63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona: GTD PRO and GTD Team-by-Team

63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona: GTD PRO and GTD Team-by-Team

Field of 15 GTD PRO and 22 GTD Cars Comprise a 37-Car GT Field for Rolex 24

Predicting a winner among the GT field for the 63rd Rolex 24 At Daytona can be a difficult proposition.

A total of 37 GT3-specification cars are split between 15 Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) cars and 22 Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) cars. 

Nine auto manufacturers – Aston Martin, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche – have entries in the field and all manufacturers have at least one car in both classes.

The team-by-team preview is below:

 

GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO)

No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO Madison Snow/Neil Verhagen/Connor De Phillippi/Kelvin van der Linde

As Paul Miller Racing expands to two GTD PRO class entries, its No. 1 car continues with the most carryover from its IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup-winning 2024 season. Snow, a two-time full-season IMSA champion, now anchors the No. 1 car as his longtime co-driver Bryan Sellers moves to a program manager role at DXDT Racing. Verhagen naturally steps up from the Endurance Cup seat into the full-time slot vacated by Sellers. In the endurance slots, fellow BMW M works drivers De Phillippi and van der Linde complete the lineup. De Phillippi returns to the GT ranks after two years as part of the BMW M Team RLL GTP program; while he won the first GTP race for the brand, his best IMSA success has come in GT where he won five races from 2017 to 2020. The older van der Linde brother is new to BMW and swaps places with younger brother Sheldon, who was in this car last year and now replaces, ironically, De Phillippi full-season in the No. 25 BMW GTP car. 

 

No. 3 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.R Antonio Garcia/Alexander Sims/Daniel Juncadella

The Corvette brand has four GT class victories at the Rolex 24, including an overall triumph in 2001. In the team’s No. 3 Corvette Z06 GT3.R, it has another contender with the same trio of Garcia, Sims and Juncadella. Garcia and Sims partnered to give the new car its first IMSA win at the Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Garcia (three) and Juncadella (one) have Rolex 24 wins to their name, while Sims is yet to secure his first Rolex winner’s timepiece. 

 

No. 4 Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Z06 GT3.RTommy Milner/Nicky Catsburg/Nico Varrone

It’s hard to believe it’s nearly a decade since Milner’s lone Rolex 24 win, in an epic teammate battle against Garcia in the No. 3 car in 2016. Alas, nine years have passed since that date. But Milner racked up wins with the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R in additional GT3 competition in 2024, even as he and Catsburg’s best result in IMSA competition was second at CTMP in that Corvette 1-2. Third driver Varrone is new to Corvette Racing’s IMSA program, but not new to winning with Corvette Racing: he, Catsburg and Ben Keating shared the last GTE AM class win at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Corvette C8.R. 

 

No. 007 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo Ross Gunn/Alex Riberas/Roman De Angelis/Marco Sorenson

Testing commenced for Aston Martin’s V12 Valkyrie in the summer of 2024 with its maiden official IMSA run coming at last November’s sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway in preparation for its debut. However, the manufacturer pushed its Valkyrie IMSA race debut to the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, so Heart of Racing Team has a stacked GTD PRO entry to go for a Rolex win.

 

While the GTP driver lineup has not yet been announced, Gunn, Riberas and De Angelis appear set to follow the trend of GTP manufacturers seeing their GT drivers progress up the ladder to prototype. Back in their natural GT habitat, the trio of winners (Gunn and De Angelis have eight IMSA wins, Riberas has seven) seek to add one more victory to their records. Sorenson has reduced series experience compared to his trio of teammates but still has a pair of IMSA wins. 

 

No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 Andrea Caldarelli/Marco Mapelli/Jordan Pepper/James Hinchcliffe

The inaugural GTD PRO champions in 2022 haven’t had it all the same up front since. Now, Pfaff Motorsports is set to run its third different car in as many years. Pfaff’s newest car is the highly developed Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2, the genesis of which dates to 2016 before going through a series of evolutions in that time. This follows the McLaren 720S GT3 it ran last year and Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) the year before that, both of which were newer in their development cycles. With Lamborghini comes a trio of affiliated drivers in Caldarelli, Mapelli and Pepper, along with Pfaff holdover Hinchcliffe.

