Race, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Round 2, Sebring (USA)

Atlanta., March 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Porsche has clinched first and second place at round two of this year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Brazilian Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy from Great Britain, and Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium swept to victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring at the wheel of their No. 7 Porsche 963. This victory comes after the trio’s triumph at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January. Matt Campbell from Australia and the two Frenchmen Mathieu Jaminet and Kévin Estre rounded off the stellar performance of the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team with second place. In the GTD Pro class, the AO Racing customer team notched up its first victory at an endurance race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series with the Porsche 911 GT3 R dubbed “Rexy”.

• Daytona winners Nasr/Tandy/Vanthoor triumph again at second IMSA round
• Campbell/Jaminet/Estre finish second in the Porsche 963
• Record Sebring winner Porsche extends record to 19 outright wins
• AO Racing’s “Rexy” Porsche 911 GT3 R victorious in the GTD Pro class

Atlanta. In summer temperatures reaching 88 degrees Fahrenheit, a fierce battle among the top GTP contenders unfolded as soon as the green flag waved at 10:10 a.m. Eastern Time. Felipe Nasr swept to the front at the wheel of the No. 7 Porsche 963 just 15 minutes into the race after starting third. While the Brazilian and his teammates Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor relinquished the lead around an hour later, they ultimately fought their way up the order to regain the lead in the evening after overcoming difficult conditions on the extremely hot track at the Sebring International Raceway.

The decisive moment came after the ninth and final full course caution when the field went head-to-head in a thrilling sprint during the final 31 minutes of the race. Nasr fought off his attacking rivals to bring home Porsche Penske Motorsport’s second victory of the young season. The win marked Porsche’s 19th overall victory at the endurance classic in Florida, and the first since 2008. For Nick Tandy, who earned himself the nickname “Mister 24 Hours” after his victory in Daytona, this latest triumph was another dream come true: The UK ace is just the tenth racing driver in the world to achieve the so-called Triple Crown of endurance racing after scoring overall victories at Sebring and the 24-hour races in Le Mans and Daytona.

The No. 6 sister car also ran among the frontrunners for much of the 12-hour race. Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet, and Kévin Estre ultimately crossed the finish line just 2.239 seconds behind their victorious teammates. Thanks to the one-two finish at Sebring, Porsche has extended its lead in the manufacturers’ championship while the two driver crews now hold the top two positions in the drivers’ championship.

“Congratulations to the whole team for a flawless performance,” Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport, said. “As expected, the 12 Hours of Sebring delivered some fierce competition. Drivers, mechanics, and engineers – everyone did an absolutely perfect job today. It couldn’t have gone better. The Porsche 963 has again upheld its reputation as the most successful LMDh car since the regulations were introduced. This is something we can all be very proud of. Thanks to everyone who contributed to these successes. I’d also like to congratulate our customer team AO Racing. They scored a well-deserved class victory with the Porsche 911 GT3 R.”

“Victory at Daytona, and now Sebring: We’ve won the 36 Hours of Florida,” said a delighted Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Racing LMDh. “That was one of our most outstanding races, absolutely flawless. I’m ecstatic. All the drivers and the entire team put in an incredibly strong effort: pit stops, strategy, car – everything went perfectly.”

“A superb performance from all six drivers and the whole team,” declared Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport. “Just two seconds separated our two cars after twelve hours. This underlines just how perfectly and smoothly everything went for us. We were able to set a strong pace, especially in the dark when temperatures got cooler. Several other team members and I witnessed the last overall victory for Porsche at Sebring in 2008, so it’s simply wonderful to be at the front together again now.”

The customer teams in the top GTP class also showcased the prowess of the Porsche 963 at times. Proton Competition finished the race in sixth overall, with JDC-Miller MotorSports’s identical hybrid prototype crossing the finish line in eighth place. In the No. 85 car, Porsche works driver Nico Müller celebrated his debut in the Porsche 963. The Swiss driver, who also contests Formula E for the Andretti customer team, put in some strong stints.

