vanthoor subsequently responded to Aitken catching him and re-extended the gap, up to eight seconds by the end of the hour, with four left to run.

At the next stops, though, Action Express and Cadillac were quicker than Penske and Porsche, with Vesti now back in the car and under a second back from L. Vanthoor.

The race’s next caution, the sixth of the race, then neutralised proceedings; the #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie had spun at Sunset Bend. Ross Gunn, behind the wheel of the Heart of Racing-run car, was able to get it going again, but not before race control called a caution.

Crunch time at Sebring

At the restart, there were now under three hours left to run — crunch time.

Vesti now lead from Tandy, having taken the lead at the pitstops under caution. Tandy passed him, and was scored as the leader, for one lap, but Vesti got back by, and was able to extend a short but manageable gap, around two seconds, amid the constant slower traffic around the old airfield.

Near the top of the 10th hour of the race, with two to go, Tandy passed Vesti. The Dane would pit shortly after, to be replaced by Earl Bamber.

However, the Kiwi’s former teammate at Porsche, Mathieu Jaminet, passed the Cadillac at turn 7, solidifying Porsche’s 1-2.

However, this was where Porsche’s strategy brilliance would come into play. The German manufacturer had realised earlier that they’d need to save fuel, with both cars, or risk having to make a splash and dash for fuel in the final hour.

Thus, the drivers were instructed to save, while maintaining track position. This they did, eliminating the need for a final stop, making their last stops of the race with just under an hour to go.

However, the #31 Cadillac, and the Action Express team, had chosen a different strategy, which would require a fuel stop late on, after the Porsches had stopped for the final time.

This, arguably, cost Cadillac the race. Bamber pitted under the final caution, with the team refueling the car to the end and also fitting new rubber. The #25 BMW of Robin Frijns also did the same thing.

But, the Porsches did not, having saved fuel earlier. Likewise, the #93 Acura, with Meyer Shank Racing also having noticed this need to save fuel earlier on, did not stop, and moved up to third at the expense of Bamber and Frijns.

Bamber and Frijns exited the pits under caution in fifth and sixth, behind the #5 Proton Porsche of Neel Jani in fourth, who also had not stopped. Bamber passed Jani with 12 minutes to go, but Frijns was gifted fifth when Jani, who had been trying to make his fuel last, pitted with just minutes to go, dropping him to sixth.

And that was the way the race finished, with Nasr taking the flag, 2.2 seconds ahead of his teammate Mathieu Jaminet in the #6 Porsche. Nick Yelloly was third in the #93 Acura, while Bamber took fourth. Frijns was fifth, and Jani the last car on the lead lap in sixth. 

Inter Europol claim victory in LMP2

In LMP2, the #43 Inter Europol Oreca of Tom Dillmann, Jeremy Clarke, and Bijoy Garg took the victory, prevailing after a fierce, race-long fight with the #8 Tower Motorsport Oreca, #11 TDS Racing Oreca, and #04 Crowdstrike by APR Oreca to prevail.

In some ways they were gifted the win by young Malthe Jakobsen, a Peugeot factory driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship, making an error and punting a GTD car late on in the race with just 10- minutes remaining. 

As always in IMSA, he copped an incident responsibility penalty for his trouble, and dropped from the lead to sixth, where he’d finish.

Second behind Dillmann, who crossed the line to take the flag in the #43 Inter Europol car, was Sebastien Bourdais in the #8 Tower machine. 

They fought hard all race, leading for significant periods, but in the end Bourdais was not able to overcome Dillmann, finishing just over a second behind his countryman.

Third was Mikkel Jensen in the #11 TDS Oreca. Steven Thomas started the car on pole but over the race distance, didn’t quite have the pace to challenge for victory, along with Jensen and Thomas’ teammate Hunter McElrea. 

Jensen crossed the line four and a half seconds behind Dillmann, after pushing hard in the final stint.

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Porsche’s Nick Tandy leads at Sebring with just 2 hours to go, as things start to get serious with the race now under full darkness.

Tandy, in the #7 Porsche, has just overtaken the #31 Cadillac of Frederik Vesti, with a daring move going into the fast final corner, Sunset, with Vesti almost putting the Porsche into wall as he defended.

Tandy’s teammate Matt Campbell is third in the sister #6 Porsche.

Since the half way mark, the race ran cleanly for some time, but two full course yellows neutralised the race for a significant period. The first was for Casper Stevenson in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3, who had spun at Sunset Bend, the final corner.

The other FCY was immediately after, with the race green for mere seconds. Mathias Perez Companc had spun, also an Sunset, and hit the wall hard in the #88 AF Corse Oreca, with the car out on the spot and craned over the wall.

