- Multiple Authors
- Feb 6, 2025
- 19 min read
Updated: May 23, 2025
IMSA - AWA's breakthrough, Mustang dominance, Bourdais' redemption & Porsche makes it a double!
Daytona 24 kicks off the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with an exciting thriller. AWA’s breakthrough victory in the GTD Corvette, Ford’s dominant fashion with the Mustang, Bourdais redeems himself in the LMP2 class, while Porsche Penske do it again!
Contributions by Olly Shakesby and Charlie Thornton
QUALIFYING
GTD Qualifying
With a differing qualifying format from previous years, the GTD and GTD Pro classes will also be split for qualifying, and in the GTD session, Elliot Skeer in the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 992 GT3 R set a blistering lap of 1:46.634, just eighteen-thousandths quicker than Philip Ellis in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, which won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2024, as well as winning the Rolex 24 in 2024. Van der Steur Racing made their debut in the IMSA WTSCC using an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, after graduating from the Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2024. The debuting team qualified sixth in GTD, just ahead of the Heart of Racing Aston Martin. The session was very clean, and the teams were able to capitalise on the dry track conditions, with the top fifteen competitors being split by just a second at the end of the session.
GTD Pro Qualifying
The GTD Pro qualifying session was tense and exciting, with some light raindrops on the windscreens briefly threatening to disrupt the session. Despite this, Ford’s Mustang GT3 delivered an impressive one-two finish in qualifying, with the #64 Ford Multimatic Motorsport car of Mike Rockenfeller taking pole position with a 1:45.523, while the sister car #65 finished three tenths slower, just ahead of the #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo of Daniel Harper. Ford’s dominance in the session highlighted their development throughout the 2024 season, as well as the winter months, sending a clear signal to their rivals that they are fighting for the championship in 2025.
LMP2 Qualifying
The LMP2 qualifying session saw the first red flag with less than a minute of the session remaining when P.J. Hyett in the #99 AO Racing Oreca 07, more affectionately known as Spike, beached his car on the exit of turn one, triggering the stoppage, as well as losing his fastest lap time which, at the time, was good enough for third position. The session was not resumed due to having insufficient time to complete a lap remaining, meaning the #22 United Autosports USA Oreca of Daniel Goldburg claimed pole position with a 1:38.676, while Spike dropped to sixth.
GTP Qualifying
The highest class in IMSA competition certainly didn’t disappoint, delivering high-speed and controversial moments, with Sheldon van der Linde in the #25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 coming to a halt at turn six, bringing out a red flag. Once the session resumed, a heated clash between the #60 and #63 cars occurred, with Tom Blomqvist at the wheel of the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, and Mirko Bortolotti in the #63 Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse Lamborghini SC63 coming to blows during their qualifying runs. In the end, Dries Vanthoor in the #24 BMW M Team RLL car managed to claim pole position for the sixty-third running of the Rolex 24, edging out the #93 Acura of Nick Yelloly by close to three tenths.
RACE
The 63rd running of the 24 Hours of Daytona got underway, with the chaos beginning almost immediately, with the #2 United Autosports LMP2 entry spinning at turn two on the very first lap. The other United Autosports LMP2 entry #52 in the hands of Ben Keating had taken the lead in LMP2 before losing it to the fan-favourite #99 AO Racing “Spike” team after locking up into turn five. There were various calamities on pit-road when the field made their first scheduled pitstop, the #99 AO Racing team had to remove the nose bodywork and clear rubber from the front left brake ducts to aid in airflow and cooling but the car was soon back out on track, the #8 Tower Motorsport LMP2 entry received a drive through for speeding in the pitlane by just one kilometre, while the #9 Pfaff Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 also had issues with the front left corner as a believed threaded wheel nut required a hammer and chisel to remove, causing a significant delay in the first outing for Lamborghini in the historic plaid scheme. Another car with early problem was the #63 Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse SC63 GTP entry, where an overheating issue saw the engine cover removed from the car followed by the car returning to the garage and later retiring after having completed only the first of the twenty-four hours.
Hour One Leaders:
With just less than an hour and a half completed, the #52 United Autosport’s string of incidents continued as they received a drive-through penalty for speeding by nine kilometres an hour through pitlane. Just the other side of an hour and a half ran the #75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo found itself in strife as smoke began billowing from the front-right corner of the car. The car made it back to pitlane and was wheeled behind the wall in a water pump belt failure causing the engine to overheat. The car returned to the track just thirteen minutes later after the part was replaced, but returned to the garage yet again just two laps later, clearly having larger damage to the internal elements than originally believed by the team. Another flurry of pitlane penalties came through before the end of the second hour of racing with both the #24 Team RLL BMW GTP and the #20 Proton Competition GTD Pro Porsche 992 GT3 R entries receiving drive throughs for refuelling whilst on the hydraulic jack stands, and the #91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette GTD Pro entry receiving a drive through for a tire without a crew member in pitlane.
