Porsche Penske Motorsport’s managing director described the team’s 2025 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona victory this afternoon as “something none of us could have dreamed of.”
This year’s race in GTP was one of the most dramatic for years, with drama up and down the order throughout. The battle for the overall victory was always going to generate headlines, but this year’s Porsche vs BMW vs Acura fight will be looked back on for days, weeks and likely years to come.
BMW RLL’s tenacious performance throughout the event appeared to mark a turnaround for the entire M Hybrid V8 programme. But its attack didn’t quite go the distance, as the #24 M Hybrid V8 bowed out after contact caused the bodywork damage that forced Dries Vanthoor to pit after the final restart.
That didn’t ease the tension in the Penske awning on the pit wall though, as the pair of factory 963s diced for the lead before Tom Blomqvist in the #60 Acura MSR ARX-06 powered by Matt Campbell for second.
It was intense, it was gripping, but Felipe Nasr in the winning #7 Porsche held strong. He admitted that due to the tyre strategy in play which saw him handed a full set of fresh Michelins he had to “go for it”, and was thankful that a lot of respect was shown between the two sides of the garage as he and Matt Campbell battled with 20 minutes remaining.
“From the driver’s seat, it’s different emotions to everyone else,” he said. “All I was thinking of was that I wanted to win this race for the team. I was third at the restart, and it’s hard to know how it’ll end up. But I knew the car was capable and I knew the team behind this is great.
“And there was always going to be drama, with one trophy and two cars. I felt like I had the pace to go forward, though and that’s what I did. We all get the same opportunity, I didn’t want to create any trouble so I tried a clean pass and I knew I had to move forward because the Acura was close.”
The 2024 GTP title-winning Brazillian’s performance was masterful. Not only did it help capture back-to-back wins for himself, Porsche, and Penske, but it also completed a remarkable ‘Grand Slam’ of endurance wins for Nick Tandy, who now has won the Le Mans 24 Hours, Nürburgring 24 Hours, Spa 24 Hours and now the Daytona 24 Hours overall – all with Porsche.
The reshuffle in the driver line-ups over the winter paid off for the 40-year-old Briton, who was on the outside looking in last year as part of the #6 crew.
“To be the first person ever to do something is quite unbelievable,” he said. “You have to be proud you are put in a position to be able to compete in these races. It’s something I’ve wanted to check off the list. Winning Daytona is massive by itself and to win just one of these would be something special for any career, but this is different.”
For Laurens Vanthoor, it was a particularly memorable one too, his first overall win at Daytona.
“It’s always difficult to describe your feelings a couple of moments after it happened. I’ve wanted this badly for a long time and if I went back 10 years ago I couldn’t have dreamed of it. I couldn’t be more grateful to sit here.”
When asked by DSC to comment on the performance of BMW throughout the race and specifically his brother Dries – who dropped out of the top three in the final hour in the #24 – he gave an emotional response.
“It’s special from a personal point of view, to see how many laps a Vanthoor led. He’s my younger brother and to see him up there doing a tremendous job. In the end, I was like ‘Dries piss off!’ But then you feel kind of sad when it doesn’t work out.
“BMW were strong all race, they were really quick and I always saw them as a main contender. Dries is doing a very good job and I am sure his day will come.”
As for the Porsche and Penske tie-up, this is another momentous occasion. It may not have been the dream 1-2 finish in the end, but the team led 517 laps and kept the train rolling after the GTP side of the operation captured the Rolex 24 and a sweep of titles last year.
“Today was a team effort,” Diuguid concluded. “I saw the stats; we made sure we used our two-car approach so that a PPM car was out front, controlling the race whenever we could. Every car had a chance to win today and we were the ones that came out on top because we covered all these bases to cover attacks from the Acuras, BMWs and Cadillacs.”
What else lies in store for the team in 2025? The WEC campaign kicks off soon, Sebring isn’t that far away and once again, it has the chance to win the Rolex 24 and Le Mans 24 in the same year.
Will it find a way to make the most of this rare opportunity?
