On a beautiful, sunny day at Sebring International Raceway, in front of tens of thousands of hearty spectators, the 73rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring began with early fireworks.

Dries Vanthoor in the No. 24 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 led the 56-car field to the green flag, but before he actually crossed the start/finish line, he moved over to the right, in front of the No. 60 MSR Acura of Tom Blomqvist.

Vanthoor received a drive-through penalty for his false start that put him down the order in GTP and created an early hole for the No. 24 team to dig out of.

That came after some early incidents in the first three laps. The No. 18 Era Motorsport and No. 88 AF Corse ORECAs collided at Turn 3, The stranded No. 18 of Tobi Lutke, and debris from the No. 88 of Luis Perez Companc, brought out the first full course yellow of the race.