 

No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 Ben Barnicoat/Aaron Telitz/Kyle Kirkwood/Townsend Bell

The 2023 IMSA GTD PRO champions, Vasser Sullivan took a step back in 2024 but remain viable and consistent contenders with its Lexus RC F GT3 ahead of the car’s ninth season of service since 2017. That said, the team splits up the pair of Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth after three seasons with five wins, 18 podiums and a title together. Telitz, a five-time IMSA race winner, moves up from the team’s No. 12 GTD class entry back to a Pro car he’s occasionally driven in his Vasser Sullivan Lexus tenure. Kirkwood and Bell are endurance-race extras; three-time IMSA winner Kirkwood will pull double-duty between this car and the team’s No. 12 car while Bell, a past Rolex 24, Le Mans 24 and IMSA champion, will pull double-duty with driving and broadcasting for NBC Sports. 

 

No. 20 Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Claudio Schiavoni/Matteo Cressoni/Richard Lietz/Thomas Preining

Proton’s GT entries are split one car apiece between GTD PRO and GTD and are two Porsches instead of the single Ford Mustang GT3 it ran last year. Lietz, a three-time Rolex 24 and three-time Le Mans 24 winner, anchors the lineup on the heels of capturing the LMGT3 World Championship with Porsche in the 2024 FIA WEC. Preining appears high on Porsche’s future radar, while Cressoni and Schiavoni race frequently together as a pro-am pairing. 

 

No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO Max Hesse/Dan Harper/Jesse Krohn/Augusto Farfus

The only thing familiar for PMR’s second car is a return to its old number, 48, for the first time since 2020. Since 2021, the sole PMR car has run the No. 1 after winning the 2020 Michelin Endurance Cup title in GTD and carried it through for several seasons and two more titles (2023 GTD, 2024 GTD PRO Michelin Endurance Cup). Hesse and Harper, two BMW M works drivers with extensive European GT race- and title-winning experience including a class win together in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in 2020, are set to embark on their first full seasons in IMSA. Krohn and Farfus bring this car the necessary IMSA experience as endurance drivers and look to recapture the Rolex 24 class-winning magic they achieved in 2020. 

 

No. 64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 Mike Rockenfeller/Seb Priaulx/Austin Cindric

Year two of the Ford Multimatic Mustang GTD PRO program features significant changes, although the team’s No. 64 car has a degree of continuity. In Rockenfeller, the team features one of the most experienced drivers on the grid. He has five IMSA wins including the 2010 Rolex 24 overall, and also has championships in multiple sports car series. The younger Priaulx raced the first half of 2024 with AO Racing and won twice (Monterey and Detroit) before shifting focus to Multimatic commitments in the second half of the year. Father Andy raced with Ford before and Seb has won in a Ford in IMSA, in Michelin Pilot Challenge competition. Ben Barker was due to complete the trio for Michelin Endurance Cup rounds but won’t add to his eight career IMSA starts (only one in the last eight years) until later this year. Cindric, the 2022 Daytona 500 winner and two-time NASCAR Cup Series playoff driver, is set for his sixth start as Barker’s Rolex 24 injury stand-in. 

 

No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 Christopher Mies/Frederic Vervisch/Dennis Olsen

The second GTD PRO Ford Mustang brings in a trio of European veterans, with its full-season pairing of Mies and Vervisch set to tackle their first full IMSA season together. Mies has 16 IMSA career starts and a 2017 Motul Petit Le Mans win in GTD, while Vervisch has four starts and a 2019 Rolex 24 podium in GTD. Both are longtime Audi drivers who shifted to Ford’s global GT3 program in 2024, and competed in Michelin Endurance Cup rounds. Olsen, this car’s third driver, has eight IMSA starts including a 2019 GTD win at Lime Rock Park. He was part of Ford’s return to the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing third in the LMGT3 category there last year. 

 

No. 69 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 Anthony Bartone/Fabian Schiller/Luca Stolz/Maxime Martin

One of the two Mercedes-AMG GT3 GTD PRO cars has an intriguing and experienced lineup. New to IMSA, Bartone has plied his trade in other sports car series the last couple years and has a class win at the 24 Hours of Spa on his résumé. Schiller and Stolz are longtime Mercedes-AMG stalwarts globally and while neither has an IMSA race win, Stolz does have a Michelin Endurance Cup title to his name (2018, GTD, in a Riley-entered Mercedes-AMG GT3). Martin is a Mercedes-AMG newcomer but has extensive experience with BMW and Aston Martin; he has three IMSA wins (1 GTLM in 2013, 2 GTD in 2022) on his scorecard. 

