One of two GT categories, GTD PRO is the descendant of GTLM before it and, as was demonstrated many times in 2025, carries on its tradition of highly-spirited competition.
Nine manufacturers are represented in GTD PRO, fielding a total of 15 cars in this year’s Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Daytona will see the competitive debuts of three GT3 ‘Evo’ models from Ferrari, Porsche, and defending GTD PRO class winner Ford. And McLaren will also make its return to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship after a year away, re-joining the likes of BMW, Chevrolet, Lamborghini, Lexus, and Mercedes-AMG.
As ever, this will be one of the races to watch. GTD PRO is one of the few but mighty all-pro GT3 categories competing around the world, with top teams and top drivers filling nearly every seat.
It shouldn’t be as ill-mannered as it got at times between BMW and Corvette last year, but it will be an entertaining fight to the finish, to see who grabs the win in GTD PRO.
BMW M4 GT3 EVO
#1: Paul Miller Racing
Neil Verhagen / Connor De Phillippi / Max Hesse / Dan Harper
Previous Daytona GTD-winning outfit Paul Miller Racing remains with BMW in 2026, staving off autumn rumours of a potential manufacturer swap. But there is still change as the team has downscaled from two cars to just one, the only BMW M4 GT3 EVO in GTD PRO.
Somewhat forgotten in the bitter BMW versus Corvette feud that broke out late in last year’s race was that Paul Miller Racing’s two entries were quick at Daytona, bucking the recent trend of GT3 ‘Evos’ and new models enduring tough first outings at the Rolex 24.
That strong first showing in North America set the tone for a successful 2025 season at Paul Miller Racing: The 2025 Michelin Endurance Cup, and three wins across both cars.
2019 GTLM winner Connor De Phillippi is the experienced hand in the #1 BMW, running alongside the mighty young trio of BMW Junior Team graduates: Neil Verhagen, Max Hesse, and Dan Harper. They represent the new generation of a long line of excellent BMW GT drivers.
Harper and Hesse won’t be back in America full-time this year, but they will be coming into Daytona with the Endurance Cup to their name, having won Petit Le Mans alongside De Phillippi – who’s back full-time in IMSA with Verhagen alongside, another rising star of the series.
Certainly, this car will be one to watch as BMW pursues its first all-pro GT victory at Daytona since the M8 GTEs won GTLM here in consecutive years.
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
#3: Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports
Antonio García / Alexander Sims / Marvin Kirchhöfer
#4: Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports
Tommy Milner / Nicky Catsburg / Nico Varrone
The standard bearers of American GT racing for over a quarter-century, last season saw Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports and the relatively new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R reach the heights it was meant to in IMSA.
The two works Corvettes combined to win yet another IMSA manufacturer’s title in GTD PRO, while the #3 car of Antonio García and Alexander Sims, through rock-solid consistency, picked up the drivers’ and teams’ titles. It all began at Daytona, where they finished second in class, in between the two factory Fords.
That runner-up finish might have gone somewhat forgotten to a few because of the #4 car being embroiled in the battle with the two Paul Miller BMWs, but in both GT classes, the Z06 GT3.R finally looked like a worthy successor to the cars that came before it.
For both Corvette Racing cars, they stick with their core line-ups of García and Sims in the #3, Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg in the #4. Three-time Daytona winner García and 2016 winner Milner are the long-tenured, but still very quick, veteran leaders of the outfit – 19 starts in the Rolex 24 for Garcia, 17 starts for Milner.
Sims and Catsburg, in their respective cars, are both devastatingly fast and consistent, and feel right at home in this team.
New in the equation is Marvin Kirchhöfer in the #3 to partner García and Sims. He was the GTD class winner last year in a Z06 GT3.R, and it’ll create a very interesting situation where McLaren’s top factory GT driver will race against McLaren in the three triple crown enduros. Mega-talented Argentine Nico Varrone returns to the #4, much like Colton Herta, his Corvette Racing return comes as a detour from his new normal in Formula 2.
Corvette Racing as we know it began at Daytona in 1999. Fans still fondly remember the overall win for the C5.R 25 years ago, and the memorable photo finish between the C7.Rs ten years ago. It feels like it’s time for one of these two Millennium Yellow Z06 GT3.Rs to continue the legacy in 2026 with another famous victory.
Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo
#033: Triarsi Competizione
James Calado / Riccardo Agostini / Miguel Molina / Alessio Rovera
#62: Risi Competizione
Daniel Serra / Davide Rigon / Alessandro Pier Guidi
The new Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo is one of three upgraded GT3 cars in the Rolex 24, represented in both GT classes. In GTD PRO, Ferrari has a pair of strong teams in the mix – a familiar fan-favourite, plus a growing team taking on a new challenge.
