SEBRING, Fla. — Russian composer Igor Stravinsky may have celebrated The Rite of Spring (aka Le Sacre du printemps) nearly half a century before Russian-American aeronautical engineer Alec Ulmann founded what was destined to become the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
But Ulmann’s annual clambake on a United States Army Air Force training base-turned racetrack has long been recognized as sports car racing’s rite of spring.
Every March (and one November) but one since 1952 the world’s leading sports car manufacturers, race teams and drivers have convened in central Florida (along with tens of thousands of race fans, snowbirds and “spring-breakers”) to race around the clock on the rough ’n tumble runways, taxiways and purpose-built connecting roads that collectively make-up Sebring International Raceway. Some even showed up the one time the race didn’t happen, in 1974.
The Rolex 24 At Daytona may be twice the distance, but when it comes to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, no event can match the unique challenges posed by the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
Will Sebring’s Win Streaks Roll On?
Winward Racing’s trio of Philip Ellis, Russell Ward and Indy Dontje have gone back-to-back at Sebring in ’24 and ’25 in Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) in their No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3. While they shoot for their Sebring triple, the two-time defending class champions can also double up to start 2026 after winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
“We were super stoked that we could get our third Rolex and start the year, defending our championship and going for the third in that way,” Ellis said. “It sets you up for the year and makes us the hunted car again from the get-go – which is a nice position to be in. But of course, it brings a lot of pressure as well.”
Also “hunted?” That’d be Porsche Penske Motorsport, which opened 2026 with its Rolex 24 win with its new-look No. 7 Porsche 963 lineup and seeks a second straight “36 Hours of Florida” double. The two Porsches were first and fourth at Daytona this year, and first at second at Sebring last year. But at the Rolex 24, the top eight in Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) finished on the lead lap. There’s little margin for error.
“I think everybody always says you’re only as good as your last race,” says Team Penske president Jonathan Diuguid. “Racers and fans have pretty short memory, and so we just need to continue to operate at the high level that we’ve been operating at.
“The driver crews are performing extremely well, and so is the car, and so that’s our main focus for Sebring. The evolution of the 963 has improved on the bumpy circuits, and we’re looking forward to it again. I think the Michelin tire also is an improvement over last year. So I expect to see more fighting in the heat of the day and less people riding around because I think the tires definitely improved.”
“The last time we were very successful (at Sebring) and we’re coming from a dream start at Daytona,” added Felipe Nasr, the only driver of Penske’s trio going for the Florida “double double” from 2025 to 2026.
Cadillac’s got a thing for Sebring streaks too, having won three straight 12 hours from 2021 to 2023 with three different teams (JDC-Miller MotorSports, Chip Ganassi Racing and Cadillac Whelen) spanning two Cadillac prototypes (Cadillac DPi-V.R, Cadillac V-Series.R) and two different top prototype classes (DPi, GTP). Louis Deletraz, who won with Acura in 2024 but now seeks a repeat with Jordan Taylor and Colton Herta aboard the No. 40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V.Series-R this weekend, is bullish on Cadillac’s chances.
“The Cadillac is really strong at Sebring,” Deletraz said. “We were testing for two days, so I think we had some time to prep well and then I’m really excited because we got a good shot at it. We need to beat everyone, including Felipe, which was very strong lately but we’ll give it a go.
“All the ‘evos’ Cadillac brought, which are for us positive, bring consistency. When we go to a track like Sebring with all the bumps, it should be positive for us.”
How Will Lamborghini Temerario GT3 Fare?
Both Pfaff Motorsports and Lamborghini know how to win at Sebring. Pfaff claimed a GTD PRO win in 2023 with a Porsche, while Lamborghini’s then-Huracán GT3 won back-to-back in GTD in 2018 and 2019 with Paul Miller Racing and GRT, respectively.
They haven’t won at Sebring together. Yet.
For the debut of the new Lamborghini Temerario GT3, winning is secondary to finishing the grueling 12-hour with its distinctive, recognizable and fan-favorite plaid motif (although it ran in a test livery at the IMSA-sanctioned test in November, above).
Subjecting a new car to the bumps and grinds of Sebring International Raceway is a truly formidable challenge. But with a multiple day test in November, Pfaff and Lamborghini are prepared. Additionally, how better to find any challenging point in a new car than by pounding around Sebring for two days of practice and qualifying followed by a 12-hour race?
“It’s always special to do the first laps of a new car in North America,” Andrea Caldarelli said of the car’s North American test debut at Daytona, prior to the Sebring test. “So it’s really, really happy. We didn’t create any red flag as probably somebody was expecting. No, jokes apart, it was good. We didn’t have any problems. We ran all the runs we wanted to do and we planned. So we didn’t have any issues.
“It’s pretty different starting, obviously, with the engine base it’s completely different. So drivability wise it’s completely different from the Huracan. There’s a few laps to get used to it, but after that the car was pretty much straightforward. The car requires, obviously, a different driving style, both engine and chassis is a different platform, but other than that it feels pretty normal.”
Pfaff Motorsports general manager Steve Bortolotti and the crew will work with drivers Caldarelli, Sandy Mitchell and team newcomer Franck Perera, who will share the No. 9 Temerario.
How Will Weather Affect This Year’s Race?
From all indications, it’s looking like Chamber of Commerce weather for the copious amounts of fans and campers at Sebring with forecasts of daytime high temperatures in the mid-70s and ample doses of Florida sunshine on Saturday . . . until roughly 7:30 p.m.
And therein lies the rub. As when the sun dips below the Western horizon, temperatures drop too – approaching the 50s as the race steams toward the 10:10 p.m. checkered flag.
Sebring success often means setting the car up well for the final two hours when the ambient and track temps drop. As the competition heats up, contests for track position become orders of magnitude more … urgent … than in the morning and afternoon.
“You don’t really care what your pace is during the day,” Ellis explained. “You want to have a good car the last two hours, which usually is very different in track temperature and even just track condition. It usually gets super dirty, especially at the end, and keeping the car clean, having everything still attached, all the wheels straight and just having no issues and no penalty left for the end.”
Deletraz added, “What is so special is the night finish of this race. The race comes up and becomes way more aggressive. There’s always a yellow that gets you back in the game towards the end. There is strategy and then there’s placing how much risk you want to take. So personally, I enjoy it. I think it’s one of the best races in the world.”
Another aspect to the night racing is the fact that the GTP drivers and teams are still getting accustomed to Michelin’s new rubber this season, tires specifically designed to reach optimum performance while being more sustainable than in previous seasons.
“We are still learning about the new Michelin GTP tire, especially in these conditions, especially the warm conditions,” Nasr said. “I would say Daytona was mostly … let’s say transitioning from not too high temps to let’s say medium temperature.
“For sure I’ve seen the warming up laps has been better everywhere since we got the new Michelin tire, which is a big benefit and something we drivers also have to adjust to. You need to make the most of the tire, even though they’re cold. That’s where drivers make a difference. It’s extracting the tire. The out laps are still pretty significant in terms of gaining a position or not.”
