Race History

Origins: The Bomber Base Becomes a Race Track (1941–1952)

The story of Sebring begins not with racing, but with war. In 1941, as the United States prepared to enter World War II, the Army Air Forces built Hendricks Army Airfield on flat farmland outside the small Florida town of Sebring. The base was named for Lieutenant Loy E. Hendricks, a pilot who died in a training accident at the field.

For four years, Hendricks Field trained thousands of pilots and bombardiers on Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers — the heavy four-engine bombers that would carry the war to Germany and Japan. The runways hummed with activity around the clock. Then, in 1946, the war ended, and the base was decommissioned. Miles of perfect concrete runways sat empty in the Florida sun.

Alec Ulmann, a New York-based aviation and motorsport enthusiast, saw opportunity where others saw abandoned infrastructure. He recognized that the airfield's network of runways, taxiways, and perimeter roads could be connected into a challenging racing circuit. On December 31, 1950, the first race was held — a 6-hour handicap event won by Harry Gray in a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica.

The first 12 Hours of Sebring was held on March 15, 1952, won by Harry Gray and Larry Kulok in a Frazer Nash after covering 754 miles. A tradition was born.

The Golden Era: Grand Prix Stars Come to America (1950s–1960s)

What made Sebring remarkable in the 1950s was that it attracted the world's very best drivers — the same men who raced Formula 1 Grands Prix in Europe. This was extraordinary for an American event at a time when motorsport was deeply segregated by continent.

Juan Manuel Fangio, the five-time Formula 1 World Champion — widely considered the greatest racing driver of all time before the modern era — won at Sebring in 1956 and 1957. The 1957 win in an Maserati 450S was his only American racing victory. Stirling Moss, Alberto Ascari, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, and Nino Farina also competed — a who's who of motorsport royalty.

Ferrari dominated the 1950s and early 1960s, with Enzo Ferrari himself taking a keen interest in American success as a marketing tool. The red cars from Maranello became synonymous with Sebring victories in this era.

In 1959, Sebring hosted the United States Grand Prix as part of the Formula 1 World Championship — the first F1 World Championship race ever held in America. Bruce McLaren won it driving a Cooper T51, making Sebring permanently part of Formula 1 history even though the US GP later moved to Watkins Glen.

Tragedy struck on multiple occasions during this era. The 1966 race saw five fatalities. The aftermath prompted a complete redesign of the circuit for 1967, adding safety infrastructure and removing some of the most dangerous sections.

The Porsche Dynasty (1970s–1990s)

If the 1950s belonged to Ferrari, the decades from 1970 onward largely belonged to Porsche. The Stuttgart manufacturer accumulated win after win through successive generations of racing machines — the 914/6, 935, 936, 956, 962 — building a dominance unmatched by any single manufacturer in Sebring history.

American heroes emerged during this era. Hurley Haywood, a Porsche driver from Jacksonville, Florida, won Sebring five times — 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, and 1994 — becoming the race's most successful American driver. Al Holbert, a Porsche factory racer from Warminster, Pennsylvania, won twice. Derek Bell, the British Porsche ace, won three times. These men became legends not just in America but globally.

American icons also visited Sebring. Mario Andretti, the New Jersey-born Italian-American who would win the Formula 1 World Championship in 1978, won at Sebring in 1967. Dan Gurney, the all-American racer and constructor, competed multiple times. A.J. Foyt, the legendary Texas hardman who won everything America had to offer, took class victories at Sebring.

The Audi Era: Diesel Power Conquers Sebring (2000s–2010s)

The early 2000s brought a technological revolution. Audi arrived with its diesel-powered R10 TDI in 2006, shocking the motorsport world with a fuel-efficient powerplant that proved faster and more reliable than conventional gasoline engines. Diesel at Le Mans — and Sebring — won.

Tom Kristensen, the Danish "Mr. Le Mans," won at Sebring six times: 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2012 — an all-time record. Driving for Audi in different partnerships with Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro, Rinaldo Capello, and others, Kristensen combined speed with extraordinary consistency over 12-hour distances.

This era also saw the rise of the DPi (Daytona Prototype International) formula in the late 2010s, replacing the American Le Mans Series with the unified IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Manufacturer programs from Cadillac, Acura (Honda), Mazda, and others returned to American endurance racing, creating the most competitive era since the 1950s.

The Modern Era: Le Mans Comes to America (2020s)

The biggest change in Sebring's recent history came with the arrival of the GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) class in 2023. The new LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) regulation created cars that comply with both IMSA's GTP rules and the FIA World Endurance Championship's Hypercar regulations simultaneously. This means the same Porsche 963 that races at Sebring also races at Le Mans, Spa, and Monza. The global convergence of endurance racing has made the GTP class field arguably the strongest prototype grid since Audi's peak years.

The 2024 race was won by Jordan Taylor, Colton Herta, and Louis Delétraz in the #40 Acura ARX-06 for Wayne Taylor Racing — one of the most dominant performances in recent memory. In 2025, Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, and Laurens Vanthoor won in the #6 Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsport, the defending champion returning to the top step.

Recent Winners (2014–2025)

All-Time Records & Legends

Most Sebring Overall Wins — Drivers

• Tom Kristensen (Denmark) — 6 wins (1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012)
• Hurley Haywood (USA) — 5 wins (1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1994)
• Derek Bell (UK) — 3 wins (1971, 1976, 1987)

Most Successful Manufacturers

• Porsche — 19+ overall victories, more than any other manufacturer
• Ferrari — 8+ overall victories, dominant in the 1950s–60s
• Cadillac/GM — 7+ victories in the modern DPi/GTP era (2017–present)

Unforgettable Moments

• 1952: The first 12-hour race is held. A tradition is born in the Florida heat.
• 1957: Juan Manuel Fangio wins — the only American race victory of the greatest F1 champion's career.
• 1959: Bruce McLaren wins America's first Formula 1 World Championship race on this very circuit.
• 1970: Steve McQueen finishes second overall with a broken ankle in a Porsche 908, losing by 22 seconds.
• 2000: Tom Kristensen and Frank Biela win for Audi in the first diesel attempt — beginning the manufacturer's Sebring dynasty.
• 2012: Tom Kristensen wins for a record sixth time at age 45 in an Audi R18 e-tron quattro.
• 2023: The GTP class debuts with the new LMDh formula — five manufacturers, 11 cars, the most competitive prototype field in decades.
• 2024: Colton Herta, Jordan Taylor, and Louis Delétraz win for Acura in a dominant performance for Wayne Taylor Racing.

The Triple Crown of Endurance Racing

The 12 Hours of Sebring is one leg of the informal "Triple Crown" of endurance racing, alongside the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona. While no official Triple Crown award exists, winning all three in a single season is considered the ultimate achievement in endurance racing.

The combination of three very different circuits — Le Mans' long straights and ultra-high speeds; Daytona's banking and infield road course; Sebring's rough, bumpy airfield surface — means no single car or strategy excels everywhere. Winning all three requires a combination of technical excellence, driver skill, and the kind of endurance luck that only 12–24-hour races can provide.