daytona – Syndication Server

Ferrari Challenge drivers double down in Race 2 at Daytona

After a hectic Race 1 filled with yellow flags, Ferrari Challenge North America drivers did not let off the throttle in Race 2 at Daytona International Speedway. The pair of half-hour races for Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell sparked intense …

After a hectic Race 1 filled with yellow flags, Ferrari Challenge North America drivers did not let off the throttle in Race 2 at Daytona International Speedway.

The pair of half-hour races for Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell sparked intense rivalries and sent some drivers spinning, all while the series wraps up its first third of the 2025 season.

Trofeo Pirelli. Surrounded by chaos, Dylan Medler (The Collection) seized the moment to outlast and outpower his rivals for a double Trofeo Pirelli victory at Daytona.

The young gun trio of polesitter Massimo Perrina (Ferrari of Seattle), Johnny Kaminskey (Ferrari of Long Island) and Medler provided Ferrari fans with epic racing in the opening half of Sunday’s race, swapping positions amongst themselves around the entire 3.56-mile racetrack.

A red flag halted the action momentarily, and proved to be the demise for Kaminskey who suffered a flat tire prior to the restart.

Left to battle for the win, Medler played in Perrina’s mirrors long enough to trick his rival into a mistake. The latter ran wide in Turn 1 and Medler passed on the inside with six minutes remaining. While Perrina fought back, he finished second by 0.311 seconds.

Jason McCarthy (Wide World Ferrari) acknowledged that only with a mistake from one of the leading drivers would he land on the podium. That storyline ultimately played out, and McCarthy finished third for his first podium of the year.

In Trofeo Pirelli Am, Brad Fauvre (Ferrari of San Francisco) rewarded his team’s all-night repair effort with a pole position and flag-to-flag victory. Fauvre was wrapped up in a late incident on Saturday, but dominated his class on Sunday for his third win of 2025.

Sebastian Mascaro (Ferrari of Central Florida) followed in second place – a rebound effort of his own after a spin on Saturday. Meanwhile, David Musial (Ferrari of Lake Forest) finished third for the second consecutive day, and slid into the spot only on the penultimate lap after pressuring a competitor into a spin.

Coppa Shell. Both the Coppa Shell and Coppa Shell Am classes set the stage for a dramatic finish on Sunday, but action was cut short by a race-ending yellow flag in similar fashion to Race 1.

Yahn Bernier (Ferrari of Seattle) started from the Coppa Shell pole position for the first time this season and maintained control from the drop of the green flag. However, Mitchell Green (Ferrari Westlake) and Chuck Whittall (Ferrari of Central Florida) refused to let the leader escape and the three ran nose-to-tail to decide the podium.

With eight minutes remaining, however, a car in the barriers brought out the yellow flag – the first of the race – which ultimately kept the three drivers in their respective positions for the finish.

In Coppa Shell Am, Louis Flory (Ferrari of Houston) found himself in first place after the polesitter spun into the infield following five minutes of green flag action. Flory began clocking the fastest laps-in-class to expand his lead and the battle ensued behind him for the remaining podium spots.

Separated by less than one second, Gabe Hrib (Ferrari of Atlanta) led the trio of himself, Jeffrey Nunberg (Ferrari of Central New Jersey) and Saturday’s winner, Fabian Sperman (The Collection) as the minutes wound down.

While the drivers finished second, third and fourth, respectively – as a result of the late yellow flag – Nunberg arguably delivered the drive of the day, starting last after an incident in Race 1 and completing the podium in Race 2.

Up Next. Ferrari Challenge North America stays in the Sunshine State for its third round of the 2025 season. The series visits Miami International Autodrome on May 14 – 18 not only for a quartet of races, but also to celebrate the annual Ferrari Racing Days event.

The Autodrome circuit hosts Ferrari Challenge one week after the Formula One Miami Grand Prix.

All races, including replays from this weekend in Daytona, are available on the Ferrari YouTube channel.

