Aitken takes pole position in qualifying for the 2026 Daytona 24 Hours

Jack Aitken set a time of 1:33.939 in the #31 Cadillac V-Series.R of Action Express Racing to claim the pole position for the 2026 24 Hours of Daytona. The Brit beat Renger van der Zande in the #93 Acura ARX-06 of Meyer Shank Racing by 0.102 seconds.

Action Express arrived at the session without having simulated qualifying runs during the free practice sessions. The limited tire allocation forced the team to prioritize race setup over single-lap pace. Aitken commented that they navigated the session lap by lap with the car showing a tendency to oversteer, which complicated the driving but they maintained competitive speed.

Louis Deletraz qualified third in the #40 Cadillac from Wayne Taylor Racing, 0.130s behind Aitken. Felipe Nasr placed fourth in the #7 Porsche 963 of Penske Motorsport despite setting the fastest time in the first sector. Tom Blomqvist completed the top 5 in the second Acura from Meyer Shank.

Photo By IMSA

Cadillac looks to convert speed into results

Action Express secures its second pole with Cadillac in the last three years for this race. Pipo Derani had taken pole in 2024 with a time that remains the GTP qualifying record. Cadillac's last overall victory in this event was in 2023.

Van der Zande had taken the top spot midway through the session with a 1:34.067 before Aitken's definitive attempt. The Dutchman had a problem at the end when the #93 Acura lost speed mid-lap, apparently due to lack of fuel.

Marco Wittmann lost control in turn 1 with the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 that had returned to the track after fixing issues with the hybrid system during the morning session.

BMW improvements

BMW introduced aerodynamic modifications to the M Hybrid V8 which, according to Sheldon van der Linde, make the car easier to drive. The updates aim to correct chassis stiffness issues that had caused incidents in previous seasons. Van der Linde explained that the improvements focus more on consistency than on pure speed.

Jeremy Clarke by 8 thousandths in LMP2

Jeremy Clarke took pole in LMP2 with the #43 ORECA 07 of Inter Europol Competition by just 0.008 seconds over PJ Hyett in the #99 from AO Racing. Daniel Goldburg qualified third in the #22 of United Autosports USA, last year's class-winning team.

The wind caused problems for several drivers. Clarke experienced oversteer in turn 1 right after completing his fast lap. Hyett locked up the rear wheels and ran deep in the same area. Naveen Rao spun at the International Horseshoe and will start seventh in class.

Photo By IMSA

Alexander Sims tops GTD Pro

Alexander Sims took pole in GTD Pro with the #3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Corvette Racing in 1:45.106. Neil Verhagen was second in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 of Paul Miller Racing, 0.170s behind. Dean MacDonald completed the top 3 in the #59 McLaren 720S GT3 of RLL Team McLaren.

Nick Tandy had a difficult session in his first outing with AO Racing. The Brit qualified last in GTD Pro in the #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R, 1.136s off Sims' time. The two Porsches in the class finished in the last positions.

Photo By IMSA

Zacharie Robichon repeats pole in GTD

Zacharie Robichon secured the GTD pole with the #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Heart of Racing in 1:45.113, beating Philip Ellis in the #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Winward Racing by 0.074s. It's the Canadian's second pole in this event. He won the race in 2022.

Robby Foley qualified third in the #96 BMW M4 GT3 of Turner Motorsport, 0.152s behind Robichon.

Photo By IMSA

Race Information

The race starts on Saturday, January 25th at 13:40 Florida time (19:40 Spain, 12:40 Mexico) with 60 cars on track. The complete 24-hour broadcast is available for free on the official IMSA YouTube channel.

Two practice sessions remain before the start. Night practice is held this Thursday from 18:15 to 19:45 ET, followed by a final session on Friday from 11:20 to 12:20. This last session includes 20 minutes exclusively for drivers with an FIA Bronze rating.

