Welcome to year three of the LMDh era, the GTP 2.0 era, the Convergence era… However you wish to call it, it’s been a big success for IMSA in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Fan interest in this international racing series – that just so happens to run exclusively in North America – has never been bigger, not just among hardcore fans but capturing newer audiences who want something genuine and captivating to enjoy.
Year three begins with the 63rd annual Rolex 24 At Daytona, where 12 Grand Touring Prototype cars will battle for the overall victory.
And the first two Daytona 24 Hours under this set of premier-class regulations have certainly been eventful, to say the least. Acura opened this era with a commanding 1-2 finish at the 2023 Rolex 24, but Meyer Shank Racing’s victory was later tainted by the revelation of “TPMS-gate” less than two months later.
Porsche Penske Motorsport and Action Express Racing battled close and hard for most of last year’s twice-around-the-clock classic and it all came down to a dramatic finish…which came one lap too early.
So what on earth could this year’s Daytona 24 Hours have in store for the 12 cars representing five different manufacturers?
Whatever it brings, there will be sweeping changes throughout the GTP grid this year: New team and manufacturer allegiances, fresh driver combinations at existing teams, all adding variables to the equation.
The entire season of IMSA GTP racing should be electrifying from start to finish and we hope that it begins with a big bang at the Daytona 24 Hours.
Acura ARX-06
- #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian: Tom Blomqvist, Colin Braun, Scott Dixon, Felix Rosenqvist
- #93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian: Renger van der Zande, Nick Yelloly, Álex Palou, Kaku Ohta
The twin-turbo V6-powered Acura ARX-06 received some small user interface updates over the off-season, but the biggest change comes from Meyer Shank Racing’s return. Back in IMSA and bigger than before, now running two cars in conjunction with Honda Racing Corporation USA (HRC US) after running a single car in 2023.
Before going any further: This section of our Daytona 24 Hours preview will not be a digression to re-litigate what happened in 2023, the decisions that were made – or weren’t made – after it came to light.
This moratorium aside, there’s a different look and feel here at Acura MSR, not just because of the extra car and the new liveries. HRC US will have more direct involvement, as they’ll be preparing both cars while staffing the new #93 car with in-house engineering staff. Meyer Shank Racing will still engineer the familiar #60.
Bringing back the rapid pair of Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun to lead the way in the #60 was an easy decision from Acura MSR, as they’ll both be eager to make up for lost 2024 seasons. 2023’s GTP Championship runners-up will be joined by IndyCar regulars Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist. Rosenqvist is MSR’s lead man in IndyCar, and Dixon, of course, is the franchise player at Chip Ganassi Racing – whose new IndyCar technical alliance with MSR helped make this arrangement possible.
Between Dixon and Braun, you’re talking about two of the most experienced Rolex 24 competitors in the field: Three-time overall winner Dixon is making his 22nd consecutive start in the race, and Braun, who has Daytona wins in three different categories, is making his 21st.
Acura has signed two new factory recruits to drive the #93 machine: Nick Yelloly from BMW, and two-time Daytona winner Renger van der Zande from Cadillac. It makes for an intriguing line-up that will only get stronger at Daytona with three-time and defending IndyCar Series Champion Álex Palou alongside them. Palou was a rocket in his limited time aboard the Ganassi Cadillacs last year, and his adaptability will be an asset here.
The new man in the GTP frame is 25-year-old Kakunoshin “Kaku” Ohta of Japan, one of Honda’s most exciting home-grown talents. Ohta is a multi-time Super Formula race winner and SUPER GT GT500 podium scorer, easily capable of making a positive first impression on American audiences – if he can adapt to his new surroundings quickly.
At the Roar, both cars were quick over a single lap. Since then, IMSA’s latest BoP settings have given the Acuras a reduction in stint energy offset by a moderate weight break.
2025 represents a fresh start and a clean slate for Acura MSR, there’s no reason to suggest that they can’t pick up right where they left off when they won Petit Le Mans in 2023, and leave no doubt that their quality is genuine.
BMW M Hybrid V8
- #24 BMW M Team RLL: Philipp Eng, Dries Vanthoor, Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello
- #25 BMW M Team RLL: Marco Wittmann, Sheldon van der Linde, Robin Frijns, René Rast
Now with full seasons of IMSA and WEC data at their disposal, the BMW M Hybrid V8 project is at a stage where it must be expected to contend for podiums and victories regularly on both sides of the operation. That should, in theory, begin with a strong showing at the Daytona 24 Hours – a stage that hasn’t been very kind to the twin turbo-V8 prototype in its first two tries.
For their part, BMW has given the tricky M Hybrid V8 a significant update, aimed at improving braking and driveability. This, coupled with steady gains made in software development, has led the Bavarian brand to finally see sustainable returns near the end of 2024. In IMSA, BMW M Team RLL finished 1-2 at Indianapolis, in a race impacted by heavy rain and changing conditions. In WEC, BMW M Team WRT scored its first podium under sunny skies at Fuji Speedway.