Above and beyond efforts from Ferrari Challenge Race 2 winners at Daytona

Four Ferrari Challenge North America drivers overcame unique obstacles en route to victory in Race 2 at Daytona International Speedway. Hear from each driver as they describe their race, and catch up on all replays via the Ferrari YouTube channel. …

McLaren, Hyundai start 2025 strong with MPC wins at Daytona

Michael Cooper took charge of the Grand Sport (GS) class in the final stages of the BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway to claim overall victory in the four-hour opening round of the 2025 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Cooper …

Cooper guided the No. 44 Accelerating Performance McLaren Artura GT4 from fifth to first in the closing 20 minutes, executing a series of clean passes to seize the lead before maintaining an advantage of 0.327s over Jan Heylen (No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS) at the checkered flag.

Moisey Uretsky drove a lengthy two-hour, 40-minute opening stint prior to handing the McLaren to Cooper in eighth place. Cooper, who has extensive ties to McLaren, enjoyed coming to grips with the latest evolution of the Artura as he diced with Heylen and Billy Johnson, who eventually finished third in the No. 59 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4 he shared with Robert Michaelian.

Leader Heylen allowed the front end of his Porsche to drift slightly wide at the apex of Turn 7, the corner that takes the cars from the infield section of Daytona International Speedway onto the iconic banking between Turns 1 and 2 of the oval with about seven minutes on the clock. The McLaren drew level on the back stretch and eased in front entering the Le Mans chicane.

Heylen, who co-drove with Luca Mars, was unable to pressure Cooper into a mistake in the final three laps, allowing Cooper and Uretsky to claim their first race win in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition. It was McLaren’s first win at Daytona since 2021. Additionally, the rebranded team (previously Baby Bull Racing) won on debut with the McLaren, after campaigning the Porsche in previous seasons.

“That was a lot of fun,” said Cooper, who also has a Rolex 24 At Daytona win on his resume (2022, Le Mans Prototype 3 class with Riley). “I drove the previous version of the McLaren, so this felt very familiar. It’s an amazing GT4 car and all the guys did an incredible job.

“Moisey ran the first couple stints, way longer than we needed him to, and he handed me over a clean car that I was able to fight with Jan and Billy and take it to the front. Right after I passed Jan, we both just sailed it into [the Le Mans chicane] and sailed it into Turn 1 a couple times, using everything up and trying to get away.”

Uretsky added, “Cooper brought it home. The Porsche is a fast car, but Cooper was smart about it, and he picked the right moment. I knew once he had the lead, he wasn’t going to give it up.”

Heylen, a former GS class champion in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, looked to be in solid shape until Cooper made his charge as the race crept into twilight on Daytona’s 3.56-mile road course.

“It’s tough to be this close and then lose it in the last two or three laps,” Heylen said. “Maybe I could have been a bit more aggressive early on, but they were the better car today – it’s as simple as that.”

Sam Paley and Jenson Altzman (No. 13 McCumbee McAleer Racing with Aerosport Ford Mustang GT4) finished fourth, while Spencer Pumpelly, Andy Lally, and Thomas Collingwood rallied to claim fifth in the No. 38 BGB Motorsports Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.

DuPont, Brown deliver Herta Hyundai win at Daytona’s ‘cathedral of speed’

With five straight drivers’ and six straight Touring Car (TCR) manufacturer championships in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian and Hyundai has had little left to achieve in the category.

However, one “white whale” that has eluded the erstwhile dominant force of the class was a win at Daytona International Speedway. At long last Friday, a BHA Hyundai drove into victory lane.

Team co-owner Bryan Herta, whose team has won two Indianapolis 500s in addition to all his IMSA accolades, reflected on adding this win at one of North America’s most special racing venues.

“This place is amazing and has so much history, so to win here is special,” Herta said. “You know, this place and Indianapolis Motor Speedway are ‘cathedrals of speed’ in our sport. This one has eluded us, so I’m very proud to get it.”

