Aston Martin’s multiple championship-winning Vantage race car continued its strong start to the 2026 season, recording a third IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship podium finish in just two races, as the Heart of Racing Team took a superb second in the 74th Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.
The result, which follows Vantage’s second and third places in January’s season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, ensured that the British ultra-luxury brand’s most successful ever racing car recorded its fourth rostrum finish in six years at the notoriously punishing Florida venue.
THOR’s Aston Martin was a victory contender all weekend, with Dudu Barrichello recording an emphatic class pole position on his 12 Hours of Sebring debut. The achievement echoed fellow THOR racer Mattia Drudi’s own pole lap at Daytona, meaning Vantage, and the Seattle-based team, have yet to be outpaced in qualifying in 2026. Barrichello’s lap also ensured Vantage is the current pole position-holder at three of sportscar racing’s most prestigious events; the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
And, just as in Daytona, Aston Martin was in the victory fight right until the end of a gruelling, caution-filled race that required THOR to fightback from adversity twice through an event full of complexity. Barrichello, and his teammates Zach Robichon and Tom Gamble all led the GTD class comfortably at various points of a race featuring no less than six lengthy caution periods behind the Safety Car.
Barrichello led initially and delivered a flawless opening stint. But during his second run in the car, the Brazilian had to forsake a strong position with an unscheduled pitstop for a false alarm in the fifth hour. Having fought back into the top ten, the #27 Vantage then fell off the lead lap serving a penalty for a pitlane incursion in Hour 7. Undeterred, the team set out to use the pace of the Vantage and take strategic advantage of the frequent Full Course Yellows.
Inch-perfect stints by all three drivers allowed Robichon to recover the lead, handing the Aston Martin over to Gamble in a strong position for the final charge. The Briton’s path to victory looked to have opened up when his chief rival was penalised for colliding with another car, and then the class leader (on an alternate strategy) pitted, moving the Aston Martin to the front. But Gamble’s, and the team’s hopes were dashed by yet another Full Course Yellow in the final 30 minutes which neutralised the field, extinguishing Gamble’s hard-earned advantage. Ultimately, he was forced to settle for second.
“I am disappointed for us to have come so close…. Again,” said Gamble. “But second place at Sebring is something we should all feel proud of, and it underlines the strong start to the season we’re having. My teammates were outstanding all weekend, and the team put together an amazing car, and the strategy was exceptional to get us back into contention through the race. It’s been an exciting start to the year, and these points will set us well on our way, but it’s tough to lose the win at such a late moment and it will be a while before this one doesn’t hurt!”
THOR team principal Ian James said: “You have got to be happy with a podium, even if it was tough to lose the win right at the end. But Tom and his teammates did an amazing job to get us in a position to fight for the win, and in the end, we didn’t quite have the pace. There were lots of positives to take away, and we leave Sebring with the GTD Class championship lead.”
It was the second time in as many years that THOR has finished on the podium at Sebring, and the fourth time in six attempts with Vantage since 2020. The runner-up spot this weekend also marked the 14th occasion an Aston Martin crew has stepped on the podium, including three victories.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: “The close, stop-start nature of the racing in IMSA means that you need a car that can be competitive in any condition, and a team that has the strategic flexibility to maximise these properties. At Sebring we saw once again how the Heart of Racing and Vantage embody those traits with another outstanding performance. The race didn’t go our way, ultimately, but the success was in the consistency of pace and the ability to be in the fight every time it mattered. Sebring is very hard on racing cars, because it is bumpy, so to be in contention through the entire weekend showcased all of Vantages wide array of attributes. Long Beach can’t come soon enough.”
Source material – Aston Martin Racing