Racing legend Mario Andretti headlines the first group of inductees selected to the "Class of 75," an elite list honoring the most successful drivers in the history of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The complete roster of 75 drivers will be revealed in batches of 15 between now and January, leading up to the historic 75th running of the endurance classic on March 20, 2027.
The hall-of-fame style roster was compiled and voted on by a 10-person panel of sports car racing experts to commemorate the landmark anniversary. Sebring International Raceway held its inaugural 12-hour race on March 15, 1952, and the event has run continuously ever since, with its only interruption occurring in 1974 due to the global energy crisis.
The selected drivers were divided into randomly drawn groups of 15. The first 15 drivers named to the "Class of 75" represent multi-generational icons of the legendary circuit:
Bob Akin
New York native Bob Akin made 10 starts at Sebring between 1978 and 1987, competing in a Porsche every time. Akin earned two overall victories, first in 1979 with Rob McFarlin and Roy Woods, and again in 1986 alongside Hans Stuck and Jo Gartner. During their 1986 win, Akin, Stuck, and Gartner set an overall average speed record at Sebring that stood for 23 years.
Mario Andretti
Andretti maximized his six starts at Sebring by securing three overall titles and a class victory in a fourth attempt. His overall wins came in 1967, 1970, and 1972. His 1970 victory in the No. 21 Ferrari 512S remains one of the most famous moments in track history; after retiring his pole-starting No. 19 team car due to gearbox issues, Andretti was substituted late in the race for Ignazio Giunti. He staged a dramatic final charge to pass Peter Revson, winning by 23.8 seconds in what was then the closest finish in race history.
Joao Barbosa
Portuguese driver Joao Barbosa made 14 appearances at Sebring starting in 2000. He claimed his first class win in 2012 during a combined event with the World Endurance Championship, driving an ALMS-entered P2 car with Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut to finish fourth overall. In 2015, Barbosa won the overall title driving the No. 5 Action Express Corvette DP with Christian Fittipaldi and Sebastien Bourdais, leading 248 of 340 laps as the only car on the lead lap. He returned to victory lane seven years later in 2022, securing an LMP3 class title with Sean Creech Motorsport after a grueling 1,238-mile battle.
Geoff Brabham
Across four consecutive starts from 1989 to 1992 in a Nissan GTP, Australian Geoff Brabham took overall victory twice. In 1989, he scored pole position and led the first 69 laps en route to victory with Chip Robinson and Arie Luyendyk. He won overall again in 1991 alongside his brother Gary Brabham and Derek Daly. Brabham also finished second overall in 1990 in the No. 84 Nissan with Robinson and Daly, behind the sister No. 83 entry, and took another second-place overall finish in 1992.
Derek Daly
Ireland's Daly boasts one of the highest winning percentages in Sebring history, posting an average finish of 1.33 across three starts. Daly won overall in his 1990 debut driving the No. 83 Nissan GTP with Bob Earl—while also pulling double duty in the runner-up No. 84 car. He took a second overall win in 1991 driving the Nissan NPT-90 with Geoff and Gary Brabham, followed by a second-place overall finish in 1992 behind the winning Toyota Eagle Mk III.
Phil Hill
Miami-born Phil Hill competed 13 times at Sebring between 1953 and 1966. He captured overall victories in 1958, 1959, and 1961, alongside class titles in 1955, 1962, and 1963. All of his Sebring victories came behind the wheel of a Ferrari, except for his 1963 GTO class win in a Shelby Cobra with Lew Spencer and Ken Miles. Hill remains historical as the first driver to complete endurance racing's Triple Crown by winning Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring.
Bruce Jennings
Privateer Bruce Jennings competed at Sebring 18 times, establishing a reputation as one of the circuit's most persistent drivers. In his 1962 debut, Jennings claimed a class victory and a third-place overall finish. Though he did not take another class or overall win before his final race in 1981, he earned five additional podium finishes at the track over his career.
