The recent IMSA test at Daytona International Speedway provided a tantalizing preview of what's to come in the world of endurance racing. While speed may not have been the primary objective, the 31 participants used the opportunity to integrate new personnel, fine-tune their cars, and gain valuable track time in preparation for the upcoming season.

Unlocking the Secrets of the Daytona Test

Acura Leads the Charge in GTP Class

The Acura Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian team emerged as the pacesetters in the GTP class, with Nick Yelloly's 1m35.708s lap in the Saturday morning session setting the overall best time. This was just a fraction of a second faster than Tom Blomqvist's 1m35.905s set on Friday afternoon in the sister car. While these times were about three seconds off the GTP lap record, they still provided a tantalizing glimpse into the performance potential of the Acura ARX-06.Yelloly, who is new to the MSR Acura effort this year, expressed his satisfaction with the team's progress. "We've been ticking off everything we can do on our program, making sure we constructively test everything we need to before we come back here for the Rolex 24 in January," he said. "Everything has gone smoothly, and it will be nice to feel what the car is like at night."

Porsche Penske Motorsport Dominates in Laps Completed

Among the GTP competitors, the Porsche Penske Motorsport's No. 6 Porsche 963 stood out, completing the most laps in every one of the first four sessions, a total of 487 circuits. This was a robust 171 laps more than the next-best total of 316 turned by the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, and more than BMW M Team RLL managed with both of its BMW M Hybrid V8s (390).While BMW may have been lacking in terms of mileage, its cars were solidly on the pace, running in the top three in each of the first three sessions. The No. 63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 also showed impressive speed, with Andrea Caldarelli setting the fastest time on Friday morning and Romain Grosjean driving the car to a second-place finish on Saturday afternoon.

Ford Mustang GT3 Shines in GTD PRO

In the GT classes, the Ford Mustang GT3 continued its upward trend, with Dennis Olsen leading all GT-class runners in the No. 65 GTD PRO Mustang GT3 fielded by Ford Multimatic Motorsports. Olsen's 1m48.177s lap in the Saturday afternoon session edged out teammate Seb Priaulx in the No. 64 Mustang by a mere 0.019s.Olsen, who drove a Mustang for Proton Competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2024, expressed his enthusiasm for being back in IMSA. "I'm really enjoying being back driving on Michelin tires in the best championship in the world," he said. "We're working on all the systems trying to prepare for the big one, and it's definitely challenging, but we'll keep on working and improving."

LMP2 Class Sees Impressive Pace

In the LMP2 class, Malthe Jakobsen turned the fastest lap of the test at 1m38.635s on Friday afternoon, showcasing the impressive performance of the class.As the IMSA-sanctioned testing at Daytona wraps up on Sunday, the motorsports community eagerly awaits the start of the 2025 season, where the lessons learned and the insights gained from this test will undoubtedly shape the future of endurance racing.