The race so far has been a dogfight between the #31 Cadillac and the #7 Porsche, and it shows no sign of stopping yet. Behind the top 3 is Renger van der Zande in the #93 Acura ARX-06, with Tristan Vautier in the #5 Proton Porsche in fifth.

In LMP2, Rasmus Lindh in the #22 United Autosports Oreca leads, with Toby Sowery second in the #04 Crowdstrike by APR Oreca second, less than a second back. Sebastien Bourdais is third in the #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca, around 7 seconds back.

Dan Harper leads in GTD PRO for BMW, with the #48 Paul Miller BMW M4 GT3 Evo driver around four seconds ahead of Klaus Bachler in the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3R. And in GTD, Parker Thompson is out in front in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, with Indy Dontje second in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. Third in class is Tom Sargent in the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche.

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Felipe Nasr of the #7 Porsche Penske 963 narrowly led the 73rd running of the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring with six hours done and six remaining.

As the race entered the fifth racing hour, Brendon Hartley of the #40 Wayne Taylor Cadillac V-Series.R locked up and hit the wall at Sunset Bend, the final corner.

He soon got moving again as race control declared the fifth full-course-caution period and Hartley pitted for a front assembly change and new front tyres. The #40 Cadillac incurred a stop and 60-second penalty for the mechanics conducting more than an emergency pit stop service.

Green flag running resumed with seven-hours and 27-minutes remaining and race leader Colin Braun (#60 Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06) retained his lead.

Braun and #7 Porsche Penske 963 GTP driver Nick Tandy, running just two places behind, have three class wins to their name yet none overall as of yet.

Earl Bamber of the #31 Whelen Cadillac wrestled his way into the lead past Braun, before Tandy and #6 Porsche Penske driver Kevin Estre followed suit.

Braun and Marco Wittmann (#25 RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 GTP) had a slight moment of door-to-door contact that was deemed a racing incident.

At the front, the fight for the lead continued as just five seconds covered the top-five: Nick Yelloly (#93 Meyer Shank Acura), Tandy, Braun and Estre.

Eventually, the top-three of Bamber, Yelloly and Tandy pulled away with GT traffic playing its part in bringing a 16-second gap to fourth-placed Estre.

Porsche Penske fight with Whelen Cadillac

At the halfway mark, Felipe Nasr – having taken over the #7 Porsche – earned his way past Bamber into the lead on the #31 Whelen Cadillac.

Mathieu Jaminet held third place in the #6 Porsche Penske as Kevin Magnussen sat in fourth behind the wheel of the #24 RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 with Renger van der Zande rounding out the top-five for the #93 Meyer Shank Acura.

In LMP2, United Autosports kept their cars running clean without incurring penalties like some of their rivals during a messy opening two hours in the all-Oreca 07 category.

Toby Sowery ran at the front of the category for the #04 Crowdstrike Racing outfit, followed 40 seconds behind with Rasmus Lindh’s #22 United Autosports USA Oreca as Tom Dillmann was third for the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca team.

Juan Manuel Correa was fourth in the #2 United Autosports USA Oreca as Hunter McElrea rounded out the top-five in the #11 TDS Racing Oreca.

Paul Miller Racing lead on Corvette in GTD Pro

In the GTD Pro category, Connor de Philippi led the charge in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO two seconds ahead of the #4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Nicky Catsburg.

Reigning champions Laurin Heinrich and his #77 AO Racing’ Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3.R were third in front of the other BMW, the #48, of Max Hesse.

Albert Costa rounded the top-five for the #81 Dragonspeed Ferrari 296 GT3.

Kenton Koch was at the front of GTD in the #32 Korthoff Competition Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG of Russell Ward.

Third place went to Simon Mann in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari which suffered a brake failure, therefore necessitating a change for the left front brake unit.

Franke Montecalvo was fourth for Vasser Sullivan’s #14 Lexus RC F GT3 ahead of Tom Sargent’s #120 Wright Motorsports’ Porsche.

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Earl Bamber leads for Cadillac with four hours gone in the 12 Hours of Sebring, after a hectic opening couple of hours has calmed into a stable rhythm.

Dries Vanthoor lead from pole in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8, but got a drive-through penalty for a start procedure infringement. After this, Porsche’s Felipe Nasr inherited the lead, and stayed there for the majority of the opening couple of hours. 

Nasr and Porsche lost the lead at a pitstop under caution, when the leaders couldn’t pit as the pit lane was closed. This gave the lead to Vesti’s teammate Jack Aitken, who in due turn handed over to teammate Frederik Vesti.

Vesti retained the lead during his stint, sustaining a reasonable gap to Acura’s Alex Palou, and has since handed over to Earl Bamber, who now leads the race.