Denis Dupont and Preston Brown were the lucky pair who achieved the feat for the team, driving the No. 76 Hyundai Elantra N TCR from ninth to the win and played the better pit strategy game to leapfrog the otherwise pace-setting sister car driven by Bryson Morris and Mark Wilkins.

Morris qualified on pole in the No. 33 Hyundai and led a race-high 48 of 109 laps in class, but fell behind the No. 76 car as the race progressed past the final pit stop sequence. Wilkins pushed Dupont hard enough in the finish and made one final passing attempt high in the tri-oval on the final lap, only to come up short by just 0.067s.

The win is the second for both Dupont and Brown in Michelin Pilot Challenge action and coincidentally, their second straight four-hour race win in the series. The pair won their first race together at last June’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Four Hours of Mid-Ohio, courtesy of an intentional fuel-saving final stint.

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“It was a fight,” Dupont said. “(Wilkins) was in the draft, he was fast. I had to close the door sometimes and sometimes we had traffic. He was super close on the finish line, but we held him off.”

Brown added, “It’s about as special as you can get.”

Behind the pair of Hyundais, Audi completed the podium with Ryan Eversley and IMSA Diverse Driver Development Scholarship recipient Celso Neto sharing the No. 7 Precision Racing LA Audi RS3 LMS TCR.

Neto’s podium is the first for such a scholarship recipient in Pilot Challenge and adds to the six achieved by 2023 recipient Courtney Crone in the Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) class in that year’s VP Racing SportsCar Challenge.

The podium capped an emotional couple of weeks for the Los Angeles-based team, which announced a partnership with the Salvation Army Los Angeles Chapter to aid those affected by the recent Eaton Canyon Fire in Altadena, Calif.

Each podium finishing-car dialed in brand new chassis this race, and the Hyundai cars were also adapting to a new front end.

The 2025 Michelin Pilot Challenge season resumes on Friday, March 14, at Sebring International Raceway with the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 at 2:15 p.m. ET. The first two-hour race of the season will stream live on Peacock.

RESULTS

Ferrari’s Arthur Leclerc excited to make Rolex 24 debut with AF Corse

Ferrari factory driver Arthur Leclerc hopes to be “in for the end” on Sunday for the final dash to the flag to cap off his Rolex 24 debut. The Monegasque driver, who is finding his feet in sportscars after pumping the brakes on his single-seater …

Ferrari factory driver Arthur Leclerc hopes to be “in for the end” on Sunday for the final dash to the flag to cap off his Rolex 24 debut.

The Monegasque driver, who is finding his feet in sportscars after pumping the brakes on his single-seater career at the end of the 2023 F2 season, is in Florida with AF Corse racing in the GTD class for the first time. Following his call-up to drive one of Ferrari’s factory 499Ps in the post-season FIA WEC Rookie Test at the end of last year, getting the chance to compete as part of its eight-car Daytona attack with the 296 GT3 to start 2025, he told RACER, is a privilege.

The Rolex 24 at Daytona is a race that’s been on his radar since he dipped his toes into endurance racing for the first time last year in the European Le Mans Series’ LMP2 class with Panis Racing and Italian GT with Scuderia Baldini.

He’s been lapping up the experience since arriving last week for the Roar test weekend and is fully aware that impressing Ferrari’s higher-ups in races like this one could prove key as he carves out a career in endurance racing. After his brief tryout with the Hypercar team in the Middle East back in November, he now has an eye on Le Mans glory.

“I have wanted to do this event since I started in this type of racing, and I can’t thank Antonello (Coletta, Ferrari’s sportscar boss) for the chance,” he said. “It’s so different to European racing here; the atmosphere is great, and the fans are so nice.

“It’s also interesting racing while looking in the mirror all the time and getting passed by prototypes. It’s easier than in Europe in traffic because of the spotters we have here who tell you when a car is coming behind. The only difficulty is at night, when you can only see lights and don’t know if it’s a GT or a Hypercar behind.

