Two-time IMSA champion Pipo Derani will join DXDT Racing for next month’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, completing the team’s lineup in the No. 36 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

The Brazilian, who was recently named to the new Gensis Magma Racing LMDh effort, joins the previously announced Salih Yoluc, Charlie Eastwood, and Alec Udell in the GTD class entry.

Derani gained his first laps of the Corvette during last month’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway.

“I am excited to join DXDT for the 24 Hours of Daytona,” Derani said. “[Team manager] Erin Gahagan and I worked together many years ago at Patron ESM and I have a huge respect for the work she does.

“DXDT had so much success last year and has a very promising and exciting new chapter in IMSA starting in 2025.

“I hope that by joining them for Daytona I can contribute to their IMSA success.
I would also like to thank the fact that Genesis Magma Racing allowed me to join DXDT for this race, as it’s a great way to kick off the year and stay sharp and race ready.”

Team owner David Askew added: “Pipo is a great addition to our team for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. He’s a proven winner at this race and in this series, so he knows how to get the job done.

“He was a great help to us at the test back in November, and after watching him race and win in endurance races for the last decade, I know he has that special something to help us win this race. I can’t wait to see him in the car in January.”

It was previously confirmed that Robert Wickens will drive the DXDT Corvette for the five sprint rounds next year, with his co-driver yet to be announced.

Corvette Racing’s influence in the Rolex 24 At Daytona continues to grow with the release of the entry list for next month’s season-opening race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Five Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs are taking part in the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 on the road course at Daytona International Speedway the largest number of production-based racing Corvettes in the race since 2007.
A total of 18 drivers, seven of them Corvette factory pilots will drive the Z06 GT3.R, which is starting its second season of global competition.

• Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Daniel Juncadella(No. 3 Corvette); Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner, Nico Varrone (No. 4 Corvette)
• AWA – GTD: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Martin Kirchhoeffer (No. 13 Corvette)
• DXDT Racing – GTD: Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc, Pipo Derani (No. 36 Corvette)
• Trackhouse by TF Sport – GTD PRO: Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch (No. 91 Corvette)

Each of the collection of Corvettes will participate in the three-day Roar Before the 24 the week before the Rolex.
The 2024 season was one of success and learning for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R and its teams. Among the highlights were 11 race victories in North America one of which came from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports the Bob Akin Award (and an entry for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans) for AWA’s Fidani and the GTD PRO Manufacturers Championship in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

In addition, DXDT Racing scored 10 victories in GT World Challenge America with the Corvette, including the Z06 GT3.R’s first global win and TF Sport claimed a double-podium to close the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
The Corvette brand has a deep history at the Rolex 24 and includes four GT class victories, one of those an overall win in 2000.

Corvette Racing performance and powertrain engineers made significant improvements to the Z06 GT3.R throughout its first season of competition. Much of the work focused on optimizing performance and enhancing the Corvette’s reliability.
The outright pace of the Corvette GT3 is evident with 12 pole positions across three series in 2024, and the reliability took huge steps forward in the second half of the year.

The Roar Before the 24 is set for January 17-19, with seven sessions scheduled across the three days. The Rolex 24 goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with qualifying on Thursday, January 23.

CORVETTE RACING FACTORY DRIVER QUOTES

ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I am more anxious to race at Daytona than I have been in several years.
There is a lot that everyone at Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller has going for us ahead of the Rolex 24.

Obviously, we expect a lot in the second year with the Z06 GT3.R after a win and some poles last year in IMSA. The other programs in WEC and World Challenge performed really well, especially in the second half of their seasons.
The pace of the car is there, and I’m confident that so is the reliability. Our lineup should be very, very strong with having Alex and Dani having another year with this team.
There are big reasons for us to be confident, and I hope we can achieve our goal of winning another Rolex 24 in a Corvette.”

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It’s going to be really nice to go into the season with an understanding of the team that I have around me and continuity having worked with Antonio and Dani. Knowing it will be the same this year is great, along with Andy Ramsey as our race engineer.
We’ve built up a really good understanding together, so I hope we can build on that, and I feel like we might be a little bit further down the road for the first few races in terms of our understanding of one another.

It’s not going to create any massive differences in terms of performance, but it’s nice from a personal point of view to have that nice working atmosphere of who you’re going to be with.”

DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Expectations are high for my second year in IMSA has a Corvette factory driver. Now that we have a full year of development of the Z06 GT3.R, it should make our life a lot easier. We finished the season with a test at Sebring, which was really positive in all areas.
I think we have a wonderful starting point for the season coming up. I can’t wait to go again.
Likewise, I love Daytona and starting the season with such a big event, including the Roar and Rolex 24.
I’m excited for that and to see how we fare against the competition.”

TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“A year of racing there’s no better test of a machine and driver than a full season of racing in IMSA. I feel like we’re not worried about or thinking about having a brand-new car like we did at the start of 2024. We have a Corvette now that has had a full year’s worth of running in several series.
It’s the same car with some smaller updates to make the car more comfortable to drive and more reliable.

We’ve had that experience now and can focus on the things that are different this year, like the torque axle sensors. Luckily for us, the TF Sport guys and Corvette Racing in WEC have a year’s worth of experience with that. We’ll use that and all the knowledge that Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller have for Daytona and put that toward giving us the best chance to get a win.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“For 2025, I have good hopes because I think we are a lot further along with the development and understanding of the Corvette than we were last year. So coming into the Daytona 24 Hours, I generally do believe that we have a chance to win it, whereas last year was a little bit more of an exploration of what the car would do and where we would be. But I do believe we have a serious shot.

There are some changes from IMSA which to me are very positive. We can be a bit more focused again on racing the people we need to race. I’m personally a very big fan of that. I’m looking forward to some tough battles.
I think we will have a full grid as well for Daytona.”

NICO VARRONE, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I can’t express how happy I am to join the Corvette team again in IMSA, now with Pratt Miller. It’s exciting to be in the GTD PRO program, and it gives me vibes of 2023 where we won the World Championship together in WEC. It’s my first time running in the U.S. in the GTD PRO car.
Furthermore, it will be really special to represent Corvette in such an important series.

There are a lot of fans at the races in America, so it will be super fun. I also get to share again the weekends with the mechanics and engineers that I know. I love all those people that make up the team, and I’m looking forward to giving my best and being in the best form of my life to bring the results that the Z06 GT3.R deserves. The car in its first year showed a lot of potential.
Hopefully we can put it together in 2025 for some of these big race wins.
It will be tough work to join Tommy and Nicky, but I think we have a great lineup to fight for big things. I’m super-excited and looking forward to it.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m really looking forward to joining DXDT Racing. I think the lineup with have in GTD is as strong as any on paper. We had a strong test with the team at Daytona. There is an amazing bunch of guys and girls within the team.
You can see why they had so much success in GT World Challenge America in 2024 because they have so many great qualities and so many great people working within the team.

I was looking forward to the season before the test, and now I can’t wait to get started since the test.
I think we have an excellent chance to get some big results, which I’m gunning to make sure that I make sure to do in 2025 and my second year with Corvette.”

First time for Corvettes as 5 Z06s will be racing at the IMSA 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona

Three Corvettes will be racing in the GTD-Pro class
Two Corvettes will be in the lower GTD class

First will be the 2025 Roar Before The Rolex 24 Jan 17-19th

Then

Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, Florida, Rolex 24 Hours

January 23-26, 2025

Race Day/Time: Saturday, January 25 – 1:40 p.m. ET

NBC Network Coverage: LIVE, Saturday, January 25 @ 1:30-2:30 p.m. ET; Sunday, January 26, 12:00-2:00 p.m. ET

Peacock Streaming Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET in the U.S.; International feed coverage available on IMSA.tv and YouTube.com/IMSAOfficial (outside the U.S.)

Live Qualifying Stream: Thursday, January 23 – 2:05 p.m. ET on Peacock and IMSA.tv (in the U.S.) and YouTube.com/IMSAOfficial (outside the U.S.)

Circuit Type: 3.56-mile, 12-turn road course

Classes Competing: Grand Touring Prototype (GTP), Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO), Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)

Race Length: 24 hours

Track Social Media:

Instagram: @daytona
Facebook: @daytona
X (formerly Twitter): @daytona, @Rolex24Hours

Event Hashtags: #IMSA, #Rolex24

Trackhouse Racing and TF Sport’s all-star team at the 63rd Annual Rolex 24 At Daytona now has the backing of WeatherTech as a primary partner of the No. 91 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

WeatherTech will continue a partnership with Trackhouse that began last year, when the American automotive accessories manufacturer sponsored Shane van Gisbergen during his NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign.

Van Gisbergen and fellow Australian Supercars champion alumni Scott McLaughlin were already announced to drive the No. 91 Corvette alongside Trackhouse NASCAR development driver and 2024 LMP2 class winner Connor Zilisch, and top-rated American Bronze driver Ben Keating.

“We began a relationship with Trackhouse Racing last year in NASCAR, and now we will be part of their sports car program in this year’s Rolex 24,” said David MacNeil, founder of WeatherTech. “Every sports car fan recognizes WeatherTech, and we feel like Daytona International Speedway is our second home.
I think (Trackhouse founder and owner) Justin (Marks) has put together a talented team, and we are ready to go racing in 2025.”

“We are honored WeatherTech joined us on this project, and we feel this combination of drivers, race teams, manufacturer and corporate sponsors are as good as any competing in Daytona this year,” said Marks, a class winner at the Rolex 24 in 2009.

WeatherTech will also sponsor van Gisbergen and Zilisch in their respective NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series campaigns in 2025.

WeatherTech will serve as the primary partner for the No. 91 “Trackhouse by TF Sport” Corvette driven by an all-star driver lineup when it competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona on January 25-26.

Trackhouse Racing’s NASCAR drivers Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch along with INDYCAR star Scott McLaughlin and longtime sports car racer Ben Keating will drive the No. 91 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R that will compete in the GT Daytona (GTD) PRO class for the 24-hour race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.“We began a relationship with Trackhouse Racing last year in NASCAR and now we will be part of their sports car program in this year’s Rolex 24,” said WeatherTech founder David MacNeil.

“Every sports car fan recognizes WeatherTech, and we feel like Daytona International Speedway is our second home.
I think (Trackhouse founder and owner) Justin (Marks) has put together a talented team, and we are ready to go racing in 2025.”

The Bolingbrook, Illinois, company is a leading manufacturer of premium American-made automotive accessories and home and pet care products. The company has a long history in sports car racing in America. It became the IMSA title sponsor in 2016 and extended its agreement through 2030.

WeatherTech will also serve as the primary sponsor of Van Gisbergen in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series and Zilisch in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025.

“We are honored WeatherTech joined us on this project and we feel this combination of drivers, race teams, manufacturer and corporate sponsors are as good as any competing in Daytona this year,” said Marks, who won the Rolex race as a driver in 2009.

Trackhouse Racing has fielded NASCAR Cup Series cars since 2021 visiting victory lane eight times with drivers Ross Chastain, Daniel Suárez and Van Gisbergen all in Chevrolets.
It joined the MotoGP grid in 2024, bringing an American team back to the pinnacle of motorcycle racing for the first time in over a decade.

The TF Sport team was founded by Tom Ferrier and headquartered in Slinfold, West Sussex, England, United Kingdom.

It has enjoyed a winning pedigree since the outset, claiming multiple championship titles in the British GT Championship, the GTWC endurance championship and the Michelin Le Mans Cup. TF Sport claimed victory at the Spa 24 Hours (2019) and two wins at Le Mans 24 Hours (2020) and (2022). The team were also crowned World Endurance champions in 2022.

The Trackhouse Racing Powered by TF Sport team makes its on-track debut during a three-day test called the Roar Before the Rolex 24 on Jan. 16-19, and returns for practice, qualifying for the 24-hour race on Jan. 23-26.