Hour Two Leaders:
Moving into the third hour of racing around the iconic Daytona International Road Course, bad news struck for the class leading #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW GTD entry as they received a drive through for having a tire without crew members in pitlane. A few minutes later, the #11 TDS Racing LMP2 had a solo crash, finding themselves buried in the tire barriers at turn five after running off track. They lost two laps before being pulled out of the wall under full course yellow conditions, and shortly found themselves behind the wall to fix the significant front left damage done to the car. The #77 AO Racing Porsche 992 GT3 was handed a ten second stop and go penalty for improperly served emergency service under the full course yellow period for the #11’s crash. The class leading #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was the next to suffer an issue as a broken throttle spring put them behind the wall for repairs for thirteen minutes before the third hour of racing was completed. In the LMP2 class there was yet more action as the #73 Pratt Miller Motorsport and #18 Era Motorsports entries came together with the latter being handed a drive through for incident responsibility after the collision at turn three.
Hour Three Leaders:
As the fourth hour of racing began the #12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus and #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin received black and orange “stop and repair” flags for breaches of the tire operational requirements. Also in the GTD class the #80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes received two drive throughs, one for working on the car outside of its designated pit box, and a second for refueling the car whilst it was on the hydraulic jack stands. In a brief moment of foreshadowing for the #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing team, they found themselves off track following a pitstop after locking up into turn three, only the beginning of the downfall for the hour two overall leaders.
Hour Four Leaders:
The #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing team’s issues continued into the fifth hour as they suffered a left rear suspension failure on the exit of turn six. This was the second such failure to happen across the week at Daytona, and just the first of many similar failures across the rest of the race. With four and half hours in the books, the green flag flew once again and almost immediately there was a change for the overall lead as the #31 Whelen Cadillac in the hands of Felipe Drugovich overtook the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963. The bad news didn’t slow for the #80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes as they were handed a one-hundred second stop and hold penalty for a violation of the GTD stint energy requirements. Another lead change followed shortly after the green flag as the #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo took the lead in GTD Pro. Finally it was the turn of the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry to lead as Kevin Estre made an impressive move on the #31 Whelen Cadillac, however just minutes later Estre was boxed in by GTD cars through the banking of Speedway turn two and the #40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing entry in the hands of F1 and Toyota Gazoo Racing legend Kamui Kobayashi went so high he touched the wall to go around the outside and inherit the lead. Before the hour was up there was a final twist in the tail for the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus and #57 Winward Racing entries as both were shown black and orange “stop and repair” flags for failing to adhere to tire operational requirements.
Hour Five Leaders:
The sixth hour saw the #75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo of Kenny Habul officially retired, after experiencing the water pump belt failure in the previous hours. The #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 came into the pits for a nose change after sustaining damage to its left-hand headlights from a collision, while multiple mechanical black flags were issued to competitors for various issues, as well as penalties for pit stop infringements. A nail biting moment for the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura saw it take to the grass in order to overtake the #13 AWA and #36 DXDT Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3’s in the international horseshoe. Another full-course yellow was called when the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Andy Lally came to a stop at turn two, with fluid heavily leaking from the car. Magnus Racing later retired from their final race, for now, as they bring to a close an exceptional run of victories and successes. During the full-course yellow, the #6 Porsche Penske car spun, adding to its run of challenges and obstacles to overcome, and as the green flag waved again, the #60 Acura executed a spectacular three-wide pass around the outside to seize the lead.
Hour Six Leaders:
With over a quarter of the race completed, the seventh hour saw a battle for the lead in GTP occur between the #40 Cadillac and #60 Acura, where both were pushing to the absolute limit, nearly making contact going into turn one, while later on the battle for second position ensued between the #7 Porsche Penske and #31 Whelen Cadillac, which resulted in a hip-check from the Porsche. The #7 was later held up in the pit cycle by its own sister car of the #6, where they entered their box just in front of them as they were about to leave. The #7 was required to be moved and then get going again, which cost valuable seconds and could have had implications on the battle for podium positions.
