Nasr Wins Porsche Penske’s Bitter End at Sebring

[ASFN Admin]

You must be registered for see images attach

Nasr Wins Porsche Penske’s Bitter End at SebringJake Galstad - Getty Images

During yet another wild finish in the dark at Sebring, Felipe Nasr confirmed his dominance of the GTP ranks to become the first driver to win the “36 hours of Florida” in back-to-back seasons. But it was a bitter end.

In his closing stint, Nasr had to beat the Porsche 963 of his Porsche Penske Motorsport teammate Kevin Estre, completing a comeback that found the Brazilian’s No. 7 Porsche 11th and last at the end of the first hour coming off its victory in the season-opening Rolex 24.


Nasr’s unique status within his team and the IMSA WeatherTech Championship was exemplified by expressing his displeasure with the orders of team owner Roger Penske, the Grand Marshall at this year’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring who is celebrating his team’s 60th season, a skein that includes the 1966 race at Sebring.

The problem began during the race’s seventh caution, when leader Estre in the No. 6 Porsche let Nasr pass him on the pit road to allow the No. 7 Porsche a clean shot into its pit stall. For that favor, Nasr was instructed to return the lead to Estre after the green flag with 92 minutes remaining.

You must be registered for see images attach

Jake Galstad - Getty Images


“I have a right to say I was unhappy,” said Nasr of his radio response to team orders delivered by “The Captain” himself. After delaying, Nasr, who had gotten the lead by taking fuel only, then dictated terms, saying the trailing Estre, who had put on new Michelins, needed to catch his No. 7 Porsche 963 if he was going to be allowed past.

“I was driving the car,” said Estre, “respecting what we were saying, trying to optimize our strategy, trying to get to the end because we needed to save some fuel. That’s what I did.”

The delay before Nasr finally yielded the lead meant Estre was trailing in dirty air, using up the “goodie” in his fresh Michelins. Although he may have tried to take advantage of the pitting agreement by getting a new set of Michelins, Estre said the exchange delayed by Nasr cost the No. 6 Porsche the victory, “That was not too fair from my side. That’s why we’re all very frustrated and it’s not nice. But that’s the way it is.”



Porsche Penske’s strategy of saving energy to ensure just one final pit stop and their star driver’s determination both worked out in the end. With just over one hour left, Nasr passed his teammate on the inside at Turn 17’s sweeper. The ever-smooth Brazilian, who would drive the last two hours and three minutes on the same set of tires, passed with relative ease and lead handily to the finish.

There was no apology from Nasr, who had the Cadillac V-Series.R closing on him just before he passed Estre. “It’s what I’m here for. I sign up for this program because I believe I can win for the program. I can win for the team.”

You must be registered for see images attach

Felipe Nasr, Julien Andlauer, Laurin Heinrich with team owner Roger Penske in victory lane during at the Sebring 12-hour.Michael L. Levitt - Getty Images

Nasr was joined on the top step of the podium this year by new teammates Julien Andlauer, a World Endurance Championship veteran, and GTP rookie Laurin Heinrich. It was Heinrich who took the No. 7 Porsche from the rear of the field back to the front after Nasr was penalized with a drive-through for hitting a GTD car in his opening stint.

Estre, briefly overtaken for third place by Aitken before re-taking second in a fender-banging episode on the back straight, finished 1.515 seconds adrift at the finish along with Laurens Vanthoor, and Matt Campbell.

The Porsche Penske 963s led all but 70 laps, a contest that sleep-walked its way through the middle four hours due to their dominance. After the Balance of Performance, their Porsche 963’s carried the most weight of the GTP cars over the uneven asphalt and bump-laden concrete of the central Florida track on a hot day, which did not seem to be a problem.




“It’s so de-motivating to see those Porsches go off in the distance,” said Renger van der Zande. The co-driver of a Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 was hyper-aggressive during his stints to no avail, except getting a warning from IMSA officials.

It might have been foreseen that the Porsche Penske Motorsport’s withdrawal from the WEC this season would lead to dominance at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona and Sebring. The German manufacturer, which won at Sebring for the 20th time, has been able to concentrate its considerable resources on just one championship.

The only manufacturer to pursue the WEC and IMSA with two cars from 2023 when the current hybrid era began, Porsche also was the only factory to sell cars to privateers. Both pursuits have enabled Porsche and Penske to generate a bumper crop of data for its LMDh hybrid platform, which is the same one used by GTP competitors that is exponentially adjustable thanks to the platform’s myriad electronics. The team also revised its aerodynamics prior to the 2025 re-homologation for all prototype competitors.

You must be registered for see images attach

James Gilbert - Getty Images

At the end of eight hours, the Porsches were leading by 30 seconds and simultaneously were saving more energy per stint, which is regulated by IMSA. Only the inevitable crashes and cautions that erupted during the darkness of the final two hours brought the Porsches back within range.

The pole-winning Action Express Racing Cadillac of Aitken, which had various mishaps from contact and offs trying to keep up with the Porsches, was overtaken by the V-Series.R of Ricky Taylor and the Wayne Taylor Racing crew of Felipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens for third place in the final 16 minutes of green following the race’s ninth caution. The Acuras showed occasional bright spots; the No. 60 of Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun and Scott Dixon took fifth.

WRT, appearing for the first time at Sebring with the BMW M Hybrid V8s, advanced primarily by pit strategy and could not pick up pace in the night. The No. 24 BMW of Dries Vanthoor, Sheldon van der Linde and Rene Frinjs came home sixth. As at Daytona, the Aston Martin Valkyrie was forced behind the wall for repairs and finished 12 laps off the pace.

Continue reading...