5 Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs set for three days of testing ahead of Rolex 24

The second season of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R kicks off in a big way this weekend with the annual Roar Before the 24 the stage-setting event for the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Five Corvette GT3s from four teams dot the 61-car entry across two of the four classes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
The quintet of Corvettes each will test Friday through Sunday on the 3.56-mile Daytona Road Course ahead of next weekend’s season-opening round:

• Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports GTD PRO: Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Daniel Juncadella (No. 3 Corvette); Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner, Nico Varrone (No. 4 Corvette)
• AWA Racing – GTD: Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Mavtin Kirchhoeffer (No. 13 Corvette)
• DXDT Racing – GTD: Charlie Eastwood, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc, Pipo Derani (No. 36 Corvette)
• Trackhouse by TF Sport – GTD PRO: Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch (No. 91 Corvette)

This year’s group marks the largest number of production-based racing Corvettes in the race since 2007. The Corvette Racing brand has a deep history at the Rolex 24 and includes four GT class victories – one of those an overall win in 2001. In addition, Corvette’s successes at Daytona have bolstered Chevrolet’s impressive record of 122 wins at the circuit across IMSA and NASCAR’s national series.

Corvette Racing performance and powertrain engineers made significant improvements to the Z06 GT3.R throughout its first season of competition. Much of the work focused on optimizing performance and enhancing the Corvette’s reliability. The outright pace of the Corvette GT3 is evident with 12 pole positions across three series in 2024, and the reliability took huge steps forward in the second half of the year.

The Roar Before the 24 is set for January 17-19 with seven sessions scheduled across the three days.
The Rolex 24 goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with qualifying on Thursday, January 23.

JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

“Everyone at Corvette Racing and our Corvette Z06 GT3.R teams is excited and optimistic heading to Daytona. After our initial season of racing and development, we feel confident going into this year’s Roar with a group of Corvettes that are both quick and reliable.
The engineering teams across the whole Corvette Racing program have spent a considerable amount of time and effort making sure our teams are set up for success this year at Daytona and the rest of our 2025 schedule. With five Z06 GT3.Rs across two classes in this year’s Rolex 24, Corvette fans aren’t going to want to miss it.”

SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We have a whole season under our belt now with the Corvette. Quite a few of the issues that we had last season are ones we’ve ironed out along with understanding the platform and understanding the car better so we can extract more performance from it more often.
We understand the strengths and weaknesses of the package, of which there aren’t many weaknesses, thankfully.”

“For Daytona, it’s always a huge challenge to complete the first race of the year. I would hope that this year it will be a step better than last year.
Already last year, we had good speed during the race, but with it being the first race of the ZZ06 GT3.R it was understandable that we were still finding out some areas that needed to be improved.
Firstly, the priority would be to finish the race with both cars on the Pratt Miller side on the lead lap without any reliability issues. If we are able to do that, then we’ll be able to fight for the places toward the front.”

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“For me going into my second season in IMSA, it will make things a little bit easier. There will be a track where I have now been to once, instead of not having been there at all.
One other very positive thing is that my 2023 teammate Nico is joining us as a third driver, which is something we are very happy about. He clearly was very good and a good teammate to have when we won the World Championship. I’m glad he is in our car instead of being in another and racing against him!
He’s incredibly fast so I’m looking forward to working with him again. It’s a very positive outlook for the season.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 SABELT / SONIC / PROJEKT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I have been with this team since 2019, and I have grown so much with them as a driver over the years.
I’m looking forward to another season in the GTD class with the Corvette. This year has been so important for us, and we’ve learned a lot about the car throughout each round, with the help of GM and Chevrolet. We’re getting more and more competitive as we continue to progress, and I’m confident that 2025 will be even better.”

ALEC UDELL, NO. 36 MOBIL 1 / SuCo CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m excited to get back in action with DXDT Racing at Daytona. We’ve got a very talented group of drivers, first-class engineers, crew and team leadership. It’s all an exciting combination. I can’t say enough about how appreciative I am of the efforts across the board to put the team in the best position to compete at the top here in GTD. The Corvette Z06 GT3.R treated us superbly last season, and I’m pumped to tackle the IMSA challenges behind the wheel of the Chevy this year.”

BEN KEATING, NO. 91 WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m really excited for this. I’ve won Le Mans in a Corvette and won a World Championship in a Corvette. I’m thrilled to be back with TF Sport, a team that I know very well and one where we won a lot of races and a championship together.
Furthermore, I’m teaming with some phenomenal Chevrolet drivers in Shane, Scott and Connor, which should be a lot of fun.
This will be a big challenge, but one that I know we are all up looking forward to and are up for.”

7th and last practice for the Rolex has been completed and results as a PDF is at the end of this

Inclement weather failed to put a damper on the final day of IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship testing at the annual Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.

While the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963s remained in the Daytona International Speedway garages during a rainy one-hour concluding session for the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, the two customer 963s fielded by Proton Competition and JDC-Miller MotorSports topped the timing screens.

Neel Jani posted the day’s best lap of 1 minute, 45.433 seconds (121.556 miles per hour) in Proton’s No. 5 Porsche, just surpassing Gianmaria Bruni’s 1:45.879 (121.044 mph) in JDC-Miller’s similar No. 85 car.
Jack Aitken filled out the top three in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R, while Sheldon van der Linde continued BMW’s impressive form in the lead-up to next weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona by logging the fourth-best time in the wet conditions.

Jani’s lap was almost exactly 10 seconds off the fastest lap of the three-day Roar test, a 1:35.424 (134.306 mph) effort turned in on Friday afternoon by Dries Vanthoor in the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8.
Forty-one of the 61 cars entered for next weekend’s twice-around-the-clock contest turned laps Sunday in a 60-minute session that was delayed more than two hours when a thunderstorm brought track activity to a halt.

“We decided to drive because we have not had any experience yet in Daytona in the wet with that car,” said Jani, a 41-year-old from Switzerland. “We were trying it out and gathering data to see how the tire develops and how tire pressures develop, especially on the banking.

“In the beginning it was a bit drier and there were some dry patches in the (Le Mans) chicane, but afterward the conditions got worse,” he added. “But it was a very interesting session for us, just in terms of learning in the various conditions. Next week, it looks like on qualifying day it could be wet; this way we already have a bit of experience.”

The wet track contributed to a handful of spins in Turn 1, but there were no crashes as drivers took care to not damage their cars prior to race weekend.
“When there is no standing water, there is actually good grip because there is not a lot of rubber down,” Jani said.
“But when it rains a lot, there’s a big danger of aquaplaning. Turn 1 is definitely a tricky one, because if you cross the rubber line, it’s very slippery. And Turn 1 has a lot of rubber everywhere! So you have to find that two-meter gap somewhere in that line that has the grip. As soon as you miss that line, it gets fairly tricky.”

Paul Di Resta (No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07) paced the 10 Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) entries that elected to practice in the wet. His 1:49.870 lap works out to a 116.647 mph average and was 0.6 second up on Mikkel Jensen in the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA.

Ollie Millroy in the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 was fastest among all Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class competitors at 1:57.033 (109.507 mph).
The fastest GTD PRO entry was the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, with Alexander Sims clocking 1:57.672 (108.913 mph).

In continued damp but improving conditions later Saturday afternoon, the seventh and final session of the weekend was reserved for Bronze-rated drivers. That produced a handful of off-course excursions but nothing major.
Dan Goldberg led LMP2 in the seventh session in the aforementioned No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA, with a best time of 1 minute, 40.613 seconds (127.379 mph), which was ultimately the fastest lap of the day.

Anthony McIntosh (No. 19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo) led GTD at 1:48.459 (118.164 mph) and Kenny Habul (No. 75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3) led GTD PRO at 1:48.756 (117.841 mph).

The field for the 63rd running of the Rolex 24 At Daytona will be set on Thursday, January 23, prior to the race on Saturday, January 25. NBC television coverage starts at 1:30 p.m. ET.

The group of five Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs set for the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona completed their three days of testing at Daytona

International Speedway on Sunday with the four teams focused ahead to next weekend’s twice-around-the-clock classic.
The Rolex 24 marks the start of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the second season of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program.
After claiming 11 race wins and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Manufacturers Championship in GTD PRO during 2024, optimism is high heading into Daytona.

The five Corvettes combined to complete 980 laps for nearly 3,500 miles valuable track time considering there are only three practice sessions and qualifying across Thursday and Friday of the coming week before the green flag falls Saturday.
The gaps in both GTD PRO and GTD were razor-thin with all five of the Z06 GT3.Rs well entrenched in the top-10 of their respective classes.
Antonio Garcia set the pace among the GTD PRO Corvettes with the fourth-fastest time across the weekend 1:48.242 (118.401 mph) during Saturday afternoon’s running.

In GTD, AWA’s Matt Bell put the No. 13 Corvette fifth class with a 1:48.169 (118.481 mph) in Friday’s opening test for the quickest Corvette lap of the weekend.
GTD PRO Corvette Z06 GT3.R Weekend Fast Times
• No. 3 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Dani Juncadella – 1:48.242 (118.401 mph) – fourth-fastest in class
• No. 4 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone – 1:48.515 (118.103 mph) – 10th-fastest in class
• No. 91 Corvette – Trackhouse by TF Sport – Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch – 1:48.435 (118.190 mph) – ninth-fastest in class

GTD Corvette Z06 GT3.R Weekend Fast Times
• No. 13 Corvette – AWA – Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Marvin Kirchhöfer – 1:48.169 (118.481 mph) – fifth-fastest in class
• No. 36 Corvette – DXDT Racing – Charlie Eastwood, Pipo Derani, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc – 1:48.389 (118.240 mph) – 10th fastest in class
• This year’s group marks the largest number of production-based racing Corvettes in the race since 2007. The Corvette Racing brand has a deep history at the Rolex 24 and includes four GT class victories – one of those an overall win in 2001. In addition, Corvette’s successes at Daytona have bolstered Chevrolet’s impressive record of 122 wins at the circuit across IMSA and NASCAR’s national series.
• Corvette Racing performance and powertrain engineers made significant improvements to the Z06 GT3.R throughout its first season of competition. Much of the work focused on optimizing performance and enhancing the Corvette’s reliability. The outright pace of the Corvette GT3 is evident with 12 pole positions across three series in 2024, and the reliability took huge steps forward in the second half of the year.
• The Rolex 24 goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with qualifying on Thursday, January 23. The race will feature live television segments on NBC and USA and flag-to-flag coverage on Peacock in the U.S., and IMSA.com for international viewers.

• JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

“From our side, things throughout the Roar were as positive as we could have hoped. All five Corvettes ran without any significant issue during the three days in a variety of conditions. The feedback from the teams has been good and valuable for our collective group.
Our goal now is to take that input and what we saw in the data to help the group be in the best possible spot for Thursday’s practice and qualifying, and then ultimately the race.”

• SELECT CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R DRIVER QUOTES

• ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“The most important thing from this weekend is definitely miles. You need miles and go toward your program for the race. For this race as always, it doesn’t really matter where you start. At some point, you’re going to cycle to the back of the field and then back to the front with the yellows.
Unlike Le Mans where you have to be up front from Lap One, here you can sit back a little bit and stay out of trouble.

But you need to know as much as possible your setups, how to react to track changes and different approaches.
That was the goal last year, and we learned more about that this year.

“The GT class splits will be something that helps the overall racing this year. It was always a strange feeling where you were mixing fights in two different classes. I don’t think the GTD cars wanted us in that, so it’s nice that we are split now so we can have our own race and not interfere with each other.
This is a good step forward.”

• TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“This is the first opportunity in the offseason after the guys have had a chance to look at everything, to come with some new setup options and ideas. There were things that can be tidied up through the experience of last year. It’s the first chance to prove those things. Then it’s about miles, getting all three guys in the car and getting new guys who are on the team comfortable in their positions.

You try to get yourself as prepared as possible not just for the Rolex but for the season. With Nico joining the team, it gives him a good chance to get comfortable again with the team and engineers, do some driver change practices and all that kind of stuff. It’s all a little bit of housekeeping things that you need to do and an opportunity to work on the car to make sure we have our Corvette as strong as we can have it coming into the race.”

• MATT BELL, NO. 13 SABELT / SONIC / PROJEKT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It’s like a different planet compared to last year. The team is a better spot, the Corvette is in a better spot and the team is in a better spot with the car. It’s hugely positive on that side of things. I feel like we feel as well-prepared as we have been coming here, even the year we won it. From a preparation standpoint, I think we are as good as you could possibly get going into the Rolex 24.”

• MARVIN KIRCHÖFFER, NO. 13 SABELT / SONIC / PROJEKT CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’m still figuring out the car a little bit because it is still new to me. But I’m generally quite impressed with it. The team is really helping me along, and my teammates are giving great advice to help me get up to speed. Overall I’m very impressed by AWA. They are doing a great job giving me all the information and also from the operational side. From Corvette Racing and Pratt Miller,
I’ve found it very interesting and very professional. I’m not really used to that, having these kinds of meetings. It’s very good for the teams, very good for the brand and very good to have everyone on the same page. Obviously this gives you the best ingredients to have a strong Rolex 24.

“Confidence is one of the most important things – feeling confident with the car, feeling confident with the procedures. This race is about minimizing mistakes and errors. So it’s not ultimately about having the fastest car and fastest drivers. It’s about minimizing those errors and mistakes. I can see here that this is down to Chevy as the manufacturer, Pratt Miller and obviously the team side with AWA.
All these three are working very, very well together and the communication is very good.”

• CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 MOBIL 1 / SuCo CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“We’re on-track with things. DXDT Racing, although its their first full-season IMSA race, they’ve got a lot of great people that have done a lot of IMSA races, especially this one. One of our guys, this is his 42nd Daytona! But then we also have the likes of Bryan Sellers, who has been amazing to work with and is teaching us a lot.
We’re on top of the strategy side and are trying to put us on the right side of all the scenarios of what can potentially go wrong in the race or lose you the race whether that’s doing tricky pit stops, managing the tires and managing the race itself.

Twenty hours of the race will be making sure we have a clean car for the end. Hopefully we have enough pace to be there at the end.

“You definitely wouldn’t think this their first race in IMSA, I’ll guarantee you that. It’s a really, really nice bunch to work with, which helps because there are no egos or wrong-doings within the team. To have that attitude in that we’re all still learning in individual ways. Everything is going as well as it can at the minute.”

• PIPO DERANI, NO. 36 MOBIL 1 / SuCo CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Having the test in November was very useful for me so I got here knowing what to expect. It had been more than five years since I last drove a GT car. You don’t know what to expect. Then you have your first day in the car, then you second day and then things start coming back.
You tweak your driving a little bit and start getting better and better. We’ve gone through that phase now.

The team has been very supportive and especially Charlie with his experience in the Corvette. I got up to speed quicker than I thought I would, so that’s positive. It’s all about learning the maximum amount for next week.”

• SCOTT McLAUGHLIN, NO. 91 WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Things have been pretty simple so far. Learning the ABS and electronics has been the biggest thing. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve driven a car with electronics like this. Understanding and putting your trust in those is difficult, especially for myself. But you get into a flow reasonably quickly. So yeah, it’s all been good.

“The simulator session (before the Roar) was incredible. Having that opportunity to do that work, I’m very thankful for that now. The way that Chevrolet has integrated us from a part-timers perspective, they’ve treated us like we are full-time. They’ve been great and the Corvette drivers have been great.
I’ve texted back and forth with Dani Juncadella a couple of times, and he’s been awesome. It’s what I’m used to in IndyCar. The Team Chevy family is full of good people.”

• SHANE VAN GISBERGEN, NO. 91 WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“This event hasn’t changed a lot since I was here last. It’s still the same and has got a nice vibe. It’s awesome to be here with such a cool car.
The Corvette is really easy to drive, but of course we want to make it faster which makes it harder to drive.

So it’s been great to be back here. I wouldn’t say the race is about luck. It’s about getting all the little things right preparation, making sure all the drivers are comfortable, making sure the team gets everything right. There are so many factors that go into getting a good result at a race like this.
We just have to make sure everything is right.”

Qualify to be on Thursday 2:10 PM EST

No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R

Ben Keating/Scott McLaughlin/Shane van Gisbergen/Connor Zilisch
Justin Marks’ Trackhouse Racing, in partnership with sports car specialists TF Sport, may be a pre-race clubhouse leader for splashy guest entries. Keating only has one Rolex win to his name (2015, GTD) but his extensive sports car experience and championships have solidified his status as one of the pre-eminent Bronze-rated drivers racing globally.
Past Supercars title rivals McLaughlin and van Gisbergen have left their native land behind, learned America, and won races in their new full-time series of IndyCar and NASCAR (both Cup and Xfinity Series).

Then there’s Zilisch, who like van Gisbergen is part of the Red Bull family of athletes, and at age 18 assembled a banner 2024 campaign that included Rolex 24 and Sebring 12 wins with Era Motorsport in LMP2, a win in his NASCAR Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen, and other triumphs in ARCA and Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin. This is one of THE cars to watch.
No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R

Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims/Daniel Juncadella

The Corvette brand has four GT class victories at the Rolex 24, including an overall triumph in 2001. In the team’s No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, it has another contender with the same trio of Garcia, Sims and Juncadella.
Garcia and Sims partnered to give the new car its first IMSA win at the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Garcia (three) and Juncadella (one) have Rolex 24 wins to their name, while Sims is yet to secure his first Rolex winner’s timepiece.

No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R

Tommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone
It’s hard to believe it’s nearly a decade since Milner’s lone Rolex 24 win, in an epic teammate battle against Garcia in the No. 3 car in 2016. Alas, nine years have passed since that date. But Milner racked up wins with the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R in additional GT3 competition in 2024, even as he and Catsburg’s best result in IMSA competition was second at CTMP in that Corvette 1-2.
Third driver Varrone is new to Corvette Racing’s IMSA program, but not new to winning with Corvette Racing: he, Catsburg and Ben Keating shared the last GTE AM class win at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Corvette C8.R.

No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R

Salih Yoluc/Alec Udell/Charlie Eastwood/Pipo Derani
DXDT Racing enters IMSA with high potential and storylines peppered across its striking, blue-to-green gradient colored Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Having swept through the SRO World Challenge America season last year with eight straight wins at one point, including the first global win for the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R, DXDT shifts to IMSA for 2025 with many IMSA components already embedded in the program.

Two-time IMSA champion Bryan Sellers steps away from driving and serves as program manager, working alongside DXDT team owner David Askew and general manager Erin Gahagan (who also has extensive IMSA managerial experience).

Among the drivers, Yoluc and Eastwood have raced together before in other global programs, including a 2020 GTE Am class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Udell was part of that SRO sweep of wins last year and has had some IMSA success, including two GTD podiums in 2023.

Derani, a two-time IMSA prototype champion (2021, 2023) with Cadillac Whelen and Action Express Racing, appears set to spend most of his year doing development work with Genesis’ new LMDh prototype while making a GTD cameo at the Rolex 24. Robert Wickens will race with this team starting at Long Beach, with both his debut and that of his electronic hand-brake control system from Bosch one to watch later this year.

No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R

Orey Fidani/Matt Bell (UK)/Lars Kern/Marvin Kirchhoefer
An intended two-car program for AWA dropped to the single, No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R after just two races, but that didn’t halt the momentum or progress this lineup achieved in its first year with the new customer car. Fidani and Bell posted four top-six finishes in the deep GTD class, with Fidani’s consistency clinching the Bob Akin Award and a trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year.
As in past years, Kern completes the Michelin Endurance Cup lineup, while Kirchhoefer replaces Alex Lynn as the Rolex 24 fourth.

Corvette factory driver Nico Varrone says his three-race IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup program is “more important” and carries “more responsibility” as he aims to help Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports chase the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTD Pro title.

Varrone will contest the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and Motul Petit Le Mans with the works-supported No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R this season alongside full-season drivers Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg after a partial 2024 IMSA campaign aboard the customer No. 17 AWA Corvette.

“Even if it’s three races, it’s three big ones that everyone wants to win,” Varrone told Sportscar365.
“So it’s more important and more responsibility, but with the lineup we have with Tommy and Nicky and with Pratt Miller to back us, I think we have a great chance of putting the Corvette Z06 [GT3.R] on top and to fight for wins.

“I think for every driver to drive in the factory car in IMSA, plus the Corvette with the fan base they have here in America, is great.
“It feels powerful to be in the yellow Corvette. You’re always in other cars watching it. When you see it on track, it’s like, ‘Wow! Maybe one day [I] will be there,’ so I’m enjoying it a lot.”

Varrone’s Corvette driving duties in the WeatherTech Championship will complement his recently-announced Hypercar class drive with Proton Competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The 24-year-old Argentinian driver helped Corvette Racing to the 2023 WEC GTE-Am title and contested last season’s Rolex 24 and Twelve Hours of Sebring in the GTD class No. 17 AWA Corvette before the program downsized to run only the sister No. 13 entry.

“I’ve been able to do it in WEC in 2023 with Nicky [Catsburg] and Ben Keating,” said Varrone, “but with it now in IMSA, it’s like another game, another step.
“I want to do a good job myself and help the guys to win races and hopefully be in a position to win the championship in Petit for them. It’s the overall [goal], and mostly do a good job and try to win races.”

Varrone feels his previous experience with Corvette and Pratt Miller in the WEC, a partial WeatherTech Championship season last year, and factory testing duties have helped him prepare for his new challenge.
“[It has helped] being able to work with Pratt Miller, with the Corvette factory guys, learn from them, and knowing everyone in the team, and doing a lot of the development on the GT3 last year,” he said.

“Even when I was not driving in IMSA or in WEC, I was doing a lot of testing with them and developing some stuff, so I feel prepared. I can’t wait to get rolling here in Daytona.

“I love IMSA. I love racing here in this series. It’s super fun, and there are a lot of great drivers, great teams, and great competition.
“Competition is tough, it’s rough, but that’s what racing is all about. I miss that, I enjoy it. I enjoy a lot of tracks here.”

Viewing

Thursday, January 23

2:05 p.m., IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: Qualifying at Daytona International Speedway, Peacock

Friday, January 24

1:30 p.m., IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: Rolex 24 at Daytona, NBC and Peacock
2:30 p.m., IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: Rolex 24 at Daytona, USA and Peacock

Sunday, January 26

Noon, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: Rolex 24 at Daytona, NBC and Peacock

The three Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in the GTD PRO class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sped toward the front of the class Thursday in qualifying ahead of this weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Alexander Sims in the No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports entry led the way for the Corvette camp by qualifying fourth in the 15-minute session for the 15-car GTD PRO field with a lap of 1:46.012 (120.892 mph) less than a half-second off the class pole-winning time.
Sims had another half-second in hand over Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R from the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports squad that will see both of its cars on the second and third rows for Saturday’s start.

The No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R will start on the next row after Connor Zilisch’s effort that saw him qualify eighth in class and barely a tenth-of-a-second off Milner’s time.
In the GTD ranks, the DXDT Racing and AWA Corvettes qualified 16th and 17th respectively in the massive 22-car field in the class. Charlie Eastwood did the honors in the No. 36 Corvette Z06 GT3.R for DXDT’s maiden qualifying run as a full-season WeatherTech Championship team. His lap of 1:47.592 (119.116 mph) was about eight-tenths clear of Orey Fidani in the No. 13 AWA Corvette.

GTD PRO Corvette Z06 GT3.R Qualifying Times
• No. 3 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Dani Juncadella – 1:46.012 (120.892 mph) – fourth in class
• No. 4 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone – 1:46.445 (120.400 mph) – sixth in class
• No. 91 Corvette – Trackhouse by TF Sport – Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch – 1:46.579 (120.249 mph) – eighth in class

GTD Corvette Z06 GT3.R Weekend Fast Times

• No. 36 Corvette – DXDT Racing – Charlie Eastwood, Pipo Derani, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc – 1:47.592 (119.116 mph) – 15th in class
• No. 13 Corvette – AWA – Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Marvin Kirchhöfer – 1:48.334 (118.301 mph) – 16th in class

The Rolex 24 marks the start of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the second season of the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program.
This year’s group marks the largest number of production-based racing Corvettes in the race since 2007.
The Corvette Racing brand has a deep history at the Rolex 24 and includes four GT class victories, one of those an overall win in 2001. In addition, Corvette’s successes at Daytona have bolstered Chevrolet’s impressive record of 122 wins at the circuit across IMSA and NASCAR’s national series.

The Rolex 24 At Daytona goes green at 1:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 25 with live television segments on NBC and USA plus flag-to-flag coverage on Peacock in the U.S., and IMSA.com for international viewers.

CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R QUALIFYING DRIVER QUOTES

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“First of all, low fuel run here. You’re getting a load of laptime on the straights, and the car is pretty alive. Qualifying at any point is quite exciting when it comes down to two or three laps of the tire peak where you’ve got to try and nail a lap, which is always tough in itself. Simply the fact I was doing qualifying, it was exciting.

In these conditions, it was really hard to switch the tire on and I didn’t get it. It was just challenging to switch the tire on compared to normal. The car was feeling nice. This Corvette is lovely. It’s great in loads of phases, but it’s really exciting when you’re driving it on low fuel.

The team gave me a really nice car. We did the best with what we could in terms of the balance of the Corvette out there. It was really nice to drive. Quite a big delta to the Fords. I can imagine where the laptime is gained on that, but well done to those guys, and we’re looking forward to the race.
We’ll know more, honestly, 12, 14, 16 hours into the race. It seems like the car is working well, and that’s all you can ask for now.
”
TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 OSHKOSH / MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Glad to be at the pointier end of the class. Obviously, P1 is a little bit out of touch there, but otherwise, we’re generally pretty close. We’ve worked very hard in the off season. The engineers have based on last year’s data and the car we’ve had to try and improve our Corvette and I think we’ve done a great job in improving the car. Hopefully, that will translate to a good race for us. So far, reliability-wise, we’ve been very good, which is I think is another important part to make this race successful for this team.
From that side, all good. It’s been a great week so far with my teammates Nicky and Nico.

We’ve got a couple more practice sessions here to work on it a bit more. I think we’re in the hunt. I don’t think we quite have the fastest car, but like I said, we still have two more practice sessions to work on it. I think more than anything, we’ve gone down a good path with the car so far all through the Roar, practice and qualifying as well. Good car balance, so we’ll just continue to tweak on it.”

CONNOR ZILISCH, NO. 91 WEATHERTECH CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“It definitely feels good to get qualifying out of the way. It doesn’t mean too much in a 24-hour race. There are a few cars out there that are going to be tough to beat. We’re going to need some help, but overall the car is driving well, and I think we’ll have a good car for race runs and longer stints. I feel like that’s one thing we were really good at in practice.
Just hoping we can keep that up in the race and keep our car driving well, and I think that will pay off for us.”

CHARLIE EASTWOOD, NO. 36 MOBIL 1 / SuCo CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Not what we expected. Just didn’t seem to be able to generate a lot of grip. It’s a very different condition than what we had in the Roar, and we seemed a bit more comfortable. Both in FP1 and there in qualifying, we just didn’t seem to be able to gain enough grip.
We need to look at the data to see where we’re missing it. Ultimately, if it heats up again for the weekend, we might be in a better window, but we still need to understand why we’re not there at the minute. Bit of work to do, for sure.

“Ultimately, we still had the same opportunities as everyone else to be up front and we’re not. For sure, it’s not a be all to end all with 24 hours to go to the front, which is very straightforward if we have the pace. But we definitely seem to be missing a bit at the minute. It’s going to be a case of working out where we’re missing that, and go from there.”

OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Qualifying went well. The car felt amazing out there, and it just kept getting better and better with every lap. Huge credit to the team for their hard work dialing it in. I’m feeling confident and excited heading into the race!”

This year’s Rolex 24 brings five Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3Rs together for the largest field of Corvettes to race at the twice-around-the-clock affair since 2007.
This year we’ll have our two Yellow/Black Corvette Z06s from Pratt Miller Motorsports and a new entry from Trackhouse Racing by TF Sport in the GTD Pro class, while AWA Racing and DXDT Racing will each field a single Z06 GT3R entry in the GTD Am class.


2025 Rolex 24 at Daytona

Track: Daytona International Speedway
Race Duration: 24 hours
Circuit Length: 3.56 miles

Entries by Class
• GTP (12)
• LMP2 (12)
• GTD Pro (15)
• GTD (22)

Television/Online Broadcast: (ROLEX 24)

Saturday, January 25 (All Times ET)

USA:
• 1:30 pm ET – 11:59 pm ET Peacock Streaming
• 1:30 pm ET – 2:30 pm ET NBC
• 2:30 pm ET – 6:30 pm ET USA
• 1:35 pm ET – 11:59 am ET IMSA YouTube

International:
• 1:35 pm ET – 11:59 pm ET IMSA TV
• 1:35 pm ET – 11:59 pm ET Rev Canada

Sunday, January 26 (All Times ET)

USA:
• 12:00 am ET – 2:00 pm ET Peacock streaming
• 12:00 pm ET – 2:00 pm ET NBC
• 12:00 am ET – 1:40 pm ET IMSA YouTube

International:
• 12:00 am ET- 1:40 pm ET IMSA TV
• TBA REV Canada

Radio:

IMSA Radio:
• http://imsatv.imsa.com/
• http://radiolemans.0157.org/nplayer.php

First Hour Completed

Under the best weather to grace Daytona International Speedway all week, Dries Vanthoor led the field of 61 cars to the green flag to start the 63rd annual Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Vanthoor remained out front through the entirety of his opening stint in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8, and after the first round of pit stops, he remains out front after the first hour of racing.

Nick Yelloly holds second in the No. 93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, 13 seconds behind the younger Vanthoor brother, with Jack Aitken in third aboard the No.31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R. Tom Blomqvist has moved up to fourth in the No.60 MSR Acura.

PJ Hyett took the lead in LMP2, taking advantage of a mistake from Ben Keating to move the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA 07 up to the lead.
Keating locked up heading into the West Horseshoe in consecutive laps and conceded not only the lead but second place as well, but he was able to recover and hand off the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports machine off to co-driver Rodrigo Sales from second place.

But now it’s the No. 88 AF Corse car of Luis Perez Companc in second, followed by Chris Cumming in the Pratt Miller Motorsports No. 73, with Sales in fourth.
It wasn’t the best start for Nick Boulle, who spun around on his own at Turn 2. The reigning Jim Trueman Award winner was able to regroup and has time to get his No. 2 United Autosports USA car back up the class order.

GTD PRO has seen multiple lead changes, from pole sitter Mike Rockenfeller to Dan Harper to Andrea Caldarelli.

Right now the advantage is back in the hands of Harper in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW, with the Fords of Mike Rockenfeller and Frederic Vervisch in second and third, and Alexander Sims running fourth in the No. 3 Pratt Miller Corvette.

Caldarelli was leading in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini, but on his first pit stop, the left-front wheel nut wouldn’t come off and he slipped down the order as mechanics used hammers to pry the tricky wheel off.

Elliott Skeer led GTD from pole in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche, but now after pit stops and driver changes, it’s the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG that leads, with Russell Ward taking the baton from Ellis, and Adam Adelson taking over the No. 120 Porsche.

Trent Hindman runs third in the No. 45 WTR Lamborghini, followed by Brendan Iribe in the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari.

Hour Two

Dries Vanthoor was cruising along with a 25-second lead until an error heading into the pits cost him and BMW M Team RLL the lead of the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Thanks to a strategic call from the Acura Meyer Shank Racing crew, IMSA debutant Kakunoshin Ohta is now leading GTP in the No. 93 Acura ARX-06, despite spinning on cold tires during his first out lap of his first stint in America.

He’s ahead of Frederik Vesti, now aboard the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R in second, with Nick Tandy in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 in third and the No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche in a pleasantly surprising fourth, in the hands of Julien Andlauer.

Vanthoor misjudged his approach into his pit box, and ended up with his left-front quarter panel against the pit wall. Adding insult to injury, the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 picked up a drive-through penalty for refueling while the car was on its jacks. That’s left Philipp Eng down the GTP order in 10th.

For fans of the Lamborghini SC63, it’s a bitter and early end for the No. 63’s long-awaited Daytona debut. Mirko Bortolotti drove the No. 63 back to the pits and walked away from the car. The car went behind the wall, into the garage and officially retired with a cooling system issue, as confirmed by a Lamborghini Squadra Corse representative.

The 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 has also suffered a problem just as owner/driver Kenny Habul was bedding in for his first stint, he missed the Bus Stop and the entrance of pit lane with smoke coming off the right-front wheel.
The car has since returned to the race, though it is eight laps down, just after Maro Engel had started the race and driven up to second in GTD PRO.

After the last round of GTD PRO pit stops, Laurin Heinrich leads aboard the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R but is off-sequence after having to make an unscheduled pit stop in the last hour. An apparent mismatch between IMSA and the team’s energy readings led AO Racing to bring “Rexy” in to fix the issue, which has put Heinrich on the back foot.

The No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang GT3 of Frederic Vervisch took the lead from the BMW of Dan Harper, and the Ford is still in the ‘net lead’ (second place on the road) in GTD PRO.

Antonio Garcia runs third in the No. 3 Corvette, with Augusto Farfus now aboard the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, after relieving Harper.
Russell Ward has kept the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes up front in GTD, with Adam Adelson running second in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche, and Misha Goikhberg up into third in the No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini.

At this time only the 2 GM Corvette Z06s been running towards the top, the other 3 Corvettes running further back

Standings after 2 hours

The sun is beginning to set over Daytona International Speedway

With four hours gone, FIA WEC Hypercar co-champions Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre are running 1-2 overall and in GTP. Vanthoor in the No. 7 Porsche 963 has a seven-second advantage over Estre in the No. 6, which has fully recovered from its sluggish start as the track temperatures begin to sink.

But it’s two German brands vying for the lead with BMW M Team RLL’s two cars third and fourth. Robin Frijns in the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 leads Rene Rast in the No. 24, while Felipe Drugovich has taken the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series R up to fifth at the top of the hour.

LMP2 has been mostly dominated by AO Racing and “Spike the LMP2 Dragon,” with Dane Cameron aboard for his first stint in the No. 99 ORECA 07, leading the class by over 45 seconds.

Nick Boulle is back in the No. 2 United Autosports USA machine in second, followed by Luis Perez Companc for AF Corse, and Daniel Goldburg in the No. 22 United Autosports car.

TDS Racing’s No. 11 ORECA is now behind the wall for repairs, joining the now-retired No. 63 Lamborghini SC63 as the only cars not circulating right now.
The Blue Oval is still in front of GTD PRO, but Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ cars have changed places it’s now the No. 64 Mustang GT3 of Seb Priaulx ahead of the No. 65 of Dennis Olsen.

