AO Defeats Paul Miller to Capture Sebring GTD Pro Win

AO Racing took the GTD Pro class victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring after Laurin Heinrich defeated Paul Miller Racing’s Max Hesse in a late-race battle.

Heinrich, sharing the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R with Klaus Bachler and Alessio Picariello, fought his way past Hesse’s No. 48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO at Turns 4 and 5 with 70 minutes remaining.

The reigning GTD Pro champion then held off Hesse after a late-race restart, triggered by a puncture for the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, to win by 4.371 seconds.

It marked the first victory for AO’s GT3 operation in a major endurance classic, while Porsche returned to GTD Pro victory circle at Sebring for the first time since Pfaff Motorsports took the class win in 2023.

Both AO and Paul Miller formed a persistent presence at the front of GTD Pro throughout the race, with the No. 48 BMW initially moving into the class lead when Dan Harper fought his way past Ford Multimatic Motorsports driver Dennis Olsen in the early evening hours.

However, after Harper had handed over to fellow BMW factory driver Max Hesse, the German soon found himself in the crosshairs of Laurin Heinrich.

After Heinrich passed Hesse, the No. 77 Porsche proceeded to pull a gap of some seven seconds that was then wiped out by the late caution.

However, the German was able to keep his compatriot at bay, with Hesse, Harper and Jesse Krohn coming home second ahead of the No. 1 sister BMW driven by Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi.

DragonSpeed finished fourth with its class pole-sitting No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3 driven by Albert Costa, Davide Rigon and Giacomo Altoe, while the pair of Ford Mustang GT3 finished fifth and sixth, led by the No. 64 machine of Seb Priaulx, Mike Rockenfeller and Ben Barker.

Although the race was a traditionally hard-fought contest, relatively few GTD Pro entries encountered significant delays through issues, with defending class winners Vasser Sullivan the most notable casualty.

The No. 14 Lexus RC F GT3 of Jose Maria Lopez, Aaron Telitz and Kyle Kirkwood suffered front-end damage after contact with the No. 48 that left the car multiple laps off the class lead.

Both Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R encountered various issues, with the No. 3 car falling back due to a broken tie-rod as well as sensor issues while failing tire pressure monitoring sensors delayed the sister No. 4 machine.

Pfaff Motorsports had the competitive run for its No. 9 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 ended early on when the car’s torque sensor malfunctioned, which required repairs.

Winward Goes Back-to-Back in GTD Class

Winward Racing successfully defended its GTD class victory after Philip Ellis defeated Vasser Sullivan’s Jack Hawksworth in a battle deep inside the final hour.

Ellis, piloting the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, made a contact-heavy pass on Hawksworth’s No. 12 Lexus at Turn 5 with just under fifteen minutes remaining.

That came after Hawksworth had encountered one of the delayed GTD Pro Corvettes, with the Briton checking up and allowing Ellis to sneak his nose up the inside.

The two cars then touched, with Hawksworth sliding and going wide and Ellis moving through into the lead.

After he then held off Hawksworth for the remaining minutes, it allowed Ellis, Russell Ward and Indy Dontje to pick up a second straight Sebring win.

It came after a recovery performance from Ellis, who had brought the car back into contention after a drivethrough penalty for a crew member working on the car from behind the wall.

Hawksworth, Parker Thompson and Frankie Montecalvo finished second,  while Heart of Racing Team completed the class podium with their the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

RESULTS: Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring