Qualifying for the Rolex 24 at Daytona saw 60 entrants across four classes battle it out for the Motul Pole Award. Each class had a 15-minute shootout to determine the grid lineup.
The Heart of Racing Get GTD Pole
Action commenced with the GTD class. 21 entrants hit the track as the green flag fell and quickly started to warm their tyres up. Within a couple of laps, it was the no. 45 Wayne Taylor Racing car who set the benchmark time.
Charlie Eastwood— driving the no. 36 DXDT Racing car—was slow on the fast-flowing section. This backed the pack up and posed the question if he was suffering an issue. He wasn’t, and was quickly setting purple sectors, knocking the no. 81 DragonSpeed off of provisional pole with a 1:46.831.
Through the first half of the session, it was a battle between the no. 45, no. 36, and no. 81. they swapped the fastest lap between them. But with less than five minutes to go, Zacherie Robichon in the no. 27 Heart of Racing Team flew to the top with a 1:45.113.
As the chequered flag drew closer, the field attempted to usurp Robichon, but none could get close, falling short in the final sector. Despite returning to the pits with over two minutes remaining, pole position for the GTD class was awarded to Robichon. He’ll be at the front of the pack for the Rolex 24 as they line up behind the GTD Pro class for the race.
Sims Takes GTD Pro For Corvette
After a short break, the cars were back on track for the GTD Pro qualifying session. Like the class before, drivers wasted no time in getting out and warming up. It was a slow start, with times being slower than those set in GTD for the majority of the session.
RLL Team McLaren set the first flying lap with a 1:46.731, but it wasn’t long until they were superseded. The no. 1, driven by Neil Verhagen, soon achieved provisional pole and was getting quicker with each lap. As the clock ticked down, drivers found sector two to be their demise as no one could get close to Verhagen’s time.
However, pole position for the GTD Pro class went to the no. 3 Corvetter Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports. Alexander Sims set a final flying lap and took purple sectors as he did so, setting a time of 1:45.106.
The lineup for the Rolex 24 is set by class, not by overall time. For the GTD Pro drivers, this will be a relief, as it was only Sims who was able to record a lap faster than the polesitter of the lower GTD class.
Issues Arose For LMP2 as Inter Europol Took Pole
Despite the weather being perfect for the GTD cars, the LMP2 class had to battle the wind. Strong gusts into Turn 1 saw many cars locking up as they began their laps. New team Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen were the first to fall foul of the breeze, locking up and then spinning at the International Horseshoe. Luckily, the no. 52 was able to keep going and quickly recovered.
In contrast to GTD, where drivers had to do four to five laps to warm their tyres up, LMP2 got up to speed quicker, and times fell fast. Initially, it was Chris Cumming in the no. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports, who had the time to beat: a 1:41.768. However, it wasn’t long before drivers were in the 1:39’s.
It was Inter Europol Competition with Jeremy Clarke who balanced speed and provision to take pole position. Only eight thousandths separated him and P. J. Hyett in the no. 99 AO Racing, and they’ll lead the LMP2 cars when the race begins.
Cadillac Whelen Leads GTP Class
As qualifying for the 2026 Rolex 24 came to a close, it was time for the GTP class. Similar to the LMP2 cars, drivers had to contend with the wind and be careful into Turn 1. As the session began, the Acura Meyer Shank Racing cars (nos. 60 and 93) looked to be the quickest.
As the Acuras swapped P1 between the pair, Jack Aitken in the no. 31 and Dries Vanthoor in the no. 24 joined the battle for the Motul Pole Award. Five minutes remained, and with new tyres on the cars, teams were still learning the optimal temperature for qualifying. Because of this, they were yet to match the pole position time from last year.
Felipe Nasr in the no. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport car surprised as he went from last to P4. No one could match his sector one, but his speed at the start cost him as the lap came to its end. Just before the chequered flag, the no. 93 was slowly heading to the pits. The Acura had to settle for P2 on the grid, whereas Aitken—the only driver to reach the 1:33’s—took pole position.
In all four classes, drivers were incredibly close and only hundreds of a second separated them. Cadillac Whelen will lead everyone as the flag goes green on Saturday, but with 59 cars behind them, will they be able to keep the lead?
Qualifying was a relatively tame session. However, with 24 hours of racing facing the teams, anything can happen throughout the race. Tune in on Saturday at 19:40 CET as the green flag falls.
Post-Qualifying Update
Following the session, the no. 31 failed the post-qualifying technical inspections. The friction area of the rear skid block was beyond the permitted tolerance. Due to this, the Cadillac Whelen has been demoted to the back of the GTP grid and will start P11.
The no. 93 Acura Meyer Shank, driven by Renger van der Zande, subsequently inherits the pole position.