 

No. 75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 Kenny Habul/Maro Engel/Jules Gounon/Mikael Grenier

Rolex 24 regular Habul is back with the rebranded “75 Express” No. 75 Mercedes-AMG GT3, and like the sister No. 69 Mercedes-AMG it’s got a lot of affiliated talent in the lineup. Gounon and Engel already have Rolex 24 wins, most recently 2023 in GTD PRO in the WeatherTech Racing entry, while Grenier joins Gounon as an IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup-winning driver.

 

No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Laurin Heinrich/Klaus Bachler/Alessio Picariello

Many words were written about sports car racing’s favorite dinosaur in 2024, so it’ll take a thesaurus to come up with new ones for “Rexy’s” encore in 2025. Luckily, GTD PRO defending champion squad AO Racing has a dynamite new lineup that, unlike 2024, appears poised to last for the full season. Heinrich quickly established himself as the revelation of the 2024 campaign, with a famous first pole at Motul Petit Le Mans, arguably the most important key to the team’s title success after a stress-induced, electronics-affected finale. He won three races, two of them with intended full-season co-driver Seb Priaulx, one more with Michael Christensen in a last-to-first comeback in mixed conditions at Indianapolis. Bachler is an experienced Porsche veteran who’s had limited full-season IMSA experience – only one year with Pfaff’s Porsche in 2023 – but did make a cameo as part of Heinrich’s second half rotation at VIR. Picariello is new to AO but has eight IMSA starts, four apiece in GT and prototype. 

 

No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3  Albert Costa/Miguel Molina/Davide Rigon/Thomas Neubauer

Change is the norm for Elton Julian’s DragonSpeed team, which has run in Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) just since last year’s Rolex 24. The arsenal assembled by the three-time Rolex 24-winning LMP2 squad (2019, 2020, 2022) is a strong one as the lone Ferrari 296 GT3 in GTD PRO this year. Costa has a 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 win and capped off his 2024 IMSA season with a win at Motul Petit Le Mans in GTD; the Spaniard is DragonSpeed’s first announced full-season driver for 2025. Molina and Rigon have been longtime Ferrari stalwarts, with Rigon part of Risi Competizione’s GTD PRO win in the 2024 Rolex 24. Neubauer dipped his toes into the IMSA waters for the first time at last year’s Motul Petit Le Mans, as part of DragonSpeed’s GTD PRO debut. DragonSpeed also adds the Risi component this year, entering into a technical alliance with the team.

 

No. 91 Trackhouse by TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R Ben Keating/Scott McLaughlin/Shane van Gisbergen/Connor Zilisch

Justin Marks’ Trackhouse Racing, in partnership with sports car specialists TF Sport, may be a pre-race clubhouse leader for splashy guest entries. Keating only has one Rolex win to his name (2015, GTD) but his extensive sports car experience and championships have solidified his status as one of the pre-eminent Bronze-rated drivers racing globally. Past Supercars title rivals McLaughlin and van Gisbergen have left their native land behind, learned America, and won races in their new full-time series of IndyCar and NASCAR (both Cup and Xfinity Series). Then there’s Zilisch, who like van Gisbergen is part of the Red Bull family of athletes, and at age 18 assembled a banner 2024 campaign that included Rolex 24 and Sebring 12 wins with Era Motorsport in LMP2, a win in his NASCAR Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen, and other triumphs in ARCA and Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin. This is one of THE cars to watch. 

 

GT Daytona (GTD)

No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Racing Lexus RC F GT3 Jack Hawksworth/Parker Thompson/Frankie Montecalvo/Kyle Kirkwood

The star-crossed Vasser Sullivan No. 12 car – one with an homage to co-owner Jimmy Vasser’s primary number throughout his driving career – is going for it with a restructured 2025 lineup. Fittingly, it’s 12-time IMSA race winner and 2023 GTD PRO champion Hawksworth joining the No. 12 Lexus RC F GT3 for the full season. Thompson shifts into the Silver-rated second driver role after his first full campaign, and Montecalvo now serves as the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup driver. Kirkwood completes the lineup at the Rolex 24 as part of a double-duty role. 

 

No. 13 AWA Corvette Z06 GT3.R Orey Fidani/Matt Bell (UK)/Lars Kern/Marvin Kirchhoefer

An intended two-car program for AWA dropped to the single No. 13 Corvette Z06 GT3.R after just two races, but that didn’t halt the momentum or progress this lineup achieved in its first year with the new customer car. Fidani and Bell posted four top-six finishes in the deep GTD class, with Fidani’s consistency clinching the Bob Akin Award and a trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. As in past years, Kern completes the Michelin Endurance Cup lineup, while Kirchhoefer replaces Alex Lynn as the Rolex 24 fourth.