GT classes: AO Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R triumphs after fierce battle
In the GTD Pro class, customer racing team AO Racing celebrated its first-ever victory in one of the major endurance races of the IMSA series with the Porsche 911 GT3 R. At the wheel of the fan favourite “Rexy”, two former Porsche Juniors in Laurin Heinrich from Germany and Klaus Bachler from Austria joined forces with Belgian Alessio Picariello to drive a flawless race. After an intense fight for the lead, the trio ultimately won by a margin of 4.371 seconds. Proton Competition’s No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R finished eighth.

In the GTD class, the Wright Motorsports customer team was plagued by a raft of setbacks despite the pace to contest for the win. The Ohio-based team was at times in contention for the lead with the 911 GT3 R, only to have two penalties during pit stops cost them crucial ground. The No. 120 Porsche 911 GT3 R driven by full-season American drivers Adam Adelson and Eliott Skeer, along with Austrialian Tom Sargent, took the flag fifth in its class. The Iron Dames team, complete with a full female driver line-up of Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frye and Sarah Bovy, wrapped up their second IMSA outing of 2025 with the in 11th place.

The famed Long Beach street race hosts round three of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season April 11-12. The spectacular Southern California street race is a 100-minute long sprint, a stark contrast to the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring to open the season.

Drivers’ comments after the race
Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 #7): “It feels amazing to win two races in a row. But winning the 36 Hours of Florida in Daytona and Sebring is hard to believe. And to top it off, both Porsche 963 finished both races on the podium. Given the fierce competition, that’s incredible. No mistakes, no penalties, no damage – today was simply a dream in endurance racing.”

Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #6): “The one-two finish is obviously a banner result for Porsche Penske Motorsport. Congratulations to our victorious sister car. Today was incredibly long and tough for us; the race went back and forth. We experienced some difficulties in the intense heat of the early afternoon, but our Porsche was incredibly strong in the cooler evening. It’s terrific to score the maximum number of points together.”

Nico Müller (Porsche 963 #85): “What a fantastic weekend! I had great fun with the team, my teammates, and in the paddock – especially in my first race laps in the Porsche 963. I quickly adapted to the prototype; there was great synergy. At times the performance was super strong. But at the end of the day, the race could have gone a bit better for us. We had to change a brake disc, and we lost a lap in the process. It’s a great honour to get the chance to drive the car over the finish line during the Sebring night.”

Tristan Vautier (Porsche 963 #5): “We’re a little disappointed. After some initial setbacks, we managed to fight our way up the field only to have a puncture throw us out of the fight for the top five. Still, in the end, we made it back into a promising position, and we performed particularly well in the dark. However, with just two laps left, we had to refuel again – what a shame, because it prevented us from bringing home the result was wanted.”

Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R #77): “I’m so proud of the team! Laurin did an exceptional job in the last two hours of the race, and Alessio was also incredibly strong. It’s simply cool to share the car with two great guys. We’ve finally won one of the biggest races with ‘Rexy’. Now it’s time to celebrate. I’m already looking forward to all the remaining races this season – I hope it continues like this.”

Adam Adelson (Porsche 911 GT3 R #120): “We’re championship oriented, so we wanted to do anything we could to maximize that. As a team, we persevered and put our best foot forward. Unforunately it wasn’t enough. But as a team, with all of the adversity we faced today, we can be really proud of our result and we’re going to be shooting for higher than that in every race from here on out.”

Race result
GTP class:

1. Nasr/Tandy/L. Vanthoor (BRA/GBR/BEL), Porsche 963 #7, 353 laps
2. Jaminet/Campbell/Estre (FRA/AUS/FRA), Porsche 963 #6, + 2.239 laps
3. Van der Zande/Yelloly/Palou (NLD/GBR/ESP), Acura #93, + 5.017 laps
4. Jani/Pino/Vautier (SUI/CHL/FRA), Porsche 963 #5, + 1:02.670 minutes
5. Van der Helm/Bruni/Müller (NLD/ITA/SUI), Porsche 963 #85, + 1 lap

GTD Pro class:

1. Heinrich/Bachler/Picariello (DEU/AUT/BEL), Porsche 911 GT3 R #77, 329 laps
2. Hesse/Harper/Krohn (DEU/GBR/FIN), BMW #48, + 4.371 seconds
3. Snow/Verhagen/De Phillippi (USA/USA/USA), BMW #1, + 5.027 seconds
4. Schiavoni/Cressoni/Lietz (ITA/ITA/AUT), Porsche 911 GT3 R #20, + 1 lap