And there’s great news for Pfaff Motorsports fans after the stuck wheel nut problem in the first hour, the No. 9 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 is back in contention with Marco Mapelli in third ahead of the
No. 3 Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.R of Antonio Garcia. Nicky Catsburg is fifth in the No. 4 works Corvette.

Heart of Racing leads GTD with Casper Stevenson up front by over 15 seconds in the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
He took the lead after a broken wing mirror for Forte Racing’s Lamborghini. The entire right-side door needed to be changed in the pit stop.

NASCAR driver/commentator Parker Kligerman is currently second in the No. 78 Lamborghini, with Ayhancan Guven back up to third in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche, and Marvin Kirchhofer moving up the field in the No. 13 AWA Corvette.

HOUR 4 STANDINGS

https://racer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2025/01/04_Results-by-Hour_Race_Unofficial-4.pdf

With the first 6 hours of the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona complete, Colin Braun drove Acura Meyer Shank Racing to the lead after a full course yellow restart brought about by possibly the highest-profile retirement of the race.

Andy Lally’s final IMSA race as a full-time driver and Magnus Racing’s last IMSA race for the foreseeable future has come to a disappointing end.
Lally brought the No. 44 Aston Martin to a halt at Turn 2.
With fluid pouring out from under the car, the engine failure brought out the third full course yellow of the race.

As he walked out of his car, Lally waved to the fans at Daytona International Speedway.

“Not the final lap around here I was hoping for,” he said. “Right after I got onto the power, there was a huge explosion. I’m pleased the guys had given me perfect earpieces, I could feel the compression through the car. I’ve never had a failure like that in 25 years here.

It’s a massive shame for the whole team, and in particular for John Potter, who did a fantastic triple-stint to start right on the pace. It’s not the way to finish this story anyone else would have wanted. It’s the end of this chapter.

“I’ll take a few days to think about it, but I’m excited about the next chapter for me [as the new President of Trans Am]. I’m hugely grateful for everyone who’s played a part in my driving career, and in particular, of course, my family here at Magnus Racing.”

When action resumed, Braun overtook Earl Bamber in the No. 31 Cadillac and Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche 963 to grab the lead of the race.

Nasr is still second for Porsche Penske Motorsports, ahead of Bamber and Kamui Kobayashi in their respective Cadillacs.

Mathias Beche took the lead in LMP2 for PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports in the No. 52 ORECA. He leads Riley’s Felipe Fraga and CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s Colton Herta.

Deeper into their respective stints, Connor De Phillippi leads GTD PRO in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO, ahead of Nico Varrone in the No. 4 Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.R. Behind them, Jesse Krohn in the No. 48 BMW leads the No. 3 Corvette of Daniel Juncadella.

In GTD, Frederik Schandorff kept the No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari ahead of the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche of Tom Sargent and the No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari of James Calado.

The 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 is the second official retirement of the race, joining the No. 63 Lamborghini SC63. A team source confirmed an apparent engine failure for the No. 75. A visibly upset Jules Gounon told RACER, “It’s tough to take after two weeks here to be out by 7:00 p.m. I had the same last year out at 6:00 p.m. I’ll try again next week [at Bathurst].”

TDS Racing’s ORECA is also back running after a gearbox change following its West Horseshoe incident earlier in the race.

Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 93 Acura ARX-06 returned as well, though 40 laps down after its left-rear wishbone mount sheared off. Mechanics needed to take out the gearbox to fix the problem and eventually put the car back together again after an hour of repairs.

So far, 197 laps have been completed with three full course yellows and two official retirements.

HOUR 6 STANDINGS

https://racer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2025/01/Hour-6.pdf

The 8th hour of the Rolex 24 At Daytona started under yellow and soon saw another restart, one that claimed six cars in a chaotic incident as cars entered the infield.

Louis Deletraz in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R lost control exiting Turn 2, twitched and spun off into the barrier to his right, the car’s momentum then carrying him back across the track into traffic.

Nick Boulle couldn’t avoid the stranded Cadillac and struck Deletraz, before Chris Cumming hit both the No. 40 and the No. 2 United Autosports ORECA of Boulle. Trying to avoid that pileup, Jordan Pepper in the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini ran into the side of the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW of Max Hesse.

The No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA LMP2 of Sebastien Bourdais also suffered damage in the incident after getting brushed by the other LMP2s. Despite appearing to have been collected at first, the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R was able to stop and avoid damage. Both drove away from the incident.

All other drivers were able to walk away from their respective cars without any apparent injuries.

The race resumed after a 25-minute full course yellow. Leading GTP at the moment is the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R of Jack Aitken, followed by the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Nick Tandy and the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 of Tom Blomqvist.

Sheldon van der Linde spun out in Turn 2 after contact by Neel Jani, but the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 was able to drive away and the race remained green.

Paul Di Resta and United Autosports USA’s sole surviving No. 22 ORECA leads LMP2 from Paul-Loup Chatin in the No. 18 ERA Motorsport car, followed by Jonny Edgar in the No. 99 AO Racing “Spike” car.

In GTD PRO, Ford Multimatic is back in the front, running 1-3 with the No. 65 Mustang of Frederic Vervisch leading and the No. 64 of Mike Rockenfeller just behind the second-place No. 69 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Fabian Schiller.

Franck Perera leads GTD for Forte Racing, the No. 78 Lamborghini out in front of the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin of Mattia Drudi and the No. 19 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin of Anthony McIntosh.

Heart of Racing is down to one contending car after the No. 007 GTD PRO car lost its left-rear wheel as Roman de Angelis was contending for a place in the top five. This brought out the FCY which preceded the multi-car accident that followed.

HOUR 8 STANDINGS

https://racer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2025/01/8.pdf

Hour 18

The sun is rising over Daytona International Speedway as we enter the fourth quarter of the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona.

With six hours left, and 585 laps completed, Porsche Penske Motorsport is in command of the GTP class. Nick Tandy and Matt Campbell are fighting hard but fair for the lead as they pursue one another through traffic. Tandy in the No. 7 Porsche 963 has built a bit of a lead to the No. 6 of Campbell, now around five seconds at the interval.

Over 30 seconds behind the leading Porsches, the No. 24 RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 is third, ahead of the No. 60 MSR Acura ARX-06 and the No. 10 WTR Cadillac V-Series.R, at the end of the lead lap.

It is still cold but expected to get warmer as the end of the race approaches.

We’ve had 10 full course yellows but none since around 3:30am when the Inter Europol Competition LMP2 had its breakdown, and 13 official retirements including the No. 5 Porsche, No. 40 Cadillac and No. 63 Lamborghini from GTP.

AO Racing leads LMP2 at the interval with its No. 99 ORECA 07 LMP2. Christian Rasmussen has a six-second advantage over the No. 8 Tower Motorsports car of Job van Uitert. Colton Herta runs third in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR car, with the top three all very much in contention for the LMP2 win.

The No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports ORECA has rejoined the race after extensive repairs — miraculously so after Chris Cumming was involved in the six-car pile-up at Turn 2 last night, which took out the No. 2 United Autosports USA car.

GTD PRO is kicking off as the pace begins to rapidly pick up. Madison Snow set the fastest lap of the race in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO this hour, and just minutes ago he forcefully overtook the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Klaus Bachler for the class lead.

Dennis Olsen runs third, waiting to pounce in his No. 65 Ford Multimatic Mustang GT3, with the No. 3 Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.R of Antonio Garcia in a distant fourth but definitely not out of the hunt, ahead of the No. 69 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3.

AWA leads GTD at the interval courtesy of a strong drive from Englishman Matt Bell, who now has a narrow lead over the No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG of Ralf Aron in second.

Aron has a buffer to Korthoff Competition Motors’ Kenton Koch in third, then the Ferraris of Conrad Laursen for AF Corse and James Calado for Triarsi Competizione.

The No. 13 AWA Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Matt Bell was out front in GTD after the then class-leading No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was handed a drive-through penalty for a pit lane infringement in the previous hour.

HOUR 18 STANDINGS

https://racer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2025/01/04_Results-by-Hour_Race_Unofficial-10.pdf

Porsche Penske Motorsports’ Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy and Laurens Vanthoor won the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona, giving Penske and Porsche back-to-back GTP and overall victories in the twice-around-the-classic.

The No. 7 Porsche 963 won by 1.335s after completing 780 laps around Daytona. It gave Vanthoor his long-awaited first Rolex 24 win, and gave Tandy an unprecedented “Grand Slam” of 24-hour endurance race victories with overall wins at Le Mans, Nurburgring, Spa-Francorchamps and now Daytona.

Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist denied Penske and Porsche a 1-2 finish, driving the No. 60 Acura ARX-06 to second place as Blomqvist overtook the No. 6 Penske Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell and Kevin Estre with just five minutes left.

The Ford Mustang GT3 got its first victory in global competition as Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ Frederic Vervisch, Chris Mies, and Dennis Olsen grabbed a closely fought win in GTD PRO aboard the No. 65 Mustang.

They led an all-American GTD PRO podium with the No. 3 Corvette Racing Z06 GT3.R of Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella fighting to second place, ahead of the No. 64 Ford of Mike Rockenfeller, Sebastian Priaulx, and Austin Cindric.

Tower Motorsports’ John Farano, Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastian Alvarez and Job van Uitert ran away with LMP2 in the final 25 minutes, taking the class win after multiple rivals suffered misfortunes.

Canadian team AWA with drivers Orey Fidani, Matthew Bell, Lars Kern, and Marvin Kirchhöfer gave the Corvette Z06 GT3.R its first IMSA GTD victory and AWA’s second Rolex 24 class win in three years.

Just past the top of the hour, the No. 24 RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 began to bounce wildly down the backstretch. Dries Vanthoor needed repairs desperately to get to the flag.

Seconds later, the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini (GTD) of Danny Formal suffered a broken left-rear suspension while running third in class. He pulled off at the exit of Speedway Turn 4 but the full course yellow was deployed once again.

The No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche and No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 had to come in for an emergency splash of fuel right away, it compromised them as they needed to come in again and dropped down the GTD order.

The GTP leaders took fuel to the end and left in the order they came in with the No. 6 Porsche of Matt Campbell in front. But the LMP2 class turned upside down: ERA Motorsport had just brought the No. 18 ORECA in for a stop just before the yellow, and Paul-Loup Chatin only needed to bring the car in for a splash to jump from fourth to 1st!

Fast pit work from Pratt Miller Motorsports put Nico Varrone’s beaten No. 4 Corvette up front in GTD PRO and AF Corse pulled a blinder to get Riccardo Agostini’s No.50 Ferrari up to the lead in GTD.

And with 38 minutes left, the safety car peeled off, and the race came down to its final sprint finish. Vanthoor couldn’t make Turn 1 and let Nasr through into second, and suddenly Blomqvist’s Acura was back in contention. Dennis Olsen and Laurin Heinrich muscled their way to the front in GTD PRO, and Mattia Drudi likewise took the lead in GTD before Matt Bell took the AWA Corvette to the lead the next lap!

Vanthoor’s left-front tire began to rub violently against the bodywork in the Le Mans chicane, and he couldn’t fight off Blomqvist, who slipped into third. Eventually, Vanthoor limped the No. 24 back to the pits. BMW’s challenge for the overall win at Daytona was done.

Olsen moved clear of a hard-fighting GTD PRO pack, as Alexander Sims’ opportunism allowed him to slip up into second place while battling three-wide with Laurin Heinrich and Fabian Schiller.

Heinrich got front-end damage and Rexy’s challenge for the win was extinguished as the reigning GTD PRO champion tumbled down the order quickly. Sims’ Corvette wouldn’t let Olsen’s Ford get away as the two American giants were 1-2 but with a big slide out of the West Horseshoe, Sims was in the crosshairs of Van der Linde.