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“The track overall, is quite good. I thought it would be harder to race on the speedway on the banking, but actually it’s tougher staying on the banking during the track walk.”

Leclerc is sharing the No. 50 296 GT3 with three new teammates: ELMS race winner Conrad Laursen and 2024 Le Mans Cup championship runners-up Riccardo Agostini and Custodio Toledo.

Coming together as a unit for a high-profile race like this is a challenge, but Leclerc feels the amount of track time across the test weekend and practice sessions during the week has ensured he and his co-drivers all feel comfortable together ahead of the race.

“I’ve spent a lot of time discovering my teammates. It’s a good opportunity to help the Bronze (graded) Custodio and Conrad who is a Silver,” he said. “They’ve made massive progress, and I feel they’ll be strong.

“But I think in outright speed we are struggling a bit. We are working on it to get a better car for the race. The most important thing is to avoid errors and stupid penalties.

“It should be a lot of fun. Hopefully, I will do the end of the race, but I will have to wait to find out what the final plan is.”

WTR’s Cadillac homecoming is a force to be reckoned with

Wayne Taylor Racing means business in 2025 with its new-look Cadillac program in IMSA’s GTP class. One year after upping the ante with Acura and HRC by adding a second car to its program, WTR packed its bags and signed a deal to return to General …

Wayne Taylor Racing means business in 2025 with its new-look Cadillac program in IMSA’s GTP class.

One year after upping the ante with Acura and HRC by adding a second car to its program, WTR packed its bags and signed a deal to return to General Motors. It was a big move, which is at the heart of Cadillac’s renewed push for glory in North America.

After a four-year partnership with Acura, this move promises to inject fresh energy into the Indiana-based team. Following a successful stint with the ARX-05, the team amassed just two race wins in two seasons with the ARX-06. They began craving change, and when the opportunity arose following Chip Ganassi Racing’s split with GM, they pounced.

For the start of this new chapter, Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing is bringing two cars and a set of star drivers to the field. The No. 10 sees Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque pair up for the campaign. The sister No. 40, meanwhile, will be steered by Louis Deletraz and Jordan Taylor throughout the year. JOTA WEC drivers Will Stevens and Alex Lynn (who pulled out of the Rolex 24 with a virus) are in for the long races and Toyota Hypercar drivers Brendon Hartley and Kamui Kobayashi add further firepower for Daytona.

“The team has always had a reputation of hiring some great drivers, especially for the long races. We’re lucky we have that attractive nature,” Ricky Taylor told RACER.

“People want to drive with WTR and because of the relationship between the three Cadillac teams, we wanted to share drivers. That’s why we’ve got Alex and Will.”

WTR’s No. 10 remains a powerhouse of talent behind the wheel, and with the No. 40’s lineup being stronger than ever, we could see great success right out of the gate at Daytona once again. Brandon Badraoui/Lumen

How long will it take for the team to hit its stride again? History tells us it won’t be long. Back in 2021 when WTR transitioned from Cadillac to Acura it won the Rolex 24 on debut with the ARX-05.

Testing opportunities were limited over the short off-season, though, and the level in GTP is sky-high these days, with 12 cars in for Daytona and Aston Martin set to make it 13 for Sebring.

Good news is that, while the V-Series.R may be new to the team, the car is a known quantity. It was the same situation back ’21 when WTR paired with Acura after Penske campaigned the ARX-05 for three seasons.

Caddilac’s V-Series.R is a proven winner, claiming the 2023 IMSA GTP titles with Action Express and received its first “joker” update in the form of an electronics upgrade ahead of the new season.

There’s also plenty of track time for the team to make use of in the build-up to the Rolex for WTR’s staff to play around with setup options and familiarize themselves with the car’s finer details.