Sascha Maassen
German driver Sascha Maassen won five times across 13 starts at Sebring, driving a Porsche in every event. Maassen completed a streak of four consecutive class wins from 2001 to 2004 with Alex Job Racing, securing two pole positions during that run. He scored his final Sebring victory in 2010, taking the LMP2 class title for Muscle Milk Team Cytosport. Over his career, he also drove for Penske, Paul Miller, and Competition Motorsports.
John Morton
John Morton earned his lone overall victory at Sebring 30 years after his 1964 debut. In that initial race, Ken Miles vouched for an unlicensed Morton to co-drive the No. 1 Shelby American Cobra, though the pair retired early. In 1994, Morton partnered with Johnny O’Connell and Steve Millen to take overall honors in the No. 75 Nissan 300 ZX. The trio also secured class wins together in 1993 and 1995.
Jim Pace
Jim Pace was a regular visitor to victory lane throughout the 1990s. His first trip came in 1991 with a class victory and seventh-place overall finish in the Miller Genuine Draft Buick Kudzu with Charles Morgan. After podium finishes in 1994, 1995, and 1997, Pace achieved his signature Sebring moment in 1996, driving the No. 4 Riley & Scott Oldsmobile Mk III for Doyle Racing to an overall victory alongside Wayne Taylor and Eric Van de Poele.
Hans Stuck
Nicknamed the "Rainmaster" for his skill on wet tracks, German driver Hans Stuck won five times at Sebring, including three overall and two class titles. His first overall win came in 1975 for the factory BMW team, marking the manufacturer's first victory in the United States. He won overall again in 1986 in the Coke Porsche 962 with Bob Akin and Jo Gartner, and added a third overall victory in 1988 driving the Bayside Porsche 962 with Klaus Ludwig. Stuck demonstrated his wet-weather talent with a rain-soaked Porsche class win in 1993, followed by a final class win in 1996.
Nick Tandy
Englishman Nick Tandy built his Sebring legacy primarily with Porsche. As a factory driver, Tandy won GT class titles in the Porsche 911 RSR in 2018, 2019, and 2020. Moving to the Porsche Penske 963 prototype program in 2023, he captured his first overall victory in 2025 alongside Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor, edging their sister Penske car by 2.2 seconds. Across 12 starts, Tandy has earned one overall win, three class wins, and five podiums.
Richard Thompson
Nicknamed the "Flying Dentist" due to his day job in Washington D.C., Richard Thompson entered the inaugural 12 Hours of Sebring in 1952 after driving his 1950 MG-TD from D.C. to Florida. He finished eighth overall and drove the car back home. Thompson entered the race 14 times, driving for legendary owners like Briggs Cunningham and Roger Penske across brands including Corvette, Maserati, Ferrari, MG, Shelby Cobra, and Ford GT. His debut eighth-place result was his career-best overall, and he added class wins in 1952 and 1957.
Fermin Velez
Spaniard Fermin Velez made six appearances at Sebring, earning back-to-back overall victories in a Ferrari 333SP. He won in 1995 alongside Andy Evans and Eric Van de Poele, and repeated in 1996 for Team Scandia with Evans, Yannick Delmas, and Stefan Johansson. In his final start in 1998, Velez finished second in class and sixth overall with Team Scandia.
Andy Wallace
English driver Andy Wallace finished inside the top 10 in 15 of his 19 starts at Sebring. Co-driving with Juan Fangio II in a Toyota Eagle Mk III, Wallace won overall in back-to-back years in 1992 and 1993. He added a class victory and second-place overall finish in 1994 driving a Chevrolet Spice SC89 with Derek Bell and James Weaver, followed by another class title and runner-up overall result in 1998 in a Ford Panoz GTR-1 with David Brabham.
Looking Ahead: Remaining Driver Unveils
The reveal of these first 15 legends marks just the beginning of the buildup toward the historic anniversary race. Fans will not have to wait long for the remainder of the roster, as the second group of 15 drivers will be announced on October 13, followed by the third installment on November 10. The fourth collection of 15 names is scheduled for release on December 15, with the fifth and final group of 15 drivers set to be revealed on January 12 to complete the full "Class of 75" ahead of the March 2027 celebration.
