Early session leaders in Friday’s first two sessions for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge teams wound up being the fastest in the five-session weekend as part of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test.

 

Morgan Burkhard, sharing the No. 2 CSM Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS with Gordon Scully and team newcomer Madeline Stewart, wound up with the weekend’s fastest time in Grand Sport (GS) in Friday’s first session. Burkhard lapped the 3.56-mile Daytona International Speedway road course in 1 minute, 52.800 seconds (113.617 mph).

 

"I'm super happy to start the season this way," Burkhard said. "We have put a ton of effort into this program over the off season and it's awesome to see it paying off. I'm excited to carry thi

s momentum and the lessons learned into 2026 proper. This group of people is incredible to work with, I can't wait to see what we accomplish."

In Touring Car (TCR), Rocco Pasquarella topped the charts in the No. 5 KMW Motorsports with TMR Engineering Honda Civic FL5 TCR in session two. Pasquarella posted a best time of 1 minute, 57.565 seconds (109.012 mph). 

 

Some of the other weekend notes:

TGM Busy Preparing New Ford

    

Asked for his initial reaction of his new Ford Mustang GT4, Team TGM’s Matt Plumb responded simply by laughing, “America.” 

 

In all seriousness, the driver of the No. 46 Team TGM Ford with Paul Holton was keen to highlight Ford Racing’s involvement supporting the all-American effort of all five of its drivers and the Ted Giovanis-led team.

 

Plumb, who’s tied with fellow Ford driver Billy Johnson (No. 59 KohR Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4) for the most all-time wins in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge history with 24, noted how busy the offseason has been. Since acquiring these chassis, the team has tested at Daytona International Speedway, Sebring International Raceway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta while also having time in Ford Racing’s simulator.

 

“They take care of their customers,” Plumb noted. “It’s been a great start with Ford for sure.” 

Giovanis and Hugh Plumb won last year’s GS Bronze Cup and will share their No. 64 Mustang GT4 with Kris Wilson at Daytona for Friday’s BMW M Endurance Challenge that opens the season.

 

Cicero Ready for First Full Season

While Team TGM is new to Ford for 2026, McCumbee McAleer Racing is not. The only change is its lineup to a full-season pairing of Nate Cicero and Robert Noaker, two of 14 Ford Racing Driver Development Team drivers announced Thursday who will share the team’s No. 13 Ford Mustang GT4.

 

Cicero, who won three Motul Pole Awards in his partial 2025 GS season, noted a noticeable step up in power from racing a Mazda MX-5 Cup car versus a GS Ford at this track. He and Jenson Altzman won their first race together at Road America, with Altzman finishing fourth in the 2025 GS standings. Altzman is set for his Rolex 24 At Daytona debut aboard the No. 16 Myers Riley Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 next week. 

 

“Super excited for the season; we don’t know everyone’s form yet, but we’re looking to build on what we did last year,” Cicero said. 

 

Next-Generation Bell with Toyota

    

Ford isn’t alone in building an internal ladder program; so is Toyota. Multiple drivers racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2s in Michelin Pilot Challenge and/or VP Racing SportsCar Challenge have come through its GR Cup series. 

 

One such example is Jaxon Bell, who shares the No. 23 Koch-Copeland Motorsports Toyota with Ford Koch for the full season and Jack Hawksworth at Daytona. Bell said this rise into a full-time GS entry has been years in the making.

 

“It’s the reason I drove in GR Cup, mainly; I was so determined to make it higher up with Toyota and drive the GT4 car,” said Bell, the son of veteran motorsports commentator (including on next week’s NBC Sports telecasts) and past IMSA champion and Rolex 24 race winner Townsend Bell. Townsend Bell has been a regular Lexus driver and brand ambassador for several seasons. 

 

The Bell/Koch pairing finished second at Michelin Raceway to cap a three-race Michelin Pilot Challenge trial run at the end of 2025 and may well contend for victories in their first full season in 2026.

 

Farnbacher Steps in to Aid Pegram Honda Switch

 

Two-time IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) title winner Mario Farnbacher is, for now, using his years of Honda sports car experience as a key point of emphasis to help Pegram Racing sort out its new No. 72 Honda Civic FL5 TCR for the father-daughter duo of Larry and Riley Pegram. For Farnbacher, this weekend’s test and Friday’s race are his only confirmed 2026 program, so he’s keen to make an impression and find another opportunity for further IMSA drives this year.

 

As for the Pegrams, their debut with Honda in the Touring Car (TCR) class after switching from Hyundai has come with a caveat. Larry Pegram will sit out Daytona following an incident in December but is recovering well and set to return at the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 at Sebring in March. Riley Pegram, then, will have extended seat time at Daytona as part of the team’s two-driver lineup rather than three. The elder Pegram made his name as an ace motorcycle racer with many brands, including with Honda in the mid-2000s. 

 

Morley Hails Switch to Cupra with Gou Racing

    

“It’s the best car I’ve ever driven through Turn 6 at (WeatherTech Raceway) Laguna Seca.”

The car in question that Jon Morley was talking about? The Cupra Leon VZ TCR, which is quite a statement from the San Francisco native who has logged tens of thousands of laps at the Monterey, Calif., track over his multi-faceted career. He noted this after testing the Audi RS3 LMS TCR and the Cupra back-to-back.

 

While the spine between the two chassis is similar, Morley noted a significant difference between how the Audi and Cupra drive. Morley hailed the Cupra’s handling and front-end stability. He’ll share the No. 55 Gou Racing Cupra at Daytona with the father-and-son duo of Eduardo and Eddie Gou. 

 

Odds and Ends

Drivers set to race in both the BMW M Endurance Challenge and Rolex 24 At Daytona as of now include Hawksworth, Spencer Pumpelly, Robert Megennis, Dillon Machavern, Robby Foley and Mason Filippi. Of those, Foley and Filippi are the only two with full-season programs confirmed in both series at this time, although others may run all WeatherTech Championship IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup rounds in addition to their Michelin Pilot Challenge programs. 
Philip Ellis played the substitute role in Winward Racing’s No. 57 Mercedes-AMG GT GT4 this weekend with Daan Arrow racing at the 24 Hours of Dubai alongside Bryce Ward. It’s a familiar role for Ellis alongside his primary WeatherTech Championship GTD commitments, and should the need arise for the team to call on him again as a third driver next week, it’d be a natural fit. 
Megan Ryder is also pulling double duty of a different kind. The TCR championship-winning Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian lead engineer of the No. 98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR is set to be a race day assistant for the No. 52 BHA with PR1/Mathiasen ORECA LMP2 07 in the WeatherTech Championship. 

Michelin Pilot Challenge teams return to the track on Wednesday for practice ahead of Friday’s four-hour race.