“It’s all quite new, and considering it’s the same rules package for everybody, the different manufacturers have definitely gone about attacking the hybrid approach differently,” Taylor continues.

“The approach from GM, Cadillac and Dallara has always been to keep things simple, and I think that jumped out to me when I first drove the car. The Acura was nimble and agile, and that was by design with the smallest, lightest engine.

“But the Cadillac is simple; it does all the little things right and that’s what you need for endurance racing. We can already see why this car is good at every race track because, with every change you make to the setup, you feel it. It’s very adaptable.”

The toughest task may come on the human side, as WTR’s crews develop a working relationship again with everyone at Cadillac and chassis supplier Dallara.

“For us, it’s drag and drop in terms of staff, but from the factory side, it’s all changed so much from the DPi era,” Taylor, who last drove a Cadillac way back in 2017, explained. “Back then you would get an engine guy from GM, a performance guy from Dallara and that was pretty much the relationship between the team and those partners.

“Now it’s a combination of 100-plus people across the different companies, so it’s still a learning curve and, in some ways, it doesn’t feel like a homecoming, you feel like a stranger. It’s interesting to see how everything has evolved, as GM is putting more resources into this than ever.”

With WTR back in the Cadillac fold, GM now has two major players in their pocket. Action Express, a longtime partner, is ready to help jumpstart the returning stablemates’ program. Jake Galstad/Lumen

If it does take time for WTR to get up to speed, then Cadillac can turn to Action Express. The loyal Gary Nelson-led team remains part of the family with a single car and a head-turning line-up. Full-season driver Jack Aitken expects the two teams to work closely throughout the season, which should, in turn, also help WTR hit the ground running in the early part of 2025.

“We’re trying to make it all even more cooperative at Cadillac than it was before,” Aitken says. “That’s not necessarily because of the swap of Ganassi and Wayne Taylor, that’s just what Cadillac is always trying to foster. We are trying to increase data sharing, communication and our general understanding.

“It’s difficult because there are so many people involved, and it’s not easy to act cooperatively on the race track, but that’s the aim going forward. We are Cadillac teams and Cadillac drivers and the goal is for Cadillac to be on the top step above all else.

“We will see how it plays out when we start racing for real, but right now it feels very positive.”

United leads Bronze-only session to wrap up 2025 Roar at Daytona

The 2025 Roar Before The Rolex 24 came to a close Sunday afternoon with a quiet, Bronze-only test session on the drying Daytona International Speedway surface. Just 20 cars across three categories – LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD – took part, with United …

The 2025 Roar Before The Rolex 24 came to a close Sunday afternoon with a quiet, Bronze-only test session on the drying Daytona International Speedway surface.

Just 20 cars across three categories — LMP2, GTD Pro and GTD — took part, with United Autosports leading the way with Daniel Goldburg in the No. 22 ORECA — his best lap a 1m40.613s, 75 minutes into the session.

There were multiple improvements late on with the entire field on slick tires. George Kurtz in the No. 04 Crowdstrike ORECA rose to second with a 1m40.858s.

Nick Boulle, fresh from signing a full Endurance Cup deal with United, put the No. 2 ORECA third, while Jon Field found time in his final run and ended up fourth with a 1m41.468s from Inter Europol.

In GTD, Anthony McIntosh set the benchmark time in the No. 19 Van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, a 1m48.459s. Kenny Habul put the No. 75 75 Express GTD Pro Mercedes second.

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After three days of testing, the quickest overall time went to Dries Vanthoor in the No. 24 BMW Team RLL M Hybrid V8 in GTP — a 1m35.424s set during the second session on Friday.

In LMP2, it was newly-minted Peugeot Hypercar driver Malthe Jakobsen who set the pace for Crowdstrike Racing by APR. The Dane’s best tour was a 1m38.673s in the opening session Friday. Notably, that time was quicker than the slowest of the GTP drivers — Bryce Aron — whose best lap was a 1m38.713s in the JDC-Miller Porsche.