 

No. 19 van der Steur Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo Rory van der Steur/Valentin Hasse-Clot/Maxime Robin/Anthony McIntosh 

Former American Le Mans Series competitors van der Steur Racing make their return to the top level of IMSA competition with this Aston Martin, featuring a lineup of young drivers who have had experience throughout other IMSA series such as Michelin Pilot Challenge and Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America. 

 

No. 21 Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3  Simon Mann/Lilou Wadoux/Alessandro Pier Guidi/Kei Cozzolino 

Simon Mann’s annual Rolex 24 sojourn reaches its fifth straight year, and comes on the heels of the No. 21 Ferrari’s best finish yet in this race – second last year in GTD. Mann and Cozzolino return, and are bolstered with the additions of Pier Guidi, who won last year’s Rolex 24 in GTD PRO with Risi Competizione (his second; also won 2014 GTD) and also has a 24 Hours of Le Mans overall win with Ferrari to his name, and Wadoux, who won her first IMSA race last year in an Af Corse-entered LMP2 car at Watkins Glen. 

 

No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Stevan McAleer/Sheena Monk/Mike Skeen/James Calado

Monk and McAleer were unable to curb their enthusiasm about their new car that will feature continued JG Wentworth support, the No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3, as they switch from Gradient Racing. With past IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup champion Skeen and 2024 Rolex 24 GTD PRO class and 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans overall winner Calado completing the lineup, this car is a potential GTD win or podium contender.

 

No. 023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 Onofrio Triarsi/Alessio Rovera/Charlie Scardina/Eddie Cheever

Triarsi Competizione improved from 10th in its first Rolex 24 in 2023 to fourth last year. Rovera, Scardina, and Triarsi continue, while Cheever replaces Riccardo Agostini in a late change to the team’s lineup.  The team adds a second car with the No. 021 entry, also competing in the GTD class. This No. 023 car keeps a classic dark red and white livery while the No. 021 car is a dark green and black.

 

No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo Zacharie Robichon/Tom Gamble/Mattia Drudi/Casper Stevenson

The Heart of Racing’s 2024 campaign nearly delivered a GTD PRO class title, but its GTD effort fought through challenges and inconsistencies, mainly in its driver lineup. To start 2025, the team retains longtime driver Robichon, a two-time IMSA champion (2021 GTD full season, 2019 GTD Sprint Cup), brings back Gamble and adds Drudi and Stevenson. The quartet has a heavy volume of Aston Martin experience and Drudi was part of the manufacturer’s 24 Hours of Spa overall win last year with Marco Sorenson, who’s in the team’s GTD PRO Aston Martin, and Nicki Thiim, who he’s set to race against in GTD (with Magnus). 

 

No. 32 Korthoff Competition Motors Mercedes-AMG GT3 Kenton Koch/Seth Lucas/Maximilian Goetz/Daniel Morad

Slight but significant changes come to the ever-present No. 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3, now entered as Korthoff Competition Motors for 2025 and featuring a red, silver and black livery instead of the distinctive silver and teal in years past. Koch’s star rose throughout the balance of 2024, including both his and the team’s first GTD win at the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway. After a variety of partial seasons, the lanky Californian who now lives in North Carolina is set for a full-time GTD campaign as the team’s most experienced driver. Teenager Lucas got his feet wet in WeatherTech Championship competition in High Class by MDK’s ORECA LMP2 07 car last year and enters the GTD class this year. Goetz has been an endurance race extra for years while Morad, a Mercedes-AMG veteran and two-time Rolex 24 winner in class (2017, 2024), completes the quartet. 

 

No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Manny Franco/Daniel Serra/Cedric Sbirrazzuoli/Giacomo Altoe

Eric Bachelart’s Conquest Racing organization made more positive steps than not in its first full-time IMSA season in more than a decade, and the Franco and Albert Costa pairing ended fourth in points with a Motul Petit Le Mans win capping off the season. Now in its second year, Franco has a new full-season co-driver in the form of Ferrari ace Serra, a four-time IMSA race winner including once with Conquest in a GTD PRO one-off at Road America last year. Sbirrazzuoli, part of the Petit Le Mans-winning crew, reprises his Michelin Endurance Cup role with Altoe, Serra’s teammate for that Road America win, the fourth driver. 