The new blood is Triarsi Competizione, which has now settled into IMSA competition after a few years of success – including the team’s first GTD class victory. 2026 begins a new chapter for the team as it brings one of its new Ferraris up to GTD PRO for the first time.
The team’s recent track record suggests that Triarsi is ready for the step up. And they’ve put together an awesome line-up stacked with Ferrari factory drivers. Both James Calado and Miguel Molina are recent Le Mans 24 Hours winners in the factory 499Ps, and Calado enters this race as one-third of the reigning FIA Hypercar World Endurance Champions.
Alessio Rovera is an outstanding factory GT driver for the firm, and even though he’s not contracted to the marque, Riccardo Agostini is no slouch behind the wheel of a 296 GT3 either.
Also leading the way for Ferrari, to the delight of the team’s fans, is Risi Competizione. After a year working behind the scenes as technical support to DragonSpeed, the red #62 Ferrari is back as its own independent entry.
Let’s not forget, when we last saw Giuseppe Risi’s team running independently at the Rolex 24, they won GTD PRO, not without controversy after the race. But after assisting DragonSpeed to a surprising run at the GTD PRO title last year, Risi returns to Daytona with three of the drivers that won it in 2024.
That includes two more expert Ferrari GT3 drivers, Davide Rigon and Daniel Serra, who each bring speed and experience. And it includes the other member of the reigning Hypercar World Champion trio, Alessandro Pier Guidi – who, like Calado, cut his teeth in Ferrari’s GT programmes for many years before finding success with the 499P.
Could we see the Ferrari 296 GT3, in its latest form with its raft of improvements, win GTD PRO for the second time in three years?
Ford Mustang GT3 Evo
#64: Ford Racing
Ben Barker / Dennis Olsen / Mike Rockenfeller
#65: Ford Racing
Christopher Mies / Frédéric Vervisch / Sebastian Priaulx
Ford entered the cutthroat arena of GT3 racing with big ambitions. In 2024, the Mustang GT3 experienced a difficult year of learning, including the factory Ford Multimatic Motorsports team in GTD PRO.
But to ring in 2025, the Mustang GT3 rose to the occasion, and Ford Multimatic Motorsports scored the car’s first win in worldwide competition at the biggest race of the year, the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona. From there, the momentum has carried forward into 2026 and the defense of the team’s Daytona victory.
Ford has rebranded its factory GTD PRO outfit into Ford Racing very recently, though it is still the same Multimatic team which runs the cars.
And it’s an updated car, unofficially known the Ford Mustang GT3 Evo, that will run in the new Ford Racing factory colours. Not much was publicly disclosed about the car’s raft of aerodynamic, braking, and kinematic changes until recently, though even the casual observer will have noticed the diveplanes at the front of the car.
GT racing veterans Christopher Mies and Frédéric Vervisch will be back in the #65 car to defend their class win. But Dennis Olsen has moved across the garage to a new-look #64 crew, and second-generation talent Sebastian Priaulx takes his place in the #65. Opposite them, Ben Barker will finally make his first Rolex 24 start after missing last year’s race due to injury, in the #64 with Olsen and 2010 overall winner Mike Rockenfeller, the ageless wonder.
All six of Ford Racing’s IMSA drivers from last year have been shuffled as Rockenfeller and Priaulx begin preparations for the upcoming WEC Hypercar programme, which includes a 2026 ELMS trajectory programme in LMP2. All in preparation of an attempt to reclaim former glory at Le Mans in the far future.
But first, “America’s Racing Team,” as it’s proudly proclaimed itself, will have the opportunity to go back-to-back at the Rolex 24. The improvements to the Mustang GT3, the continuity and the strength of its driver line-up, and some fine showings during the Roar – all point to a good chance to make that happen.
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2
#9: Pfaff Motorsports
Andrea Caldarelli / Sandy Mitchell / Mirko Bortolotti / James Hinchcliffe
The Lamborghini Huracán GT3 won GTD for three straight years at the Rolex 24, proving that the Italian marque was fit to challenge the biggest endurance races around the world. 2025 was the last full year of the Huracán as Lamborghini’s flagship GT3 racer.
The 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona will almost certainly be the Huracán’s final chance to add to its successful Daytona track record. For Pfaff Motorsports, this is the last dance with its current car, because in March, the new Temerario GT3 will make its world debut, run by Pfaff at the Twelve Hours of Sebring.
