Porsche Penske Motorsport achieved its second straight victory of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, winning the 73rd annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 16, 2025. The #7 Porsche 963, driven by Felipe Nasr, Laurens Vanthoor, and Nick Tandy, showcased the team's resilience and strategy by enduring a fierce challenge throughout the race.
The race began with Dries Vanthoor starting the #24 BMW from pole position; he quickly faced adversity when receiving a drive-through penalty for violating start procedure. This incident allowed Nasr, who had qualified third, to leap to second position after the penalty. Just minutes after this reshuffle, the race endured its first full course yellow due to crashes involving Tobi Lutke's #18 Era Motorsport Oreca and Luis Perez Companc's #88 AF Corse Oreca, which impacted the early formation of the race.
Despite these early challenges, the Porsche team managed to establish dominance. The team faced additional troubles when both Porsches found themselves at the back of the pack after the second full course yellow due to miscommunication during pit stops. The pit lane was mistakenly closed when they approached, losing valuable track position.
Nevertheless, the #7 Porsche started recovering with Nasr's driving prowess. Buoyed by the performance of his teammates, Nasr initially led the pack after taking over from Tandy midway through the race. Tandy's efforts during the pressurized stints only increased the gap between the Porsches and their competitors, maintaining the lead throughout the latter stages of the race.
Porsche was challenged not only by Cadillac but also by their teammate, the #6 Porsche, driven by Mathieu Jaminet, who eventually finished just 2.2 seconds behind Nasr at the checkered flag. This result solidified their positions at the top of the championship standings. Tandy's victory at Sebring added to his impressive resume, making him the tenth driver to win the prestigious trio of endurance races: the 24 Hours of Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 12 Hours of Sebring was not without its drama; the rival #31 Cadillac, driven by Earl Bamber, Jack Aitken, and Frederik Vesti, struggled to regain its earlier advantage when conditions changed late in the race. The Cadillacs faced complications not only with strategy but also with pace, particularly as the sun went down and the temperature began affecting tire performance.
Other notable competitors included the #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, which secured third place after overcoming penalties, allowing Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly, and Alex Palou to celebrate on the podium, showcasing their resilience through challenges.
The LMP2 category celebrated victory with Inter Europol Competition's #43 Oreca LMP2 07, captained by Tom Dillmann, Bijoy Garg, and Jeremy Clarke. This marks another achievement for the Polish team following their strategic maneuvering against strong rivals such as Tower Motorsport and TDS Racing. Their win came after Malthe Jakobsen of the #04 CrowdStrike team inadvertently created chaos late by colliding with other traffic.
Meanwhile, GTD saw emotional victories, with AO Racing claiming top honors once again at Sebring and Winward Racing showing impressive perseverance with Philip Ellis, Russell Ward, and Indy Dontje’s clean execution leading to their victory.
Porsche’s performance, coupled with the unpredictability of competitors and strategically brilliant decisions from the teams, made for captivating endurance racing, demonstrating the sport's thrilling nature at Sebring. The breathtaking challenges faced positioned drivers to maintain peak performance for jaw-dropping hours under pressure.
The next chapter for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will see the focus shift from the marathon lengths of Sebring and Daytona to the all-out sprint races, commencing with the annual West Coast outings to Long Beach and Laguna Seca, beginning next month. The unique interplay of strategy, adrenaline, and skill witnessed at Sebring sets the tone for the upcoming races, with everyone eager to witness which teams can maintain their momentum and which will flourish under the quick-paced format.”