12 Hours of Sebring, Hour 4: Porsche Penske Motorsport in control running 1-2

Julien Andlauer has the #7 Porsche 963 out front after four hours in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

The Frenchman leads Porsche Penske Motorsport teammate Matt Campbell, driving the sister car #6 entry, by 1.9s around the 3.74-mile, 17-turn airfield circuit.

There has been plenty of chaos with four full course cautions as the field, with 110 laps completed thus far.

From the start…

Pole-sitter Jack Aitken got a clean start in the #31 Whelen Cadillac, but there was banging behind between the #93 Acura ARX-06 (Renger van der Zande and the #7 Porsche (Felipe Nasr) shouldered into one another multiple times fighting for sixth.

Era Motorsport’s Naveen Rao took a drive-thru penalty less than 10 minutes into the race after Race Control deemed him at fault for the contact that sent LMP2 rival Jon Field (Intersport Racing) into a brief spin.

Aitken began to catch the tail end of the field just 15 minutes into the once-around-the-clock race. Meanwhile, the #6 Porsche 963 of Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Kevin Estre cut through the traffic and vaulted from fourth up to second just a few minutes later.

Rao’s miserable start continued as he went well off in Turn 16, going beyond the signage and kicking up dirt before getting back on track with 25 minutes left in the opening hour.

12H of Sebring – Full course caution 1

The first full course caution waved with roughly 22 minutes left in the first hour, with debris in Turn 5.

The first run of pit stops the run of GTP teams to replenish energy but not take tires, with a limited supply to manage leaving them to double stint the start. Aitken was the first out, followed by van der Zander, Estre and then Blomqvist.

There were driver changes in GTD Pro, as class pole-sitter and class leader Jack Hawksworth was replaced by IndyCar star and endurance add-on Kyle Kirkwood in the #14 Lexus RC F GT3 for Vasser Sullivan.

Nasr pitted once more, with his GTP entry topping off as the crew looked briefly at the back of his Porsche 963. He’ll restart at the back of the class in 11th.

Aitken led the field on the restart with two minutes left in the opening hour, with van der Zande holding firm in second over Estre’s eager jump.   

The #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing machine of van der Zande spun from third after a curb ride led to him spinning in Turn 16, dropping him to last in class.

The GTD battle for the lead began to heat up as class pole-sitter Dudu Barichello (Heart of Racing Team) stalked Simon Mann (AF Corse USA) 70 minutes into the race. Barrichello overtook him a few minutes later as Mann slid his Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO wide in Turn 16.

The #5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 of Kaylen Frederick was dumped by Nasr in Turn 10. Nasr’s aggressive move led to a drive-thru penalty moments later.

Estre chased down and got around Aitken in Turn 17 for the overall lead nearly 80 minutes into the race.

The #10 Cadillac V-Series.R underwent a driver change 100 minutes into the race, with Filipe Albuquerque replaced by Ricky Taylor.

Estre hit the 50-lap mark just shy of 103 minutes in, holding a 1.5s lead over Blomqvist. Meanwhile in GTD, the #12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus of Frankie Montecalvo went behind the wall with an overheated gearbox.

12H of Sebring – Full course caution 2

The second full course caution came out after roughly 110 minutes after Henrik Hedman (DragonSpeed) received harsh contact with Parker Thompson’s (Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1 Mathiesen). Hedman’s Corvette Z06 GT3.R was sent hard into the guardrail and tire barrier after the contact and came to rest in Turn 3.

A run of pit stops with driver changes ensued, notably with Estre trading seats with Laurens Vanthoor, Colin Braun in for Blomqvist, and Earl Bamber in for Aitken. Reigning and four-time IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou also made his first appearance in the race, taking over the #93 from van der Zande.

#93: Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian, Acura ARX-06, GTP: Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly, Alex Palou, pit stop during the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway on March 21, 2026 in Sebring, Florida.

Photo by: Photo by Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images

The aftermath saw Cadillac hold the top three spots, led by Louis Deletraz in the #40 for Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing, ahead of Ricky Taylor and Bamber. 

While riding around under caution, the #31 suffered damage to the left-rear deck and was forced to pit lane for service. After the team made a swap, Bamber was sent back out but lined up at the back of the class. Despite the incident also involving the #6 entry, Race Control took no action upon further review.

Earl Bamber, driver of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R run by Action Express Racing: “It was interesting. The Porsche took us out under the safety car. We were just warming tires, and he just smashed the back of us. 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.”

Deletraz led the field to the restart at the 130-minute mark, but it was Vanthoor powering from fourth up to second, ahead of Ricky Taylor and Braun. Moments later, Race Control handed Thompson a five-minute stop and hold penalty for his part in the earlier incident with Hedman.

After 150 minutes, Laurin Heinrich, who restarted 10th in the class, was on a charge with the #7 Porsche 963 and pushed by teammate Vanthoor and Deletraz to propel into the overall lead. Vanthoor took over second as Deletraz began to fall down the running order. 

Heinrich built up a lead of over 11s as the race approached the 170-minute mark. 

12H of Sebring – Full course caution 3

The advantage was all for nothing, though, as a third full course caution came out as Risi Competizione #62 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO of Alessandro Pier Guidi and the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Russell Ward (Winward Racing) collided and left the wreckage in Turn 17. The incident was triggered when Pier Guidi attempted to dodge the spinning #65 Ford Mustang GT3 of Sebastia Priaulx (Ford Racing), who hit the wall but was able to continue on. The other two entries of Pier Guidi and Ward, who was going for three consecutive class wins in GTD, were not so lucky.

Pit stops began under caution as the race hit the 180-minute mark, with Heinrich and Vanthoor were the first two out, but lined up second and third as Jordan Taylor, in the #40 for Deletraz, stayed out and assumed the lead after pitting earlier and going off-strategy.

The race restarted after 190 minutes, with Jordan Taylor holding Heinrich behind.

12H of Sebring – Full course caution 4

The full course yellow waved for a fourth time for debris in Turn 3. Prior to the caution, Vasser Sullivan’s #12 returned after an extended time behind the wall.

Pit stops and driver changes commenced, notably with Heinrich swapped out for Andlauer, Campbell in for Vanthoor, Vesti in for Bamber, and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon in Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s #60 for Braun.

Andlauer came out with the lead ahead of Campbell, with Will Stevens in third after taking the reins of the #10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing machine from Ricky Taylor. Jordan Taylor fell to eighth after an extended stop for energy replenishment.

Tristan Vautier stayed out while his LMP2 rivals pitted, with his #8 Tower Motorsports machine ahead of Johnny Edgar (AO Racing) and Daniel Goldburg (United Autosports USA). 

The GTD Pro class was led by Triarsi Competizione’s Ricardo Agostini in #033 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. Max Hesse (AF Corse USA) was second, with Nico Varrone (Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports) in third behind the wheel of the #4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Fuoco led GTD, with Callum Ilott running second in the #120 Porsche 911 GT3 R(992) for Wright Motorsports. Inception Racing’s #70 Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO, driven by Brenden Iribe, held third in class as the field approached eight hours remaining.

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