Porsche Penske Motorsport’s pursuit of victory in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring has commenced on a high note. Nick Tandy, aboard the No. 7 Porsche 963, clocked the fastest lap time in the opening practice session, sharing the vehicle with fellow Rolex 24 At Daytona winners Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor. Tandy’s stellar performance, clocking a best lap time of 1m48.651s, placed him at the top of the GTP class on a sun-drenched morning.
The LMP2 class saw AF Corse’s Nicklas Nielsen set the pace, posting a best time of 1m50.403s in the No. 88 ORECA 07. Meanwhile, the GTD PRO class was led by Davide Rigon in the No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3, timing 2m00.866s. Notably, the fastest GT time came from GTD leaders Winward Racing and Russell Ward in the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3, recording a time of 2m00.787s.
The 90-minute practice session wasn’t without its share of drama. The No. 6 Penske Porsche 963, driven by Mathieu Jaminet, encountered software-related issues, halting at Turn 6 into Turn 7. Though Jaminet managed to restart his vehicle, it was not without triggering the first red flag of the session.
Another red flag followed 26 minutes into the session when Danny Formal, piloting the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, crashed into the barriers. Despite walking away without serious injuries, his Lamborghini sustained significant rear-end damage.
The third red flag surfaced after IMSA’s newest LMP2 bronze driver, Jeremy Clarke, veered off at Turn 5 in his No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA with less than 15 minutes to go.
In the GTP class, behind Tandy’s No. 7 Porsche, Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06es clinched the second and third positions. Nick Yelloly in the red and white No. 93 ARX-06 came second, followed by Colin Braun in the blue and white No. 60. The fourth-fastest time was set by Jaminet in the No. 6 Porsche.
The No. 24 Team RLL BMW of Philipp Eng led the two BMW M Hybrid V8s, followed by Filipe Albuquerque’s No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, topping the three Cadillac V-Series.Rs. Romain Grosjean demonstrated a competitive pace in the No. 63 Lamborghini Squadra Corse SC63, trailing the best GTP time by 1.2s and securing the 11th position.
The No. 23 Aston Martin The Heart Of Racing Team Valkyrie made an unusual practice debut, initially served with a 60-second stop-and-hold penalty. However, Alex Riberas managed to put in a best time of 1m51.304s in the V12 Valkyrie, 2.6s off the GTP top time, placing in the middle of the LMP2 pack.
In the LMP2 class, Sebastien Bourdais came second in the No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA, followed by Tom Dillmann for Inter Europol Competition. In the GTD PRO, Laurin Heinrich in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R trailed Rigon’s best time by a mere 0.034s, with Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ Sebastian Priaulx close behind in the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3. Kenton Koch and the No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG landed a Mercedes 1-2 in GTD, with Daniel Serra’s No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 in third.