GTD Pro saw Pfaff Motorsports enjoy a rapid start to life as a Lamborghini customer team. Its No. 9 Huracan lapped Daytona in 1m47.626s with Andrea Caldarelli at the controls in Friday’s opening session. That edged out defending champion Laurin Heinrich by 0.15s in the AO Racing Porsche.

A Lamborghini also topped GTD. Forte’s No. 78 Huracan managed a 1m48.036s on Saturday morning with Franck Perera installed. The time was marginally quicker than Rahel Frey’s in the No. 83 Iron Dames Porsche in the first session of the test by just under 0.05s.

Track action for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship resumes after a three-day break on Thursday. The Rolex 24’s first free practice will start at 10:05 a.m. local ahead of qualifying later that afternoon.

RESULTS

MSR and Acura: The band is back together and stronger than ever

It’s been an emotional weekend in Daytona for Meyer Shank Racing. Back in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship paddock following a year-long pause due to HRC US’s shift to a single-team approach in GTP with Wayne Taylor Racing in 2024, the …

“I was at Chipotle when I got the call last year, standing there with a brown rice bowl,” team owner Mike Shank told RACER.

“It was David Salters (HRC US’s president) and he said, ‘We’re getting the band back together!’

“I was just overjoyed. I called my wife, I called Jim Meyer, and then the rest of the group. More than anything, I was just proud.

“After the issue (post-Daytona) in 2023, we carried on with life, as tough as it was, came back strong late in the year and would have won the championship (had MSR not received a points deduction for manipulating tire pressure data at the Rolex 24). So I was proud when I found out, more than anything, after so much work.”

Colin Braun, Tom Blomqvist, Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud took MSR and Acura to a commanding Rolex victory in 2023, but controversy overshadowed it in short order. Now, after a year apart, the two organizations are back together with a lot of familiar faces behind the scenes. Richard Dole/Motorsport Images

Acura Meyer Shank Racing is back and — in terms of the size of its program at least — better than ever, with two GTP class ARX-06s and a refreshed driver lineup.

Its full-season driver pool combines returnees Colin Braun and Tom Blomqvist with the new faces of Renger van der Zande, formerly of Cadillac, and Nick Yelloly from BMW Team RLL. For the Rolex 24, the roster expands further, too, with MSR IndyCar regular Felix Rosenqvist, Honda factory driver Kakunoshin Ohta and, courtesy of a deal with Chip Ganassi Racing, Alex Palou and Scott Dixon.

“We all work together on choosing drivers,” Shank said. “We did some number crunching and looked at historic performances and results.

“I had two guys on the No. 60 car that I felt deserved a real shot again with Tom and Colin, that was a no-brainer. Nick and Renger are two guys I’ve known for a long time and competed against.

“For me, they were super solid, fast veteran guys for the No. 93 who know how these cars behave.”

The majority of the team’s 2023 engineering staff are also back for the comeback tour.

“[All of them] deserve to be here,” he continued. “We’ve lost one person from the total group of 23, that’s it. They’re all back with us in different forms, plus we’ve added some new people to strengthen this.

“This model is interesting for us, with us leading the engineering on one car and HRC leading the other. It makes for a strong team effort and we look forward to ironing out the creases and getting our communication channels smooth, which is tough when you have 100 people.”

HRC President David Salters made the magic phone call to get the band back together and, as always, packs the program with some of the best engineering investment in the series. Michael Levitt/Lumen

While the ARX-06 has matured since MSR’s last IMSA race, particularly on the software side, the car is essentially identical on a nuts and bolts level.

Shank says the software updates haven’t counted as a “joker.” This should help the team hit the ground running, particularly in the early part of the season.

“Acura has spent a lot of money getting to this point, so the propensity to go and spend more to develop a BoP car doesn’t make a lot of sense,” he added. “It’s all moving forward and there’s AI coming in now, so we’ve had to make sure we’re up to snuff on that.

