With extra motivation for one of its stars, Porsche Penske Motorsport will take aim at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring after dominating the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.
As the No. 7 963 won the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the second consecutive year, the victory was especially significant for Nick Tandy. The 40-year-old Brit became the first driver in history with overall wins in the Rolex 24, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24-hour races at Nurburgring and Spa.
Tandy has three GT class victories at Sebring, but he has yet to win the overall in the prestigious endurance race in Central Florida that will hold its 73rd running Saturday (10 a.m. ET, streaming flag to flag on Peacock).
“There’s high motivation, of course, but it’s no more than any other year,” said Sebring, who will be teamed with co-drivers Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor on Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 7. “Sebring has been a good event for me. The last two years, we came close both times to being in a position to win at the end. The big races are fantastic to win, but at the end of the day, they score the same points as any other race. And you always go into each event with maximum motivation.
“It’s just kind of when records build, then the individual races get talked about a little bit more, which is great. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about the last couple of years trying to win overall. So yeah, it would be great obviously. I’ve got the overall win at Petit (Le Mans), so that would kind of complete the ‘Big Six’ as well.”
After winning the Grand Touring Prototype season championship last year, the team is seeking to become the first to start an IMSA season with consecutive overall victories since Wayne Taylor Racing in 2017.
Porsche Penske Motorsport managing director Jonathan Diuguid said the team tested several updates in a session last month and during the offseason.
“We had a good feeling with the car and a lot of our updates are intended to work on tracks like Sebring, so it gave the engineering and driver crews the opportunity to go through and evaluate that further,” Diuguid said. “On the whole, we’re quite happy with where we were in Sebring and looking forward to the race weekend.”
#7: Porsche Penske Motorsports, Porsche 963, GTP: Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, Laurens Vanthoor, Josef Newgarden, #6: Porsche Penske Motorsports, Porsche 963, GTP: Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell, Kevin Estre, Scott McLaughlin
The No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 testing in February at Sebring International Raceway (Michael L. Levitt/LAT Images).
Mathieu Jaminet, part of the No. 6 963 driving lineup, said the car was improved from the past two seasons. “Now looking forward to the race and hopefully bringing the same performance to the table,” Jaminet said.
Said Tandy: "(It) was probably the best Sebring test for sure that we’ve had as a team and with the car since I joined the program. Obviously, you expect every time we go out, we’re learning. We expect to get better. So we won championships, yes, but you can never rest on your laurels, and there has been a lot of hard work. Sebring has not typically been the best track for the Porsche 963, which we’ve recognized.”
The bumpy track’s rumbling and weathered surface has tended to favor Cadillac, which added the defending race winner to its lineup this year.
In a bruising battle, Louis Deletraz and Wayne Taylor Racing delivered the first Twelve Hours of Sebring victory for Acura last year before WTR moving back to Cadillac, its longtime partner, for 2025.
Deletraz and Jordan Taylor return in the No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R with new co-driver Brendon Hartley among the 56 entries across four categories for the 12-hour race.
Sebring will mark the first GTP race for Aston Martin’s new Valkyrie, which made its World Endurance Championship debut at Qatar two weeks ago. The Valkyrie is built to Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) specifications that are tailored to the WEC, and this will mark the first crossover for an LMH car competing against the LMDh prototypes of IMSA’s top category.
The Valkyrie, which uses a naturally aspirated V12 engine vs. the hybrids of LMDh, will increase the GTP field to a record 13 cars and six manufacturers (Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Lamborghini and Porsche are the others) at Sebring.
Here are the start times, daily schedules and streaming info for IMSA at Sebring International Raceway:
2025 IMSA Twelve Hours of Sebring
WHEN: Saturday, March 15, 10 a.m.
DISTANCE: A 12-hour race on the 17-turn, 3.74-mile course in Sebring, Florida.
FORECAST: According to Weather Underground, it’s expected to be 72 degrees with a 3% chance of rain at the green flag.
ENTRY LIST: Click here to see the 56-car field for the 2025 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
RACE BROADCAST
TV/streaming: The Twelve Hours of Sebring will be streamed on Peacock from flag to flag beginning at 10 a.m. on March 15.
NBC Sports’ booth coverage will include announcers Leigh Diffey, Brian Till, Dave Burns, Calvin Fish and Townsend Bell. Kevin Lee, Chris Wilner and Matt Yocum will serve as pit reporters.
Peacock also will carry streaming of the Ford Mustang Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Porsche Carrera Cup and Michelin Pilot Challenge races.
RADIO: All sessions live on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com; SiriusXM live race coverage begins March 15 at 9:45 a.m. (Sirius channel 216, XM 207, Web/App 992)
TWELVE HOURS OF SEBRING SCHEDULE, START TIMES
Here’s a rundown of all the series racing this week at Sebring International Raceway (all times are ET):
Wednesday, March 12
8:55-9:25 a.m. ET: Ford Mustang Challenge practice
9:40-10:10 a.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup practice
10:25 a.m.-11:10 a.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo practice
11:25 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
1:25-1:55 p.m.: Ford Mustang Challenge practice
2:10-2:50 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup practice
3:05-3:50 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo practice
4:05-4:20 p.m.: Ford Mustang Challenge qualifying
Thursday, March 13
8-9 a.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge practice
9:15-9:45 a.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup qualifying
10:05-11:35 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
11:55 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo qualifying
1:05-1:50 p.m.: Ford Mustang Challenge Race 1 (Peacock)
2:10-2:45 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge qualifying
3:05-4:35 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
4:55-5:35 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 1 (Peacock)
5:55-6:45 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race 1 (Peacock)
7:45-9:15 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship practice
Friday, March 14
10:20-11:05 a.m.: Ford Mustang Challenge Race 2 (Peacock)
11:25 a.m.-12:55 p.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship qualifying (Peacock)
2:15-4:15 p.m.: Michelin Pilot Challenge race
5:05-5:55 p.m.: Lamborghini Super Trofeo Race 2 (Peacock)
6:15-6:55 p.m.: Porsche Carrera Cup Race 2 (Peacock)
Saturday, March 15
10:10 a.m.: IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, 73rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (Peacock)
