Daytona24 Breaking news, exclusive interviews & reports - Motorsport Week https://www.motorsportweek.com/tag/daytona24/ Motorsport Week is an independent, FIA accredited motorsport website delivering the latest Formula 1, Formula E, GP2, GP3, WEC, IndyCar, Nascar, Formula 3, WRC, WRX, DTM, IMSA and MotoGP news and results. Mon, 03 Feb 2025 18:57:45 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/cropped-favicon-1-32x32.png Daytona24 Breaking news, exclusive interviews & reports - Motorsport Week https://www.motorsportweek.com/tag/daytona24/ 32 32 Sebastien Bourdais takes LMP2 victory for Tower Motorsports in Daytona thriller https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/26/sebastien-bourdais-takes-lmp2-victory-for-tower-motorsports-in-daytona-thriller/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/26/sebastien-bourdais-takes-lmp2-victory-for-tower-motorsports-in-daytona-thriller/#respond Sun, 26 Jan 2025 19:28:26 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=195509 The #8 Tower Motorsports entry benefitted from late race shake-ups to take LMP2 victory. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

Sebastien Bourdais took victory for the #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca team in the LMP2 class of the 2025 Daytona 24 Hours.

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The #8 Tower Motorsports entry benefitted from late race shake-ups to take LMP2 victory. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

Sebastien Bourdais took victory for the #8 Tower Motorsports Oreca team in the LMP2 class of the 2025 Daytona 24 Hours with the help of team-mates Job Van Uiter, Sebastian Alvarez, and John Farano.

The Frenchman was in the car for the final stint, and converted a strong performance into a call win. The #99 AO Racing entry looked set to win with an hour remaining, but fell down the order after late mechanical problems.

Ben Keating in the #52 PR1 Mathiasen Oreca led from pole position, but dropped to third after some errors, having the ascendancy to Rasmus Lindh in the #22 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson, with teammate Garnet Patterson second in the sister #2 car. The #99 AO Racing Oreca, with PJ Hyett at the wheel, moved into third shortly afterwards.

LMP2 was to cause the first full caution yellow flag period, due to Hunter McElrea of the #11 TDS Racing Oreca 07 underestimating the T5 horseshoe, with the action not stopping there.

David Heinemeier Hansson’s #18 Era Motorsport Oreca 07 made contact with James Roe’s Pratt Miller #73 Oreca at the exit of T1, but despite the innocuous nature of the incident, the Oreca was to earn a drive-through for incident responsibility for his troubles.

The #99 AO Racing Oreca took the lead, now with Dane Cameron driving, and pulled out a 46 second gap on Nick Boulle’s #2 United Autosports and Luis Perez’s #88 AF Corse. Cameron retained the lead into the sixth hour, and the car continued to do so when Britain’s Jonny Edgar took over as darkness began to descend.

‘Spike’ was able to stay in contention and remained on the lead lap, despite Edgar having to take a drive through plus 10 second penalty. This handed the lead to the #04 CrowdStrike Racing Oreca of Toby Sowery.

Deletraz accident throws up chaos

Around the halfway point, the #2 United Autosports Oreca, driven by Nick Boulle, collected the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series of Louis Deletraz which bounced back onto the circuit after crashing on cold tyres.

This handed the lead back to the #22 Oreca, with Lindh back onboard, with Tom Dillmann second in the #43 Inter Europol Competition Oreca. Cameron kept the #99 AO Racing in the hunt.

The #8 Tower Motorsports of J. van Uitert took the lead under the rising sun, with Sowery and Colton Herta keeping the #4 CrowdStrike in the mix, but the IndyCar driver sent it tumbling down the order after a crash took off its rear wing. Car #99 was now back in the lead, with Cameron back behind the wheel.

The front bumper of the #8 entry was damaged in a large accident in the overnight hours. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

The #88 AF Corse was in contention also, but with Matthieu Vaxiviere at the wheel, the car stopped on-track, bringing out the full course caution.

