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Cadillac Racing completed a three-day test at the “Roar Before the 24” at last weekend’s sessions prior to the running of the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona this weekend in a twice-around-the-clock race on the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course. Cadillac’s cars were first and third fastest in an early session, with a Porsche in between.*
No big deal, though. First, with 20 overall victories by Porsche race cars, four additional wins as an engine manufacturer and one noteworthy triumph in 1959, Porsche is inarguably the most successful manufacturer running sports car endurance races where the drivers have to know how to turn right as well as left. Added to this are more than 40 class victories at the famous 24-hour classic in Florida.** The Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team aims to continue this success. The Top Ten GTP cars were only separated by ~1 second when practice ended.
Both Porsche and Cadillac very well know that endurance races aren’t won on the opening laps. Rather, that’s where they are lost. Porsches were faster in later sessions. Acura and BMW are closely running in GTP as well. Don’t disregard Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian’s No. 93 Acura ARX-06; or the No. 23 Aston Martin Valkyrie, Moreover. race qualifying happens this week, which will provide further information on race worthiness. The Top Ten GTP cars were only separated by ~1 second when practice ended. (Click here> Combined Practice Results)
Multiple Classes – Multiple Drivers
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With four classes – GTP, LMP2, GTD and GTDPRO – running fastest lap practice times between 1:36.327 and 1:49.983. There will be plenty of action for fans. Some cars and drivers to watch:
Two-time IndyCar Series champion Will Power set the fastest time of on Saturday in GTD PRO in the No. 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 at 147.899. Tommy Milner in the No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R ultimately moved ahead during practice at 1:47.835. Ford Racing No. 66 (B. Barker / D. Olsen / M. Rockenfeller) ultimately posted a 1:47.863.
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The Aston Martin THOR Team-run Valkyrie’s is the first occasion in more than 40 years that the British ultra-luxury performance brand will have challenged for overall honors with a factory works car in the top GTP class. The competition variant of Valkyrie begins its second season of competition this weekend after its debut year in 2025. The race car is developed from its production sibling by Aston Martin and The Heart of Racing [THOR] and blends a race-optimized carbon fiber chassis with a modified 6.5-litre V12 powerplant that revs to 11,000 rpm and produces over 1000 bhp in standard form, but adheres to a strict 500kw (680 bhp) power limit as per hypercar and GTP regulations. The solitary V12-powered car entered in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Valkyrie is also the only entry derived from a road-going hyper-car competing in either North America’s premier endurance series or the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC]. On Saturday, it will become the first car of its kind to do so at Daytona.
Rolex 24 At Daytona – Coverage
Peacock (U.S.) and IMSA’s YouTube (outside the U.S.) channel will stream qualifications at 2:05 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 22. Coverage of the Rolex 24 At Daytona starts at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Jan. 24, on NBC, with continuing coverage on Peacock (U.S.) and IMSA’s YouTube channel (outside the U.S.) until NBC will pick up the broadcast at noon Sunday, Jan. 25, for the finish. Peacock (U.S.) and IMSA’s YouTube channel will stream the entirety of the race along with the IMSA Radio broadcast at IMSA.com, Sirius 211/XM 207, locally at 93.5 FM/1150 AM and 107.9 FM at the track. For a Spotter’s Guide of the cars click HERE.
**A Brief Overview of Porsche Endurance Racing
- For 75 years, Porsche says with justification that it has been writing motorsport history. The first chapter is considered to be the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1951, where a factory-prepared Porsche 356 SL achieved a class victory in the hands of a customer team. Porsche’s triumphs at Daytona begins a few years later, on 5 April 1959. A couple of months after the official opening Daytona International Speedway, the United States Auto Club (USAC) staged its first sports car race. Ture to its origins, the race course was a combination of the NASCAR oval and the infield road course. The championship race, originally scheduled to run over 1000 kilometers, is stopped after six hours due to nightfall. The winners come from Argentina – and they are driving a Porsche: Roberto Mieres and Antonio von Döry take victory in a 718 RSK ahead of the Porsche driven by Americans Bob Said and Art Bunker. Because of the sanctioning body, this race does not appear in the official IMSA statistics Porsche notes.
