Jack Aitken took Cadillac’s sixth Twelve Hours of Sebring pole position and the “first-and-a-half” of his season. He would have started on pole for the Rolex 24 At Daytona before the #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R failed post-qualifying technical inspection. “I’ve still got the trophy,” Aitken exclaimed.
“Definitely, we’re aware of how strong some of the other cars are,” he says about the competition, with Porsche Penske Motorsport in particular being among the favourites to win. “They don’t show any signs of dropping out of the fight. If anything, they tend to somehow get quicker as the weekend goes on.
“I’m not taking much stock from what we’ve just seen in qualifying. I believe they’ll be right there from quite early in the race.
“We’ve got some homework to do still, I think, to find what we need to win this thing. That’s all we can do.”
Westbrook (JDC-Miller): Negative fan feedback to GTP exemption ‘ridiculous’
JDC-Miller MotorSports’ #5 Porsche 963 will start seventh tomorrow; it’s a new livery and number for the team, but it’s still the same 2025-spec Porsche 963 package that raced at the Rolex 24.
Richard Westbrook, the team’s Driving Advisor, was surprised – and not pleasantly so – when a vast majority of the reaction to the team receiving an exemption in the IMSA Sporting Regulations to be able to run the previous-spec 963 was that of bleak pessimism about the team’s future, and the future of top-class racing in IMSA (and by extension, the WEC). “It’s ridiculous,” Westbrook said flatly.
“It’s been well documented about the price of upgrading and stuff like that. But honestly, from my perspective, we really struggled last year. There was a major update (in the) beginning of ’25 and we couldn’t find the sweet spot of the car.
“There was a question mark on the ’26 update, and whether that was right for us. Obviously GTP is, you know, everyone talks about it being the golden era of motorsport – but we are down to one privateer worldwide now.” That’s JDC-Miller MotorSports, following Proton Competition’s reluctant exit from the WEC’s Hypercar class, and the closure of boutique Hypercar programmes like Glickenhaus and Isotta Fraschini.
Westbrook takes a more level-headed approach to where things stand, adding, “We’re not sitting here with our begging bowl asking for everyone to help us, but it is very different for a private team. We are at a disadvantage – and we need to play to our strengths.”
“You could argue, you would only do an update if it’s going to go quicker. But we feel really confident with our package right now. We showed it in Daytona – all the drivers were all very comfortable with the car, the balance of the car. We’ve really got a hold on our package right now, and we need to continue developing that.
“So it’s a bit disappointing when you read all those negative comments, like, ‘This is the end of the formula,’ but it’s not. It’ll be the end of the formula if you lose cars on the grid. I’m not saying privateers are the be-all and end-all of this golden era. But you do need them. They do serve a purpose. And it is a worry that we’re the only ones in the world that are a private team…but we’re going to make the most of it.”
Esterson: “Ready to be fighting at the front” with RLL McLaren
In his first full season of racing sports cars, RLL Team McLaren driver Max Esterson has been learning a lot through just his third IMSA appearance. And although the team has been cast in the role of GTD Pro underdogs this season, Esterson is maintaining a high standard for himself.
“It’s good and bad,” Esterson says about that underdog label. “I guess there’s some people that don’t have big expectations. I guess I have. Even though I’m a rookie in GT3, I don’t want any excuses. I just want to do well.
Esterson made his IMSA debut in October at Motul Petit Le Mans in Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, driving JDC-Miller MotorSports’ Porsche 963. In the off-season, he tested RLL’s #59 McLaren (720S) GT3 EVO at Daytona in November, and secured a full-time ride alongside co-driver Nikita Johnson.
“It’s a fresh start, kind of,” he says of the new opportunity with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. “And I expect to be on it, even though I’m new to it. I don’t really give myself a grace period to grow into it. I’m ready to be fighting at the front.”
Esterson’s debut at Petit Le Mans was his very first multi-class race following years of racing overseas in single-seaters – success in Formula Ford, then hardships up to FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2. The challenges of negotiating faster traffic is still new.
“I enjoy the traffic,” Esterson remarks. “The speed and the brakes on the GT3 are so good that when a prototype passes on the straight and pulls in front of us, they end up braking earlier than where we would brake – so unless they get a long ways ahead before the braking zone, you lose time behind them, which is a little bit annoying. It’s give and take, I guess. And I just have to be smart, and somewhat knowledgeable.
Goikhberg hoping for “lots of wins and a championship” with Herta and PR1/Mathiasen
This weekend, Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen races with its new “regular” livery on the #52 ORECA 07-Gibson after racing at Daytona with the Wynn’s Racing colours often associated with Ben Keating. But for the rest of 2026, it’ll be Misha Goikhberg serving as BHA/PR1’s Bronze-rated anchor driver, and his maiden IMSA pole was a throwback to his earlier heyday in IMSA’s Prototype Challenge class, and later in the unified Prototype class driving a JDC-Miller MotorSports ORECA 07.
