Jack Aitken executed a flawless run to claim overall pole for the 74th Running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Driving the #31 Cadillac V-Series.R for Whelen Cadillac, Aitken handed out a flying lap of 1m46.153s around the Sebring International Raceway’s 3.74-mile, 17-turn airfield circuit.
Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist, in the #60 Acura ARX-06, narrowly missed out on the top spot, falling 0.104s behind Aitken.
Filipe Albuquerque (Cadillac Wayne Tayor Racing) ended up third, followed by the #6 Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre (Porsche Penske Motorsport) in fifth.
GTP
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre, Matt Campbell
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images
Aitken began the session by setting the fastest lap of the weekend to that point with a 1m46.363s with seven minutes left.
The battle for the overall top spot then became a contest of heymakers as Albuquerque drew a 1m46.298s moments later. And then Blomqvist with one of his own with a 1m46.262s before, with roughly three-and-a-half minutes left to play for, Aitken nailed the ultimate lap that remained uncontested the remainder of the session.
There was a tight moment for the #25 BMW M Team WRT, driven by Philip Eng, had a big off in Turn 1 after bottoming out that led to bouncing off line with less than five minutes to go but managed to get it back on track. He was unable to advance better 11th.
LMP2
#52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen ORECA LMP2 07: Misha Goikhberg, Parker Thompson, Harry Tincknell
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images
AO Racing’s PJ Hyett stormed to a class-best lap of 1m50.941s, but lost the lap due to bringing out a red flag on Friday when he crashed during opening practice. In turn, he was relegated to fourth by virtue of his second-best lap of 1m51.322s run in his #99 ORECA LMP2 07.
Taking pole for LMP2 is Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen #52 of Misha Goikhberg, who had a clean lap of 1m51.182s.
“The balance was great,” Goikhberg said. “The team did a really good job. They took the car apart in the middle of the night and put it back together, so I’m really happy with the balance. I think we have a few adjustments to make, and we’ll have a really good race cover tomorrow.
Daniel Goldburg (United Autosports USA) took second, 0.073s behind, with Jeremy Clarke (Inter Europol Competition) in third.
Behind Hyett in fifth is the #04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR entry of George Kurtz.
GTD Pro
#12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3: Aaron Telitz, Benjamin Pedersen, Frankie Montecalvo
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images
Jack Hawksworth, making his 100th start with Lexus Racing in IMSA, put down a staggering fast lap of 1m58.480s to claim pole for the GTD Pro class. The Brit established the quick lap, breaking his previous track record from 2024, with less than five minutes go in Vasser Sullivan’s #14 Lexus RC F GT3.
“It was a clean lap, there was no errors honestly,” Hawksworth said. “I was pretty happy with it.
“This track is so peaky with the tire that you have to do the lap when it’s at its best. So it wasn’t like I was lairy or flashy or anything, but I was able to get every corner 99 percent right. I was really happy with it and the car was phenomenal and no better place to start tomorrow than the pole.”
The #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Winward Racing’s Luca Stolz was second, 0.289s behind. Niel Verhagen, wheeling the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO for Paul Miller Racing, wrapped up in third by a sizable 0.406s behind.
Ricardo Feller (Manthey) was fourth, followed by Dean MacDonald (RLL Team McLaren) in fifth.
GTD
#48 WINWARD RACING Mercedes-AMG GT3: Scott Noble, Jason Hart, Luca Stolz
Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images
Dudu Barrichello took the class pole after nailing a 1m58.981s flying lap in Heart of Racing’s #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. The quick lap, which the Brazilian hit with roughly four minutes to go, is his first pole.
“Yes, well, it’s very good,” Barrichello said. “The track makes it so much fun. We just dialed the car in; we really hit the ground running this time. I’m just super thankful to be here. Such a great opportunity. Such a privilege to be here in Sebring. I just have to enjoy it.”
Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis was second-fastest, with his #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 just 0.124s behind. The #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO for Turner Motorsport, driven by Robby Foley, was third at 0.284s behind.
Scott Andrews (Lone Star Racing) and Antonio Fuoco (AF Corse USA) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Complete starting lineup
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