GTD class:

1. Ward/Ellis/Dontje (USA/GBR/NLD), Mercedes-AMG #57, 327 laps
2. Hawksworth/Thompson/Montecalvo (GBR/CAN/USA), Lexus #12, + 3.265 seconds
3. Gamble/Stevenson/Robichon (GBR/GBR/CAN), Aston Martin #27, + 6.720 seconds
4. Adelson/Skeer/Sargent (USA/USA/AUS), Porsche 911 GT3 R #120, 1:43.593 minutes
5. Bovy/Frey/Gatting (BEL/SUI/DNK), Porsche 911 GT3 R #83, + 1 lap

SEBRING, Florida – Reigning IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona (GTD) titlists Winward Racing and Mercedes-AMG took an early-season points lead with a convincing victory Saturday in the 73rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring with the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 and team co-drivers Russell Ward, Philip Ellis and Indy Dontje. The reigning IMSA WeatherTech Championship GTD driver, team and manufacturer champions bolstered their bid for repeat titles this year with their second-consecutive victory in America’s oldest major sports car race on the legendary 3.74-mile Sebring airport circuit.

Unhappy with a fourth-place qualifying effort on Friday, Ellis wasted no time charging to the front when the green flag for the 12-hour race dropped at 10:10 a.m. on Saturday. He took the lead for the first time just under 14 minutes into the race and then joined Ward and Dontje in maintaining first place or running in the lead pack for the rest of the race. Combined, Ellis, Ward and Dontje led 67 of the GTD race’s 327 laps.

The only time the No. 57 dropped out of the lead pack was after a drive-through penalty in the second half of the race for a pit-procedure violation. The team and drivers served the penalty and maintained their focus on getting Ellis back into the fight for the finish.

Ellis tracked down the GTD leader in the closing stages of the race and pulled off the winning pass in traffic with just over 12 minutes remaining. He then put a comfortable gap on the field while leading the race’s final nine laps and drove the No. 57 across the finish line with a 3.265 seconds margin of victory.

Combined with a fourth-place finish in January’s season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, the No. 57 squad now leads the GTD driver and team championship standings with 690 points, 41 clear of the nearest competitors. Mercedes-AMG leads the GTD manufacturer championship with 694 points, 40 tallies ahead of the second-place challenger.

Similar to the Rolex 24, Winward was joined in the lead-pack battle in the second half of the race by the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3, which competes in this year’s five-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup rounds.
Team drivers Dan Knox, Eric Filgueiras and Scott Andrews joined the team in a near-flawless performance that saw the No. 80 steadily move into contention throughout the race and firmly in the top-five battle in the closing hours.

Andrews and the Lone Star Racing team had just made their last pit stop and were beginning a run back into the lead pack as the rest of the GTD field cycled through its final pit stops only to have the No. 80 suffer a cut rear tire with only 45 minutes remaining in the race.

With the entire outer ring of the tire thrown from the car, Andrews slowly made it back to the pits where the Lone Star team quicky threw a new tire and wheel on and got the No. 80 back in the race. Andrews kept the pressure on in the closing minutes and crossed the finish line in ninth place.

For more than the first half of the race, Winward was joined in the GTD lead battle by the No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Kenton Koch, Seth Lucas and the team’s IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup specialist Maximilian Götz. Starting on the front row from the outside pole position, Koch moved into the GTD lead in the race’s opening hour shortly after Ellis did and joined his No. 32 teammates in racing with the class leaders straight through the race’s halfway point.

Koch was back in the car and leading the field early in the race’s seventh hour when the car suddenly lost drive on course and slowed to a stop. After what seemed like an eternity as the No. 32 was rope towed over two spectator bridges and the crowded Sebring infield, the car made it back to the Korthoff team in the paddock. The team quickly went to work but soon determined the driveline technical issue was a race-ending one and Korthoff Competition’s race was over.

Next up for Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Customer Racing teams on the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech calendar is the 50th Running of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 11 – 12 on the Long Beach street circuit.

