DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – One of the fascinating storylines going into the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona examined just how different the 61-car grid looked to start the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship versus the end of the 2024 campaign. Some got their new lineups, cars or team programs off to great starts while others will seek a rebound at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March.
Here’s a quick rundown of how adjusted entries fared throughout their first race:
Grand Touring Prototype (GTP)
Porsche Penske Motorsport: 1st (No. 7 Porsche 963), 3rd (No. 6 Porsche 963)
With the least amount of real turnover in the class, perhaps it’s unsurprising that Porsche Penske Motorsport had the best overall outing in the race. The reshuffled driver lineups across both the Nos. 6 and 7 entries were out front nearly all race and came up just shy of a 1-2.
Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian: 2nd (No. 60 Acura ARX-06), 8th (No. 93 Acura ARX-06)
In its first race back with Acura, Meyer Shank delivered a strong return. The reunited No. 60 car delivered Acura a podium in the Rolex 24 for a fifth straight year. The new-look No. 93 car fought through suspension trouble to keep running and gain valuable mileage and experience.
BMW M Team RLL: 4th (No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8), 7th (No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8)
Results did not match the pace and effort shown all week from the two BMW M Hybrid V8 entries and their new lineups. The No. 24 car contended frequently from the Motul Pole Award until incurring late-race nose damage.
Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing: 5th (No. 10 Cadillac V-Series.R), 11th (No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R)
Upon its return to Cadillac, WTR’s No. 10 car excelled in the cooler night conditions but fell back after being assessed a drive-through penalty for incident responsibility. The No. 40 car shone in Kamui Kobayashi’s evening stint but fell out shortly thereafter when Louis Deletraz spun on cold tires and made contact on-track with several other cars.
Cadillac Whelen: 9th (No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R)
The Action Express Racing crew spent the necessary time fixing the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen entry, with its reshuffled lineup, to return it to the track after an issue caused a spin and crash for driver Frederik Vesti in NASCAR Turns 3 and 4 on the Daytona road course.
JDC-Miller MotorSports and Proton Competition Porsche 963s: 6th (No. 85 JDC-Miller), 10th (No. 5 Proton)
Both privateer Porsches had relatively quiet races with their new lineups. JDC-Miller’s No. 85 car contended for a top-five finish and ended a respectable sixth.
Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse: 12th (No. 63 Lamborghini SC63)
Early race mechanical woes halted the new-look Lamborghini effort in its first race with new service provider Riley, whose fresh signage adorned the pit equipment but not the SC63 car itself.
Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2)
Much changed here too among the 12-car ORECA LMP2 07 class, including after the checkered flag itself. An infraction discovered in post-race technical inspection sent the No. 8 entry to the rear of the class, and promoted the polesitting No. 22 United Autosports USA car to the class win ahead of Riley’s unchanged No. 74 lineup.
PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports began its title defense with a podium for its latest new driver lineup, while Era Motorsport and AO Racing also scored hard-luck top-five finishes with new lineups after late-race setbacks.
Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO)
Ford Multimatic Motorsports was the big winner here, mirroring overall winners Porsche Penske Motorsport in scoring a 1-3 finish in class. Of the four 2024 full-season drivers, only Daytona polesitter Mike Rockenfeller is back for a full 2025 campaign. Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch and Dennis Olsen will go in the record books as the trio that delivered the Ford Mustang GT3 its first global victory.
Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports’ consistency shone through with second and seventh place finishes. Its only new driver, Nico Varrone, was penalized for incident responsibility with the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO late-race. That came after PMR’s second car, the No. 48 entry, drew the ire of Varrone’s teammate Tommy Milner and was assessed a drive-through penalty for blocking.
Rolex 24 debutantes GetSpeed, with Anthony Bartone and a trio of factory aces driving the No. 69 Mercedes-AMG GT3, led the German brand’s efforts in class with fifth place.
The first outing pairing DragonSpeed with Risi Competizione also netted a positive sixth place finish for the No. 81 Ferrari 296 GT3.
Meanwhile, Pfaff Motorsports’ first race with the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 came unglued as part of the multi-car incident at Turn 2 in Hour 8, while Lexus and Aston Martin failed to figure with either of their long-time teams, Vasser Sullivan Racing and Heart of Racing Team.
Grand Touring Daytona (GTD)
Whereas changed lineups ruled the day in the other three classes, year-to-year consistency emerged at the front of GTD. The podium finishing AWA Corvette, Wright Porsche and Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin cars bolstered identical or near-identical full-season lineups back for 2025, with sprinkled in changes to each set of endurance lineup extras.
Marvin Kirchhoefer, for instance, moved from Pfaff’s McLaren GTD PRO car in 2024 to a one-off outing as AWA’s fourth driver in the Corvette and played a critical role in the team’s win along with Matt Bell, Orey Fidani and Lars Kern. New Wright endurance extras Tom Sargent and Ayhancan Guven helped keep that car up front from the pole achieved by Elliott Skeer and capped off a near-perfect two weeks for the team as Adam Adelson won both Grand Touring Daytona X (GTDX) class races in VP Racing SportsCar Challenge. Zacharie Robichon maintained his presence in the Heart of Racing Aston, while newcomers Tom Gamble, Mattia Drudi and Casper Stevenson impressed.
Defending GTD champions Winward Racing’s strength in consistency of its Mercedes-AMG team also helped it fight through throttle assembly issues and gained some of the seven laps it lost back en route to a fourth-place finish. Turner Motorsport, which finished second to Winward in the 2024 championship, opened its 2025 account with an identical driver lineup across its new BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
Photos: IMSA
