Jack Aitken and Cadillac Racing grab pole position for the 12 Hours of Sebring

Written by Tarun Suresh

Jack Aitken posing after qualifying on pole position for the No.31 Whelen Cadillac | Credit: Brandon Badraoui

Just like he did in Daytona, Jack Aitken gets pole position for the Whelen Cadillac crew for the 2026 12 Hours of Sebring. He, Earl Bamber and Frederik Vesti will pilot the car on race day and will be hoping to convert the pole into a win after narrowly failing to do so at Daytona.

The No. 52 will start on pole in LMP2, the No.14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus in GTD Pro and the No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin in GTD.

The Results

GTP - Top 5

1. No.31 Whelen Cadillac - J. Aitken - 1:46.153

2. No.60 Meyer Shank (MSR) Acura - T. Blomqvist +0.109

3. No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac. - F. Albuquerque +0.145

4. No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport - K. Estre +0.242

5. No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac - L. Deletraz +0.268

LMP2

1. No.52 Bryan Herta Autosport - M. Goikhberg - 1:51.182

2. No. 22 United Autosports - D. Goldberg +0.073

3. No. 43 Inter Europol Competition - J. Clarke +0.078

4. No. 99 AO Racing - PJ Hyett +0.140

5. No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing - G. Kurtz +0.507

GTD Pro

1. No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus - J. Hawksworth - 1:58.480

2. No. 48 Winward Racing Mercedes - L. Stolz +0.289

3. No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW - N. Verhagen +0.406

4. No. 911 Manthey Porsche - R. Feller +0.560

5. No. 59 RLL Team McLaren - D. MacDonald +0.736

GTD

1. No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin - E.Barichello - 1:58.856

2. No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes - P. Ellis +0.124

3. No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW - R. Foley +0.284

4. No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes - S. Andrews +0.436

5. No. 21 AF Corse Usa Ferrari - A. Fuoco +0.463

As it happened

GTD

Dudu Barrichello and the No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin got pole in GTD | Credit : Jake Galstad

Dillon Machaven in the No. 28 Rs1 Porsche was the first to do a proper push lap at around the ten-minute mark with a 2:02.9 lap. It didn't last long as Benjamin Pedersen went quicker a little later.

Antonio Fuoco in the No. 21 AF Corse was the first to break into the 2:00s, and Pedersen soon followed.

It was Eduardo Barrichello, in the No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, who set a lap in the sub 2-minute mark. Fuoco improved to a 1:59.319.

Philip Ellis in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes was the first to crack into the 1:58s. His time at the top, however, was short-lived as Barrichello went a little more than a tenth quicker to claim provisional pole. Fuoco pulled into the pits soon after, ending his charge for pole with 3 minutes to go.

Heading into the final minute, while quite a few drivers improved on their laps, none were able to top Barrichello’s 1:58.856 laptime, handing pole to him and the No. 27 crew.

GTD Pro

GTD Pro polesitters No.14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus in practice at night | Credit: Jake Galstad

The first push lap was from Andrea Caldarelli driving the Lamborghini Temerario for the car’s first qualifying session. He only managed a 2:05 and was quickly replaced at the top of the sheets by Dan Barker in the No. 64 Ford Mustang. 

With around 8 minutes left, Barker went into the sub two minutes, but was quickly outpaced by Daniel Sierra in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari, who managed a 1:59.4. 

Luca Stolz in the No. 48 Winward Racing Mercedes was the first to beat Barrichello’s GTD pole time with a 1:58.769. Jack Hawksworth soon went three tenths quicker and took provisional pole for the Vasser Sullivan Lexus.

Similar to how qualifying went for the GTDs, the drivers couldn’t improve, even Hawksworth himself, who pulled into the pits with a minute to go. Meaning, he and the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus team qualified on pole.

LMP2

Misha Goikhberg posing with the No.52 Bryan Herta Autosport car after qualifying on pole in LMP2 | Credit: Brandon Badraoui

After a quick battle for track position with Jeremy Clarke in the No. 43 Inter Europol car, George Kurtz in the No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing car was the first to fire off a flying lap. 

With around ten minutes to go, Naveen Rao in the Era Motorsport car spun around trying to set a quick lap. He quickly recovered and continued the session without any interruptions to the qualifying session.

With 5 minutes to go, laptimes were closing up as Misha Goikhberg in the No. 52 led the sheets, and less than a tenth separated the top three.

PJ Hyett in the No. 99 AO Racing improved to fourth and was a little more than a tenth behind the top three and only kept improving. Once he did improve, he set a monumental 1:50.941, the first to break into the 1:50s, and was a tenth and a half ahead of Goikhberg.

Nobody could beat his time, but because of his crash in the preceding practice session, he lost his fastest lap, so he only started fourth. Misha Goikhberg and the No.5 2 Bryan Herta team will start on pole tomorrow.

GTP

No.31 Cadillac in practice | Credit: Jake Galstad

Jack Aitken in the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac was the first to set a proper flying lap with a 1:47.917. Philipp Eng in the No.25 Team WRT BMW followed and was half a second back.

Drivers quickly kept improving and setting faster laps. And Louis Deletraz went fastest around a minute later.

With five and a half minutes to go, Jack Aitken broke into the 1:46s and led for a minute or so before being replaced at the top by a fellow Cadillac, the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing machine driven by Filipe Albuquerque, only half a tenth separating the two.

Eng in the No. 25 car lost the car and went off track on a flying lap, effectively ending his qualifying session due to damage.

Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing went three hundredths quicker to get provisional pole.

The Acura’s time at the top did not last long as Aitken went a tenth faster, taking pole position for the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac.