Daytona Friday Notebook

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

***Proton Competition’s No. 5 Porsche 963 suffered a right-front upright to wishbone failure in opening practice according to Porsche LMDh factory director Urs Kuratle, who confirmed the component is not part of the car’s new-for-2025 updates. The GTP class entry ran for the first time since the incident.

***Both of the Penske Porsches, meanwhile, were seen in the garage undergoing battery changes on Friday late afternoon. It comes after German manufacturers Porsche and BMW spoke out over high voltage-related reliability concerns heading into the race.

***The No. 25 Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8, which stopped on track in qualifying, sustained a HV related issue that required the replacement of its battery and MGU according to a BMW spokesperson.  The car returned to the track for the first time in Friday’s final practice and set the third quickest time.

***Dries Vanthoor gave BMW its first-ever LMDh pole on Thursday.

***Defending Rolex 24 winner and GTP champion Felipe Nasr believes that the BMWs and Acura ARX-06s could be the cars to beat, especially in the forecasted conditions, which call for near-freezing overnight temperatures tomorrow night.

***Nasr told Sportscar365: “I think they for sure have the speed right now. I think qualifying for sure was kind of messy because of the stoppage there and some cars didn’t get their lap in. The top runners were more or less the guys who were leading practice. To me, the BMWs and Acuras look very strong in these conditions.”

***Nick Tandy, who spun into the wall in final practice, told Sportscar365 that it happened after trialling new traction control settings. The car only sustained nose damage in the incident and returned to action in the session with co-driver Laurens Vanthoor.

***Honda Racing Corporation USA’s headquarters in Santa Clarita, Calif. was evacuated on Wednesday amid the Hughes Fire that has recently developed in the area. HRC was in a non-mandatory Level 2 evacuation zone as of Thursday evening, with the manufacturer electing to err on the side of caution according to a HRC US spokesperson.

***A statement supplied to Sportscar365 read: “People that can work from home are working from home, and work will continue in that manner until it is safe to return. We do not expect it to impact our performance this weekend and we are glad our associates are safe.”

***Mirko Bortolotti gave his viewpoint over the incident on Thursday’s qualifying that saw the Lamborghini driver come to blows with Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s Tom Blomqvist, saying that he would have compromised his sole flying lap had he backed off to let the Acura past.

***Bortolotti told Sportscar365: “From the moment I left the pits, I was pushing all the way through. I never backed off or tried to make a gap because I had the best track position. He’s driving a three second a lap faster car so I think having 10 cars only on track at that moment, he needs to manage his gap in a way that we both can finish our qualifying and don’t compromise both laps. Obviously I don’t want to put the blame on anyone. It’s been obviously a stupid situation for both. It screwed us both in a way, but if I have to give up my sole quali lap to let somebody pass, then I can stay in the pit straight away.”

***Matteo Cairoli announced on social media that he has parted ways with Lamborghini with immediate effect. The Italian driver had been part of the manufacturer’s Michelin Endurance Cup lineup last year in the SC63, most notably leading laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

***Wayne Taylor revealed to IMSA Radio that Wayne Taylor Racing’s contract with Cadillac is for three years, which will stretch until the 2027 WeatherTech Championship season at the earliest.

***Magnus Racing is running a special graphic on the hood its Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, celebrating the the “15(ish)” years at Daytona. The John Potter-owned team is pausing its WeatherTech Championship program following this race, although it’s understood the team could still contest several races later in the year.

***The team is also bringing back its infamous pit side webcast, which unlike recent years will feature an un-hosted stream with access to cameras within the team’s pit and communications.

***Members of Flying Lizard Motorsports are again supporting the Iron Dames and sister Proton Competition-run No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R this weekend. Thomas Blam is calling strategy on the No. 83 Porsche, with Scott Jasmund in the No. 20 GTD Pro entry.

***Proton team boss Christian Ried confirmed to Sportscar365 that the No. 20 Porsche will also be on the grid for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March, with any potential additional Michelin Endurance Cup races yet to be confirmed.

***Ried explained the reason he’s coming out of driving retirement, for the third time, to undertake a full-season FIA World Endurance Championship campaign in one of Iron Lynx’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos is that the Italian squad needed a Bronze-rated driver. Both Proton and Iron Lynx have had a long-term partnership in multiple series over the years.

***Corvette GT3 program manager Jess Dane praised the teamwork between customer teams DXDT Racing and TF Sport in the buildup to this race, which saw the David Askew-owned operation lend a hand to the Tom Ferrier’s squad, which is operating the all-star Trackhouse by TF Sport GTD Pro operation.

***Dane told Sportscar365: “Coming into Daytona with the TF car being in UK until just a couple weeks before the race, DXDT were fantastic in stepping in like helping with seat fits and transporting anything that was whether it was the race suits or seat inserts, DXDT stood up and put their hand up to help. I feel really lucky that we’ve got great partners in them.”

***Additional Corvette customers beyond the already announced efforts from TF Sport (European Le Mans Series) and Stellar Motorsport (British GT/GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS) are expected for this year according to Dane. “If everything goes to plan and the teams’ plans will come to fruition with various entries and things, then we will have Corvettes in a couple of series that we haven’t had in 2024,” she said.

***While declining to give number, Dane said GM will “easily reach” the FIA’s requirements of 20 cars produced within the first two years of the car’s homologation.

***BMW’s Roos said the brand has not yet ruled out the idea of a third, RLL-run Hypercar entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year.

***He told Sportscar365: “It’s always up for consideration because it’s always something when you’re racing and you want to win, especially Le Mans. I won’t say the more cars you have the better it is, but having two or three cars makes already a difference. So for sure we would like to see their car, but if we will manage it’s not decided yet.”

***Roos reacted to Maxime Martin’s comments about his departure from BMW, saying he ‘understands his frustration’ after the Belgian was not named as part of the full-time LMDh factory roster. “We were only discussing GT, because for me he’s still one of the best GT drivers, and we gave him the chance also in the Hypercar. But when we then decided to concentrate and focus more on a driver lineup of less Hypercar drivers, the decision was taken that Maxime would do in the in the future GT racing, like planned from the beginning.”

***Edoardo Mortara told Sportscar365 that it is “not defined yet” whether he will contest more GT3 races with Lamborghini this year. The Swiss racer made a handful of appearances aboard the Huracan GT3 EVO2 last year, including at the FIA GT World Cup at Macau.

***He said: “Macau is always like something that I can do and actually be competitive. The others like it seemed to be a little bit more difficult for me because you kind of need a little bit more practice. When you’re facing specialists that are doing 30 weekends per year, it’s quite tough. So you need a little bit of running. But I would say that with the right preparation and the right goals, everything is possible.”

***Brembo and IMSA today announced a multi-year partnership that names Brembo Braking Technology Partner of IMSA. Brembo will support its customers through an integrated IMSA marketing program, reaching fans and IMSA teams, as well as IMSA’s 18 automotive manufacturer partners.

Davey Euwema contributed to this report

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