 

No. 36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R Salih Yoluc/Alec Udell/Charlie Eastwood/Pipo Derani

DXDT Racing enters IMSA with high potential and storylines peppered across its striking, blue-to-green gradient colored Corvette Z06 GT3.R. Having swept through the SRO World Challenge America season last year with eight straight wins at one point, including the first global win for the new Corvette Z06 GT3.R, DXDT shifts to IMSA for 2025 with many IMSA components already embedded in the program. Two-time IMSA champion Bryan Sellers steps away from driving and serves as program manager, working alongside DXDT team owner David Askew and general manager Erin Gahagan (who also has extensive IMSA managerial experience). Among the drivers, Yoluc and Eastwood have raced together before in other global programs, including a 2020 GTE Am class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Udell was part of that SRO sweep of wins last year and has had some IMSA success, including two GTD podiums in 2023. Derani, a two-time IMSA prototype champion (2021, 2023) with Cadillac Whelen and Action Express Racing, appears set to spend most of his year doing development work with Genesis’ new LMDh prototype while making a GTD cameo at the Rolex 24. Robert Wickens will race with this team starting at Long Beach, with both his debut and that of his electronic hand-brake control system from Bosch one to watch later this year. 

 

No. 44 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo Andy Lally/John Potter/Spencer Pumpelly/Nicki Thiim

The 2010s and early 2020s history of American sports car racing can’t be written without a nod to Magnus Racing, known as much for its fun nature alongside its on-track prowess. But with John Potter stepping back to focus on his real estate business, Magnus’ 2025 Rolex 24 is a final hurrah – for now – for the familiar trio of Potter, Lally and Pumpelly. For Lally in particular, this Rolex 24 will be a special sign-off as he retires from full-time driving post-this race. He leads all drivers entered with five Rolex 24 victories and will extend his consecutive Rolex start streak to 23. Potter and Pumpelly have a pair of Rolex wins each. Thiim has 24-hour race wins with Aston Martin at Le Mans and Spa, but not yet at the Rolex 24. 

 

No. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 Danny Formal/Trent Hindman/Graham Doyle/Kyle Marcelli

Wayne Taylor Racing’s full-season entry into GTD produced flashes of success but explored changes for 2025 after a pair of top-five finishes and Formal’s maiden WeatherTech Championship series pole at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Enter Hindman, back with WTR for the first time in seven years. He has a pair of Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport (GS) titles, the 2019 WeatherTech GTD title and 2017 Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Pro class title, the latter of which was with this team. Doyle is set for his second year as Michelin Endurance Cup third driver with Marcelli completing the Rolex 24 quartet. 

 

No. 47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Roberto Lacorte/Nicola Lacorte/Antonio Fuoco/Lorenzo Patrese

Last year’s eclectic age lineup came courtesy of Sean Creech Motorsport, featuring a 60-plus-year-old and two teenagers in its Ligier JS P217 LMP2 car. This year’s comes thanks to the Af Corse-prepared, Cetilar Racing-entered No. 47 Ferrari, which switches up two of its four drivers. The father-son pairing of Roberto (58) and Nicola (17) Lacorte is the first announced at the Rolex since Kevin and Jan Magnussen in 2023, before Kevin underwent hand surgery and was ruled out of driving. Another famous son comes with Lorenzo Patrese, a 19-year-old son of six-time Formula 1 race winner Riccardo Patrese. Fuoco, 28, is the anticipated workhorse in the lineup as a past Sebring class winner (2022 GTD) who added a 24 Hours of Le Mans overall win with Ferrari last year. 

 

No. 50 Af Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Custodio Toledo/Riccardo Agostini/Arthur Leclerc/Conrad Laursen

An intriguing under-the-radar Ferrari, anchored by Toledo who steps up from the IMSA-sanctioned Ferrari Challenge series. The remaining three drivers are Agostini, who impressed in limited WeatherTech Championship starts with Triarsi Competizione the last two years, Ferrari Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc’s younger brother Arthur (a Ferrari development driver) and the younger Laursen, the teenage son of Johnny Laursen who co-drove a Ferrari with Jordan Taylor at last year’s Le Mans.