This handed #99 back the lead, with Edgar driving, followed by the #22 United Autosports USA Oreca driven by Paul di Resta. Van Uitert was back in the #22 and back in the lead, with Ryan Dalziel’s #18 Era Motorsport Oreca in close pursuit.

It looked as if the #99 AO Racing would come through its previous strife to take victory, but with Rasmussen at the wheel, the car was forced to pit due to a potential alternator issue.

The #8 was back in the lead, and with Sebastian Bourdais at the wheel, it pulled a gap, and duly took the class victory, ahead of di Resta in #22 and the #74 Riley of Felipe Braga in third. Rasmussen was able to get going again, and took sixth place, but scant consolation for a gutting end to its running.

Editor’s Note:

The #22 United Autosports USA Oreca 07 LMP2 inherited the win after the #8 Tower Motorsports entrant failed its post-race inspection.

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Porsche’s Laurens Vanthoor leading under caution period amid daybreak in Daytona https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/26/porsches-nick-tandy-leading-under-caution-period-amid-daybreak-in-daytona/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/26/porsches-nick-tandy-leading-under-caution-period-amid-daybreak-in-daytona/#respond Sun, 26 Jan 2025 14:13:21 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=195466

Porsche Penske Motorsport's Nick Tandy was back in the lead under a caution period with just five hours of the Daytona 24 Hours remaining.

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Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Laurens Vanthoor leads the 24 Hours of Daytona with just over four hours remaining, just under 10 seconds ahead of Kevin Magnussen in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8.

The #7 car pitted in the 18th hour with Vanthoor’s teammate, Nick Tandy taking the reins from Felipe Nasr, following the fellow Porsche – the #6 – with Matt Campbell taking the seat vacated by Kevin Estre.

Scott Dixon in the #60 Acura Meyer Shank Racing then led, with Tandy and Campbell duelling for position behind. Running side-by-side into the horseshoe, Campbell prevailed into the second horseshoe, who then took the lead when Dixon pitted, the IndyCar man rejoining in fourth place.

Philipp Eng, in the #24 BMW, was able to reduce the gap to the Porsches to 25s, but Campbell was able to stretch a further 10 seconds out on that.

At the start of lap 19, Campbell pitted, and on his first flying lap out, spun at T1, spin-turning the car to get himself back onto the course.

Dixon was now leading on the track, with Tandy net leader as a result of the Kiwi not yet pitting.

With the yellow flags now out, Campbell and Dixon would pit, followed by Kevin Magnussen, now in Eng’s place.

Tandy retained his advantage as the cautionary period reached 20 minutes, as green flags would eventually wave with a shorter yellow period coming soon after.

After the caution, Magnussen caught and passed Campbell. He then closed the gap to Tandy in the lead, with it standing at under 2 seconds when Tandy pitted to hand over to Vanthoor.

With Magnussen gradually closing in on L. Vanthoor, Mathieu Jaminet in the sister #6 Porsche is just under 5 seconds behind the Dane. In fourth is the #60 Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06 of Colin Brain, but he’s around 40 seconds or more off the lead group.

Image: Kevin Dejewski

Herta in the wars as Cameron takes ascendency in LMP2

Job van Uitert in the #8 Tower Motorsports car was in-front at the start of this period, around 10 seconds ahead of the #4 CrowdStrike Racing car of Toby Sowery.

With the gap between the pair closing to just over seven seconds, Sowery pitted and was replaced by another IndyCar driver in Colton Herta, followed by the #99 AO Racing, with Kevin Rasmussen beginning a new stint, and in the process, taking over the lead.

Herta then endured a disaster with a crash, causing his rear wing to detach. Able to limp back to the pits, the car was repaired, but dropped to eighth spot with #99 retaining top spot, with Dane Cameron now at the wheel.

In GTD, Marvin Kirchhofer led in the #13 AWA after Scott Andrews [#80 Lone Star Mercedes] Pier Guidi [#21 Ferrari] and Misha Goikhberg [#78 Forte Lamborghini] all spun off separately of each-other at T1, the trio all hitting the barriers.