Russell Ward, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I think I speak for the whole crew when I say we expect nothing less. I really want to give a shout out to the entire team and particularly the full-time people back in the shop. Everyone who works so hard to get this done. There’s no break, this is just what we love to do. To come here and close it off on another win, that’s just a culmination of all the efforts over the last couple of months and even last year. Hats off to the group. Personally, I had an awesome drive. I did some heavy lifting in the heat of the day, double stinted a set of tires. It was really a tough run for me, but I managed to hold station. I gained a little bit in the pit stops. I’m really proud of myself and all of the guys that made the car really easy to drive. It’s just incredible.”

Philip Ellis, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “This was huge. We had to come back from a penalty early on, shook it off and kept going. There was a car at the end. We knew we were quicker, but we had to be careful getting by. That’s the level of operation for this team, and we don’t take on an unnecessary risk. If they give you an opening, you take it, and we did. It’s another great start to the season again. I think Sebring this year was tougher compared to last year, but they were both tough in their own way. Last year we had a lot of restarts in the lead that we had to control, so we were usually the leaders up front. Saturday was a different kind of pressure, and now I wasn’t being hunted, I was the hunter and chasing down the front guys. It was a lot of fun, but to some extent, you need the help from the traffic, which is why I think IMSA is great.”

Indy Dontje, Driver – No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It’s really important that everyone is coming back together. I think there were a lot of cars today that were really competitive but had bad luck or made some mistakes around us. We even made a mistake where we had a penalty, but we scrambled back. Philip took over in the end and got back the win for the team. It’s unbelievable, I think this one feels even better than last year. We’re focused on the championship. I think it would be nice if we do it back-to-back this year on the championships. It’s great for Winward, and I want to continue this good rhythm and good flow with the team.”

Scott Andrews, Driver – No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I think we can all be really proud of ourselves collectively as a group for a really well executed race. There were pretty much no flaws by the team at all. That gave us a good shot at the top five and even potentially a podium. It’s unfortunate to get a puncture with such little time to go. It stings a little bit, but I didn’t go to bed displeased or unhappy because the only thing that took us out of the race was something out of our control. The team should be proud, and I’m happy with the job I did. I drove a good race with no mistakes and the pace was good. It’s good for the team to know that we can really have some good performance, solid pit stops, change the car for the better as the race progresses and still be competitive.”

Eric Filgueiras, Driver – No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3: “It’s not the result that we wanted, but the team showed a really strong effort, and we had a great performance. Everybody worked really hard, and this was a huge improvement from Daytona. Not only did we finish, we were in the running for a really great outcome as we were at Daytona, but the execution from the team side was just much, much better. Dan Knox, our team owner and driver, did a fantastic job. Everybody was firing on all cylinders, and we were very close at the end. We’ve got three more of these races, and we’ve shown our ability to grow, our ability to progress and to learn from the mistakes that we’ve made and how we can make this program more efficient on all ends. Drivers, people that put their hands on cars, the strategy, the engineering, everything. We’re making people nervous and that’s what we want! This was my first 12 hours. I had a fantastic experience. I got to have some battles, fuel energy saving, gain more experience and helped put the team into a position for a good outcome. Our day is coming.”

Kenton Koch, Driver – No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3: “We have a lot of positives to take away. The one negative is the fact that we didn’t finish well, but the positive was that we had all the pieces possible to be there. The car was great, the co-drivers were great, the pit stops were great and everyone on the team was good. That helps for the rest of the season, but to have this one end so quickly is just a bummer. Everyone worked really hard. This one stings.”

Maximilian Götz, Driver – No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3: “Sometimes racing is unfair, but you can’t really control it. I think the team did a great job. Since the beginning, since the testing last month, we’ve been competitive. We found a good pace. Then we came here, and Kenton put the car on the front row in P2 in qualifying, but it was very close. So, in the end, it was a great job and a great start to the weekend. The start of the race was pretty good, and it looked like it was paying off for us with good pace in the car. It was really disappointing for sure how it ended. I think this could have been our day. We had the pace in the car, we were all set for this one. I need to come back next year with the same approach, the same people, and the same team to finish the race at the top of the podium. I think that’s the only goal we have now.”

