Nasr Beats Blomqvist to Historic Rolex 24 Win for Porsche Penske

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Porsche Penske Motorsport has claimed a historic victory in the 62nd Rolex 24 at Daytona, more than 20 years after the German manufacturer’s last overall triumph in the Florida endurance classic.

Felipe Nasr emerged ahead of Tom Blomqvist during the last round of pit stops following a final-hour full course caution for the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3, which caught fire.

Nasr then held off the hard-charging two-time and defending race winner Blomqvist, in his debut with Action Express, on the restart with 32 minutes to go and crossed the line 2.112 seconds ahead of the Cadillac to give Porsche its first outright Rolex 24 win since 2003.

There was initial confusion, however, as IMSA race control declared over the radios that the white flag flew, despite two-and-a-half minutes remaining on the clock. Teams ended up taking the checkered flag twice.

Nasr shared top honors with Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden. All four claimed their first overall Rolex 24 victories.

The two GTP class entires fought tooth-and-nail in the closing stages of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener, which saw the Porsche excel in the cooler early morning conditions.

Nasr built up an 18-second lead prior to the penultimate caution, for debris, that led to a three-hour and 42-minute green flag stretch which saw Blomqvist take the lead through after the second-to-last round of stops.

The lead then swapped hands yet again in the crucial final stops, which saw the Porsche take on 5 percent less energy than the Cadillac.

With the win, Porsche claimed its record 19th overall Daytona 24-hour victory, while breaking Acura’s three consecutive event win streak. Team Penske, meanwhile, picked up its first event win since 1969.

The No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 of Louis Deletraz, Jordan Taylor, Jenson Button and Colton Herta completed the overall podium in third, bouncing back from a stoppage for Deletraz just prior to halfway in the race that put the car one lap down at the time.

The result came despite a clash between Deletraz and the No. 6 Penske Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet on the restart that forced the Frenchman wide, with no further action from IMSA race control.

Jaminet recovered to finish fourth, with the No. 5 Proton Competition Porsche of Gianmaria Bruni coming home fifth. Bruni came back from an off-course excursion while attempting to catch up to the pack while on the lap prior to the restart.

The No. 6 Porsche overcame multiple stop-and-hold penalties for failure to adhere to controlled powertrain parameters during the race, as well as an off by Kevin Estre on his out lap with less than four hours to go, which cost the car more than 1 minute at the time.

The top five GTP cars all finished on the lead lap within 45 seconds of each other.

JDC-Miller Motorsports’ Porsche, meanwhile, came home sixth after a relatively trouble-free run, albeit two laps down from the winner.

The pair of Team RLL-run BMW M Hybrid V8s were classified in seventh and eighth after both suffering setbacks overnight.

The No. 24 BMW of Dries Vanthoor stopped on track just prior to the 14th hour and lost 13 laps after an initial misdiagnosis that was ultimately an electrical gremlin tied to the steering wheel. The car also lost time when the tow hook from the recovery vehicle broke.

Connor De Phillippi took the No. 25 entry to the garage less than one hour later, also from the lead lap, due to gearbox issues that cost the car nine laps.

WTR Andretti’s No. 10 Acura retired with 90 minutes to go after initially going nearly 100 laps behind due to replacing the car’s wiring loom when Filipe Albuquerque stopped on rack in the ninth hour. The car made multiple trips to the garage afterwards.

The No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac was the first retirement in GTP, having dropped out in the 14th hour when Renger van der Zande stopped on track with a terminal “mechanical powertrain issue” according to a statement from the manufacturer.

It came after Sebastien Bourdais suffered a tire puncture early on after running over debris and a drive-through penalty for Scott Dixon for speeding in the pit lane that initially dropped the car two laps behind.

RESULTS: Rolex 24 at Daytona

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