 

No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Philip Ellis/Russell Ward/Indy Dontje/Lucas Auer

Winward Racing kicked off its dream 2024 season with a win at the Rolex 24, its second (2021), in a year where they ultimately won four races and swept IMSA’s WeatherTech Championship, Michelin Endurance Cup and manufacturer titles for Mercedes-AMG. Ward was honored by the brand as its top pro driver of 2024, as part of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing’s year-end awards ceremony. He continues beside Ellis and Dontje, two drivers that have been alongside for the full season (Ellis) and Michelin Endurance Cup (Dontje). Auer is poised to make a comeback after an accident in practice took him out of the seat at the 2023 Rolex 24.

 

No. 66 Gradient Racing Ford Mustang GT3 Joey Hand/Till Bechtolsheimer/Tati Calderon/Harry Tincknell

It’s all change for Gradient Racing with three of four new drivers and a new car, a Ford Mustang GT3. Ford and Multimatic veterans Hand and Tincknell add a wealth of race and/or championship-winning experience and success to the car. Bechtolsheimer returns to the team where he won the 2022 Motul Petit Le Mans in GTD while Calderon is the team’s lone returning driver from its Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 car last year.

 

No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Brendan Iribe/Frederik Schandorff/Ollie Millroy/David Fumanelli

Inception Racing’s quest for its maiden IMSA victory continues into 2025. The team switched from its longtime brand, McLaren, to Ferrari for the final two races of 2024 to prepare for the new campaign. Consistency remains in the driver lineup with the full-season pair of Iribe and Schandorff, who added two more podiums last year, with Millroy continuing as Michelin Endurance Cup third driver. 

 

No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 Misha Goikhberg/Mario Farnbacher/Franck Perera/Parker Kligerman

Forte ended 2024 on a high with two runner-up finishes in the last three races, and the pair of Goikhberg and Loris Spinelli ended fifth in GTD points. Change comes to the program in 2025 with Goikhberg reuniting with former Meyer Shank Racing teammate Farnbacher; the two were split in MSR’s Acura NSX GT3s in the 2020 season. Farnbacher has 10 career IMSA wins and Goikhberg four, including the 2016 Rolex 24 in the Prototype Challenge class. Past Rolex 24 class winner Perera is third driver. NASCAR veteran Kligerman, who’s worked the Rolex 24 as part of NBC Sports’ broadcast crew the last six years, is set for driving/reporting double duty in 2025. 

 

No. 80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Dan Knox/Scott Andrews/Eric Filgueiras/Ralf Aron

Lone Star Racing has confirmed another Michelin Endurance Cup program with longtime driver Knox, 2024 Motul Petit Le Mans GTD Motul Pole Award winner Andrews, up-and-coming young driver Filgueiras and Mercedes-AMG affiliated driver Aron. 

 

No. 83 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Sarah Bovy/Rahel Frey/Michelle Gatting/Karen Gaillard

An enhanced tie-up between Porsche and Iron Dames sees the all-female quartet switch brands from Lamborghini, and one of its drivers (Gaillard replaces Doriane Pin), from 2024 to 2025. The longtime Iron Dames trio of Bovy, Frey and Gatting continue, with Gatting’s status enhanced as a newly named Porsche-contracted driver this season. Gaillard is new to the program and makes her debut alongside. This car is prepared by Porsche specialists Proton Competition, which also has a car apiece in GTP and GTD PRO. 

 

No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO Robby Foley/Patrick Gallagher/Jake Walker/Jens Klingmann

Turner Motorsport achieved its second straight BMW M Sports Trophy as the top BMW Customer Racing sports car team worldwide, and it set a record for most number of races with the brand when it started its 557th race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. That particular race, swapping its usual No. 96 for 557, stands as an inadvertent symbol of how close to ultimate success 2024 was. Poised for a win, contact from a GTP car knocked Foley out of the lead and down to second place. He and Gallagher finally broke through at Road America for their first win together, and two other runner-up finishes ensured a P2 season finish. Walker and Klingmann return in their respective third and fourth seats for the Michelin Endurance Cup and Rolex 24. 

 

No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Adam Adelson/Elliott Skeer/Tom Sargent/Ayhancan Guven

Perennial championship contenders Wright Motorsports are back with a declared full-season GTD effort after its partial 2024 campaign grew into all but one race. The longtime pairing of Adelson and Skeer broke through for an emotional and popular first IMSA win together at Indianapolis last fall, and added two other podiums in Sebring and Monterey. Changes come with new Michelin Endurance Cup driver Sargent and Rolex 24 fourth driver Guven, both of whom are young but are high on Porsche’s radar going forward.  


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