Hour Seven Leaders:
Aston Martin’s #007 GTD Pro entry from Heart of Racing struck bad-luck as it lost its left rear wheel while heading into turn one, coming to a stop before the tyre barrier. The incident led to another full course yellow, further disrupting the rhythm of the race. As the race restarted, the races’ most dramatic moment occurred when Louis Deletraz in the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R crashed heavily in turn two, sliding back across the track and into the paths of the #2, #8 and #73 LMP2’s. Additional damage and avoidance was taken by the #9, #48 and #77 as they attempted to avoid the chaos. The #8 Tower Motorsport LMP2 and #77 AO Racing Porsche 992 GT3 R managed to drive away unscathed, but the other cars were stranded with heavy damage, prompting another full course yellow. The incident proves the razor-thin margins in endurance racing, especially on tyre warm up before an attempted restart. Moments after the second restart, the #25 BMW was hit by the #5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 at turn two, sending the car into a spin, losing several positions as a result. Sheldon van der Linde managed to recover and continue promptly, but cost the team plenty of time. In the dying moments of the eighth hour, the #83 Iron Dames Porsche 992 GT3 R had a flat tyre, and limped slowly along the oval at speedway turns three and four.
Hour Eight Leaders:
As the ninth hour began, the #5 Porsche was handed a drive-through penalty for its role in the earlier incident with the #25 BMW. As the clocks ticked past 22:00, the fireworks began to light up the sky, momentarily drawing attention away from the track, even though the race was under green flag at the time. The multiclass action intensified as the #60 Acura came to blows with the #14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 at turn five, sending both cars off the track, fortunately, both teams managed to recover and continue, but the incident highlighted the effect that aggressive racing has on all classes.
Hour Nine Leaders:
Ten hours in, and we see the #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 going off the track at turn three, briefly grazing the wall, but continuing - meanwhile, the #36 DXDT Racing Corvette was handed a drive-through penalty for leaving its pit box with equipment still attached, and was later seen spinning at the Le Mans chicane after possible contact with the #32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. This triggered another full course yellow, which was once again plagued by GTP cars causing further issues. The #5 Proton Competition Porsche spun at turn six while trying to catch the pace car, while the #25 BMW lost two laps after a lengthy brake change. As the green flag flew once again, the #24 BMW managed to jump into the lead of the race at turn one, while the #32 Korthoff Mercedes-AMG spun at turn seven moments later.
Hour Ten Leaders:
As we approached the half-way point of the race, we saw a large incident for the #31 Whelen Cadillac with Frederik Vesti at the wheel. He crashed at speedway turn four, and attempted to reverse the car back to pitlane, however the damage proved too severe, forcing an early end to his efforts. After the full course yellow, a wave of penalties hit the grid, including both of the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3’s, with the #3 receiving a drive through penalty for running over equipment, while the #4 also served a drive through for improper pit protocol. The #25 BMW M Team RLL GTP had a stop and go penalty of three minutes and twelve seconds due to improper wave-by procedure, which eventually set the car back two laps behind the leading GTP’s.
Hour Eleven Leaders:
As the race reached its half-way distance, we saw the #5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 returning to the garage after a potential suspension failure, which caused a spin in speedway turn two. The car later officially retired from the race, winding down the number of runners in the GTP category. The Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 struggled in the pitlane, coming to a stop in the transiting lane, while the crew had difficulties pushing the car, eventually going behind the wall.
Halfway Leaders:
The thirteenth hour saw the GTD lead swap between the #70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 and the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 992 GT3, while the #36 DXDT Racing Corvette caught fire at speedway turn two, causing another full course yellow. This hour also saw the official retirements of the #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari and the #36 Corvette, obviously!
Hour Thirteen Leaders:
Fourteen hours in, and the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 overtakes the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 in the Le Mans chicane, while the #70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3, which was leading in class, suddenly slows on the speedway, limping back to the pits. It caused a lot of attention in the pit lane, and eventually lost a lap before being pushed behind the wall. The team reported a broken wishbone, which would take multiple hours to repair. Meanwhile, the #43 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 slowed down on the speedway, triggering a full course yellow due to a suspected gearbox issue, later confirmed by the team to be present since the fourth hour.
Hour Fourteen Leaders:
When the fifteenth hour of racing started, we were still under full course yellow, which went back to green, but at the dismay of multiple crews who received drive throughs for speeding in pits for the #93 Acura and the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, while the #99 AO Racing LMP2 served a stop and go ten seconds for improper emergency service during the full course yellow. The Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 was officially retired after leading at half-way, while the #66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang GT3 also retired.
Hour Fifteen Leaders:
Sixteen hours in saw a few penalties given, a few near misses and off-tracks, but nothing too extraordinary. The true night-time hours really cooled down the racing.
Hour Sixteen Leaders:
Heading into the later hours of the race, we saw a couple of drive-throughs for the #11 TDS Racing LMP2 and the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo which was leading in class at the previous hour mark, due to leaving a tyre unmanned in the pitlane. The front nose of the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura was replaced after hitting the wall in the earlier hour, and Kevin Estre in the leading #6 Porsche Penske 963 missed the Le Mans chicane on cold tires after pitting, however kept the lead.