“It’s no secret I got downgraded (from Silver) last year, so I’m enjoying the newly minted status of a Bronze,” said the soft-spoken Goikhberg. “Hopefully it will result in lots of wins and a championship.
Goikhberg made his debut in the 2014 edition of Petit Le Mans and had made 104 starts since, but today was his first-ever pole position in IMSA. His re-rating from Silver to Bronze sparked his move from the GTD class, where he spent several seasons at Forte Racing, back to LMP2.
“It’s very exciting. It’s my first qualifying attempt in a Prototype for this team,” Goikhberg continued. “We didn’t have the smoothest of weekends. The team did a lot of work overnight. It’s a great place to start the race – I think we know where we need to adjust to have an even better race car for tomorrow.”
With talented co-drivers Harry Tincknell and Parker Thompson at his side, Goikhberg will start on the pole, aiming for victory as he pursues a championship and an automatic invite to the 2027 24 Hours of Le Mans via the Jim Trueman Award.
All drivers okay after first-lap Pilot Challenge crash
Drivers Steve Wetterau, Thomas Collingwood, Madeline Stewart, Frank DePew, Vincent Barletta, Athan Sterling, Ray Mason, and Dan Ammann were all evaluated and released from the Sebring medical centre after retiring in a massive crash before the field even took the green flag for Friday’s Michelin Pilot Challenge Alan Jay Automotive Network 120.
Wetterau’s #37 CarBahn with Peregrine Racing BMW was turned around in the middle of the GS class grid, resulting in a track-blocking pile-up that took almost a quarter of the race to be cleaned up.
Aurora Strauss was able to bring her damaged #24 Murillo Racing Mercedes-AMG back to pit lane but completed only one lap before retiring; the other car involved in the incident, the #30 LAP Motorsports Ford, finished 16 laps down after repairs.
Bamber, De la Torre complete Lamborghini Super Trofeo sweep…
Will Bamber and Elias De La Torre put their #29 TR3 Racing car first overall yet again today in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Pro class. The Race 2 victory was never in doubt for the #29, starting from pole position, and finishing the race with a two-second gap to the next fastest Pro car.
It was another P2 finish for the #1 Wayne Taylor car, driven by Hampus Eriksson and Nick Persing, followed by the #4 ANSA Motorsports with Colin Queen and Tommi Gore at the wheel in third.
In Pro-Am, Danny Formal and Graham Doyle finished a mighty drive with the victory in class and P5 overall for the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing crew, winning two of two to start the season. The #44 Kaizen Autosport car (Wyatt Foster/Seth Henry) had an exciting battle at the start of the race with the Pro #1 car, eventually finishing second in ProAm and 10th overall.
The best of the Am class was the #70 TR3 Racing car of Dean Neuls, who held less than a 0.5-second lead over the #89 89x Motorsports car of Johan Schwartz, who was 0.4 seconds ahead of David Staab in the #48 Precision Performance Motorsports car. This exciting battle at the head of the Am class lasted over 15 minutes and ended in a near photo finish.
Rocky T. Bolduc in the #99 Topp Racing car won in LB Cup after putting an astonishing amount of moves on the #65 Taurino Racing car of Ray Shahi, eventually taking the lead. Shahi finished P3, behind Philippe Touchette in the #11 TB Autosports in second position in class.
The next Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America round will take place at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on 1-3 May.
…and Maxson does the same in Porsche Carrera Cup
Tyler Maxson put on a masterclass to take his second overall victory in Porsche Carrera Cup North America today in his #77 Topp Racing Porsche 911. Aaron Jeansonne in the #24 Kellymoss car was like a dog with a bone behind Maxson after starting from second position, but ultimately finished the race where he started, in P2.
Callum Hedge took home third place in the #9 JDX Racing car after fighting with Jared Thomas for a good part of the race, with Thomas eventually taking a puncture and dropping to the back of the field.
In Pro-Am, Patrick Mulcahy was again untouchable in the #54 ACI Motorsports, sweeping the races this weekend. James Sofronas in the #14 GMG Racing finished second, ahead of Josh Conley in the #29 Kellymoss car in P3.
Victory in the Masters class went to Canadian Marco Cirone #88, ACI Motorsports, yet another class sweep in the Carrera Cup this weekend. Rob Walker in the #53 JTR Motorsports Engineering car took P2, followed by Kayden Kelly in the #80 Kellymoss car.
Next up in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America calendar is a supporting race for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, on 17–19 April.
Images © IMSA, Jack Webster / dailysportscar.com
