Sebring International Raceway Photo
HSR Sebring Pistons & Props Presented by Alan Jay Automotive Network Concludes with Great Competition and Close Family Camaraderie
Mission GT Challenge Inaugural Series Endurance Race Among Highlights
of Successful Season-Opening HSR Sebring Pistons & Props Presented by
Alan Jay Automotive Network
HSR Competitor and Pilot Bob Hahnemann Presented with HSR Best Plane
Award for His Debuting Beechcraft T-34 Mentor Formerly Owned by Pioneer
Astronaut Frank Borman
SEBRING, Florida (February 15, 2026) – A rapid-fire run of six
Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) sprint races Sunday morning brought the
2026 edition of the HSR Sebring Pistons & Props presented by Alan Jay
Automotive Network to a competitive conclusion after four days of
season-opening on-track action at Sebring International Raceway. Among
the weekend’s many highlights was the first full schedule of competition
for the HSR Mission GT Challenge for modern GT cars, which ran its
series debut 60-minute endurance race Saturday evening.
The endurance race bookended a pair of Mission GT Challenge sprints
earlier on Saturday and Sunday morning, and the themes throughout the
trio of races were top competition and podium parity. More than four
different manufacturers and their various models of cars recorded race
wins or podium finishes in Mission GT Challenge competition at Sebring.
The top winners were Ed Wheatley and his quick professional coach and
co-driver Jimmy Llibre in their ACI Motorsports 2019 No. 2 Fortress
Stabilization Porsche 991.2 GT3 R, and solo driver Kevin Clayton in the
European Auto Garage 2020 No. 03 Mercedes-AMG GT4 supported trackside by
Kingpin Racing. Wheatley, Llibre and Clayton swept the respective trio
of races in the GT3 and GT4 divisions, but their locks on the win column
did little to hide the mix of manufacturers who joined them on the
podium throughout the weekend.
In fact, Saturday’s opening sprint race produced a pair of podiums made
up of six entirely different models of cars across four different
manufacturers. Llibre drove the No. 2 Porsche GT3 R to the victories in
both sprints, and was joined in Saturday’s GT3 podium top three by
runner-up Todd Treffert in the CRP Racing 2018 No. 141 Mercedes-AMG GT3
and third-place finisher Charles Wicht in his Charles Wicht Racing 2020
No. 71 Bentley GT3-R.
Clayton led a competitive GT4 podium that was the same in all three
races. Daniel Fortin secured a trio of runner-up showings in his
Performance Tech Motorsports 2023 No. 38 Toyota Supra GT4. Former HSR
driver of the year Drew Ewing in turn scored third-place GT4 showings
across the board in his 2016 No. 13 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport.
Other Mission GT Challenge winners and podium players on the weekend
included Ben Myers, Michael Flynn, Dan Ammann and Mark Boden.
Myers finished first in GT3 in the Saturday endurance race in the 2017
No. 29 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup prepared by the 901 Shop. Flynn joined Myers
on the enduro GT3 podium with a fine run to third place in his Irish
Mike’s Racing 2020 No. 195 Porsche 991.2 GT3. Ammann took third-place in
GT3 in the Enduro in his Vintage Racing Company No. 268 Porsche 992 GT3
Cup car.
Boden earned his podium with a third-place GT3 run in his Fall-Line
Motorsports No. 246 Porsche 911 GT3 in Sunday’s sprint.
Sunday’s off-track highlight was the presentation of the annual
HSR-presented Best Plane award that went to pilot and race car driver
Bob Hahnemann. In addition to joining his son Matt Hahnemann at the
wheel of their 2007 No. 111 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup car at times over the
weekend, the senior Hahnemann flew the Pistons & Props debuting
Beechcraft T-34 Mentor to Sebring. The special plane, a post World War
II trainer that was a learning workhorse for thousands of cadets for
more than 25 years, was the last one owned by legendary NASA astronaut
pioneer and American United States Air Force (USAF) Colonel Frank
Borman, Commander of Apollo 8, which was the first mission to fly around
the Moon.”
“I have been racing for 25 years and have never received an award as
special as this one,” Bob Hahnemann said. “I want to dedicate it to
Frank Borman. He flew this plane and made it something special, and it
just seems right to honor him as the true aviation and space pioneer
that he was.”
Next up on the 2026 HSR calendar of events is the 48th HSR The Mitty
presented by Hagerty, April 23 – 26, at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Mazda was announced as the Featured Marque of this year’s event, HSR’s
oldest race and first blockbuster event, at the onset of this weekend’s
HSR Sebring Pistons and Props presented by Alan Jay Automotive Network.
Tickets for the 48th HSR The Mitty presented by Hagerty at Michelin
Raceway Road Atlanta can be purchased online at:
https://am.ticketmaster.com/ra
information on the 48th annual The Mitty Presented by Hagerty race
weekend, including the event schedule, entry lists and ticket
information, visit: https://www.hsrrace.com/the-mi