“We’ll keep an open mind and, when it’s time, I’m sure we will put something together.”

Following a productive weekend of testing at the Roar — with both cars completing plenty of laps — the level of expectation hasn’t been lowered at all.

“We expect to come back on the podium,” Shank said. “Maybe we don’t win, but there’s no reason we shouldn’t be challenging for the podium places.”

VP Challenge sees a weekend of sweeps at Daytona

The weather changed for Sunday’s second IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge 45-minute race at Daytona International Speedway. However, the winners in all three categories did not, as each driver showcased their skills in drastically different …

After racing under sunny and warm skies on Saturday, dark and wet conditions greeted the field Sunday as teams ran on Michelin wet-weather tires. Each of the winners, Valentino Catalano in Le Mans Prototype 3 (P3) and overall, Adam Adelson in Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX) and Kiko Porto in Grand Sport X (GSX) met the moment as the race evolved on a drying track.

Catalano controls P3 competition

Driving the No. 30 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08, Catalano led all but one of the 21 laps from pole as the track slowly dried out. The only time he wasn’t out front came after a restart when Brian Thienes, in the No. 77 Forte Racing Ligier JS P320, got the jump on the tri-oval on Lap 8. Catalano quickly repassed him on the outside one lap later and never looked back, leading the team’s second 1-2 finish in as many races to start the year.

“I was the first guy who went in these conditions, so it was really tricky,” Catalano said. “I went calmly in the beginning, saw I could off a gap and saw some guys make mistakes. The conditions were difficult, but it worked out for me, so I’m happy.

“It was damp, but not completely wet, so the tires were hot and therefore I got less and less grip. So, it was just driving smoothly and trying out the lines.”

Teammate Markus Pommer, in the No. 31 Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsports Duqueine D08, finished second only 2.273s in arrears. Despite going off course a couple of times, he managed to keep going without damage or losing too much time.

Jonathan Woolridge was third in the No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS P320 with Thienes fourth among P3 cars and the top Bronze-rated finisher.

Adelson adds second straight GTDX class debut

In GTDX, Adelson’s No. 24 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) was again the class of the field. After winning by more than 30s in the dry on Saturday, Adelson’s winning margin was a nearly equivalent 26.324s on Sunday.

Like Catalano in GTDX, he only lost the lead on lap eight as Kyle Washington powered past in his similar Porsche, before Adelson regained the top spot into the Le Mans Chicane on the inside of lap nine.

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“You’re trying to feel the grip on the out laps, trying to learn what it’s like out there and what you can or can’t get away with,” Adelson said. “I think I came under threat a bit just because I was struggling a bit with the P3 cars at the start. But they don’t have (traction control) or ABS, so they’re rightfully more cautious and because we’re heavier, we can also get our tires up (to temperature) more quickly. Hoping to be back here a third time to step onto the podium when it matters the most!”

Af Corse teammates Matias Perez Companc and AJ Muss in their Nos. 50 and 66 Ferrari 296 GT3 cars completed the GTDX podium, with Muss starting first in class. Washington, in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche, ended fourth among GTDX cars and was the top Bronze-rated driver ahead of Samantha Tan, who was second in Bronze for the second straight day in her No. 38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3.

Porto pushes past penalty for GSX encore

Multiple drivers saw their races go awry Saturday when assessed a 10-second time penalty by IMSA officials for a false start, improperly changing lanes and starting from the wrong column. Porto got the same penalty as those drivers on Sunday but avoided the same setback result.

Driving the No. 8 RAFA Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2, Porto took the lead on lap four, briefly lost it on lap eight to his Saturday sparring partner Steven Clemons (No. 76 BSI Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2), then regained it on lap nine before working to set sail on his rivals. Running laps 2-3s faster a lap, Porto was able to bank the gap to an eventual 21.283s margin, which was enough to offset the 10s penalty applied post-race.