Nasr and Campbell weren’t in the clear with 30 minutes left Blomqvist had caught the leading Porsche duo, and Meyer Shank Racing was back in the window for the overall win! Simultaneously, Drudi bumped Bell out of the way at Turn 1 to take the GTD lead, Aston Martin ahead of Corvette as neither driver was willing to give ground.

With 25 minutes to go, Chatin, the Alpine man, was hit and spun by the No. 52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports car of Mathias Beche. Beche received a drive-through penalty to put Bourdais up in the lead again, this time to stay.

Nasr cranked the pressure up big time on Campbell, as they approached the leading GTD PRO quartet, Campbell got held up in the traffic, allowing Nasr to get a big run through Speedway Turns 1 and 2. The Brazilian passed Campbell below the double yellow line on the backstretch an illegal move in the Daytona 500, but here in IMSA it was picture-perfect!
Nasr grabbed the lead in the No. 7, and while Campbell made another attempt into the tri-oval, he couldn’t stay ahead through Turns 1 and 2.

As Olsen and Sims ran tail-to-nose in GTD PRO, Bell came back at Drudi, and retook the GTD lead for AWA with 16 minutes to go. With 12 minutes left, another BMW vs. Corvette flashpoint happened as Van der Linde and Sims banged fenders out of the infield and onto the banking.
Sims ultimately held the position, but Olsen was driving away.

Just seconds later, Sims and Van der Linde got backed up into Turn 1, and Nico Varrone hit Van der Linde, spinning the No. 1 BMW out of podium contention. Varrone picked up a drive-through penalty for spinning Van der Linde.

GTP, GTD PRO and GTD leaders all overlapped with nine minutes left. Campbell lost out, Blomqvist tried a lunge around the outside of Turn 1 with six minutes to go, but the Anglo-Swede couldn’t get a good exit and Campbell held onto second at least for one lap, before Blomqvist made the move and made it stick for second the next time by.

PROVISIONAL RESULTS

https://racer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2025/01/03_Results_Race_Unofficial_391a88.pdf

Ford Multimatic Motorsports delivered the maiden race victory for the Ford Mustang GT3 by taking the GTD Pro class honors in the 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Dennis Olsen, sharing the No. 65 car with Chris Mies and Fred Vervisch, secured the win for the Blue Oval by storming past the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R at the final restart with 38 minutes to go.

Olsen then held firm as the sister No. 3 Chevrolet, piloted by Alex Sims, closed up to within a handful of tenths, remaining right on the bumper of the Ford throughout the final 20 minutes.
The Norwegian then got a breather as a battle between Sims, the No. 4 Chevrolet of Nico Varrone and Kelvin van der Linde’s No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO ended in tears when the South African was tagged into a spin at Turn 1.

The clash between Corvette and BMW served as the conclusion to a heated battle between the two brands that saw the Nos. 4 and 1 cars clash, with Milner and Connor De Phillippi at the wheel.
This came after the sister No. 48 BMW car, delayed after getting caught up in a multi-car collision in hour eight, got involved in the battle as Augusto Farfus sought to aid De Phillippi in the fight for the win.

Farfus received a penalty for blocking for his efforts, after which De Phillippi and Milner came to blows on at the International Horseshoe with bodywork damage for the latter
A caution caused by the No. 88 Pecom Racing Oreca 07 Gibson threw the Corvette squad a lifeline and kept it in contention, but it could not prevent the Blue Oval from taking the first Rolex 24 win for its GT3 challenger upon its second start in the event.

Sims, Antonio Garcia and Daniel Juncadella finished second, ahead of the No. 64 Ford piloted by Mike Rockenfeller, Seb Priaulx and Austin Cindric in third.
Van der Linde, De Phillippi, Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen came home in fourth, ahead of the No. 69 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, which completed the top-five.

The No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 crossed the line sixth in class, with the No. 4 Chevrolet seventh after serving a drive-through penalty for the contact with Van der Linde.
A physical, late-race battle that resulted in contact ripped the nose of the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, leaving Laurin Heinrich, Klaus Bachler and Alessio Picariello classified in eighth ahead of Trackhouse by TF Sport.

Multiple significant contenders were eliminated in the opening half of the race, with the No. 75 SunEnergy Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo falling victim to a cracked oil tank, while the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 and No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW were both taken out of contention in a multi-car collision in hour eight.

AWA Gives Corvette GTD Victory

Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Matt Bell and Marvin Kirchhoefer secured a breakthrough victory for AWA in the GTD class.
The No. 13 Corvette finished 1.454 seconds ahead of the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche of Adam Adelson, Elliott Skeer, Tom Sargent and Ayhancan Guven.

Bell came out on top after a late race battle with the No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Mattia Drudi, with the two drivers trading the spot back and forth on multiple occasions.
Drudi, who shared the No. 27 car with Tom Gamble, Zach Robichon and Casper Stevenson, then also lost out to Guven’s No. 120 Porsche.
The No. 13 Chevrolet led much of Sunday morning, but a late caution with just over two hours to go reshuffled the order.
This promoted the No. 120 Wright Porsche to the class lead, while the No. 13 car was wrestled down to fourth place by the No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini and No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG.

All three took turns at the head of the field, but the No. 45 was eliminated with suspension failure in the final hour, the caution for which came right at a time that forced the No. 57 Mercedes-AMG and No. 120 Porsche to pit for emergency service to take on fuel.
This then left Drudi clear to challenge Bell’s No. 13 Chevrolet for the class win, capturing the race lead with a big dive up the inside into Turn 1.
However, Bell returned the favor with an overtake on the Aston Martin into Turn 6 with 17 minutes to go.

The No. 57 Winward Mercedes-AMG ended up finishing fourth in class, with Russell Ward, Indy Dontje, Philip Ellis and Indy Dontje recovering after initially going seven laps down after an early throttle pedal issue that took the car to the garage.
Turner Motorsport completed the top five in class with its No. 96 BMW driven by Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher, Jake Walker and Jens Klingmann.

Win for No. 13 Corvette is first in a 24-hour race for Corvette Z06 GT3.R

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 26, 2025) – The Chevy Corvette Z06 GT3.R started its second season of competition by winning one of the biggest races the world as AWA and drivers Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern and Martin Kirchhöfer captured the GT Daytona (GTD) victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The No. 13 Corvette crossed the finish line by 1.454 seconds for the 21st victory for Chevrolet in the Rolex 24 and the fifth for the Corvette Racing program since 1999. AWA’s victory was its second in three seasons at Daytona, also the first in a 24-hour race for the Corvette GT3 and 12th since debuting at the Rolex 24 a year ago.

Five Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs entered the race with two making the podium. Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims and Daniel Juncadella placed second in GTD PRO in Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ No. 3 Z06 GT3.R.

GTD PRO Corvette Z06 GT3.R Results

• No. 3 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Dani Juncadella – Runner-up in class
• No. 4 Corvette – Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports – Tommy Milner, Nicky Catsburg, Nico Varrone –– Seventh in class
• No. 91 Corvette – Trackhouse by TF Sport – Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Connor Zilisch – Ninth in class

GTD Corvette Z06 GT3.R Results

• No. 13 Corvette – AWA – Matt Bell, Orey Fidani, Lars Kern, Marvin Kirchhöfer – First in class
• No. 36 Corvette – DXDT Racing – Charlie Eastwood, Pipo Derani, Alec Udell, Salih Yoluc – 20th in class
• AWA’s victory began to take shape past the halfway point. Both Fidani and Kern completed the minimum drive time in the first 13 hours to set the stage for Bell and Kirchhöfer to drive most of the remaining 11 hours with Kern giving the pair a stint’s worth of a break before going the rest of the way.

• The GTD race swung in favor of AWA inside the final seven hours when Bell stopped for fuel and tires and retained the class lead. The class running order went back and forth the rest of the way with Bell taking the lead for good with 20 minutes left and running as low as fourth after a restart with 40 minutes to go.
• As joyous as the win for AWA was, the fate of the No. 4 Corvette from Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports was just as heartbreaking. After cycling up and down in the GTD PRO order, Tommy Milner moved into the lead inside the final two hours but his attempt to extend his lead over the second-place No. 1 car was repeatedly blocked by that car’s team entry. That allowed the No. 1 to get to the back of Milner’s Corvette, which suffered rear damage that required multiple stops to repair.

• Despite that, the No. 4 squad remained in contention with Varrone racing his way up to second before the trio eventually finished seventh. The wild late-race chaos also saw Sims go from seventh to second inside the final hour.
• The No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Ben Keating, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch took the fight to the GTD PRO regulars and consistently ran in the class’s top half for the majority of the race.
• DXDT Racing’s No. 36 Corvette was on pace for a solid result in its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship debut before retiring at the halfway point with Charlie Eastwood moving toward the front.

• The next race for the Corvette Z06 GT3.R program is 1812KM of Qatar – the opening race of the FIA World Endurance Championship on Friday, February 28. The next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 15.

• JESSICA DANE, CORVETTE RACING PROGRAM MANAGER:

“Congratulations to Andrew Wojteczko, drivers Orey Fidani, Matt Bell, Lars Kern and Marvin Kirchhöfer and all of AWA for their incredible victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona with the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. What this team has achieved in one year with the Corvette is nothing short of phenomenal.
Thank you to AWA and every person and partner who contributes to Corvette Racing’s success.
There is no better way for AWA to start the season and the team’s road to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

• MATT BELL, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“This means absolutely everything. To me, to my teammates Orey and Lars and Marvin. Everybody on this team has worked so hard. To think where we were this time last year and how far we’ve come to now it’s so much hard work to do this. From the minute the checkered flag fell at Petit Le Mans, no one took a rest. No one took a break. It’s been 24-7 since then to get a car that is capable of winning the Daytona 24 Hours.
AWA gave the four of us car to do it. IMSA is the hardest championship in the world. Our competitors gave us a hell of a run.

I had to work so hard to get on top of those guys but we managed to make it work and bring it home in the last 10 minutes.
Thank you to the competition for making it this hard, and thank you to AWA and my teammates to get us over the line.”

The winning pass: “Honestly, I can’t remember a thing. There were PRO cars, there were GTD cars… I don’t remember that. I’ll have to watch the video later! Every time there was a car in front of me,
I was trying to overtake it. I asked the guys to stop giving me updates on the radio. I just a GT car and wanted to pass it. That’s all I was focused on. I can’t thank my teammates and everyone enough.
That’s one beat up Chevrolet Corvette but they make them tough in Detroit!”

More on the win: “That was so tough. The competition here in this series is the best in the world. The AWA team gave me the best car in the world. The AWA team gave me the best car in the world. I couldn’t have asked for a better Corvette to take on the best here. There was some hard, hard racing… really hard but fair all the way. I have to give credit to our competitors. That was proper racing and why I love this race series. I hope the fans enjoyed it as well. I can’t thank AWA, Corvette, GM and my teammates. Everyone did such a good job giving us a car to go to work in.”

• OREY FIDANI, NO. 13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“This was always a dream, but I didn’t think about it before coming here two weeks ago.
I think I drove my best-ever race in this one, the car was hooked up, my teammates drove really well and everything just came together. This is huge boost for the team and myself heading to the 24 Hours Le Mans. If we can this one, I think Le Mans also is a possibility as well.
We’ll take that energy from here and roll it forward into that. But first, let’s try going for the 12 Hours next at Sebring!”

• LARS KERN, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I thought this is something that would never to happen to me. I lost out on a big win on the Nurburgring once where I was pretty sure that we had it. So I kind of thought I’m just the unlucky guy. Today, we all did our job but then at the end, we were discussing who was going into the car and I put my money on Matt. And we were all like ‘yeah, he can do it.’ What he did at the end and how the car performed over the whole race was just incredible.
We knew on pace that we had an edge on everybody because the car was just absolutely epic to drive. Loved it.

