Af Corse USA Overcomes Three Drive-Through Penalties to Win GTD on Last Lap
SEBRING, Fla. – America, meet ‘Grello.’
Nicknamed for its distinctive bright green and yellow livery, Manthey Racing’s ‘Grello’ Porsche 911 has become legendary in European GT racing circles through its winning performances in the Nurburgring 24 Hours and the DTM championship.
Now Manthey has teamed up with Porsche to tackle all five IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup rounds in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the first time this year – fielding cars in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) and GTD PRO classes – and the new venture is off to a successful start.
Thomas Preining, Klaus Bachler, and Ricardo Feller drove Manthey’s No. 911 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) to its first American victory, claiming GTD PRO honors in the 74th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Raceway.
Preining, the 2023 DTM champion who is also embarking with Manthey on its first IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup campaign, drove the anchor stint to best Harry King, Nick Tandy, and Alessio Picariello in another famous Porsche – AO Racing’s No. 77 911 GT3 R (992) known this race as ‘Roxy.’ The margin of victory was 1.43 seconds following an impressive pass with under 90 minutes to go. Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg, and Nico Varrone trailing home third in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R.
The two Porsches were the class of the GTD PRO field, as ‘Grello’ took the fight to the dinosaur-themed AO Racing entry that won at Sebring in 2025 and has been the ‘class of the class’ for much of the last two years.
“It’s obviously been a Herculean effort to come all the way from Europe to be able to drive in the first place at all, and to drive well and quick and at the front,” Preining stated. “Pulling it off to win the second race is really special. Big, big teamwork was necessary today – it was a very difficult race. Difficult to always have the right strategy and position yourself for the end when it counts and have the car quick when it counts.
“Obviously, we did a good enough job,” he added. “Can’t complain – really good!”
Bachler has now earned three consecutive GTD PRO class victories at Sebring. Preining won in his fourth IMSA start, while this was Feller’s sixth race in WeatherTech Championship competition.
“I’m speechless,” Bachler said. “I really hoped we could win this race after a tough Daytona. I had such a good feeling going into this week, and we were fast when it counted.”
“Grello is something special among all the Porsche race cars,” added Feller. “Every Porsche driver wants to drive it. Now this is the beginning of a new chapter for Grello in the U.S. That’s the first victory, and I’m pretty sure it won’t be the last one.”
