Cadillac Wins a Crazy, Full of Incidents 12 Hours of Sebring Race

However, it was anything but a smooth sail for the pole-sitting Cadillac trio of Pipo Derani, Alexander Sims, and Jack Aitken, who encountered a major setback just two hours into the race. A collision with an LMP3 backmarker left their winning aspirations hanging by a thread. As the grueling endurance race progressed, multiple incidents and Full Course Yellows kept the excitement level soaring. The final two hours saw a thrilling three-car pileup that wiped out all three GTP class front runners, but somehow the #31 Cadillac emerged unscathed and clinched the top spot. The team's persistent efforts to recover from their early setback paid off as they clawed their way back onto the lead lap, using FCY wave-around to their advantage.

But just when it seemed like victory was in their grasp, Lady Luck played spoilsport again. Derani fell two places in a single lap during a restart, and Action Express had to work hard once again to reclaim the lead. Ultimately, their persistence and unwavering determination paid off. They drove on to a remarkable win that will go down in Sebring's history as one of the most hard-fought and memorable victories.

The victory was a lucky break for the team, according to Derani, who had been on the unlucky side in previous races. Meanwhile, Jaminet in the #6 Penske Porsche 963, who was leading at the time of the three-car pileup, was boxed in on the exit of turn one by the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari and #3 Corvette. He attempted to make a dive up the inside of the two GTDs into turn three but made contact with the front of the #10 Acura. The resulting chain reaction caused all three GTPs involved to retire from the race, and stewards decided that no further action was needed to penalize anyone for the contact.

Despite the shocking end to the race, it had been a phenomenal battle between Jaminet and Albuquerque for the overall victory. Jaminet had taken the lead with just over half an hour to go, making a well-timed move around Tower Turn (Turn 13) to get past Aitken, who had taken the penultimate FCY restart in the first place. It was a defining moment of the race, especially since the car had to pit unexpectedly in the late afternoon when Tandy smelled smoke in the cockpit.

As the race resumed for the final time, Aitken comfortably left the competition behind, including the #25 BMW M Team RLL Hybrid V8 of Connor de Philippi, Nick Yelloly, and Sheldon van der Linde, who had pulled off a stunning feat to finish second. The BMW prototype had shown promise earlier in the race, leading several laps before falling off the lead lap due to brake issues. With the #24 BMW already out of the running, it seemed unlikely that the #25 would make it onto the podium. However, with several Full Course Yellow periods and wave-bys, they managed to catch up to the leaders and secure a historic first podium for the new prototype.

Meanwhile, the dominant #01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R of Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande, and Scott Dixon suffered a cruel blow when an ill-timed Full Course Yellow took them out of the lead position. They later had to retire from the race with a fiery rear end. The #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, still reeling from the cheating scandal following their Daytona 24 Hours victory, fought hard but ultimately had to retire due to a left rear wheel coming off.

The LMP2 class had a surprise in store as the #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca LMP2 07 of John Farano, Kyffin Simpson, and Scott McLaughlin, who had crashed earlier in the race, drove on to take the class victory and third overall. With the two most challenging races of the season now behind them, the premier-class prototypes from Cadillac, Acura, Porsche, and BMW will take the lessons learned and apply them to future endeavors, including those in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

With just a few ticks over three hours left, the #36 Andretti Autosport Ligier (Jarett Andretti/Rasmus Lindh/Glenn van Berlo) bowed out of the race following contact with another car that compromised the radiator and hoses. Despite leading more laps than any other car in the prototype classes, the #36 Ligier's drivers missed out on the winners' trophies. The #36 Ligier led for an impressive 136 laps, nearly twice as many as any other car in the field.

The GTD classes provided plenty of excitement, with Porsche and BMW emerging victorious in GTD Pro and GTD after a frantic 12 hours of racing.
Following Porsche's disappointing showing at the Rolex 24 Hours earlier in the year, their new 992-spec chassis fared much better at Sebring. Patrick Pilet piloted the #9 Pfaff Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R 992 to a GTD Pro class win, marking the first victory for the newest customer-racing Porsche GT car in a competitive setting. During the press conference, Vanthoor acknowledged the unpredictable nature of the final two hours of the 12-hour race and the critical role that strategic pit stops played in their success.

Despite the #9 Porsche's last pit stop being over an hour and 50 minutes earlier, Pilet held on for the win alongside Vanthoor and Klaus Bachler. Bachler, who crashed the car during Qualifying the previous day, must have been immensely relieved to take home the victory. This win quelled weeks of concern from Porsche's customer teams and speculation about whether the 992 chassis was held back by an unfair Balance of Performance or if it was simply an inadequate car.

Finishing 3.3 seconds behind the winners was the #14 Vasser Sullivan Lexas RC F GT3 (Jack Hawksworth/Ben Barnicoat/Kyle Kirkwood), with Hawksworth unable to overtake in the final dash after the late restart. The #79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 (Daniel Juncadella/Jules Gounon/Maro Engel), starting from the back of the grid after a failed post-race inspection, claimed the final podium spot after a hard-fought battle against the #3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R GT3 (Antonio Garcia/Jordan Taylor/Tommy Milner) for the class lead throughout the day. Despite Taylor and Garcia's valiant efforts, Corvette Racing's hopes of another GTD Pro victory were dashed by a broken right rear suspension spring that forced the C8.R into the pits and down a lap with four hours to go. Nonetheless, the duo put on an impressive show as they drove back to the lead lap.

After a day of intense racing at the Sebring 12 Hours, the GTD class saw some surprising results. Despite the suspension issues and a final crash among the leaders, the #63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracán GT3 quietly took fourth place while the #62 Risi Competizione Ferrari ran within the podium places throughout the day but had to settle for sixth. The #1 BMW M4 GT3 of Paul Miller Racing took the victory, aided by Full Course Yellow periods in the final hour, with the #96 Turner Motorsports BMW M4 GT3 completing the top three.

The GTD running order was jumbled up early on by a Full Course Yellow at the start of the second order, but carnage whittled down several contenders. The #57 Winward Racing Mercedes and #16 Wright Motorsports Porsche collided, with the Porsche dropping the order and the Mercedes being eliminated with a busted suspension. The #93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 also crashed out and suffered terminal damage at the front.

In the final hour, the #32 Team Korthoff Motorsports Mercedes served a penalty for avoidable contact with the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3, while the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin was pushed into the guardrails and out of contention by another car's sideswipe. Despite the carnage, the #70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3 EVO managed a solid fourth-place finish in class, while the #12 VasserSullivan Lexus and #16 Wright Porsche followed in fifth and sixth places, respectively.

The Sebring 12 Hours event proved once again to be a brutal and ruthless test of endurance for all involved.