Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Nick Tandy led the way in chaotic Sebring opening practice to mark a remarkable start to the second round of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The session, which lasted 90 minutes, marked the beginning of preparations for the prestigious 73rd running of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, an endurance race renowned for its grueling demands on both drivers and machines.
Nick Tandy, piloting the No. 7 Porsche 963, demonstrated exceptional pace by clocking a blistering lap time of 1:48.651 which ultimately turned out to be the quickest lap time of the session.
The Brit’s performance underscored Porsche Penske’s determination to build on their recent successes, including a victory at the Rolex 24 at Daytona earlier this year.
Tandy’s mastery of Sebring’s notoriously bumpy surface was evident as he navigated through traffic and avoided incidents that plagued other competitors. The multiple GT class Sebring winner is still chasing his first overall victory at this legendary venue.
Nick Tandy’s co-drivers Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor also contributed valuable laps during the session, ensuring the team gathered critical data for the 12 Hours of Sebring.
The practice session began with high expectations as teams prepared their cars for one of the most grueling endurance races in motorsport. Within minutes, however, drama unfolded when the No. 6 Porsche Penske GTP driven by Mathieu Jaminet stopped at Turn 6, triggering the first red flag of the day.
While the car later returned to the track, it completed significantly fewer laps compared to its class rivals. This setback highlighted the challenges teams face in maintaining reliability over Sebring’s unforgiving surface.
As the session resumed, Danny Formal in Wayne Taylor Racing’s No. 45 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 collided with barriers at Turn 2 bringing proceedings to a halt once more. The incident triggered a penalty for the team which will lose its fastest lap during qualifying as per 2025 IMSA regulations.
The Lamborghini team’s struggles underscored the difficulty of adapting to Sebring’s unique combination of concrete runways and asphalt roads.
The opening practice chaos continued when United Autosports USA’s No. 22 Oreca 07 LMP2 driven by Daniel Goldburg suffered damage at Turn 3 following an impact. Fortunately Goldburg managed to limp back to the pits for repairs.
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Later in the session, Jeremy Clarke in Inter Europol Competition’s No. 43 Oreca went off-course, causing yet another red flag with just minutes remaining on the clock.
Despite these disruptions, Nick Tandy remained unfazed and delivered a standout performance in his No. 7 Porsche Penske GTP. His fastest lap of 1:48.651 placed him ahead of Nick Yelloly in Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 93 Acura ARX-06 by just 0.145 seconds.
Yelloly’s teammate Colin Braun secured third place with a time of 1:48.832 in the No. 60 Acura entry, while Mathieu Jaminet recovered from earlier issues to post the fourth-fastest time of 1:48.832 after completing only 15 laps.
BMW Team RLL’s Philipp Eng rounded out the top five in GTP with a lap time of 1:49.040 in his No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8, showcasing consistent pace despite challenging conditions on track.
Meanwhile, Lamborghini made its 2025 IMSA debut with Iron Lynx’s striking green SC63 prototype but struggled to match the pace of established competitors.
In the LMP2 category, reigning Le Mans winner Nicklas Nielsen led the field with a time of 1:50.403 in AF Corse’s No. 88 Oreca 07 Gibson.
Sebastien Bourdais followed closely behind in Tower Motorsports’ No. 8 Oreca with a lap time of 1:50.508, while Felipe Fraga took fourth place for Riley Motorsports with a time of 1:50.868 in their No. 74 Oreca entry.
The GT categories also delivered exciting performances despite facing their own challenges in Sebring opening practice.
Indy Dontje topped the GTD class charts in Winward Racing’s No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo with a time of 2:00.767, narrowly edging out Kenton Koch in Korthoff Competition’s No. 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (2:00.839).
Dragonspeed’s Davide Rigon led the GTD PRO category with a time of 2:00.866 in his Ferrari 296 GT3.
Other notable performances included Klaus Bachler driving AO Racing’s distinctive dinosaur-themed ‘Rexy’ Porsche 911 GT3.R to fourth place in GTD PRO and Daniel Serra securing third for Conquest Racing’s Ferrari with a lap time of 2:00.922.
Overall, the chaotic Sebring opening practice session highlighted both the competitive spirit and technical challenges that define endurance racing at Sebring International Raceway.
With multiple red flags and incidents affecting teams across all classes, drivers were reminded of the importance of resilience and adaptability ahead of Saturday’s main event.
As teams regroup for subsequent practice sessions and qualifying rounds, all eyes will be on Nick Tandy and Porsche Penske Motorsport as they aim to maintain their momentum.