24 Horas de Daytona 2026 - Clasificación

Pos	#	Clase	Equipo	Vehículo	Mejor Tiempo	Pilotos
1	31	GTP	Cadillac Whelen	Cadillac V-Series.R	1:33.939	Jack Aitken Earl Bamber Frederik Vesti Connor Zilisch
2	93	GTP	Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian	Acura ARX-06	1:34.041	Renger van der Zande Nick Yelloly Alex Palou Kaku Ohta
3	40	GTP	Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing	Cadillac V-Series.R	1:34.069	Jordan Taylor Louis Deletraz Colton Herta
4	7	GTP	Porsche Penske Motorsport	Porsche 963	1:34.183	Felipe Nasr Julien Andlauer Laurin Heinrich
5	60	GTP	Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian	Acura ARX-06	1:34.235	Tom Blomqvist Colin Braun Scott Dixon AJ Allmendinger
6	6	GTP	Porsche Penske Motorsport	Porsche 963	1:34.395	Laurens Vanthoor Kevin Estre Matt Campbell
7	10	GTP	Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing	Cadillac V-Series.R	1:34.513	Ricky Taylor Filipe Albuquerque Will Stevens
8	85	GTP	JDC-Miller MotorSports	Porsche 963	1:34.617	Tijmen van der Helm Nico Pino Kaylen Frederick
9	24	GTP	BMW M Team WRT	BMW M Hybrid V8	1:34.892	Sheldon van der Linde Dries Vanthoor Robin Frijns Rene Rast
10	25	GTP	BMW M Team WRT	BMW M Hybrid V8	1:35.347	Raffaele Marciello Philipp Eng Marco Wittmann Kevin Magnussen
11	23	GTP	ASTON MARTIN THOR Team	Aston Martin Valkyrie	1:35.382	Ross Gunn Roman De Angelis Alex Riberas Marco Sorensen
12	43	LMP2	Inter Europol Competition	ORECA LMP2 07	1:39.952	Tom Dillmann Bijoy Garg Antonio Felix da Costa Jeremy Clarke
13	99	LMP2	AO Racing	ORECA LMP2 07	1:39.960	PJ Hyett Dane Cameron Jonny Edgar Christian Rasmussen
14	22	LMP2	United Autosports USA	ORECA LMP2 07	1:40.096	Daniel Goldburg Paul Di Resta Rasmus Lindh Grégoire Saucy
15	52	LMP2	Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen	ORECA LMP2 07	1:40.542	Misha Goikhberg Ben Keating Parker Thompson Harry Tincknell
16	11	LMP2	TDS Racing	ORECA LMP2 07	1:40.628	Tobi Lutke Mathias Beche David Heinemeier Hansson Charles Milesi
17	343	LMP2	Inter Europol Competition	ORECA LMP2 07	1:40.834	Jakub Smiechowski George Kolovos Nolan Siegel Nick Cassidy
18	18	LMP2	Era Motorsport	ORECA LMP2 07	1:40.987	Naveen Rao Ferdinand Habsburg Jacob Abel Logan Sargeant
19	04	LMP2	Crowdstrike Racing by APR	ORECA LMP2 07	1:41.021	George Kurtz Alex Quinn Toby Sowery Malthe Jakobsen
20	73	LMP2	Pratt Miller Motorsports	ORECA LMP2 07	1:41.185	Pietro Fittipaldi Manuel Espirito Santo Chris Cumming Enzo Fittipaldi
21	2	LMP2	United Autosports USA	ORECA LMP2 07	1:41.279	Phil Fayer Ben Hanley Hunter McElrea Mikkel Jensen
22	8	LMP2	Tower Motorsports	ORECA LMP2 07	1:41.563	John Farano Sebastien Bourdais Sebastian Alvarez Kyffin Simpson
23	83	LMP2	Af Corse Usa	ORECA LMP2 07	1:41.576	Francois Perrodo Matthieu Vaxiviere Nicklas Nielsen Dylan Murry
24	37	LMP2	Intersport Racing	ORECA LMP2 07	1:42.131	Jon Field Oliver Jarvis Seth Lucas Job Van Uitert
25	3	GTDPRO	Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	1:45.106	Antonio Garcia Alexander Sims Marvin Kirchhöfer
26	27	GTD	Heart of Racing Team	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	1:45.113	Tom Gamble Dudu Barrichello Zacharie Robichon Mattia Drudi
27	57	GTD	WINWARD RACING	Mercedes-AMG GT3	1:45.187	Russell Ward Philip Ellis Indy Dontje Lucas Auer
28	96	GTD	Turner Motorsport	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	1:45.265	Patrick Gallagher Robby Foley Jens Klingmann Francis Selldorff
29	36	GTD	DXDT Racing	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	1:45.274	Mason Filippi Charlie Eastwood Scott McLaughlin Salih Yoluc
30	1	GTDPRO	Paul Miller Racing	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	1:45.276	Neil Verhagen Connor De Phillippi Max Hesse Dan Harper
31	19	GTD	van der Steur Racing	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	1:45.381	Valentin Hasse Clot Rory van der Steur Sébastien Baud Carl Bennett
