Four hours are complete at this year’s 12 Hours of Sebring, with the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 leading both the overall field and the GTP class.

The race saw drama before it even began, as the #79 JDC-Miller Motorsports LMP2 entry withdrew due to personal conflicts for driver Gerry Kraut. That decision reduced the starting field to 54 cars for the 12-hour enduro.

Once the green flag dropped, the intensity quickly ramped up with aggressive battles across all classes. The LMP2 category quickly became a hotspot, as Naveen Rao in the #18 ERA Oreca made contact with Jon Field in the #37 Intersport Oreca, triggering a string of incidents that defined much of the opening hours.

The first full-course yellow came within the opening hour due to debris on track. On the restart, Jack Aitken held the GTP lead in the #31 Whelen Cadillac before Tom Blomqvist worked his way past to put the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura out front for the first time. From there, the lead remained in flux, with the #40 WTR Cadillac and the #7 and #6 Porsche Penske entries all taking turns at the front.

Trouble struck again in the second hour when Parker Thompson’s #52 BHA LMP2 machine made contact with Henrik Hedman in the #81 DragonSpeed Corvette. The incident sent Hedman hard into the Turn 3 tire barrier, resulting in heavy damage, though he was able to walk away uninjured.

Following the second FCY, more issues arose early in Hour 3. Under pace laps, the #31 Whelen Cadillac of Earl Bamber sustained damage in an incident involving Laurens Vanthoor’s #7 Porsche. Despite the contact, no penalty was issued.

The most significant incident of the opening four hours came late in the third hour. Seb Priaulx (#65 Ford Mustang GT3) and Alessandro Pier Guidi (#62 Risi Competizione Ferrari) spun while exiting Turn 17A, leaving their cars stranded on track. Pier Guidi was left exposed, and Russell Ward in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG had nowhere to go, slamming into the scene and causing heavy damage to both cars. Seb Priaulx would also suffer damage to his Ford. However, it was able to be serviced by the team. Shortly after the incident, both Winward Racing and Risi Competizione retired their damaged entries.

A fourth full-course yellow would come out due to debris on-track and shuffled the grid from scheduled stops to close out Hour 4.

Outside of GTP, Tristan Vautier leads LMP2 for Tower Motorsports in the #8 Oreca, ahead of Jonny Edgar in the #99 AO Racing Oreca. In GTD Pro, Max Hesse leads in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, while Antonio Fuoco tops GTD in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3.