BMW Leads Ahead of Daytona 24 Hours
BMW dominated the official Roar test sessions in preparation for the IMSA SportsCar Championship’s season-opener, the Daytona 24 Hours. Dries Vanthoor set the fastest time of the test with a 1:35.424 in the #24 Rahal BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh during the opening day, edging out Nick Yelloly’s 1:35.619 in the #93 Acura ARX-06 LMDh.
Acura secured second and third positions overall, with Tom Blomqvist clocking a 1:35.827 in the morning session, while BMW’s #25 entry saw pilots Marco Wittmann and Sheldon van der Linde lead the daylight sessions on Saturday.
Porsche’s Laurens Vanthoor claimed the nighttime session with a lap of 1:36.271 in the #7 963 LMDh, contributing to Porsche’s competitive showing throughout the test. A customer Proton Competition Porsche, featuring Neel Jani, excelled in wet conditions on Sunday, topped the final GTP session, delayed by severe weather.
Lamborghini’s Romain Grosjean took fourth place overall with a time of 1:36.041 in the factory SC63 LMDh, while Van der Linde’s 1:36.093 in the #25 BMW secured fifth. The top ten was rounded out by notable performances from Gianmaria Bruni (#85 JDC-Miller Porsche), Earl Bamber (#31 Action Express Racing Cadillac), and Mathieu Jaminet (#6 PPM Porsche).
In the LMP2 class, Malthe Jakobsen led with a best time of 1:38.673 for Algarve Pro Racing. Meanwhile, Andrea Caldarelli topped GT Daytona Pro with a time of 1:47.626 in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini, and the GTD category was led by Franck Perera in the Forte Racing Huracan at 1:48.036.
Notably, IMSA announced that qualifying for the Daytona 24 Hours will return to race week, shifting from the Roar weekend for the first time in four years, with sessions scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
As teams finalize their preparations, anticipation builds for one of the most prestigious endurance races in the motorsport calendar.
