Roar Daytona – Day 1: Porsche starts strong, BMW and Cadillac keep pace

Cool and ideal conditions accompanied the 60 participants of theIMSA during the first of three days of testing Roar Before the Rolex 24, held this Friday, an essential prelude to the 64th edition of the 24 Hours of Daytona (January 22-25).

This first test session of the 2026 season was above all a major on-track debut for many revamped driver lineups, new manufacturer affiliations, and several technical developments, particularly in the top GTP category, where Acura, BMW, Cadillac, and Porsche have all introduced "Evo" packages. Also of note is the highly anticipated first appearance of theAston Martin Valkyrie, which will be competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time.

Porsche in the lead from the very first laps

Already two-time defending champions at Daytona, Porsche quickly demonstrated its ambitions. Felipe Nasr set the fastest time in the morning session at the wheel of the No. 7 Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Motorsport, completing the 5,73 km circuit in 1:36.327. The Brazilian shares the car with Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich.

The Stuttgart-based manufacturer even achieved a 1-2-3 finish in this first 90-minute session: Nico Pino placed the privately entered JDC-Miller Porsche #85 in second position, ahead of Laurens Vanthoor in the factory Porsche #6. The three cars were separated by just 0.108 seconds, immediately confirming the excellent foundation of the 963, despite the different aerodynamic configurations between the 2025 and 2026 versions.

For the 2026 season, Porsche Penske Motorsport has significantly revamped its driver lineups. Nasr is the only driver retained from the 2025 IMSA campaign, while Vanthoor, Andlauer, and Kevin Estre join from the program WEC from the American team. “I am very happy to be competing in my first full season in IMSA, explains Julien Andlauer. The team knows how to win, and so do my teammates. Daytona last year was very competitive, and I hope it will be again this year.

BMW leads this afternoon, the standings remain tight

The afternoon saw BMW take the lead thanks to Sheldon van der Linde, who set the fastest time of 1:36.742 with the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8. For the first time in IMSA, the car is run by WRT, a long-standing BMW partner in the WEC.

ALSO READ > BMW unveils its new look for Daytona

Porsche, however, remained a dominant presence: the No. 85 JDC-Miller (Tijmen van der Helm) finished second, ahead of the No. 7 driven by Heinrich and the No. 6 by Vanthoor. Cadillac, for its part, confirmed its competitiveness without yet setting a benchmark: Louis Deletraz (Wayne Taylor Racing) and Earl Bamber (Cadillac Whelen) regularly featured in the top five.

At Acura, it was a quieter day for Meyer Shank Racing, as the No. 60 car didn't complete a flying lap in the morning. Tom Blomqvist, however, remained calm, placing the car eighth in the afternoon.

“Everyone has made changes, some very visible like at Cadillac, others more subtle,” explains Blomqvist. The most significant change concerns the tires, but we're still using Michelin, so the overall balance is familiar. The competition should be extremely close.

Milesi is a benchmark in LMP2, diversity in GT

In LMP2, Charles Milesi set the fastest overall time of the day with a 1:38.935 in the #11 Oreca 07 TDS Racing. The afternoon times, slightly slower for the entire field, saw Ben Hanley put United Autosports USA at the top of the class.

The GT categories offered a very open field. In the morning, Spencer Pumpelly dominated the GTD class with the No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, while Team RLL officially launched its GTD Pro program with the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo #59.

In the afternoon, Corey Lewis put the No. 66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang GT3 at the top of the GTD class, while Chaz Mostert posted the best performance in GTD Pro with the Classic Mercedes for sale-AMG GT3 #75 of 75 Express, a car that will also see Will Power make his IMSA debut.

Le Roar Before the Rolex 24 Testing continues Saturday at Daytona with three more practice sessions, including a two-hour night session, essential for preparing for the race. The 24 Hours of Daytona will officially launch the 2026 IMSA season from January 22nd to 25th.

The combined standings for Friday's Roar 2026 at Daytona