“That was honestly one of the most fun races that I’ve ever done; obviously, it’s not done yet,” said Vesti after getting out of the car.

“The stints were really good and we’re really pleased with the car as well.  I knew we had a good car and this gives us a lot of confidence the rest of the race. 

“Now it’s time to chill and my great teammates will do the job and I’ll be back in the car later. Good job by all.”

The Acuras, with Colin Braun in the #60 and Nick Yelloly, replacing Palou in the #93, are behind Bamber, with Braun two seconds off and Yelloly a further four.

Fourth is Porsche’s Nick Tandy, in the #7 car, with his teammate Kevin Estre in the #6 behind him. Tristan Vautier is behind in the #5 Proton Competition Porsche, while Kevin Magnussen is eighth in the #24 car, which D. Vanthoor started on pole.

TDS, BMW, Lexus lead other classes

Mikkel Jensen leads LMP2 in the #11 TDS Racing car, which Steven Thomas started on pole. Second is #2 United Autosports Oreca of Ben Hanley, with his teammate Rasmus Lindh in the United Autosports sister car, the #22.

Madison Snow is out in front in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 in GTD PRO, while Nico Varrone is second, four seconds adrift, in the #4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R. 

Jesse Krohn, in the sister #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW, is third. Fourth is Giacomo Altoé in the #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3, which started the race on pole, although Albert Costa has just climbed into that car.

Finally, in GTD, Parker Thompson leads in the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3. Lilou Wadoux is second in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, while third is Brendan Iribe in the #70 Inception Racing Ferrari.

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Porsche Penske led the IMSA SportsCar Championship’s 12 Hours of Sebring after one hour when Dries Vanthoor lost his lead to a penalty.

The second round of the 2025 IMSA schedule got underway at 09.10 local time at the Sebring International Raceway.

Dramatically, pole-sitter Dries Vanthoor incurred a drive-through penalty shortly after the start after moving lanes before the start-finish line for the 73rd edition of the historic race.

It was a less-than-ideal start for the #24 RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 GTP team as Porsche Penske inherited the lead after Vanthoor’s drive-through penalty was served, Felipe Nasr (#7 Porsche 963) ahead of Mathieu Jaminet (#6 Porsche).

Race control called a short yellow caution period after Era Motorsport’s Tobias Lutke and AF Corse’s Luis Perez Companc came together.

The #18 and #88 Oreca 07s both continued with the former requiring assistance in doing so. Both seemingly incurred only front-end bodywork damage during their incident.

As the race resumed with 11-hours and 46-minutes remaining, the Porsche Penskes began to establish their lead with Nasr setting strong lap times early on.

D. Vanthoor dropped behind the entire GTP field – and some LMP2 – after serving his drive-through after the green flag, thus under circumstances when the pit lane was open.

Behind the two Porsche Penskes were the two Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06s. Tom Blomqvist (#60 Acura) was ahead of the #93 Acura of Renger van der Zande.

Louis Deletraz of the #40 Cadillac V-Series.R completed the top-five in GTP although his #10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac team-mate fell to the back of the field after suffering a brief throttle issue.

TDS leads LMP2, Triarsi Competizione fronts GT field

Meanwhile in LMP2, after the initial incident between Lutke and Perez Companc, Steven Thomas led in his #11 TDS Racing Oreca 07 from United Autosports USA’s #22 of Daniel Goldburg.

Behind him was the AO Racing #99 Oreca of PJ Hyett followed by the other #2 United Oreca of Nick Boulle.

In the GTD Pro category, Albert Costa controlled the start in his #81 Dragonspeed Ferrari 296 GT3 ahead of reigning champions Laurin Heinrich and the #77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3.R.

Neil Verhagen in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 fell at the start from second down to P6, although his #48 BMW team-mate and reigning British GT champion Dan Harper kept the momentum going for the team.

After the opening hour, Costa led ahead of the #77 of Heinrich, followed by Tommy Milner’s #4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R and Verhagen who climbed into P4 after his team-mate was the first car of the category to perform a scheduled pit stop.

In GTD, it was seemingly smooth for pole-sitter Alessandrio Pier Guidi in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 until he suffered a brake failure into one of the corners.

Contact between Ricky Taylor’s #10 Cadillac on Charles Scardina’s #023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari triggered a second caution, as the Cadillac tapped the Ferrari off at Turn 13 and into the wall.

After suffering a throttle issue early on, the #10 Cadillac set in for a stop-and-60 second penalty for causing the incident.

Sheena Monk led the class in the #021 Ferrari, followed by Russell Ward’s #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Zacharie Robichon’s #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Misha Goikhberg held fourth for Forte Racing (#78 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2) as Lorenzo Patrese rounded out the top-five in the #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari.

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