Felipe Nasr ignored team orders in a dramatic final-hour showdown to claim victory at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring for Porsche Penske Motorsport.
The Brazilian star, paired with newcomers Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich in the No. 7 Porsche 963 crossed the line just 1.515s ahead of the sister No. 6 entry driven by Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell, capping an unofficial “Florida 36 Hours” sweep following their Rolex 24 at Daytona victory.
The triumph highlighted Porsche Penske’s resurgence at Sebring where they led 273 of 343 laps, but it was the tense intra-team battle in the closing stages that stole the spotlight as Nasr ignored a radio directive to yield position.
In the first couple of hours their chances of victory seemed unlikely as Nasr picked up an early drive-through penalty for an incident with the privateer No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche, leaving the No. 7 in last place.
However, a spirited charge from Heinrich saw them jump from ninth on a restart to the lead in less than 20 minutes.
The race’s defining drama erupted in the final two hours as Porsche Penske team orders crackled over the radio, instructing Nasr to yield to Estre who was running on fresher tires after pitting a lap earlier.
Nasr complied but reclaimed the lead six minutes later with an audacious pass on Estre at Turn 17 as the race approached its final hour.
Estre was later forced by IMSA race control to surrender second to the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Jack Aitken for making a shortcut through Turn 15.
Estre gave way to Aitken but retook the the runner-up position in wheel-banging fashion with the Cadillac, before pitting for the final time, under green, with 51 minutes to go.
Felipe Nasr came in for service one lap later and maintained the lead until the race’s ninth and final full course caution when Riccardo Pera’s overheating No. 912 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo stopped on track with 32 minutes remaining.
The restart saw Nasr take the No. 7 Porsche to the checkered flag, 1.515 seconds ahead of Estre, while Ricky Taylor rounded out the GTP podium in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac that he shared with Filipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens.
However, the No. 10 Cadillac was disqualified after failing post-race technical inspection, effectively handing over third-place to the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac of Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti.
Full 2026 IMSA Sebring 12 Hours Race Results – GTP
Mikkel Jensen leads United Autosports 1-2 sweep in LMP2
United Autosports USA dominated with a 1-2 sweep, the No. 2 car of Phil Fayer, Mikkel Jensen and Hunter McElrea taking LMP2 win over the No. 22 sister entry of David Goldburg, Paul di Resta and Rasmus Lindh.
After an early 60-second stop-and-go penalty for entering a closed pit and taking more than what was allowed under emergency service, Fayer, Jensen, and McElrea were able to get back on the lead lap and eventually into the top three.
The No. 99 AO Racing “Spike” ORECA was the dominant LMP2 for most of the day but when the No. 52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen car lost its right-rear wheel with two hours left, “Spike” was badly caught out due to the timing of the full course yellow and had to take an extra pit stop.
Jensen then overtook the No. 8 Tower Motorsports entry of Tristan Vautier for the lead on a subsequent restart and held off teammate Paul di Resta in the final hour to secure his first win for United Autosports.
Tower Motorsports ultimately settled for third in the hands of Vautier alongside regulars John Farano and Sebastian Alvarez.
Full 2026 IMSA Sebring 12 Hours Race Results – LMP2
Manthey takes GTD PRO win in Porsche 1-2 double
GTD PRO showdown delivered the second Porsche 1-2 of the day with Manthey Racing’s No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R of Thomas Preining, Klaus Bachler and Ricardo Feller snatching victory from the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche in a thrilling late duel.
Preining took the lead for the first time before the end of the first hour, and leading at the end thanks to a blistering final stint behind the wheel from the former DTM champion.
AO Racing’s Nick Tandy, Harry King, and Alessio Picariello finished a close second in the “Roxy” colours, while Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports finished third and fourth with the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone ahead of the No. 3.
The No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Connor De Phillippi, Neil Verhagen and Max Hesse followed in fifth-place which was enough to retain its championship lead.
Antonio Fuoco overcomes penalties to claim GTD victory for Ferrari
The GTD amateur-professional class erupted into one of Sebring’s most memorable finishes, as Antonio Fuoco in the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 executed a stunning last-lap pass on Tom Gamble’s No. 23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 to win Sebring 12 Hours despite three penalties.
Fuoco collided with Ben Barker’s No. 64 Ford Racing Mustang GT3 with three and a half hours to go and received two drive-through penalties with the second coming for having too many crew members over the wall.
The No. 21 Ferrari battled its way back to reclaim the lead but another collision with the No. 033 Triarsi Ferrari resulted to another penalty which relegated them to sixth, blowing away hopes of victory.
However, the final full course yellow handed Fuoco a jump to second behind Gamble’s No. 27 Aston Martin, who later made a slight error at Turn 10 with under two minutes left, effectively handing over the lead to Ferrari.
Full 2026 IMSA Sebring 12 Hours Race Results – GTD PRO & GTD
2027 IMSA SportsCar Championship calendar: All venues and dates
