Porsche-Cadillac-BMW podium at ROLEX 24
The 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona happened to be reduced to 17 hours 26 minutes 35 seconds “normal racing” (with cautions) as heavy fog invited itself on the Daytona International Speedway causing a more than 6,5 hours period of Full Course Yellow to wait for visibility to come back. The race ended with a thrilling comeback from Cadillac Whelen #31 driven by Jack Aitken challenging Felipe Nasr’s #7 Porsche ending 1.569 seconds behind Porsche and Felipe Nasr’s third win in a row. Kudos to BMW M Team WRT first podium for its first IMSA race.
📷 © Frankie DiSarlo at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. From left to right: GTP Start, #7 Porsche 963, #31 Cadillac V-Series.R
Porsche’s third straight outright victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963
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 #7 car ultimately came out on top to celebrate the third straight outright victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona for the #7 Porsche 963 from the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team and Felipe Nasr who, this time, was co-driven by former Porsche Junior champions Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963
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. This hat-trick will go down in the history books. It’s an early cherry on the cake for Porsche’s 75th motorsport anniversary and for Team Penske’s 60th birthday.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963
Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #7): “I don’t have the words to describe what this victory means to me. In the final laps, I left it all on the track, every ounce of strength and, above all, my heart – because it was so important to bring this triumph home for my teammates and our team! Like in previous years, the battle raged to the very end. The first emotions hit me on the last lap, and by the finish line, I could barely contain myself. I now want to celebrate this most beautiful moment of my career with everyone.”
Julien Andlauer (Porsche 963 #7): “From the first test runs eleven days ago to crossing the finish line, we gave everything, worked incredibly hard, and remained 100% focused. Now here we stand holding a beautiful trophy as the winners of the 24 Hours of Daytona. I’m just so proud of all of us.”
Laurin Heinrich (Porsche 963 #7): “It’s unbelievable – my first IMSA race for Porsche Penske Motorsport and we win the 24 Hours of Daytona! I joined the Porsche family as a junior in 2022, and now, as a factory driver, I’m on the top step of the podium at North America’s biggest endurance race. What a massive honour. I’m so grateful to Porsche for their trust and for the development opportunities I’ve been given.” Source: Porsche
Cadillac’s strong runner-up finish
The #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R from Action Express Racing team stormed through the fog and came from a lap down to finish second and just 1.5 seconds behind the #7 Penske Motorsports car.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R
Jack Aitken, who drove along with Earl Bamber, Frederik Vesti and Connor Zilisch, made a hard charge throughout the final hour and nearly caught the #7 Penske machine twice, but had to settle for a podium finish.
It’s Cadillac’s ninth podium finish in 10 Rolex 24 At Daytona races and the second consecutive runner-up finish. With the runner-up finish, Cadillac Racing now has 105 podiums (21 GTP, 84 DPi) since joining IMSA prototype competition in 2017.
Jack Aitken: “We had to fight pretty much all the way through the race, and it was not an easy 24-Hour race. Not like some previous years where some things came our way. Couple of setbacks early on and we had to dig deep to get back on the lead lap and get through the field. There were some fantastic stints all the way through the night and the end. To fall just short is a bit heartbreaking. Hopefully this shows the strength of the Whelen Cadillac. We were able to take the challenge to them today and it’s a testament to the boys and girls that got the car on the grid today. Big thanks to them and to Cadillac as a whole. We’re going to keep flighting and get that win someday.”
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #31 Cadillac Whelen V-Series.R
Earl Bamber: “We had a good car and a good team and we knew Porsche was going to be strong at the start of the race and they were going to be our main contender. So yeah, I think it was going to be between the 7, the 6 and ourselves. We came up short by 1.5 seconds, but I think it was an amazing team effort by everyone on Cadillac and Whelen. We had quite a few setbacks and issues in the night and we just kept digging and digging and came home second. Obviously it’s not what we wanted, but we will finish second and take the points.”
Frederik Vesti: “It’s one of the first times in my life I’ve been extremely disappointed with a second-place finish. That just says so much about our potential this weekend. But to finish second in a race where we were a lap down, we had few minor issues throughout the race so to finish second is a very big result. Obviously finishing second by 1.5 seconds from P1 is extremely frustrating, but it’s a great start to the season. We can all be proud of everyone on the team and the efforts this weekend. And we’ll come back a do better.”
Connor Zilisch: “Yeah, it was a great day. Jack (Aitken) did everything he could there at the end to try and get us the win, but just came up a little bit short. I am so proud of the effort of everyone with Cadillac and Action Express Racing. I had a lot of fun being a part of it and getting to learn from all those guys, my teammates, so yeah just thankful for the opportunity and happy it went well. Second always sucks, but we did everything we could, and we have to be proud of that.” Source: Cadillac Racing
BMW M Team WRT takes first IMSA podium with the BMW M Hybrid V8
What a start to the season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on the debut of BMW M Team WRT in the GTP class! First podium for the BMW M Hybrid V8 at the 24 Hours of Daytona.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. BMW M Hybrid V8 #24
After a difficult qualifying session, both BMW M Hybrid V8s gradually fought their way forward from eighth and ninth on the grid and were in the top five when the race was neutralised during the night due to heavy fog. After 6:30 hours behind the safety car, a six-hour sprint to the finish followed. Both crews were not unsettled by interim setbacks due to drive-through penalties and minor technical problems, and were in third and fourth place in the final hour of the race. Dries Vanthoor in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 took third place and thus the podium for himself and his driver colleagues Sheldon van der Linde, Robin Frijns and René Rast.
Dries Vanthoor (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT, 3rd place GTP): "To be honest, this is a very unexpected podium. After the Roar, the practice sessions and qualifying, we weren't particularly optimistic and never thought that we could even fight for victory. Hats off to everyone who worked so hard to make this podium possible. For the first race for BMW M Team WRT in the IMSA GTP class, this is a fantastic result."
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. BMW M Hybrid V8 #24
Sheldon van der Linde (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT, 3rd place GTP): "I'm very, very happy. This is one of the most surprising podiums of my career. I don't think anyone expected us to be able to fight for victory before the race. Everyone was a bit unhappy about the pace the car had – but we knew that the team was incredibly strong in the race. We prepared all the strategy options we needed for the race and it paid off perfectly for us. Of course we had small problems, but all the teams in this race do. We are just happy to have been rewarded this time. It's incredibly impressive what the team has achieved in just four months. I can only say a huge thank you to them."
Robin Frijns (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT, 3rd place GTP): "To be honest, at no point did I expect a podium. We were on the backfoot at the start of the weekend and had no real pace. But then we came back: We had good communication in the team and excellent teamwork. I'm very happy with third place."
René Rast (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT, 3rd place GTP): "It's not often that a team is formed within a few months, joins the IMSA and immediately finishes on the podium at Daytona. This shows how strong the team is and how well the co-operation with BMW M Motorsport has worked. Of course, third place is also unexpected, as we had little pace at the start of the weekend and had no idea that we would be fighting for the win and the podium. It's a gigantic team performance. A huge thank you to BMW M Motorsport and Team WRT!" Source: BMW
Related Info
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. First 12 hours photos dump
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. Albuquerque-Vesti about Cadillac's work at Daytona
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. Vanthoor - Porsche fastest during session 3 today.
📷 © Luc Warnotte at ROLEX 24 at Daytona 2026. #93 Acura ARX-06 in Rolex 24 Pole Position