- IMSA’s official Daytona history begins in 1962 – although the championship round was not a 24-hour race. In that year and the following season, the race ran over three hours, before being extended to a distance of 2000 kilometers in 1964 and 1965. Porsche on 4 February 1968 took its first overall victory: Entered by the Porsche System Engineering works team, a 907 LH crosses the finish line, followed by two identical sister cars. A curious detail: On the instructions of then Porsche race director Huschke von Hanstein, works drivers Jo Siffert, Rolf Stommelen and Hans Herrmann also take turns driving the leading No. 54 car of Vic Elford and Jochen Neerpasch for five laps each in the closing stages – meaning that the trio are also officially classified as winners of the race. Siffert and Herrmann also step onto the podium a second time as runners-up.
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- At the start of the 1970s, the Porsche 917 KH entered by John Wyer Engineering became legendary, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1970 and 1971 in what is still fondly remember Gulf livery, battling Ferrari. After a six-hour race in 1972, Porsche celebrates another triumph the following year: In 1973, the Porsche 911 Carrera RSR of Daytona record winner Hurley Haywood and his partner and Brumos boss Peter Gregg defeats strong opposition. “It is the first victory for the legendary Brumos Porsche team, which shapes the history of Daytona like no other. Further 911 Carrera RSR victories follow in 1975 and 1977. An unparalleled winning streak then begins, lasting until 1987: initially with derivatives of the 935, followed by the 962 – interrupted only by a March victory in 1984, albeit powered by a Porsche engine,” Porsche said.
“The Porsche engineers always had an innovative answer to every challenge back then,” recalls Hurley Haywood, five-time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. He cites the 962 as an example: “The car was the response to the fact that IMSA did not allow the Porsche 956 in North America because the driver’s feet were located ahead of the front axle. Porsche simply moved the seating position further back and extended the wheelbase – and with the 962, one of the most successful race cars of all time was born.”
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Porsche celebrates its third straight outright victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Thanks to this triumph, the sports car manufacturer cements its record with 21 wins. Moreover, 25 winning vehicles have been powered by a Porsche engine. At the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship opener in Florida, the Porsche 963 from the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team drove to victory helmed by factory drivers Felipe Nasr from Brazil, Julien Andlauer from France and Germany’s Laurin Heinrich (Germany). The sister car wrapped up the 64th running of the long-distance class in fourth place.
Porsche could hardly have asked for a better start to the IMSA season in North America: the two factory hybrid prototypes dominated the 24 Hours of Daytona for long stretches, setting the pace at the front almost the entire race. In a thrilling final dash to the flag, the No. 7 car ultimately came out on top – witnessed by a record crowd.
‟Three Daytona wins in a row – every team dreams of such an achievement,” declares Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport. ‟The race was a gripping spectacle. This level of competition and passion is what drives Porsche on racetracks around the world. A huge thanks to the team, to everyone working at the track, and to all the top people in Weissach and at the Penske facility in Mooresville. This outstanding victory is ours forever. It’s an early cherry on the cake for our 75th motorsport anniversary and for Team Penske’s 60th birthday. Our hat-trick will go down in the history books.”
Porsche and the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team are the first in the new era of GTP cars to achieve three consecutive wins at Daytona. Factory driver Nasr is only the third in over 60 years of the endurance classic to achieve such a winning streak. His teammates, former Porsche Juniors Andlauer and Heinrich, each celebrate their first overall victory in Florida.
‟Winning at Daytona is the perfect way to kick off the celebrations to mark the Penske team’s 60th anniversary,” says Roger Penske, founder and CEO of Penske Corporation. ‟I’d also like to congratulate Porsche on an outstanding start to their ‘75 Years of Motorsport’ year. Together, we continue to write our success story. Today’s triumph reflects the determination and dedication of everyone working for Porsche Penske Motorsport in Mooresville and Germany.‟