IMSA: MOBIL 1 TWELVE HOURS OF SEBRING

March 15, 2025

Felipe Nasr

Nick Tandy

Laurens Vanthoor

Press Conference

NATE SIEBENS: We're pleased now to be joined by our overall GTP class winners at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, and Laurens Vanthoor. They are back-to-back winners at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

Felipe, you get to bring it home tonight. What did you have to do to bring it home? What does all the historical stuff mean to you?

FELIPE NASR: Yeah, was incredible to get the job done once again. After the win in the 24 Hours of Daytona, we spoke between us, like, what a dream would be to win Sebring if we can. And here we are. It's just hard to sink it in and understand what we just accomplished here.

As a team, it was a perfect race today from beginning to the end. I think there was just one time we cycled through the back very early on when I was in the car. After that, we made our way to the front. The team did a perfect execution along the race. Nick and Laurens as well, watching them drive it was like, Man, those guys are doing a superb job.

Nick also had the move there on the 31 which help us to be in a better position at the end. When I took the car in that final two stints, I was just concentrated on hitting my target on fuel and drive as fast as I could.

NATE SIEBENS: Nick, can you talk a little bit about the move you had to make to take the lead going on the backstretch, kind of exciting there. Talk about that. Kind of just the roll that you guys are on right now.

NICK TANDY: Yeah, I mean, I'll talk about the roll we're on first because I think it said out there, you rarely see a sports team or an operation or something that does a single event without any faults or mistakes or anything like this.

We've just been celebrating with probably 40 people that have just flawlessly run a car for 36 hours. Obviously Daytona and Sebring combined. It's just a testament to what Porsche and Porsche Penske has put together as a group of people that allow us to go racing and have this success without mistake.

The easiest thing to do in the world of racing is make a mistake, whether in driving or strategy call, in the pits, anything. It's just incredible that we've had this run the last two events.

Yeah, it's just awesome to come here and carry that on. The car has been on the lead lap every lap of the year this year so far I think. We've probably led, I don't know, more than 25 if not 50% of the laps of the races.

The four-car operation, or the two-car operation, has had four podiums out of four. Just unbelievable. Unbelievable achievement for everyone involved.

Porsche being back, I think it was 19 years.

NATE SIEBENS: 2008.

NICK TANDY: 19 years. We were reminded quite well that it was a long time since Porsche had won Sebring overall. Yeah, exactly, it's about time and well-deserved.

Going back to your original thing. Yeah, I mean, the fight with the 31, it was great all day. They were a strong car. They were obviously a very good team. They won here many times before.

Our cars were so closely matched. There was points where I was racing with Fred, I think it was Fred in the car, and there were still three hours to go. There were times when we were side by side. If it was the last lap of the race, there probably would have been a bit more forceful move. Sometimes you have to kind of see position and take the risk out of the equation.

It kept kind of happening. I got a run on him down the back straight. To be fair, he drove really fairly and well all race when I was racing against him. Coming to the end, it showed. When we got track position and we were out front, the car was fast. We knew we had to try and get track position in case there was a yellow coming for the final stops. It was time to go. It was time to go racing.

He left me just half a lane down the inside, and that was enough to go in. It was hard-fought racing. We look forward to a good season battling with him I'm sure for the rest of the year.

NATE SIEBENS: Larry, can you talk about working with these guys these last couple of races, how hard it's going to be to race against them when you are all chasing that Le Mans goal in June.

LAURENS VANTHOOR: Yeah, I mean, we all knew each other beforehand obviously. I've done a couple of races with Nick before, won some races with Nick before. Felipe got to know since a couple years.

Yeah, I think it's obviously that so far it's been pretty smooth. It's great when you know you're working and you know you can rely 100% on your two teammates. I know whether it's Nick or Felipe, at the end it's two pitbulls which will go for every gap and do anything in the restart, whatever, to go for the victory. That's always a pleasant feeling to have that trust in your teammates.

It's been a pretty smooth and easy collaboration. Yeah, feel a bit sorry for them for Le Mans. But that's what it is (smiling).

NATE SIEBENS: We'll go to questions.

Q. Nick, obviously another key achievement in your career. We keep talking about this, Daytona.

LAURENS VANTHOOR: It's time to retire now (laughter).