Valkyrie makes impressive first start in IMSA with top-ten finish

Sebring, Fla. (March 16, 2025) – The Heart of Racing Team finished third in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD category in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway this weekend. The Aston Martin THOR Team secured its first top ten finish with the Aston Martin Valkyrie in its United States debut as the GTP entry came home ninth after 12 hours of racing through the Florida heat on the legendary circuit.

Casper Stevenson, Tom Gamble, and Zacharie Robichon piloted the Heart of Racing Team’s No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage, combining to take third in Saturday’s twelve hour enduro. Robichon qualified for the trio on Friday setting the sixth fastest lap time in the GTD category.

Robichon was in the drivers seat for the first two stints, after the first pit stop the Canadian raced his way up to run in second position for the next 17 laps. Stevenson took over next, remaining in podium contention. While Gamble was behind the wheel, the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team took an unplanned trip down pit lane to address a sensor issue placing the team on a different pit stop plan.

Through great strategy, near perfect pit stops, and well executed driving, the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team was able to drive their way back from fifth to score third in the final moments of the race.

The Aston Martin THOR Team made their United States debut with the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie in IMSA’s GTP category. After Ross Gunn qualified the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie on the sixth row, the Briton combined with Roman De Angelis and Alex Riberas to take a ninth place finish.

Gunn was first to complete his stint in the new Aston Martin Valkyrie when the team’s race strategy changed due to the hot temperatures of the Florida weather. The Heart of Racing crew adapted quickly to the change making steady progress throughout the race to finish ninth after starting twelfth.

The Heart of Racing Team will compete next with IMSA in the Long Beach Grand Prix April 11-12. Ahead of Long Beach the team will compete in the 24H Series in Italy March 22-23 and the SRO America season opener at Sonoma Raceway.

The Heart of Racing Quotes:

Casper Stevenson : “We had an up and down race, but Tom did amazing in that last stint and the strategy the team did was next level and we managed to get another great result. I’m just so thankful to the team, Tom and Zach because I feel that it wasn’t 100% our day, but we still delivered an amazing result. And to add to that, the Valkyrie had a great debut, there are just smiles all around at the Heart of Racing Team.”

Tom Gamble : “A bit of a wild race at one point, we just seemed to be quite far down. Everything seemed to work out in our favor there towards the end. The car was flying today, massive credit to the Heart of Racing, they always give us a fast car. It was a solid day for all of us. It’s a pretty good way to start the season so hopefully we can keep this up.”

Zacharie Robichon : “Today was just a testament to the team. Ultimately I think this was the ideal result we could have hoped for. A faultless job by everyone, and the pit stops were fantastic today. We had a small issue in the middle of the day, which is really not our fault and we were able to just kind of not let it phase us and come back from it. A podium is a pretty good way to finish the second race of the year, two third place finishes to start the year!”

Ross Gunn : “It was an absolutely awesome job by everybody on the team to get to the end of what was a good race and was probably the toughest race in the world. We overcame a few obstacles during the race and dealt with those really well. Alex and Roman drove solid stints and it was just a case of keeping a clean nose which we did, no contact. No issues and the Valkyrie performed really well throughout the entire race.”

Roman De Angelis : “It was definitely a roller coaster of emotions to stay the least. It was one of the hardest races I’ve had personally, it was super physical out there. I’m super proud of the Heart of Racing and Aston Martin for getting the Valkyrie across the line. I think everything that we took from Qatar as a learning point we made good progress in the development. Definitely a really good day in the office and super happy for the team and the No. 27 team on their podium finish.”

Alex Riberas : “Tremendous job today by everybody. We entered into this race knowing it would be a tremendous challenge for ourselves with the new Aston Martin Valkyrie exceeded all of our expectations. To be able to finish this race and to finish in the top ten is the best way we could start the season and this new adventure in the GTP category. I’m so very proud of everybody and already looking forward to the next one.”

