Porsche pace at Sebring
At the 12 Hours of Sebring practice, Porsche Penske Motorsport showed strong pace with both 963 LMDh prototypes and debuted a retro Mobil 1 livery homage — Winward Mercedes‑AMG is chasing a third straight GTD class win as paddock notes confirmed drivers from an earlier Pilot Challenge crash were evaluated and released (imsa.com) (motoringresearch.com) (dailysportscar.com).
Felipe Nasr turned the quickest lap in opening practice with a 1:47.043 (125.780 mph) in the No. 7 Porsche 963; Kevin Estre posted a 1:47.461 and Laurens Vanthoor led the first session at 1:47.985. (imsa.com) Nasr said Porsche Penske Motorsport’s recent private test was key to the pace, telling IMSA “we learned a lot” about the car’s setup heading into the weekend. (imsa.com) Both factory Porsche 963s will race in a white-based Mobil 1 tribute livery with blue and red accents, celebrating 30 years of Porsche’s partnership with Mobil 1 and tied to Porsche Motorsport’s 75th anniversary. (newsroom.porsche.com) The two PPM cars wear distinct takes on the throwback: the No. 6 car carries blue accents while the No. 7 is trimmed in red, a direct nod to the 1996 911 GT1 Mobil schemes. (speedcafe.com) Winward arrives in GTD with the No. 57 Mercedes‑AMG GT3 crewed by Russell Ward, Philip Ellis and Indy Dontje, the reigning GTD champions who have won Sebring in successive years and are aiming for a third straight Sebring-class victory. (media.mbusa.com) Friday’s Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 saw a nine-car start-line pileup that took out nearly ten cars; IMSA confirmed all drivers were evaluated at the trackside medical center and released. (sportscar365.com)