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Porsche continues to lead overnight with eight hours remaining in Daytona 24 https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/26/porsche-continues-to-lead-overnight-with-eight-hours-remaining-in-daytona-24/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/26/porsche-continues-to-lead-overnight-with-eight-hours-remaining-in-daytona-24/#respond Sun, 26 Jan 2025 10:47:28 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=195451 The two Porsche prototypes have had the advantage in the cool weather. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

Porsche looked fast in the deep overnight hours, but was still pressured at times by Meyer Shank Racing for the overall top position. Colin Braun put the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura GTP out front just past the 12-hour mark, continuing the manufacturer shuffle at the head of the field. Matt Campbell pulled his #6 […]

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The two Porsche prototypes have had the advantage in the cool weather. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

Porsche looked fast in the deep overnight hours, but was still pressured at times by Meyer Shank Racing for the overall top position.

Colin Braun put the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura GTP out front just past the 12-hour mark, continuing the manufacturer shuffle at the head of the field.

Matt Campbell pulled his #6 Porsche into the lead with a strong braking maneuver into the backstretch chicane, and quickly pulled out a few seconds advantage.

The Acura was able to close the gap a few times, specifically in the first few laps after each restart, but was not able to regain the top spot.

The other Porsche also continued to show pace during the cool overnight hours, with Laurens Vanthoor pulling off a textbook pass on the outside of Turn 1 to make it a Porsche 1-2.

The cool weather seems to suit the Porsche prototypes well, and they currently have a hold on the top two positions with Kevin Estre leading Felipe Nasr.

Felix Rosenqvist acquired some damage on the #60 entry just after taking over driving duties, which dropped him 30 seconds further behind the two Porsche prototypes.

The #0 Meyer Shank Racing Acura is closest to the two Porsches. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

The fan favorite #99 AO Racing LMP2 entry was given a drive through plus 10 second hold penalty for improper service on the car.

The penalty dropped it momentarily out of contention for the lead in class, but Jonny Edgar kept the car on the lead lap and ‘Spike’ still has a chance to make a run for a podium.

Toby Sowery currently leads the LMP2 category in the #04 Crowdstrike Racing Oreca, followed by Sebastien Bourdais driving the Tower Motorsports #8 and Paul-Loup Chatin in the Era Motorsports entry.

Lauren Heinrich currently holds to top GTD Pro spot in AO Racing’s other entry, the #77 Porsche GTD Pro, and Lucas Auer leads GTD in the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes.

A few incidents in the dark

Just a few minutes past the halfway point in the event, a full course yellow was displayed for an incident with the #36 DXDT Racing Corvette GTD.

Charlie Eastwood was able to bring his car to a halt on the apron, where it promptly released plumes of heavy smoke into the air.

Flames were not seen outside the car, but the team will have no further opportunity to make up the three laps it was down to the leaders.

Just one lap after that caution was another, this time for a wayward tire carcass that was deposited on the track by the #22 United Autosport LMP2 entry.

Rasmus Lindh kept control of his car through the flat tire incident and the caution was lifted quickly to get back to action.

Crew members catch a quick sleep when they can. Photo: Kevin Dejewski

A few of the GTD cars took advantage of the caution periods to make a quick brake change on pit lane, including the #13 AWA Corvette, the #45 WTR Lamborghini, and the #20 Proton Porsche.

There was one more caution period a couple hours before the sun was due to rise, the tenth total of the race, for Tom Dillman who brought his #43 LMP2 to a stop with a mechanical problem.

A full third of the race still remains, and stamina will be tested on pit lane as well as behind the wheel.