About The Heart of Racing

The Heart of Racing Team races to raise funds and awareness for Seattle Children’s Cardiology Research. The team competes internationally with concurrent campaigns in IMSA, SRO, WEC and the 24H SERIES. The Heart of Racing won the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car GTD Championship title in the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3. In 2023, the team followed that up with a strong run to second in the IMSA championship on the strength of four wins and three additional podiums. The team also made its debut outing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023, scoring sixth in the GTE-AM class. The Heart of Racing Team hosted their first all-female driver shootout in November of 2022, bringing to the team Hannah Grisham and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt for the 2023 SRO GT4 America season. The duo combined for a breakthrough double-victory weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to close out their rookie season. To contribute to The Heart of Racing’s fundraising efforts please visit: https://give.seattlechildrens.org/fundraiser/3642390

Late-race dramas bite Corvette contingent in 12 Hours

SEBRING, Fla. (March 15, 2025) – Corvette Racing’s quartet of Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams suffered cruel ends to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday with misfortune ruining chances for GTD PRO and GTD victories in America’s oldest sports car race.

Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Corvette was the highest-finishing Z06 GT3.R with a seventh-place GTD PRO finish for Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella. The result marked an unfortunate turn of fortunes for the group of four Corvettes – all of which led their respective classes on multiple occasions.

The No. 4 Z06 GT3.R of Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg and Nico Varrone – also in GTD PRO – ran a clean race for the first three-quarters and ran second when it had to stop for a repair to the IMSA-mandated scrutineering logger. It cost the Corvette three laps and dropped Varrone to 10th in class. Catsburg made up a spot near the end to move himself, Varrone and Milner to ninth at the end.

DXDT Racing appeared set to challenge for its first podium in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition. However a late-race mechanical issue knocked the No. 36 Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell and Salih Yoluc – who drove a triple-stint to start – from the top-four in GTD down to eighth at the finish.

AWA’s hopes of a second straight GTD victory took a huge hit with damage to the right-front of the No. 13 Corvette on a restart with a little less than three hours remaining. Orey Fidani drove three of the first four stints, and Lars Kern and Matt Bell steadily worked their way forward and into the class lead on multiple occasions.

Subsequent stops for repairs dropped Bell from seventh to 12th but the Corvette remained on the lead lap up until being hit late by the leading LMP2 entry. It relegated AWA to 10th in GTD.

Perhaps the Corvette in the best position late in the race was the No. 3 of Alexander Sims, Antonio Garcia and Daniel Juncadella. After a strong run through the day and some clever strategy, Sims worked his way up from sixth to fourth inside the final 90 minutes and was on a fuel strategy that likely would have had him challenging for the victory.

However, the Sebring circuit bit the Corvette as Sims had to pit for a rear with a little more than an hour with a broken right-rear suspension component. It knocked him from third in class and in the podium fight to seventh and two laps down.

Corvette Racing’s next event in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Long Beach Grand Prix from the Long Beach (Calif.) street circuit on April 11-12.

SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:“A bit of a bummer, this one. Our Corvette had pretty good pace to be honest. Going into the night, it seemed to come alive a bit. We had good pace and I was able to get up to third before we had the rear suspension problem. It did seem the leaders at the end had pace that we didn’t, to be honest. I don’t think we would have gotten any better than that. Even holding on to third would have been a struggle. Full credit to the Pratt Miller guys for getting it turned around quick and salvaging what we could. We didn’t give up and still managed seventh place, which could have been worse if they weren’t as quick in the pits as they were. On to the next one.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “An unlucky race. I think we had an OK Corvette but not fast enough to challenge for the win. I feel like we are on a bit of an unlucky streak at the moment. It’s not anyone’s fault. We have to take things as they come and ride those waves. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We had a great race. We got a little unlucky with the second-to-last yellow because we had a good fuel advantage and it got wiped out. We hung in there and crept from eighth to third. It was very enjoyable being in the middle of the fight. We just got very unlucky at the end when what we thought was a comfortable P4 – which turned out would have been a podium with the Ferrari boxing on the last lap. I’m gutted for the team. They’ve worked so hard since Daytona. We just didn’t have the pace there and came here with a lot more. They deserved more, unfortunately. They worked tirelessly between now and then to make sure we had the Corvette that we had in the race. Such a shame but we have to look at the positives. We were in the mix for the podium and the win, and we executed a good race. We just need Lady Luck on our side and we’ll be right there.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “We were having a good race once again up until we had the little incident in the final stages. We had a very strong car, and I’m proud of the team and their efforts. We know what we’re capable of. We’ll take this finish and move forward to the next one.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future. Learn more at GM.com.