32	59	GTDPRO	RLL Team McLaren	McLaren 720S GT3 EVO	1:45.425	Max Esterson Nikita Johnson Juri Vips Dean MacDonald
33	75	GTDPRO	75 Express	Mercedes-AMG GT3	1:45.448	Kenny Habul Maro Engel Will Power Chaz Mostert
34	033	GTDPRO	Triarsi Competizione	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	1:45.506	James Calado Riccardo Agostini Miguel Molina Alessio Rovera
35	21	GTD	Af Corse Usa	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	1:45.527	Simon Mann Lilou Wadoux Ducellier Antonio Fuoco Tommaso Mosca
36	81	GTD	DragonSpeed	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	1:45.539	Henrik Hedman Giacomo Altoè Casper Stevenson Matteo Cairoli
37	65	GTDPRO	Ford Racing	Ford Mustang GT3	1:45.595	Christopher Mies Frederic Vervisch Sebastian Priaulx
38	80	GTD	Lone Star Racing	Mercedes-AMG GT3	1:45.620	Scott Andrews Lin Hodenius James Roe Ralf Aron
39	69	GTDPRO	GetSpeed	Mercedes-AMG GT3	1:45.633	Anthony Bartone Maximilian Goetz Jules Gounon Fabian Schiller
40	4	GTDPRO	Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	1:45.646	Tommy Milner Nicky Catsburg Nico Varrone
41	62	GTDPRO	Risi Competizione	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	1:45.662	Daniel Serra Davide Rigon Alessandro Pier Guidi
42	48	GTDPRO	WINWARD RACING	Mercedes-AMG GT3	1:45.693	Scott Noble Jason Hart Maxime Martin Luca Stolz
43	70	GTD	Inception Racing	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	1:45.837	Brendan Iribe Frederik Schandorff Ollie Millroy David Fumanelli
44	9	GTDPRO	Pfaff Motorsports	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	1:45.959	Andrea Caldarelli Sandy Mitchell Mirko Bortolotti James Hinchcliffe
45	120	GTD	Wright Motorsports	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	1:45.997	Adam Adelson Elliott Skeer Tom Sargent Callum Ilott
46	14	GTDPRO	Vasser Sullivan Racing	Lexus RC F GT3	1:46.029	Jack Hawksworth Ben Barnicoat Kyle Kirkwood
47	64	GTDPRO	Ford Racing	Ford Mustang GT3	1:46.029	Ben Barker Dennis Olsen Mike Rockenfeller
48	911	GTDPRO	Manthey	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	1:46.034	Ayhancan Guven Thomas Preining Klaus Bachler Ricardo Feller
49	77	GTDPRO	AO Racing	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	1:46.242	Nick Tandy Harry King Alessio Picariello
50	023	GTD	Triarsi Competizione	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	1:46.290	Onofrio Triarsi Kenton Koch Robert Megennis Yifei Ye
51	45	GTD	Wayne Taylor Racing	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	1:46.292	Danny Formal Trent Hindman Graham Doyle Marcus Ericsson
52	34	GTD	Conquest Racing	Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO	1:46.556	Manny Franco Albert Costa Lorenzo Patrese Thierry Vermeulen
53	12	GTD	Vasser Sullivan Racing	Lexus RC F GT3	1:46.636	Aaron Telitz Benjamin Pedersen Frankie Montecalvo Esteban Masson
54	44	GTD	Magnus Racing	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	1:46.851	John Potter Spencer Pumpelly Nicki Thiim Madison Snow
55	13	GTD	13 Autosport	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	1:47.051	Orey Fidani Matthew Bell Lars Kern Ben Green
56	66	GTD	Gradient Racing	Ford Mustang GT3	1:47.121	Jake Walker Till Bechtolsheimer Corey Lewis Joey Hand
57	912	GTD	Manthey 1St Phorm	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	1:47.414	Ryan Hardwick Riccardo Pera Richard Lietz Morris Schuring
58	123	GTD	Muehlner Motorsports America, LLC	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	1:47.682	Dave Musial Dave Musial Jr. Peter Ludwig Ryan Yardley
59	28	GTD	Rs1	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	1:47.686	Eric Zitza Jan Heylen Dillon Machavern Sven Müller
60	16	GTD	Myers Riley Motorsports	Ford Mustang GT3	1:48.220	Sheena Monk Felipe Fraga Jenson Altzman Romain Grosjean