“Once I heard what was happening, I knew I needed to go through the field as fast as possible and open a gap, and then another yellow came,” Porto said.

“My restart was not very good. I had some cars to pass, I got it done, and then it was difficult for me to open the gap. There’s GT3 and LMP3 cars around, so I was seeing how to be fast without taking too much risk and not compromise. Thankfully this Toyota Supra was one of the best cars I’ve ever had in my career.”

Jackson Lee drove through the field to second in the No. 2 CSM Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS while Porto’s RAFA Racing teammate, Ian Porter in the No. 68 Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO1, finished third in GSX and first among Bronze-rated drivers.

The VP Racing SportsCar Challenge resumes with rounds three and four of the season as part of the NASCAR Cup Series weekend at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, February 28 through March 1, 2025.

RESULTS

Proton Porsche slithers to a wet lead in sixth Roar session

Proton Competition’s No. 5 Porsche 963 set the fastest time in Sunday’s rain-soaked sixth IMSA Roar Before the 24 session, which got underway at midday rather than 9:45 a.m. due to heavy rain, thunder and lightning trackside. Neel Jani set the best …

Neel Jani set the best time, a 1m45.433s, to go 0.4s up on the other privately entered GTP car in the field, the No. 85 963 from JDC-Miller that took second. Gianmaria Bruni was fastest in the “Banana Boat” which completed just eight laps, the fewest in the class. The Italian’s hot lap was a 1m45.879s.

While the fastest lap times were nowhere close to the best from the dry running, the session — hit by multiple rain showers — did hand the teams a chance to familiarize themselves with the circuit in wet conditions for the first time.

“For us, we decided to drive because we haven’t had any experience in Daytona in the wet with the car,” Jani said. “So we tried it out to see how the tires develop and gather data. In the beginning, there were dry patches but after that, it got worse. It was good to learn.

“Laps are laps, but next week it looks like it could be wet for qualifying day, so it could be useful.

“I think Turn 1 is a tricky one in the wet — as you cross the rubbered line it gets very slippery. That’s why you saw a lot of cars locking up under braking.”

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The No. 31 Whelen Cadillac ended up third after a 1m46.240s tour from Jack Aitken. The car did hit minor trouble during the hour when Felipe Drugovich was spotted by TV cameras limping back to pit road with a right-rear puncture.

RLL BMW wound up fourth with the No. 25 and the No. 60 Meyer Shank Acura ran fifth.

In LMP2, despite both its cars suffering spins, United Autosports USA managed to place its two ORECAs in the top three on the timing screens. Peugeot Hypercar driver Paul Di Resta put the No. 22 at the top of the pile with a 1m49.870s — the only time under 1m50s in the session. United’s No. 2 ended up third.

The No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA split the two, with a 1m50.440s from Mikkel Jensen.

Inception Racing’s No. 70 Ferrari set the pace in GTD with a 1m57.033s from Ollie Millroy. Franck Perera placed Forte’s Lamborghini second. Further down the order, the fastest GTD Pro car — the No. 3 Corvette — would end up sixth in the combined ranking.

There were multiple red flag stoppages in the session, including one for the No. 5 Proton Porsche spinning at pit-in, as well as the No. 22 United ORECA looping around at Turn 1, plus one for heavy rain that brought the session to a premature end with 3.5m left on the clock.

One more Roar session remains, as teams are currently waiting on news of when it will get underway due to the weather delays.

RESULTS

Storm delays Sunday running at Daytona

An early morning thunderstorm led to a ‘Full Stop’ order at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday morning with high winds, very heavy rain, and lightning sweeping through. The first of two IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship sessions due at …

An early morning thunderstorm led to a ‘Full Stop’ order at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday morning with high winds, very heavy rain, and lightning sweeping through.

The first of two IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship sessions due at 09:45 was postponed with the first track action now set to begin at around 10:45 with the Michelin Pilot Challenge runners.

A revised schedule for the remainder of the day is expected shortly.

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