With three minutes to go Friday (March 20), Action Express Racing’s Jack Aitken set a lap at 126.836 mph around the 3.74-mile circuit Sebring International Raceway. That lap ultimately held up to earn Aitken the overall pole for Saturday’s Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.
“[Sebring qualifying] is one of the funnest sessions of the year,” Aitken said after the session. “The Whelen Cadillac was flying and gave me a lot of confidence. I don’t think anyone ever gets a perfect lap around here, but we were closest.”
Aitken’s lap was .109 seconds faster than Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian’s Tom Blomqvist. Wayne Taylor Racing’s Filipe Albuquerque will start third in his Cadillac, followed by Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Kevin Estre. Louis Deletraz in the second WTR Cadillac will start fifth.
Once the GTP cars got up to speed, Albuquerque was the first driver to set a representative time. It was quickly overtaken by Aitken, then Deletraz.
Aitken and Deletraz swapped the top spot multiple times before Blomqvist turned in a lap at 126.706 mph to take the provisional pole. The pushing continued, allowing for Aitken to retake the overall pole with a significant advantage in a surprising place.
Aitken was more than a tenth of a second faster than anyone else in Sector No. 1. This is a sub-10 second segment comprised of only the pit straight past the start-finish line and turn 1. He could carry more speed through the turn and over the big bumps than anyone else.
The LMP2 session was the only one in which Bronze-rated drivers were required to qualify. It got off to an inauspicious start when Era Motorsports’ Naveen Rao spun exiting turn 16. Luckily, Rao did not hit anything and was able to continue.
Inter Europol Competition’s Jeremy Clarke was able to put himself on the provisional pole early on. This lap was beaten by United Autosports’ Dan Goldburg.
With five minutes to go, Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports’ Misha Goikhberg set a lap at 121.099 mph. This lap ultimately held up to win the class pole.
Goikhberg’s lap was .073 seconds faster than Goldburg. Clarke was third, followed by AO Racing’s PJ Hyett and CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s George Kurtz.
However, Goikhberg’s lap was not the fastest LMP2 lap of the session. With a minute to go, Hyett set a lap nerarly two-tenths of a second faster.
However, Hyett crashed “Spike” during the opening practice session Thursday morning. IMSA rules specify that if you cause a red flag in practice, you lose your best qualifying lap. Hyett will start fourth by virtue of his second-best lap.
In GTD Pro, Winward Racing’s Luca Stolz put his Mercedes on the early class pole. However, that lap was usurped by Vasser Sullivan’s Jack Hawksworth, who was quickest in night practice Thursday.
Hawksworth eventually improved to a lap at 113.639 mph in his Lexus. That held for the class pole. He also managed to beat the previous record for the class, which he already held from back in 2024.
Hawksworth’s lap was .289 seconds faster than Stolz. Paul Miller Racing’s Neil Verhagen will start third in class, followed by Manthey Racing’s Ricardo Feller. RLL Team McLaren’s Dean MacDonald was fifth.
In GTD, it was a back-and-forth affair between a number of teams. AF Corse’s Antonio Fuoco was quickest for a time, as was Turner Motorsport’s Robby Foley and Winward Racing’s Philip Ellis.
However, The Heart of Racing’s Eduardo Barrichello set a lap at 113.280 mph to set a new track record for the class. The lap held up to give Barrichello his first career IMSA pole.
Barrichello’s lap was .124 seconds faster than Ellis. Foley will start third, then Lone Star Racing’s Scott Andrews and Fuoco.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring Qualifying Results
Coverage of the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring can be seen Saturday starting at 10 a.m. ET on Peacock. The green flag is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. ET. Peacock will have the full race. NBCSN will join in starting at 5 p.m. ET.