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Frederik Vesti in the lead at Daytona after 2 and a half hours https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/25/frederik-vesti-in-the-lead-at-daytona-after-2-and-a-half-hours/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/25/frederik-vesti-in-the-lead-at-daytona-after-2-and-a-half-hours/#respond Sat, 25 Jan 2025 21:12:41 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=195416

Frederik Vesti leads the Daytona 24 Hours, 2 and half hours in, with the race currently under full course yellow after an accident on the infield for Hunter McElrea in the #11 TDS Oreca 07-Gibson. Second behind Vesti in the full course yellow queue is Nick Tandy in the in the #7 Porsche 963. Rene […]

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Frederik Vesti leads the Daytona 24 Hours, 2 and half hours in, with the race currently under full course yellow after an accident on the infield for Hunter McElrea in the #11 TDS Oreca 07-Gibson.

Second behind Vesti in the full course yellow queue is Nick Tandy in the in the #7 Porsche 963. Rene Rast in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, which started last in GTP with Sheldon van der Linde at the wheel, is third. Fourth is #60 Meyer Shank Acura of Felix Rosenqvist.

Dries Vanthoor led the race from pole in the sister #24 BMW. Over the first hour he built a good lead of around eight seconds. When he pitted at the end of his second stint, with a lead over Nick Yelloly in the #93 Meyer Shank Acura.

However, the Belgian knocked the pit wall when he pitted. Although the car was undamaged, the team had to move the car and straighten it into the pit stand, losing them time. Philipp Eng, who replaced D. Vanthoor at the wheel, currently sits fifth.

In LMP2, Rasmus Lindh leads the way in the #22 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson. It’s a United Autosports 1-2 under FCY, in fact, with his teammate Garnet Patterson second in the sister #2 car. Third is PJ Hyett in the #99 AO Racing Oreca.

Ben Keating started the race on pole and led the fiekd away. He created a commanding gap in the #52 PR1 Mathiasen Oreca, but two mistakes on successive laps, dropped him to third. While he later overtook Chris Cumming in the #73 Pratt Miller Motorsports Oreca, Hyett was well up the road by this point.

Keating’s teammates Rodrigo Sales currently sits ninth in class.

GTD Pro is led by the two Ford Mustangs, with Dennis Olsen in the #65 Ford Mustang GT3 ahead of the #64 car of Seb Priaulx. Third is Augusto Farfus in the #48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3.

In GTD, Misha Goikhberg leads in the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan EVO2 GT3. Lilou Wadoux is second in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, while third is John Potter in the #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo.

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Kamui Kobayashi: ‘Different’ being here with Cadillac https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/25/kamui-kobayashi-different-being-here-with-cadillac/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/25/kamui-kobayashi-different-being-here-with-cadillac/#respond Sat, 25 Jan 2025 15:44:53 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=195398

Kamui Kobayashi, who is racing at Daytona this weekend in the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, told Motorsport Week that it feels ‘different’ with Cadillac, compared to his regular day job. “I think Toyota is my home,” said the Japanese driver. “Obviously, I think I know everybody is family. I think here is a […]

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Kamui Kobayashi, who is racing at Daytona this weekend in the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R, told Motorsport Week that it feels ‘different’ with Cadillac, compared to his regular day job.

“I think Toyota is my home,” said the Japanese driver.

“Obviously, I think I know everybody is family. I think here is a little bit different. Of course, I think still in the family with Wayne, but obviously with the GM I think we are part of that project.

Kobayashi’s ‘day job’ is team principal and race driver for the Toyota Gazoo Racing squad, where he competes full-time in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

While he’s raced for Cadillac in the past at Daytona, this is the first time he’s raced a car he usually competes against in WEC — the Cadillac V-Series.R.

“But it’s not being like, you know, driver for GM,” he continued.

Former racing driver Wayne Taylor heads up Wayne Taylor Racing. Image: Kevin Dejewski

“So obviously it is challenging being here. But of course, I’m here to help Wayne Taylor and the Cadillac to win. So I try to do my best and working hard, but yeah, as I say it’s a bit different.

With experience of two very different teams, Kobayashi says the way they approach the weekend is quite different in some areas.

“I think of course it’s different, but I think how we are approaching the the weekend is quite the same. There’s a bit of a different mentality to how they set up the car, how they build the car. But obviously I think this is how we are, we need to adjust. 