BMW has also streamlined its driver selection for the season ahead. The eight men who will drive the two BMWs at Daytona are the entirety of BMW’s LMDh driver fleet in 2025, as they aim to give the drivers as much time behind the wheel as possible. It’s a tough break for the likes of Jesse Krohn and Connor de Phillippi, who’ve been moved out of prototypes into GT.
Eng – the only returning full-time driver at RLL – and the six drivers that made up WRT’s Hypercar line-up last year are also joined by a fresh face this year. Back from his second Formula One stint, Kevin Magnussen will look to add to his family’s legacy in endurance racing. We know that he’s cut from the same cloth as his father Jan, in many ways – and he impressed during his one-year stint at Cadillac Chip Ganassi in 2021.
He’ll be in the #24 with Eng, Dries Vanthoor, and Raffaele Marciello. Eng and Vanthoor are an exciting pairing for the IMSA season to come, and Marciello is eager to finally imprint himself in this programme.
On the other side of the garage, Marco Wittmann and Sheldon van der Linde drive the #25 with Robin Frijns, and René Rast – the only other driver, besides Eng, to have won his class at Daytona before (Rast in 2012 and 2016 driving Audi R8s, Eng in 2019 driving RLL’s BMW M8 GTE). Again, Wittmann and Van der Linde look like a strong full-season line-up, together with Frijns, who hasn’t raced here in seven years – but has always possessed enormous talent and cashed it in almost everywhere he’s driven.
Will these changes be enough for BMW to finally contend with Acura, Cadillac, and Porsche at every IMSA weekend, and especially here at Daytona? They’re confident of it, even more so after some headline-grabbing pace in the Roar with Vanthoor setting the fastest time. And legions of BMW supporters worldwide hope this leads to a winning run.
Cadillac V-Series.R
- #10 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Will Stevens, Brendon Hartley
- #40 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing: Jordan Taylor, Louis Delétraz, Kamui Kobayashi
- #31 Cadillac Whelen: Jack Aitken, Earl Bamber, Frederik Vesti, Felipe Drugovich
Cadillac is the only manufacturer rolling out with three factory GTP entries. One from Action Express Racing under the “Cadillac Whelen” banner, and two from Wayne Taylor Racing, which is back in the GM family after four years with Acura. And also, it’s back to just WTR, without the co-branding of Andretti Global.
It seems there will be more harmony between the three Cadillac cars as GM is keen to see both teams working more like a big three-car team than as two single-car adversaries, as was the case in previous arrangements. At least, that’s the vision – it’s hard to think there won’t be some competitive needle as 2025 goes on!
Under the surface, the V-Series.R has recieved its first “joker” upgrade of its lifespan, featuring a new control system electronics package aimed at making the car more consistent and reliable than before. Otherwise, it’s still fundamentally the same car, powered by its 5.5-litre, naturally-aspirated V8 with its unmistakable, crowd-pleasing rumble.
And then there’s the second reunion between Wayne Taylor Racing and GM. The last go-round with Cadillac from 2017-2020 was incredibly successful, led by three Rolex 24 wins in four years, and a dominant run to the 2017 Prototype championship. That’s a tough act to follow, though WTR is absolutely capable.
The liveries are somewhat different but the men behind the wheel are familiar: Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque in the blue #10 Cadillac, Jordan Taylor and Louis Delétraz in the now-silver #40. The Taylors and Albuquerque combine for eight total Daytona wins, six of them overall wins. Will Delétraz get his first after finishing second and third in the last two years?
Both crews have quality reinforcements: Another two-time Rolex winner Kamui Kobayashi in the #40, with Will Stevens from Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA and Brendon Hartley in the #10. Even after Alex Lynn’s withdrawal from the #40 car due to illness, it’ll be hard to spot a weakness between the two teams.
Meanwhile, it’s a new era at AXR: After six years, Pipo Derani has moved on to prepare for the launch of the Genesis LMDh programme. An equally tenacious veteran in Earl Bamber takes his place alongside the returning Jack Aitken, who has the potential to take a big step forward. Aitken and Bamber have had their respective moments of wonder and woe recently during their Cadillac Racing tenures, and they’d love a Daytona victory to quiet their critics.
Alongside them, Frederik Vesti and Felipe Drugovich will make their Rolex 24 debuts. Two young talents of junior formula racing that went overlooked for real F1 opportunities (even if Drugovich still holds a reserve role in the paddock), can they be true difference-makers for the team that so narrowly missed out on the victory one year ago?
The Cadillacs didn’t really stand near the top of the leaderboards in the Roar, and since then they’ve received a horsepower buff offset by a reduction in energy. But to be clear, the quality of the teams in the Cadillac stable will make the difference.
Lamborghini SC63
- #63 Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse: Mirko Bortolotti, Romain Grosjean, Daniil Kvyat, Edoardo Mortara
In all honesty, the most impressive part about the Lamborghini SC63’s Daytona 24 Hours debut is that it’s happening at all.
