Porsche Penske 1-2 in Sebring Opening Hour

Porsche Penske Motorsport moved into 1-2 formation in the opening hour of the 73rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, which saw polesitter Dries Vanthoor handed an early penalty and featured drama for multiple cars across the field.

Felipe Nasr’s No. 7 Porsche 963 led the No. 6 sister car of Mathieu Jaminet, with Tom Blomqvist and Renger van der Zande third and fourth for Acura Meyer Shank Racing.

The No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 started the race from pole position with Vanthoor at the wheel, but the Belgian was found to have changed columns before crossing the start line and was handed a drivethrough penalty as a result.

The penalty was handed as the first full course caution of the race was triggered by a collision by LMP2 runners Tobias Lutke and Luis Perez Companc, meaning Vanthoor could only make his trip down pit lane once the race went back to green.

As a result, the No. 24 BMW plummeted to the back of the GTP pack, running 13th in class at the end of the opening hour.

Louis Deletraz held fifth in the No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R before the caution, while the No. 10 sister car endured a challenging opening hour in the hands of Ricky Taylor.

Taylor lost ground with an early throttle issue and was then involved in an incident with Triarsi Competizione’s Charles Scardina that saw the No. 023 Ferrari 296 GT3 pitched into the barrier at Turn 13.

In LMP2, TDS Racing controlled the opening hour with Steven Thomas building a lead of over eight seconds aboard the No. 11 Oreca 07 Gibson before the second caution was called.

GTD Pro also saw Albert Costa maintain the lead from pole position aboard the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari, running ahead of the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R and the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Tommy Milner.

Early drama struck the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, with Andrea Caldarelli forced to pit after torque sensor issues resulted in a mechanical black flag.

In GTD, defending 12H Sebring winners Winward Racing fought their way into the class lead, as early brake problems struck for polesitter Alessandro Pier Guidi.

Philip Ellis’ No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo had been battling for the lead with Pier Guidi in the No. 21 Ferrari, only for the Italian to then spin at Turn 10 not much later.

The No. 21 car then pitted to address brake problems, while Kenton Koch initially captured the lead aboard the No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG.

Koch then clashed with the No. 20 Proton Competition Porsche piloted by Richard Lietz.

While no penalty was given after the incident, Koch dropped to third behind Ellis and the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 of Jack Hawksworth.