“We are driving for winning the race and obviously we do our best. But anyway, I think is not even Toyota or Cadillac. You can from a European race to an American race. They’re quite different, you know, how they’re approaching the race. 

“So, obviously, it’s not surprise. I think this is how they make it. I’m happy, because I know how Wayne Taylor Racing is working hard and how they built it this weekend.

“And definitely, I think Wayne Taylor has always been strong here. So, I believe this team can make it and I just try to run how they do to make it, the race, work,” he concluded.

Kobayashi was fastest in the third and final practice session in the #40 WTR Cadillac. However, his teammate Louis Deletraz could only qualify the car eighth, behind the sister car in seventh, qualified by Filipe Albuquerque. But, analysis of practice shows Cadillac have the pace to fight in the race, against the Acuras, Porsches, and BMWs, one of which will start the race on pole.

The 2025 Daytona 24 Hours will start at 1:40pm local time, or 6:40pm UK time.

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Porsche’s Estre: Quali ‘doesn’t really reflect’ Daytona race pace https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/24/porsches-estre-quali-doesnt-really-reflect-daytona-race-pace/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/24/porsches-estre-quali-doesnt-really-reflect-daytona-race-pace/#respond Fri, 24 Jan 2025 20:29:51 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=195348 The #6 Porsche at Daytona International Speedway.

Kevin Estre believes Porsche has more pace than has been shown so far in practice and qualifying for the IMSA Daytona 24 Hours.

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The #6 Porsche at Daytona International Speedway.

The #6 Porsche’s poor qualifying performance for this weekend’s Daytona 24 Hours isn’t reflective of the car’s race pace, Kevin Estre told Motorsport Week.

“We didn’t have a great qualifying, for sure, but I think it doesn’t really reflect what our pace is,” said the Frenchman.

“I’ve been working well with Matt and Mathieu to get the car better. And I think the last session was decent, so we’ll see.”

Estre will race at Daytona alongside Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet in the #6 Porsche 963. Campbell and Jaminet are the full-time IMSA Sportscar Championship drivers in the #6 car this year, with Estre joining them for the longer endurance rounds, starting with Daytona and its iconic 24 hour race.

Campbell qualified the car 10th in the 15 minute qualifying session on Thursday, the slowest of the GTPs who set a lap time. The sister #7 Porsche took third, in a better showing.

Cold conditions introducing some unknowns

However, at both the Roar Before the 24 test last weekend and the three practice sessions over the last two days, the weather in Florida has been uncharacteristically cold.

“But the conditions change quite a lot,” Estre commented.

“It was very cold throughout the whole week and now it’s been a little hotter as the race is gonna be, especially the finish [on Sunday].

“So difficult to know where we’re really at. But we definitely improved the car, the last sessions.”

This weather has introduced some unknowns, because the teams have not had a chance to properly practice in representative conditions.

I think today, FP3 this morning, was probably the only session which was some in a closer range in terms of temperature, compared towards what the race is going to be. So think there’s a quite a bit of a unknowns, especially for the end of the race where it’s going to be a bit hotter,” said Estre.

The #6 Porsche finished the third and final practice session second, with Jaminet almost half a second behind Cadillac’s Kamui Kobayashi, who set the pace in the hour-long session.

BMW and Acura with an edge

All week, Porsche have appeared to be a bit behind the pace-leading Acuras and BMWs. The #24 BMW of Dries Vanthoor took pole yesterday and both teams have had the edge over Cadillac on long run pace.

“I think BMW and Acura are little ahead of us,” Estre told Motorsport Week.

“It looks like at least from quali, and all the practices, where they seem a little quicker than us.

“But we’ll see, as I said, conditions are different. So hopefully our car suits these conditions well, and we also made some steps towards the end of the practices, which I hope are going the right direction,” he said.

The first three quarters of Daytona, though, isn’t necessarily about pace. Instead, drivers and teams need to focus on staying on the lead lap and keeping the car alive and out of trouble. The final six hours, then, is when the race comes alive and teams start pushing.

