Rolex 24 at Daytona field full of WEC regulars
Credit: Photo: Jake Galstad/IMSA/LAT Photo USA
Daytona Beach, FLA (23 January, 2025 )—While the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) doesn’t launch until next month with the Qatar Airways 1812KM, scores of FIA WEC drivers are getting their year started early by competing in this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The event is the season-opening round of the IMSA WeatherTech championship, and utilizes a ruleset that is very familiar to FIA WEC fans, with the top GTP Prototypes competing alongside the GTD and GTD PRO classes, which utilize highly similar regulations as LMGT3. Many of the globally recognized brands that race in WEC are also to be found at Daytona, with marques including Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Corvette, Ford, and Mercedes all active in the North American-based IMSA championship.
The 24 Hour is staged on Daytona International Speedway’s 3.56-mile circuit that combines high speed sections of the large, 31-degrees banked oval with a much tighter infield road course section.
The final run to the finish line is punctuated by the “Le Mans” Chicane, which was renamed in 2022 by IMSA, as the organizers of the 24 Hours Le Mans reciprocated by naming the first chicane on the 8.49-mile Le Mans circuit the “Daytona” chicane. Both tracks utilize the iconic blue and yellow painting on the curbing to demonstrate unity between the events, tracks and sanctioning bodies.
The Daytona event has traditionally attracted drivers from across the spectrum of motorsport looking to fill their calendar and race for the chance to win a Rolex Daytona watch.
And once again in 2025, there will be the strong representation of WEC talent in the race, with nearly 30 current WEC racers set to contest the twice around the clock event.
2024 24 Hours of Le Mans Hypercar winners Antonio Fuoco, Migel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen will all three be in action, each chasing the GTD class title for three different teams utilizing the Ferrari 296 GT3.
The 2024 WEC Hypercar class Championship-winning drivers Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor will both take to the high banks of Daytona on board different Porsche Penske Motorsport entries, while teammate and fellow WEC driver Matt Campbell returns looking to follow up his run to Daytona victory for Penske last year with another win this year.
Toyota Gazoo’s Kamui Kobayashi, who has two WEC titles as well as a 24 Hours of Le Mans title to his credit, will target a third Rolex 24 victory as he races with the WTR Cadillac group along with his Toyota Gazoo stablemate Brandon Hartly, who will co-drive the sister WTR entry this weekend.
The 2024 LMGT3 Champion Klaus Bachler will also be competing at Daytona, joining AO Racing on board the No. 77 Porsche GT3 R to fight for the GTD Pro victory.
The North American outing for the WEC regulars proceeds their visit to Texas for the 2025 Lone Star Le Mans, September 7-9 at the Circuit of the Americas.
The four-day event weekend will open with practice and qualifying on Thursday, January 23, with a final practice and driver autograph session on Friday as the race is set to take the green flag at 1:40 PM ET (6:40 PM GMT) on Saturday.
2025 Rolex 24 At Daytona
Participating FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar drivers:
(WEC) No. 009 Aston Valkrie: Alex Riberas, (Rolex 24) No. 007 Heart of Racing Aston GTD
(WEC) No. 5 Penske Porsche: Mathieu Jaminet (Rolex 24) No. 6 Penske Porsche:
(WEC) Laurens Vanthoor, No. 7 Penske Porsche; Kevin Estre, (Rolex 24) No. 6 Penske Porsche; Matt Campbell, No. 6 Penske Porsche
(WEC) No. 7 Toyota Gazoo: Kamui Kobayashi, (Rolex 24) No. 40 Cadillac
(WEC) No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Brendon Hartley, (Rolex 24) No. 10 Cadillac
(WEC) No. 15 BMW: Dries Vanthoor, (Rolex 24) No. 24 BMW, Raffaele Marciello,
(WEC) No. 24 BMW; Kevin Magnussen, (Rolex 24) No. 24 BMW
(WEC) No. 20 BMW: Rene Rast, (Rolex 24) No. 25 BMW,
(WEC) Robin Frijins, (Rolex 24) No. 25 BMW; Sheldon van der Linde, No. 25 BMW
(WEC) No. 35 Alpine: Paul-Loup Chatin, (Rolex 24) No. 18 Era LMP2
(WEC) No. 36 Alpine: Charles Milesi, (Rolex 24) No. 11 TDS LMP2
(WEC) No. 38 Jota Hertz Cadillac: Earl Bamber, (Rolex 24) No. 31 Whelen Cadillac
(WEC) No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari: Antonio Fuoco, (Rolex 24) No. 47 Cetilar Ferrari GTD; Migel Molina, (Rolex 24) No. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari GTD Pro; (Rolex 24) Nicklas Nielsen, No. 88 AF Corse LMP2
(WEC) No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari: Alessandro Peir Guidi, (Rolex 24) No. 21 AF Corse GTD; James Calado, (Rolex 24) No. 021 Triarsi Ferrari GTD
(WEC) No. 93 Peugeot, Paul Di Resta, (Rolex 24) No. 22 P2; Mikkel Jensen, No. 11 P2
(WEC) No. 94 Peugeot, Malthe Jakobsen, (Rolex 24) No. 04 LMP2
(WEC) No. 99 Proton Porsche: Neil Jani, (Rolex 24) No. 5 Proton Porsche; Nico Pino, No. 5 Proton Porsche; Nico Varrone, (Rolex 24) No. 4 Corvette GTD Pro
FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 Drivers:
(WEC) No. 10 Racing Spirit Aston: Valentin Hasse-Clot, (Rolex 24) No. 19 van der Steur Aston GTD
(WEC) No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari: Simon Mann, No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari GTD; Alessio Rovera, (Rolex 24) No. 023 Ferrari
(WEC) No. 32 WRT BMW; Maxime Martin, (Rolex 24) No. 69 GetSpeed Mercedes GTD Pro
(WEC) No. 33 TF Sport Corvette: Daniel Juncadella, No. 3 Corvette Pro; Jonny Edgar, No. 99 AO P2; (Rolex 24) Ben Keating, No. 52 PR1 LMP2 AND No. 91 Trackhouse Corvette GTD Pro
(WEC) No. 54 Vista Ferrari: David Rigon, vNo. 81 DragonSpeed Ferrari GTD Pro
(WEC) No. 60 Iron Lynx Mercedes: Claudio Schiavoni, (Rolex 24) No. 20 Proton Porsche Pro; Matteo Cressoni, No. 20 Proton GTD Pro
(WEC) No. 78 Akkodis Lexus: Ben Barnicoat, (Rolex 24) No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus GTD Pro
(WEC) No. 81 TF Sport Corvette: Charlie Eastwood, (Rolex 24) No. 36 DXDT Corvette GTD
(WEC) No. 85 Iron Dames Porsche: Rahel Frey, (Rolex 24) No. 83 Iron Dames Porsche GTD; Michelle Gatting, (Rolex 24) No. 83 Iron Dames Porsche GTD;
(WEC) No. 88 Proton Mustang: Dennis Olson, (Rolex 24) No. 65 Mustang Pro
(WEC) No. 92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche: Richard Lietz, (Rolex 24) No. 20 Proton Porsche GTD Pro