Sebring International Raceway

Track Info

Location	Sebring, Florida
Type	Permanent Road Course (former airfield)
Length	3.74 miles (6.02 km)
Turns	17
Surface	Asphalt and concrete (mixed surface)
Capacity	~170,000
Opened	1950

Track Characteristics

Sebring International Raceway is one of the most demanding circuits in North America and arguably the toughest endurance track in the Western Hemisphere. Built on the concrete runways and taxiways of Hendricks Army Airfield, a World War II bomber training base, the 3.74-mile layout retains much of its rough, unforgiving character. The surface is a patchwork of concrete and asphalt sections joined by seams and bumps that punish cars and drivers over the course of a 12-hour race. There is almost no elevation change, but the relentless bumps more than make up for it.

The circuit rewards car durability and driver endurance above all else. The constant pounding takes a toll on suspensions, gearboxes, and tires in ways that smoother tracks cannot replicate. Teams that set up their cars to be fast over a single lap often find themselves broken down by hour eight. The winners at Sebring are the ones who build their cars tough and manage the race with patience and discipline.

Several corners define the Sebring experience. Turn 1 is a heavy braking zone off the front straight that sets up a long right-hander. The Hairpin at Turn 7 is the slowest point on the circuit and a prime overtaking spot. The Sunset Bend complex in the back section is fast and flowing, requiring precision through multiple direction changes. Turn 17, the final corner, is a long, bumpy right-hander that spits cars onto the front straight - get it wrong and you lose time all the way down the straight.

Night racing is a defining feature of the 12 Hours. The race starts in daylight and finishes under the lights, with the track taking on a completely different character as temperatures drop and visibility decreases. The transition from day to night driving is one of the great challenges in endurance racing, and the teams that manage it best often find themselves on the podium.

Getting There

Nearest Airport	Orlando International Airport (MCO) is about 85 miles northeast and is the most common choice for fly-in visitors. Tampa International Airport (TPA) is about 100 miles west. Sebring Regional Airport (SEF) is adjacent to the track for private aviation.
Nearest City	Sebring, FL. The track sits alongside the Sebring Regional Airport in Highlands County, central Florida.

Series That Race Here

• IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (endurance classic)
• IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge
• IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge
• FIA World Endurance Championship - 1000 Miles of Sebring (shared weekend with IMSA)
• Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) - Sebring Historics
• SCCA - Club racing events throughout the year

2026 IMSA Event Info

Race Name	Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring
Date	March 21, 2026
Duration	12 hours
Start Time	10:00 AM ET
TV	Peacock (full race), NBC / NBCSN (evening coverage)
Endurance Cup	Round 2 of 4 in the Michelin Endurance Cup

Notable Past IMSA / Sports Car Races

• 1952 - First 12 Hours of Sebring: The inaugural race was held on March 15, 1952, won by Harry Grey and Larry Kulok in a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica. The event was founded by Alec Ulmann, who saw the potential of the abandoned airfield runways as a road course modeled after the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
• 1966: Ford swept the podium at Sebring with the GT40 Mark II, part of the legendary Ford vs. Ferrari battle that defined 1960s sports car racing on both sides of the Atlantic.
• 2012: The 12 Hours returned to the ALMS calendar with a dramatic finish. Sebring was also the final round of the old ALMS before merging with Grand-Am to form today's IMSA WeatherTech Championship.
• 2019: The first "Super Sebring" weekend combined the IMSA 12 Hours with the FIA World Endurance Championship's 1000 Miles of Sebring, creating the biggest sports car racing weekend in modern history.
• 2023: Porsche Penske Motorsport won the 12 Hours in the inaugural season of the GTP class, capping a dominant run that also saw them win at Daytona. The new LMDh prototypes brought factory manufacturer battles back to IMSA's biggest stages.

Track Facts

• Sebring is North America's oldest permanent road racing facility, established in 1950 on the runways of Hendricks Army Airfield, a WWII B-17 bomber training base.
• The track surface includes roughly 0.7 miles of original concrete from the airfield runways, giving the circuit its famously bumpy character that punishes cars and drivers.
• The 12 Hours of Sebring is the second leg of the unofficial "Triple Crown of Endurance Racing" along with the Rolex 24 at Daytona and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
• Sebring's flat terrain and lack of natural spectator vantage points are a result of its airfield origins - the land was graded flat for bomber runways in the 1940s.
• The Super Sebring weekend pairs IMSA's 12 Hours with the FIA WEC's 1000 Miles of Sebring, making it one of the few venues where both major sports car championships race on the same weekend.
• Carroll Shelby, Phil Hill, Stirling Moss, and Juan Manuel Fangio all raced at Sebring during its golden age in the 1950s and 1960s.

More IMSA