It’s a poignant moment and the continuation of a new era for Pfaff, a beloved and successful Canadian team that took the very first Rolex 24 GTD PRO victory in 2022. Last year marked the start of a new partnership with Lamborghini, and at Daytona, the speed was there to potentially deliver immediate returns. Unfortunately, the red and black plaid “Lumber-ghini” was taken out of contention in an accident during the night-time.
Things didn’t get much better as the season went on – many times, the #9 Pfaff car was quick, but many times, the luck just wasn’t there to achieve strong results. Not the fault of Steve Bortolotti’s crew, or its drivers.
The “last dance” at Daytona for the V10-powered Huracán GT3 EVO2 will be led by Lamborghini Squadra Corse stalwarts like Andrea Caldarelli – back in a full-time role with Pfaff – as well as Mirko Bortolotti (no relation) and, in his first full season of American racing, young Scottish speedster Sandy Mitchell. With their experience with the platform, Pfaff is collectively in good hands.
James Hinchcliffe, multi-time IndyCar Series race winner turned broadcaster, is back as the Canadian star driver for his home team, looking for at least one more chance to take his first Rolex victory.
Will the stars align for Pfaff Motorsports to complete its rebuild and give its Huracán GT3 EVO2 a signature victory in its last GTD PRO start?
Lexus RC F GT3
#14: Vasser Sullivan Racing
Jack Hawksworth / Ben Barnicoat / Kyle Kirkwood
Speaking of cars potentially making their final Rolex 24 appearances: The Lexus RC F GT3 has campaigned in IMSA since 2017, practically unchanged since the day it first raced in North America. Vasser Sullivan Racing has run two Lexus since 2019, and run them well.
The fluorescent yellow and black RC Fs have had many chances to win either in GTD or GTD PRO, but Daytona remains the one race that’s eluded this team, a team that’s won the 2023 GTD PRO title with this aging, but still-effective car, thanks to the strength of its mechanics, engineers, and drivers.
We presume, at this stage, that next year you’ll see Toyota’s new GR GT3 make its IMSA debut at Daytona in place of the RC F GT3, but that’s still to be determined. But the feeling amongst fans and within the garages is that this will be the old Lexus’ last time racing at Daytona, and if that’s the case, there will be extra incentive for the team to get the win.
The GTD PRO challenger is the #14, a car that has reunited its recent title-winning combination of Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat. They’ve got the talent, the experience, and the toughness to battle their way to the front as they have for many years, both in IMSA, and recently in WEC as the RC F has found success in the international arena. It would be extra special for Hawksworth, having been part of the RC F GT3’s IMSA racing life since day one.
With them is IndyCar Series driver Kyle Kirkwood, coming off the very best year of his career in that series to date. Kirkwood has been a mainstay of Vasser Sullivan for many years – even before he reached IndyCar stardom. He’s another one of the “global all-stars” in this field, and he’s not just here to make a cameo appearance!
Everyone in this team is determined to deliver in what, in all likelihood, will be the start of the RC F GT3’s final season of racing around the world. What better way to complete the story than with a long-awaited Rolex 24 win.
Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
#48: Winward Racing
Scott Noble / Jason Hart / Maxime Martin / Luca Stolz
#69: GetSpeed
Anthony Bartone / Maximilian Götz / Jules Gounon / Fabian Schiller
#75: 75 Express
Kenny Habul / Maro Engel / Will Power / Chaz Mostert
Mercedes-AMG won the Rolex 24 in GTD PRO three years ago, and including the success of the GTD programmes, the Silver Arrows’ contingent of customers have performed well in IMSA’s showcase event.
This year at the Rolex 24, Mercedes-AMG arrives with a trio of cars that are only committed to select endurance events, but if they can only run one race together, it has to be the big one. Curiously, these GTD PRO entries would look more at home in the nominally Pro/Am GTD class from first glance.
But all three cars are also packed with some of the very best Mercedes-AMG Performance drivers available. At GetSpeed, running with the support of RealTime Racing and the Bartone Bros, 2023 winner Jules Gounon, Maximilian Götz, and Fabian Schiller accompany Anthony Bartone in the black and white #69 car – one that was very competitive late in last year’s race.
Winward Racing has added a new car, the #48, which pairs Luca Stolz and Maxime Martin with true Bronze driver Scott Noble and accomplished journeyman Jason Hart. Noble brings the funding to make this IMSA expansion happen, and the quality of this back-to-back championship-winning outfit is to the highest standard. Adding drivers like Stolz and Martin only raises that standard.
Then, there’s 75 Express, Kenny Habul’s team, which has had the most awful misfortune at Daytona for several successive years. But there’s a real excitement around the blue/flame #75 Mercedes based around the supporting cast joining the experienced amateur driver Habul.