“Stay on the lead lap, don’t do any mistakes. I think you have to be in the right position way before the last hour. Because it’s difficult to pass, I think within the last five, six hours, you need to try to get there and and get maybe a bit more risk, overtaking on outlaps.

“To try to get in a good position. But yeah, it’s going to be pretty much a waiting race as it always is.

“But still, when you put the helmet [on] and there’s a restart, everyone is is getting hotter and excited — stuff can happen. So we have to keep cool and try to keep the the nose clean,” Estre concluded.

The Daytona 24 Hours starts on Saturday 25th January at 1:40pm local time, or 6:40pm UK time.

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Ben Keating ‘excited’ to be back with Corvette for 2025 https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/23/ben-keating-excited-to-be-back-with-corvette-for-2025/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/23/ben-keating-excited-to-be-back-with-corvette-for-2025/#respond Thu, 23 Jan 2025 22:46:47 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=195200 Ben Keating's car, the #91 TrackHouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R, at Daytona 24 Hours in 2025.

Keating previously drove with Corvette in 2023, and will race for TrackHouse by TF Sport at this year's Daytona 24 Hours.

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Ben Keating's car, the #91 TrackHouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R, at Daytona 24 Hours in 2025.

Ben Keating, arguably the most prolific amatuer racing driver worldwide, told media that he’s ‘excited to be back’ with Corvette for 2025.

He’ll start his first race in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R, introduced last year as Corvette’s first global GT3 car, at this weekend’s Daytona 24 Hours.

“I’m very excited to be back in a Corvette, and very excited to be able to represent Keating Chevrolet on the track,” said the American when asked by Motorsport Week in a press conference about his new Corvette programme for 2025.

Keating’s ‘day job’ is running a chain of car dealerships across the United States, which include Chevrolet amongst its range of brands. 

He continued: “And also be able to represent the Corvette brand, in Houston at my dealership. So there’s a lot of synergies there.”

Keating changes his mind

Keating has, in the past, not been that keen on GT3 cars. When Motorsport Week spoke to him at Sebring in 2023, the year before GT3 cars debuted in the FIA World Endurance Championship, he said he didn’t plan to return the following year after racing with Corvette in the GTE-Am class in 2023.

But, in the two years since, he’s changed his mind.

“As most of you know, I pay to be here by selling and repairing cars,” he said in a media press conference before the race.

“And I really enjoy racing what I sell. There’s nobody out there selling an Oreca or a Gibson to a retail customer.

“So I’m excited to make that connection. The way the GT3s have kind of taken over sports car racing around the world… I don’t know if there are any other options.

Keating will once again do double duty this weekend at Daytonam, racing both the #91 TrackHouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R in the GTD Pro class, and the #52 PR1 Mathiasen Oreca 07-Gibson in LMP2.

TF Sport, who Keating has raced and won championships with in the past, is running the TrackHouse team.. In addition, with TrackHouse’s long association with General Motors in NASCAR, the team are using Chevrolet Corvette machinery, which Keating is also familiar with thanks to his WEC campaign in 2023, Keating seems happy.

“Having won the World Endurance Championship with Corvette in [20]23, it’s kind of like putting on an old shoe or a glove or something. It just feels great. We won the world championship with TF Sport in [20]22, so everybody involved is kind of all in the family for me,” he concluded.

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Daniel Goldburg fastest in LMP2 qualifying for Daytona 24 Hours https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/23/daniel-goldburg-fastest-in-lmp2-qualifying-for-daytona-24-hours/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/23/daniel-goldburg-fastest-in-lmp2-qualifying-for-daytona-24-hours/#respond Thu, 23 Jan 2025 21:37:16 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=195178

United Autosports' Daniel Goldburg took his first IMSA pole at Daytona for the 2025 running of the Daytona 24 Hours.

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Daniel Goldburg grabbed the fastest time in the LMP2 class for Saturday’s Daytona 24 Hours for United Autosport USA.

