Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA
Felipe Nasr muscled his way to back-to-back Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring victories following a commanding race-long run for Porsche Penske Motorsport that turned tactical in the final 90 minutes.
The Brazilian and co-drivers Laurin Heinrich and Julien Andlauer claimed the unofficial ’36 Hours of Florida’ crown and gave Porsche its record-extending 20th overall victory in the race.
However, it came in dramatic fashion after Nasr was initially ordered to surrender the lead to teammate Kevin Estre in the No. 6 Porsche, which was on fresher Michelin tires at the time.
While the position swap came with 1 hour and 11 minutes to go, Nasr made an aggressive move back on Estre on the inside of Turn 17 some six minutes later to retake the position.
What looked to be a certain 1-2 finish for the German manufacturer, which dominated the race from the second hour, nearly turned upside down, amid a battle from behind.
The Frenchman was forced by IMSA race control to surrender second to the No. 31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R of Jack Aitken for making a shortcut through Turn 15.
Estre gave way to Aitken but retook the the runner-up position in wheel-banging fashion with the Cadillac, before pitting for the final time, under green, with 51 minutes to go.
Nasr came in for service one lap later and maintained the lead until the race’s ninth and final full course caution when Riccardo Pera’s overheating No. 912 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo stopped on track.
It set up a 16-minute shootout to the finish, which saw Nasr take the No. 7 Porsche to the checkered flag, 1.515 seconds ahead of Estre, who shared driving duties with Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell.
Ricky Taylor made a late-race pass on Aitken for third to complete the GTP podium in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac that he shared with Filipe Albuquerque and Will Stevens, with Tom Blomqvist rebounding to get around Sheldon van der Linde for fifth in the final two laps.
The South African spun his No. 24 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 while in fourth with 36 minutes to go but worked his way back up the running order until getting passed by Blomqvist in the late stages.
Blomqvist and Meyer Shank Racing teammate Nick Yelloly were both hit with pit lane penalties in the final 90 minutes that dropped them to eighth and ninth at the time.
Yelloly brought the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 home in seventh, ahead of Louis Deletraz, who faded to eighth at the checkered flag, with Nico Pino ninth in the JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche.
Heart of Racing Team’s Aston Martin Valkyrie lost 14 laps with four-and-a-half hours to go when the V12 engine failed to re-fire during a routine pit stop when Alex Riberas was at the wheel.
It still finished ahead of the No. 25 BMW, which was delayed in the fifth hour when Marco Wittmann was collected after after the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Brendan Iribe rejoined in front of him, resulting in left-rear damage to the GTP car and a trip to the garage for repairs.
United Autosports claimed a first-ever 1-2 finish WeatherTech Championship LMP2 competition, led home by the No. 2 Oreca 07 Gibson of Mikkel Jensen, Hunter McElrea and Phil Fayer.
Jensen finished 0.510 seconds ahead of teammate Paul di Resta, who lost time in the final pit stop when his No. 22 entry required a rear wing change after the sister cars came together while battling for the class win.
Tristan Vautier drove the No. 8 Tower Motorsport entry to the final position on the podium.
It marked the Richard Dean and Zak Brown co-owned squad’s first Twelve Hours of Sebring win after being a previous 1000 Miles of Sebring FIA World Endurance Championship victor.
AO Racing appeared to be en route to class victory after a commanding run up front until Jonny Edgar was forced to make a stop for emergency service while under the race’s seventh yellow with 1 hour and 48 minutes to go.
Edgar gave way to co-driver Dane Cameron on the final stop, along with a replacement nose, although could only muster a sixth place class result.
RESULTS: Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John
