2026 Carrera Cup season opener duel at Sebring goes to Tyler Maxson

The first North American race for the Porsche 911 Cup (Type 992.2) and for the 2026 Porsche Carrera Cup North America season went to Tyler Maxson in an eye-catching battle at Sebring International Raceway.

Maxson, a Porsche Junior Program North America driver, led the opening lap after starting from pole position, but fell back to Jared Thomas (JTR Race Engineering) on Lap 2. The battle began at Turn 16 of the 3.74-mile circuit and lasted through Turn 3. But Thomas only held the top spot for 10 minutes until Maxson fought for it back.

Maxson wins inaugural 911 Cup race in North America.

Maxson went on for the Mobil Pro class victory by nearly eight seconds, while setting the K1 Speed Fastest Lap of the race with a new Sebring track record of 2:02.662. Maxson's Race Brew Pole time of 2:00.313 obliterated Riley Dickinson's previous 2023 record of 2:01.667.

“These TOPP guys have just put in so much work over the offseason to get us into the spot that we need to be,” said Maxson. “I’m just happy I could show it, that their hard work paid off.

“It’s still a long season, we’ve got a lot of races left to go. Really strong competition, so we’ve just got to keep the momentum going forward.”

In their battle, Maxson and Thomas allowed Aaron Jeansonne (Kellymoss) to close in before the race’s end. Thomas held on for second, but only by .146 seconds over Jeansonne, last season’s Rookie Driver champion.

Solairus Aviation Pro-Am class dominated by Mulcahy.

Meanwhile, ACI Motorsports driver Patrick Mulcahy put on a masterclass performance in the Solairus Aviation Pro-Am category, leading flag-to-flag and running amongst Pro drivers throughout the race. Mulcahy not only led both practice sessions on Wednesday and captured pole on Thursday, but also finished eighth overall in Race 1.

“It feels absolutely amazing, I enjoyed every minute of it,” said Mulcahy, who finished 10 places higher on the overall charts than the next closest Pro-Am competitor. “JCD (Dubets), a good friend of mine, him and I battled for a long while and same with Connor Bloum. It was a blast out there.”

James Sofronas finished second place behind Mulcahy, followed by Brady Behrman in third.

Cirone heads ACI Motorsports 1-2 finish in Solairus Aviation Masters Class.

ACI Motorsports was not only victorious in Pro-Am, but also with Marco Cirone starting and finishing first in the Solairus Aviation Masters class on Thursday. However, his success did not come easily.

The Canadian driver qualified on pole, but lost the position on Lap 1 to his teammate Richard Edge. Cirone regained the spot midway through the race and Edge finished behind by less than one second.

“It feels fantastic, especially the first one of the season,” said Cirone, who placed a season-high best of third place at Sebring in 2025. “Everything went well, including this morning’s qualifying. I want to thank the team for giving me an amazing car. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I’d be able to have that pace.”

Trailing the ACI Motorsports Masters duo was Rob Walker (JTR Motorsports Engineering) and his Herbie-inspired 911 Cup car in third place after a post race penalty was handed to Scott Blind (Ruckus Racing).

Race 2 at Sebring coming up.

Friday concludes Porsche Carrera Cup activity at Sebring with Race 2 at 5:45pm ET.

All Porsche Carrera Cup North America races stream live – and are available to watch anytime – on the Porsche Motorsport North America & IMSA YouTube channels. Stay up-to-date on all the latest news by following Porsche Motorsport North America on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, and Twitter, and by subscribing to the newsletter.

Results.

Race 1

Mobil Pro Class

1. Tyler Maxson #77

2. Jared Thomas #96

3. Aaron Jeansonne #24

Solairus Aviation Pro-Am Class

1. Patrick Mulcahy #54

2. James Sofronas #14

3. Brady Behrman #28

Solairus Aviation Masters Class

1. Marco Cirone #88

2. Richard Edge #18

3. Rob Walker #53

Full results can be found here, and all photos can be found here.