Goldburg, in the #22 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson, set a time of 1:38.676, just over three tenths of a second ahead of the #52 PR1 Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca 07-Gibson of Ben Keating, with the second United Autosports car, driven by Nick Boulle in third, over half-a-second adrift of his team-mate’s time.

Chris Cumming of Pratt Miller Motorsports, in the #73 Oreca — which also features Pietro Fittipaldi and new Prema IndyCar signing Callum Ilott of Great Britain – was fourth with a 1:39.217, two tenths ahead of the fifth-placed #11 TDS Racing machine of Steven Thomas.

AO Racing’s PJ Hyatt was in P6, espite bringing-out the red flag after beaching his car on the exit of turn 1. He subsequently lost his best lap time, which would have put him third, and will have to settle for sixth. Luis Perez Companc was seventh quickest in the #88 AF Corse.

Riley’s Gar Robinson – partnered by former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa – set the eighth-fastest lap, with #04 Crowdstrike Racing’s George Kurtz ninth. The car is also occupied by IndyCar star Colton Herta, racing for the second time at Daytona.

Jon Field set the 10th-fastest lap for #43 Inter Europol Competition – which also features Formula E title-leader Antonio Felix da Costa – with Tobias Lutke 11th for Era Motorsport.

The 12 cars were rounded-up by Tower Motorsport’s John Farrano, whose 1:41.224 was a whole two-and-a-half seconds adrift of Goldburg’s time.

Kurtz was quickest at the halfway point of the session, but as tyres began to come-up to temperature slowly due to the cooler conditions, the lap-times would soon tumble, and Goldburg would eventually be the one to put his car onto P1, despite being down in the first two sectors.

READ MORE: Dries Vanthoor takes pole for BMW at Daytona after red flag 

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Dries Vanthoor takes pole for BMW at Daytona after red flag https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/23/dries-vanthoor-takes-pole-for-bmw-at-daytona-after-red-flag/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/23/dries-vanthoor-takes-pole-for-bmw-at-daytona-after-red-flag/#respond Thu, 23 Jan 2025 21:18:04 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=195182

Dries Vanthoor took pole in the #25 BMW after a red flag put it down to wire in the GTP class.

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BMW’s Dries Vanthoor has taken pole for the 2025 Daytona 24 Hours, with the other BMW, driven by Sheldon van der Linde causing a red flag by stopping on track with a technical issue.

D. Vanthoor, onboard the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8, set a 1:33.895 in the dying seconds of the 15 minute qualifying session for the GTP cars. He was 0.291 faster than Meyer Shank Acura’s Nick Yelloly, with Porsche’s Felipe Nasr.

The session began with drivers exiting the pits on metaphorical tip toes, with no tyre warmers in IMSA and unusually cold temperatures in Florida meaning everyone needed to take extreme caution on the first couple of laps, until the tyres had heat in them.

However, the session had barely got going before D. Vanthoor’s teammate, S. van der Linde in the sister #25 BMW, stopped on track at turn 6. 

Marshals and safety crew soon recovered the car and towed it back to the pits, but the German-built machine would take no further part in qualifying.

Vanthoor comes out on top

Once the session got under way again, the race was on to set a competitive time with only a few minutes left. Nasr, driving the #7 Porsche 963, set the first competitive time, a 1:38.477, but Mirko Bortolotti, in the #63 Lamborghini SC63 beat it by over two seconds.

The Italian wasn’t top for long though. A flurry of times soon came in, culminating in Tom Blomqvist, in the #60 Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06, fastest as the chequered flag waved, with D. Vanthoor second, Gianmaria Bruni third, Nasr fourth, Felipe Albuquerque fifth, and Bortolotti sixth.

Image: Kevin Dejewski

But the session wasn’t over, as these drivers crossed the line before the time expired, meaning they’d get another lap. Blomqvist was approaching Bortolotti, with the two going onto the banking nose to tail. Bortolotti went high and Blomqvist tried to get in under neath him, when the Italian moved down and almost made contact with Blomqvist’s Acura. They raced side by side, just inches apart, down the back stretch towards the chicane, with Blomqvist outbraking his rival but having had his lap ruined in the process.

