Porsche 1-2+1-2+3 at SEBRING

Here at Sebring this March weekend, the temperatures have been the most pleasant of all the years I have attended the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, with high temperatures only around 85, while other years they were more like the high 90s. Really sweating, really thirsty, really exhausting.

With temperatures around 85, it brought new strategies with longer tire stints, but on Friday, there were gusts of wind. While talking to Laurins Heinrich, he said that the car felt the wind only at turn 16 (that’s the second-to-last turn leading into the long back stretch).

Porsche also debuted a new design for the Porsche 963, designed to celebrate 30 years with Mobil 1 with a special color scheme.

With Porsche not top at qualifying, the Porsche 963 in the GTP class made up for it during the race with the #7 Penske Porsche 963, driven by Felipe Nasr, Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich finishing in 1st place, followed by the #6 Penske Porsche 963 1.515 seconds behind, driven by Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell for second place in GTP. The #7 led over 80% of the laps.

In the GTD-Pro class, the new Manthey “Grello” Porsche 911 GT3 R team took 1st place late in the race for their first North American win, with drivers Thomas Preining, Klaus Bachler, and Ricardo Feller. Porsche, with the AO Racing #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (also known as “Roxy”), driven by Nick Tandy, Harry King, and Alessio Picarello, took second place.

#77 “Roxy” at Sebring followed by the Manthey Porsche “Grello”. Walt Hyjek photo.

Porsche 963 # 6 at turn 10 at night. Walt Hyjek photo.

While in GTD class, the Wright Motorsports team in their Porsche 911 GT3 R made up two positions on the final lap to earn them a third-place finish. The car was driven by Callum Ilott, Adam Adelson, and Tom Sargent.

This is the second season in a row that Porsche won both the GTP class and the GTD Pro class at Sebring with #7 and #77 “Rexy” last year.

Next race on the west coast for the Long Beach Street Circuit will be April 17-18, followed by the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California, on May 1-3, 2026.

More information to follow on the Porsche 963, with more close-up pictures and race photos from Sebring next month.