That’s why all of us had great pace in the race. But then at end it was just pure carnage and chaos. The way he managed it was incredible.
The team with so many hiccups and so many gremlins with refueling and stuff, we always found a solution for it. It’s unreal.”

What does this do for you and for the team going to the other 24-hour race: “We were laughing a couple of days ago that if we win this, it’s a good test for Le Mans. So we can continue like this. I think that’s our approach.”

• MARVIN KIRCHHÖFER, NO. 13 AWA CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“How I’m describing this one, I don’t know. I’m lost for words. What an amazing race. I mean the result is one thing, but if you look behind the scenes, AWA, GM, Chevy and everyone, the amount of work everyone put in to have a great race and then actually winning the race in the last 30 minutes, I mean it’s absolutely amazing. Thanks to everyone for the support to Chevy, to AWA, they welcomed me in the best possible way.
As we said, quite nice way to start one race, one win. Hopefully, there’s a few more coming.
Amazing result, and just very, very thankful for everyone on the team involved to win the Rolex 24.”

• ANTONIO GARCIA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“All race we were going everywhere, basically. We solved a wiring problem during the night, and the car got back to being alive. We were lucky our crew could fix that, and the car was back in contention and fast. Ever since I drove it at night, we at least had a chance. I don’t think it would have made a ton of difference, but it’s a shame that penalty that I had, which from my point of view, was a little bit on the edge and avoidable from both sides. Such a shame. That put us on our back foot, and no yellows for three hours, at least.

That was painful because if there were a yellow, we could have made our way to P1 and P2. I think we were both fast enough to be P1 or 2 or be up front on regular strategy instead of gambling on our strategy. Here you only want to win, but the good thing you can take is championship points for manufacturers, drivers, and teams. We’ll go up from here. And congratulations to the AWA guys on their win in GTD with their Corvette.”

• ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“Right at the end for the last few hours, things really chopped and changed a lot for everyone in the field, really. But our Corvettes were working really well. We maybe didn’t have the pace overnight, but during the day things really came to us and we had the laptime. It was just a little bit difficult to race in a pack with a couple of the other manufacturer cars who were particularly fast on the straights and weaker in the corners, which is where we made our laptimes. Honestly, from where things looked like a few hours from the end, second is pretty good. But when you’re fighting super close for the win, you can’t help as a sportsman to feel disappointed not to get the win.”

Considering where you were a year ago: “I thought that exactly too. Here we had a near flawless race. Our Corvette held up really, really well. The whole team did a fantastic job to execute so much of the race so well. It was a good start for the year.”
• DANI JUNCADELLA, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R:

“I’ve had some time to cool down and to be honest, it’s an amazing result to finish second. A great start to the year. Really thankful to the team. They made us believe in winning, and we ended up just short. Alex is an absolute legend. That last 30 minutes gave us the shivers and made us dream about the victory. We just came short. It is what it is. Tomorrow will taste way better and I think looking at the overall performance and where we’re coming from one year ago, it’s fantastic. So really happy for the Pratt and Miller guys, everyone at Corvette Racing.
They gave us a fantastic Corvette GT3 car and that was good fun.”

• TOMMY MILNER, NO. 4 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R

On the incident with No. 48: “That’s not what IMSA is about, sports car racing is about. First and foremost, the driver should be embarrassed, the team should be embarrassed with that kind of racing. It is team racing here but not like that. They have a car that’s laps down out of the race whose only job is basically only to help the teammate, and not like that. Lap after lap, blocking, blocking, blocking, waiting for me. It’s just like I said, not how sports car racing should be. It’s disappointing.
I don’t have an issue with 1 car. Those guys are in their own race. It’s just the sister car that’s out there just to be a nuisance. Poor sportsmanship, poor driving, just embarrassing on their part.

“It sounds like they timed their pit stop to come out in front of me. On their previous stint, they waited for me until I got close, then held me up for a bit but for whatever reason, either he pit or got the black flag, then came out and did it again. Their only goal is to race dirty. Again, it’s just disappointing. It’s not how this kind of race should go. I was content for a while just to sit behind him. I’m not a big believer in spirits and those kinds of things, but if karma was going to work, it would be a good time today.”

More on the incident “Basically that’s not what IMSA and sports car racing is about. Hard racing between competitors is totally fine. I have no issue with the 1 car. At the end of the day the driver of the 48 should be embarrassed, the team should be embarrassed a car that’s only out there to slow us down isn’t what this race is about. I have no issue with the 1. They’re still in the hunt. We’ll continue to race them clean as we have.”

“In the end what hurt us the most was to continue to stay out after they had a blocking penalty to block more.
Whoever was in the 48 really slowed me up in (Turn) Three and got me a little bit crossed up and put me into the 1. The car isn’t totally right for sure. There’s lasting damage from all of that for sure, not to mention the problems we had with the bumper. Hopefully that is fixed now.
It’s just disappointing.
The team at Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports has done a great job all race long. I’m really proud of our guys. Nicky and Nico have done a great job all race long. It’s a shame for us to work that hard to put us into contention to have a good result and for it to be spoiled like that was pretty pathetic.”

An angry Corvette racer Tommy Milner says the allegedly “dirty” tactics used by a BMW driver during the Daytona 24 Hours this weekend aren’t “what racing is all about.”

With less than three hours to go, the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R was leading the GTD Pro class when Milner says Paul Miller BMW’s Augusto Farfus – who was several laps back began using aggressive blocking tactics ahead of him to give his teammate Connor De Phillippi, who was in second, a chance to make up ground.

Farfus did wind up with a drive-through penalty for the blocking, but his tactics also forced Milner to make a costly mistake.
The Corvette driver suffered body damage to the left side of his bumper cover when it clipped doors with De Phillippi as the BMW tried to go around him.
As Farfus was heading to the pits for his penalty, an irate Milner gave him the middle finger as he passed by.

Farfus was the least of Milner’s worries, though, as his pit crew didn’t have enough time to tape up the loose bodywork on the Corvette. Milner returned to the race now in second place, but then had to endure a mechanical black flag and a return to the pits after the repair failed on the track.

“It is team racing here, but not like that,” Milner said in an interview with IMSA Radio. You got a car that’s laps down, out of the race, whose only job is basically help a teammate and not like that lap after lap after lap, blocking, blocking, blocking and waiting for me.

“Like I said, it’s not how sports car racing should be. It’s disappointing. I don’t have an issue with the number one car [De Phillippi] those guys are in their own race. It’s just the sister car that is out there just to be a nuisance. It’s poor sportsmanship, poor driving. Just embarrassing on their part.”
Milner furthermore accused Farfus of twice timing his pit stops so that he would come out just in front of Milner, adding that the BMW team “should be embarrassed for that kind of racing.”

“Their only goal is to race dirty,” he said. “Again, it’s just disappointing. It’s not how this kind of race should go.”
In the end, the No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports lineup wound up winning GTD Pro with Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch and Dennis Olsen sharing the driving. Olsen closed out the win by nearly two seconds.

Alex Sims in the No. 3 Corvette finished second, while the No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3, driven by Mike Rockenfeller, Seb Priaulx, and Austin Cindric, completed the podium.

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While everyone at Pratt Miller and Trackhouse by TF Sport, for that matter, will exit the paddock Sunday frustrated after Ford’s Mustang prevailed in GTD PRO, AWA’s achievement in the 22-car strong GTD class is still reason for the General Motors concern to celebrate.
Mirroring the Mustang GT3, the Corvette Z06 GT3.R has a 24-hour win under its belt now, too, after enduring a tough debut marred by mechanical woes at last year’s Daytona event.

The difference is this achievement came via the efforts of a private team. For Corvette Racing’s young customer program, the win could prove to be vital for the car’s future in GT3 racing globally.
Ahead of the race, everyone at AWA was confident not only in the capabilities of their car but also in their level of preparation. The team looked entirely at ease with the car and the event this year, snatching the win in a huge 22-car field stacked with high-quality teams from nine manufacturers.

British pro driver Matt Bell was in at the end of the race and, frankly, put in the most impressive performance of his racing career, fending off attacks from multiple cars including Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin driven by the hard-charging Mattia Drudi.

“Honestly, I can’t remember a thing,” he said when asked to recall his winning move. “There were PRO cars, there were GTD cars I don’t remember that. I’ll have to watch the video later. Every time there was a car in front of me, I was trying to overtake it. I asked the guys to stop giving me updates on the radio.

“I just saw a GT car and wanted to pass it; that’s all I was focused on. I can’t thank my teammates and everyone enough.
That’s one beat-up Chevrolet Corvette, but they make them tough in Detroit.

“This means absolutely everything,” Bell, continued. “To me, to my teammates Orey (Fidani) and Lars (Kern) and Marvin. Everybody on this team has worked so hard. To think where we were this time last year and how far we’ve come now… it’s so much hard work to do this.

“From the minute the checkered flag fell at Petit Le Mans, no one took a rest. No one took a break. It’s been 24/7 since then to get a car that is capable of winning the Daytona 24 Hours.

“AWA gave the four of us a car to do it.

“IMSA is the hardest championship in the world. Our competitors gave us a hell of a run. I had to work so hard to get on top of those guys, but we managed to make it work and bring it home in the last 10 minutes.

“This all feels like a dream, a dream that we hope won’t end.”

The result is massive for the championship, the brand, the car and the team’s future.
Now, as a result of its performance this weekend, AWA finds itself in with a chance to achieve something truly special in June.

“This is a huge boost for the team and myself heading to the 24 Hours Le Mans for our debut,” 2024 IMSA Bob Akin Award winner Orey Fidani said. “If we can win this one, I think Le Mans also is a possibility as well. We’ll take that energy from here and roll it forward into that.”

That’s for tomorrow, though. Right now, it’s time for the team to pop the champagne corks stateside.

Two years ago, Ford announced the birth of the Mustang GT3 customer racing program. Last year, the car made its debut to lackluster results, grabbing more headlines for shedding its bodywork than for running at the front of the field at any point.

What a difference a year makes the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona was the stage for the Blue Oval’s fresh start. Ford Multimatic Motorsports’ new-look trio of Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch, and Dennis Olsen finally gave the Mustang GT3 its first win anywhere in the world after a fruitless first season across IMSA, FIA WEC, and GT World Challenge America.

Ford’s veteran stalwart Mike Rockenfeller expressed concerns that his pole lap in qualifying wouldn’t translate to real results come race time, yet at the end of a rough and tumble race, the factory-backed Mustangs were on the podium.

Olsen and Mies kept their heads cool near the end, as Olsen overtook the No. 4 Corvette of Nico Varrone on the race’s final restart and withstood pressure from the likes of Laurin Heinrich and Alexander Sims to secure that precious first win for Ford.

“It’s simply amazing,” Mies said of Ford’s dramatic turnaround. “When I saw the car for the first time online, I immediately got into contact with Ford and with Multimatic. I said, ‘I want to be part of it.’ I wanted the change, let’s say, after a long stint with another brand (Audi).

“We came here exactly a year ago, leading the race back then, which was fantastic for a new car. But like everyone, we had some little issues. We solved them over the year. Coming back one year later together with Ford Performance and Multimatic Motorsports is incredible.”

The No. 64 Ford of Rockenfeller, Sebastian Priaulx, and super-sub Austin Cindric sandwiched the No. 3 Corvette of Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, and Daniel Juncadella which finished a highly-spirited second.