NICK TANDY: They're tired of hearing it, but I'm not (smiling).

Q. What does this achievement mean, to win overall, now have wins in the big six endurance races, the Triple Crown, all of that?

NICK TANDY: It's incredible because I never realized how big a thing it would be winning all the four 24 Hours. It went global. People talking about it globally.

The Triple Crown is probably one of the more historic kind of - what do we call them - accomplishments, groups.

Q. Accolades.

NICK TANDY: Accolades, exactly. That's why you're a journalist (laughter).

Yeah, it's one of the most historic. You look at the names of the people that are on that list, I mean, one of these two is also going to join it this year, most likely Felipe - sorry, buddy (smiling).

You look at the names that you're linked with. That is just an unbelievable thing. Again, on top of the unbelievable stuff that happens when you win a single race like Daytona, let alone the other bits and pieces.

I remember when I won Sebring in 2018 the first time, I said, This completed my set. I was racing Le Mans spec cars. There were six major races. No, there were four major races. Three? I don't know. Four, that's right. There were four that raced Le Mans spec cars, the three IMSA endurances and Le Mans.

Yeah, I'm getting lost in my train of thought.

Q. Now you've won them overall.

NICK TANDY: Exactly. I think somebody said it's the sixth Tuplet, which is again something that nobody's ever done. Hopefully it's even harder for somebody to match that rather than just the four 24 Hours.

Yeah, I'm glad I've got some good people to help me along the way to do it. It's just great, yeah.

Q. Felipe, towards the end you were really pushing, fastest lap just before the end of the race, was the sister car, had it caught you, would they have been allowed to pass you? Do you have to push that hard at the end?

FELIPE NASR: Well, the thing with Sebring, you never know to catch the train of cars again when you're lapping GTs or the LMP2 cars.

In my mind, all I wanted was to have enough of a gap that when I get through those lapped cars that I had enough in the bag just to manage that in let's say a more manageable way.

But when I heard the green in the final restart, we were going all in. I'm sure the 6 car, if he had the chance, he was going to come and put on a fight, as well, for victory.

That's why behind the wheel I was just focused on delivering everything I had, build up that gap, take the win.

Q. Larry, I wanted to get your thoughts on the competition towards end. Were you surprised that one Cadillac faded when night fell after they were so close to you during the day?

LAURENS VANTHOOR: Well, it's funny. I think it shows the subject we speak about non-stop about Sebring, that is you have the day in Sebring and you have the evening.

Clearly during the day, the heat of the day, I think especially the Acura, but also the Cadillac, they were stronger than us. We could barely keep up. They were saving more fuel.

But most of the time when you're strong in the day, there's a big chance that shifts once it gets cold because you get a balance shift, because the track grips up, gets colder, so on. The car always behaves different in the evening. I think that's what we saw.

It's not that we didn't try hard in the beginning. It's just the shift of the race of Sebring. That's the challenge of this race I think to try and nail that because it's always a bit of guess work, what's going to happen.

I think that's what we saw, yeah.

NATE SIEBENS: Nick, you mentioned the 7 car led 166 of 353 laps today. :307 of 781 at the Rolex. 30-ish percent, so...

NICK TANDY: Room for improvement (laughter).

Q. It seems like with wins at Daytona, first and second here, there are no bugs left in the Penske Porsches. Is there anything that you guys need for Le Mans besides luck? Do you have everything you need to give Roger his first win there?

LAURENS VANTHOOR: I mean, I think the car and the team and the drivers, everybody involved in the project, has shown so far that what we're capable of, winning IMSA, WEC, these the only things missing are Petit Le Mans and Le Mans.

It's the ultimate level Le Mans. Everyone is there. All the competition is there. Everybody is aiming for that race. Everybody is preparing for that race for probably 12 months. It's the ultimate showdown. It's a unique track.

Yeah, I think it's quite obvious that we have everything in place to be successful, but we haven't succeeded in the last two years. It's obviously very clearly the goal of Porsche, of Roger Penske, the whole organization, of us.

Yeah, let's see if this year is the year. It wouldn't be too bad. We're definitely trying. Yeah, we're not the only ones.

NATE SIEBENS: Congratulations.