Minimum drive time adjusted for GTD PRO Bronze drivers
IMSA has decided to reduce the minimum drive time requirements for Bronze drivers approved to race in GTD PRO.
A statement issued by the series reads: “Following review of the entered three- and four-driver GTD PRO line-ups for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, IMSA determined that an adjustment was necessary to maintain competitive balance for four-driver GTD PRO configurations incorporating a Bronze-rated driver. Accordingly, the minimum drive-time requirement for a Bronze-rated driver in GTD PRO has been reduced by one hour to three and a half (3.5) hours for this event.”
This will reduce the minimum drive time requirements for two drivers: 75 Express’ Kenny Habul, and Winward Racing’s Scott Noble, who were approved by IMSA to compete in the class due to new regulations. They will still have a greater minimum drive time requirement than Bronze drivers competing in GTD PRO before this year.
Sims: ‘Our Corvette was really nicely balanced’
Alexander Sims put the #3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Z06 GT3.R on the GTD PRO pole position, giving the Corvette Racing factory team a chance to win this race for the fifth time, on the anniversary of two significant victories for Corvette and Pratt Miller.
“It’s really something special around here to be able to do a low fuel qualifying run with new tyres,” Sims said after his qualifying run. “The car just comes alive. What a wonderful experience that was.
“Our Corvette was really nicely balanced, very nice lap, nice and clear with no traffic, but I had Nicky (Catsburg) up ahead, maybe punching a little bit of a hole for me. Brilliant – really, really brilliant.”
Last year, AWA (now 13 Autosport) won GTD, making the Z06 GT3.R the fourth different generation of Pratt Miller-built Corvette GT cars to win at Daytona. Sims hopes he can drive the Millenium Yellow factory #3 Corvette to a win on Sunday, along with Antonio García and Marvin Kirchhöfer, the latter coming over from last year’s AWA team.
“We had a decent race last year as well and finished second behind the Ford,” Sims added. “It was great to see the AWA car get the class win last year. Our focus is pretty much on our program and what we’re doing this year to try and optimize everything we’ve got. It seems like the car’s in a decent spot right now. Qualifying pace versus race pace is a bit of a different story, so quite quickly our focus goes back to high-fuel runs and trying to get the car dialed in for that.”
“There is a long time between now and then, but nevertheless, it’s nice to start at the front of the field. Fingers crossed we can have a clean race because that’s really the number one goal at the moment – try and maintain the car in one piece, no issues through the first 23-and-a-half hours, be there in the race at the end and then be ready to fight.”
De Angelis: Early problems for Valkyrie will help programme in the long run
The Aston Martin Valkyrie has had a difficult debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona so far, with repeated electronic issues leaving it at the bottom of the mileage chart during both November’s IMSA Sanctioned Test and last weekend’s Roar Before The 24.
“We wish we maximised those four days of running,” says Roman De Angelis, driver of the Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie.
“The more track time that you can have without using one of our valuable test days is important. But mistakes and issues were found, and that’s something that you know progresses the programme forward in the future. We understand what went wrong and what errors we needed to correct, and the smart guys at The Heart of Racing and Aston Martin were able to figure it out.”
Thankfully, the #23 Valkyrie’s fortunes improved in this morning’s practice session, with the car completing 39 laps, the second-most in GTP.
“As we see this morning, the car is running,” De Angelis continues. “So, obviously an unfortunate situation to not have as much running as we wanted last week, but we’re going to make the most of it. Now we’re just in a bit more of a scramble than we want to be, but everything seems to be running well so far.”
The Canadian is unclear as to the exact nature of the problems which have plagued the Valkyrie, and whether the issues at the Sanctioned Test and Roar are related.
“[It’s] hard to say,” he says. “It seemed to be, from my point of view, an electrical issue. I think the car kind of just stopped running, as everyone saw in both of those instances. I don’t know the specifics, but that just seemed to be the case as we kept having these issues where the car was shutting off or stopping, or we had to reset some things.
“Obviously, there’s a lot smarter people that were able to solve that problem than myself. But we’ll see what we can do in the race.”