And that should bring us to the biggest flashpoint of the race: Paul Miller’s two cars, versus the No. 4 Corvette. Tommy Milner and the No. 4 crew lost out on a real chance at the win after an ill-mannered exchange between the No. 48 car — which was no longer in contention after Max Hesse was swept up in the “big one” late Saturday night became a pain in a battle for the lead between Milner and the No. 1 BMW of Connor De Phillippi.

Augusto Farfus was the direct target of Milner’s ire. To borrow a famous Murray Walker quote, the Corvette ace told his BMW counterpart he was going for first place, and he was, but the BMW would be an impediment to Milner, and it escalated into Milner and De Phillippi colliding at the exit of the International Horseshoe.

“The situation with the Corvette and our sister car was very difficult. My intention was to support my teammate in the sister car in the fight for victory. I was aware that it was hard racing. The situation that led to the collision between the Corvette and Connor De Phillippi behind me was very unfortunate, but I had nothing to do with it directly. I stayed on my inside line,” Farfus said.

In the last 15 minutes, with Kelvin van der Linde now fighting for a podium, Nico Varrone in the No. 4 Corvette ran into the No. 1 BMW and sent the South African spinning out, eventually consolidating fourth place for the new M4 GT3 EVO in its American debut.

A partnership between Bartone Bros. Racing, RealTime Racing, and Germany’s GetSpeed produced a solid first IMSA result fifth for the black No. 69 Mercedes-AMG GT3. The quasi-defending champions at DragonSpeed would finish sixth with the No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3.

Rexy made a stirring comeback and fought for the lead up until the final hour, but the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R suffered front-end damage in all the skirmishes, had to make an unscheduled stop, and sunk to eighth behind the No. 4 Corvette.

Trackhouse and TF Sport’s all-star effort finished ninth, but, up until the cool Connor Zilisch was spun after contact with an LMP2 car with an hour left, it looked for a moment like the No. 91 WeatherTech Corvette would reach the podium.

For the No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini it was a race of unfulfilled potential, ending in the second part of that big Saturday night crash when Jordan Pepper ran into Hesse. The new partnership showed strength and resilience up to that point.

Corvette may not have gotten the GTD PRO win with the works cars, but Canadian team AWA delivered in a big way as Matt Bell and Marvin Kirchhofer carried the black and yellow No. 13 Z06 GT3.R to its first GTD win, joined by Orey Fidani the reigning Bob Akin Award winner — and Lars Kern.

Bell had to fight back after being jostled in the final restart he was down to fourth at one stage, but he eventually caught and passed Heart of Racing’s Mattia Drudi with about 16 minutes left to give AWA its second Daytona class win in three years (2023, LMP3).

“The restarts were intense, as we are always in IMSA WeatherTech racing. Honestly, my brain is fried,” said a jubilant Bell after the race. “I can’t even remember what happened. It was awesome racing, I have to say. All the competitors that we were going toe to toe with today were really hard, really fair.

“I can’t remember where [Drudi] overtook me. He got us in the pits. I just had to get my head down. If I saw a GTD car ahead of me I just tried to overtake it. I remember vaguely getting a little bit of a nose up the side coming out of Turn 5.

“We were good in the infield; we were strong in the infield. Just managed to squeeze on past and get my head down after that and try to build a gap. It was definitely fun.”

The No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche may not have been connected to the new F1 motion picture like last year, but the quartet of Elliott Skeer, Ayhancan Guven, Tom Sargent, and Adam Adelson were box-office for most of the race, culminating in Guven sprinting from fifth to second by the end.

Heart of Racing’s No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 completed the GTD podium in third, followed very closely by Winward Racing’s No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 in fourth

When you consider what Winward Racing had to overcome losing seven laps in the garage to fix a stuck throttle pedal to get back to the lead lap and then the class lead, only to have to dig out of a hole from a pit work penalty? That is the sort of performance that made this Texas team the GTD Champions in 2024.

Turner Motorsport snuck into fifth place with the No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO towards the end, putting five different makes in the top five in GTD.

Disappointments happened, of course. Quick Lamborghinis from Wayne Taylor Racing and Forte Racing were knocked out due to damage. Only one of the seven Ferrari 296 GT3s ran a clean race with no major hiccups, and, of course, a catastrophic engine failure wasn’t how anyone wanted Andy Lally to bow out of professional sports car racing as a driver.

AWA’s win was a great story in itself, given how wretched the start of their customer Corvette Racing program was last year. Early season retirements, Anthony Mantella’s infamous sale of his Corvette just two races into the year it wasn’t ideal to say the least and yet, look where they are now.

If there were any whispers that Ford and GM’s first customer racing efforts at this level were doomed to failure after a tough start in year one, Daytona proved them wrong this weekend.

RESULTS

https://racer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/2025/01/03_Results_Race_Unofficial_391a88.pdf

Tommy Milner said the blocking incident with Paul Miller Racing’s Augusto Farfus in the Rolex 24 at Daytona is “not what IMSA’s about” after the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports driver suffered damage in a battle for the lead in GTD Pro.

Milner, piloting the No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, was engaged in a battle with the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Connor De Phillippi when the pair encountered Farfus, driving the sister No. 48 BMW.

The team’s second car had been heavily delayed after it was caught up in a multi-car incident in the eighth hour, after which it had been repaired and returned to the track, although numerous laps down.
Milner found himself sandwiched between the two Paul Miller cars, with the No. 1 machine consistently less than a second behind.

Race control intervened not much later, handing Farfus’ No. 48 BMW a drive-through penalty for blocking Milner.
However, contact occurred on the following lap when Milner made contract with De Phillippi’s No. 1 car (who was attempting a pass on the outside) in the International Horseshoe while attempting to clear Farfus, who appeared to be slowing on the apex.

While the resulting blow caused rear left bodywork damage to the No. 4 Corvette, Milner maintained a narrow lead over De Phillippi and showed his frustration with Farfus’ actions by waving his middle finger out the window of his Corvette as the Brazilian took to pit lane to serve his penalty (pictured above).

De Phillippi was ultimately able to split back past the Corvette after it stopped for fresh tires and bodywork repairs.
“That kind of racing is not what IMSA’s about,” Milner told IMSA Radio’s Nick Daman after his stint. “It’s not what sports car racing is about.
“First and foremost, the driver should be embarrassed. The team should be embarrassed. BMW should be embarrassed for that kind of racing.

“It is team racing here, but not like that when the other car that’s laps down, out of the race, whose only job is to basically help the teammate and not like that. Lap after lap after lap. Blocking, blocking, blocking. Waiting for me.

“It’s not how sports car racing should be. It’s disappointing. I don’t have an issue with the [No.] 1 car. Those guys are in their own race.
“It’s just the sister car that’s out there just to be a nuisance. That’s poor sportsmanship, [and] poor driving. Just embarrassing on their part.”
Farfus, in a statement issued by BMW about the incident, said: “The situation with the Corvette and our sister car was very difficult.

“My intention was to support my teammate in the sister car in the fight for victory. I was aware that it was hard racing.
“The situation that led to the collision between the Corvette and Connor De Phillippi behind me was very unfortunate, but I had nothing to do with it directly. I stayed on my inside line.”

Speaking after the race, BMW M Motorsport director Andreas Roos also commented on the situation.
“I think this, at the end, it’s customer racing,” said Roos. “But to be honest, I don’t want to even go into detail into this because at the end it’s a give and take.
Because what happened at the end, I think in both directions it went, not the way we would like to see the racing on the track.

“I think everybody has to take his points back home, and hopefully next time we do it better.”

Tommy Milner in the number 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R “communicated his displeasure” with the No. 48 BMW driven by Augusto Farfus. Tommy was the class leader in GTD-Pro and was fending off a challenge from the No.1 BMW driven by Connor De Phillippi when his teammate in No. 48 BMW, which was several, laps down and out of contention, began deliberately blocking the Corvette.

Despite receiving a call from IMSA’s Race Control for intentional blocking, Farfus stayed with it and deliberately held up Milner in the International Horseshoe. Trying to swerve around the blocking BMW, Milner’s Corvette hit the No. 1 BMW, damaging the Corvette’s rear fascia.
As Tommy came abreast of the No. 48 BMW, he opened the small window on the Z06 GT3.R and stuck his entire arm through and extended his middle finger, which was captured by the TV cameras:

Coverage of the race in the next few days was overshadowed by Tommy’s bird flip, which became an instant MEME. Digital artist Abel Toth celebrated the moment with an special illustration, calling it “the most iconic moment of the race.” Now, Tommy and Abel have teamed up to offer a special t-shirt commemorating the bird flip, and the profits from the sale will go to the American Eagles Foundation, which is dedicated to protecting the American Bald Eagle and other birds of prey.

The t-shirts feature Tommy’s logo on the front chest with the back showing Abel’s illustration, and they are offered in three colors starting at $20.
Tommy says on X.com that
A Daytona 24 win shirt would’ve been a bit more fun, but instead we’re going to raise some money for the @AEFeagles In collaboration with @abeltoth. All profit from the sale of these shirts will go to American Eagle Foundation:

Leave it to IMSA veteran Tommy Milner to turn the most heated and unforgettable moment of the Rolex 24 At Daytona into a positive.

The factory Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller driver’s encounter with BMW and Paul Miller Racing’s defensive line in the final hours of race eventually won by Ford – ultimately led Milner to open the sliding window on his Z06.GT3.R, extend his left arm, and give Augusto Farfus the middle finger as the BMW was ordered to pit lane for a drive-through penalty for his egregious blocking of the GTD Pro race leader.

Caught on the NBC broadcast, Milner’s delivery of the bird to his Brazilian protagonist became an instant meme that helped Pratt Miller to generate 2.7 million views across its social channels. It also created an opportunity for Milner and artist Abel Toth to collaborate on a bird-themed t-shirt that commemorates the American’s middle finger while sending the proceeds of the shirt to the American Eagle Foundation in Tennessee to care for bald eagles.

An impromptu Rolex 24 bird that’s now helping birds; Milner says more than 3500 shirts have been sold since they went online a week ago.
They’ll be available until the week prior to the next race, March 15’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, before the shirt is taken offline.

“All this started on the Monday and even a little bit of Sunday after the race, I was getting lots of text messages from friends and colleagues from the racing world, talking about what had happened,” Milner said. “And I could see already the artwork there from Abel Toth, and that one really struck a chord with a lot of people, so I quickly reached out to him and wanted to see if he’d be up for collaborating on doing a T-shirt.
I noticed a lot of the fans were interested in T-shirts, so I wanted to kind of take the moment and just basically turn it turning into something good.

“Wasn’t my intention, initially. It was, ‘Let’s not allow lots of people to try to make a bunch of money off of this.’ And it wasn’t my intention at all from the beginning to try to make any money doing it. Everything happened so fast. I had a quick message from [IMSA Win
The Weekend director] JF Musial, and we were joking about the potential of me selling some T shirts, and he right away said, ‘Turning this into something good will prevent any backlash that that would come from selling the T shirts.’”

Just as the situation with BMW/PMR/Farfus was unexpected, what came next for Milner was another surprise.
“We were joking about flipping the bird and helping support the birds, so I reached out to the American Eagle Foundation and the executive director there,” he continued. “Actually, the email was hard to write for me because I didn’t really know how to approach the [situation]

. ‘I got into a sort of little bit of a fight, so to speak, on the racetrack, and I flipped somebody off And do you guys want to be associated with that?’

“So I sort of slow-played the email a little bit. I just explained who I was, and Jessica from AEF responded pretty quickly and said, ‘I know all about it, I’m honored that you messaged us about this.’ So that was a big relief when I didn’t have to further explain what I did. So she already understood, and she was all on board right away, and has been great from the couple phone calls that we’ve had together to help to make sure that they’re OK with being associated with this little money drive for them.”

And then there’s the part about Milner’s credit card being blown up by the unanticipated costs to create thousands of on-demand T-shirts

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