But, D. Vanthoor, Yelloly and Nasr came through setting faster laps to take the podium positions and prime starting spots for the 24 hour race tomorrow.

Four manufacturers in top 4

In fourth was the #31 Action Express Cadillac V-Series.R of Jack Aitken, 0.455 off D. Vanthoor. That makes it four manufacturers in the top 4 starting positions, showing the diversity of competitiveness of the IMSA Sportscar Championship this year.

Fifth was Gianmaria Bruni in the #85 JDC Miller Motorsports Porsche 963, with Blomqvist sixth, unable to set a faster lap after his altercation with Bortolotti. The two Wayne Taylor-run Cadillacs were seventh and eighth, Albuquerque in the #10 followed by Deletraz in the #40, while Bortolotti was ninth and Matt Campbell tenth in the #6 Porsche 963.

READ MORE: Mike Rockenfeller heads Ford front-row knockout in Daytona qualifying

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Acura’s Tom Blomqvist sets pace in first practice at Daytona https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/23/acuras-tom-blomqvist-sets-pace-in-first-practice-at-daytona/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2025/01/23/acuras-tom-blomqvist-sets-pace-in-first-practice-at-daytona/#respond Thu, 23 Jan 2025 17:11:06 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=195140

Tom Blomqvist set the fastest lap time in the first practice session for the Daytona 24 Hours, with Acura setting a 1:34.576 to quickest, on a cold, chilly morning in Florida. The Briton, in the #60 Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06, was 0.176 faster than his teammate, Nick Yelloly, in the sister #93 car. Blomqvist’s session-leading […]

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Tom Blomqvist set the fastest lap time in the first practice session for the Daytona 24 Hours, with Acura setting a 1:34.576 to quickest, on a cold, chilly morning in Florida.

The Briton, in the #60 Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06, was 0.176 faster than his teammate, Nick Yelloly, in the sister #93 car. Blomqvist’s session-leading car did the joint-most laps in the hour and a half session, putting in 42 laps across all three drivers.

Third and fourth were the two BMWs, with Dries Vanthoor onboard the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8, faster than Sheldon van der Linde in the #25 BMW. Vanthoor was 0.291 off Blomqvist, while van der Linde was a further tenth and a half off.

Fifth was Felipe Nasr in the #7 Porsche 963, almost seven and a half tenths off Blomqvist’s session topping time. The three Cadillacs were sixth, seventh and eighth, Jack Aitken in the #31 V-Series.R followed by Louis Deletraz in the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing-run Cadillac. His teammate at WTR, Filipe Albuquerque in the #10 car, was behind him in eighth.

The session had one red flag, when the #5 Proton Competition Porsche 963 had a tyre failure at turn 1, leaving debris over the track which needed to be cleared up.

TDS, Lamborghini on top in LMP2 and GTD

In LMP2, Mikkel Jensen was the pacesetter, with a 1;37.986 onboard the #11 TDS Racing Oreca 07-Gibson. Malthe Jakobsen, in second, was almost half a seconf off in the #4 Crowdstrike by APR Oreca 07-Gibson, while Rasmus Lindh was third in the #22 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson.

Lamborghini’s Andrea Caldarelli with fastest in GTD Pro with a 1:47.539, behind the wheel of the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2. Mike Rockenfeller was second in the #64 Ford Mustang GT3, just under six hundredths off Caldarelli, while Madison Snow in the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3.

However, the fastest GT car from both classes was actually in the GTD category; Franck Perera in the #78  Forte Racing Lamborghini. Perera set a 1:47.321 to go quickest. It was, in fact, a Lamborghini 1-2 in GTD, with Trent Hindman almost four tenths off in the #45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini. Third was Ayhhancan Guven in the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3.R.

Qualifying is next up, starting at 2:10pm local time.

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