Will Power grabs most of the headlines as the two-time IndyCar champion, and Indianapolis 500 winner, finally gets to make his Daytona 24 Hours debut. He’s been the fastest driver in GTD PRO throughout the Roar, raising the expectations even further.
This Australian super team is completed by the reigning and defending Supercars Champion Chaz Mostert – a Rolex 24 winner when he last raced here in 2020 – and Maro Engel, who briefly raced in Supercars full-time, but who’s best known as one of Mercedes’ longest-tenured drivers in GTs and touring cars, with wins in both GT classes at Daytona.
So yes, it is an unconventional setup for Mercedes, but should any of these three AMG GT3s find themselves on the lead lap with a chance to push their way to the front in the closing stages, any one of them can win it.
McLaren (720S) GT3 Evo
#59: RLL Team McLaren
Max Esterson / Jüri Vips / Dean MacDonald / Nikita Johnson
After 18 years of carrying the banner for BMW in the American Le Mans Series and now, the current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing begins a new era with McLaren – which is also returning to the WeatherTech series after a year’s absence.
McLaren wanted to be back in the main IMSA series after previous customers went in a different direction during and after the 2024 season. RLL wanted to continue racing in IMSA. It’s a beneficial partnership, and one where the team already has expressed long-term ambitions within and beyond GTD PRO.
But with the limited window of time RLL had to put this programme together, the expectations, by the admission of all parties involved, will be kept low.
Only McLaren factory GT driver Dean MacDonald has significant sports car racing experience, all with McLaren, none at Daytona – and he will be leaned on extensively to help his young teammates get up to speed here.
Nikita Johnson, at 17, is the youngest driver in the field and has never competed outside the realm of single-seaters. That also applies to the once-heralded single-seater prospect Jüri Vips, who continues the uphill climb to repair his reputation and get back into race shape after some time away. Max Esterson, coming out of a bruising tenure in Formula 2, has only one IMSA start under his belt but will be one of the two drivers, alongside Johnson, carrying this team along the rest of the year.
Many questions will be asked of RLL Team McLaren at Daytona – the main ones will be: Can the McLaren (720S) GT3 EVO’s speed be converted into a trouble-free 24 hours of running, and how quickly can the drivers get up to speed in a new arena?
Porsche 911 GT3 R
#77: AO Racing
Nick Tandy / Harry King / Alessio Picariello
#911: Manthey
Ricardo Feller / Thomas Preining / Klaus Bachler / Ayhancan Güven
Porsche not only enters the Rolex 24 as the favourite to win in GTP, but Daytona will also mark the debut of the latest 992.2 evolution of the tried and trusted 911 GT3 R.
The debut of this evolution surely can’t be as frustrating as Daytona turned out to be when the original 992 GT3 R made its debut, at the very least – though there will be little margin for disappointment with two strong teams leading the charge for Porsche in GTD PRO.
Now well-established in IMSA is AO Racing, returning with “Rexy the GT3 Rawr”, the famous green #77 car in its universally-loved dinosaur design. Since Rexy went up to GTD PRO, AO Racing has had two great chances to win the race. In ’24, they finished second to Risi, and in ’25, damage sustained to Rexy’s set of teeth caused the team to tumble down the order in the final minutes.
Laurin Heinrich, the young German who’s been synonymous with AO Racing and Rexy over those two years, has graduated to the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport programme – giving way to Nick Tandy’s return to GT competition with Porsche. It could be seen as a harsh demotion for the first driver to win overall in the six biggest endurance races in America and the world, but Tandy is really looking forward to the new challenge and enjoying his new surroundings.
With a point to prove, and two amazing young co-drivers in English dynamo Harry King – an IMSA newcomer – and Alessio Picariello, Tandy and Rexy will be ones to watch.
Among the many challengers in their way is Manthey, new to IMSA after incredible success in Europe and World Championship-level competition. The famous “Grello” Porsche will challenge the Rolex 24 for the first time, boasting four outstanding Porsche official drivers.
Former AO Racing driver Klaus Bachler led Manthey to the very first WEC LMGT3 class title two years ago. Thomas Preining and Ayhancan Güven were spectacular as they’ve won championships in the current DTM with Manthey. Don’t overlook what Ricardo Feller brings to this outfit as an accomplished GT driver in Europe either.
Manthey isn’t just coming to IMSA for the sake of making up the numbers, the German team is here to win in the big endurance races like Daytona. But no matter whether you’re “Team Rexy” or “Team Grello,” if you’re a supporter of Porsche, you have to like the chances of the teams fighting for GTD PRO honours.
Images © IMSA