Siegel: Return to sports cars ‘reminds me of why I love this sport’
At the Silverstone round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup, Nolan Siegel made a surprise return to sports car racing, followed by a cameo appearance in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge finale at Road Atlanta, and now, a return for his fourth start in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
“I’ve always loved sports car racing,” said Siegel, who’s driving Inter Europol Competition’s #343 ORECA in LMP2. “It’s kind of where I grew up. And IMSA has always held a special place in my heart. The first kind of professional racing I ever saw as a kid was IMSA, and it was here at Daytona – this is kind of where I fell in love with it. So I’m really excited to be back.
Siegel gave Inter Europol its first LMP2 win anywhere in the world during the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series, the first of many more wins to come for the “Racing Bakers” of Poland. He returns to the Rolex 24 after focusing exclusively on his IndyCar Series commitments with Arrow McLaren since he joined the team in mid-2024, following his Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 class win.
“For me, the IndyCar offseason is really long, and last year, not driving anything for five months was a struggle, to be honest. And I don’t think it’s an ideal way to go into St. Pete,” Siegel said about his time off. “I just love behind here, and love racing IMSA, so I’m really excited about it.”
18 months ago when Siegel won Le Mans and landed a ride at McLaren in IndyCar, it seemed like his star would never stop rising. But his time with McLaren has gone poorly, and the 21-year-old driver hopes that a strong run at Daytona can carry into a make-or-break season for him in 2026.
“It is, obviously, a very important year for me in IndyCar – it’s gonna be, for sure, a career-defining year…whether that’s career-ending or career-making,” he admitted. “I am doing everything I can to stay in a race car, which, again, means being here. I’m glad that I convinced everyone on the 9-to-5 job to let me do this.
“And I think it’s gonna be fun as well: I think sometimes, in IndyCar, it gets so serious. And especially when things aren’t going well, you forget to enjoy racing. I feel like sports car racing is always just really enjoyable, and it reminds me of why I love this sport. I think in a lot of ways, that’s beneficial going into the IndyCar season as well, to just remember that I do enjoy doing what I do.
“No matter what happens, no matter who you are, the last result kind of defines what’s happening next.
“For me, obviously, I won Le Mans, got the IndyCar opportunity, that was amazing, but I knew that that was just the start of the journey, not the end of the journey. And I’ll keep working to keep the dream alive.”
Sally and Lightning reunite
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Porsche Motorsport North America and AO Racing helped to reunite Lightning McQueen and Sally Carrera at Daytona.
It was Lightning and Sally’s first time meeting Rexy, AO Racing’s #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R, as well as the title-winning #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963.
Felipe Nasr even got to take a picture with Sally!
MPC Qualifying
The #13 McCumbee McAleer Racing Ford Mustang GT4 will lead the field of 51 cars to the green in tomorrow afternoon’s BMW M Endurance Challenge, the four-hour curtain-raiser for the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Nate Cicero, who won three straight poles to open his Pilot Challenge career last year, took the pole as the only driver under one minute, 53 seconds, his time was a 1:52.955, three-tenths up on the rest of the GS class field.
Matheus Leist came second in the #7 VPX Motorsport Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport, with Varun Choksey qualifying third in the #12 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2. Paul Holton qualified fourth in the #46 Team TGM Ford.
Last year’s Daytona winner, Moisey Uretsky in the #44 Ibiza Farm Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4, could do no better than 25th on the grid for the race, which starts at 1:45 PM ET.
TCR appeared to be an all-Cupra front row, when Franco Girolami set a 1:56.582 in the #99 Victor Gonzalez Racing León VZ TCR.
But after a post-qualifying penalty for unapproved bodywork repair, the #99 VGRT Cupra will be moved to the rear of the field, and Celso Neto will now start on pole in the #77 Stallion Motorsport with Gou Cupra.
Neto, the 2025/26 IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship recipient, set a 1:56.982 that originally put him second on the grid.
Names of note around the paddock
Five-time Rolex 24 overall winner Scott Pruett is one of several names spotted in the paddock at Daytona today.
He’s just one of a few previous winners of this event that have been seen, ’97 overall winner Rob Dyson is here, as is ’01 overall winner Ron Fellows of Corvette Racing fame.
From abroad, ACO Technical Director Thierry Bouvet and European Le Mans Series Manager, Gaelle Chouteau, are visiting, along with Sean Paul Breslin, Team Principal at Haupt Racing Team.
And it’s good to report that Multimatic Motorsports’ Larry Holt is back after a lengthy illness, as well.
Images © IMSA, dailysportscar.com, Ford
