- Mission GT Challenge Inaugural Series Endurance Race Among Highlights of Successful Season-Opening HSR Sebring Pistons & Props Presented by Alan Jay Automotive Network
- HSR Competitor and Pilot Bob Hahnemann Presented with HSR Best Plane Award for His Debuting Beechcraft T-34 Mentor Formerly Owned by Pioneer Astronaut Frank Borman
SEBRING, Florida (February 15, 2026) – A rapid-fire run of six Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) sprint races Sunday morning brought the 2026 edition of the HSR Sebring Pistons & Props presented by Alan Jay Automotive Network to a competitive conclusion after four days of season-opening on-track action at Sebring International Raceway. Among the weekend’s many highlights was the first full schedule of competition for the HSR Mission GT Challenge for modern GT cars, which ran its series debut 60-minute endurance race Saturday evening.
The endurance race bookended a pair of Mission GT Challenge sprints earlier on Saturday and Sunday morning, and the themes throughout the trio of races were top competition and podium parity. More than four different manufacturers and their various models of cars recorded race wins or podium finishes in Mission GT Challenge competition at Sebring.
The top winners were Ed Wheatley and his quick professional coach and co-driver Jimmy Llibre in their ACI Motorsports 2019 No. 2 Fortress Stabilization Porsche 991.2 GT3 R, and solo driver Kevin Clayton in the European Auto Garage 2020 No. 03 Mercedes-AMG GT4 supported trackside by Kingpin Racing. Wheatley, Llibre and Clayton swept the respective trio of races in the GT3 and GT4 divisions, but their locks on the win column did little to hide the mix of manufacturers who joined them on the podium throughout the weekend.
In fact, Saturday’s opening sprint race produced a pair of podiums made up of six entirely different models of cars across four different manufacturers. Llibre drove the No. 2 Porsche GT3 R to the victories in both sprints, and was joined in Saturday’s GT3 podium top three by runner-up Todd Treffert in the CRP Racing 2018 No. 141 Mercedes-AMG GT3 and third-place finisher Charles Wicht in his Charles Wicht Racing 2020 No. 71 Bentley GT3-R.
Clayton led a competitive GT4 podium that was the same in all three races. Daniel Fortin secured a trio of runner-up showings in his Performance Tech Motorsports 2023 No. 38 Toyota Supra GT4. Former HSR driver of the year Drew Ewing in turn scored third-place GT4 showings across the board in his 2016 No. 13 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
Other Mission GT Challenge winners and podium players on the weekend included Ben Myers, Michael Flynn, Dan Ammann and Mark Boden.
Myers finished first in GT3 in the Saturday endurance race in the 2017 No. 29 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup prepared by the 901 Shop. Flynn joined Myers on the enduro GT3 podium with a fine run to third place in his Irish Mike’s Racing 2020 No. 195 Porsche 991.2 GT3. Ammann took third-place in GT3 in the Enduro in his Vintage Racing Company No. 268 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car.
Boden earned his podium with a third-place GT3 run in his Fall-Line Motorsports No. 246 Porsche 911 GT3 in Sunday’s sprint.
Sunday’s off-track highlight was the presentation of the annual HSR-presented Best Plane award that went to pilot and race car driver Bob Hahnemann. In addition to joining his son Matt Hahnemann at the wheel of their 2007 No. 111 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup car at times over the weekend, the senior Hahnemann flew the Pistons & Props debuting Beechcraft T-34 Mentor to Sebring. The special plane, a post World War II trainer that was a learning workhorse for thousands of cadets for more than 25 years, was the last one owned by legendary NASA astronaut pioneer and American United States Air Force (USAF) Colonel Frank Borman, Commander of Apollo 8, which was the first mission to fly around the Moon.”
“I have been racing for 25 years and have never received an award as special as this one,” Bob Hahnemann said. “I want to dedicate it to Frank Borman. He flew this plane and made it something special, and it just seems right to honor him as the true aviation and space pioneer that he was.”
Next up on the 2026 HSR calendar of events is the 48th HSR The Mitty presented by Hagerty, April 23 – 26, at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Mazda was announced as the Featured Marque of this year’s event, HSR’s oldest race and first blockbuster event, at the onset of this weekend’s HSR Sebring Pistons and Props presented by Alan Jay Automotive Network.
Tickets for the 48th HSR The Mitty presented by Hagerty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta can be purchased online at: https://am.ticketmaster.com/ral/buy/Mitty2026. For complete information on the 48th annual The Mitty Presented by Hagerty race weekend, including the event schedule, entry lists and ticket information, visit: https://www.hsrrace.com/the-mitty/.
About HSR: An International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) property, Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) was formed in the mid-1970s with an event at Road Atlanta. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate the racing cars from the past. As a “time machine” of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at race tracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions eight vintage and historic racing events at some of the world’s most renowned race tracks, including Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Daytona International Speedway and more. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR’s website at www.HSRRace.com. Look for the HSR Channel on YouTube and follow HSR on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HSRrace/ and on Twitter X at @HSR_race and Instagram @HistoricSportscarRacing.