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R finishes fourth after starting 13th in GTP class

SEBRING, Fla. (March 15, 2025) – After 12 hours of hard-fought, entertaining and occasionally chaotic racing, Cadillac Racing finished 7.6 seconds short of a podium finish in the 73rd edition of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, which started 13th on the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) grid because of a software issue in qualifications Friday, nonetheless battled its way to the front early in the race and contended for the victory until the final 40 minutes and finished fourth.

Drivers Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti, making his competitive debut on the 3.74-mile course, combined to lead 155 of the 353 laps.

Starting 13th, Aitken quickly made up six spots in the first hour and moved to the front for the first time with 10 hours, 21 minutes left. From there, Vesti and Bamber inherited the lead on their first stints and the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R remained in or near the lead through no unforced errors, penalties or contact necessitating repair.

The No. 6 Porsche 963, which overtook Vesti for the point for the final time with 2 hours, 7 minutes left, went on to claim the victory.

The Nos. 10 and 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.Rs effectively fell out of contention in the first five hours because of various on-track issues.

The No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R, which qualified eighth in the 13-car GTP roster, was handed a stop and hold penalty by IMSA Race Control for incident responsibility in the second hour that dropped it two laps down and mired in 12th place in the running order. Drivers Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens clawed back to finish a solid seventh.

The No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R that qualified seventh slid into the Turn 17 tire barrier with 7 hours, 43 minutes left, necessitating a swap of the nose assembly and front tire change. But the GTP entry incurred a stop and hold penalty for more than emergency service in a closed pit, which dropped the hybrid racecar to 13th in class. Drivers Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz and Brendon Hartley recovered to finish 11th.

After two endurance races totaling 36 hours to start the season, Cadillac Racing teams will be in action next April 12 for the 100-minute race on the 1.968-mile Long Beach (California) street circuit.

Cadillac Racing swept the top two spots in 2024, with the No. 01 Cadillac V-Series.R leading the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R across the finish line by 0.564 of a second. The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R earned the pole – its third in a row to start the season. Cadillac has won six of the IMSA races in Long Beach since joining prototype competition in 2017.

What they’re saying

No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R

Jack Aitken: “The race started really well for us today and we managed to stay in those top positions for the majority of the race. Unfortunately, we were just a little bit off sequence to the leading Porsches and it just caught us out a bit at the end when we had to take a splash. I think when they night came around, we didn’t have that extra gear that the others did. We missed out on the podium; it’s tough to take. But there are positives from this – coming from the back to the field is still not a bad result.”

Earl Bamber: “We had to come in for a splash with about 40 minutes left and we tried to take the alternate tire strategy, but we thought it might work but the dirty air was just too much. We just didn’t make our way forward. The car was good, so it is bittersweet that we didn’t get a podium. We’ll just have to roll into Long Beach.”

Frederik Vesti: “IMSA just keeps impressing me with how chaotic and crazy it is to race this year. I really enjoyed my time in the car today. I left everything out on the track and it’s painful not to get the podium. I really felt like we had the car to win or be on the podium today. Really proud of Cadillac Whelen. Having the issue in quali starting out, I think Jack did a great job in stint one to get us in the lead. I enjoyed lots of laps in the lead today and I had a lot of restarts from the lead, which is fun and I learned a lot. We’ll be back. I’m already looking forward to Laguna.”

No. 10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R

Ricky Taylor: “Another tough day. It started off really bad and we were hopeful that it was a long day and that we would get back in it. The yellows just didn’t come our way. I think know if we had the winning car, we had a car maybe for the podium, the Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing team did a great job and never gave up. We will go to Long Beach and hopefully get some success there.”

No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing V-Series.R

Louis Delétraz: “A difficult race, obviously not the race we wanted. We had to retire the car early at the end due to an issue that will have to be investigated. A little bit disappointed bit I think we had a rough first day then improved the car a lot for the race, but still not enough to fight for the win. But we were there for good points and running at the front then had a couple of issues in a row which put us at the back and ultimately retiring. So, not much positive but we definitely learned a lot and will be back stronger in Long Beach.”

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