Mercedes-AMG ahead of two Aston Martins in GTD
The GTD class proved to be very competitive with 14 different leaders where #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo lead 104 laps, the highest number of laps in the lead for a single team in GTD class.
📷 © Frankie Di Sarlo at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 ahead of #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin GT3 EVO
The Mercedes-AMG GT3 proved its competitiveness with a hard-fought GTD victory secured by Philip Ellis in the #57 car of the Winward Racing after a door-to-door fight with Thiim’s #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin GT3 EVO with 10 minutes remaining. Aston Martin Vantage customers squat a double podium.
#57 car of the Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 win
In the dramatic final phase, the lead in the GTD class changed hands several times due to different fuel and pit stop strategies. The Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing teams showed nerves of steel.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #57 car of the Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
Philip Ellis took the lead in the GTD field in his final stint and successfully fended off all attacks until he crossed the finish line. In the end, the reigning GTD champion had a 1.367-second lead. #57 Team Winward with Philip Ellis, Lucas Auer, Indy Dontje and Russell Ward led the race eight times and a total of 69 laps. Winward adds a third win to its 2021 and 2024 triumphs. #57 Winward Racing also won the Michelin Endurance Cup portion of the event, scoring the most points at the four awarded intervals at six-, 12-, 18- and 24 hours.
Following its championship successes in 2024 and 2025 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship manufacturers' standings, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport also started the new season in 2026 from a very good position.
📷 © Frankie Di Sarlo at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #57 car of the Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3
Philip Ellis, Winward Racing #57: "We had a good strategy for the end and, of course, hoped that it would stay green so we could play out our tactics. In the final minutes, it was extremely difficult to control the tyres. I had a very intense battle to defend the lead. This is the third time I've won here with the team, which is truly incredible. Thanks to everyone who prepared this great car for us. It was just perfect. I hope we can take this momentum with us to Sebring to continue our mission to defend the title."
Lucas Auer, Winward Racing #57: "This is my first victory at Daytona – it feels incredible. Winning this race is a great achievement, especially after my serious accident here in 2022. I congratulate Winward Racing and Mercedes-AMG on this top result with a total of three podium finishes. The whole race was tough, but the last few minutes were extremely exciting. A real speed race. My teammates really delivered. Awesome!" Source: Mercedes-AMG
Double podium for the Aston Martin Vantage GT3
Aston Martin's multiple championship-winning Vantage race car begun its international season with a strong double-podium finish at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. This completed Aston Martin's second GTD double-podium in four years at Daytona; THOR and Magnus Racing having finished first and second in 2023 with the previous-generation Vantage GT3.
#44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin GT3 EVO second
Nicki Thiim with #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin GT3 EVO was involved in a titanic battle for victory in the ultimate Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) class with Phillip Ellis (#57 Mercedes) with 10 minutes remaining. Both were fighting door-to-door through Daytona International Speedway’s famous tri-oval with both drivers masterfully controlling slides after slight contact between the cars. Thiim, who shared the Magnus Racing Vantage with team owner John Potter, Spencer Pumpelly (who entered with a race-high 24 starts, although not consecutive) and team newcomer Madison Snow, eventually finished just 1.367 seconds shy of victory. In doing so, he recorded Magnus Racing's third Daytona podium in five years with Vantage; the Utah-based team having also finished second in 2022 and '23.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin GT3 EVO.
“So close…. Again,” said Thiim. “It's tough to come so close to winning one of the biggest sportscar races in the world and to just miss out by a few seconds, but we should be very proud of our performance in this race. I always enjoy driving with Magnus Racing, everybody did a fantastic job, and the Aston Martin was a really great car to have in the racing conditions.”
#27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo third
After qualifying on GTD pole position, the Heart of Racing Team finished race in third position to record second-straight Daytona podium. Tom Gamble, Zacharie Robichon, Mattia Drudi, and Dudu Barrichello claimed third place in the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo. The team was second of class in number of laps lead during the 24 hours contest with 99 laps in the lead.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo
“We should be very happy with a podium at Daytona, because it's a great result,” said Drudi. “The team did a fantastic job at the ROAR [last weekend's pre-season three-day test at Daytona] and throughout race week and all my team-mates were very strong. We were close to winning – just like we were last year – but lost a bit of pace when the track warmed up in the last hour. Next year I hope to come back and win.” Source: Aston Martin
13 Autosport Corvette recorded fourth-place
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. 13 Autosport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
The 13 Autosport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R led the GTD race four times for 32 laps in a solid start to its full-season championship push. The team mirrored its strategy to its 2025 victory by having Fidani and Kern drive much of the race’s first half before putting in the team’s two Pro-level drivers to the end. Orey Fidani drove more than four-and-a-half hours of the first 8 hours to meet the minimum drivetime requirements, which put Lars Kern, Matt Bell and Ben Green in position to climb the leaderboard as other entries prepared to cycle their Bronze-rated drivers through the nighttime.
📷 © Frankie Di Sarlo at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #13 Autosport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
MATT BELL, #13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “Thursday night, it looked like we were going to have a very different event, just to even finish the race flawlessly, let alone be not far up the order. Everybody should be really proud of themselves. I think we had a fourth-place car and we were in the game for a long part of it. There was a little bit of bumping and shoving at the end, but it didn’t change the outcome. Fourth is the maximum we had, and we achieved the maximum result that we were capable of this weekend. Everybody put together a great car. It was as fast as our Corvette was going to go, and we all drove the wheels off it. I am very proud of the team. It’s good to leave thinking you got the best out of your machine. We’ll crack on and try to get the win at Sebring.”
OREY FIDANI, #13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “After what we went through on Thursday, I couldn’t be prouder of this crew. Everyone dug deep, worked through the night, and we showed up ready to race, that says everything about this team. We were right in the fight all weekend, and while we wanted that podium, a fourth-place finish in the biggest race of the season is still extremely rewarding. Huge credit to the crew and my teammates for their work and dedication. We’ll take what we learned and go to Sebring even hungrier.”
LARS KERN, #13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m really, really proud of the team. The car was flawless, I loved it. Everything on our side was good. It just wasn’t in our hands. Honestly, it feels horrible. The race just unfolded in an unlucky way for us. You can’t win this race every year, and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be for us this time. That’s racing, the racing gods decide if you get to win or not, and this year they decided we weren’t going to.”
BEN GREEN, #13 CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: “I’m really happy to finish the Rolex 24 at Daytona with 13 Autosport on my debut at the event. It’s great to make it to the end, and to finish fourth. Of course, we wish we were on the podium, because we were fighting for the win at different points throughout the race. I’m very proud of the effort from the entire team, and it’s been great to have support from GM as well. Our Chevy V8 was singing on the Daytona banking for 24 hours, faultless, and I’m proud of everyone’s work to make that happen.” Source: Corvette Racing
#21 Af Corse Ferrari finished in fifth place.
The #21 296 GT3 Evo of AF Corse USA was in the spotlight for a long time leading a total of 79 laps. Thanks to excellent stints by the drivers – Lilou Wadoux-Ducelier, Simon Mann, Antonio Fuoco and Tommaso Mosca, making his debut as a Prancing Horse factory driver – and the crew, the team managed to move up to the top positions especially in the middle phase. However, they could not go beyond fifth place at the end of the 661 laps. Source: Ferrari
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #21 Af Corse Ferrari
Related Info
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. Paul Miller Racing triumphs in the BMW M4 GT3 EVO
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. ROLEX 24 GTP Ranking behind the top 3
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. Porsche-Cadillac-BMW podium at ROLEX 24
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. First 12 hours photos dump
