Thursday lunchtime saw the GTD and GTD Pro teams unloading at Daytona International Speedway had of the first public test for the IMSA teams fitted with torque sensors on the rear axles, a similar system to that used in the FIA WEC and ELMS LMGT3 spec cars.
The #36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R is making its first appearance in an IMSA paddock and is the sole Corvette attending the test.
The appearance of Pipo Derani on the entry aboard this car counts as a substantial surprise, this the first time the Brazilian ex Action Express Cadillac driver has appeared in a GT3 spec car since 2019 and a one-off appearance at the Spa 24 Hours in an MSport run factory Bentley!
The Van der Steur Racing team is another new addition to the IMSA GTD file for 2024, returning to the top tier of the North American sportscar racing ladder for the first time since the 2009 American Le Mans Series in LMP2.
Five drivers are named aboard the brand new #19 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for the set, Eric Filgueiras, Rory van der Steur, Valentin Hasse-Clot, Maxime Robin and Brady Behrman with the car featuring heavy support here from Prodrive/AMR.
There won’t be long to wait for official confirmation of the Ford Multimatic Motorsport full season line-ups for the 2025 season but the squads on the full entry for the test provide some solid pointers to who’s in – and who isn’t!.
Notable too is that whilst there are two Mustangs fielded for the Daytona test, a third car will also be in action tomorrow with a Mustang GT3 testing on the Nordschleife ahead of a planned 2025 programme with HRT.
Sebastian Priaulx’s move from AO Racing mid season in 2024 now seems certain to have been because of a move to a full-season Ford GTD Pro drive.
Also on site today was Ben Barker ahead of what, remarkably, will be his first run at Daytona and indeed today was his first very visit to the track!
The solo BMW at the test is the #1 M4 GT3 of Paul Miller Racing with BMW factory drivers Dan Harper and Max Hesse late addition to the entry for the weekend test alongside Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen. Hesse is also named in the #24 and 25 BMW Team RLL GTP cars.
The wholesale transition of the Iron Dames effort to Porsche machinery for 2025 continues here with the arrival in the paddock of a Porsche 911 GT3R to be run by Proton Competition.
Four drivers are named for the test with regular FIA WEC duo Claudio Schiavoni and Matteo Cressoni joining Iron Dames regular Rahel Frey and IMSA first timer, Silver ranked Karen Gaillard. Gaillard’s run here follows up a test appearance at Portimao after contesting the 2024 Michelin Le Mans Cup in an Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