DSC and other publications have extensively covered the uncertainty surrounding the Lamborghini SC63 programme over the winter. From Lamborghini’s decision to pull out of the WEC, to the sudden split with Iron Lynx and Prema, to the formation of a full factory-branded entry for its five-race IMSA campaign in ’25.
Built around a Ligier chassis spine and powered by a twin-turbo V8 engine, the SC63 is capable of showing flashes of pace, of what could be. It was dearly missed at Daytona last year and will be an eye-catcher in its new ‘Tricolour’ livery. But it still needs a lot of development to be a car capable of regularly competing for victories.
The four drivers of the #63 Lamborghini – WEC refugees Bortolotti, Kvyat, and Mortara joined by returning IMSA SC63 driver Grosjean – are all capable and experienced across a variety of racing disciplines.
And forging a new partnership with Riley Motorsports as a service partner was a smart choice for Lamborghini – it’s a firm that has an illustrious pedigree in prototype sports car racing. But it was all at the last minute – Lamborghini and Riley’s partnership only hit the track for the first time the week before the Roar.
After the rush to get everything back together over the offseason, Lamborghini would be happy if the #63 could simply finish the 24-hour race in a competitive position relative to the more firmly settled rivals on the grid. Anything more than that would be impressive.
Porsche 963
- #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell, Kévin Estre
- #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport: Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, Laurens Vanthoor
- #5 Proton Competition: Neel Jani, Tristan Vautier, Nico Pino, Julien Andlauer
- #85 JDC-Miller MotorSports: Tijmen van der Helm, Gianmaria Bruni, Bryce Aron, Pascal Wehrlein
“Nobody’s perfect,” said the famous poster. The Porsche 963s nearly claimed a complete sweep of major titles that IMSA and WEC had to offer in 2024 (only missing out on the WEC Manufacturers’ crown). And it all began at the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona, where the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 of Felipe Nasr, Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell, and Josef Newgarden held off a formidable challenge from Action Express Racing’s Cadillac to win the race.
The fabled second-year Porsche glow-up came true last year, so what’s in store for 2025? All four 963s – the two factory Penske cars and the two privateer cars – have gotten a second suspension upgrade as Porsche’s latest “Joker”. This will hopefully make the car a more well-rounded and adaptable package than it was before, and that’s a tall task.
On the Porsche Penske side, there’s been a shuffle and downsizing of the driver fleet. Among the difficult list of cuts from the factory driver ranks this off-season was reigning co-champion Cameron. Newgarden won’t be back to defend his Daytona victory either as he rededicates his full focus towards IndyCar.
And Nasr and Campbell will be back – though now in different cars. Nasr, the reigning GTP Champion (and DSC’s 2024 Prototype Driver of the Year winner!) is joined by 2014 GTLM winner Nick Tandy in the lucky #7 Porsche. Campbell is back in IMSA full-time and reunited with Mathieu Jaminet in the #6 – rekindling the “CamJam” partnership that dominated GTD PRO in 2022.
And if the spoils of talent that the four IMSA GTP full-timers brought to the table somehow wasn’t enough, reigning World Hypercar Endurance Champions Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor push them over the top. Estre, still very much in his prime, already boasts a GTLM win here in 2018.
For Vanthoor, Daytona is the last missing gem in his powerful endurance racing gauntlet of victories – Le Mans, Spa, Nürburgring, Bathurst, Sebring, and Petit… But he’s never won the Rolex 24 in any class, coming closest in 2022 when he lost that famous GTD PRO last-lap skirmish with Jaminet.
Both privateer Porsches from JDC-Miller MotorSports and Proton Competition were reasonably competitive at times throughout last year’s Rolex 24. Just like the works efforts, both privateer cars have new faces in the cockpit.
In the JDC-Miller “Banana Boat”, Tijmen van der Helm is still the young centrepiece of the programme, gaining pace and poise with experience. While Richard Westbrook has retired, Gianmaria Bruni is a more than capable successor as the veteran benchmark of the #85 team. Joining them, reigning FIA Formula E World Champion Pascal Wehrlein and American Indy NXT prospect Bryce Aron get their first opportunities to race the 963.
For Wehrlein, it’s felt like a long-overdue chance to cross over from Porsche’s Formula E side into the cockpit of a 963. You can believe he’ll be determined to make a strong first impression.
There was some uncertainty as to whether or not Proton Competition’s #5 Porsche would be back. It is racing, it is in the Mustang Sampling black and gold – but only in the Michelin Endurance Cup for now.
Proton brings together another fascinating line-up of drivers. Julien Andlauer and Neel Jani are familiar faces in the Proton 963 from last year, with plenty of motivation to put on another good show. Tristan Vautier is back in a top-class prototype for the first time since his brief run with Vanwall, bringing years of IMSA experience with him. Finally, Nico Pino is the wildcard – he graduates to LMDh racing after a rapid rise from LMP3 to GTP in just a few short years!
It all looks pretty good for another Porsche 963 win at Daytona, using all 24 hours of the clock this time.
Missed out on DSC’s other class previews? Click here: GTD | GTD PRO | LMP2
Images © Andrew Lofthouse
