Porsche leads Sebring 12H after BMW's pole-sitter penalty
The first hour of the 73rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring brought significant drama and multiple lead changes. The polesitting No. 24 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8, driven by Dries Vanthoor, received an early drive-through penalty for a false start, surrendering the lead.
Multiple incidents marked the opening laps:
- Collision between No. 18 Era Motorsport and No. 88 AF Corse ORECAs at Turn 3
- Contact between Brendon Iribe and Orey Fidani leading to a penalty
- No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini faced torque sensor issues
- High-speed spin for GTD leader Alessandro Pier Guidi in the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari
Race cars competing on speedway track
Current class leaders after the first hour:
- GTP: Felipe Nasr (No. 7 Porsche 963) leads a Porsche Penske 1-2
- LMP2: Steven Thomas (No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA 07)
- GTD PRO: Albert Costa (No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3)
- GTD: Philip Ellis (No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3)
Notable developments include Ricky Taylor's No. 10 WTR Cadillac dropping to 12th with throttle issues and a significant crash involving Charles Scardina's No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari at Turn 13, from which he fortunately walked away unharmed.
The Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06s currently hold third and fourth positions in GTP, with Blomqvist leading van der Zande in the No. 93, while Louis Deletraz rounds out the top five in the No. 40 WTR Cadillac V-Series.R.