In the thrilling darkness of the final free practice session at Sebring, Jack Aitken emerged victorious. This event is part of the enthralling IMSA SportsCar Championship’s 12 Hours of Sebring, and Aitken’s triumph places him in an enviable position. Driving for Action Express Racing, he maneuvered his #31 Cadillac V-Series.R GTP to the top of the leaderboard, edging out the dual Acura ARX-06s from Meyer Shank Racing.
The 90-minute session was deliberately scheduled during the twilight hours. This tactical move provided teams with a taste of the race’s final hours, which will unfold under a nocturnal sky. However, the session was not without its fair share of drama, with several incidents causing three red flags.
The first red flag was raised when the #19 van de Steur Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and the #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 spun out at Turn 5. This was followed by the #74 Riley Oreca 07 LMP2 going off-course. As a result, Conquest Racing, similar to the unfortunate #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 in FP1, will forfeit their fastest qualifying lap for causing the red flag.
The second red flag was a brief one, raised due to debris scattered between Turns 1 and 3. The circuit quickly resumed its green flag running. However, the calm was short-lived as Aaron Telitz, driving the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 (GTD Pro), veered off-course at Turn 3, prompting the third red flag.
Despite the disruptions, Aitken triumphed with an impressive fastest lap time of 1:49.125. He was narrowly followed by Nick Yelloly’s #93 Acura (1:49.250) and Tom Blomqvist’s #60 Acura (1:49.343). Nick Tandy secured fourth place with his #7 Porsche Penske 963 GTP, while Kevin Magnussen completed the top five with his #24 RLL BMW M Hybrid V8.
In the LMP2 category, the #11 TDS Racing team, with Mikkel Jensen at the helm, once again proved fastest. Jensen’s 1:50.496 lap topped the 12-car field of Oreca 07s. Paul di Resta and Nicklas Nielsen, driving the #22 United Autosports USA Oreca and the #88 AF Corse Oreca respectively, filled the second and third positions.
The combined GT order was dominated by reigning GTD champions Winward Racing and their ace driver Phillip Ellis, who registered a 2:00.538 in his #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3. Close behind were AO Racing’s GTD Pro #77 ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3.R and Laurin Heinrich. Mercedes-AMG works’ driver Maximilian Goetz, Antonio Garcia, and Nico Varrone also made impressive strides in the session.
The excitement is far from over, as qualifying will kick off on Friday 13 March at 11:25 local time or 15.25 UTC. With the thrilling events of the final free practice, anticipation is already building for what promises to be a riveting race day.