Hour Seventeen Leaders:
With seventeen hours of the race now complete, we see Madison Snow in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo set the new fastest lap of the race in GTD Pro, all while closing in on the lead in class. Official sunrise saw the transition from night to daylight, a welcome change for drivers battling fatigue, improving visibility, while raising temperatures which aid the tyres.
Hour Eighteen Leaders:
With just five hours remaining, we saw a mass GTD crash where a chain reaction happened with the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 and #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan which caused a full course yellow in order to recover the cars back to the pits. At the restart, contact between the #10 Cadillac and the #25 BMW saw the trailing cars taking avoiding action, managing to stay green, while the #10 was later penalised with a drive through for incident responsibility.
Hour Nineteen Leaders:
Contact between the #3 Corvette and the #81 Ferrari saw a penalty for the Corvette, while the sister car #4 had contact with the #12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3, which caused the Lexus to limp back to the pits, and later retire. Penalties for LMP2 cars including the #74 Riley and #04 CrowdStrike saw them drop down the class order, while the #4 Corvette and #48 BMW made contact at turn two as the Corvette attempted to lap the BMW.
Hour Twenty Leaders:
The #023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari returned to the track, while a penalty for the LMP2 leader saw them drop down the order, losing touch with their potential victory. Unfortunately, after the return to the track for the #023, it soon came back in to finally retire from the race.
Hour Twenty-One Leaders:
After a successful race, the #80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo retired from the race, while even more penalties came through for multiple teams. The #32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was handed a drive through for incident responsibility with the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin after contact at turn one. The #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo was handed a drive through for blocking the #4 Corvette, after attempting to hold up the Corvette to aid the sister #1 BMW. The Corvette and #1 BMW later make contact, and once the #48 came to serve their penalty, Tommy Milner flipped the bird while driving past with visible rear damage. The Corvette was later given a mechanical black flag due to bodywork hanging off, while the leading #88 AF Corse LMP2 came to a halt at turn three with no power, triggering a late race full course yellow. (Photo: Brandon Badraoui)
Hour Twenty-Two Leaders:
With just two hours remaining, the #24 BMW and #7 Porsche battled for the lead, while the #6 received a penalty for a short cut advantage, while the #24 made contact with the #021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3, however, didn't receive a penalty. The #24 attempted to get back at the Porsche throughout the entire stint.
Hour Twenty-Three Leaders:
As the final hour of the first round of the IMSA season began the #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini GTD found itself the penultimate victim of a rear left suspension failure, coming to a stop in speedway turn one and causing the final full course yellow of the race. At the same time the #18 ERA Motorsport LMP2 was given a drive through penalty for incident responsibility with the #91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette GTD Pro. The final green flag flew with thirty-eight minutes to race and coincided with the #32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes GTD receiving a drive through for incident responsibility with the #021 Triarsi Competitzione Ferrari 296 GT3. Just a minute later the #25 Team RLL BMW GTP made contact with the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport GTP whilst attempting to catch the race leading sister Penske Porsche. The final victim of the rear-left suspension failure was the #24 Team RLL BMW GTP as they made their way slowly around the final corner to get to the pitlane. The #52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports LMP2 received a drive through for incident responsibility with the #18 ERA Motorsports LMP2 at turn one. With less than twenty-five minutes to go the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsports GTP took the lead. The #4 Pratt Miller Corvette GTD Pro was the final car to receive an in-race penalty as they were given a drive through for incident responsibility at turn one with the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW GTD Pro during the battle for second through fourth in the GTD Pro field.
POST-RACE In a final twist to the twenty-four hour long tale of the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours 2025, the #8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 was disqualified from the race for excess rear plank wear caused by a failed rear damper. This promoted the #22 United Autosports USA team to the LMP2 class win and moved the #8 Tower Motorsports team to the very back of the grid.
PODIUMS IN EACH CLASS
GTP: #7 - Porsche Penske Motorsport, Porsche 963 - Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy & Laurens Vanthoor
LMP2: #22 - United Autosports USA, Oreca 07 - James Allen, Daniel Goldburg, Rasmus Lindh & Paul di Resta
GTD Pro: #65 - Ford Multimac Motorsports, Ford Mustang GT3 - Christopher Mies, Dennis Olsen & Frédéric Vervisch
GTD: #13 - AWA, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R - Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Marvin Kirchhöfer
POST-RACE In a final twist to the twenty-four hour long tale of the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours 2025, the #8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 was disqualified from the race for excess rear plank wear caused by a failed rear damper. This promoted the #22 United Autosports USA team to the LMP2 class win and moved the #8 Tower Motorsports team to the very back of the grid.
ONTO SEBRING
A short break until IMSA continues the season at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, where the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie will make its IMSA debut in the GTP class.
Comments