Porsche claimed its third consecutive victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona in Florida, which traditionally opens the IMSA season. The race was heavily affected by fog so dense that a safety car was deployed for more than six hours.
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| Photo: Michael L. Levitt |
Scenes more reminiscent of the Nürburgring than Florida unfolded, as night fell and thick fog rolled over the circuit. Visibility became so poor that race control called out the safety car, which circulated for an incredible six hours until conditions improved enough for racing to resume. A similar scenario occurred at the Nürburgring 24 Hours two years ago, when much of the race was effectively neutralized due to fog.
At the front of the field, Porsche Hypercars dominated for most of the race. The battle for victory reached its climax in the final hour, when the #31 Cadillac, driven by Jack Aitken, chased down the leading #7 Porsche piloted by Brazilian Felipe Nasr. Despite Aitken’s relentless pressure and best efforts, he was unable to overtake Nasr. After 24 hours of racing, Felipe Nasr crossed the finish line first, securing victory alongside his teammates Laurin Heinrich and Julien Andlauer. For Nasr and Porsche Penske, this marked their third consecutive win in this legendary race.
Jack Aitken, together with his teammates Earl Bamber, Frederik Vesti, and Connor Zilisch, had to settle for second place. Third went to the Bavarian BMW #93, driven by DTM champions René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde, alongside the highly experienced Dries Vanthoor and Robin Frijns.
“I was just trying everything I could because I knew that in those final hours everybody is giving everything they have inside the car, and the Cadillac was a strong car throughout the entire race,” Nasr told Sportscar365.com.
“We could see that in the lap times, and every time we drove past them… I have to acknowledge that the level of this race is getting higher and higher with the whole GTP class.
“That was pure racing. I used everything I had. I’m just pleased it happened and went our way.”
As for the LMP2 category, victory went to CrowdStrike Racing by APR #04. One of the drivers was George Kurtz—the founder of CrowdStrike and co-owner of the Mercedes F1 team—who holds an FIA Silver driver licence. The GTD Pro category was won by BMW from Paul Miller Racing (#1).
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| Photo: James Gilbert |
In GTD, it was an intense and hard-fought battle right up to the final minutes, with a near-collision on the main straight as Philip Ellis defended against Nicki Thiim. The two cars made contact, and Ellis had to wrestle his Mercedes through a moment of oversteer. Fortunately, a major incident was avoided, and Ellis, together with the #57 crew, went on to secure the win.