30-Plus Cars Expected for IMSA-Sanctioned Daytona Test

Photo: Drew Gibson/AMR

More than 30 cars are expected for this week’s IMSA-sanctioned test at Daytona International Speedway, including Heart of Racing Team’s new Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH.

At least 31 cars are slated to take to the Florida high banks, in what will also mark the first official test for the GTD Pro and GTD cars utilizing its new-for-2025 torque sensors.

A total of 12 GTP cars are listed on pre-event documents, including the No. 23 Aston Martin, which was recently spotted testing at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as part of its initial North America test program that’s been run in parallel to testing in the Middle East with a separate car.

The three-day test, which kicks off on Friday, will also see GTP entries from Porsche Penske Motorsport, BMW M Team RLL, Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing, Acura Meyer Shank Racing, Action Express Racing, JDC-Miller Motorsports as well as Lamborghini Iron Lynx.

Six LMP2 cars are provisionally listed to take part, including both United Autosports entries and single-car efforts from TDS Racing, AO Racing, Riley and CrowdStrike Racing by APR.

Seven GT3 manufacturers, meanwhile, are expected to be represented, with entries from AO Racing, Iron Dames and Wright Motorsports (Porsche), Vasser Sullivan (Lexus), Magnus Racing (Aston Martin), Conquest Racing and Inception Racing (Ferrari), Paul Miller Racing (BMW), DXDT Racing (Corvette) as well as both of the Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3s.

Driver lineups have not been nominated for the test, which kicks off on Friday for GTP and LMP2 competitors only before GTD Pro and GTD teams join in on Saturday, followed by two final sessions for the production-based ranks only on Sunday.

Unlike previous sanctioned tests at Daytona, so-called ‘Targeted Performance Testing’ for the GT cars will not take place this weekend and is instead scheduled for the Roar Before the Rolex 24.

However, several LMDh manufacturers, including Porsche and Cadillac, are expected to roll out with updates to its cars.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John